glass to the zip tie on my ankle. It almost slips from my hand. The blood from my hand makes it difficult to hold. But I keep my grip and move it back and forth across the plastic. The glass is uneven and cuts into my ankles a few times, but the pain doesn't register at all. My eyes are focused on the gap in the trees, marking the entrance to this area. Tommy will be here soon; all I need to do is free myself before that happens.
It feels like forever, but it must only be a few minutes until both the zip ties around my wrists and ankles have snapped. I don't move yet. My limbs are screaming at me to take off. But they don't need me alive, they just want to make it hurt that much more for Tommy. If I run, they could shoot to kill me and there's no reason they'd hold back. Even worse, if I did run and they caught me, I don't know what they'd do to me. But I'm sure they wouldn't let me get out again.
So I wait. My skin prickles with anxiety, and the only thing I can hear is my heart beating loudly in my ears. I remember my phone in my back pocket and I struggle to keep my movements slow. Every time one of them looks at me, I freeze and try to remain as still as possible.
I should call the cops. I need help, and I know they could possibly come in time to save me, but they may also find Tommy. I don't want him to get caught in the middle of this, but I have to do everything I can to save myself and our baby. My skin feels like ice as I dial the numbers 9-1-1 behind my back. But I've done it.
I can faintly hear the dispatcher speaking, even though I can't give her any verbal confirmation that I'm on the line. I hit a button every few seconds, hoping she'll catch on.
“Are you unable to speak?” I barely hear the words. I don't hit any keys.
“If you can hear me, dial a number.” My thumb presses down. I barely hear a faint beep. I keep my eyes on my captors. They show no signs that they can hear anything.
“Assistance is on its way. Is there a threat in your immediate vicinity?” she asks.
The phone slips from my hand as I try to push a number. It falls to the ground with a faint thud. I watch them, but they don't hear it. I can't hear her anymore.
There's no one else.
All I can do now is wait. There's nothing else left that I can do to save myself. I need Tommy.
Tonya
Time passes slowly, yet nothing happens. I keep my eyes on the road and then on the men. My heart won't calm, and my skin sweats with anxiety. He's coming. I know he is. But what if he isn't? What if the cops come and the men hear? It'll only take a single bullet to end my life before they take off.
I'm relying on someone else to save me. And I fucking hate that.
I think I hear a car coming through the trees and closer to the entrance, and it distracts me. It also gets the men's attention and they raise their guns. No, no! I can't let them shoot. I start to stand, but the deafening sounds of guns being fired stops me in my tracks.
Bullets ring out from my left and right. But I can't see where they're coming from. They ricochet off the cars, and I instantly scramble back behind the shed to find cover.
I turn my body to run, but I slam into a hard, unmoving chest. My eyes flash to a set of light blue eyes, but before I can react, the man's pinning my arms down and carrying me toward the back of the shed. I kick out as hard as I can and land a blow to his shin. I try to push him off me as he curses and nearly drops me. I hear bullets hitting the metal of the cars. I hear men shouting and yelling. The sound of a man getting shot and falling to the ground fills my ears.
“Left, left!” someone calls out. These are the sounds of an ambush.
Fear overwhelms my body, but I force my limbs to push him away. I didn't come this close to escaping,