When I got to the front door of our apartment building, I dreaded walking inside. I was so worried that my parents would freak out, ground me from leaving the house, or worse, disown me, even though I knew that wouldn't happen. But for my luck, they were fast asleep. I supposed that they didn't notice my disappearance. How that worked out, I, personally, had no idea, but I was glad for it. I crept silently into my bed. Before slipping into a comfortable sleep, I looked out the window to see the normal night-life awakening; A few people coming home from a late shift at work, a few taxis bringing people home, and the odd drunk person who wandered around sputtering incomprehensible sentences. That's what made me tired every single night.
"GET UP, YOU HAVE WORK!"
I sat upright in my bed. I looked at the time. "Nine already?" I asked myself, gazing sleepily at the light shining into my room. I slipped on a new set of clothes and made my way out the front door, hugging mom as I left. She was already busy in the coffee shop.
The publishing company was located just beside the market, surrounded by tons of people and always looking old, the bricks worn down by weather and graffiti. Although, not all the graffiti was bad, some of it was pretty good. It added character.
"Isla, you're late," my boss scolded when I walked inside.
Typical, I thought. Just what any normal, boring boss would say. "Yeah, uh, my mom was sick, I needed to get her some medicine before coming. Sorry."
I rushed into the main office and started going through recently sent files. Copies and copies of novels, most with the same plot-line, were sitting on my desk. The desk wasn't big. It had a pen, a note-pad, and a flashlight for late shifts. Let's just say that our company was not rich, but it was the only one in Milan, so it stayed standing.
Suddenly, a girl in a white cloak stepped in. "Isla, phone call, line seven."
I nodded and went over to the land-line. "Hello?"
"Come now."
I instantly recognized the voice. Jayden. But before I could reply, he hung up. A few employees stared. Some whispered. "Family emergency," I said, rushing out the door.
I looked around frantically for my brother among the crowd, but it was nearly impossible to find anyone in the market. More than a hundred people were buying and selling, crowding the streets and the indoor public buildings, talking and laughing amongst each other. It was annoying. "Psst!"
I spun. "Oh, Jayden, thank god," I said as he pulled me to a side-wall.
"I overheard my parents talking last night."
"And?"
"They said something about us having political power... I'm not really sure what they meant, though. So don't get your hopes up."
I tilted my head. "Political power?"
"Oh, I don't know! It could've been anything!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "It maybe wasn't even about us. I can't be sure."
"No, no, that would make perfect sense." My eyes drifted over to see one person looking at us. "That's why they wanted us apart, so that we couldn't do... do something, I guess. We just have to figure out what that something is."
Jayden followed my gaze. That's when the flash happened.
And just like that, I had ropes around my hands and ankles.
I was in a truck.
Jayden wasn't with me.
And it was dark.
Very dark.
I was confused.
I was scared.
I was, without a doubt, kidnapped.