Taken
One
I awoke with a fright as I heard the sound of heavy boots walking down my stairs. I immediately thought it was my husband, having come home early from his shift at the town’s glass warehouse. When I listened again to the heavy thud of the boots I knew immediately that it wasn’t him, my husband was a fairly light footed man and there was no way those noises could be from him. My first thought was to fight but judging by the thuds whoever was in my home was a larger man, much larger than my petite 5’3 frame. Instead I grabbed some pillows and made like I was in bed before gently tiptoeing to my closet. I quietly slipped inside and closed the door hoping that the man would go away. I heard a deep chuckle come from the bottom of the steps as well as thud as if something was thrown onto the floor. I felt around in my jean pockets that I had fallen asleep in and felt the smooth curves of my cheap android smartphone. I muted the phone before typing out a text to my husband.
Please come help me, there’s someone in our home. I’m hiding in our bedroom closet until you come home please hurry.
As soon as I had sent the text I heard the familiar ring of my husband’s phone from downstairs. My eyes widened in horror as I realized the thud I had heard earlier was my beloved. Fear rose in my stomach as I also realized that whoever was in my home now knew where I was hiding. The fear began to escalate as I heard a laugh and the thudding of the steps began making their way up the stairs to my bedroom. I heard the knob twist on my bedroom door and held my breath as the light from the hallway flooded the room. I peeked through the door of the closet into the messy bedroom to see a large man of about 6’3 walk into the room. He had to slightly duck as the doorway was rather short, even for my husband. He advanced his way slowly to the closet, I slunk backwards into the darkened portions hoping that maybe I could go unseen.
My hand felt a baseball bat from the days I still played competitive sports and I gripped it tightly. As adrenaline pulsed through my veins I prepared for the very second he would rip open that door. I only had once chance to escape and this was it. I saw the shadow of his frame reaching out to grab the doorknob and he ripped open the closet door. I jumped forward and slammed the bat into his face, he stumbled backwards enough for me to slip out of the closet and down the stairs. I looked around for my husband but when I didn’t see him and I heard the sound of the approaching footsteps I ran down the hall. I felt someone wrap their arms around me and yank me into the linen closet that was under the stairs.
“Shh, be quiet Angel.” I looked up to see my husband staring down at me. I hugged him burying my face into his chest and wept silently. He pulled us back into the small alcove that was hidden in the back of the closet and we hid there in the dark. The door to the small closet opened and the man made his way slowly in. He came to where we were and immediately looked down at us. I recognized his face immediately. He was my father. He pulled out a gun and held it towards my husband, he put himself in front of me to ensure that nothing happened to me. I
I awoke screaming in my bed and my husband immediately shot up from his sleeping position. He wrapped his arms around me and I cried into his chest while trying to form words.
“My father’s back, Johnathon…It was one of those dreams. The one’s I’ve been tormented with. We need to leave before he gets here.” Johnathon looked down at me and nodded. He knew about the premonition like dreams I’ve had since the abuse I suffered at the hands of my father. We got out of bed and quickly changed into our normal everyday clothes. When I heard the sound of glass shattering downstairs I knew we were too late, my father was here. Johnathon looked to where he heard the glass then towards our window. I looked at him like he were insane; there was no way we could jump from the second floor.
“We’re going to have to jump. I know it seems crazy but the house isn’t that tall so we should be fine.” I grabbed my cell phone and nodded reluctantly. Johnathon opened the window and I looked down at the bushes below with aversion but ignored it when I heard the footsteps coming up the stairs. I landed in the bushes below so the fall wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been. Johnathon jumped next, he rolled his body so he landed safely. I looked back towards our bedroom before running off with Johnathon into the woods beside our home.
“We have to get to the neighbor’s house, we’ll have to go through the woods which will take well into tomorrow but we don’t have much of a choice right now. When we get there, call the asylum. Tell them to get the police looking for him.” I looked at Johnathon in amazement at how quickly he formed a plan under the current pressure and nodded. As we fled from the vicinity of the house I could hear my father yelling in anger. He sounded so much more violent, so much angrier than before and I shuddered at the thought of us being at the mercy of his cold-blooded heart.
