Straight through the Heart

Chapter 11

I wake up with the mother of all hangovers. I wake up to a disgusting, stale taste in my mouth. I consider the idea that a rodent died in my mouth overnight. There is also the intense pain in my right lobe, as if someone is pounding the right side of my head with a hammer. Let's not forget the soreness and stiffness in my entire body. 

I slowly open my eyes, knowing that whatever light is here will burn my eyeballs out of their sockets. 

To my surprise, it's dimly lit. There's some light shining through the wooden beams of the structure so I can see the silhouettes of everything. The inside resembles that of a farmhouse, or what I believe the inside of a farmhouse should look like. I picture a farmhouse has hay, sand, and dirt all over the floor. It certainly smells like farm animals could live here. Plus, everything is made of wood and the ceiling is pretty high. 

I understand why my wrists hurt so much. I also understand why my shoulders feel like they're being pulled out of their sockets. As of right now, I lay dangling from a wooden beam by rough, thick rope. The rope is already begin to chafe against my skin, probably becoming red and raw by every minute. I try to stand on my tippy toes to see if I can graze the ground. Unfortunately, I am at least half a foot away from the ground. All this weight on my wrists are no bueno.

I grit my teeth in pain as I fidget around with the rope. Yeah, let's not try that again. 

Every small movement only digs the rope into my very tender wrists. I don't really like intentionally causing myself pain, so I try to do as little movements as possible. I do know there's a little bit of give in the rope, just enough to not be in complete pain. 

At this moment, I'm glad my mother trained me so intensely. I gained a lot of muscle mass and shaped up. 

At this moment, I'm also very sad my mother trained me so intensely. Muscle mass only adds weight and I'm still very very sore from the training. She also didn't show me how to escape from a scenario like this. Of course, I know how to safely jump out of a moving vehicle with my arms tied. That's no help right now. 

Thinking back to all the times I've watched action shows and movies, I remember a XXX movie where Vin Diesel escaped from this exact situation. The only problem is that he's very muscular and fit while I'm just me. He lifted his legs up all the way to the wooden beam. Then, he flipped down and the weight broke the chains that bounded his wrists. 

I glance at the rope around my wrist. Would that work if I did that here? Are my abdominal muscles strong enough so I can lift my lower body all the way past my head?

I pause and try to analyze my situation. My fingers can still move pretty well. That means that I haven't been hanging here long. That also means that they just moved me here from a different location. I'm guessing they know I should be waking up soon so that is why they moved me here. I assume that after an hour, I will start losing some feeling in my fingers. I think if I am here too long I will not be able to feel my hands and arms anymore. 

Shortly after these thoughts, the door ahead of me opens, shining light through. Oh good, it's still broad daylight out. I narrow my eyes at the brightness but try not to miss anything. Footsteps head towards me. A man who I have never seen before strides with ease and confidence as he approaches me. He's followed by three other men, who I assume are his bodyguards or goons. 

"That's not her." The man says after he gets all up in my space. I stare at him with the coldest look I can muster. I might look constipated, but worth a try to look badass. He studies me while I do the same. He wears a black suit with a tie as if he will attend a fancy gathering. His facial hair is cleanly groomed along with his styled hair.