Untitled Thriller: Chapter 3
Vivian woke groggy and her head was still spinning. She opened her eyes and tried to close her dry mouth only to find she was gagged. She craned her neck to take in her surroundings. No, her head wasn’t spinning, she was moving. I’m in the trunk of a car! Taking slow deep breaths, she tried to calm herself.
Deep, muffled sounds came from the cabin. Vivian listened close to see if she could make out the rumbles. Hmm, either he’s listening to the radio or talking to someone. Either way, sounds like he’s distracted. She started feeling for an emergency handle to pop the trunk. Dumb thugs, not so smart, are you? She found the small lever and pulled. The trunk popped open and she peeked her head up just enough to look out. What are you going to do now? She thought to herself. OK, maybe they are smart. If I jump out now I probably won’t make the landing. If I did live through the landing, I’d probably get hit by the car behind us. Wait! There’s a car behind us!
Vivian pulled her feet to her hands which were bound behind her back and worked her shoe off her foot. She rolled over so her hands faced the open trunk. She held onto the laces and dangled the shoe out the trunk. Oh please someone see me! It was dark and she hoped the driver behind them was a Californian or at least someone from the Eastside who would tailgate enough to see her cry for help.
She tried swinging her shoe-lure back and forth to catch their attention. She heard a car speed up along the driver’s side, as if passing.
They were yelling. “Hey! Hey! Your trunk is open! Hey man! Secure your load!”
Oh no! Don’t just yell. Oh, please pull over with us!
Vivian quickly reeled her shoe back in and wiggled to put it back on. The car pulled to the right and she could hear the crackle of gravel under the heavy tires. She didn’t hear any other car pull up. Vivian quickly rolled onto her back with her feet up facing the slightly open trunk lid. She heard steps coming closer and saw a shadow standing in front. Fingers curled under the trunk lid. The lid flung open and she threw a kick to the shadow’s chest knocking the wind out of him. He stumbled back briefly and lunged forward to close the lid on her again. Just as the lid came down on her, she gave it a hard kick, clipping him under the chin. The lid flung open and she saw the figure fall back. His head hit the pavement. Vivian waited, her bound feet hanging over the lip of the trunk, watching to see if he got back up.
