I wake up soaked in sweat, and the sheets are wound tightly around me. And I have the worse headache of my life.

I reluctantly open my eyes, fearing the worse. Dear god, what have I done? I try to recall the previous night. It’s all a blur. I remember an acquaintance of mine texted me and asked me to meet him at a local bar for a drink. I’m not much of a drinker, but it had been a long work week, and I decided I could use a change of scenery and some friendly conversation.

It seems l must have met him at the bar and then overindulged. But frankly, that’s just not my style. As I said, I’m not much of a drinker. Usually, I just sip a glass of white wine the whole night. But the pounding in my head and nausea indicate that I’ve done more than sip a Chardonnay. I use the wine glass as a prop so I don’t look out of place. Really.

As I look around the room, it suddenly dawns on me that I’m not in my bedroom. I’m in a kind of dark and creepy cellar or something. As I attempt to get up off the bed, I realize I can’t move. My wrists are tied to a rusty metal headboard. I suddenly have the urge to scream at the top of my lungs. I open my mouth and yell at the top of my voice,” hey, let me the hell out of here. Come and let me the hell out of here, now. You better let me out now. This isn’t funny.” No one comes, and no one answers. I scream louder, “help, help let me out of here, now. I’m supposed to be meeting my mother for lunch.”

I start struggling, but the more I struggle, the tighter the ropes on my wrists feel. I begin crying hard. I cry so hard I start sobbing and can’t catch my breath. I feel as if I might throw up. I realized if I threw up, I could choke to death. So, I take deep, slow breaths to calm myself.

I slowly gain control of the panic I’m feeling, and my breathing becomes easier. But my heart is still beating irregularly. I keep breathing slowly with my eyes closed, and a few minutes later, my heartbeat is back to normal.

I consider what my options are at the moment. I can’t just lie here until the person who tied me up comes back and unties me. But then what? They could murder me and then ditch my body in the woods or something. I don’t like that scenario at all. But isn’t that what always happens in the cheap movies where some woman is stupid enough to go to a bar, get drunk, and is taken advantage of, murdered, and chopped up in pieces.

I decide that my best course of action is to stay calm and wait for the perpetrator to return and then outsmart him. I’m an intelligent woman and used to thinking on my feet under pressure. I’m a lawyer, although I would be hard put to explain to a jury how I was stupid enough to get myself in the predicament I found myself in today.

I have the added benefit of being quite attractive. At least, that is what I’ve been told. So, I decide that I would outwit him and use my female wiles to get my way. Well, maybe I should stick with the intellectual approach as I’m probably not looking my best right at this moment.

And it was at that moment I heard someone unlocking the door. My heart skips a beat or two. I try to keep my calm. I close my eyes, and then the door swings open with a bang that echoes down what sounds like a long empty corridor.

And then someone dressed all in black comes through the door. He has a black hood over his head. I feel as if I might faint. But I don’t. I wait a few moments, and then I say nonchalantly, “OK, the jokes over. Can you please untie me? I have a lot of things I have to get done today.”

I hear breathing, nothing more. And then, the man in black walks slowly over to the bed and stands over me. He’s tall and thin, and his breath smells like something died in his mouth and is rotting there. I try again, “OK, OK, that’s enough for today. I have to get going. I’m on a deadline and don’t have any more time to waste.”

I feel him loom over me. I gulp hard. He unties one of my wrists and says, “alright, let’s take this slow so nobody gets hurt. Lie still, and everything will be alright. Don’t struggle, don’t yell. And don’t do anything you’ll be sorry for. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand. I’m calm. I’m not going to do anything crazy. Just untie me and let me leave. No one ever needs to know about this ever. I promise. Now let me go.”

“You don’t know who I am, do you?”

“No, should I? Why don’t we let that be your little secret? Why don’t you just untie me, let me get dressed, and get out of here? I won’t tell anyone about our little “party.” I’m sure it was all meant to be fun. So, we had a few too many drinks, and we got carried away. That’s how I’ll remember it, anyway.”

“Really, tell me exactly what you remember.

I lie there for a moment, trying to decide the best course of action. And my mind is a total blank. I don’t have any memory of how I came to be here in this nightmare. But obviously, I made some really poor choices last night. And then it occurs to me I don’t have any idea if I’ve only been here one night or one year for that matter. My sweating begins anew.

