Chapter Text
Prologue
Lorna McCall, an ordinary woman of 35, lived in a small bachelor apartment with no TV but owned a two-year-old computer with the Internet. The rest of her furniture consisted of a small bed and nightstand in one corner and a small desk with her computer and printer in another corner. The kitchen, which wasn’t even big enough to fit a table but had all the other needs of a kitchen, was separate from the main area, with a wall dividing both rooms and a small bathroom.
When Lorna was sixteen, she and her parents moved to Las Vegas because of her father’s job. As the youngest of four children, her older siblings did not move with them, having already started lives of their own. However, by the time Lorna was eighteen, her father had mysteriously died. Though his death was ruled unexplained, Lorna always suspected foul play. Not long afterwards, her mother was diagnosed with cancer. Lorna remained by her side through the illness until she eventually lost her battle a few years later, leaving Lorna alone in Vegas. Since then, she had kept mostly to herself, saving what money she could in hopes of one day returning to her roots in Ontario, Canada.
She hated living in Vegas and hated her job, working daytime hours as a desk clerk for a hotel. Luckily her apartment was directly across the street from the hotel, which made her life a little easier. She hated the people around her and feared for her life everyday. But she did have to live. She didn’t really have many friends and the friends she did have were not always that nice to her. Sometimes they totally understood her life and other times not. Getting off work was her favorite time of day.
As the supper rush kicked off, Lorna made her way across the street to her apartment. With Christmas only days away, the sun had long since set, leaving the streets illuminated by streetlights and colorful holiday displays.
As she approached the building, a chill crept over her. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Something was wrong.
She took two more steps before her instincts were confirmed. A hand came out of nowhere and clamped over her mouth.
Heart hammering in her chest, Lorna struggled against her attacker. Another arm wrapped tightly around her waist, pinning her arms and preventing escape. Her purse slipped from her shoulder and hit the ground, immediately ruling out robbery.
“Hurry up!” a voice snapped as a van pulled up beside them and the side door slid open.
Kicking and fighting, Lorna was dragged toward the vehicle before being thrown inside. The force sent her crashing against the metal wall of the van. Pain exploded through her head, and darkness swallowed her as the vehicle sped away.
-
The first thing Lorna noticed was the chill in the air. The second was the feeling of her arms bound behind her back and her legs tied together. She didn’t need to open her eyes to know she was blindfolded. Cloth wrapped tightly around her head, and something shoved into her mouth kept her from speaking. She could feel herself lying sideways; legs bent, hands behind her back, against a wall. The floor beneath her felt very hard and uncomfortable and could feel a chill go through her body. The only conclusion she could draw out was she was lying on cement, no doubt in a basement of sorts.
At the very least, she was still clothed, so whoever had taken her hadn’t done anything to her...yet, but she was certain they intended to.
The first instinct was to scream, but logically, that would be the worst thing to do. She had been taught from an early age not to panic, just take in her surroundings and listen. Go with the flow, and when the time was right, escape. Forcing herself to stay calm, Lorna quietly listened, pretending she was still unconscious.
“Why the hell did you grab her?!” a female voice snapped.
“She’s part of the plan,” a male voice answered gruffly. “She’ll make all our dreams come true. I promise.”
“Why can’t we have a little fun?” another male voice said. This voice was less gruff but still sounded creepy.
“You will not touch her!” the female growled. “That is not what she’s here for, you got that.”
“What plan?” another voice, female but younger asked.
“That’s for me to know and you to find out,” the gruff male answered. “Now shut up and keep your pretty little head in watching her. You are to tell me when she’s awake.”
For the first time in years, Lorna was grateful for the lessons drilled into her as a child. Back then she had hated every second of it.
Remaining perfectly still, she listened closely to her captors. From what they were saying, she gathered that a fair amount of time had passed since her abduction. How much, that was million-dollar question. Her throat was dry and she knew her body was overdue for nourishment. However, hunger and thirst was far from her mind. She had to find a way to get away from them. Not to mention what plan had they had in mind for her?
-
A sudden jolt of pain, shot through her ribs, forcing her to wake. A muffled moan of pain escaped her gagged mouth before feeling another shot of pain when a booted foot kicked. She could not remember when she had fallen asleep in the uncomfortable position but now that was the least of her worries. The bonds on her legs were instantly cut, which was not a good sign, however, this was a perfect time for her to get the upper hand. She had to think fast to get away, as gripped her shoulders, pushing her down.
Wincing from the pain of his grip, Lorna felt an opening and took it. Pushing up, she rammed both feet into the man’s legs. She thrust both feet into the man’s legs, sending him crashing to the floor with a howl of pain. The pressure on her shoulders vanished.
