Out of the Darkness

Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip. The drips were the first thing I heard once consciousness returned to me, a loud persistent echoing. I forced my eyes open to be greeted by the site of nothingness. Darkness. I had never experienced darkness like that. A darkness that could only be explained as non-existence. As if the concept of light had never been created. A void swallowing everything it touched, including me. I'm not sure how long I'd been there. Hours? Days? Longer? It was all a blur. I had been walking home from my best friend's house when something happened. I tried to remember the events leading up to that moment, but my thoughts were muddled by a pounding in my head. I could only remember vague details in between the blurs in my memory. The sound of wheels squealing. A sense of fear. Bruising hands. Then the darkness swallowed my memories. Then I was there, in the dark. What happened? Why couldn't I think straight? Everything was just so blurry! All I could focus on was the constant ringing in my ears, the dull throbbing in my head, the pain spreading across my shoulders and back. My eyes began fluttering shut against their will. It was almost too easy to succumb to unconsciousness again, but my stubbornness wouldn't allow me to give up so easily. Slowly, more memories trickled back, one by one, like a lucid dream. I saw myself again. Screaming. The sensation of cold sweat running down my face as I tried to fight them off. Another scream. It all played out before me like a movie. "Mom,” I grumbled. “You knew I would be here. I told you this morning.” “You never said anything. There is no note. Nothing.” My mom retorted on the other side of the phone. “Can you imagine how your Dad and I felt when you didn’t come home from school? Why didn’t you answer your phone?” “I told you, Mom,” I replied, annoyed. “Brianna and I were watching a movie. My phone was on sil...” “It’s no excuse,” she cut me off in exasperation. “We were ready to call the police. I’m glad we called around to your friends first.” “Whatever, you’re overreacting,” I scoffed. “You never listen, Kat!” My mom snapped. “Why can’t you just be more responsible like your brother?” “Be more like your brother,” I mimicked sarcastically. “Just get home now. You're grounded for a week.” “b***h,” I whispered under my breath just after slamming the receiver down. My best friend, Brianna, sat on the opposite side of the sofa. The feeling of awkwardness hung in the air. She fiddled nervously with her long brown hair. I just gave her a sheepish smile in return. “I gotta go.” “I’ll give you a ride home,” Brianna offered, pausing the movie. She grabbed the keys to her car off the coffee table and took the empty popcorn bucket into the kitchen. “Don’t be absurd,” I laughed as I put on my favorite tan leather jacket. “I live 10 minutes away and walked it a million times. I’ll be home before you can get the car out of the garage.” Brianna returned from the kitchen with a wounded look on her face. “I only scrapped the side of the car one time,” she retorted. “Yeah, one epic scrape,” I joked. She stuck her tongue out at me. “Are you sure? I mean, I really don’t mind driving you.” “Yes, it’s fine,” I reassured her. “I’ll even call you when I get there. Promise.” She gave me a look of defeat. “Fine,” she sighed, rolling her chocolate brown eyes, and slumping back onto the sofa. “But you better call me. You promised.” “Promise, Promise,” I laughed as I jumped on her, giving her a bear hug. She pushed me away, causing me to roll off the sofa with a thud. I clumsily pushed myself to my feet. “Look, I really gotta go, or my mom is going to kill me even more than she already is.” Brianna gave me a wink as I jotted out the door in a rush to get home, hoping that my hasty arrival would improve my parents' mood. I walked briskly through the cool evening. The sidewalk was illuminated by the fluorescent glow of the street lamps. I enjoyed the crisp autumn air, the smell of decaying leaves, and the dampness. A scent that I now connect to Halloween and my birthday. My friends always teased me about being born on Halloween, saying my parents received a trick instead of a treat. My seventeenth birthday was only a few weeks away. I was excitedly looking forward to a combination Halloween-birthday party that I had planned for myself. All my closest friends will be there. I even managed to get Adam, my long-time crush, to come. I spent days searching for the perfect costume, eager to impress him. I never intended to invite him. It happened by accident. His locker was across the hallway from mine. I'd been handing out invitations to my closest friends when I saw him eavesdropping. I immediately turned to my locker, attempting to hide the blush starting in my cheeks, absent-mindedly fiddling with my books. I took a few deep breaths trying to calm myself. “Hey Kat, How’s it going?” I heard his voice right behind me. Nervously, I turned around. There he was standing a few inches away. I couldn’t help but admire his well-groomed blonde hair, his bangs swept perfectly to the left. The small dimple on his left cheek. “Hi, Adam.” My hands began to shake as he smiled at me. “I am sorry to bother you, but I heard Becky and Angela talking about your party,” He continued nervously, “and it sounded like it was going to be a blast.” “Do you want to come,” I blurted out a little too eagerly. My face turned a shade of bright red. So embarrassing. “Yeah, I guess.” He answered, causing my eyes to pop. “Really? Great!” My enthusiasm didn’t last long. Before we could talk more, the bell rang signaling the start of class. I handed him one of the invitations. He looked it over briefly. “Alright then.” He gave me one