ONE
Where are we?
Katerina.
I wake up in an unfamiliar place, not knowing
where I am or how I got here. My body is laying against something
hard and very cold. My arms are behind my back and they’re
cramping. I go to move them, but I can’t. I open my eyes and jerk
up to see that I’m lying on a dirty concrete floor. My hands are
tied behind my back, and they’re attached to somebody
else.
“ Damon,” I say, my voice hoarse.
It barely comes out as a whisper.
He doesn’t respond, and I pray that he’s
alive.
I pray like I’ve never prayed
before.
“ Damon,” I say, a little
louder.
Memories come rushing back to me of getting in
the car with Matthews and Rafael.
They… drugged us. That part is hazy. In fact,
almost everything after getting in the car is hazy.
Oh my gosh. Matthews! I trusted him! He’s
spent the night on my floor before! He’s had many opportunities to
kidnap me. Why did he wait so long? Why now? And why did he have to
kidnap Damon too?
I try and reach for my phone in my back
pocket, to see if it’s still there. It’s not. Guess they were
smarter than I thought.
“ Damon, please wake up,” I say
again, this time on the verge of tears.
He still doesn’t respond, but I hear him take
a deep breath. Relief rushes through me. At least he’s alive.
Whatever they gave us was strong. I can’t even feel my legs, and
barely my arms. My head is aching, probably because I need water.
Who knows how long we’ve been passed out.
I think about the Glock that Tristan gave me.
It’s sitting in the top drawer of my desk at school. A lot of good
it’s going me there. I should’ve had that gun on me at all times. I
could’ve prevented this.
Tristan is probably so upset right now. So is
Alik. And my dad. I wonder if he’s found mum yet. He will. And he
will find me too, I have to believe that.
It isn’t just me missing. Damon Hartley is missing
too. The whole United States will be looking for him. I wouldn’t be
surprised if the military was looking for us right now. I just hope
they can find us, wherever we are.
“ Did we get on an airplane?” I
hear Damon ask from behind me. His voice is weak and he still
sounds half asleep.
“ I don’t know,” I whisper. “I
don’t remember much.”
“ They held you down gave you a
shot. And then me one,” he says. “I remember getting on a jet, but
I don’t remember anything else.”
“ Where do you think we are?” I
ask.
“ I don’t know,” he answers. “Maybe
Russia.”
“ This isn’t good. This could start
a war. You’re… you,” I say. “Your dad is going to do whatever it
takes to get you back safely.”
“ Yeah.”
“ I’m sorry that I dragged you into
this,” I tell him.
“ I’m glad I am with you,” Damon
says. “I’d hate to think of you being here all alone.”
I feel him squeeze my hand, and a very selfish
part of me is glad he’s here too. I would be scared if I was all
alone. Having him here makes it all better. Even though I am
worried about him. I can’t lose Damon. No matter what happens, I
have to protect him.
“ My dad will find us,” Damon tells
me, his voice sounding stronger now. “I know he will. He’s probably
got all of the United States military here, looking for me. He
would’ve been alerted the second that he knew I was
missing.”
“ I wonder how long it took them to
figure it out,” I say.
“ I don’t know,” he says. “I just
want to know where we’re at and how long we’ve been
here.”
I know that the longer we’re missing, the
harder we will be to find. I just hope that they find us soon,
before we’re killed. I’m only sixteen. I still have so much to live
for—so much to experience. So does Damon. This can’t be how it
ends.
“ I bet Tristan is freaking out,”
Damon says.
“ No. I bet Tristan is calm. He’s
unreasonably chill when there is a crisis going on. Alik, on the
other hand, is probably freaking out,” I say.
“ My dad is probably
Where are we?
Katerina.
I wake up in an unfamiliar place, not knowing
where I am or how I got here. My body is laying against something
hard and very cold. My arms are behind my back and they’re
cramping. I go to move them, but I can’t. I open my eyes and jerk
up to see that I’m lying on a dirty concrete floor. My hands are
tied behind my back, and they’re attached to somebody
else.
“ Damon,” I say, my voice hoarse.
It barely comes out as a whisper.
He doesn’t respond, and I pray that he’s
alive.
I pray like I’ve never prayed
before.
“ Damon,” I say, a little
louder.
Memories come rushing back to me of getting in
the car with Matthews and Rafael.
They… drugged us. That part is hazy. In fact,
almost everything after getting in the car is hazy.
Oh my gosh. Matthews! I trusted him! He’s
spent the night on my floor before! He’s had many opportunities to
kidnap me. Why did he wait so long? Why now? And why did he have to
kidnap Damon too?
I try and reach for my phone in my back
pocket, to see if it’s still there. It’s not. Guess they were
smarter than I thought.
“ Damon, please wake up,” I say
again, this time on the verge of tears.
He still doesn’t respond, but I hear him take
a deep breath. Relief rushes through me. At least he’s alive.
Whatever they gave us was strong. I can’t even feel my legs, and
barely my arms. My head is aching, probably because I need water.
Who knows how long we’ve been passed out.
I think about the Glock that Tristan gave me.
It’s sitting in the top drawer of my desk at school. A lot of good
it’s going me there. I should’ve had that gun on me at all times. I
could’ve prevented this.
Tristan is probably so upset right now. So is
Alik. And my dad. I wonder if he’s found mum yet. He will. And he
will find me too, I have to believe that.
It isn’t just me missing. Damon Hartley is missing
too. The whole United States will be looking for him. I wouldn’t be
surprised if the military was looking for us right now. I just hope
they can find us, wherever we are.
“ Did we get on an airplane?” I
hear Damon ask from behind me. His voice is weak and he still
sounds half asleep.
“ I don’t know,” I whisper. “I
don’t remember much.”
“ They held you down gave you a
shot. And then me one,” he says. “I remember getting on a jet, but
I don’t remember anything else.”
“ Where do you think we are?” I
ask.
“ I don’t know,” he answers. “Maybe
Russia.”
“ This isn’t good. This could start
a war. You’re… you,” I say. “Your dad is going to do whatever it
takes to get you back safely.”
“ Yeah.”
“ I’m sorry that I dragged you into
this,” I tell him.
“ I’m glad I am with you,” Damon
says. “I’d hate to think of you being here all alone.”
I feel him squeeze my hand, and a very selfish
part of me is glad he’s here too. I would be scared if I was all
alone. Having him here makes it all better. Even though I am
worried about him. I can’t lose Damon. No matter what happens, I
have to protect him.
“ My dad will find us,” Damon tells
me, his voice sounding stronger now. “I know he will. He’s probably
got all of the United States military here, looking for me. He
would’ve been alerted the second that he knew I was
missing.”
“ I wonder how long it took them to
figure it out,” I say.
“ I don’t know,” he says. “I just
want to know where we’re at and how long we’ve been
here.”
I know that the longer we’re missing, the
harder we will be to find. I just hope that they find us soon,
before we’re killed. I’m only sixteen. I still have so much to live
for—so much to experience. So does Damon. This can’t be how it
ends.
“ I bet Tristan is freaking out,”
Damon says.
“ No. I bet Tristan is calm. He’s
unreasonably chill when there is a crisis going on. Alik, on the
other hand, is probably freaking out,” I say.
“ My dad is probably
Similar Books
