I kept fidgeting with my hands to see if I could get them free. The handcuffs were cutting into my wrists, and I wasn’t getting anywhere. There was no light, and I didn’t have my glasses, so I couldn’t see anything either. I focused on being able to breathe properly with the hood and gag in my mouth. The driver was not going slow, and I could feel each bump and turn. At least this time, I wasn’t hitting the walls.
I shifted to the side to lay down on the floor. My back was already becoming sore from the position I was sitting in. At least 30 minutes must have already passed since I’ve been here.
Where are they taking me? It seems farther than expected.
I just laid there thinking of the events leading up to my kidnapping. I was tired. It had been a full day of studying and my adrenaline was wearing off. My head and my lip were throbbing even more now. The pounding in my head was getting worse. I closed my eyes tightly, wishing the pain to go away until I finally drifted off to sleep.
***
I awoke with a start when the van came to a screeching halt once again. I heard both van doors open, and both women were greeted by a man’s raspy voice.
“Coming in hot as always, Nivia?”
“You know it,” answered the driver.
“Pulling another all-nighter, Phil?” Questioned the female passenger.
“Eh, I need the money for the wife. With the baby coming along and all, money has been pretty tight lately. That’s the way it goes, Kristia.”
“You know you can always ask Mistress for a raise, right?” Answered Kristia.
“You know how I get around her. She scares me and I can’t talk straight. I’d rather just keep my head low, work hard, and stay out of trouble with her. Besides, she always favors the women over us men. Sometimes I think she just keeps us around for added muscle and meaningless tasks. Not like you ladies have ever needed our help anyway. So, thanks, but no thanks, I’ll stay where I am right now.”
“Your loss, Phil. I’d at least try.” Kristia chuckled. “Hey, Phil, get the wand ready, we might need it with this one.”
“This catch putting up a fight?”
“You can say that. She tried to jump me, but I got her under control. She’s got spirit, that’s for sure. Might need a few shocks with that wand if she starts getting too rowdy. I’m not up for fighting right now. It was a long drive and I just want to sleep.”
“Sure thing.”
Are they seriously talking about me like I’m some kind of animal?
I heard three sets of footsteps approaching the back of the van, when the doors opened.
Light flooded into the van, and I saw Kristia entering first.
“I’m going to go behind you and unshackle you from the floor. I don’t want any sudden moves or funny business. Is that clear?”
I nodded with a muffled yes.
A burly man also stepped into the van, carrying some sort of stick with two prongs pointed at me. This must be Phil.
Kristia went behind me and removed the metal ring linking my cuffs to the floor. It took all my self-restraint to not headbutt her right there and then. I still didn’t have my glasses, so I couldn’t clearly make out anything past six inches in front of my face. Great day to leave my contact lenses at home.
Kristia lifted me by my right arm, and it honestly impressed me how effortlessly she did it.
“Move!” She commanded as she shoved me forwards. I stumbled out of the trunk and would have fallen on my face once more if it weren’t for Nivia catching me just outside the van.
“Now, now, Kristia, Mistress wouldn’t want any more blood on her new toy. You know how she likes to break them herself.”
What is wrong with these people?
Kristia and Phil got out of the van and walked in front of me to meet Nivia. Nivia moved to grasp me by the left arm while Phil kept pointing the pronged stick at me. Kristia moved towards me, and I flinched back. Nivia’s grip tightened on my arm. I braced myself for another blow, but instead I felt Kristia putting my glasses back on.
I slowly opened my eyes and was able to make out my surroundings and my captors this time.
In front of me towered Kristia. She, along with Nivia, was dressed in black combat gear. While Phil was just wearing a tactical shirt, pants, and boots.
Kristia had dirty blonde hair tied up in a neat bun and hazel-colored eyes. Nivia, on the other hand, also stood tall beside me. She had a dark complexion with mahogany brown eyes and short cropped curly hair. Phil was bald and honestly reminded me of the guy in the white shirt in cleaning products, except with a well-kept, nicely trimmed, full-bodied brown beard.
