Chapter 4

It was completely black when Makayla opened her eyes. Dark and inhumanly hot, making it difficult for her to breathe. Her head ached like she’d imagined a hang-over would feel. She swallowed against her dry, sore mouth and throat. Her body was so heavy, her mind so thick with fog she found it difficult to move or think straight.

Her first thought was, what in heavens name did I drink? Then she knew, with certainty, I never had a damn thing to drink. She tried to sit up but was restrained. She moved against her weary body, gasping when she realized she was trapped. Panicked, Makayla pushed and pulled and when she kicked out, her legs hit walls. The space was confined. Like a Box. Shit, she was in a box!

She yelled, but all that replied was the echo of black silence and sound of her own harsh breath. Her heart slammed against her chest with fear as she yelled out again in a voice she barely recognized as her own. It was so shaky and full of terror. Feeling hot tears and panic rise up, a frenzy exploded inside of her. “Remember your training,” she told herself. She closed her eyes tightly and waited for the calm wave to take over.

“Stay calm.” She took a very deep breath in.

“Release.” She exhaled.

Inhaled. “Take in the clarity.”

Exhaled. “Release.”

The calm finally came.

Aaron would find her; she was sure of it. She tried to recall her last memory. Patches of the night returned in fuzzy flashes. She clearly remembered not having a drink, her father died a drunk—there was no hell on earth that could make her drink. She recalled white walls, a shimmering pool and gates of a mansion - girls all dressed in the same white bikini, then nothing.

Her hands came out, fingers feeling the space around her… the texture was rough, hard and dry. Her fingers slid along the unevenness of the wooden box, where she felt small gaps. This was a good thing. Usually soft blends of wood were used for crates, meaning they were easy to break.

She pushed with both hands, bent her knees and pressed against the hard surface with her back, feeling slight movement. Restricted by the cramped space she realized she could not lift her knees enough to kick out. Okay then, she only had her hands to try and force the lid open.

A loud clang came from somewhere close. She listened to the sound of a large machine switch on. Makayla turned her head this way and that, but the darkness was total. Slowly sensation returned and a shiver broke over her skin despite the impossible heat surrounding her.

All at once, she felt the ground beneath her jerk, and then the box began to move. Immediately she started counting the seconds. Seven, eight, nine seconds passed with the slow steady movement of the box and the sound of the machine becoming more distant then overhead the sound of music seeped through. She tried to kick, then pushed and punched with her elbow against the lid until the music got softer and eventually faded away until the only sound left was the soft whir of the mechanical belt carrying her away.

The box jerked her from side to side, as she imagined the crate being pushed by narrow tracks. She wasn’t sure but it felt as if the direction she was traveling had shifted slightly. The noise of the belt and the rattling of the machine got louder, and she could feel the air get colder.

… sixteen, seventeen, eighteen...

She stared in front of her into the nothingness while she counted, trying to hone her senses. Her heavy breathing was met with the sound of the slow clicking and whirring of the conveyer belt. She let out a small scream as the box dropped down a slight decline. Willing herself to calm down, she kept counting …Twenty-nine, Thirty, Thirty-one…

Four-hundred-and-sixty-two seconds in, she heard something familiar, and the sound of the conveyer belt faded as she blocked it out to focus on something else. At first, it was soft but then the distinct hum of tires on a road sounded above her. She was underground, and by the sounds of it, traveling beneath the freeway. Her panic increased. If they were heading for the border, who knew how long it would be before anyone was able to come for her, even Aaron.