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The Rescue
“You will never be able to get out of this.” Ray rolled out the judgment. But his sister, Lisa was hardly worried.
She had done it a million times. And tonight, she was again sneaking out of her room in the middle of the night to meet her boyfriend.
The ever-cautious Ray had warned her not to do this tonight. Their house was hosting their aunts and cousins who had arrived with packed suitcases that day morning. The Mitchells had rented a cabin in the woods and they were going on a hiking trip together. The number of people who could catch her slipping out was high tonight.
“You worry too much. They are all asleep! And you know the drill.”
When Ray continued to frown, she asserted, “See, Jason lives just a few blocks away. I need to see him tonight before we go away for a week. I’ll be back in two hours. Just hold the fort till then, brother!”
Lisa slipped her mobile in the back pocket of her blue denim and trotted to the window of her room. It was on the first floor and she had become adept at quietly climbing down to the ground.
She covered the last two feet distance to the ground with a muffled thump and tiptoed out of the premises. She walked for less than a minute on the pavement to find Jason, her boyfriend, parked in his second-hand, deep blue Corolla.
Spotting her in his rear-view mirror, he dipped the lights twice. She scuttled the remaining few metres and got in the car.
“Good to see you, Lis!, Yellow suits you,” Jason said the moment she settled in.
“Thanks, Jase. I snuck out this top from my cousin Mer’s suitcase!”, she grinned ear to ear.
Her grin was contagious. Jason caught on and asked “All set for the feat?”.
“Oh yes! Let’s go go go!”, she exclaimed excitedly.
***
Ray went back to his room to sleep. He had to tiptoe too as his cousin was sleeping in his room. He carefully pulled up the covers and slid inside. Ron stirred in his sleep making some unfathomable noises, looked at Ray with his eyes half-open and dozed off again.
Ray heaved a sigh of relief and settled down. It took him a few minutes to drift off. He had four hours till his parents’ alarm went off waking up the whole family.
***
The car came to an abrupt halt in the middle of nowhere.
“Wh…what happened? Did we run out of gas?”, Lisa’s query drew only silence from Jason.
It took a few seconds for Lisa to realise that it hadn’t broken down. She looked at Jason, but his face was blank.
“Jase, what is it? Why have we stopped here? Our destination is still twenty minutes away.”
“I am sorry, Lis.”
An eerie feeling ran down her spine. With furrowed brows, she tried to make sense of Jason’s expressions. There was anger and determination in his eyes, with a tinge of guilt.
Before she could conclude, her door was opened from outside and a pair of hands appeared. One grabbed her right arm, while the other hand unbuckled her from the seat. Another man opened the door behind her and entered the car.
But Lisa was too occupied with her captor.
“Hey, who are….what are you doing? Jase, hel..”, before she could finish her cry for help, the man sitting behind her gagged her, pulled her hands up behind the headrest and tied them.
Her pulse was frantic and her cheeks were wet with sweat and tears. One thought kept lighting up in her head but she tried to shove it away.
‘No, it isn’t. ‘
‘It just cannot be.’
“Lisa Mitchell. You are being kidnapped.” The man sitting in the back seat of the car spoke.
“You better remember your father’s number. You’re going to need it.”
***
“Ray, where is Lisa?”, his father asked. The vein on his forehead pulsing anxiously.
“Errr..dad, I…don’t know. She must be in her r..”
“Don’t you dare complete that sentence. Do you take us for fools?”
“No, dad. I am sorry…she always came back on time..”
“Always? She…you both have done this before?”
“Err..dad..”
His mom pushed his father back to took over interrogating Ray. But when she opened her mouth, only a soft ringing came out.
Her lips kept moving, but the ringing got louder and louder.
And then, Ray woke up with a jerk. It was a dream. His mother’s alarm had gone off.
He felt relieved. He would have been grounded if his parents had found out their daughter had snuck out with his help.
And then it struck him. It was four a.m. and Lisa wasn’t back yet. Or, was she?