last warm smile before walking away to his first period. The streetlights overhead started flickering on and off, drawing me from my reverie. I could feel a shift in the air as if charged with electricity, the hairs on my arms standing on end. The surrounding shadows seemed to draw closer. I pulled my jacket tightly around myself, quickening my pace, attempting to shorten the distance to my house. I was a few minutes from home when a black van sped around a corner, driving erratically. It was so out of place in my idyllic suburban neighborhood. I wish I had immediately run to the nearest house seeking safety, but my curiosity rooted me there on the sidewalk. It was like time compressed as I watched the speeding van round the corner, the back end fishtailing out behind it. The wheels were squealing against the pavement. It wasn’t until the windowless van screeched to a halt feet from me that I recognized the danger I was in. Even before the van had fully come to a standstill, the side door flew open, revealing multiple men outfitted in dark clothing. I turned to run. I wasn’t quick enough. One man grabbed my jacket, yanking me back toward the van, swinging me around to secure my arms and cover my mouth. I tried screaming but my screams only came out as muffled sobs through the stranger's strong calloused hands. I started kicking frantically, but a second man quickly secured my legs. My body writhed wildly between them like a snake as they dragged me into the van. I managed to bite the hand of the man covering my mouth, pinching the calloused skin. He let out a small grunt of pain. As he pulled his hand away, my screams filled the night. By this time, the van was already speeding away from my neighborhood. The only response to my screams was the distant sound of a dog barking. I could imagine the irate owner, chastising the dog, never knowing his attempt to draw attention to my plight. “Shut her up,” a gruff voice yelled from the driver's seat. I could make out part of the driver’s face in the rearview mirror, a face that sent shivers running down my spine. One eye was dark brown and filled with malice, the other eye milky white. There was a scar running diagonally across his eye which made him look even more terrifying. Another scream escaped my lips, as I continued to struggle against the men who were restraining me. “He said shut her up. Do it now!” A different, younger, voice ordered from somewhere. I continued to scream. Without warning, one of the men restraining me slammed my body against the floor. A resounding clap could be heard throughout the cramped space, as my skull struck the metal floor. A pain coursed through every bone in my body before I slipped into darkness. “That should keep you quiet,” was the last thing I heard before the darkness consumed me completely. Kidnapped. I remembered it all. I’d been kidn*pped. Why did they take me? Various news stories flashed through my mind. Cases similar to mine. Children were pulled into unmarked vans, never to be seen alive again. Their bloated, lifeless bodies were discovered in a remote ditch or wood, weeks or months later, by an unsuspecting person. The blurriness in my mind was replaced by fear. I became hyperaware of my surroundings. Where was I? The darkness. The damp firmness against my cheek. The sound of dripping water. The air was musty; stale from disuse. The temperature was cool compared to the sweat that dripped down my brow. My heart beat faster, pounding hard against my chest cavity. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears. My eyes darted around frantically looking for something familiar. My panic increased as my eyes searched in vain. I sprang to my feet, stumbling forward as the blood rushed to my head, my hands held out in front of me. I tried desperately to find some sort of light source. I found nothing. No light. No windows. Nothing but an endless void. Terror gripped me. My chest tightened, making breathing difficult. Tears pricked my eyes. I began to hyperventilate, trying desperately to suck in breath, trying desperately to hold on to consciousness. I stumbled backward, falling against a damp stone wall. The wall anchored me against the darkness. I was not lost in an endless void. I was being kept in a room. There had to be a way out, but I needed to come to my senses. I needed to think clearly. Breath… Breath… Breath… I kept telling myself, calming myself. My heart rate began to return to normal. Slowly, I rose to my feet, keeping my hands pressed against the coolness of the wall. I started moving around, feeling my way, inch after inch, up and down. The wall was slippery with mildew beneath my fingertips. I could feel each corner as I came to it, leading to the next adjacent wall. There were no windows or openings. I almost gave up hope, until I felt the texture of the wall turn from stone to steel. A door. I examined the door with new hope. I could feel the hinges along one edge. I quickly found the handle on the other edge. With the strength of desperation, I forced myself against the door handle, twisting and turning. Locked, locked... Locked. A small tear slid down my cheek. I pounded my fists against the door, screaming and sobbing at the same time. I kicked my legs against the door, unable to reach the knob. The tears flowed freely down my face, mixing with droplets from above. I screamed again, feeling the weight of defeat settle heavily upon me. My legs were numb. The rest of my body was numb. I stumbled backward. My feet hit something, causing me to stumble to the floor. All I could see was darkness. All I could smell was death. I could feel myself slowly drifting, slowly fading away. I felt my world fade out before me, and everything else faded to white noise.