Chapter 1

My name is Jim Freeman, I’m now thirty three years old, but the story I want to tell happened when I was fifteen. It happened on an October morning as I was walking to my bus stop to go to my high school. I was a Sophomore, I wasn’t an athlete, I wasn’t a brilliant student either, but I wasn’t the dullest pencil in the box either. I made “C’s” and “B’s”. My only “A” grades were in Woodworking Shop with Mr. Wilson. He was also my favorite teacher. He made learning fun and would always have a weekly puzzle. It could be a riddle, word nuzzle or a physical object puzzle, he would let those of us in his classes that were interested, work on the solution all week. Then every Friday he would ask if anyone had the solution to the puzzle. Those that had correctly solved it would get extra points on their six weeks grade. It promoted critical thinking and creativity”

I mention this to illustrate that I had experience in solving problems, I solved a lot of Mr. Wilson’s puzzles. But I also excelled at taking a raw roughly cut board of wood and turning it into a usable product, from a cutting board to boxes and clocks. In my Junior and Senior years I made furniture that I still use today.

But back to that October day when I was fifteen, I was walking to school as usual and was catching up to a neighbor girl a year younger than myself. She is a beautiful Hispanic girl about 5’ 4” tall, slim with small breasts hiding under a thick sweater. I knew her well enough to say hi to her, but we weren’t friends by any means, she was a Freshman after all!

We were about half a block from the bus stop and I was just about to pass by her when a white Dodge Van pulled up beside us and a guy pointed a gun at us and told us,

“Get in the fucking van, or I’ll kill you right now!”

Not seeing any way out, and not seeing anyone else that could possibly save us, we had no choice. We both got into the van! Zip ties were placed around our hands behind our backs and our ankles as they were crossed in front of us. We were both blindfolded and strange rubber balls with holes in them were forced in both our mouths. I knew Maria had received the same thing I had by the noises she made similar to those I myself had just made. We sat next to one another, I could feel her leg and hip touching my own, I could hear her crying quietly. I couldn’t blame her at all, I would be doing the same thing if I hadn’t been trying to figure out where we were being taken. I had delivered newspapers on my bicycle when I was younger. I knew this part of town like the back of my hand! Even though the driver turned and turned I kept up with the names of each street in my head. The driver took a lot of turns but generally kept coming back to Austin Parkway. A major thoroughfare in our town, a way to get to the downtown area. Finally the man drove straight for several blocks before turning into an alley. I knew exactly where we were!

We were only two blocks away from the Washington County Courthouse. They drove slowly and then stopped and backed into the back of a building. I could hear the rollup doors rolling up. Then the van backed inside and the door came down banging down suddenly, like the final nail in a wooden coffin. Then I heard a lock being put in a clasp, even the click as the padlock was jammed closed.

One at a time we were dragged out of the van and carried over the shoulder of one of our abductors. We were both carried about twenty steps. Then I heard the door of a cage, like a large dog cage, being opened. I was placed inside and the zip ties cut.

“You may remove your ball gags, but leave your blindfolds on!” A voice I had catalogued as voice “A” told us. I could hear Maria removing her ball gag as I removed my own. She was to my right and close by. Then I heard switches being thrown, large industrial type switches, like the lock out switches on the machines in Mr. Wilson’s shop. The voice “A” spoke again,

“Now you can remove your blindfolds!”

I did so, but the view didn’t change much. The warehouse was almost pitch black. But almost, meant that it wasn’t in complete darkness. My eyes adjusted slowly to their new environment. Using my peripheral vision I could see the cage that had Maria in it. The light seemed to be coming from windows high up on the exterior wall. There were panes of glass that had been painted black that didn’t block all the light.

Then Voice “A” spoke again,

“Maria, this is for you, you have a choice, this!” A spotlight came on illuminating a bed covered in pure white sheets. “Or this!” Another spotlight illuminated a table, it had straps for holding legs, head, torso, and legs. To one side was a rack containing all manner of whips, pliers, screws, needles, and any other type of medieval torture device ever conceived.