“Honestly, I can’t remember how I came to be here. I recall that a friend of mine texted me and asked me to meet her at a bar for a drink. I vaguely recall going to a bar on South Street in Philadelphia called the Tattooed Mom. I waited at the bar for about fifteen minutes, and she didn’t show up. I ordered a glass of white wine, took a sip or two, and then made a trip to the Ladies’ room. When I came back to the bar, she still wasn’t there. I texted her and asked if she was on her way. She never answered. So, I gulped the rest of the wine, and that’s the last thing I remember.

And it was at that moment that I realized what had happened. And how I could only blame myself for my current predicament. It was clear now that when I went into the bathroom, this freak dropped a Roffie in my drink. Why the hell did I do something so thoughtless and stupid? Even teenagers and college girls know not ever to leave their drink unattended. But what about my friend Silvia? Why would she text me and not show up? Was she all a part of this nightmare? And then I thought, no way would she do anything like this. She’s one of the most thoughtful and kind people I know.

I look up at the hooded kidnapper and say, “what did you do to my friend Silvia? I know she wouldn’t have any part of this. Did you hurt her? Where is she?

“Alright, Elizabeth, I see your memories are starting to come back. And don’t you worry about Sylvie. I have her, and so far, she is just fine. She’s taking a nap right now. Perhaps I’ll let you see each other later, that is, if you are a good girl.”

“What did you do to her? I want to see her right now. I’m not going to cooperate with you at all until I know she is alright.

“You don’t really have any bargaining power here, Elizabeth. I’m in charge. It’s not like this is Bower and Sons, where you are the boss. You always act like you’re superior to underlings. But not here, I can do anything I want to you, and you can’t do a thing about it. You’re the loser here. You will do exactly as I say, or I will make your friend Sylvie pay the price. And I’ll make you watch the whole time.”

So now I know that this nutjob is somebody from my workplace, and he has Sylvia, and that is how he texted me. He was using her cell phone. I also know that somehow, I’m going to make this monster pay big time. “OK, I understand you’re in charge. I have to do what you say, or you’ll hurt Sylvie. I’ll cooperate, but can I please see Sylvia now?

“You can see Sylvia after you do what I tell you to do and not before. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand, I have to do exactly what you tell me to do, and then I get to see my friend. I promise I’ll be a good girl. What do you want me to do?”

“That’s more like it, I’m going to untie you, and you’re going to slowly stand up and take off your clothes.”

My heart started beating irregularly. And I start thinking, and now I’m going to be raped and murdered. And no one will ever know what happened to me, including my family. And then I thought, wait a minute, I’m not some poor helpless woman. I have the smarts and ten years of Marshall Arts training. I’m going to wait until he unties me, and then I’m going to give him the beating of his life. He’ll cry for his mamma when I’m done with him.

“OK, OK, whatever you want me to do.  Please just untie me. My arms and legs feel numb. You have the restraints so tight. I probably won’t be able even to stand up yet. I feel kind of nauseous too. I need to go to the bathroom, please. I promise to cooperate. I’ll be a good girl, whatever you want. “

“Alright, Elizabeth, now you understand who’s in charge now. And it isn’t you. You get that, now, don’t you?”

“Yes, I understand. You’re in charge. And I apologize if I ever made you feel bad or humiliated you at work. I see now how wrong that was, and I won’t do it again.”

“Alright, I’m going to untie you and let you go to the bathroom. And you aren’t going to try any funny business, or your friend Sylvia will pay the price, go it?”

“Yes, yes, I understand. Please let me go to the bathroom; I can’t hold it in anymore.”

“Stop whining.”

“OK, I’ll cooperate.”

He comes over and looms over me. And I think now he’s going to kill me? I close my eyes for a moment, and I can feel him untie the ropes. I know this is going to be my only chance to overcome this psycho. While he unties my right leg, I pretend to be crying and say, “please, please don’t hurt me.”

He laughs. I had never heard anyone laugh like that before or since, and it was truly the laugh of an insane and evil man. It sent chills down my back. As he unties my left leg, I get ready to kick him in the solar plexus as hard as I can. I know this is probably my one and only chance, and I’ll take it to a higher level. I’ll make it the kill strike if I have to.

