“I’m so glad we came to Iceland over spring break,” Nora says, as she takes another sip of her sweet, milky Cappuccino, “Kind of forgot about it, to be honest.” Nora is an average-sized woman. She has medium-long dirty blonde hair and warm, tanish skin. Her eyes are dark brown. The sun is beaming down on her skin and the breeze was blowing her hair as she and her friends sat outside. It was warm for an Iceland spring, currently it’s 50 degrees Fahrenheit. 

“Me too, it always has been on my bucket list to come here. Plus, since we came in May, there aren’t as many tourists,” replies Ben. Ben was tall, upwards of 6 feet. He had red-brown hair, light skin, freckles, and apple-green eyes. 

“Me three,” says Laura, without looking up from the new novel she just got. She has long red-brown hair and hazel eyes. Her skin is also light and freckled. She’s wearing a pair of tortoiseshell glasses as well. Laura is also on the shorter side, only 5 feet 5 inches tall. 

And then there was a muffled sound that faintly resembled, “Me four,” from Jake, whose mouth is stuffed with a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. Jake is roughly the same height as Ben. Jake has short blonde hair with light tan skin. His eyes are a pale blue. 

These four friends met way back in junior high during a fire drill. They all happened to have the same study hall and never spoke to each other until they were escorted outside that day, April 30, 2010. That day, something clicked after Jake made a dumb joke about the school burning and the teachers making the students leave the building in a single file line. That’s when they suddenly became lifelong friends. Fast forward 13 years to April 30, 2023, Ben proposed to Nora on the same day they met 13 years prior. To celebrate they decided to go on a trip to Iceland with their siblings; Ben’s younger sister, Laura, and Nora’s older brother, Jake. 

And that brings us to today, May 8, 2023. 

“Where do you think we should go next? Anything you all want to go and see?” Nora asks, after finishing her cup of coffee. 

“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m in the mood for some hiking,” Ben suggests. 

Laura’s ears perk up as she looks up with excited eyes, “Yes, we have to do that! What’s the point of being in Iceland if you aren’t even going to see the beautiful landscape?”

Jake nods in agreement as he struggles to swallow the last bite of his sandwich, “Agreed.”

“I found one just south of Reykjavik (RAYK - YAH - VEEK), let's go there,” Ben says.

Before they went to the park, they stopped at their hotel to grab the hiking equipment they had brought. It’s a quick 10-minute walk back to the hotel that they were staying at. When they walk inside, it is about 10 degrees warmer inside the hotel. 

“Is it just me, or is it a little warm in here?” Nora asks, starting to sweat.

“How are you sweating? Are you crazy?” Jake replies astounded. “It’s 60 degrees in here!”

The four of them then take the elevator up to their room. When they step into the room, they are all met with the fresh scent of oranges. The maid had come in while they were gone. She fixed the beds and lit the candle they were smelling. 

“Wow, that smells so good!” Ben exclaimed after inhaling the citrusy aroma.

“I agree, how does this hotel find the best-smelling candles? I think I’m going to ask the front desk on our way out.” Laura replies. 

“How about when we get back? We don’t have much daylight left and the trails take several hours to hike.” 

“Right, we’re going hiking. Forgot that.” Laura giggles. 

They quickly gather their thing and head out to the parking lot. When they reach their rental car, an older-looking man approaches them. 

“Excuse me, would you be so kind as to help me load my things?” the man says, “my back is killing me.”

“Yes, of course!” Jake quickly replies. He sets his hiking gear in the trunk and turns to pursue the man. 

The man walks back towards his rusty, white van. But before Jake can follow, Nora grabs his shoulder.

“Don’t go, this a common tactic used by kidnappers,” she says. She has watched enough Dateline to know some of their schemes. 

“Nora, what is he going to do? He’s a frail old man. What is he gonna do to the four of us?” Jake says, reassuringly. 

