Upon Wings of Change

My cellphone rang, and I answered it. “Hello?”

“Hey, Tasha, I have to work another hour before I can pick you up.”

My dorm room companion was kind enough to pick me up on her way home from work, possibly because I always bought her a fancy coffee as payment on the way back.

A glance at the clock made me realise that she was already much later than usual. To keep her from feeling bad, I said, “No worries. The library is about to close, so I’ll walk over to your workplace and meet you in the lobby. It’s only about six blocks away.”

“Sounds good to me. See you later.”

“Work hard.”

Her chuckle was my answer before the line disconnected. She was likely going to take her time filling out any paperwork since she would be working overtime, and I knew she was set on getting rid of her student loan as fast as she could.

I packed my textbooks into my backpack and hefted it onto my shoulders before I left the library. It was starting to get dark out and the light breeze was cool on my skin, so I zipped my light coat up. I can’t believe that I just studied for five hours... If I can keep my grades above the 95% mark, I might just get that big scholarship after all.

I put my earbuds in as I started walking. With a sigh, I opened up the recording of the teacher’s lecture. I could relax and listen to some actual music before bed while unwinding. The twenty-minute lecture was one that I had listened to half a dozen times today already, but I still tried to pay attention.

The sidewalks were basically empty; no one wanted to shop at this late hour, and the unpleasant wind also encouraged them to remain indoors. Vehicles were driving by as more stores started closing. More than half of the parking spots along the road were occupied by vehicles belonging to last-second customers or staff.

Why does this teacher speak in such a boring, monotone voice? I bet that most of his audience would be asleep within half an hour even if he narrated the Fast and Furious movies. This is almost torture.

I absentmindedly detoured around some men in coveralls who were hauling furniture. My thoughts were interrupted as the side door on the moving van opened up beside me and two men lunged out at me.

I inhaled in alarm and started to run, but I had barely taken two steps before they grabbed my arms and pulled me towards the vehicle. The two men who had been hauling furniture returned and helped them drag me towards the van.

I opened my mouth to scream for help, but a gloved hand quickly covered it. I struggled wildly as I panicked. To my horror, the four men were easily overpowering me. Even worse, none of the passing vehicles could see my distress since the large van blocked their view of the sidewalk.

Two more men jumped out of the van as I tried to break free with no success. I felt a sharp prick on the side of my arm, and when I saw one of the new men back up with an empty syringe, dread filled me. The guy covering my mouth removed his hand, and I took a deep breath to scream, but a second person quickly covered my mouth with their gloved hand.

“Mhhmmph!” The faint muffled noise was not what I had hoped for.

I struggled to breathe through my nose, and my head started to swim as my limbs lost their strength. I was quickly hauled into the van, and the door closed behind us with an ominous bang. My strength just seemed to disappear – I was barely able to struggle. They must have injected me with something...

My mind went black as the engine started rumbling, and I felt the van start moving.