Chapter 25 - Nic

After leaving Druk Technologies, I took a ferry across the river to New Jersey and rented a car from there. I have been on the interstate highway for the better part of the day, making just one stop to fuel up and grab a bite. I should reach my mom's place in Pittsburgh in an hour or so. The sun has set and the first stars are twinkling in the sky. The car I rented had GPS, so I turned off my phone. It was making me too jittery, glancing at the phone, wondering if Lex was going to call. He has certainly seen the pregnancy test and my note by now.

I take the exit that will take me to my mom's house when I spot a car pulled up by the side of the road. The man is looking under the hood while the woman's eyes are on the road, looking for other vehicles. When she sees me approaching, she almost gets in front of my car and waves frantically. I have no choice but to pull over.

I curse as I turn off the headlights and lower the window. I do not need this right now. But if they need my help, I can hardly leave them stranded here.

"What's the matter?" I ask, leaning over.

"Hi, thanks for stopping. We need some light. Both our phones are dead. Jimmy is a pretty good mechanic. If he can only see what's happening under the hood, he'll have it figured out in no time."

The words come out of her mouth in a rush. She keeps glancing over her shoulder at the man. His head is still bent under the hood, which is very strange considering that apparently he's unable to see a thing. She's quite young, eighteen or nineteen, while the man looks much older, making me wonder how exactly she's related to this Jimmy character. Something about the situation doesn't feel right. I am tempted to drive away. But the girl is almost in tears. Is she in danger?

"What do you need me to do?" I ask, making no move to get out of the car.

"Do you have a flashlight?" she asks hopefully, walking to my window.

"No, but you can use the flashlight on my phone," I say and turn to reach for my phone on the passenger seat.

The moment I turn my head, I feel a cloth with a sickly sweet smell pressed against my nose and mouth. My eyes roll back in my head and everything goes dark.

I don't know how long I'd been unconscious. I wake up groggy, stiff, and disoriented. It is pitch dark. I think I'm in my bed at home and try to get up, but I can't. For the first time, I realize that I am not lying down, but am sitting upright in a chair. And what's more, my hands and legs are bound. The events leading up to my kidnapping come flooding into my mind. I begin trashing around on the chair, crying for help, but my cries go unanswered.

After many minutes of struggle, I give up and slump in my chair. What kind of nightmare is this? When I woke up and found out that I was pregnant with Lex's child, I couldn't possibly imagine my day getting any worse than it already was. But apparently it has gotten worse.

My eyes are slowly getting used to the darkness. I crane my neck, trying to get a better look at my surroundings. I am definitely not in a room. The floor is too uneven. The ‘walls' are damp. It seems to be some sort of a cave. What am I doing in a cave? Just what have I gotten myself into? My breath starts coming on in short gasps, but I force myself to breathe slowly and evenly. I can't panic. I can't give in to my fear. It is not just me I must think about, but also my baby. My kidnappers are bound to show themselves soon. I need to do everything in my power to keep my baby safe.