“Maddie?” a voice whispered, though it was so low I couldn’t tell whether it was Dana or Marco.
“Over here,” I said, relief flooding through me as I stood up.
Though I soon realized that the relief was premature.
And that the voice had belonged to neither Marco nor Dana. Because I knew for a fact that neither one of them would have raised their arm above their body as I watched the shadowy figure do, clutching something dark and heavy in one hand, then bring it down on the side of my head with such force that I fell to the ground.
I got a great view of the dust bunnies living under Sebastian’s guest bed for a half a second before I felt my eyelids fall forward, plunging me into darkness.
Chapter Twenty
When I had found out I was pregnant, the first thing I did (after having a mild panic attack) was google what sort of delicious things I could now not consume. I knew alcohol was definitely out, but I was surprised to find that soft cheese, raw eggs, and certain fish were also on the list. Along with my biggest indulgence – coffee. I’m pretty sure people all the way in Riverside County heard my sobs when I realized it was nine months of no Starbucks for me. And the first day I had gone zero caffeine, cold turkey down from my usual three-lattes-a-day habit, I’d had a caffeine deprivation headache so horrible I’d thought that my head might actually explode. My temples throbbed, my eyes burned, and my head felt twice its usual size.
But that, I realized as I slowly blinked one eye open, was nothing compared to how my head felt now.
I heard myself moan as I slowly managed to get both eyes open, blinking in the darkness. I wasn’t sure where I was, but it was cold and moist, the air was damp in a way that instantly made me have to pee. And it was pitch black. Not a sliver of light shone anywhere. I continued blinking, fighting through the throbbing pain with each miniscule movement of my eyelids, as I tried to get my eyes to adjust to the absence of light. I gingerly moved my fingers, hands, legs. All seemed to be in working order, though I could feel stiffness settling in my limbs. I had no idea how long I’d been unconscious. Or, for that matter, who’d made me that way.
“Hello?” I called out in a voice that could have belonged to a scared two year old.
I thought I heard a faint rustling sound to my right in response.
I moved toward it. “Hello? Is anyone there?” I asked, not sure if I wanted someone to be or not. The last person I’d seen had hit me on the head. Not exactly ideal company.
I heard more rustling, this time accompanied by a moan much like the one I’d just made.
“Maddie?” a small, female voice called out.
“Dana! Is that you?” I asked, reaching my hands out in front of me as I slowly moved toward the sound.
“My head is killing me,” Dana whined, her voice growing closer as I carefully crawled along the floor toward her.
“What happened?” I asked.
“I don’t know. One minute I was searching through a bathroom cabinet, the next I’m here.” She paused. “Are you okay?”
I nodded in the dark. “Yeah. Ditto the headache, but I’m alright,” I said, feeling my hands come up against the fabric of her satin dress. She quickly grabbed my hand, squeezing it in hers as if she expected the Boogieman to jump out at us any second.
Which, honestly, was a possibility at this point.
“Where’s Marco?” I asked.
“I don’t know. He took the next door down from me.”
“Marco?” I called out in the darkness.
But only silence echoed back at me.
I felt Dana squeeze my hand just that much tighter.
“I’m sure he’s okay,” I said, more to myself than her. “I’m sure he’s fine, he’s looking for us, maybe even going for help right now.”
I felt Dana nod beside me. “Uh huh,” she agreed. Though her voice was about as unconvincing as mine. “Any clue where we are?” Dana asked
I shook my head. (Which, by the way was a very bad idea, prompting more throbbing, burning, and general pain in my temples.) “None,” I answered, truthfully. I squinted through the blackness, my eyes having adjusted just enough to make out some basic shapes. We were in a corridor of some kind, only a few feet wide but long enough that I couldn’t see the end of it. The walls were concrete, the same cold, damp consistency as the floor. I could hear the faint sounds of music and laughter, telling me the head-basher hadn’t dragged us too far from Sebastian’s party. I swiveled around and could just make out the shape of a doorway behind me.
“Look over there,” I said, pointing it out.
I slowly stood up, realizing my left foot was asleep, and waddled toward it. I felt Dana right behind me, her hands on my back as she felt her way along the damp walls. Unfortunately, as we got closer, I realized that, while it was a door alright, there was no handle on our side of it.
I ran my fingers along the edges, looking for any sort of spot to get a finger-hold, but came up empty.
Dana hit the door with her palm. “Hey!” she shouted. She did some more pounding. “Help! Can anyone hear us?”
Only silence greeted us on the other side.
If we were still hidden away somewhere at Sebastian’s place, the party music was too loud for anyone to hear us.
I spun around, instead scanning the corridor for anything we might be able to use to pry the door open. Sadly, I could only see about a foot in front of myself. I squatted down, slowing crawling along the floor, hands out in front of me, hoping they contacted with something useful before they contacted with something yucky. Dust, a cobweb (definitely yucky!), and more damp floor. I was about to give up when my hands hit something soft and leathery. I grabbed on, exploring the surface and coming up against fringe before I realized it was my Santana bag!
“Dana, my purse is in here,” I shouted, feeling her come up behind me. I dug my hands inside, feeling the vinyl arms of Baby-So-Lifelike, the cold metal of a lipstick tube, a couple of tampons long forgotten in the bottom, some receipts, and a few pieces I couldn’t identify by touch. The one thing noticeably absent was my cell.
I felt my spirits sinking faster than the Titanic. “He took my phone.”
“Same here,” I heard Dana say, rustling to my right. “He left a nail file, though. Think that might help?”
“It’s worth a try.”
We held hands, feeling our way in the dark back toward the knob-less door, and stuck the metal file into the crack between the door and the jamb. Dana wiggled it, twisted it, moved it up and down.
But the door stayed shut.
I’m not sure how long we stood there jiggling, but my right foot was just starting to join my left in dreamland when I heard a sound on the other side of the door.
I froze.
I felt Dana go still beside me. She’d heard it too.
We both jumped back, and I bit my lip, uncertain if I should try to hide or call for help.
“Help!” Dana yelled, apparently not having the same dilemma. “Someone help! We’re stuck in here!” she yelled.
A second later the door swung open, the sudden light blinding me. Instinctively I ducked my head, shielding my eyes from the onslaught of brightness.
“Marco!” I heard Dana yell beside me.
I blinked against the light, making out two forms silhouetted in the doorway. One was slumped forward, limp as a ragdoll, and wearing skintight pants. The other was tall, holding form number one up, and holding a gun in the other hand.
I did an involuntary yip that echoed in the corridor as the form with the gun unceremoniously dumped Marco at our feet.
“Marco, can you hear me?” Dana asked, quickly crawling toward him.
“Don’t move,” the figure holding the gun informed her.
