Taken (Short Story)

By HelloBello

45 1 2

More

Taken (Short Story)

45 1 2
By HelloBello

So, in my class we have to write a narrative story *rolls eyes*, of which, I'm horrible at.  I'm finished writing it, except for the epilogue.  So could you read it and give me some pointers on it? :/

A/N: I apologize in advance for the format errors, if you notice any or have difficulties.  I had to copy and paste this from my documents.

***********************************

Prologue

I  risked  a  glance  back  as  I  raced  down  the barren  street.   In  the  silence  of  the  night,  my  foot falls  sounded  much  louder  than  they  actually  were.  My  assailants  were  getting  closer  and  closer  with every  second  that  passed.   I  could  see  the  safe haven  farther  down  the  street.   I  focused  in  on  it, and  despite  the  burning  in  my  legs,  I  pushed  on farther.   The  attackers  were  practically  on  my  heels now.

I  turned  left  and  ran  onto  the  lawn  of  the house.   I  could  feel  one  of  the  aggressors  grab  a hold  of  my  shoulder.   I  whipped  around  punched him  in  the  stomach.   He  grunted  loudly  and  bent down,  it  was  all  the  time  I  needed  to  take  the porch  steps  two  at  a  time  and  throw  myself  into  the door  of  the  house.  

3 Weeks Prior

(1)

I  looked  down  at  my  worn  through  Converse.  I  noticed  Shelby  glancing  at  them  as  well.

“Well,  I  have  to  go, Char.”  Shelby  mumbled.   She stood  up  from  the  stone  steps  and  dusted  her jeans  off.   She  shoved  her  hands  in  her  pockets and  walked  away.   Her  silhouette  grew  smaller  as she  walked  towards  the  setting  sun.  

Dusk  followed  soon  after  and  I  pushed  myself off  the  steps  and  walked  towards  home.   It  got dark  rather  quickly,  and  thus  I  began  to  jog  home.   The  street  lights  flicked  on,  but  did  little  to  shed  light  on  the  darkness  that  surrounded  me.  

It was eerily quiet, although I thought I heard footsteps behind me, but I dismissed it.  About half a mile from home, the steps sounded louder and closer.  I was starting to feel nervous, but avoided looking back.

    My gut was telling me to run.  When I turned onto the next street, a damp white cloth was pressed over my nose and mouth.  A sweetish smell filled my lungs.  I began to feel light-headed, and my knees wobbled beneath me.  After a couple minutes, I fell forward into the street, and was slowly engulfed by blackness.

    (2)

    I woke up I don’t know how long afterwards.  Although the room was dark, I had a pounding headache.  After my eyes became accustomed to the dark, I noticed a figure sitting in the corner, his eyes gleaming in the darkness.

I realized my arms were tied with a thick rope behind me, and my legs bound as well.  

    When I mustered enough courage, I asked “Where am I?”

    He didn’t respond, he simply smirked and stood up.  He strode over gracefully, and leaned down until his face was level with mine.  

    “I’m afraid I can’t answer that.” He answered, his voice low and smooth.  I glowered at him.

    He stood up and dusted his pant-legs off, and walked out of the room.  The brief flash of light from outside made my headache all the more worse.    

    I leaned my head back against the wall, and closed my eyes in attempt to soothe the raging headache.  I must’ve dozed off, because the kidnapper was shaking me suddenly.

    “Get up Charlotte, I have a surprise for you.” He said.  I distinguished a tray resting by his feet.

    “Where am I?” I murmured, still disoriented from sleep.

    His face hardened.  “I’ve already told you.” He snapped.  I didn’t speak another word, I didn’t want to set him off.  

    He pulled up the tray and I saw a plate of food, it wasn’t much, but it was enough to realize how hungry I was.  However, I was wary of what might contain.

    “How long have I been here?” I asked, my voice hoarse.

    “Oh, a couple of weeks.  I used a rather strong sedative.” He said nonchalantly.  “I’m not sure if you were aware but you slipped in and out of consciousness quite frequently.” He paused his story to pick of a forkful of the unidentified food.  

    I shook my head.

    “Char, you need to eat.” He coaxed.

    I reluctantly opened my mouth.  While I ate the foul food, he looked around the room.

    I finally finished the food.  He stood up.

    “Before you go, I have a question.” I said uncertainly.

He also looked uncertain as he contemplated whether or not to let me ask the question.  “Yes?” He finally said.

    “Why did you take me?” I asked.

    “Because,” he said.  He didn’t finish his sentence, or offer any other explanation as to why he kidnapped me.  He just turned around and walked out of the room.  

(3)

    I sat for a while, and wondered whether I would ever get out of here.  I looked up at the arms that had been tethered over my head.  I realized that my bones were jutting out.

    I shook my wrists, and the shackles spun easily.  I pulled my arms down, and the shackles rode up to the widest part of my hands.  I smiled to myself, but quickly went back to my poker face as the doorknob turned and rays of lights filtered in.

    I squinted my eyes, as they were unaccustomed to the bright lights.

    “Are you alright?” He asked, “I heard the chains clattering, not trying to escape, are you?” I heard him chuckle as he closed the door, without waiting for a response.