The three of them dwarfed me in comparison. I felt a little intimidated. Here I thought I was average to tall, standing at 5′6".
I wasn’t going to let their height get to me. I was still fuming at the whole situation, and the first thought that crossed my mind at this point was my biology test on Monday. Seriously? Priorities.
I looked around and saw that I was in what seemed to be a garage. There were other black vehicles parked next to the van, but there didn’t seem to be anybody else around. Kristia snapped her fingers in front of me and I came out of my thoughts. I blinked twice in her direction.
“I said, we are going to meet Mistress, so you’d better be in your best behavior, sweetie." I fucking lost it. I lunged at Kristia once again, but Nivia held me back while Phil hit me in the gut with the wand, knocking the wind out of me. What is it with hitting me in the stomach today?
I glared back at Kristia. Her lips twisted into a smirk, and she nodded in Phil’s direction. With that signal, Nivia let go of me, and Phil pressed the wand to my back. An intense pain shot down my spine, and all my muscles felt as if they were painfully contracting at the same time. I don’t know how long the shock lasted for, but it was enough for my knees to buckle under my weight, leaving me doubled over gasping for air.
I huffed angrily through the gag, and Phil took a step towards me once again. This time I jumped back in fear but fell on my back. I tried to scramble away from him, but Nivia stopped me. I was shaking. As Phil pressed the wand onto my skin once again, Kristia told Phil to stop.
“Aw, Kristia, I was just starting to have some fun. Come on, one more time?”
Still shaking in Nivia’s grasp, I shot a look between Phil and Kristia, pleading with my eyes so that Kristia wouldn’t give him the green light.
“I think that will be enough for now. She looks like she’ll fall in line now.” Kristia replied.
“Ugh, fine!” Phil backed away.
“Looks like somebody is starting to learn some manners.” Nivia stated in my ear. I flinched. I wasn’t expecting her to say anything. She looks like she does not talk much anyway.
“Let’s go,” snarled Kristia as she grabbed my other arm. Phil followed closely behind.
We made our way through some hallways, past what looked to be examination rooms. The entire place was immaculately clean and white.
What is this place? Looks like a hospital.
We turned the corner and came up to a set of lofty double doors being guarded by two seemingly ornery sentinels.
“Hey Mitch, Joe, we got ourselves a live one!” Krista exclaimed.
“She don’t look like much.” One of them raised a brow at me.
“Doesn’t seem like she’ll last that long.” Commented the other.
“Don’t count her out just yet. Looks like there’s a fight in her eyes. Just look at the cuts she already has, and this was while trying to charge at me!” Retorted Kristia.
“I’m surprised you left her conscious!” Snickered the first guard.
“Yeah, well, she knows her limits. At least it seems so. Might be a smart one after all.” Kristia patted my head mockingly.
I glowered at Kristia and huffed. I can’t believe they are talking about me like this again. In front of me this time!
“Ooh, you might be right. It’ll be fun to see how Mistress deals with her.”
Phil stayed behind as both guards opened the doors to reveal a massive room lined with shelves of books and what looked to be jars. A tall woman was standing with her back to us, inspecting one of the jars. There were medical illustrations plastered throughout the walls. To the right was a loveseat and two armchairs with a coffee table separating them, while on the left was a long table with a microscope and some test tubes. The aisle in the middle led to a massive desk piled with open books and papers that were handwritten. A pen was left sitting on top of the papers. To the left of the desk stood a coat hanger with various long medical white coats.
I couldn’t help but stare at the beautiful medical illustrations on the wall, after all, this is what I was studying for.
As we stepped into that massive room, a chill ran down my spine. I was beginning to feel uneasy. Do they experiment on humans here? My feelings began to worsen as we approached the desk, and I was able to make out the contents of the jar. They were indeed human body parts.