Trapped With Wings

°~《Chapter One》~°☆

I pulled my car off to the side of the road, much too panicked to drive any longer with the engine continuously sputtering like an amateur beat boxer. I thought I could keep ignoring the noise with there only being a few more hours of driving left until I reached the hotel, yet fate had decided to deal me a wild card.

I turned on my hazard lights and turned off the car before getting out to take a look at the engine. Smoke rose up into the night sky as I lifted the hood and coughed as I unexpectedly inhaled a bit of the fumes.

Taking a few steps back, I pulled my new phone out of my pocket. I tapped on dad's number and put my phone up to my ear. After listening to it ring once, I was taken straight to his voicemail. I hung up and tried a few more times with no response before finally just leaving a message. My next thought was to call for a tow, however I soon realized my lack of cell service after not being able to search anything online.

"Well that's just great." I muttered as I placed my phone safely back into my pocket.

With the sky as clear as it was and with my car emitting the only light around for miles, I was delighted to see so many stars. I contemplated turning off the hazard lights to see them better, though decided against it as I didn't want to miss my chance of someone stopping by who could help me. One car had already passed by and I wasn't looking forward to the idea of staying out here all night.

I reached back into my pocket to use my phone again, but lost my grip right as I was pulling it out. By some miracle, and after fumbling with the phone, I managed to save it from meeting its demise on the asphalt below. A protective case for my new phone would have to be my next priority. I didn't need to break it after only just receiving it.

With my phone securely in my hand, I sat in the driver's seat to look at the GPS instructions I had downloaded beforehand. It didn't tell me much, but there was a town just a few hours walk away. If it came down to it, I would need to walk all the way there to find some help.

I sat and thought about getting some sleep and walking to the town in the morning when the sun was up. Another two cars had already passed and it wasn't safe to walk in the dark anyway. I wasn't surprised when I saw another pair of headlights coming up behind me through my rear view mirror. The fact they had come to a complete stop behind my car had my hopes suddenly skyrocketing.

I jumped out of my car, a little too eager to see who had come to my rescue. I had probably read more romance novels than necessary about a stranded female lead being saved by a handsome young man, but I couldn't help but fantasize about the possibility even though I knew how awkward I was in most social situations.

I squinted my eyes to try to see past the bright headlights and noticed the vehicle was a white van. A few red flags went up before I saw a glimpse of a company logo on the side. It was too dark to properly make out, but I suspected it might have been a mechanic who just happened to be passing by. With my mind still on romance novels, I went back to my car to grab some cash to pay any fees that might be brought up.

A man got out of the van just as I almost dropped my phone again while retrieving my wallet. I was disappointed to see that the man wasn't very young but I had to remember this was real life and not a romance novel.

"Thank you for stopping. I could really use the help." I addressed the man.

I was about to put my phone back into my pocket, but after remembering how easily it kept falling out, I placed it in the grip of my teeth instead. With my hands free, I opened my wallet to see how much I had on me. I was worried he wouldn't help at all after seeing only a twenty and a handful of ones.

I looked up from my wallet when I saw the man approaching. It struck me as odd that he hadn't said anything yet. Usually people respond after someone starts talking to them.

I didn't realize how foolish I had been. How idiotic is was not to listen to the signs. Only a moron would accept this as normal.

There was no time to react. His movements were swift as he grabbed onto my hand, causing my body and mind to freeze up. In one single motion, he had my arm twisted behind my back and had thrust my entire body into the asphalt beneath my feet.

My scream was muffled as my phone and glasses smashed into my face and my nose into the road. A shard of glass flew into my eye before I could shut them in time. I didn't even have time to let go of my phone before I completely bit off the top portion after being tackled. Not even a second had passed and I was already tasting blood in my mouth.

I frantically scanned the area to see another man walking towards us with a large needle clearly visible. My eyes widened in alarm despite the pain and some mental switch flipped on after seeing the needle. I started struggling a bit harder now. Nothing terrified me more than needles.

I fought against the pain in my held arm and used my free hand to force myself up. A mix of fear and adrenaline helped give me strength to accomplish the impossible task. A startled noise came from the two men as I somehow knocked back my initial attacker and started sprinting down the road.

I was becoming lightheaded and blood had started to pool in my mouth. Not much thought was given as I instinctively swallowed, forgetting about the fragments of phone that had caused the bleeding. I started coughing and spit out what hadn't already been swallowed, but there was still a piece that had lodged itself painfully in my throat.

My coughing only continued to grow worse as I tried to run. I had the thought to hide in the foliage off the road but was caught off guard as I was tackled from behind. My skin scraped painfully across the asphalt as the wind was knocked out of me. The pressure resulted in the phone piece unlodging itself only to get stuck higher in my throat and almost completely blocking my air flow. With a man on top of me, breathing was practically impossible.

My vision was becoming spotty as my throat failed to bring in oxygen. The pain was unbearable and I was losing feeling in my limbs. My heart pounded in my ears but was becoming weaker with every passing second.

I couldn't believe this was the end. I was really going to die. And my organs were probably going to be sold on the black market.