"Look she's waking up," a voice said.
"What do we do?" another spoke.
"I don't know," and another.
My eyes slowly opened and I had to blink twice before my vision adjusted to its new surroundings, the sharp pain in my head made me wince when I finally sat up. The scent of alcohol was the first thing that filled my nostrils as I slowly rose from the bed. I moaned in pain while the two men watched me closely from across the room. Wait- why is my shoulder burning? Ah great, my left hand was cuffed to the bed's rails.
"Rise and shine beautiful," one of them said.
"Let me go!" I pulled my cuffed hand back and forth but that only caused more pain.
"Wow we won't hurt you," the dark skinned man said.
I knew they were lying they all say this before they-
"HELP! FIRE! FIRE!" I started shouting before continuing my own thoughts.
"Hey, hey, hey. Stop shouting!" the dark man said.
"HELP!" I proceeded.
The other guy covered my mouth with his hand.
"One more sound and I'll rip out your tongue out. Understand?" he threatened.
I nodded my head slowly under his hand as the tears began to form in my eyes.
"Good," he said and let go of me.
"What do you want from me?" at this point I was trying my hardest not to cry.
"You passed out yesterday so we brought you here. Sleeping out in the streets is dangerous," the black man explained.
"And do you expect me to feel safe here with two complete strangers?"
"No we.... well...." he said scratching the back of his neck.
I opened my mouth to scream then I remembered the other man's threat so I decided it's best to stay silent and do whatever they tell me to.
"My name is Luca," the black man started, "And this is Cameron."
I tried to memorize their faces in case I had to identify them later, Luca had black hair and brown eyes while Cameron had green eyes and brown hair. They looked my age maybe a few years older.
"Can I leave?" I asked them, bluntly.
"No," Cameron answered.
"But I want to leave," I protested.
"Do you know how to shut up or do I teach you myself?" he asked.
I didn't answer.
"That's what I thought."
"So what will we do with her?" Luca asked.
"I don't know we'll wait until he comes and then decide."
"Bruh we should've left her alone last night. I told you this was a bad idea."
"Shut up Luca, when did you become a soft wussy?"
The thought of having my freedom taken away like that made me weaker and more frustrated, I didn't realize I was silently crying until my voice broke when I spoke again,"How long are you going to keeping me?"
"As long as we please," Cameron answered and then he openned a bottle of beer so casually that it made me sick, "Do you want some?"
"Please let me go," I begged helplessly.
"Suit yourself."
"Are you hungry?" Luca asked me but I didn't answer. I felt the sharp pain coming from my angry stomach and how my body was heating up, the anxiety was tiring me out but I needed to fight it.
"Cam! Luca!" a voice yelled from outside the room.
"Upstairs," Cameron yelled back.
"I brought breakfast," he said from behind the door before turning the doorknob and coming in.
For a second my breath hung in my throat and I was stunned to see the guy from the other night standing right in front of me. It was devil.
He stood there motionless while I waited for his reaction.
"What's wrong?" Cameron asked him.
"Nothing," he mumbled, "Who's that?"
"Some girl we found yesterday," Luca answered.
"And why the fuck is she tied to the bed?"
"It was Cameron's stupid idea to bring her here and handcuff her."
"The hell is wrong with you Cam?"
"Listen I was drunk and taking irrational decisions, I know it looks bad but we can fix it," Cameron defended himself.
"Fix it?! How are you going to fix it?! You kidnapped a person!" the devil shouted at his friend.
"Goddamit Dylan, why do you have to be such a drama queen?!"
Dylan. I repeated his name over and over in my head so I won't forget it. This might come in handy later.
Dylan was clearly frustrated, he held his head and closed his eyes then let out a breath. "Okay let me think, how did you guys find her?"
"We were messing around when we found her. Cameron was wasted as usual," Luca started.
"She bumped into me and then started running but before she could take off she bumped into Luca," Cameron continued.
"And then she passed out after she fell down and hit her head hard on the concrete."
"Man she doesn't give up easily," Cameron commented.
"Yeah maybe it's because she's trying to get away from two giants who won't leave her alone," Dylan said bitterly. How ironic of him to say this.
"So are we going to have fun or not?" Cameron smirked.
"That's a bit fucked up Cam," Luca spoke.
"It's just a joke, geez."
"Whatever man."
"Please leave me alone. I won't press charges or anything. I won't tell anyone about what happened," I pleaded, desperately. Lord don't leave me now.
"No one will touch the girl," the devil ordered seriously.
The room suddenly became quiet.
"The hero has spoken!"
"Don't push it Cameron, she will remain untouched until we figure out what to do with her," the devil spoke while staring intensely at Cameron.
"And who crowned you king?" his friend challenged.
"Hey Cam, I'm with Dylan on this one dude. She seems like a really innocent girl."
"Shut up Luca. God you guys are a pain in the ass I'm going downstairs to eat."
Luca and Dylan exchanged looks before he left the room, silently.
"Please don't hurt me!" I begged quickly,closing my eyes tight and wrapping my hand around my body.
"I'm not gonna hurt you!" he whispered, "What the hell are you doing here?!"
"Well I was kidnapped!" I pointed out the obvious.
"Shhh!" he said placing his hand on my mouth, "Be quiet!"
Despite the scary situation I'm in and the fact that he's a stranger who was hitting on me the other night, it was probably wise to do what he says.
"What I mean is," he rephrased, "What are you doing in this town?"
