Cars honk and people on cell phones walk by without paying attention to what is happening outside of their mobile devices. The streets are overcrowded and the buildings scratch the sky. Rain begins to fall upon the fragile skin of the pedestrians. I scurry to get inside, sensing a storm coming.
“Welcome to Nate’s Coffee Shop,” a man says to me as I exit the storm outside and enter into the warm building. The scarcity of people relaxes me from the stress of a new job, new apartment, and new people. The number of people in the streets began to grow fewer and fewer. Seeing this, I go outside to try to find my way back home peacefully. The air is cold and my brown hair shifts in the breeze.
Striding down the street I noticed a long shadow growing in front of me. I knew it was not mine for my shadow was short, matching my five foot five height. I tensed up, feeling like I was being followed. All of a sudden something grabbed my arms and forced me to the ground. It slammed my head on the ground and I was knocked out instantly.
When I woke up we were in front of a small, gray building. The clouds had grown dark but there was no more rain. The thing was still holding me and even though I was terrified, I began to get angry.
“WHY DID YOU TAKE ME? I COMMAND YOU TO LET ME GO!” I screamed with the anger bubbling up inside of me. The creature only tightened its grip on me. I knew if I gave up now, it might be the last time I see daylight.
The doors of the building opened like they were cued them with the things mind. The creature shoved me through the doors with force and I landed limply on my stomach. My hands were now tied and my lips bound together with tape. I screamed as I hit the cold, hard floor. I could not move a muscle, it was as though my whole body was paralyzed or maybe the creature had put a curse on me to make me unable to move.
Something from behind picked me up by my bound arms and pushed me into a chair. There I was tied up even more and restrained into the chair. The evil thing left and I was alone in the room. The lights were dim and there were no windows. The room was mostly dark, only the small area surrounding the flickering bulb received a small amount of light. I blended into the room with my black t-shirt and dark jeans. Water leaked down the walls and the ceiling creaked as something walked across it from above.
“What are these things and what do they want with me? I am just a person new to this city. I have never done anything terribly wrong in my life. Why me? Why now? When will I finally escape this abduction?” I asked myself these questions as I sat in the room by myself. I was losing hope, and losing it fast. “Hello! Can anyone hear me?” I shouted to anyone who would listen, trying to attract help. “Help me! I’ve been kidnapped, PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME!”
“No one is going to hear you,” chanted a voice from somewhere in the room. “We’ve taken you for our own pleasure. It amuses us to see your pain and desperation. I hope you don’t mind.”
I began to panic once more. I threw my head from side to side trying to find the voice mocking me. “Leave me alone! Let me back onto the streets and give me back my life!” I tried to convince the voice to let me go.
Voices all around me murmured different chants and cursed about my name. It felt like the room was closing in like the walls in an ancient trap. I shut my eyes tight like a child tormented by the wind at night. I began to feel pain; it came in bursts like being shot by a gun or being beaten by a bat. Hot tears streamed down my face and my eyes filled up with fluid.
I was going to die and I knew it. I felt the devil’s wrath coming on me and felt its fiery breath as it laughed at me. I screamed again and again but no one came to my rescue. I was being tortured, tortured by something that I couldn’t identify. I was being punished by God for the sins that I had commited, but I wasn’t given the option to repent.
All at once the doors were thrust open and light poured into the dark room. The voices disappeared as a figure appeared in the doorway. The light blinded me and forced me to close my eyes tight. As the light dimmed I slowly opened my eyes.
I was not in that room anymore. I lay somewhere looking up a tile ceiling speckled with multicolored dots. I sat up, groaned, and lay back down. I had no idea where I was but the fact that I was not with those creatures anymore put a smile on my face.
Slowly turning my head I noticed the sunlight streaming into the room, there were white curtains and light blue walls. I noticed that the walls were the same color as my eyes and it amused me. I wiggled my fingers which were at my side. I noticed I was in a bed. The sheets were soft and the blankets were warm. But I had a throbbing headache and the pain in my leg was still there.
The door creaked open as someone stepped inside. I closed my eyes fearing the things had come back for me. But instead, a soft voice spoke. “Hello Logan, I am Doctor Marshall. How are you feeling?”
“I, I don’t know where I am. I was just abducted by these crazy things and-” the doctor cut me off.
“Young man, you are in a New York City hospital. You seemed to have fallen down the stairs coming out of a building, hit your head and stumbled into the street. A taxi hit you head on Logan, you shouldn’t be alive. You only came out with a broken foot however and also a head injury. But your heart monitor went straight. You weren’t alive for a minute or two. And we still don’t know how you came back.”
I was flustered. I had no idea what was going on. “That doesn’t make any sense, I was taken by these creatures and then tortured by voices and-” the doctor cut me off again.
“Logan please listen and try to understand what I say to you. You had a serious, life threatening accident. All you need is rest. I’m sure your visions were just hallucinations that you had while asleep.”
I decided to listen to what the doctor said and trusted him about what he was telling me. I continued on my asking questions. “How long was I out?”
“Two weeks.” The doctor replied. “If you need anything, push the button on the side of your bed and I will send a nurse in.” I nodded in agreement and began to close my eyes.
I was still confused on everything that seemed to happen but decided rest was the best thing for me. As I began to doze off I smirked at the idea that I, Logan A. Jones, cheated death.