Adrenaline flooded her system as she scrambled upright and tore at the bindings around her wrists until they snapped loose. She yanked the gag from her mouth and ripped away the blindfold, ignoring the searing pain in her ribs and wrists. She had to get out before the man recovered.
Now able to see, Lorna realized she was in a windowless basement. She bolted from her spot and sprinted toward a staircase, a door visible at the top. Grabbing the handle, she yanked it open with ease. But before she could slip through, her attacker came charging up the stairs behind her, close enough that she could almost feel him reaching for her. For the first time, Lorna got a good look at the man. He was huge.
Once again, remember the skills she was taught as a kid, she gave a quick round kick into his gut, sending the big man backwards down the stairs. A normal kick like that would not have fazed him, but where balance on stairs was key, it was easy to lose footing. That gave Lorna the time needed to run out and into the street. Considering it was well into night, Lorna had no idea what the time was.
She ran as fast as she could, ignoring the burning in her ribs or wrists down a street not stopping for anything. The thoughts of her bleeding crossed her mind but she couldn’t stop to find out. She had to keep moving, to get away from her attacker.
Spotting a delivery truck parked outside a liquor store, Lorna saw a possible chance at escape.
While the driver was distracted, she quickly climbed into the open trailer, praying the truck would soon leave for another destination far away from her captor.
After finding a place to hide among the cargo, she finally allowed herself to stop moving. Her chest heaved as she struggled to catch her breath, every inhale sending pain through her ribs. Her entire body trembled from adrenaline and exhaustion, but she forced herself to stay quiet. Ignoring the pain as best she could, she quickly checked herself for injuries. Nothing appeared to be bleeding badly. Several long minutes later, the driver returned, closed the door to the trailer, and pulled the truck back onto the road. The air inside the trailer was freezing cold, but Lorna barely noticed. All she cared about was getting away.
The next time the Truck stopped. The driver pulled at a box where Lorna was hiding, finding her.
“What the hell are you doing in my truck!” he bellowed.
Lorna jumped in fright, convinced the voice belonged to her attacker. Pain still throbbed through her body, making it difficult to hear clearly.
Panic took over and she sprinted off without paying attention to where she was going. Before she realized it, she had climbed into another transport truck filled with supplies. Petrified that her attacker was still chasing her, Lorna curled herself into a hiding spot and stayed perfectly still. Time blurred together. She completely lost track of how long she had been hiding or where the truck was taking her. After what felt like forever, the truck finally stopped. Daylight filtered into the trailer as the doors opened. Thinking she had been discovered again, Lorna immediately dove out of the truck, startling the workers nearby. The dry desert landscape surrounding Las Vegas was gone.
“What the hell!” he snapped as a woman jumped out from behind a crate. The woman ran past him and didn’t stop. “Get back here bitch!” he yelled.
Lorna heard the man yelling at her. She picked up speed, running from the place of business, which happened to be a super market. She had no idea where she was, but knew she wasn’t in Las Vegas anymore. All that was going through her mind was pain, fear fatigue and hunger, but she didn’t stop. For two days straight Lorna kept running, startling truck drivers, which would chase after her. And each time she ran, she always felt the dread it was her attacker.
Finally, her body began to shut down and she was forced to stop running. She was now cold, hungry, soar and tired. She didn’t think she was going to be able to move anymore. The only thing she knew was it was late in the afternoon. Tears sprang from her eyes, as her breathing was very rigged. Where was she? Her vision was so bad, she was unable to tell she far from her abductors and even further from her home and workplace. All around her were many large mansions of various sizes.
The one thing she could observe, besides the throbbing pain in ribs, dryness of her throat and completely sleep deprived was young voices coming from somewhere nearby. Unfortunately she was unable to focus on the voices as she was too concerned just trying to keep herself standing. She heard another voice suddenly.
“What is it children?” a gentle voice asked.
Hearing the voice caused Lorna to waver and her body suddenly slammed to a halt. She couldn't tell if the voice was male or female. With blurry eyes, she could see she was in front of a gate and trees surrounded around it. As she looked, her knees gave out, collapsing over onto hands and knees, trying stay conscious. Faint sounds were coming from somewhere, but she couldn’t concentrate on where it was coming from.
“Quickly get the others,” the soft voice rushed.
Lorna felt her world beginning to fade into darkness as the faint sound of a gate opening reached her ears. Her exhausted arms finally gave out and she pitched forward. The impact never came. Strong arms caught her before she could strike the ground.
“I got you.”
Lorna tried to speak but as her mouth moved to say ‘help me’ no sound came out. Either the person holding her saw what her mouth was trying to say or the person knew what she wanted. Whatever the reason was, Lorna heard the soft voice say as the darkness fully took her.
“You’re safe now, I promise.”