The Abduction of Laura
Laura Myers loved her early morning jogs. She loved the routine: waking early, showering, eating a light breakfast and jogging four miles down the road and back before dawn. There was very little traffic out that early, so usually, she jogged on the road. The cool air and the rhythmic beat of her tennis shoes on the asphalt comforted her. Today, she needed all the comfort she could get. Two weeks ago, her husband Bill, broke the horrible news that when this last Space Shuttle mission was completed, his company, ISA, planned to lay him off. If that wasn’t bad enough, they also told him that since he only had 19 years with the company instead of the 20 needed for retirement he won’t be receiving a pension or benefits.
Endeavor,
Roger,
Bill handled the news better than Laura. Laura was angry. She was angry at NASA, angry at ISA, angry at everything associated with the space program.
The day of the launch she went to her church and prayed for God to destroy the Shuttle. She wanted the people who destroyed her life to lose their jobs. Let them see what it feels like. When her prayers failed, and the Shuttle launched, she returned to church and prayed for the mission to fail. Now, as she ran through the darkness, the Shuttle was scheduled to land in one hour. She prayed to God. She prayed that the Shuttle would crash on re-entry.
Endeavor,
Roger,
Roger, Endeavor.
She heard a familiar noise behind her on the road. She had heard it many times before during her runs. It was the sound a car makes when driving over a speed bump. Instinctively, she moved off the road and onto the grass. A slight wind hit her as the car passed.
What an idiot, he could kill someone driving with the headlights off.
The brake lights blinked on and off a hundred feet in front of her. He must have turned off onto the causeway road ahead. The causeway was her checkpoint for turning back home. She stopped at the intersection and stooped over to catch her breath before continuing the run home.
When she turned to head back, a large man grabbed her from behind. He held a knife to her neck, cupped her mouth with his left hand and dragged her backwards toward his car. Laura screamed into his hand and twisted her body trying to free herself from his grip. He made a half inch cut with the knife just below her cheekbone. The warm blood trickled down the side of her face and onto her neck.
“Shut up lady,” the man said in a calm, even voice. “I’ll cut you again if you try to scream.” Laura bit his hand and kicked his leg. He cut her again, this time on her chin. She screamed from the intense pain.
“I won’t kill you, lady, if you don’t fight me,” he whispered in her ear. He placed the blade directly under her nose. “Are you gonna shut up?” Laura nodded. “That’s better. Now put your head on the seat and don’t move, if you want to live.”
Endeavor – 21 degree right roll command.
Roger,
He shoved her face down on the back seat of the car, grabbed her arms, and crossed them behind her back. He used plastic tie wraps to bind her hands and feet.
“Please let me go,” she pleaded.
“No,” he said. “I don’t think so.” He flipped her over and placed a strip of duct tape over her mouth. She stared at the huge bearded man. His clothes were dirty. The grease stains on his shirt reflected the interior light of the car.
She screamed into the tape, though the sound was barely audible.
“Yell all you want, sweetheart.” He grabbed a large black trash bag and slid the bag over her feet up to her neck. He pushed her down between the seats, started the car and drove on to the causeway.
Laura cried when she thought how worried Bill and the girls would be when they realized she was missing. Bill would drive up and down her route trying to find her before calling the police. She regretted crying almost immediately when the tears seeped into her wounds causing more pain. She rubbed her face on the carpeted floorboard trying to wipe the tears out of her cuts.
Endeavor. 51 degree roll reversal.
Roger, 51 degree roll reversal.
“We’re gonna go for a little ride, sweetheart. You can be my girlfriend. We’ve got about ten miles to my secret place. I’ll let you know when we’re close. It’s just a little side road off the Beeline. Be there in no time. No time at all.”
Laura thought about earlier in the day when she asked God to destroy the Shuttle. Bill losing his job seemed trivial now that she was going to lose her life.
As the car turned off I-95 and on to the Beeline, the car bounced over a bump in the road caused by some uneven pavement. A brown wooden box on the back seat fell down near her head. When it opened, scissors, scalpels, and hemostats fell out on the floor.
“Oh, that’s just my toolbox sweetheart. I’ll show them to you in a little while.”
The darkness of the early morning gave way to the morning sun. Laura looked out the back window of the car and saw the sun rising slightly above the glass. They were heading west. How long till he stops and kills me? She was drenched in her own sweat from the plastic bag. The sweat turned out to be a blessing as she was able to free her hands from the wet plastic binding. She reached up to the door and pulled the door handle. The door wouldn’t open.
Endeavor?
Nominal,
Roger, Endeavor.
She felt for the buttons on the armrest, trying to find the one for the electric door lock. She located the button, but she knew if she operated it he would hear the noise. She decided to wait until he slowed the car before opening the door and pulling herself out, knowing that this would only be possible when he turned off the highway. She loosened the bag around her neck to allow some air in to cool her body.
“We’re almost there sweetheart,” the kidnapper said. “Just a mile – ”Before he could finish the sentence there were two terrific explosions. Boom! Boom! One immediately after the other. The car jerked to the left from the pressure wave.
“Jesus Christ! What the hell was that?”
Several cars in front and behind him pulled into the emergency lane.
“I better see what hit us, sweetheart. Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back.”
The man exited the car and walked around it looking for damage. He noticed the other drivers in front of him doing the same.
“There’s nothing wrong with your car, young man”. An elderly man said from behind him.
“Huh?”
“It was the sonic booms from the Shuttle landing,” the old man said as he pointed to the sky in the east.
“No kidding. Well I’ll be damned. Hey, thanks man,” and the large man returned to his car and started the engine. “Space Shuttle,” he said. “Can you beat that?”
Roger, Endeavor.
Laura reached up and unlocked the door as the man accelerated out of the emergency lane. She pulled the handle and shoved open the door. With her free hand she pulled on the door frame and tumbled out into the highway, screaming into the duct tape when the left rear tire rolled over her foot.
The old man behind them saw the black bag fall out of the car onto the edge of the emergency lane. The car continued accelerating as the rear door flew open wider.
“Hey! Young man! Stop! Young man!” The old man looked down at the black bag and gasped when he saw Laura’s hair sticking out.
The old man watched as the car backed up near the black bag. He walked towards Laura and the car. Suddenly the back up lights went out, and the kidnapper reached behind the seat and slammed shut the back door. The car sped off into the traffic.
“Are you alright dear?” Laura nodded. He pulled the tape off her mouth. She gasped for air.
“It’s alright dear. My wife will call the police and the ambulance. They’ll catch him. Here, let’s get that bag off you.” Other cars stopped nearby and the drivers ran towards Laura and the old man as he pulled the garbage bag off her.
“You’re a very lucky girl. You’ll have to thank God that your prayers were answered.”
Laura looked up at the man and whispered hoarsely. “Thank God they weren’t… Thank God they weren’t.”
SLF, Endeavor. Touchdown 07:23 hours.
Roger, Endeavor. Welcome home.
Recent Blog Entries
Featured Products
