Kidnapped

• Sabina Kim, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2018

Anastasia remembered it all, jolting awake when she heard the emergency evacuation sirens roar till her ears bled. She hurriedly rushed out of bed, running to her parents' bedroom down the hallway. Frantically the girl pulled at the door, meeting their wide, terror-filled eyes. “What’s happening Mum?” she whispered to her mother. The young girl could hear the screams of innocent people from outside. Her knees buckled at the thought of an army of people shooting wildly, inflicting pain on the citizens. At that, she nestled her face into her mother’s comforting arms.
The scene in the Blake family was rare. The cushions all over the floor, the couch pushed against the door. The trash bin tipped over due to frantic running. Their neat and spotless living room gone without a trace. The blinds were all pulled down; the lights turned off, Anastasia lit one candle to illuminate the dark room, and slowly she fell asleep. It was when the clock struck twelve, three men pushed open the door as if the couch resting on it was nothing but a feather, and the lock just a figment of someone's imagination. They were wearing pitch black. One of them picked Anastasia up, as he did she stirred and her eyelids fluttered open. Upon seeing her kidnapper's distressed face, she opened her mouth, ready to scream. But they were too quick. The others assisting, had pulled a gag over her mouth, infused with a nauseating sleep drug. And like they were never there, they slipped away into the darkness just like before. Chaos seized the very next day. The Blake family held countless search missions and the news of a missing child circulated. But they didn't succeed in finding her.
The disgruntled face of a man appeared as soon as Anastasia opened her eyes. "Arhm!" she yelled or tried to. The gag prevented her to speak coherent words. She looked around the vicinity she was in. A small water passage was beside the tree she was tied up against. "We need you to tell us where the note is." Her kidnapper continued grabbing a fistful of Anastasia's hair causing her to wince in pain. The gag was untied so she could speak. "Tell me where the note is or I'll throw you in the river," he growled.
"How would I know where this note you're talking about is?" Anastasia snapped angrily. Her spit flying across the man's face. He stared at her incredulously, dumbfounded. His eyes hardened even more, his jaw was set, smoke coming out of his ears. "Throw her in!" he barked at the shocked man leaning against a tree. He picked up the eleven-year-old, heaving her over his shoulder. She clawed at the man's face, trying to make him let her go. But she was in vain. "Ahhh!” she yelled before she felt water rushing around her.
Two days later, a girl was found on the shore of a beach.