Rene had finally decided to program the officer’s number into his phone. He’d pulled out her card from his pants pocket when he was doing laundry, and saw that her name was Angela Clement. It couldn’t hurt to have her number ready to dial at a moment’s notice, especially if he ever managed to find the van. He’d begun to lose hope. It had been 3 days now since the abduction, and despite his best efforts to drive around town looking for that van, he had no luck finding it. His hope of finding Khal alive was diminishing by the day. He already feared the worst. 

A local news station had reached out for a story, and Rene had been talked into going on TV and pleading with people to keep a lookout for the van, which he’d described in detail, along with the abductor. He’d also shown some grainy images, printouts of what little security footage they had of the event from the library. He gave information on the police hotline, as well as an email he’d recently had set up for himself, albeit with no personally identifying information. 

Ari had been skeptical about him going on the news. She wondered whether doing so had painted a target on his back, but Rene reminded her that he was desperate, and any information that might help them find Khal and put a stop to this killer would be worth it. Ari then reminded him that he had a daughter to protect, and Rene had felt a warm rush of shame as he looked at Emory. 

It wasn’t that he didn’t fear for her safety. Above all things, he worried for Emory. But the time to be cautious was not now. Not when it could be minutes until Khal met a sticky end, and ended up in the same river as the other victims. Rene would do whatever it took to keep Emory safe, but Khal was the one in immediate danger, and he needed to do something about that. He couldn’t live with himself if he didn’t. 

He briefly thought of calling out on Friday and spending the whole day driving around, looking for the van. He’d already done so on Thursday, with no luck. Carl had called him Friday morning, begging him to come in. Rene bitterly wanted to tell the man to fuck off, but he knew he needed his job. He still had a mortgage, for which he now owed double since Misha had passed, and a daughter to support. 

So Rene got ready for work. As he was eating breakfast with Emory, he checked the email he’d set up for information on Khal’s abduction. There were several messages. Professed psychics telling him where Khal was presumably already dropped in the river, scammers trying to get money for “information”, people who claimed to have seen the black van along with their picture proof which always turned out to be the wrong van. One message stood out to him. 

A simple message from someone with the moniker “Dark street.” 

I saw you run after me. You were fast, but not fast enough. Your friend cried out for you. I think I’ll see you again soon. 

Very soon. 

Rene almost dropped the spoon he was eating his oatmeal with. He was shaking so hard that even Emory noticed. 

“What’s wrong, daddy?” She asked. 

“Nothing, Sweetheart.” Rene lied. But he was already texting Ari, asking her to keep Emory for the evening. Then he texted the information from the email to Officer Clement, hoping she wouldn’t brush it off as nothing. 

Ari agreed to take Emory that evening, but she could definitely tell that something was up. Officer Clement responded fairly quickly and told Rene to be cautious, and that it would take time to try and get any information from the email, which was likely just someone pulling a prank on him anyway. She did, however, promise to look into it. 

Rene didn’t think it was a prank. He hadn’t told anyone on the news that he had chased the van. That was a little detail only a small handful of people could know, including the abductor. He let Emory know she would be staying with Ari, so that she packed the things she needed, then he took her to her bus. 

When he got to work, he saw Frank standing out front, looking around at every passing vehicle. 

“Hey Frank, no luck, I assume?” Rene asked. 

Frank shook his head, “Rene, I can’t tell you how sorry I am. I should have seen something that night. I should have known that van was prowling the area, looking suspicious. If something happens to your friend, I’ll never forgive myself.”

Rene shook his head, “Frank, this isn’t on you. This man is a psycho piece of shit. He was looking for an opportunity, and he took it. I doubt you could have stopped him even if you’d spotted him in time. The dude was huge, and likely armed. You have to stay safe, my friend.”

“You know, if Doris could see you now, well, first she’d be crushed at everything you’ve been through. But my God, she’d be so proud of you.” Frank said. “The fortitude you have to keep going when life has crushed you under its unbearable weight. I know she died so upset that she couldn’t officially adopt you.” 