We must’ve been running for over an hour when exhaustion began to overtake me. I couldn’t keep up the pace of my beloved and yanked him to a stop. He looked at me as I sat on the ground and got the hint, he sat down beside me and held me close to him. The warm June night made me feel a little more at peace considering a madman was chasing after us. I laid my head against his chest and fell asleep almost instantly.
Please come help me, there’s someone in our home. I’m hiding in our bedroom closet until you come home please hurry.
As soon as I had sent the text I heard the familiar ring of my husband’s phone from downstairs. My eyes widened in horror as I realized the thud I had heard earlier was my beloved. Fear rose in my stomach as I also realized that whoever was in my home now knew where I was hiding. The fear began to escalate as I heard a laugh and the thudding of the steps began making their way up the stairs to my bedroom. I heard the knob twist on my bedroom door and held my breath as the light from the hallway flooded the room. I peeked through the door of the closet into the messy bedroom to see a large man of about 6’3 walk into the room. He had to slightly duck as the doorway was rather short, even for my husband. He advanced his way slowly to the closet, I slunk backwards into the darkened portions hoping that maybe I could go unseen.
My hand felt a baseball bat from the days I still played competitive sports and I gripped it tightly. As adrenaline pulsed through my veins I prepared for the very second he would rip open that door. I only had once chance to escape and this was it. I saw the shadow of his frame reaching out to grab the doorknob and he ripped open the closet door. I jumped forward and slammed the bat into his face, he stumbled backwards enough for me to slip out of the closet and down the stairs. I looked around for my husband but when I didn’t see him and I heard the sound of the approaching footsteps I ran down the hall. I felt someone wrap their arms around me and yank me into the linen closet that was under the stairs.
“Shh, be quiet Angel.” I looked up to see my husband staring down at me. I hugged him burying my face into his chest and wept silently. He pulled us back into the small alcove that was hidden in the back of the closet and we hid there in the dark. The door to the small closet opened and the man made his way slowly in. He came to where we were and immediately looked down at us. I recognized his face immediately. He was my father. He pulled out a gun and held it towards my husband, he put himself in front of me to ensure that nothing happened to me. I
I awoke screaming in my bed and my husband immediately shot up from his sleeping position. He wrapped his arms around me and I cried into his chest while trying to form words.
“My father’s back, Johnathon…It was one of those dreams. The one’s I’ve been tormented with. We need to leave before he gets here.” Johnathon looked down at me and nodded. He knew about the premonition like dreams I’ve had since the abuse I suffered at the hands of my father. We got out of bed and quickly changed into our normal everyday clothes. When I heard the sound of glass shattering downstairs I knew we were too late, my father was here. Johnathon looked to where he heard the glass then towards our window. I looked at him like he were insane; there was no way we could jump from the second floor.
“We’re going to have to jump. I know it seems crazy but the house isn’t that tall so we should be fine.” I grabbed my cell phone and nodded reluctantly. Johnathon opened the window and I looked down at the bushes below with aversion but ignored it when I heard the footsteps coming up the stairs. I landed in the bushes below so the fall wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been. Johnathon jumped next, he rolled his body so he landed safely. I looked back towards our bedroom before running off with Johnathon into the woods beside our home.
“We have to get to the neighbor’s house, we’ll have to go through the woods which will take well into tomorrow but we don’t have much of a choice right now. When we get there, call the asylum. Tell them to get the police looking for him.” I looked at Johnathon in amazement at how quickly he formed a plan under the current pressure and nodded. As we fled from the vicinity of the house I could hear my father yelling in anger. He sounded so much more violent, so much angrier than before and I shuddered at the thought of us being at the mercy of his cold-blooded heart.
We must’ve been running for over an hour when exhaustion began to overtake me. I couldn’t keep up the pace of my beloved and yanked him to a stop. He looked at me as I sat on the ground and got the hint, he sat down beside me and held me close to him. The warm June night made me feel a little more at peace considering a madman was chasing after us. I laid my head against his chest and fell asleep almost instantly.