Page 3 of Healing Warriors

Listen. I could manage just listening.

So I breathed in and out, slowly and steadily. First I focused on the sound of my breath, and then I extended my senses to the sounds around me. Distantly I heard the sound of water hitting a hard surface. It wasn't like droplets in a sink—I’d heard water hit all kinds of sinks. I didn't know how to explain it, but this was different, like the sound wasn’t hollow enough. Somehow I knew the water was hitting a surface that wasn't surrounded like a sink.

Next I noticed the sound of a bird’s call. The noise was distant, but it was present. Even though birds were everywhere and it really didn’t mean much, for some reason the sound gave me hope. I wasn’t completely alone with these men. A bird would do nothing for me, and in no way help me escape, but I felt somehow more connected to these mysterious surroundings. Birds were familiar. And I needed some type of connection while navigating this . . . situation. I wasn’t about to label the emotions threatening to overcome me. It wouldn’t help to think of the words that should accompany being kidnapped and held against my will.

But without my permission the words came. Terrifying. Petrifying. Chilling. Panicking. Distress. That last word struck a nerve with my heart. I’d never felt more distressed in my life.

My training had covered all kinds of capture. Capture in the woods, on a boat, airplane, car, underground, and even in a den with wild beasts. But the one thing training could have never prepared me for was the overwhelming fear of being bound, helplessly in the power of people with ill intent.

Knowing that fear wouldn’t help me in the least, I fought it. But even as I tried to push it away it seeped in at the edges, clouding my mind so much that I could even taste it.

No! I screamed silently at the unwelcome emotions. This was the first battle that had to be won if I was going to make it out of here. And I had to make it out of here. But no matter how I reasoned with it, the fear wouldn’t abate.

Several more thoughts flitted through my mind until I grasped at one. If I couldn't overcome the fear, at least I could ignore it.

So I did.

I went back to my training, the things I knew how to do so well I could do them even as fear threatened to claw out my insides.

I went back to listening and realized something important: there was no sound of others in the room. No shifting of fabric or even the tiny rasp of breath. I was alone. I was almost sure of it.

But that didn't mean I wasn't being monitored. If I was on camera, my captors would be alerted to my wakeful state the instant I opened my eyes, and I'd lose my one advantage.

And I needed that advantage more than I had ever needed anything.

So I continued to use my other senses, exploring not only with my ears but my nose.

Everything smelled dank. This confirmed my first impression that I was underground. The dripping sounded like a leaking pipe above me, and the moldiness from the dampness and lack of fresh air made the place smell old and unused.

Judging by the echo of the water, I guessed the walls around me were concrete, the chair beneath me a cold metal. I could feel that my hands were bound as well as my legs, and judging by the roughness against my skin they'd used a thick rope. Even if I hadn’t been feeling a little loopy from whatever they’d slipped me, it was too strong for me to muscle my way through. Although these guys were no boy scouts, I was going to guess they could tie a mean knot.

As I sat still, head drooping as though I was still unconscious, something else bothered me. I couldn’t feel any light around me. Even through my closed eyelids, I should have felt the brightness of day. So was it still night? How long had I been out? I tried to gain a sense of time, but came up with nothing. And I had to admit that the lack of light really didn’t mean anything. If I was underground like I suspected, the sun couldn’t reach me. But I wished I could feel sunshine. That would be another connection during this horrific time. Like the bird, which unfortunately had gone silent.

I knew that I had to let the thought of light and the bird go. I didn’t need connections—they couldn’t save me. What I needed was to get out. I couldn’t use the sun as a clue, so I had to figure this out on my own. What time was it?

If I had to guess, it felt like it had been a long time. Judging by the disgusting flavor in the back of my mouth, I’d been drugged with something like ketamine. That would explain the foggy feeling I couldn’t seem to shake.

The next step was to come up with a plan. I had no idea how long I had until someone joined me in this deep, dank room, or what they would do to me when they came.

Part of me hoped that salvation was on its way. By now, the girls had to know that I was gone and I was confident they’d send the cavalry after me . . . if they knew where to look. Who knew how long it would take to chase down leads, assuming they even had leads?

So maybe no one would be coming, or at least not in time to help. For now I was all on my own. At that idea, I fought the clawing feeling at my throat. I was on my own in the hands of the kind of men who didn't care about life or death, sinning or mercy.

My heart began to gallop, out of control, as I imagined the type of life I would lead if I didn't find a way out.

I channeled my mom’s hands-on-hips stern look and directed it inward, telling myself to pull it together. I hadn't trained my whole life for it to end like this. I was a strong woman, a fighter. I would survive and escape. Because those men had no idea who I was.

It was then that I felt it—something small and hard against my head. I hadn’t noticed it earlier because I hadn’t shifted. But now I wondered how I could have missed it. I’m not sure if I just imagined the stickiness of it, because I immediately knew what it was.

A node. They—whoever they were—had been monitoring my brain activity. They knew I was awake. They’d known the whole time.

My eyes flew open, grasping desperately for clues with whatever time I had left, but no matter how hard I blinked, I was greeted with a dim blur.

Suddenly the room filled with lights. Reds, blues, yellows, greens, and purples assaulted me from every side.

What the hell was going on?

I tugged frantically against my restraints but they seemed tighter than ever and my stupid eyes still couldn’t focus. Especially now, with the onslaught of colors and lights.

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