I stumbled into a few racks and boxes as I moved along, banging my shin at least once. The Spiders were quiet all around us and nobody spoke. The rooms we moved through felt airy and huge, cavernous and quiet, but I really had no fucking clue where we were. I tried to listen for any telltale signs, but there was nothing, just quiet cut by the sounds of our footsteps and breathing.
It was incredibly eerie the way the Spiders stayed so quiet. I was worried about Emma and could only imagine how this was playing out in her mind. She’d never been in a position like this before, though then again I never had either. The main difference was, I’d risked my life before and she hadn’t.
Eventually I heard a large door opening, deep and booming. I felt sunlight on my skin, warmth spreading over my body, but nothing got in through the hood. I heard a car’s engine running and a door open, and then I was carefully hustled into the back of what felt like a large van.
There was more movement around me, and eventually the van started moving.
“You okay?” I said softly.
“Brooks?” Emma’s voice.
“I’m here,” I said.
“I’m okay,” she answered.
“Quiet, both of you,” a woman’s voice said from very close by.
I went silent and leaned back up against the rough metal side of the van. I was guessing we were in some kind of industrial van large enough to fit at least most of the group that had taken us. The woman’s voice wasn’t Louisa Barone’s, so I had no clue if she was along for the ride or not.
My hands were still free, but they were useless. I felt around the space a little bit until I felt a hard jab in my chest.
“Sit still,” the woman said.
“Where are we going?” I asked her.
“Talk again and I’ll hurt you.” I felt her jab the hard thing into my chest again, and she left it there for a moment.
I assumed she had a gun pressed to my heart, and so I decided it was best just to sit back and relax.
It was hard to enjoy the ride, what with the black bag shoved over my head. Normally a nice leisurely drive around the city was nice, especially with the weather so perfect. Turned out that getting abducted and black bagged really put a damper on the whole fun thing.
We drove for a while, though it was hard to keep exact time. When your head was in a black bag and you had nothing to help you mark the minutes, it got difficult to tell exactly how long you’d been moving. I had a feeling that we weren’t in the city anymore, though, as the van began to stop less and less. That meant there were fewer stop signs and streetlights.
I estimated we drove for a half hour at least. The van turned off a normal road and began to drive down what felt like a gravel driveway or an unpaved path or something like that. I could hear the tires bumping around and rocks getting flung up into the undercarriage.
Soon enough, the van stopped. The door opened and I was dragged out. I stumbled along, assuming Emma was right behind me.
We walked for a bit and then I heard two voices, both women.
“Is the room ready?”
“Yeah. It’s good.”
Then nothing else. We walked up some wooden steps and then I heard a door open. We were hustled inside a structure, up another staircase, down a long hallway, and through another door.
The person leading me suddenly disappeared. I couldn’t feel her hand on my shoulder anymore. I heard more footsteps and some breathing as the door to the room shut.
I stood there silently for a second.
“Emma?” I asked.
“Brooks. I’m okay.”
“Is there anyone else in here?”
There was nothing. Silence.
I slowly reached up and grabbed my bag. Slowly, so slowly, I pulled it off my head.
Emma stood a foot away from me, the bag still covering her face. She was inching around the room, hands out, feeling for something to guide her.
“Emma, it’s okay,” I said. “Take off your bag.”
She reached up and tentatively pulled it off.
“Brooks,” she said, and walked over to me. I wrapped my arms around her.
“We’re good,” I said. “We’re okay.”
“Where are we?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted.
The room itself wasn’t large. There was a queen bed, a dresser, and a small side table. There wasn’t much else in the space, and although there was a window, there were bars blocking it.
“Looks like a bedroom,” I said as I walked over to the window.
Emma came up next to me. “We’re not in the city anymore.”
“No,” I grunted, “we’re not.”
Forest spread out all around us. There was maybe fifteen feet until the tree line started.
“Any idea how long we drove?” she asked.