The Birthday Gift ( Part 1 ) ( non-consensual, kidnapping, slavery )

It had been pitch black for hours now. Complete darkness, the absence of just the smallest glimmer of light, anything at all to focus her tired eyes on.

On any other occasion, the lack of any visual stimulation would’ve been utterly boring. Her brain might’ve associated this dark enviroment with nighttime and put her to sleep. This wasn’t any other occasion though. Far from it.

In her current predicament, even half a dozen sleeping pills couldn’t have done the job.

They had been on the road for about half a day at that point. Catherine closed her eyes and replayed the events of this morning for what must’ve been the millionth time.

It had been such a regular morning.

Why would’nt it have been?

The 41 year old had been living the suburban mom life for almost two decades now. Even though her marriage had ended years ago, she was thankful for her two beautiful daughters that resulted from it.

The big inheritance had allowed all three of them to stay in their residential house. Things couldn’t have looked better for the family…

Then came this fateful morning. Both of her daughters were still asleep when the middle aged woman stepped outside the door to check their mailbox.

Even though it was only 6am, the summer heat had been a quite rough welcome to this new day. It had also taken it’s toll on their discolored, dry lawn. Catherine made a mental note to water it more often, as she stepped over it barefooted.

Flipping through the received letters, she didn’t notice the large vehicle coming to a halt right beside her. Her mind deemed the vacation letter of her neighbor Christy more important than any potential threat.

It happened way too fast for her to do anything about it. The moment she felt one of their hands on her shoulder, she had already been pulled halfway into the van. In her startled state, she only noticed the key details of her abduction.

Two masked men.

A syringe.

Darkness.

Another bump in the road brought Catherine back to the present. It had been hours upon hours of driving with only one short stop, which the abductee figured might’ve been at a gas station.

Free of any sort of gag, she took the chance and screamed at the top of her lungs, but to no avail. The journey had continued in the same monotonous way as before.

What was going on? Who were those people? Was this some sort of mixup? Thousands of questions rushed through the frightened woman’s mind.

The “box” in which they placed her, was barely larger than an average suitcase, which forced her to lay sideways, with her knees touching her head. Since there was no mechanism to open it from the inside, they hadn’t even bothered to tie the temporarily unconscious woman up.

Much more worrying for Catherine though, was the fact that they’d removed all of her clothing. Whatever rationale lurked behind their actions, it couldn’t have meant anything positive.

And so, the 41 year old mom, damp with sweat, waited within the claustrophobic box that she’d prayed wouldnt turn into her coffin.

Hours later, an abrupt, metallic noise rang through the air, shattering the peaceful slumber that had momentarily claimed Catherine, thrusting her back into stark wakefulness.

Before the woman even had a chance to remember where she was, the endless-seeming darkness they’d forced upon her was suddenly ended, as the lid of her box was opened. She was welcomed by two bright flashlights.

Her eyes slowly adjusted, watering profusely, as indistinct shapes began to appear around the blinding rays assaulting her vision.

The captive woman did her best to cover her most private parts from their view. As she prepared to beg, reason, or do anything to escape this waking nightmare, the two imposing silhouettes shifted apart. Their movement unveiled a third, smaller silhouette that advanced towards the center.

After a few seconds of silence, with Catherine nervously shifting her view from figure to figure, the one in the middle spoke up.

“She’s even better than in the pictures. Well done, boys. You can expect a big tip this time.”

Catherine's eyes widened in shock as the feminine voice reached her ears. Had this been the mastermind behind her abduction? Her mind reeled, trying to comprehend how a member of her own sex could orchestrate such a heinous act against another woman.

“Thank you, Mrs. Kensington. Where should we put her?”, one of the men asked.

“Oh for tonight, just put her in the dungeon. Tomorrow’s the big day!”, she answered in a cheerful, but yet ominous way.

When the faintly discernible female figure slowly turned her back to step away, Catherine cried out in alarm as the grasping hands of the henchmen approached menacingly.

“PLEASE! DON’T! STOP! THIS IS A MISUNDERSTANDING! I’M BEGGING YOU!”

Her pleads went completely ignored as the struggling woman was lifted out of the van. It had been far too dark to make out any details of her surroundings.

Catherine's vision went dark as one of the men slipped a leather hood over her head. The sounds of the outdoors - chirping crickets and singing birds - faded away, replaced by an eerie silence. She realized with dread that they were taking her inside a building.

Though she tried to resist, the two men overpowered her with ease. After a brief journey, Catherine and her captors began descending a long staircase. Each step heightening her sense of fear and uncertainty about what lay in store for her.

Eventually, they came to a halt and the hood was removed. They appeared to stand in some kind of dank, dimly lit basement. The air was musty and damp. A single flickering light bulb hung from the ceiling, casting an eerie glow over the scene.

Before she could fully process where she was, the men tightened their grip on her arms. With no warning, they twisted her arms behind her back in one swift motion. The cold steel of handcuffs closed around her wrists, biting into her skin. She winced in pain as they tightened the cuffs, locking her arms in place.

Suddenly, she was shoved hard in the back. Catherine stumbled forward, nearly losing her balance. She caught herself just before crashing to the floor. As she regained her footing, the 41 year old realized she was standing inside of a large cage. The rusted metal bars stretched up to the ceiling, casting long shadows on the floor.

Before she could comprehend her predicament, the cage door slammed shut, locked by one of the men with a chilling efficiency.

As the men turned and walked away, Catherine's heart raced with fear and uncertainty. Tears streamed down her face, a testament to her anguish and worry for her daughters back home. What would become of her now, trapped in this nightmare?

As she looked around the bare, windowless basement walls, she noticed a few old, rusting metal buckets, some scattered hay bales, and a strange, seemingly out of place pile of what appeared to be decorative props in the corner.

As Catherine strained her eyes, trying to focus through the haze of her tears, she suddenly made out a large, colorful banner laying on top of the pile. In bright, cheerful letters, it read: “Happy Birthday Hailee!”

to be continued.