Her head hurt. Well, not really. But her mind was groggy. And her neck was sore. Without a doubt, Hope knew she had been drugged. She wanted to open her eyes but her eyelids were like lead, heavy and uncompromising. Her wrists were still restrained and her hands were a little numb. Her left arm especially, presumably from lying on her side for too long. Fortunately, she was lying on something soft, or her arm might have ended up in a worse state. Her legs were bent backwards and attempting to move them made it clear that her ankles were secured to her wrists, which explained her awkward position.
Trying to lift her eyelids was like prying a stubborn mule of a clam open. What kind of drug had they pumped her with? Finally, with superhuman effort, she managed to open her eyes just a crack. Light pierced in, making her see stars. Shutting her eyes, she counted a few seconds before opening them again. It wasn't as bad this time. Taking a few deep breaths, Hope tried to bring her mind back to alertness by darting her eyes around and she managed to pick up a few pieces of information.
She was lying on a bed with white bed sheets. The curtain looked thick and heavy and was drawn. The light that pierced her eyes came from the bedside lamp. All of the above meant that she was currently in a hotel room.
She came to realize that there was someone breathing behind her. Josie. It must be her. But was it safe to move? Hope tried to listen out for sounds but there were none. Surely their abductors couldn't have left them in the room without a guard? She decided to risk taking a look. Tucking her hands and feet in, Hope leaned back and rolled onto her back. She froze, waiting for a sign that their captor had spotted her moving but there was nothing. And true enough, Josie's naked back was to her when she looked. Lying on the other side of the bed, the woman seemed to be sleeping.
Since there didn't seem to be anyone in the room, Hope try to call Josie. Two hushed whispers later, she received no response so it was safe to assume the woman had not emerged from her drugged state. A quick look around the room confirmed her suspicion. There was no one in sight. What sort of abductor would bring them to a hotel room and leave them alone? Or had they misjudged the dose of drugs for her? Or were they confident of the bonds that rendered her helpless? While it was possible to roll onto the floor and to the door, reaching the handle would be next to impossible. What could she do next?
It was quite difficult to twist her arm or move her hands in any direction. The restraints were thick and there was little room to manipulate. How was she to free herself? Her thought fell on the little switchblade she had strapped high up on her inner thigh. If she could just get it out...
The turning of the door's handle had her rolling back onto her side and closing her eyes on reflex. She evened out her breathing and chanted 'sleep, sleep, sleep' in her mind to calm herself enough to make whoever it was believe she was still out cold. Footsteps approached the bed.
"You were right. They're still out," said Gruff Voice A.
"I told you. The dosage was just right," Gruff Voice B replied.
The dosage was wrong, but thanks for helping.
"But I still don't feel good about this. What if they find us?" asked Gruff Voice A.
"They won't."
"What if they look at the cameras?"
"All they'll see are two men with two drunken women. And we're in a hotel. Nobody's going to suspect anything. See, they're still here."
A moment of silence ensues until Gruff Voice B speaks again. "Damn, they're pretty."
"We're not supposed to touch them."
"You're a fucking coward. Nobody will know. Anyway she only said to leave the rich girl alone. She didn't say anything about the rich girl's friend." Hope braced for a hand on her body but there was nothing. "But we have to wait till we get to the house." Gruff Voice B roughed. "Once we get there." Hope could almost hear the cruel smile in his voice. "Playtime. Baby."
House. What house? Hope instinctively knew that their best chance to escape was before they were ferried to the house, wherever that was. The house would probably be out of reach, isolated and even harder to escape from. If the men would just leave the room one more time...
"I need a smoke," said Gruff Voice B. "You stay here."
"How long is the drug supposed to last? We gotta stay here in case," said Gruff Voice A.
"You afraid of two girls?"
"There'll be hell to pay if we're not here when she calls."
