Jenna kicked and shoved and thrashed, but it was no use. She was surrounded by three hulking men, and she would have been overpowered by even one of them, with no hope of escape.

Before she could even start to comprehend what might be happening to her, she was hoisted into the air and flipped over. It took her a moment to realize that she was over one of their shoulders, being carried further down the dark alley.

They stopped moving after a moment, and she began her kicking again in earnest, but her head was grabbed and held by a pair of hands. She froze, afraid that trying to escape might end up being her demise.

Another cloth was fitted around her face, and she realized it was a blindfold. Once it was secured, they continued walking.

Jenna realized that it was probably going to be more beneficial to try to figure out where she was going, rather than fighting, at this point. She was caught. And it didn’t look like she was going to be able to get away.

Her heart hammered against her chest, and she was sure that whoever was carrying her could feel it. She was not yet hyperventilating, but if she didn’t calm herself down quickly, she would utterly lose herself, and she could not afford to do that right now. Not if she wanted to find a way out of this.

She could still hear the distant sounds of the bazaar, but they were becoming more and more faint. She could smell smoke, dirt, and the sweat of the men carrying her. They said few words to each other. She imagined it was because they were attempting to be stealthy.

Soon, she could hear the sounds of cars and horns honking, and she could see more light along the edges of her blindfold. Her captor turned a corner, and Jenna heard the door to a vehicle being opened. There was only a moment of realization before it happened. She was rolled off the captor’s shoulder, and then thrown forward. She shrieked, expecting to collide with something, but landed on a pad of some sort.

There was a slam of a door, and it was quiet for a moment. It smelled like a new car, and the mat below her smelled like dirt and something sour. She tried to sit on her knees, but was unable to get very far to do anything.

Another door opened, at the other side of the vehicle, and Jenna heard people slide inside, still saying nothing more than a word or two to each other.

She crawled, as best as she could, toward where she thought the back doors were. She wanted to be as far from these men as she possibly could.

She sat back, her back and hands pressed up against the cold metal of the van. The fear was there, threatening to break through the very thin veil of calm that she was attempting to hold on to. Where was she going? What were they going to do to her? Why had they taken her, and not someone else? Jenna swallowed hard, her mouth dry around the gag in her mouth, and listened as she heard one of the men mention something about a house.

A house?

She wondered wildly if that was a reference to where they were taking her, or if it was just where they were headed after they’d left her body in a ditch somewhere.

She clenched her hands into fists, allowing the pain from her fingernails to clear her mind of the fear that had started to cloud it.

Keep your cool, Jenna, or you won’t make it out of this alive.

They drove for a long time, in total silence, but Jenna paid attention to every sound, every bump in the road like a hawk. She didn’t know the city, but she hoped that maybe she would be able to find her way back if she could just remember the turns she had taken, and the sort of roads they drove over.

They came to a stop, and Jenna tried to slide as far from the door as she could. It was no use. Rough hands grabbed her ankles and pulled her back across the mat toward the doors, hoisting her over a shoulder once again.

Wherever they were now, they were still in the city. There were cars driving nearby, and the sounds of the city were still present. She was grateful. It might be easier to escape here than out in the country somewhere.

They walked up a set of stairs, into a cool, air-conditioned building. Jenna heard a woman’s voice, and then she felt more tender hands on her. She was slid off of the shoulder of the man, and set, surprisingly gently, on her feet. A woman said something to her that she did not understand, and took her arm and started to lead her.

Jenna felt her lip tremble. What was going to happen?

She was released a few moments later, and her blindfold and gag were removed. Blinking in the bright fluorescent lights, Jenna looked around her.

The room itself was small, but it was even smaller for her because she was inside a small, iron-walled cell, as if in a prison. Before she could do anything, the door to the little cell was pulled shut, and Jenna flung herself at it. A kindly-faced older woman looked down at her, and Jenna felt tears fill her eyes.

“Please…” Jenna breathed. “Please let me go. I don’t want to be here. I didn’t do anything! I—”

The woman reached through the bars and touched Jenna’s hand, only for a brief moment, and then walked out of the room. Jenna could have sworn she had seen sadness in the woman’s eyes, but she had not uttered a word.

Jenna screamed and screamed, but no one came back into the room. She cried and slammed her body against the cell, which ended up bruising her shoulder and hip, and bloodying two of her fingers.

She was still screaming after she lost her voice.

There was a wooden bench in the corner her cell, and she dragged herself over to it, collapsing onto it, curling into a ball, and crying until she lost all track of time.

What have I done? No one knows where I am. It will be months before my parents even know I’m missing, and by then it might be…

She stared at the stone ceiling above her head, too afraid and too exhausted to do anything else.

I should never have lied to them, she thought. I should have told them where I was going. They would have made me stay home. I would have been furious, probably not speaking to them, but at least I would have been safe. They would know I was okay.

She blinked more tears from her eyes, making a promise to herself. If I get out of this alive, I’ll never lie again.