Nora thinks about this for a second, she is trying to be a better person. By the time she tries to tell Jake, he is already walking towards the man’s van. She looks behind her at Ben and Laura.

“I agree with you Nora,” says Ben. 

“Well, we can’t just let him go on his own. We’ve got to go with him,” Laura remarks. Her voice sounds anxious. 

The others all approach the man’s van to help load things up. Laura curls her lip at the awful scent coming from the van. It smells like burning rubber and cigarettes. There’s something else she smells. It vaguely resembles human sweat. 

What could be causing that smell? She thinks to herself. 

Just then, they hear the screech of the van doors opening and 6 heavily muscled guys jump out and grab the four friends. Before they can cry for help, the guys cover their mouths with their cold, sweaty hands, throw them in the van, and hit the four over their heads with metal shovels. Then, everything went dark. 

Nora and Jake are the first ones to wake up. They are lying on their sides. The concrete floor beneath them is cold, like ice. After adjusting to the minimal light, Nora tries to stand up. Before she can fully stand, she is pulled back down to the floor. There are chains around her wrists and ankles. The smell of this room is strong. So strong Jake's headache has worsened since waking up. It's almost like a mix of rat poison, cat urine, spoiled mike, and mold. 

Still dazed, Nora asks, “Where are we?”

“Haven’t a clue,” Jake manages to mumble.

“Where’s Ben? And Laura?” Nora says, worried they aren’t there with her and Jake. 

Suddenly, something starts to move under the blanket in the opposite direction of them. They both began to panic as the blanket was lifted off to reveal Ben and Laura sitting, also chained up. 

“Where are we?” Laura asks. 

“I just asked the same question,” Nora replies. 

There is a high-pitched ringing that scares them. It stops and there is an ominous, slightly familiar voice, “Welcome, do you remember me?”

The four friends look at each other with puzzled looks. They recognize the voice from somewhere, but they couldn’t quite put their finger on where they had heard it. 

“It’s me, the poor guy who asked for help? Ring a bell?”

They all look at each other with frightened looks on their faces. Nora looked at Jake and he could read the look in her eyes like an open book.

What did I tell you?

The man continues talking, “Now, the reason that I have brought you here is because I am in desperate need of money. And what better way to earn some money than selling human body parts?”

The joyous way that he said that sent chills down Ben’s spine. Nora and Laura began looking around frantically for a way out and fighting the chains that held them down. 

“Since my first attempt evidently didn’t work, I am sending in my servant to finish off the job in about one minute. Don’t go anywhere! Not that you can anyway…” Finally, there is another loud ringing and the voice concludes. Nora, Jake, Ben, and Laura begin to panic and scream. Just then, the lock on the door sounds like it is being unlocked. They all look at each other, fear coursing through them, their hearts beating out of their chests. They were all thinking the same thing. Are we going to make it out? Is this the end?

The door creaks open and a rather thin boy, about 19 looking, opens the door. Ben and Jake back up as far away from the door as possible. The boy who opened the door puts a finger to his mouth and mouths, Shhhhhhh…

He looks back in the hallway outside the door, then quickly comes into the room and closes the door. He pulls out a set of keys and walks toward Nora and Jake. They try to back away, but the chains prevent them from going any further back. He kneels down and quiets them. 

“Shhhhhhhh… I’m not going to hurt you, I’m trying to get you guys out of here,” he says in a loud, annoyed whisper.

Jake and Nora exchange afraid and confused looks. Do we believe him?

He uncuffs them and walks over to Ben and Laura to uncuff them.

“I’m George, by the way,” he whispers to them.

Laura has to hold in a gag. His breath smells like his teeth haven’t been brushed in decades. 

“Well, George,” Nora says in a matter-of-fact tone, “what makes you think that we can and should trust you of all people?”

“Who’s the one uncuffing you?” he replies, sounding slightly annoyed.

He uncuffs Laura and is about to start with Ben when they hear footsteps in the hallway. George looks up at Ben. 