Rene smiled sadly. Frank and Doris had known each other since the 80’s. When she had died, Frank had lost his best friend. The thought dug right at the pit in Rene’s gut where the events of the last few weeks had left a festering black hole of anxiety. 

“Just be careful, Frank.” Rene said. “There’s scary people out there, and this guy may still be around somewhere. If you see something, don’t approach him. You immediately call the police, okay?”

“Okay.” Frank nodded. 

Rene clapped Frank on the shoulder, then headed inside and started his day. 

*****

Despite his worries, the day seemed to fly by. Rene kept checking his phone for the time, and would occasionally glance at the emails to see if there was anything new. Officer Clement didn’t have anything else to add. Ari was concerned about him, but he assured her that he was fine. It was a Friday night, and once he left, he was going to hit the other side of town he hadn’t had a chance to search yet. The van was out there somewhere, though it was very likely to be hidden away in a garage. Rene was determined to spend his whole weekend looking for it. 

He heard the door open and close downstairs. Julie had gone home early, as the place was empty for a Friday night. Frank was likely checking things outside before locking up. 

Rene was just finished checking his phone, and was headed to the cart to shelve the last few books, when he heard footsteps up the stairs. He turned around, ready to bid Frank goodnight, when he saw a large man standing at the top of the stairs, looking at him with a strange smile. He immediately felt the air leave him. 

“H-hello. Is there something I can help you with?” Rene asked. “We were just about to close, actually.”

He knew. Instinctively, every fiber of his being was telling him that this man was the one who had grabbed Khal, who was now blocking his exit down the stairs. 

“I saw you on the news.” The man said quietly in a deep voice. “I have some information about your friend.”

“You do?” Rene reached around until he felt his phone in his pocket. A moment of doubt had him wondering if he was wrong. Maybe this was just someone who had seen something, someone who might know where Khal was. 

Still, in the interest of caution, he decided to lie. 

“I just have to sort these last books, then I can lock up and get that information from you. If you’ll just give me one minute.”

The man continued to smile, but said nothing. Rene turned warily toward the cart, and pushed it down the aisle and left until he was out of site of the man. He then pulled out his phone and rapidly began to text Officer Clement, not daring to call, lest the man hear him. 

There was a sudden sharp pain in his shoulder, and Rene stumbled back against a shelf, his phone sliding from his hand onto the floor. He looked up at the man who was now towering over him. Rene looked down at his arm, and it took his mind a moment to register that there was a hypodermic needle hanging out of it. He snatched the needle out, and saw to his horror that it was completely empty. Rene looked up at the giant of a man, his heart hammering. 

“A shot like that in the muscle, I reckon you have 15 minutes max before you’re completely unconscious.” 

His breath shaky, Rene stumbled further away from the man. 

“Hey, I’ll even give you a headstart.” The man’s smile widened into a sadistic grin. 

Rene took off, running into shelves, causing books to go flying. He rounded the corner of the aisle and bolted until he reached the stairs, where his legs carried him as fast as they could down. Get outside. Get outside to his car and drive to the police, he thought. He reached the front door, taking just a moment to glance up the stairs, where the man stood looming at the top of the staircase. Rene shoved on the door, and was startled to find that it wouldn’t give more than a few inches. 

He looked through the small crack in the door to see that there were chains securing the door handles together, preventing him from exiting out the front. 

“Fuck. Fuck!” He breathed, trying the set of doors to the left, and finding the same issue. All doors were chained from the outside by that psychopath. He felt the first wave of the medication hit him, just as the man began to make his way slowly, menacingly down the stairs. 

“I could watch you run all night.” The man said, his voice breaking into a laugh. 

Rene turned and headed for the downstairs office. He’d dropped his phone, so he needed to get to the landline. He rushed into the office, and instantly went flying over something lying on the floor. He crashed to the ground with a pained thud, almost getting the wind knocked out of him. He looked over at the crumbled dark mass on the floor, and was horrified to see Frank looking at him with lifeless eyes, his jaw twisted into a terrified grimace. It was clear he’d had the life choked out of him. 

