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.

Tags:

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • RSS

Untitled Thriller: Chapter 2

Ethan reached for the slightly open front door. Viv should know better, he thought, you have to bump the door to get it to latch all the way.

He was under a lot of pressure at the lab and Viv knew the perfect way to help him unwind after a long day. That was one of the things he loved most about her. Sure, she had a tendency to be a little absent-minded sometimes, but he was convinced it was just because she was always thinking of everyone else. Smiling to himself, he pushed the door open, getting ready to pretend surprise that she had the game on, his favorite dinner ready and coffee brewing.

His stomach sank as he scanned his apartment. No game on, no food ready and no girlfriend waiting with coffee. Instead, the place was thrashed. Heart racing, Ethan pulled out his cell phone and called Viv. He stepped over a smashed bag of groceries to turn on the lights. There was a note pinned to the wall by the light switch.

We have your girl. Give us what we want and you can have her back. We will contact you. Don’t make this harder than it has to be. No cops.

Viv’s over-sized purse started ringing from beneath the groceries. Oh God! What do I do!? Ethan began pacing the apartment, checking the rooms, the kitchen, the bathroom. He wasn’t sure why. He had his cell phone in hand. How would they know if he called the police? Were they watching him? If they were, they must be close. If they were close, then Viv must be close too. He turned for the door; then stopped. Sure, he could try to go after them. But he didn’t even know who he was looking for, let alone where to start. What would he do if found them? How many of them were there? There were too many variables. He raked a shaky hand through his hair. What did he know? Viv was gone. Taken against her will, as evidenced by his trashed apartment. They didn’t want the police involved. They were holding her for ransom. And he knew exactly what they wanted.

Tags:

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • RSS

Walking cats

Recently I’ve received many inquiries about my cat walking. Yes, it’s true. I do walk my cats. But not both at the same time…that would just look silly!

Eating things he shouldn't

Eating things he shouldn't

I think the habit started a couple summers ago. During the beautiful summer days I’d grab a book and a blanket to lounge on the grass in our backyard. The kitties would look longingly from the window. I held out for a while, but it wasn’t long before I caved. Strapped securely in their harnesses, they would lay belly up on the blanket with me in the sun.

Naturally, things progressed from there. Soon, sun bathing on the blanket wasn’t enough. Squirrels started teasing from the trees, leaves danced on the sidewalk – just out of reach. Puppies, people and babies walked by. So much action happening beyond the boundaries of the blanket! Sure, I was comfortable laying on the blanket, engrossed in my book – but apparently that wasn’t important. The squirrels had to be chased.

Time to go in

Time to go in

As they say, one thing lead to another and now we walk laps around the house. I felt it was a good idea to have them familiar with the surroundings of our home. In case anything happened, they would know the area and how to get back.

You may wonder how exactly one walks a cat. Well, truth be told, the cat walks you. And it’s not so much a walk as it is a meandering. We meander. Occasionally we hop…or sprint…or pounce. Generally the ‘walk’ turns into a mission. A mission to find things to eat (that shouldn’t be eaten), places to lay or things to pounce.

Squirrel!!!

Squirrel!!!

Sometimes we say hi to people and babies and puppies. Neither of them have any reservations approaching dogs. Izabelle loves trotting up to baby carriages to inspect the little people inside.  Ricochet is more concerned with leaves and squirrels. This is a good example of why I walk them separately.

One of the things I love most since I’ve been walking the cats is that it seems to meet a need of passing pedestrians. I once met a lady who lived up the street. She practically dissolved into tears of joy when Izabelle came up to her to say hi. She picked her up and started petting her as she told me all about the little orange cat she had growing up in Russia and how she missed her so much. Before continuing on her walk, the lady thanked me over and over for sharing my ‘little kit kit’ with her. So sweet!

Tags:

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • RSS

Untitled Thriller: Chapter 1

Vivian opened the door and was reaching for the lights of her boyfriend’s apartment when a force slammed into her from behind, taking her to the floor. The door closed. She started to scream, but a damp cloth pressed against her face. She held her breath, opened her mouth as wide as she could until she felt something in it and bit down hard. A dark figure cursed, shifting his weight from her back. Vivian bucked him off and got to her knees. Crawling away, she frantically searched the room for something to grab as a weapon. An image of Ethan’s baseball bat flashed in her mind as her scanning eyes landed on the hall closet.

Just as she got a foot under her, the figure caught her shoe and she thumped to the floor again. Vivian flipped over and started kicking; pumping her legs as if riding a bike. She got a good blow to his face, hearing him grunt. She went in for another but he ducked his head, tightened his grip and grabbed her other foot. He swiftly dragged her beneath his weight, pulled the bottom edge of her jacket up to her shoulders and pinned her arms down with it beneath his knees.

She drew in another breath to scream but he brought the damp cloth down on her face again, this time keeping his palm over her mouth and his thumb under her chin.

“Not gonna nip me this time princess,” he growled.

Vivian fought to hold her breath again, this time trying to focus her eyes on his face. She caught a blurry glimpse of a smirk before her head started spinning and everything went black.

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • RSS

Who do you need?

As I was preparing to paint our guest room a thought struck me. I was laughing to myself about how my husband doesn’t like painting. The reason this was funny is because I didn’t find out until recently when I was painting the office. I asked for his help and he suddenly had some stuff to take care of in the garage. With a dashing smile, he said something to the effect of, “I guess that’s why I married a painter.”