    I waited until the footsteps faded completely.  I slowly turned my wrists until the cuffs were once again to the widest part of my hand.  I cupped my right hand until it slid through,  I grabbed the chain before it bounced against the wall.

I used my right hand to coax the cuff from my left hand, and rested it gently against the wall.  I smiled, and it took most of my self-control not to laugh out loud, in fear of him hearing me.  I looked around, and noticed a indentation against the wall.

    I slowly walked over, being sure to avoid any weak spots in the floor that might groan against my weight.

I felt under the thick cloth that clothed the what I hoped was a window.  I felt a smooth surface, and grinned.  I pulled the cloth back, and immediately recoiled at the bright light.

    I braced myself and ripped open the cloth, my hands worked furiously at the multiple locks, clicking and sliding all the locks as quietly as possible.  When all the locks were undone, I put my hands and pulled with all my strength upwards.

    The window slid open easily, and the door to the room began to open.  I threw a quick glance back, and I abandoned the idea of being quiet.  

    I grunted as the window opened enough for me to slip through, I tripped through the window and fell what felt like two stories to the ground.  

(4)

    I heard the man curse loudly above me.  I didn’t care, I just ran towards the street.  The light of the day was quickly fading.  I looked at the street signs as I ran.

Springmeadow Circle.  I knew exactly where I was, clear across town from home.  

    My legs were already feeling weak from malnourishment, but I continued running.  It was dusk now.  I cursed to myself, as there were no cars driving about to help me.

    I heard his footsteps and heavy breathing behind me, tears started to stream from my eyes.  Warren Hill Road flashed by my eyes.  Only a couple more blocks.

    It was completely dark now, the only light coming from the lamp posts.  I ran across the street onto Elm Lane, where I lived.

    I  risked  a  glance  back  as  I  raced  down  the barren  street.   In  the  silence  of  the  night,  my  foot falls  sounded  much  louder  than  they  actually  were.  My  assailants  were  getting  closer  and  closer  with every  second  that  passed.   I  could  see  the  safe haven  farther  down  the  street.   I  focused  in  on  it, and  despite  the  burning  in  my  legs,  I  pushed  on farther.   The  attackers  were  practically  on  my  heels now.

I  turned  left  and  ran  onto  the  lawn  of  the house.   I  could  feel  one  of  the  aggressors  grab  a hold  of  my  shoulder.   I  whipped  around  punched him  in  the  stomach.   He  grunted  loudly  and  bent down,  it  was  all  the  time  I  needed  to  take  the porch  steps  two  at  a  time  and  throw  myself  into  the door  of  the  house.  

        I heard a thump and a loud curse against the door, it rattled as he repeatedly threw his weight against it.  I heard the stairs creaking as someone walked down them.  I saw a flash of bright blonde hair.  Tears streamed harder down my face as my mother’s eyes locked with mine.  

    “Charlotte!” She cried, sobbing.  As she came down, the thumping on the door stopped.  I relaxed, and slid down, and sat on the floor.

    My mother picked up the phone, and called who I presumed was an ambulance.  A few minutes later I saw lights flashing.  I smiled as the paramedics took me away.

Epilogue

        I sat on the overstuffed couch with my family as we watched the news.  The news of my kidnapper was supposed to be on tonight.  I glanced at the clock on the wall.  The news was going to be over in five minutes.

          “When are they going to air it?” I asked to no one in particular.

          “Soon, they have to.” My father replied, reaching towards the coffee table for a mint.

          Soon the anchor came to the screen.  

          “Charlotte Anderson, the girl who went missing for a month, had been found a few weeks ago,” She said, “her kidnapper, Charlie Jackson, has also been found.  A forensic artist had drawn him from Charlotte’s descriptions.  We also received an anonymous call, who told us where he lives.”

    They then aired the interview that had taken place with me.  I scowled as they showed the ‘Before and After’ pictures.  The before pictures had been taken at the hospital a few weeks ago.  The after picture had been taken a few days ago.  I was still underweight, but much healthier than I was when I ran away.

    I smiled as the anchor faded away, and the next show started to play.

Continue Reading

You'll Also Like

37.3K 1.7K 25
Abisinden şiddet gören bi kızın kurtulmak için bulduğu çözümle kendini çekişmeli bi aşkın içinde bulur...
28.7M 913K 49
[BOOK ONE] [Completed] [Voted #1 Best Action Story in the 2019 Fiction Awards] Liam Luciano is one of the most feared men in all the world. At the yo...
3.8M 157K 69
Highest rank: #1 in Teen-Fiction and sci-fi romance, #1 mindreader, #2 humor Aaron's special power might just be the coolest- or scariest- thing ever...
35K 1.6K 33
ᴅɪᴠᴇʀɢᴇɴᴛ; ᴛᴇɴᴅɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴅɪꜰꜰᴇʀᴇɴᴛ ᴏʀ ᴅᴇᴠᴇʟᴏᴘ ɪɴ ᴅɪꜰꜰᴇʀᴇɴᴛ ᴅɪʀᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴꜱ.