The ride passed in an awkward silence. Hours had passed, although Adrian didn’t know how many, exactly. He found himself unable to sleep during the ride. He refused to do so until they got to their destination, worried about what he might miss if he did sleep. Instead, his mind was awhirl with what might happen next.
At first, he’d deluded himself into thinking that he could rember all the twists and turns the car took so that he could find his way back if ever he escaped. Unable to see where they were going, he took a page from all the books he had read, where the protagonist had an infallible mory, able to instantly track their location on a ntal map.
He was quickly disabused of the notion and soon found himself questioning the directions he had been keeping track of. With his ntal map full of doubt, he had no choice but to admit to himself that he wasn’t so blessed character in a novel. So much for that idea, he’d thought bitterly.
With nothing left to do and too scared to speak, his mind was awhirl with what might happen next. He’d had plenty of ti to go through the more plausible scenarios and now his imagination was running wild, currently thinking that pirates might be involved.
If they wanted him undamaged, then was he being sold? Was this part of a human trafficking ring? Was he going to be forced to beco a sex slave, bending over backwards to please his new masters lest he be punished?
It had only spiraled from there. He thought maybe he would be auctioned off to the highest bidder. Then perhaps shipped overseas to an exotic country with looser laws. Planes would be too risky and it’s not like a car could drive on water.
So, pirates.
He envisioned himself on an old-fashioned ship, toiling away in the galley, shackled to a bench and being forced to row. The boat would be painted red, he decided, with white trim and two rows of portholes scattered along the sides. He could practically taste the salt in the air on his dry, chaffed lips. Water breaks would be scarce, and he would be fed mouldy bread twice a day. His stomach wouldn’t be able to handle it at first, but he would grow accustod to it during their long voyage.
He would beco thin and lean, his muscles strong and cord-like. Well, maybe just emaciated, he anded.
“You’ve been awfully quiet,” ca the boss’ reedy voice, snapping Adrian out of his daydream.
“Just doing so thinking,” Adrian replied. “Not like I can sightsee instead.”
“What are you thinking about”
“Red pirate ships.”
“Ha! First ti I’ve ever heard that one. Most people just ask what I’m going to do to them. But pirate ships? Do I even want to know how you ended up on that topic?”
“Probably not, but don’t worry, I can give you the footnotes. It’s a nice big ship with fancy white trim and a large mast with big, white sails and –”
“I’m going to cut you off there, kid. I really don’t care about the extra details. Anyway, we’re here.”
The car slowly lurched to a stop, the brakes squeaking as it did so.
Hands suddenly grabbed the bag, pitching Adrian to the side. They went for his neck, clutching a handful of the fabric and tightening the bag around him. They tore off the tape that had kept the bag secure and yanked it off of his head.
Adrian blinked owlishly as his eyes adjusted to the interior lights of the car.
“Get out,” Jas growled. He didn’t need to be told twice.
Squinting, he turned to the side and unlatched the door, pulling it open. He hopped out of the seat and landed on the pavent below, gravel crunching underfoot.
Adrian found himself faced with a large, stout building. There were no windows adorning the white wall in front of him and there was a solitary red tal door in the center. Above the door was a single light, whose light encompassed only the door and the imdiate wall next to it.
“Welco to your ho away from ho,” the boss flourished. His arm was extended towards the door, as if presenting Adrian with the finest of gifts.
“For the next forty-eight hours, you’ll enjoy your stay with the only the best accommodations. It’s a pity you won’t get to enjoy them as much as , what with the handcuffs and all.”
“What happens after the forty-eight hours are up?”
“You get whisked away to God knows where!” the boss responded enthusiastically. “And more importantly, I get paid.”
“You an we get paid.” Jas said as he exited the van, closing the door behind him.
“Semantics,” replied the boss, brushing off the issue. Adrian saw Jas flash a scowl, before quickly schooling his expression. “What are we waiting around for? Let’s get inside.”
Walking towards the door, he grabbed the handle and swung it open. Inside was a brightly lit hallway, at odds with the darkness outside. Following, Adrian stepped through the doorway, Jas close behind. The door swung shut, sealing Adrian’s fate.
The walls inside were narrow and made of large stone blocks painted white. Clearly, whoever built this building was feeling creative when they chose their paint colours. The wayward thought caught Adrian off-guard. Not the thought itself, but the fact that he had it in the current situation.
They walked down the short hallway until it opened into a large, rectangular room. There were two doors on the wall to his left and three doors on the wall to his right. At the end of the room was another door, made of wood this ti and unpainted. It was dark brown, its veneer reflecting the harsh light coming from the fluorescent lights on the ceiling. A small, black chair adorned the far corner of the room and was the only piece of furniture that could be seen.
“Pick a room, any room!” the boss said grandly.
Hesitantly, Adrian pointed to the middle door on the right wall. “That one.”
The boss walked over to the first door on the right wall. “Well too bad, you get this one.”
“Then why bother having pick?” Adrian asked, uncertain what to make of the situation.
“It was a rhetorical question. Don’t they teach you these things in school? Clearly not.”
Adrian opened his mouth to retort but closed it after a second thought. Instead, he opted to remain silent, lest he run his mouth off again.
“Well in you go, chop, chop. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to get so sleep tonight. You’ve already wasted enough of my ti,” the boss said, gesturing to the empty room. “Jas will be here if you need anything. Just shout loud enough for him to hear you. Otherwise, be quiet. I don’t like having my beauty sleep interrupted,” he intoned seriously.
“Anyhow, have a good night. Or not, I don’t care,” he said, back to his previously cheery persona.
Under Jas’ watchful eye, Adrian entered the room. It was sparse, matching the the of the main room. The room wasn’t big, and the small cot occupying the corner took up a sizeable portion of the available real-estate. Under the cot was a white, plastic bucket. He heard the door slam behind him. He walked towards the cot and grabbed the bucket. It was empty. Unsure what to do with it, he looked around and eyed the door. “Hello?” he called. “What am I supposed to do with the bucket?”
No reply ca from the other side of the door, making him question whether or not Jas was truly there at all or if this was part of so elaborate mind ga.
***
The radio on the nightstand crackled. Rolling over under pale blue sheets, Elizabeth lazily extended an arm towards the edge of her bed from where she was comfortably curled beneath her sheets. “Can’t this thing ever work?” she groaned in a tired voice.
Unsatisfied with not finding the source of her frustration, she rolled fully onto her side and propped herself up. She looked towards a small black clock with large, red, digital number displaying 6:15 am. “All I want is the news in the morning,” she grumbled. “Is that so hard to ask for?”
She reached for the side of the clock and located an inconspicuous black dial near the bottom, her hand resting on the white bedside table. The static grew louder as she turned the dial, until classical music began playing. Switching directions, she turned the dial until a feminine voice could be heard with static in the background. Fiddling with it further, it dissipated, and a clear voice could finally be heard.
“And in other news, police continue to investigate a string a missing people cases throughout the country. They believe there may be a connection between the cases and haven’t ruled out the possibility of human trafficking, according to a statent given by the police yesterday.”
“Fancy that, sothing actually happened,” Elizabth said, blinking away the sleep in her eyes. Perking her ears, she continued to listen as her mind beca more alert.
“Recent evidence has brought two seemingly unconnected cases together, leading us believe that there may be more cases related to them,” a different voice rang. A police officer, Elizabeth deduced. “We don’t know where these people are, but we will find them and bring them back ho,” the officer finished zealously. “And now, the weather.”
Elizabeth flicked the switch on the top of the clock, turning the off the radio. Rolling out of bed, she began getting ready for her day. She had work in the morning, followed by two classes in the afternoon. She planned to check in on Adrian this evening, since he lived close by.
That wouldn’t be weird, right? she asked herself. Just checking on him as a friend. That’s what friends do, she finished laly. She wasn’t convincing anyone other than herself that she had no ulterior motives. Her thoughts flashed to the phone call she had fielded for Adrian last night, dousing her train of thought like a splash of cold water. I hope he’s ok.
Her work as a coffee shop barista wasn’t that demanding, but it was still work. I’m totally a stereotype, she thought to herself with a sigh. Doesn’t change the fact that I need to help pay for tuition sohow.
“I wonder how many people are missing,” she mused, shrugging off her pyjamas in favour of a pair of low-cut denim jeans and a black tank top. She gave herself a once-over in the tall mirror hanging on her wall beside the bed. “Oh well, sucks to be them I guess. Not like anything exciting happens around here anyways.” She locked the door behind her as she left and paid the affair no further mind.
***
Adrian had long since figured out what the bucket was for, and it was now safely tucked away in the furthest corner of the room. Which admittedly wasn’t very far. There were no windows for him to see out of, only a vent in the upper corner of one of the walls.
The wait was maddening. He’d thought to get a bit of rest but had slept fitfully on the cot, waking at any sound he heard. He’d been laying down for what felt like twenty minutes when he heard a yell from the other side room. The sound was muffled slightly by his door.
He hadn’t thought that there would be other people here. It was so quiet when he’d co in that he had assud the other doors were shut for show. The voice scread a second ti, but he was unable to fully make out the words.
Then, silence.
Adrian attempted to fall back asleep, only to be woken by phantom sounds, paranoid about not hearing what would happen next in this strange place.
Other people being here sohow changed things for him. It had far larger implications than he first thought. All I wanted was a little bit of rest, he groused. But no, my lizard brain decided otherwise.
He still kept his ears perked, on the off chance sothing happened again. He sat on his cot, facing the doorway with his back against the corner wall, and continued to think.
If there were other people here, he surmised, then he was caught up in sothing bigger than he first thought. There might be a whole group of people in those rooms waiting just like he was for sothing to happen to them.
But to what end? Adrian asked himself. He tried to piece together the facts that he knew. He’d been kidnapped and mostly unhard with the apparent intention of keeping him that way. He didn’t know where he was. And there was at least one other person here with him, a woman by the sound of it. It must be human trafficking, he eventually concluded. Nothing else made sense to him. There was no logical reason for this to happen to him otherwise; people don’t just kidnap others for fun.
On second thought, that could be an option, he thought. There were plenty of sick people out there. He didn’t like not knowing what was happening. It terrified him. He eventually zoned out while staring at the door until the sound of the lock being turned snapped his attention back to the present.
On the other side stood Jas, holding two bottles of water with an unhappy expression on his face. “Here,” he said, tossing one to Adrian. “Boss doesn’t want you dying of thirst. Sothing about losing an investnt.”
Adrian tried, and failed, to catch the bottle, the handcuffs around his wrists making it a difficult affair. It glanced off of his hands and landed on the floor, where it rolled several feet away.
Getting up from his perch, Adrian retrieved the bottle, watching Jas intently as he did so. Looking down, Adrian saw that the plastic bottle was fully sealed. He breathed a sigh of relief; no chance of them drugging him again with the water.
Thank god the water isn’t drugged, he thought aloud. Adrian belatedly realized his mistake when he saw the affronted expression on Jas’ face.
“What do you think we are? We wouldn’t do that,” Jas said hotly.
“You’re the people who literally drugged and kidnapped ,” Adrian replied bitterly.
Jas paused, unsure how to proceed. “Well we ain’t that,” he said finally. Adrian didn’t have the energy to point out that his reply made no sense. Instead, he focused his attention on the remaining bottle Jas was holding.
“Who’s the other bottle for? Is it for the other captives?” Adrian asked, hoping to get so information out of him.
Jas narrowed his eyes. “That’s none of your business.” His expression imdiately beca guarded. “The bottle could be for . It’s tiring, watching you all. Works up quite a sweat, you know,” he added smugly.
Inwardly, Adrian smiled. You all, he had said. As in, more than one. Adrian didn’t know if he was told on purpose or if it was a slip up, but he didn’t care. “So how many others are here with ” he pressed.
Jas realized his blunder and beco tight-lipped. “I think we’re done here,” he said curtly, taking a step back and shutting the door along with him.
“Wait. No, wait!” Adrian said as he scrambled forward. He was an idiot; the door was open. This was his chance to escape!
Forgetting that the cuffs around his ankles had a short chain, Adrian tripped and fell to his knees, dashing any hope he had of making it to the door. He yelped in surprise as he fell. He whipped his head back up just in ti to see the door close shut.
The lock audibly clicked.
Adrian stared morosely at the now locked door, berating himself for not having acted sooner. He’d been too focused on trying to learn more about this place that he’d completely overlooked sothing so obvious.
He didn’t quite know how he was going to get past Jas; he hadn’t planned that far ahead. It was pointless now though, as he had missed his chance. Gingerly, he pushed himself back up. He had fallen hard to ground, and his knees ached. He expected them to bruise.
Turning around, he trudged back to the cot. He hadn’t gotten very far in his attempt to reach the door in ti. He strained his ears, hoping to hear Jas interact with one of the others. Several seconds passed and he heard the sound of another door shut. It was faint, but it was there, nonetheless.
At least I didn’t totally ss things up, he thought. He now had confirmation that others were here. He didn’t know how many nor how long they had been captive, or if they were even captives, but at least he now had confirmation. He wasn’t alone. The thought comforted him a little.
Adrian resud his position on the cot, bringing his knees up to his chest. He looked up at the lightbulb above the door. It was surrounded by a tal cage, preventing him from tampering with it. The cot was similarly bolted to the ground. Without any tools, he wasn’t going to be able to move it. The door had no handle on this inside of the room, making it impossible for him to access the lock.
Adrian eyed at the water bottle in his hands. He hadn’t had anything to drink since before he left his house. He unscrewed the white plastic cap and took a long drink. Finishing half the bottle, he decided to save the rest and use it sparingly.
He didn’t know if he’d get another.
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