Caught by Emma Louise

Chapter Thirty-One

I'm woken by my head being bounced off a hard surface. Nausea rolls through me as I struggle to work out where the hell I am and what is going on. It takes a second for me to realize that the motion I'm feeling isn't just in my head. I'm in a car or truck. My hands are tied, and there's a thick, musty smelling material over my head leaving me in the dark. I have to squeeze my eyes closed to try to quell the dizziness that sweeps over me when the vehicle turns a corner sharply. Tucking my head as close to my body as I can, I focus on taking long, deep breaths, hoping that will stop this feeling of being on top of a rollercoaster. I think I must be in the trunk of a car because I can press my feet out and feel something hard at the same time the top of my head touches something too.

My throat aches with sheer terror as realization sets in. I'm trapped with no way out, no idea why I've been taken, and the knowledge that nobody knows where I am. My pulse accelerates as the panic takes over. Cass. I'm never going to see her again. That thought is cut off when whoever is driving slams on the brakes. I'm flung forward, my tied hands mean I'm unable to stop my face from smashing into something. Pain explodes above my eye and radiates through my head. The last thing I remember is the chill of the night air that ghosts over my bare arms when the trunk is opened.

I want to fight when I feel hands grabbing at me. I want to rage and kick and scream. But the darkness wins and I'm out before I can do anything to stop myself from being lifted out of the car.