Excerpt: Bridge Over Troubled Waters

Misty woke to the dark, again. She was also inside the box with no air. Her hands were still tied behind her back, her feet bound, her eyes covered and her mouth taped shut. There was also something sharp poking her in the side, just under her ribcage.
All was quiet around her, the silence pulling her back into the void she’d been living in. She refused to give in to the temptation to slip into nothingness. She fought to stay away, to stay alert. Whatever it was, poking her in the side, helped as the pain chased awy some of the fog that was her brain.
Careful to keep the object from breaking her skin, Misty rolled, as much as the box would allow, until her fingers found what felt like a piece of broken glass. She felt the tears form behind her closed lids as she cut her finger. Her first breath of hope.
The ties that bound her hands fell free as she easily pierced through what felt like the thin plastic of fishing line. The pain immediately shot through her arms and shoulders, causing her to grit her teeth to keep from screaming. If she wasn’t alone, she didn’t want to alert her captor that she was awake. And she didn’t wait for the feeling to return to her arms as she wiggled as quietly as possible to reach her feet.
Once freed, she lifted her hands that were buzzing with blood flow, to the covering over her eyes and the tape over her mouth. It was just as dark without the blindfold but at least she could breath easier.
Her head cleared as the pain receded from her arms, and lifting her hands above her, she found the hatch opening on well oiled hinges. She froze, her heart pounding in her ears. Her first reaction was to jump and run as fast as she could, but reasoning kept her still, forcing herself to wait, listen.
No movement, no sound came from the slight opening of her box so she lifted just a little more. The light of the moon was her first sight, and then the light blue covering of the marina. She was at Lynn Creek Marina, onboard the same boat she’d woken to that first time. Her eyes scanned the area around her, no sign of her captor, no sound coming from anywhere on the boat. She opened the lid of what she now recognized as the locked bench from her first night, sitting up and fighting the wave of dizziness the assaulted her.
She inched her way out of the cubby, struggling with the urge to cry out at the pain vibrating through her legs. She had one thing and one thing only on her mind, and that was getting off the boat and running to safety.
Just as she stepped up to the hatch, her foot on the first step leading toward freedom, her assailant stepped onboard.
“You son of a bitch! I trusted you.” She screamed as she flew from the galley, the piece of glass still in her hand. Satisfaction filled her as she felt the improved knife slip into skin and muscle, blood coating her hand. That satisfaction stayed with her as she jumped over the screaming body and ran toward freedom, her screams carrying on the still night air.
The slap of her feet echoed on the wood planks as the gate leading glowed like a guiding light, a symbol of hope. She was free. God, she was free.
“You fucking bitch.”
The growled words were right behind her, but she wouldn’t give up. The gate was there, almost in reach and she wanted to collapse when a man ran to the gate. She was safe, she was saved, she was falling as the man lifted his gun, pointing it right at her.
The report of the gun fire echoed in the night as more footfalls came crashing through the gate, and then she was lifted into the strong arms of her rescuer. She looked up, tears streaming from her eyes, falling on her face from the man cradling her to his heart. The only thing she could think to say before passing out was, “You cut your hair.”

“So.” She took a step closer to him. “We both made the wrong assumptions.”
He took a step closer. “I guess we did.”
“What do you think we should do about it?” She took another step.
“I have a few ideas.” He was inches closer.
“I always did like your ideas.” Misty reached up, cupped his face, then leaned in for a kiss, guaranteed to make his head spin.

The End