He makes a sharp turn, leading straight to a seemingly discarded area, there are broken down vans parked on both side of the road, with wilting trees on the sidewalks, and trash ruing all-over.
His turned again, revealing a myriad of buildings, each of which were all abandoned, not even a single person could be seen.More and more he made turns and corners, going deeper into this derelict zone, making it nearly impossible for them to be followed.All through the drive the back seat was quiet, Jane sat completely still, looking through her window, trying to memorize their path. But it was futile; all the turns were too much her. Alice was still rooted to her seat, shaking profusely, staring straight at the driver seat from behind. Her eyes frightfully fixed.Their driver, who was rather giddy, made another sharp turn, a final left turn, leading to a large decadent building. Driving straight through a rough road, piles of junk littered all over, with a few dying trees on both sides of it.This building seemed to be their destination, growing larger as they approached. It was an abandoned warehouse. Tall and wide, with broken windows. They drove straight in.Inside was dark, the widows dirty, and the floor had patches of water which only revealed the holes in the roof; holes from which rays of the setting sun would penetrate in. A few of the lights were working, some of which would flicker from time to time, making an odd sound when they did; giving of an ominous feel.From the back seat, Jane could make out the shape of a large van parked under one of the bad lights, with about four men standing by as they flickered in and out. They finally stopped. A little distance from the van. One of the four men began to approach the them. His face, hidden in shadow, would flash along with the lights.Once he was close enough to their car, the driver opened his door, nodding in his direction before making way to the three others by the van.“Watch them while I go talk to the boss.” the driver said to the other as he walked past.“Why do I have to do it?” the other man stopped and retorted.“Just do it!” the driver said in a low angry tone, not breaking stride.“Alright.” the now appointed guard grunted with annoyance, mumbling some swear words.While the driver was talking to the others, Jane was wondering when the black executive car would arrive, assuming it to be collaborators of her kidnappers.After some time, the guys by the van started approaching. They split in two groups when they were close, covering both sides of the car.One opens the doors and the other drags them out. Jane put up some resistance, but was generally overpowered.As for Alice, she appeared to be in a state of disbelief, murmuring to herself; from time to time she would make a tiny shriek then immediately apologise as they were dragged to the corner.“What do you guys want?” a struggling Jane asked.“Don’t worry yourself about that, we’ll tell you after we show you how serious we are.” One of the men said. His presence was commanding, a serious and cruel look in his good eye. He is the boss.“First we’ll start with your friend.”The two men with Alice started dragging her to an adjacent room. She begged them to stop, but they kept dragging. Tears ran down her face as she shrieked and struggled, finally coming to life, but they only laughed devilishly, looking forward to what they were going to do.Jane joined in begging, promising to give them everything, anything, to save Alice. To her, Alice was more than just an assistant or a friend. She was a sister, and Jane couldn’t bear what was about to happen.She tried with all her strength to break free, but it was futile. Her sunken eyes reflected the despair within. With trembling legs, Jane collapsed to the floor, her arms still held up by the guards, tears rushing down her cheeks, screaming for help of any kind.“Can you hear that?” one of the men asked, as a feint rumbling could be felt.“Hear what?” the guard holding Jane asked.The rumbling grew louder. Something was coming. And it was coming fast.The light of the setting sun seemed to be reflecting off something approaching from the entrance, the sound of a car engine accompanied it. A magnifying presence with each passing second, noise growing louder and louder, vibrations intensifying in the air.“what’s that sound?” the boss asked, moving closer towards the entrance, trying to get a better look.The light grew more and more as the rumbling intensified. What was coming?His eyes opened wide, realizing danger was approaching. Quickly turning back, he ran looking for cover, completely off balance in his stride while yelling.“RUN!!!”Tinted windows, black exterior, roaring engine, it jumped straight into the warehouse at full speed. Taking in all their gazes with its robust lading. It ran for the boss, who dodged rather acrobatically in the moment, opening a path straight to Jane.It held its breaks, but was still screeching into its path ahead. The loud screams of the tires on the concrete floor echoed all through the building, leaving a black smog, smelling of burnt rubber, in its wake.Would the breaks make it in time? Jane wasn’t sure. Unlike her captors, she wouldn’t be able to jump out of the way from her position on the floor. She was still weak in knees.She turned to Alice, giving her a soft smile. That would be her last action, the last image implanted in Alice’s head would be something she could control on a day completely out of it. A smile.Closing her eyes, she turned back to the oncoming black menace. Making her peace with it. This was her end.“What a shit day!”The screeching had stopped. The air was calm. Everywhere was dark. It felt hot. The smell of burnt rubber and gasoline was chocking. The engine was off.“Cough!”Slowly opening her eyes, she squinted, trying to make out what was I front of her. An all-black executive car, the same one Jane saw earlier, stood there breathing hot air at her face.She couldn’t get up. This whole incident made her forget she was on the floor and was being held captive. But her kidnappers were still alert, closing in on her slowly from their scattered positions, trying to take the driver by surprise.They took each step with caution, guided by the motions of their one-eyed boss. With each passing moment they closed in on Jane, who was still sitting, frozen still, eyes fixated on the cars bumper. She was in trouble.With a loud kicking noise, the engine roared. The car was on again, pulling away from Jane’s face, swiftly in reverse motion, knocking out one of the kidnappers behind. One man down.It then dro
