It was late at around 1’oclock when me and Kelly left the party.
we made it to the car but it wasn’t just me and my best friend walking towards it, there was James, some guy Kelly had been hanging out with for most of the party
I stumbled in my stilettos as I rummaged for my car keys inside my black hole of a bag.
'’Ehh you driving is probably a bad idea huh?’’ James teased. ‘‘no no I got this…’’ I slurred.
'’Nahh’’ James shook his head and reached out taking the keys from me ‘‘ill drive you to your place’’
'’Oh the chivalry!’’ Kelly hooted as she hung onto the door of my Nissan and looked at James longingly. Yikes I think she likes him.
I gave him the address and fell into the back seat wrapping my arms around Kelly who seemed to have already passed out. My vision was blacking out and my mind was a whirlwind of thoughts. I know my alcohol limits and drank as much as I always do but that punch Kelly shared with me really threw me off I guess.
The rational part of my brain was gnawing at me, warning me about what a bad idea it was to let a stranger drive us home but my thoughts kept spinning endlessly. I finally gave up trying to stay awake and I succumbed to deep sleep
'’chirp’’ ‘‘chirp’’
with great effort I pry my heavy eye lids open and see a sparrow sitting on the window of my car, cocking its head at me
..what in the world?
I sit up to attention immediately.
why am I in my car in the corner of some isolated road??
Then the previous nights memories bombard into me one after the other, they are vague and blurry but I can remember them for the most part. Someone was driving us home… someone named James. James- the guy who was hanging out with Kelly.
Kelly… where is she!?
I dial up her number on my phone and wait but there’s no answer. Thankfully we can track each others locations on our phones so I search her location and I find it. I quickly take a screenshot of the place, something doesn’t sit right, I ring her up again.
This time she picks up. ‘‘Jesus Kelly where are you!?’’ but the voice on the other end isn’t hers. A male voice rasps ‘‘if you are looking for your friend you better forget about her’’ he threatens ‘‘and don’t worry she’s perfectly alright and alive.. however if you tell anyone about what happened last night or about us.. we will kill the both of you’’ then the line cuts. My body goes cold ,I get into the drivers seat and just drive off
I make it home somehow and then my legs just give away. my body crumples and i fall forward. I bite into the flesh on my knees as i try to muffle the violent screams that finally let themselves out. My heart feels like its ripping apart as the memories of Kelly flashes before my eyes . ‘‘This can’t be happening’’ i repeat out loud while my body shakes uncontrollably. ‘‘They are going to do something terrible to her’’ i hear myself stammer. For a few minutes i lay sprawled on the floor, sobbing helplessly until all of a sudden an unfathomable sense of rage over comes me-it cuts right through all the fear and terror. I realize i could never let something happen to Kelly. I’m going to get her out no matter what.
I fumble for my phone and open the Tracker app ,the captors probably broke her phone because I cannot see her live location anymore but thank god i took a screen shot of the place before. I equip myself and head out in my car
soon I find myself in a sketchy area with grey buildings squashed togather and mangled electricity wires hang precariously close to the ground .The pungent and musty smell of the place overwhelms my senses and intoxicates my lungs. I pass by a few people huddled togather by the corner of the road and I feel their taunting glares digging into my back-as sharp as knifes. my heart is pounding beneath my skin- but i find some reassurance in the fact that most of my face is covered and i’m dressed like a man.
Even though every fiber in my body is petrified and is begging me to stop.. i keep fighting back the nerves because Kelly is like a sister to me and I love her. If she were in my shoes i know she’d do the same.
the path on the GPS ends at a grey abandoned building. i knock. A stout man wedges the gap open and stares blankly at me. First I take my chances and use plan A. ‘‘I have some work here with the girl they brought in’’. ‘‘Boss said he was expecting nobody today’’ he sneered as he reached behind to pull out a gun. Well plan A ended in a flop- so I use plan B and plunge my taser into his stomach. He reels back in spasms and falls unconscious. I pick his gun and silently enter the building.
the corridor is dimly lit but i hear muffled noises and i follow it. I stop at a point and crouch down, placing my ear against the floor. There’s a latch. Bracing myself for the worst, I slowly swing it open. Below, there is a set of stairs and I tiptoe down them.
the voices are getting louder now.
I peer from behind a wall and I have to stifle a scream. I see Kelly.
she’s tied onto a chair with only her under wear on. Multiple tubes are attached to her and in each tube there are steady streams of blood snaking their ways into small IV bags.
She sits slumped, staring off into space with blood shot eyes. They contrast with her blanched hair and skin. Five black hooded figures have formed a circle around her. Waves of nausea run through me and feel the overwhelming need to puke.
'’That will be enough for today’’ one of the figures booms. ‘‘Remember we can’t take too much blood because that might kill her.. and we wont be able to do the Ritual again until we find another of her kind’’
'’Yes master’’ replies a figure as it detaches the needles and tubes off of Kelly, I identify him as James.
The figures re-form their circle and to my horror they pour the Kellys blood into glasses and glug it down their throats, they then start chanting in low eerie monotonous voices and the whole room fills with an unearthly presence that i can’t quite describe. For a few seconds the candles start blowing out and the dim bulbs start flickering madly, The figures let out hair-raising screeches and then once again everything goes back to how it was.
They break their trance and finally the ritual is complete. After securing the ropes around kellys wrists and ankles they leave the room. I make sure that I’m well hidden behind a heap of empty boxes and containers as they make the bend towards my hiding spot. I breathe a shaky sigh of relief as soon as I hear them close the latch to the basement.
Abandoning my hiding spot, I stumble towards my best friend. Her eyes light up weakly as i kneel down beside her. ‘‘Kelly.. oh my gosh..my poor Kelly’’ i say as i embrace her while tears blur my vision. I hastily undo the ropes binding her ‘‘c’mon Kells’’ i breathe as i hoist her up over my shoulders -I’m so glad all those hours at the gym paid off- and make my way up the stairs and out of the basement.
There won’t be much time before they find the man i tasered at the front door. I make my way along the hallway and shit.. there’s 3 men already rushing down the corridor. I make a run for it in the opposite direction along the maze of hallways and doors .Finally i bust out of the back door at full speed. Its pouring outside and I skim across the dark-narrow alleys with a semi-naked kelly jostling over my shoulder. I feel the bullets whizz and ricochet past me. Soon i make it to the car and dump Kelly into the back seat. I rev the engine. The surge of adrenaline builds up inside of me and i bolt furiously past the blurry rows of shanty houses. Light illuminates around me as headlights of a jeep follow persistently at my heels. ‘‘CRACK!’’ the bullets pin and shatter my rear windows. i make it to the main road but the firing continues so i stick my hand out of the car and shoot back. Out of pure luck i think i hit a tyre and the jeep screeches to a stop. I keep driving.
At the hospital Kelly is admitted to the ICU and the police interview me. They advice me and Kelly to stay at the hospital premises until they find the suspects behind the act.
I am given my own room and i’m dying to get some proper sleep. As soon as i I feel my head on the pillow i start drifting off but there’s a confusion of thoughts swirling through my head like ‘‘what happened back in the basement?’’ and ‘‘who are those men?’’ but for that to be answered i must wait till tomorrow. i suppose…i should just sleep now….