listening so keenly; why hadn’t I heard him coming?
Instinctively, I opened my mouth to scream, but his large hands were around my throat, prohibiting any sound and air flow. I gasped and clawed at the air, the space between us. Given our differences in size and strength, it wouldn’t have mattered even if I hadn’t been bound to the radiator. I understand now that it was only seconds, but during that time, when the lack of air was so painful the tears fell from my eyes, I saw my lifetime—I saw Mom, Dad, Robbie, and oddly enough, Charlie.
Once the darkness closed in, all I could smell was clove cigarettes and the feel of callused fingers over my own.
Chapter 4
With The Nothingness came an overwhelming feeling of obligation. I felt as though I had forgotten something terrifically important but couldn’t remember what it was. And although I couldn’t see or speak, there was a voice asking me for some impossible movement. Other voices yelled, calling each other names. What exactly they were, I couldn’t say. I wanted to settle back into The Nothingness; the dark murkiness.
Without warning, The Nothingness faded and pain settled in its place. Every attempt to breathe was hot lava in my chest with fire bubbling in my throat. Dreadful sounds rang in my ears and made the pulse in my head vibrate. Where was that awful noise coming from? My mouth was full of soot. I turned to the side, but my limbs cried out in dull ache and begged for relief. I opened my eyes and saw shadows dancing behind a dim light. I shut them again and tried to get back to the dark.
Dad had burned the coffee.
He hadn’t done that for quite a while, but clearly he’d outdone himself this time. The smell was really disgusting. It was so powerful it had actually managed to float all the way from downstairs to my bedroom and make me gag. He might want to commit me when I told him about my kidnapping dream and how vivid it had been. I circulated my ankles until they made a pleasant popping noise. All around me the air was filled with unpleasant sounds of banging, hammering, and yelling. My lungs and limbs hurt but I didn’t know why.
Because it hadn’t been a dream.
I sat up in a dead rush, instantly regretting it as I felt all of my blood flood to my brain in a single instant and I had to put my hands up to keep from my head from caving in. Glancing around, I knew immediately I wasn’t in a hospital like I’d thought (or hoped, rather). Instead I was on a small bed in a room that could be compared to a jail cell. On the floor next to me lay large stacks of books and papers. Next to those stood a lonesome desk lamp without a table to stand on. I immediately noticed there were no windows. Before I could panic, a figure rose from the corner and approached me. I pulled back. Something quivered all around me. Was the world ending?
I put my hands down. No, I was just shaking.
Charlie emerged from the darkness slowly and turned on the lamp. I wasn’t sure if it was the light burning my eyes or surprise that made me turn away. But once I did, I turned my face to the wall and shut my eyes tightly. I felt like a creature from another world, some distant planet that only I knew about. This place, wherever it was, could not be walked or breathed upon.
His hand stretched out as he tried to examine something on my head.
I flinched.
He turned and reached back to the corner. He pulled out two Styrofoam cups of coffee. He handed me one, which I accepted, despite the smell. I sipped at the burned liquid and rejoiced as it slid down my throat.
My throat.
Memories grabbed at me, eager to remind me why I had lost consciousness. I gulped and felt the pain around my lymph nodes. Why was I still alive? I should have been a dead girl in the ground by now. None of it made any sense.
“What happened?”
My hands shook worse than ever when I heard my voice and the way it cracked. Each syllable hurt to pronounce, and yet despite my efforts, the words still didn’t sound right.
He responded by slowly taking the cup from my hands. I didn’t want it anyway. Its contents were threatening to spill. “You