I gasped, struggling to draw in a breath. My eyes flickered open, but everything was covered in darkness. I couldn't even make out the strands of hair hanging right in front of my eyes. 

Then came the pain. 

It was a searing, all-consuming kind of pain. I thrashed against the restraints on my legs and arms. Tears welled up. _Why was I here? Where was I?_ I tensed as I heard something shift behind me. 

“Hello?” I croaked. Oh hell. My throat felt raw. How long had I been in here? Oh my god. My friends were still back there. Still in the RV, waiting for us to come back. Wait. James. James was with me! Hope filled me. “James?” I asked. My voice was loud with excitement. I wasn’t alone! I leaned back in my chair, trying to figure out who it was. 

“E-Em?” The person mumbled. Relief flooded my senses. The pain dampened it quickly. “Are you ok? Where are we?” I asked. I just needed him to keep talking. It was calming me. 

The darkness seemed to press in around us, suffocating and disorienting. I strained my ears to catch any sound that might give away our location. All I could hear was the ragged sound of our breaths and my own thoughts. James's presence was a comfort, but it only showed me how much trouble we were in. _How the hell had we ended up here? _

My mind raced, trying to piece together the events leading to this nightmare. Flashes of memories touched the edges of my mind, but they were small, like a puzzle with missing pieces. I shuddered as a new wave of pain lanced up my ankle. 

James's voice trembled as he spoke. “We need to find a way out of here, Em,” he said, his tone full of worry.  “We can't stay trapped like this. We have to get back to the others.” I nodded, even though he couldn't see it in the darkness. We had to find a way out, for our own sake and for the sake of our friends waiting for us. 

“That won’t be happening anytime soon.” A voice spoke up. 

_Not again. _

The thought burst into my mind and flooded through my thoughts. It had been cold. Snowing. I remember walking with James to look at the tire. Then the foot prints.

I broke my ankle. I definitely remember that. Because damn does it hurt. Every time I shifted, it sent fire up and down my leg. Then another, even more painful though. We were kidnapped.

“Whos there?” James shouted. I heard him struggling against his binds. A low chuckle sounded in front of me. I gasped as I felt someone’s hot breath on my cheek.

I was not ready when someone hit a switch. Light flooded into my view, blinding me. If you’ve ever gone from absolute darkness to a bright as fuck bulb, don’t.

It was disorienting. My vision swam and I saw little pinpricks in my vision. Standing in front of me, there was a man that looked my fathers age. He had thinning, gray hair and brown eyes that were hard and angry.

“Who are you?” I groaned. The light was making my mind feel foggy and my head pound.

Another man came to stand next to baldy. “Thats none of your concern.” He stalked forward and grabbed the back of my chair, leaning in. “What is, however, is that you have something of ours.”

Baldy chimed in. “And we want it back.” Confusion filtered through my thoughts. What did we have? A beat up RV and a group of teenagers that can barely cook Mac n Cheese?

“What do you mean?” James asked. Grumpy (the other one) hissed. “You know excactly what we mean!” I shook my head.

“We really don’t.” I said. Baldy sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He glanced at Grump, and a conversation passed between them. “Here’s how this is gonna work.” He said. “We’re gonna let you go. You either bring us back what’s ours, or we kill you.”

I gaped at him. Never have I ever been threatened by a murderer. Well damn. I guess I could put a finger down.

Fear was all I felt. It washed over me in waves, sharpening my senses, making me acutely aware of everything that was happening around me.

The two worked together to untie me and James. I stood shakily, leaning on my friend. I let out a trembling breath and stared. At our kidnappers.

Grumpy was staring at us excitedly. He looked at his watch and then back at us.

“Your time is up. Better run.”

[Hey! School sucks. I had so much homework that I could barely write. I hope you enjoyed it! Pt. 5 should come out next week. Have a good day! 🩵]