Oh no…

Ben mouths hurry to him and he quickly takes off the chains. George then pulls out a syringe from his pocket and mouths, pretend you are still in chains.

The four quickly sit back down by their chains. Ben can feel his heartbeat in his fingertips. George stands next to where the door opens. Then, one of the guys that took them walks in and Geroge jumps out and injects him in the neck with whatever was in the syringe. 

Laura lets out a little scream as the man turns around to look at George. He backs away quickly as the man reaches out toward him, but falls to the ground with a loud thud. Ben and Laura stare at the man, motionless on the floor. Jake is turned in the corner, about to throw up. Nora, takes a look at the body, then at George. 

“Well,” George shrugs, “can you trust me now?”

Ben, Laura, and Jake snap out of it and follow Geroge into the hallway. He leads them to the end where there is a single window about 4 feet above them. Ben stands under the window and puts his hands on his knees to reach the window.

“George, or Jake, whoever,” Ben says, “one of you go first so you can lift everyone out.”

“Good idea,” Jake replies. 

First goes Jake. He opens the window and climbs out. Next went Nora. She steps on Ben and Jake pulls her up. Then Laura. Finally, George had to go. But before George could leave, an ominous voice calls out…

“You thought you could escape…” 

Oh…no…

Ben and George turn around and see the man who took them standing about 100 yards away, with a pistol in his hand. 

“But you thought wrong.”

Ben quickly turns toward the window, “George, go, now!”

George hops up and Jake pulls him up. He and George reach down to grab Ben. 

Bang.

Ben screams in agony. Blood is spilling out of the hole in his back.

“No, please!” Nora pleads.

She tries to reach in and grab him but Jake stops her. 

“Run,” Ben cries, “run and get help.”

Laura continues to cry out, but Jake and George pull her away from the window.

Bang.

Ben collapses to the ground. There was blood spilling out of the hole on the back of his head. He’s no longer moving. 

Nora tries to jump in and save Ben, but George grabs her by the wrist and runs as fast as he can. Jake picks Laura up and carries her over his shoulders as they run for dear life. His heart feels like it is going to explode, but he keeps running in hopes of finding someone, anyone to help them.

 ~ 2 Weeks Later… ~

Jake, Nora, and Laura all are standing in the cemetery of their hometown, mourning the death of their best friend. After they escaped, they ran to a small town. After finding the police station they explained what happened to the cops. The cops then went to the building they were held captive in and found that the man who took them was nowhere to be found and Ben’s body still lay where he was shot. The police took his body to their town, where he is to be buried today. 

Nora suggested that she, Laura, Jake, and George should hold a small funeral by themselves. Laura is quietly crying next to the casket. Nora is standing next to her, sobbing as well. Jake and George are on the opposite side of the casket, with blank faces. 

“Well,” Nora says after she finishes crying, “we should bury him soon. There is a storm coming this way.”

Ben’s casket is lowered into the ground by George and Jake. They then bury it. Afterward, they stand in silence as the rain starts to fall. 

“Let's get back to the car before it gets too bad. I don’t want to be driving during a storm,” Jake says.

They all start walking toward the car. All except Laura. She stays behind for a minute. She stands by where Ben was buried. 

“Why,” she cries, “why did you have to die?”

She looks up at the sky to let the rain wash her salty tears away. She starts thinking about when they were kids and all the fun they had. She wishes she could rewind to when life wasn’t so miserable when Ben was still here. She wishes she had gotten the chance to say “ I love you” one last time to her best friend.

“Laura,” Jake yells over the now downpour, “come on, I’m not waiting much longer.”

She took a final look at his grave before walking to the car to go back home, wishing he was right beside her. 

“I love you, Ben,” she whispers, “I’ll miss you.” 

As Jake starts driving, he can’t help but think about spring showers such as this one. How it seems all sad and depressing, but it still brings growth and life. He thinks to himself, could this be what’s happening now? Ben died, but the sadness will eventually fade and bring joy after.