“No no no, Frank, no.” Rene muttered, placing a hand on his friend, who was still warm to the touch. Rene was about to start cpr, when he heard those unmistakable footsteps rounding the nearest aisle, headed right for him. He jumped up and dashed over to the phone, snatching it up and dialing 9-1-1. When he placed the phone to his ear, he heard nothing, only the sound of his panicked breathing. Rene looked down at the base of the phone. He picked it up and turned it over to reveal the severed wire, preventing him from calling out. 

The footsteps had stopped. He turned around, expecting the man to be standing in the doorway of the office, but he was nowhere to be seen. Rene rushed back over to Frank, and began to check him over for a phone. He was relieved to find Frank’s cellphone, which he pulled out and instantly dialed 9-1-1.

He felt the second wave of the medication as he waited on the call, listening intently for any sign of the man. 

“9-1-1, where is the location of your emergency?” Came a voice on the line. 

“The library.” Rene hissed. “My friend is dead. The killer is here. Please send someone as soon as-“

The man came charging into the room, and Rene just had time to scramble up before the man could grab him. In the scuffle, he dropped Frank’s phone. He took off out the side office door, and ran past the service desk. Rene backed up and dove under the service desk to hide and catch his breath for a moment while he considered his next course of action. 

The man’s thundering steps found their way to the main floor where he was hiding. 

“It was very rude to call the police. I’m gonna have to get creative with a punishment for that one.” The man called, walking up and down the aisles as he spoke. 

Rene fought to steady his breathing and not make a sound from under the desk as he thought of what to do next. Could all of this have been avoided if he hadn’t gone on TV? Was there still a chance that he could figure out where the man had taken Khal without becoming a victim himself? Certainly not if he were unconscious. He could feel the fog of the medication slowly clouding his mind.  

He needed a weapon. Something he could fight back with. Maybe he could blind the man with the scanner just long enough to incapacitate him. The thought sounded ridiculous even as it went through his head. 

Could he stay hidden long enough for the police to get there? How long would they take? And could they even get into the building? Would he just end up being a sleeping hostage by that point?

There was nothing for it. He was going to have to try to make a break for the back door. He would get out, get help, and hopefully the police would be there in time to catch the man and figure out where he was keeping Khal.

“Where’d you go, little runner?” The man called, stalking around the aisles. Rene had to fight back the urge to vomit from fear. He thought of poor Frank, lying dead on the floor in the other room. Was it too late for him? Was he one more person that Rene had failed? And how the hell had a man so loud and large had a chance to sneak up on him like that?

Rene closed his eyes and took several very quiet deep breaths. He would only get one shot at this. He carefully inched his way out from under the desk, not making a sound, then got himself to a standing position, catching himself on the table as a wave of dizziness hit him. He looked up and jumped as he saw the man grinning at him from the end of one of the aisles. 

Rene turned and ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He booked it around tables, chairs, and beanbags, until finally he reached the back door. With all his might, he pushed the door open, and thankfully it gave way. He burst into the alleyway, and was startled the see his way out was blocked by the same black van that the man had thrown Khal into. Rene filled his lungs to shout for help, but before he could, strong arms were grabbing him and dragging him back inside the building. 

“No!” He cried, trying to grab onto something, anything to stop the man from pulling him away from the freedom of outside. A hand was clasped over his mouth, and he was shoved roughly back into the wall, his head hitting so hard that he briefly saw stars. Rene struggled to fight, to shove and kick the man away from him, to pull that hand from his mouth, but the medication was already doing its job. The fog was becoming all consuming. It was hard to even see the man anymore. 

“Mmm!” He screamed against the hand as the conscious world slipped away. Rene could do nothing but stare helplessly into that grinning face as the dark cloud completely obliterated his consciousness and he was no longer able to fight against his captor.

Chapter 14 https://storiesfrommontana.com/2023/04/23/writing-challenge-2023-part-14-suffocating-warning-torture/