“Y-Y-Yes, I’m fine.” Alice replied, surprised that he was talking to her.“Are you sure? You were laying on the floor when I came in.” he said smiling softly.“Yes, I’m sure.” She chuckled, “And with all that happened, your attention was on the girl on the floor?”“Right from the moment I came in.” he said definitively, still holding that smile on his face, “I’m Michael Cooper, the new head of security at the company, but you can call me Mike” he stretched out his hand.“Alice Gerrard, Jane’s personal assistant, but you can call me Alice,” she reached out her hand to meet his, looking straight at him with an innocent smile, “thanks for saving us.”A black Limo was approaching, it made its way through the police officers.“Looks like your ride is here” Mike said. Still holding her hand, he led her way towards Jane, who was talking with the senior officer.“Sorry to interrupt you again, Miss Pearson.” He had let go of Alice’s hand.“No problem.” She said, turning to him. She was calmer
“Wait, are you wearing make up?” Alice asked with her eyes wide open.“Yeah, I decided to give it a shot,” she said with a shy smile and blushed cheeks “you know? To see what all the fuss is about.”Alice just stared back, unable to process what was going on.“So? What do you think?” Jane asked, as her assistants expressionless face was not encouraging.“I, for one, think you look great.” said a wise female voice smiling from the corner of the door.She stood there, a woman in her late forty’s, leaning on the door frame, her short greying hair parted to the side in an elegant manner, with her pearl necklace complimenting a stylish suit dress. Jane’s eyes sparkled at the sight of her, with a mature though childish smile taking over her face. Alice turned and put-up a respecting face.“Aunt Sharon! When did you get back?”“Just before your little incident yesterday.” She replied, walking into the office.“Welcome back Miss Wallace. How was your trip?” Alice said as she approached.“It
Knock, knock. Jane looked up to see who it was. It was Michael, peaking his head through the ajar door. Sharon didn’t even turn.“Sorry to interrupt. May I come in?” Michael said, pushing the door open by the handle.Jane’s cheeks flushed bright red t the sight of him, freezing still like a dear in front of headlights, she was lost in this split moment and Sharon saw it.“C-Come in.” she said, struggling to get her words out.Sharon placed the tips of her fingers over her lips, trying to conceal her laugh. She found Jane absolutely amusing as she stood up to leave.“Wait…you’re leaving?” Jane whispered to Sharon, with her wide eyes pointed directly at her. “You can’t leave me alone with him.” Sharons eyes brightened as a devious smile overcame her face, she was enjoying herself.“As much as I would love to stay and watch all this unfold,” Sharon said, looking straight at Jane with a smile on her face. “ I have to go and have go have a word with Hector.” Jane winced at the sound of the
Jane looked up in utter confusion, Michael jumped up at the sound of Alice’s panicked voice, he was ready for anything.“What do you mean? What’s going on?” Jane said, getting off her seat.“It’s Arnold. Apparently, he hasn’t shown up for work today, with no one able to reach his cell, and they found this not in his cubical saying ‘I’m afraid of what the Boss might do to me.’” Alice said.“WHAT?!” she screamed in a low tone. “Why does this keep happening.” Jane planted both her arms on her desk, using it to support herself, as she shook her head nervously facing down. Another bad day in the making.“Hold on for a second.” Michael said, turning his head on the spot to look at both ladies. “Who is Arnold and why would he have any reason to be scared.”“I’m sure your aware of what happened here in the office yesterday?” Alice spoke calmly, trying to explain things to Michael.“Somewhat, I guess.” He responded.“Well Arnold is the guy Miss Pearson basically ripped to shreds with her word
“What’s going on? Someone please tell me. Where am I?” his trembling voice asked.No one answered, it was quiet. The only sounds that could be heard were the rumbling on the engine, and heavy breathing. “Please where are you taking me?” he asked again, realizing he was in a moving car from the bumps on the road.“Just keep shut, okay? we’ll get there soon” A croaky voice replied gently.Michael was at Arnold’s building that afternoon, walking through the hallway with the pocket book in his hand, looking for the room number on the book.“103, found it.” He said to himself. “I’m sure he’s just scared, that’s why he didn’t show up.” He continued with an easy voice.Michael knocked, but no response, he knocked again with a little more force, still no answer but the door moved in a little.“It’s open?” his ease began to fade into caution.Pushing the door gently by the handle, he walked into the room slowly. It was completely silent end eerie.“Hello? Anyone home?” He whispered softly.Th
Michael ran Immediately, following the trail. Jumping over rocks, rushing through bushes, dodging trees, but he finally arrived, his clothes torn and dirty.He stood there, exhausted, in front of the station. Taking a short break to catch his breath and analyze the surroundings before going in, but he soon realizes there’s no time as screams emerge from the building.“PLEASE! SOMEONE HELP ME!”‘That has to be Arnold’ Michael thought dashing in blindly. He came in from the front entrance, the station was getting dark so it was hard to see, but he could the sounds in the distance.Following the noises, Michael snuck his way towards Arnold and his captors; they had tied Arnold to a chair, the bag still over his head with his arms and legs tied.Michael picked a spot to hide behind an old dusty crate. Looking closely at the scene, he saw bruises all over Arnolds body, meaning he was beaten up earlier. One of the men sat at the corner scratching his head, while the other reached for a b
Michael was shocked at the answer, stepping back, he sat on a nearby crate, trying to figure out what has been going on. “Hey.” He said looking at Arnold. “Don’t tell the other employees that Jane was involved in this okay?”“Alright.” Arnold replied, weak and confused. “But didn’t that guy just confess that she ordered him to do these things to me?”“Something isn’t quite adding up.” Michael answered. “So, just do as I say, okay?”“Okay.”The police arrived shortly. They apprehended the criminals then took Arnold and Michael’s statements; after they were done, they drove off with Arnold and the kidnappers.Michael walked out of the station slowly, as the crickets sang in the background, he was tired and confused, everything he had done the past two days was catching up on him. The night was late, with the cold gentle breeze was blowing. He went to his car, which was carelessly parked besides the blue van.Michael stopped between the van and his car, looking straight at the van, he