C1 THE HOSTAGE

When she first heard a strange sound behind her, she thought it was the whispers of echoes from somewhere else, perhaps from the few trees around the shopping mall.

Annie had just finished shopping and was loading her back seat with the things she bought from the shopping mall.

It was going to be Karie’s birthday and a handful of guests are expected to arrive at 3 pm. She glanced at her wristwatch again just to make sure she was working with time.

I0am was still far away; she thought as she loaded the final cooking stuff, she bought from Desandra shopping mall.

The noise behind her came again.

It was the same noise she heard before although a little different, but sounded alike. She pretends not to have heard anything, besides the car park had other cars parked in it and a few persons were already coming in for early morning shopping.

Finally taking a sigh of relief that she had everything she needed for the party by checking and cross-checking the shopping list and recipe list, she withdrew from her back seat.

The moment she was about to shut the door to the back seat so she could open the front door to seat down and then drive home. She heard another sound that was so close, and now, it was not just a sound but a voice, a voice so deep and cracked. As she attempted to slowly turn around to see—

“Don’t even think of doing that.” An audible voice that seems to screw deep into her eardrums came from behind her. An unexpected tension grips her to a spot and suddenly she felt nervous, so nervous that her hands tremble beside her and her lips shivers. Her heartbeat pounded hard against her chest region in such a way she felt her blood pressure was going to rise.

She felt intimidated but a stroke of fear fired through her spine. Her heart started beating fast once more, so fast that her thought slipped for a moment.

This could only be happening in her dream but now she wasn’t dreaming or was she?

Her thought resurrects as fast as it slipped a few seconds ago.

Who is behind me?

What does he want at this early hour of the morning, and right before a shopping mall?

She felt terrified when the deep voice spoke again. This time, she could tell it was a male voice but what she cannot immediately tell was how old the man was. He could be above forty years she guesses, but why was his voice cracked like that of an old man? The temptation to spin around came again, but she struggled to suppress it. And with every passing minute that ticked by her thoughts could not merge on who could be doing this to her.

Could it be a daylight criminal that wants to rob her?

Was he trying to steal from me or an assassin?

Is he an assassin?

Her eyes bulged as her piling thoughts kept on piercing through her bones, hurting her, breaking her, and giving her all the chills that got her throat shivering and her lips trembling.

“What do you want—?” she managed to voice out, but out of shivering lips. She still cannot understand why this should be happening to her on her daughter’s birthday. A day that should be filled with happiness, and now almost been ruined by a stranger right behind her giving her all the commands, she hates to hear.

He never answered a word, but instead stood behind her and watched her being tormented by her lingering fears. He loves to see that happen to her. Just what he wanted and has always wanted, to give the scare of her life.

Her eyes fell on her wristwatch once more, and now it has struck 10:21 pm. She felt so confused. Somebody she has no idea about was right behind her and giving all the instructions. She wanted to ignore him and just open the front seat to drive away when the voice came again as if he was reading her thoughts. This time, his voice sounded dangerously low, and the notes were saddled with hate, malice and—

And something else she can’t even place.

What does he want from me?

Was he a rapist?

A rapist is around a shopping mall and is trying to do what?

Her thought raged and then suddenly, she felt the coldness of his pistol right behind her spine. And the moment his voice crawled into her eardrums once more, she felt a chill run through her body. Now she knew this was no longer child’s play, but was serious.

“I will blow your spine off and you will never walk again the rest of your life and that is if you don’t drop dead here—” His words came upon Annie as though he had already released the first bullet, but then he hasn’t and now, she finds it difficult to believe this was happening to her.

Was this happening to me in a shopping mall?

In a public place where people were walking around?

Can‘t they see what this man is doing behind my back and raise an alarm or just call the police or dial 911?

Her thoughts fired.

She felt it was a nightmare and was trying to force herself up from the bed but somehow she felt that would be a funny thing to have thought of, she knew this cannot be a nightmare but wants to look or seems like a daylight robbery.

What does he want?

The $2000 in my purse not yet spent on shopping?

But then she realizes the man was acting as though they were lovers and there was no way people around would even suspect a thing, and now she is held, hostage.

Somehow, she was beginning to feel the man knows what he was doing, he was not only acting smart but like a lover.

Why was he doing this?