The room was quiet, but the air felt heavy. I was still trying to calm down from the shock of hearing that Rachel had been kidnapped. Harrison had just finished his phone call with the police, and I was trying to pull myself together. The thought of Rachel in danger was enough to make my heart race, but with Harrison by my side, I tried to believe that everything would be okay.
I sat on the couch, still trembling, and tried to steady my breath. Harrison walked around the room, making arrangements, and I could see the determination in his eyes. He wasn’t going to stop until Rachel was safe. I could tell by the way he moved, by the way he spoke, that he was doing everything in his power to make sure nothing happened to her.
But even as I tried to gather my strength, there was one thought that kept nagging at the back of my mind. The phone call. The first call had been bad enough, but now, there was a new fear growing inside me. What if I had made a mistake by telling Harrison and the police? What if I had made things worse?
I didn’t have time to dwell on it too much because, just as I was trying to collect my thoughts, the phone rang again. My heart skipped a beat as I saw the same unfamiliar number on the screen. A cold chill ran down my spine, and I felt the color drain from my face.
“No,” I whispered to myself, panic rising in my chest. It couldn’t be them again. It couldn’t be another threat.
I hesitated for a moment, unsure if I should answer. But I couldn’t let fear control me. I had to know what was happening. I had to hear what they wanted.
Taking a deep breath, I answered the phone. My hand shook as I held it to my ear.
“Hello?” I said, my voice small, shaky. I tried to steady myself, but it was hard. Every second felt like an eternity.
The voice on the other end of the line was even harsher this time, filled with cold anger. “I told you not to get the police involved,” the voice growled. “But it seems you’re too stubborn to listen.”
I froze. My heart dropped into my stomach. How did they know? How did they know that I had contacted the police? I hadn’t said a word to anyone about it. It was impossible for them to know. Yet somehow, they did.
“W-What do you mean?” I stammered, my voice barely a whisper. My mind raced as I tried to figure out what was going on.
The voice laughed darkly, sending a chill through me. “Don’t play dumb. We know you called the police. And now… things are going to get worse for your friend.”
I felt a wave of nausea hit me as I struggled to breathe. The pressure on my chest was suffocating. How could they possibly know? The only people who knew about the police were Harrison and the officers he spoke with. But somehow, they had found out.
My hands started to tremble uncontrollably, and I could feel tears threatening to spill. I tried to keep it together, but the fear was overwhelming.
“I… I didn’t mean to make it worse,” I whispered, my voice cracking. “I just want Rachel back. Please, don’t hurt her. Please, just let her go.”
The voice didn’t respond immediately, and for a moment, I thought the call had ended. But then, it came again, this time with more venom in its tone.
“You don’t get it, do you? You’re too late to undo your mistake. You should have listened. Now, we’ll make sure your friend suffers.”
My throat closed up, and I could barely breathe. Tears started streaming down my face, and I couldn’t stop them. I had never been so scared in my life. The thought of Rachel in danger, hurt, or worse… I couldn’t even finish the thought. It was too much to bear.
“I… I’m so sorry,” I choked out, my voice full of despair. “Please, please don’t hurt her.”
There was a pause, and I could hear faint sounds in the background, like muffled voices and footsteps. The kidnappers were still there. They still had Rachel. And they were threatening her because I had made the mistake of contacting the police.
“You’re out of time,” the voice said coldly. “We’ll be in touch with more instructions soon. Don’t try anything else stupid, or you’ll never see her again.”
Before I could say anything more, the line went dead. I dropped the phone into my lap, my hands shaking violently as I tried to make sense of what had just happened. I could barely breathe, my chest heaving with each shallow breath.
I felt like I was suffocating. My mind was racing, and I couldn’t keep up with the flood of thoughts. How had they known? Why did they have to threaten Rachel like this? Why couldn’t they just let her go?
The room around me started to blur, and I felt dizzy. I was on the verge of collapse. I had never felt so helpless, so completely powerless. I had done everything I could think of to protect Rachel, and now, I was being punished for it.
I heard footsteps behind me, and before I knew it, Harrison was there, kneeling in front of me. He must have seen the look on my face because his expression immediately turned serious.
“Emma? What happened?” he asked, his voice filled with concern as he gently took the phone from my shaking hands.
“They… they know I called the police,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. “How did they know, Harrison? How could they know?”
Harrison’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the phone in his hands, a frown forming on his face. He was silent for a moment, as if deep in thought, and I could see the wheels turning in his head. Then, he spoke in a low, calm voice.
“We’ll figure this out, Emma,” he said, his hand going to my shoulder to steady me. “They won’t get away with this. We’re going to find Rachel.”
I nodded, but it was hard to believe his words. Everything felt so out of control. My best friend was in danger, and the people who had her were threatening to hurt her even more because I had made one mistake. I felt like I was losing her, and I couldn’t do anything to stop it.
I wanted to scream, to shout, to do something to make this stop. But all I could do was sit there, trying to hold it together for Rachel, trying to keep the fear from overwhelming me.
Harrison’s voice cut through my panic again. “Emma, listen to me. I’m going to get the police involved again. I’m going to do whatever it takes to make sure Rachel is safe. But I need you to stay calm. Can you do that for me?”
I wanted to say yes. I wanted to promise him that I could stay calm, that I could handle this. But the truth was, I was terrified. The kidnappers knew I had called the police. What else did they know? What else were they going to do to punish me?
I looked into Harrison’s eyes, trying to hold on to the small bit of hope he was offering. “I’ll try,” I whispered. “But I don’t know if I can do this, Harrison. I’m so scared.”
“I know,” he said, pulling me into a tight hug. “But I’m here. And I’m not going anywhere. We’ll figure this out together.”
I clung to him, letting his words calm me for just a moment. But deep down, the fear still gnawed at me. The kidnappers knew I had contacted the police. They were threatening Rachel. And the worst part was, I had no idea how to stop them.
The phone call had made everything worse. And now, I was left with the terrifying realization that I was running out of time.