I take off running toward the parking lot, glancing at my phone to check exactly where my driver’s waiting. It looks like they stayed at the entrance, which is in the back left corner of the lot, forcing me to walk through three rows of cars. I weave between the vehicles, passing by firefighters and officers heading toward the dorm. I breathe a little easier when I see a few policemen still lingering around their cars straight ahead.
I’m not alone, and that lifts a heavy weight off my chest.
I spot my driver at the end of the first row. I confirm their model and license plate before heading toward the passenger door.
But before I can round the car, the driver’s door opens, and a blonde woman with a short bob steps out. She appears to be in her fifties, with deep wrinkles around her eyes, mouth, and down her neck.
“Is everything okay?” she asks, glancing around nervously. “I thought for a second I was getting pulled over.”
“Yeah, someone pulled the fire alarm, that’s all,” I assure, waving a hand dismissively.
She nods, her stare pinned past my shoulder, landing on my dorm building.
“Are you ready?” I ask, watching as the remaining officers head toward the dorm, leaving the two of us alone. My heart pumps faster, and anxiety worsens.
“No one got hurt, right?” she asks instead, pointing past me.
“Nope!” I chirp. “Can we go, please?”
She slowly turns, seeming to struggle with tearing her eyes away before finally going to get in.
Goddamn nosy-ass lady.
Just as I open the passenger door, she whines, “Oh, shoot! They’re blocking the road. I can’t get out.”
My mouth drops as I snap my head toward the entrance. I can’t tell from my angle, but it looks like there's a large enough gap to fit through. However, when I walk over to her side, I find that they did not, in fact, leave any room. She can still just drive through the grass to get around them, though.
When I point it out, she shakes her head. “I don’t want to get stuck if it ends up being too wet and muddy. Would you mind asking one of them to move, dear?”
I try to keep my irritation from showing. Because, of course, she thinks she’d get fucking stuck, and, of course, she realizes thisafterthe officers already walked away.
“Sure,” I force out.
I’m so tempted to dock a star for this shit, maybe even two. But I won't, because I'm a nice fucking person, and frankly, none of this is her fault.
I turn back and race toward the dorm again, feeling significantly less comforted, even with the red and blue lights flickering across the pavement. The moment I get to the middle row, it feels a lot fucking quieter, and my paranoia takes over. I swivel my head constantly, searching for anyone to jump out.
Just as I head between two cars in the final row, only feet away from reaching the sidewalk, my foot catches ice, and I go ass over teacup.
With a squeak, I land painfully on my back, knocking the breathfrom my lungs.
For several long moments, I can only stare up at the light-polluted sky and try to figure out how to breathe again. I count four stars before I finally inhale. I’m on the sixth when I feel a little like dying.
Jesus fuckingChrist.
Groaning, I sit up, gritting my teeth as pain lances through my spine.
I hate my life. Everything about it.
My tailbone smarts as I slowly get to my feet. My knees wobble, but I appear to be alive. I suppose I won't know for sure until I try talking to someone, and they either answer or look straight through me.
That’s the last thought in my head before I feel a menacing presence behind me. However, I have no time to react before hands appear on either side of my head and they slap a strip of duct tape over my mouth. Instantly, my hands fly up, but something is slipping over my head, plunging me into darkness.
Panic surges in my system, and I act on pure instinct alone. I tear at the obstruction, noting the thick, coarse fabric of some type of sack. Before I can rip it off, someone grabs my hands and forces them behind my back before circling a zip tie around them and pulling tight. Then, they’re hauling me up and over their shoulder, sending my world teetering on its axis.
I scream through the tape and thrash wildly with all my strength, but to no avail.
They don’t speak, and I’m too hysterical to note anything else distinctive about them.
