Chapter Two

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!”