“Oh, thank you so much,” I say, and then I kick him so hard his mama can feel it. And down he goes like a sack of rotten potatoes. I kicked him so hard that my legs muscles cramp up, and my hips hurt. And I grab the ropes and start tying him using all the knots I learned in the ten years I was a Girl Scout. I know they would come in handy someday. I finish it off with the constrictor knot. He’ll have to be cut out of these ropes.

He’s having trouble catching his breath. I give him another kick just for the hell of it. And then I go looking for Sylvia. I hear a muffled moaning from the other side of the wall. And there she is, tied with her arms behind her back and her legs tied tightly to the steel bunk she’s lying on. There are tears running down her face making clean tracks in her face, which was covered in some kind of filth.

“Oh honey, it’s alright. I’m here now. That piece of shit isn’t going to hurt you anymore. He’ll be going to prison for a long, long time. I carefully untie first her wrist and then her legs. She begins sobbing and choking. “Come on, try to sit up. You’re alright now. No one is going to hurt you anymore. I help her sit up, and she hugs me like she’s never going to let go. “You’re safe now, try and stand up.” She gets unsteadily to her feet, shaking like a leaf from head to toe. I hug her again.

“Elizabeth, you’re alright. I was so afraid he was going to kill you. He absolutely despises you. He told me that you were always emasculating him at work. And he was going to make you regret the day you were born. He told me he tailed you one Friday after work, and he saw us meet up, and then he followed me home. And then he found out who I was through your Social Media. I never realized how dangerous it was to put all your personal information on the internet. Anyone can find out where you live, where you work, who your friends are, and where you work. I’m going to delete any personal informant today.”

“Do you know where he put your cell phone?”

The last time I saw him talking on it, he put it down on that counter over there. But I don’t know if it’s still there. Since he kept drugging me until I stopped eating, then he put it in the water I drank.”

“How awful. I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. I can be somewhat difficult at work after years of working for men treating me like their slave or their mother. I got sick of it. And then, I started moving up in my company. I started doing the same to them. Come on, can you stand up? Let’s go call the police.”

After the police arrive, Elizabeth and Sylvia give their statements, and the paramedics look them over. They decide Sylvia needs to go to the hospital to be checked out because of dehydration and not eating for several days.

“I would like to go with Sylvia to the hospital if I can?”

“Of course, you can ride in the back with her. I’m sure she would feel better with a friend accompanying her. She’s had a really rough time of it.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that. She’s a good friend. And it’s my fault this happened to her.”

“No, you both are victims here. None of this is your fault. Go ahead and climb in the back and take care of your friend. You’re both in good hands now.”

Elizabeth and Sylvia sit quietly in the ambulance the whole ride. Before they pull into the Emergency parking at the hospital, Elizabeth leans down and kisses Sylvia on the cheek and hugs her, and says, “don’t worry, I’m going to stick with you like glue from now on.”

“Thanks, Elizabeth, you saved both of our lives. I’ll be careful and stay on your right side because you are a force to be reckoned with, that’s for sure.”

They hold each other’s hands the whole time that Sylvia is being examined, and then the doctor tells Sylvia it would be a good idea for her to stay overnight for observation, and she will be released in the morning. “Can I stay with her doctor?”

“Yes, of course, but wouldn’t you like to go home and get changed?”

“No, I’ll just wash up in the bathroom and sit next to my friend until she’s released. Then I’ll call a cab to take her home. I’m sure I’ll fall asleep sitting up, no problem. Thank you for taking care of us. I appreciate that. I know I don’t tell people often enough that I appreciate what they do. I will from now on, that’s for sure.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll come back later before my shift is up to check on you both.”

“Thanks again.”

Elizabeth steps into the bathroom and looks at herself in the mirror. She looks like something the cat dragged in on a cold night. She washes her face and hands. And then runs her fingers through her hair and goes to the bathroom. She returns quietly to the room and sits next to her friend, who is fast asleep and breathing evenly.

“Good night, Sylvia.” Then she stretches her legs out in front of her, puts her head down, and falls asleep. She doesn’t wake up for four hours until the night nurse comes in to check on Elizabeth. And then she wakes with a start. “What’s going on?”

“I’m the nurse I’m checking on your friend. She’s doing fine. Can I get you a pillow or anything?”

“No, I’ve never been better in my life, and then her eyes close, and she is off to the Land of Nod.

To read more, enter your email address to Subscribe to my Blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.