This is the edited, and I hope better, version of Ch. 2 in my April saga. I hope you will read my first story to get to know the plot and characters. I hope you like this, but as always am looking for any thoughts or suggestions of fellow writers. Let me know what you think and check out other chapters in the story as well. Thanks for reading!
April tried to keep her eyes open as heavy waves of sleep washed over her tired and aching body. She knew it was important to stay awake, aware of her surroundings....but where the hell was she? She looked around and saw only darkness and confusion, jumbled shapes that didn't make sense to her drowsy and confused mind.
Nothing hurt but her head really; all she felt was a dull ache in her left arm and shoulder. Damn it, she'd almost gotten away from whoever was in that car...But she must not have escaped. No, she vaguely remembered being driven away. After all, if she had gotten free, Haley would be here, making sense of this blurry world she now found herself trapped in.
For some reason she couldn't understand, April's mouth wasn't forming words. She kept attempting to speak, only to hear a kind of moan come out, a foreign sounding voice croaking out of her own throat. Drugs, that must be it. They must have used drugs. But what did they want?
April found that trying to piece together her abduction was nearly impossible. She thought something must be wrong with her memory, it was playing tricks on her just like her eyes. It was taking strings of events, tying and knotting them together, until she wasn't sure what happened. Dreams and reality, past and present, they were all undistinguishable to her.
As her mind slowly began to clear, it gave way to more and more pain in her head. She felt as if she had a hangover or a bad cold. Through the pain, April again tried to piece her shattered memories together, though she had precious little to work with.
There was at least one face she'd seen before, which now swam around in the turbulence of her pounding head. Yes, she had seen him at the market a couple of times as she picked up groceries. He'd asked her advice on which fruits to pick out, what wine went with what dinner, simple friendly conversation. He never even tried to hit on her. He was always so friendly...But then it wasn't unusual for April to start talking with a complete stranger. It happened all the time.
But yes, she was almost positive he was in the car...why? Had they been looking for her? April had moved around a lot, even to some places Haley hadn't yet heard about. April wasn't the type to make enemies, she kind of floated through her life without much anger or fighting. Often, she was the type to remain unnoticed, although once someone got an idea of who she was, they usually cherished the time they were able to spend with her. She'd had lovers of course, male and female both. April fell in love with the person, not the gender, a concept that Haley had never been too comfortable with. April could not think of a single reason why someone would want to harm her, let alone who that someone might be.
As April finally succeeded in fully awakening, she felt disoriented and a little nauceous. She was lying in a narrow bed, with one white pillow and an old brown comforter covering it. It was so dark, but that was probably good because of her continuing headache. There was only one tiny window directly across from her; it looked like just a tiny strip, much too small to crawl out. She tried to peer out the grime encrusted glass from where she was lying, but couldn't see much through the layers of dirt. However, a little sunlight somehow managed to sneak in and she was able to make out her surroundings by the light of the dusty sunbeam. The room was tiny, with only one door. Other then the bed, April didn't see much of anything, although the dust on the concrete floor looked like it had been recently disturbed.
Looking down at herself, April realized she was still dressed in her pale blue sundress, with not so much as a rip in the ankle length skirt. She could feel her panties and bra still in place, and silently thanked God as she felt the light lace fabric move against her hot skin. Actually, April noticed with some surprise, she was pretty much unharmed.
Inside the little shoebox of a room, the air was stale, and April's skin and long curls were sticky with sweat. She smelled nothing but old air. This room must not have been used very much.
Flashes of fear and pain raced through April's panicked thoughts now and then, more so as she became fully aware of the predicament she had woken up in. She knew for sure there had been a forgettable looking grey van, which was nothing out of the ordinary really. Southern California was always full of tourists in the summertime months.
She had been walking along one of the small streets, looking at all the souvenier shops, skimpy bikini selling boutiques, and other commercial touristy garbage in all it's glory, in one of those tiny crowded streets. She had been so near the ocean, near home too, and the air had smelled fresh and salty. The van was moving slow, most likely lost. Then that man, the one from the market, had rolled down the passenger window. He smiled and waved her over, saying he needed directions. Again, perfectly normal. April got stopped ten times a day in her travels with poor lost tourists and confused newcomers asking for some help.
