Kidnapped

I opened my drooping eyes slowly. The stench in my surroundings was unbearable and I almost keeled over with nausea at the foul smell.  I realised that I was sitting on an old creaky chair which was groaning under my weight. My hands and legs were tied firmly to the chair in case I escaped. I tried to free my hands but the more I squirmed, the more the rope chafed my wrist. After trying so hard, I still could not free my hands and legs; it just enervated me more.

Why am I here? Am I kidnapped? Where are my parents? What is going to happen next? Hundreds of questions started flooding my mind. I could feel my heart racing in my chest, blood pulsing hot and fast through my veins.

Creak! The door opened.Some unfamiliar people came in. They saw me trying to escape. “You better not try to come out or else…” one of them lashed out at me in brutal anger. Another burly man then barged into the room  – draped in dishevelled hair, and plastered with a long scrape across his right cheek – and stared at me with the wildest-looking slit eyes. His head hung low but I could not understand why. 

To my utmost surprise, he offered me some food as soon as he heard the subtle rumblings of my stomach. It was then I realised that he was handicapped. He was balancing the plate on his arm as he did not have any fingers! I almost choked out in horror. The other men were bold and muscular. Fearing that it could be my last meal, I gobbled it all down at one sitting frantically.

I was about to finish my food when I saw a piece of paper in it. It said ‘once I was also kidnapped like you. I can help you but do not tell the other men that I am doing so. There is a phone in the cupboard at the left corner of the room. Use it to call your parents and police. I have always wanted to escape by jumping out of the window but was caught red handed and all my fingers were chopped off’. This paper was probably left by the handicapped man who avoided eye contact with me all this while.

Suddenly the door flung open and the men stormed in. They found me reading the paper. Icy fear pooled in my stomach. I dropped the paper immediately into the glass of water on the table beside me.

“What are you reading!” a flame of anger leapt from their faces as they shrieked in unison. I felt as if I was walking on eggshells. I sat there in stoic resignation. They took away the tiny strip of paper and tried to make out the handwriting. Fortunately, the pen ink was all smudged so they could not read it. I heaved a temporary sigh of relief.

I found myself cast adrift in an alien territory where my beloved mother, like a missing anchor, was nowhere in sight. After being held captive for what seemed like an eternity, I decided to muster up all my courage and heeded the instructions on the snippet of paper.

Through repeated abrasion between the ropes and the splintered chair, I managed to unshackle my limbs, before retrieving the phone in the cupboard to call my parents. Upon hearing my delicate predicament, they knew exactly what was to be done. It was a solemn affair concerning life and death. There was no time and space for fear and anxiety to thwart them from taking swift and decisive actions. Calming myself down through the umpteeth deep breath,  I peered out the window and described my surrounding environment with perfect precision. 

Boom! Boom! Boom! The rickety wooden floor protested under the thunderous stomping of the kidnappers. Without further ado, I hung up the phone and kept it back in the cupboard. I sat on the chair and tied my legs and arms with the ropes again. Satisfied that I was a submissive hostage, the men went back out again after running a casual check.

After some time I heard a commotion outside. The door was pummelled open and this time it was the police. I was overwhelmed with joy and relief. My parents came running towards me like a speeding bullet and squeezed me hard in their warm embrace. 

The nightmare of terror was finally over.

For enquiries about our quality English lessons or writing services, please contact The Useful English Tutor at 9747-0937.