Kidnapped

Ouch! My head. Carly blinked. The little light coming from the small dusty window shot pins into her eyes. Where the ... Disoriented, Carly tried to fathom her surroundings. She felt beneath her. The floor's hard. Something rough under me, sacks maybe. It's dusty, I can see specks floating by that window and my chest feels tight. A cellar, an attic ...

Footsteps. Friendly? Doubtful. Carly closed her eyes and feigned sleep. Her eyelids could not shut out the shaft of light as the door creaked open. Something metal slid across the floor in her direction. The light was gone and so was her captor, but for how long.

Carly groped around to find the object shoved in her direction. It was a tray. Sandwich, bottle of water, and a packet of crisps. Hunger pains competed with fear. Thirst vied with dread. Could be drugged. The seal was on the bottle. She had to chance it. Her mouth was a cesspit, her throat irritated by the dust.

The cold liquid went down fast. In the darkened room she had no chance of seeing the small pinprick in the lid. God, it's hot in here all of a sudden. Then the world began to swirl around her ...

It was pain that brought Carly back to consciousness. She was being dragged across the floor. Propped against a wall, something was pressed into her hands. Everything was dark, then FLASH! Ransom. How much am I worth and to who? I've got no one.

The door slammed shut. Her heart beat faster. That flash brought her to more than consciousness, it brought the reality that they had the wrong girl.

274 words