She. There's a she involved. Hope figured 'she' must be their boss and the men were waiting for the green light to transport them to the house. In a way, this was actually a good plan. The security would be looking over the footage of people leaving the hotel instead of searching the rooms for two captives so this was a convenient hiding place. It would have been perfect if the dosage had worked for both of them. But now, Hope could screw their plans up. All she need was a chance.
-----
But there was no chance. Hope kept her eyes closed and stayed still the entire time as she waited for a chance but the men did not leave the room again. The call they spoke about came and Hope had to discipline her body to be limp when they released her ankles and wrists and put her into some kind of box with a zip. It became evident she was in a luggage bag when her 'box' titled up and started rolling on the floor. The tilt caused most of her weight to press on her left leg so she was glad when they finally stopped. With her eyes still closed, she could only hear the unzipping going around her. She was glad for that–it meant she would have more room to play with later and possibly make use of her switchblade.
The journey was rough and every now and then, she would be jostled by bumps in the road. In any other situation, her mood would have sunk to the pits by now but Hope psyched herself to stay calm and alert. By some artful maneuver with her legs, she managed bring her bound wrists to the front and gain access to her switchblade. She flicked the blade open with utmost caution and used it to cut through the restraint.
The other side of the blade was hurting her wrist but she ignored all the pain and distractions to focus on freeing herself. In the utter darkness of the car boot, Hope worked as quickly as she could. She fretted a little when the car came to a stop and gripped the blade hard, prepared to aim an attack should the men open the boot. Fortunately, the car moved again. It was probably just a traffic light. But that also meant they had left the highway. And that meant they were approaching the hideout. Time was running out and she wasn't sure how much was left.
With renewed vigor, Hope sawed the blade and her heart jumped when she felt the bond loosening. A few more saws did it. Her wrists were free at last. Next, she went to work on her ankles. This took lesser time since she could get a better angle and use more force. Pushing the blade back into its handle, Hope tanked the blade with all her heart before switching her attention to her surroundings.
It was too dark to see anything other than the line of light seeping in through the gap of the boot cover. They had taken her handbag so she had no phone. All she had were her switchblade and her wits. And combat experience.
The car came to a stop again. This time, she could hear and feel the door opening and closing. Voices, male. More noises. Hope curled up, locked her arms behind and closed her eyes. Then, she waited for the boot to be opened. She heard the click and stilled as light reached past her eyelids, infusing her world with brightness.
"See. You were fucking worried for nothing," said Gruff Voice B. "Get her out."
This was her best chance. Arms wrapped around her body crudely and lifted with a grunt. "She's li–"
The man never got to say the rest of his sentence because Hope had thrown an arm around his neck and stuck her blade to his throat. She pressed it against his skin, almost breaking it and growled, "Put your hands up or I'll slit your sorry throat."
"I'll shoot if you cut him," Gruff Voice B threatened as he pointed a semi-automatic pistol at her. It must have been the one she heard back in the hotel.
With narrowed eyes, she stared at him for a moment, observing his unruly hair and unshaven face. Without hesitation, she drew her blade past Gruff Voice A's throat, cutting him just enough to bleed and threw it straight at Gruff Voice B's wrist. Both men cried out in pain, their attention diverted to their wounds for a moment and that was all Hope needed. A knee to Gruff Voice A's stomach sent him reeling to the ground and she added a blow to his neck on his way down, knocking him into confusion. Then, she hiked her dress up, caring not for the exposure of her legs as she raised one and kicked the blade that was sticking out of Gruff Voice B's wrist. His cry turned into a scream as Hope spun around and delivered another kick to his head. He fell to the ground in a heap, clutching his bleeding wrist and Hope picked up her trusty blade with practiced swiftness. She was about to ask them where Josie was when a female voice come from behind.
"Drop the blade if you don't want to die."
Hope froze. That voice. She knew that voice. "Maya?"
There was a pause. Then the female voice said, "Drop the blade. Turn around."
Hope obeyed. And her eyes proved her ears right. It was Maya. Her ex-girlfriend, the gang leader.