So he married me for my painting skills. Well, two can play at that game. I began mentally cataloging ways my husband is useful to me. You might think this is harsh…but I mean it in the most loving way. Those of you who know me personally, know without a doubt that Kyle is the love of my life. But beyond love, moral support, a consistent paycheck and someone to bring me breakfast in bed every morning…I feel like there may be some subconscious reasons I chose this man to spend the rest of my life with.

Let’s be honest, there are people out there who marry for money, status or any number of reasons. Well, I married for love…and a little help around the house. When I was single I used to hear my friends’ moms suggest dating doctors or lawyers. My mom always told me that while doctors and lawyers are all fine and good…the nerds are the ones worth fighting for. I now understand her logic.

A doctor might have been nice when I was fighting a cold last week, but I’ve never encountered enough legal trouble to warrant having a lawyer around. My mom was right, I married an engineering nerd and I never have to worry about electrical or computer stuff ever again! (Some may argue that my mom’s logic was probably more along the lines of compatibility due to the fact that I am a nerd, but let’s just set that aside for now to consider my present theory). Sure you could marry a rich guy and just outsource these domestic challenges to the professionals…but why bother when you could just marry the professional and have that service available to you 24/7?

With this in mind, I’d like to suggest all the single ladies add one more prerequisite to their lists when considering a guy: what do you need that you can’t acquire on your own?

Do you like horses? Maybe you should marry an equestrian…then you’d have access to all the horses and riding facilities you could ever want. Perhaps you aren’t really a great cook…marry a chef! Think of the health benefits of marrying a nurse or a nutritionist. I’m sure there are many girls who wish they had married a plumber…imagine the savings! Plumbers are expensive. My aunt married a contractor and now has the house of her dreams.

This strategy is similar to the one I had for finding a job in high school. Where did I spend a lot of my time? I played tennis a lot…so I took a job as a tennis instructor at a health club. I also liked A & F clothing….so I worked there for the discount.

Many girls dream of the guy they will marry when they are young. Personally, I was never really drawn to the knights in shining armor or guys like Zack from Saved By The Bell. So who were my crushes? Well, MacGyver was at the top of my list as well as Indiana Jones.  I may not have married a world-saving agent of the Pheonix Foundation or an adventure seeking archeologist…but I found a guy who can fix just about anything and is willing to listen to any crazy adventure I try to turn into a novel.

Tags:

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • RSS

Ambition parade

I woke up this morning with a list of projects I wanted to work on today. Great great ambitions. I was going to take the plunge and decide on a color for the guest room walls, write a draft of the next segment of Untitled Thriller, sift through the pile of receipts building up on the kitchen counter, make returns from my shopping escapade yesterday (a story I’ll get into later), and so many other tasks.

Well, I was dressed and sending my husband off to work like a good wife and I catch a glimpse outside….rain. I knew it was coming, but I hadn’t anticipated it, well…raining on my ambition parade. I was deflated. Sure I can still do laundry and other indoor chores…but I just don’t have the same drive that I had this morning. blah.

Tags:

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • RSS

Mason jar chandelier

My mason jar chandelier is another project I have going, along with finding the perfect color paint for the guest room.

I’m excited to go to the local ‘depot for the home’ to get the parts to assemble it today (along with getting more color samples for the guest room). I’m so proud of myself for mutli-tasking!

I know my husband is terrified that I’m playing with cords and electrical stuff, but I promise you Honey….I won’t burn down the house…yet. 🙂

I found inspiration from the chandelier at my favorite store Anthropologie.

Anthropologie chandelier

Soon our dangerously narrow and steep stairwell will be bathed in a luxurious vintage glow!

Stay tuned for photos.

Tags:

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • RSS

Quick thought for the day

Thought for the day: Is it worth putting your focus toward something even if you know you won’t be able to give it 100%? And even if you could give 100% to something…how do you know which?

I was talking to a friend about this once and I got some very wise advice:
“Don’t confuse your best with perfection.”

Wow. Good point.

Tags:

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • RSS

Just in case anyone still checks LJ…

Just in case anyone out there still checks up on livejournal once in a while…I’ve moved my random thoughts to another location. Check out my personal blog www.sarahmadson.com. Send me your comments and let me know what you think!

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • RSS

Laundry

Cutest laundry I've ever seen

Cutest laundry I've ever seen

My cat Ricochet is forever a trouble maker. Granted, that is why we picked him out, but I admit that I question that decision daily. 🙂

Everyday he finds new ways to pounce or sneak attack. Yesterday he sprung out at me from the pots and pans cupboard (I should point out that I opened that same cupboard several times to put things away…he waited until the perfect moment). The day before he hid on a stack of boxes and swiped me from under the stairs.

A warning to anyone who visits our house…no one is exempt from a Ricochet sneak attack. He does not discriminate. Imagine that old gag with a bucket of water balanced on a door top – person walks in and splash! Now, imagine that with a cat. Our friends came over for game night and he bombed an unsuspecting victim from the top of our office door.  I have no clue how he even got up there!

Today, he launched himself at me from the laundry basket. Paws straight out in Superman position, he sprung up batting at my arms and took off like a kid caught TP-ing the neighbors house. The funniest part is when I took the picture above. He thought he could get me again!

Tags:

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Twitter
  • RSS
 Page 2 of 93 « 1  2  3  4  5 » ...  Last »