Kidnapped

A soft knock. Then a long creak. Seconds later, Lauren’s head came poking out from behind the door.”Natalie?”

Natalie rolled over and stretched. “Morning.”

“We - the girls, I mean - are gonna go exploring. There isn’t anything else to do anyway. Wanna come?” Lauren asked.

“Explore…the house?” Natalie stifled a yawn.

“Yeah. I don’t really feel like sitting around, waiting for the kidnappers to come get us – might as well do something to kill time.”

“Yeah, no, me neither. But you sure the kidnappers aren't here? I'm not sure it's a good idea to poke around...we are sort of in the dragon's lair, after all."

"It should be alright. Adrianna told us she went outside for a walk this morning, and there's no sign of a car anywhere. And you saw how remote this place is from your window - if the vehicle isn't here, then they probably aren't too. I mean, there's no way anyone could walk here. Of course, they could've hidden it somewhere...but I don't know. If they're here, I think they would have done something when we were all asleep last night."

"Yeah, you're probably right. Count me in," Natalie threw her covers aside and finally got out of bed. The flimsy piece of silk she was wearing as pajamas was almost completely see-through.Then Lauren almost gasped. On Natalie’s back was an elaborate tattoo piece, intricately designed and coloured in beautiful shades of blue and green. Lauren squinted to take a better look -

Natalie coughed pointedly, and Lauren diverted her gaze in embarrassment. Natalie slipped on her slippers and headed towards the bathroom.

“So, er…meet downstairs half an hour later?” Lauren asked, taking her cue to leave.

“No problem.”

* * *

Exactly 30 minutes later, Natalie stepped out of her room, wearing her cut-off Nirvana tee and Docs, her short hair expertly styled so that it looked as if thousands of little black feather were poking out of her head. The dark eyeliner she wore went beautifully with her chestnut-coloured eyes.

She found the other three girls still sitting at the dining table, eating their hearts out.

Lauren was the first one to notice her. “Hey Nat, over here!” she waved her over.

Nat made her way towards the table. “Hi.”

“Nat, you look amazing. Like a rock chick slash porcelain doll. But there’s really no need -” Alexis broke off suddenly, realizing how rude she sounded. “Sorry,” Alexis looked embarrassed.

“Nah, it’s okay. I’m really doing it for you guys’ sake, though. One glance at my face without makeup and you’ll be scarred for life…” she laughed.

Alexis pulled out the chair next to her and motioned for Natalie to sit down. “We're sorry we didn't wait for you! I was so hungry...we saved you loads, though. I swear to god, it’s more amazing than anything else I used to have back home.”

Natalie sat, but didn’t touch the food - not the glazed cinnamon rolls sprinkled with sugar, nor the gleaming scrambled eggs oozing with butter, nor the steaming hot coffee. In fact, she didn’t even look at it. "Nah, it's good. I don't have the habit of eating breakfast."

“You sure? You’re missing out…” Lauren said as she took a huge bite of her French toast. “I mean, we are stuck here, and we're probably all going to die, but the free food kind of makes up for it.” she licked her lips, which were covered in maple syrup.

Natalie took a whiff of the coffee, and her stomach groaned loudly in protest. Everyone laughed. She smiled too, but shook her head. “My stomach’s really messed up, so I have to watch what I eat. I avoid food as much as I can, because often I would eat and then end up throwing up half the food. I try not to eat anything except fruits and vegetables, because they’re about the only stuff my stomach can handle.”

“That sucks,” Adrianna said sympathetically.

Natalie nodded. “But hey, there’s an upside; it forces me to go on a diet 24/7. I really don’t need to become any fatter already…”

“But you’re not fat! And I love your curves! You’ve got a great figure,” said Lauren.

“You're kidding! This? I think it would be really nice to fit into those cute little clothes once in a while. Anyway, where do all this food come from? Who made it?”

“We have no idea,” Alexis admitted. “Adrianna and I were the first ones to wake up, and when we got here all the food was already here, waiting for us. I felt like I was in a Harry Potter movie.”

“And you guys didn’t even check to see if the food was safe before digging in?” Natalie had to laugh. “I mean, we ARE in a strange place away from home; there could be cyanide in the food for all you know.”

“Everything looked so good…I couldn’t resist.” Alexis replied guiltily.

“Well, none of you is blue in the face or anything…” Natalie teased, “let’s just hope there’s free lunch as well. Anyway, shall we get going? It’s almost…” Natalie looked over her shoulder to glance at the old grandfather’s clock, “eleven.”

“Yeah, sure,” Alexis said, getting up. The other girls followed suit. “Let’s just stick our plates back inside the kitchen first - we can do the dishes later. Oh, and has anyone seen the boys? Should we ask them to come with us?”

“I passed by Lance and Luke’s rooms on my way down – well, at least I think it’s their rooms, I can’t really remember . Anyway, they were both snoring like a pig.” Natalie rolled her eyes.

Alexis laughed. “C’mon. Who needs guys to have fun?”