"Well I was on the subway yesterday and I kinda missed my stop because I got distracted by this game so it was a bit too late when I finally noticed what had happened. My phone's battery was dead so reaching my parents wasn't an option afterwards your friends found me and here I am!" I answered quickly.
He sighed.
"What?"
"Nothing look you want to get out of here,right?"
"Yes!"
"Then you have to trust me."
"No, no, I'm not gonna trust you."
"Angela," he said my name softly and I felt a shiver down my spine. Nobody has ever called me that except my late grandma, "Listen getting out of here is hard so if you want to stay alive, you have to trust me and play along."
"And what makes you think I'm gonna trust you this easily?" I asked while crossing my arms around my chest.
He raised an eyebrow at me.
I weighed my options, stay with two complete strangers and plan out a failing escape or go with the person who was hitting on me the other night and hope he doesn't kill me.
I inhaled and rubbed my neck then my fingers traced the chain of the necklace hanging around my neck until they held the two little wings. Should I trust him? He might be tripping but I need to see where this is going, besides he might be willing to help me get out of here. Oh God let me live to regret this.
"Okay fine," I agreed.
"I promise nothing bad will happen to you."
"Great," he went to the other side of the room and dug in the closet until he came back with a small bottle that looked like it was some sort of a medicine, "If Cameron or Luca came closer than they should and I'm not around, drink this."
"What is this?" I held the bottle close to my face to examine it.
"Jesus. Stop asking a lot of questions and drink it."
"I'm not going to drink something you just took out of a closet!"
"You said you trust me."
I just stared at him for a long time before speaking again, "I'm not going to drink it."
"Agh okay it's a medicine used long ago to empty poisoned children's stomach. It's organic and won't hurt you."
"A poison control syrup."
"Yes, you'll just throw up. I promise it won't hurt you."
"Dylan," my head shot towards the door when I heard Cameron's voice.
"Please," Dylan begged.
I took the little bottle and hid it behind my back. I really hope whatever is inside it is what he claims it is.
"What is happening here?" Cameron asked.
"Nothing I was just talking to her and I don't think she's okay."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean we might need to get her a doctor."
"Stop playing with me," Cameron laughed, "The boss called and he said he wanted to see you."
"Right now?"
"Yeah."
"Okay... don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."
"What do you mean?"
"You'll see."
And with that Dylan disappeared. Cameron stayed behind for a second, creepily watching me until Luca called him. I didn't know I was holding in a breath until he closed the room behind him. He's probably going to come here again and I should be prepared. My breathing picked up so I closed my eyes and tried to relax. This is not happening to me.
****
Two hours passed and there was no sign of any of the guys. The house was quiet and it made me feel uneasy especially when I heard, "Dylan you need to head to the mansion."
"Not before Luca comes back."
"It will take him hours to finish the job and the boss said you need to go there immediately."
"I swear Cameron if you...."
And their voices kept fading until I no longer was able to hear them. This is bad, with Luca and Dylan gone I'm left alone with Cameron. My heartbeats increased as I heard his footstep echo outside the door. He's coming for me.
What to do?
What to do?
I took a deep breath while clutching the bottle in my hand. I trust him, I repeated and with closed eyes I took a gulp out of the bitter syrup.
I stopped breathing when he opened the door, he walked slowly towards me and I almost lost it when he sat right beside me.
My palms were sweaty and I might have asthma attack if he stays there. He ran his hand over my legs and rubbed my stomach with his thumb. I wanted to scream and run but there I was handcuffed and hopeless but then I felt it. I began to gag uncontrollably and my stomach hurt, my chest tightened and I hot tears were filling up my eyes.
"What the fuck," Cameron watched in horror as I threw up on him, everything I had in my system. I was exhausted and shaking and my body was slowly shutting down but at least Cameron left me alone.
Hours passed until another person walked through the door. It was Dylan.
"I feel disgusting." I told him as soon as he came in.
"You sure do," he agreed, "We're leaving in an hour."
"I need to shower."
"You will once you go home."
"I can't stay like that."
"Look do you want to leave or stay?"
"Leave."
"Then do as I tell you."
I didn't answer I just wanted to leave. After an hour Dylan came in again.
"Come on they're asleep."
I got up and followed him. The passage was dark and it was hard to see,but Dylan led the way swiftly. The sound of the stairs creeked underneeth us and before I knew it,Dylan was unlocking a door and I saw the moonlight coming through the doorframe.
"Come on," he said before taking my hand. We ran through the almost empty streets until we reached a subway station.
"Where's your stop?" Dylan asked me which I anxiously pointed out.
"The train should arrive soon."
He went to sit on the bench and I followed his steps while keeping my distance.
"Why are you helping me?"
"Why are you asking?"
"I think it's a little strange that three guys kidnapped me and one of them, who barely knows me, suddenly decided to help me out so I need answers."
"You sure talk a lot Angela."
Another shiver shot down my spine. It's in the way he says my name. Get a hold of yourself Morr.
"And one of the three guys kidnapped you. Now you're not off the hook that easy, I'm gonna be keeping an eye on you and if you think about telling the police or anyone about us, let's just say you won't be happy next time you see me."
The train arrived but I was too scared to move, all I did was stare at him.
"Get off on the first stop and from there you'll know the way," he instructed.
I climbed the subway and watched the doors as they closed, the train started moving and soon Dylan's face was replaced by my reflection. I sat on one of the seats and looked at the floor trying to understand what just happened. What a night.