Stolen

Carmen woke up with a bag over her head and her hands locked behind her. She struggled but someone smacked the back of her head which was already sore. She whimpered.

“Just shut up,” a harsh voice said. “We’re almost there.”

She didn’t know what to say or do so she complied. She had read stories and seen movies about kidnappers but she never thought she’d be kidnapped one day. They always fought back but, at the moment, the only fighting she was doing was keeping her dinner from making an appearance.

The car came to an abrupt halt and she went sliding forward into the back of a seat. The man swore and cussed the driver out. He took her arm roughly and pulled her out. She could smell the woods and tripped in the heels she was wearing. For a moment, she regretted that she was wearing her dress. Her mother had spent a lot of money on it.

She kept stumbling but her captor didn’t care. She heard a door open and the bag was finally taken off her head. She spat hair out of her mouth and looked around.

They were in a hangar of some sort. A long line of people was in the middle and she was forced in between two young men. They were both shaking and pale. She could tell they were twins which reminded her of Kevin. Her heart ached. Would she ever see him again?

“So glad you could finally join us,” a woman snapped but her captor snorted.

“He almost choked,” he said.

She scoffed. “Well, now he’ll realize how lucky he is. He’ll be leading that hospital in no time.”

“If you say so.”

“Just go,” she snapped and he left.

She was still bound and looked around some more. There weren’t any other exits, much to her dismay. The woman began to pace in front of her, calling out names. Carmen nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard her name. She squeaked a little and the woman snorted.

“Don’t be a mouse,” she said. “And don’t worry. We’re not going to hurt you if you cooperate.”

Carmen wanted to know what that meant but was also too afraid to ask. She stayed silent as she finished calling names. Finally, she put the clipboard down and beamed at them all.

“Well, I’m glad that you’re all here,” she said. “My name is Barbara. From now on, you’ll refer to me only as Warden. You’re probably wondering why you’re here, yes? The answer is simple: You each have exhibited certain traits and abilities that we’re very interested in. Why do you have them? What can they do? How can we use them?

“The government has not sanctioned this program but we hope to show them why they should. Remember that when you try to fight us. Though there are few of you here, you are replaceable.” She cleared her throat. “So, let’s begin with meeting your roommates.”

Carmen was shaking and the twin to her right gave her a reassuring smile.

“It’ll be okay,” he said in a hoarse voice.

“Shut up,” the Warden snapped. “Carmen Jones, your roommate is Braden Engleton.”

She was grabbed along with an old man. He looked like he was in his late 60s. They were dragged through a door and she winced as the light stabbed her eyes. The hallways were like mazes and soon they were pushed into room 707. They stumbled in and the guard slammed the door.

“It’ll be okay,” he repeated the words of the twin. He smiled. “Your name is Carmen?” She could only nod. “Tell me about yourself, Carmen.”

=

For two weeks they came to do their tests. They shaved off her hair but shaved Braden completely. They were bound all the time unless they were using the restroom or being tortured. They weren’t allowed baths or showers regularly and the guards liked to make fun of them. They didn’t have a bed; just blankets.

Each winter was a nightmare. Carmen was worried she’d die from the cold. She and Braden would curl up together for warmth. They became close and started sharing their stories. When she found out about his invisibility, they formed their plan. In the process, they also learned a lot about The Agency.

“They plan on using us as weapons,” he said one night after being tortured. She was doing her best to tend to him with her bound hands behind her. “There’s a town not far from here that they’re going to test us on.”

“How can they use us as weapons?” she asked, horrified.

“Control collars.” He closed his eyes wearily. “I don’t know if I’ll survive much longer.”

“Don’t talk like that,” she whispered. “You have to. You’re my only friend.”

He sighed. “I hate seeing you in here, Carmen. You’re too young for this.” His eyes opened and looked at her. “Will you do me a favor?”

“Of course.”

“Get out of here.”

She stared at him. “What?”

“Get out of here. And when you do, I want you to find someone named Jenna Engleton. She’s my daughter.” He was crying. “Tell her I said I love her.”

“Don’t talk like that, Braden,” she said and cried, too. “You’ll be fine.”

“He wasn’t, though,” Carmen said as she accepted yet another tissue. “He was tortured and killed when they realized we were using our abilities to find a way to escape.”

Gaby had been recording the story which was a good thing. Her face was in her hands and her shoulders were shaking. Vincent reached over and pressed the stop button. Carmen shut her eyes and started to shake, too. Vincent put his arm around her and she immediately turned her face to his side. She inhaled deeply. There was something about being near him that made her feel safe.

“Oh, Carmen,” Gaby groaned. “I am so sorry, sweetie.” She blew her nose. “You think they were talking about Kendrick?”

She nodded. “I’m positive. And do you think you can help me find Jenna Engleton?”

“Of course,” she said, her voice stuffy. “We’ll start on Facebook.”

“Facebook?” Carmen asked. “What’s Facebook?”

“I’ll show her later,” Vincent said. “Is there anything else you two need to talk about?”

“Did you get this Barbara’s last name?” Gaby asked.

“No,” she said. “And all I know is that they’re fifty miles east of here. I’m not sure how much luck you’ll have in finding them, though. They have defense systems, you see. There were whispers that they can make the facility invisible but no one could verify it.”

Gaby sighed. “This is a lot of information you’ve given me. I’ll need a few days to go over it all and make a statement. Then we need to get a subpoena from the state.”

Someone knocked and poked their head in. It was a desk cop and he looked harassed.

“There are a lot of people out here,” he said.

“What do you mean?” Gaby asked.

“Reporters. ‘Pparantly they recognized your car, Mr. Davenport.”

Vincent sighed. “Great.”

“What do we do?” Gaby asked.

“Take me out there,” Carmen sighed.

“What?” the three asked in unison.

“I’m done hiding, everyone. We’ll let them know that, yes I’m back, but I’m not answering questions or anything of the like.”

“You’re asking for trouble,” Gaby said.

“With all due respect,” Carmen said as she stood, “you don’t know what trouble is, Gaby.”