He jumped out of bed and headed to her room,...
She had done it a million times. And tonight, she was again sneaking out of her room in the middle of the night to meet her boyfriend.
The ever-cautious Ray had warned her not to do this tonight. Their house was hosting their aunts and cousins who had arrived with packed suitcases that day morning. The Mitchells had rented a cabin in the woods and they were going on a hiking trip together. The number of people who could catch her slipping out was high tonight.
“You worry too much. They are all asleep! And you know the drill.”
When Ray continued to frown, she asserted, “See, Jason lives just a few blocks away. I need to see him tonight before we go away for a week. I’ll be back in two hours. Just hold the fort till then, brother!”
Lisa slipped her mobile in the back pocket of her blue denim and trotted to the window of her room. It was on the first floor and she had become adept at quietly climbing down to the ground.
She covered the last two feet distance to the ground with a muffled thump and tiptoed out of the premises. She walked for less than a minute on the pavement to find Jason, her boyfriend, parked in his second-hand, deep blue Corolla.
Spotting her in his rear-view mirror, he dipped the lights twice. She scuttled the remaining few metres and got in the car.
“Good to see you, Lis!, Yellow suits you,” Jason said the moment she settled in.
“Thanks, Jase. I snuck out this top from my cousin Mer’s suitcase!”, she grinned ear to ear.
Her grin was contagious. Jason caught on and asked “All set for the feat?”.
“Oh yes! Let’s go go go!”, she exclaimed excitedly.
***
Ray went back to his room to sleep. He had to tiptoe too as his cousin was sleeping in his room. He carefully pulled up the covers and slid inside. Ron stirred in his sleep making some unfathomable noises, looked at Ray with his eyes half-open and dozed off again.
Ray heaved a sigh of relief and settled down. It took him a few minutes to drift off. He had four hours till his parents’ alarm went off waking up the whole family.
***
The car came to an abrupt halt in the middle of nowhere.
“Wh…what happened? Did we run out of gas?”, Lisa’s query drew only silence from Jason.
It took a few seconds for Lisa to realise that it hadn’t broken down. She looked at Jason, but his face was blank.
“Jase, what is it? Why have we stopped here? Our destination is still twenty minutes away.”
“I am sorry, Lis.”
An eerie feeling ran down her spine. With furrowed brows, she tried to make sense of Jason’s expressions. There was anger and determination in his eyes, with a tinge of guilt.
Before she could conclude, her door was opened from outside and a pair of hands appeared. One grabbed her right arm, while the other hand unbuckled her from the seat. Another man opened the door behind her and entered the car.
But Lisa was too occupied with her captor.
“Hey, who are….what are you doing? Jase, hel..”, before she could finish her cry for help, the man sitting behind her gagged her, pulled her hands up behind the headrest and tied them.
Her pulse was frantic and her cheeks were wet with sweat and tears. One thought kept lighting up in her head but she tried to shove it away.
‘No, it isn’t. ‘
‘It just cannot be.’
“Lisa Mitchell. You are being kidnapped.” The man sitting in the back seat of the car spoke.
“You better remember your father’s number. You’re going to need it.”
***
“Ray, where is Lisa?”, his father asked. The vein on his forehead pulsing anxiously.
“Errr..dad, I…don’t know. She must be in her r..”
“Don’t you dare complete that sentence. Do you take us for fools?”
“No, dad. I am sorry…she always came back on time..”
“Always? She…you both have done this before?”
“Err..dad..”
His mom pushed his father back to took over interrogating Ray. But when she opened her mouth, only a soft ringing came out.
Her lips kept moving, but the ringing got louder and louder.
And then, Ray woke up with a jerk. It was a dream. His mother’s alarm had gone off.
He felt relieved. He would have been grounded if his parents had found out their daughter had snuck out with his help.
And then it struck him. It was four a.m. and Lisa wasn’t back yet. Or, was she?
He jumped out of bed and headed to her room,...
