Page 14 of Torment

A moment later, the car I was trapped in came to a stop. The trunk popped open. My masked captor was there again. He must’ve noticed the cheering college kids and realized what I’d done.

He let out a sigh. “I really thought it would work faster. Too bad that’s all I had, pretty girl,” he said, deep voice muffled by the tight black fabric on his face. Clearly, he was referring to whatever he’d injected into my bloodstream. It wasn’t taking effect in the way he’d hoped.

He picked me up and put me in the back seat of the car before wrapping me in several blankets. Then I felt him putting things on the seat in front of me and also on top of me. Shopping bags, perhaps. Whatever he could find to mask the fact that he had a wrapped-up girl lying across the backseat.

I drifted in and out of consciousness as we drove. To where, I had no idea.

A while later, the car came to another stop. This must be it—we’d finally arrived at the place my attacker had decided to keep me for whatever insidious purposes he had in mind.

“Could I please see your license and registration, sir?”

My ears pricked up at the female voice drifting into the car. Apparently we were still on the road after all, and my captor had just been pulled over by the police. He must’ve removed his balaclava, because the officer didn’t sound suspicious of him in any way.

I tried my best to moan through the gag. This could be my last chance to escape.

“What was that?” I heard the officer ask.

My captor chuckled. “Oh, probably just this stupid radio station. It keeps coming in and out. I’ll hear nothing for a while, and then suddenly some voices or music. Then static before going back to nothing.”

“Right. Do you know why I pulled you over?”

“I’m going to assume it’s because of the broken taillight.”

“That’s right, sir.”

“I’m actually headed to get it fixed right now. A friend of mine owns a garage in the next town over.”

“Okay. Just make sure it’s done as soon as possible.”

I moaned again, feeling my last chance slip away.

“I’ll do that. Anything else, ma’am?” I heard my captor ask over the top of me. “Do you need to check the trunk or anything? Make sure I’m not a drug trafficker? I can pop it for you right now if you want.”

He was speaking in an easygoing, affable tone. Making it all sound like a silly joke. He was also baiting her. If she was even remotely suspicious about the moan she thought she might’ve heard earlier, which he’d passed off as the radio, she’d take one look at the now-empty trunk and feel like a complete idiot before letting him go.

The officer let out a tired laugh. “No, it’s fine, sir. You can go.”

“Have a good day, ma’am.”

“You too.”

Tears streamed down my face as the car started again, pulling back onto the road. In a bout of renewed strength, fueled by an angry rush of adrenaline, I managed to shake the blanket off my head a few minutes later. I couldn’t see much from this position, but I saw a flash of black as something was tossed out the passenger side window onto the edge of the road, followed by a dull thump as it impacted.

“Your phone,” my captor said calmly. The driver’s seat was right in front of my head, so I couldn’t see him.

He didn’t need to explain why he’d tossed my phone in such a random location. I already knew. Once someone reported me missing, they’d use cell tower data to ping my last location, and that would show up right here on this road.

The police would think this was my last location, and no one would ever know I’d really been run off the road all the way back near Maurepas Swamp. Because of that, no one would think to search out there for my car or purse, and I would simply become yet another missing person for people to speculate on. Most of my acquaintances would probably think I ran away, eager to start a new life in another town or city. It wasn’t like I hadn’t done it before.

I groaned. The drugs were finally beginning to take their proper effect on me. I felt weaker than ever, and my eyelids were too heavy to keep open. My mind was spinning, twirling, down into the darkness.

Then a sense of nothingness washed over me, like an enormous, thankful wave.

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