Daisy's Angel of Vengeance

Prologue

Sadie––Twenty Years Ago

Irefuse to cry or give this man the satisfaction of knowing I’m terrified.

Make no mistake about it, I am petrified.

Every cell in my body trembles when my captor speaks to me through a ski mask, the areas around his eyes ominously coated in black face paint.

The only light in the cave where he’s holding me captive comes from his lantern, and each time he leaves me alone with my thoughts, I’m plunged into perfect darkness.

There’s not even a sliver of light for my eyes to adjust.

The one thought that gives me peace is the voice in my head that urges my spirit to keep fighting and reminds me that I’m still alive. But to what end? Maybe death would be preferable to whatever this man has in store for me.

“Do you plan on killing me?” I ask with a dry and scratchy throat.

He’s given me food and water, but only enough to keep me from starving or dying of dehydration.

If I had to guess, this guy is trying to minimize my need to use the bathroom and limit the time my hands and feet are unbound.

He only cuts the duct tape around my wrists and ankles when absolutely necessary, reminding me that there’s no place to run, only hide.

And should I try to make my escape to do the latter, I’d end up lost in a cavern with no way to see, no food to eat, and no water to drink. Death would be certain.

“If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it already. It won’t be long now before the search party stops looking for you. Then we can go.”

I’m too weak to go anywhere, which is likely another reason why my calorie intake is kept at a bare minimum. “My family will never stop looking for me.”

“Yeah, that’s what they all say. But by next week, the news outlets won’t even remember your name.

Sadie Alekseev will be another statistic where gossip revolves around the idea of you running away rather than being abducted.

It’s why I waited until after you and your parents argued loud enough for the whole campground to hear before I grabbed you.

Eventually your parents will believe the rumors, as will your brother. ”

The man sitting across from me, with a lantern at his feet, sounds young.

Not as young as my brother, Natan, who just turned 17 and has a voice that still occasionally cracks when he tries to talk to a pretty girl, but young in the way my new high-school teacher sounds; vibrant and excited about a world full of possibilities.

“You seem to know my name. What’s yours?” I ask him.

He chuckles. “Are you trying to befriend me, Sadie? That’s cute.

Let me be clear: I’m not letting you go.

I’m handing you over and receiving a large sum of cash to deliver you to someone else.

No amount of lash-batting and sweet smiles from a 14-year-old girl will change the fact that you are nothing more to me than a payday. ”

The man walks toward me; the whites of his eyes appear ominous against the darkness.

His gaze is hollow as though he has no soul to fill the void in his heart.

Instinctually, I wiggle myself away from him until my back hits the wall and pieces of broken rock scrape against my hip and hands.

My pulse kicks harder the closer he gets, every instinct inside me screaming to put distance between us even though there’s nowhere left to go.

Squatting down, he runs the tip of his finger across my face.

“Don’t worry, Sadie. You won’t even remember me a year from now.

In fact, you won’t remember your family, your friends, or have any reason to want to go home.

The life you’re about to lead is one full of opportunities.

You should embrace it rather than fear it. ”

Fear is exactly what’s coursing through my veins and turning my blood ice cold. I’ve heard the stories on the news about human trafficking. I just never thought I’d be one of the people they talk about.

Ignoring this man’s delusional words of a brighter future, I spit in his face and scream at the top of my lungs.

Of course, it’s futile since we’re far enough into the cave system that I can’t be heard, nor can anyone find me without a map.

But that’s not my goal. I just want this man to get as far away from me as possible.

He makes my skin crawl every time he gets close.

He doesn’t flinch, move away, or yell at me to stop.

He simply stuffs a cloth into my mouth to stifle the noise.

“That’s better,” he says as I choke on the rag.

He stands up and steps back a few feet, picking up the lantern and holding it close to his face.

“I’m going to leave you alone and let you come to terms with the fact that there’s nothing you can do to change your circumstances and that your energy is being wasted. Sweet dreams, Sadie.”

As he walks away, taking the light with him, I finally let the tears fall, the fight draining out of me as darkness swallows the cave once again.

Unable to speak the words, I silently pray.

My thoughts are being shouted loud enough that I can hear them as though I’m saying them aloud.

Hopefully, that means God can hear them as well.

“Lord, if you’re listening right now, please help me!

I just want to see my family again! I promise I won’t ever say another harsh word to any of them if you get me out of this! ”

Laughter fills my head as the voice in my mind says, “Don’t make a promise you can’t keep, Sadie. We both know that you’re fiercely independent and a fighter by nature. You’re going to need to tap into that for what comes next.”

“And what comes next?” I must be losing it if I’m having a silent conversation with myself, yet somehow, I don’t think that’s the case at all. It’s more like I have an imaginary friend who has my back and keeps me company when I’m close to giving up.

“Your escape.”

An hour or two passes, though it feels like forever before my “friend” speaks to me again. “It’s time, Sadie.”

“Time for what?”

“Time to go. Use the sharp rock to cut the tape binding you and let go of your fear. For fear will continue to constrain you far more than anything else.”

I do as I’m told, my fingers searching for the rock that cuts into my back. All it takes is for the tip to puncture the tape before it tears with ease. With my hands free, I remove the cloth from my mouth before feeling around in the darkness to cut away at the tape restraining my ankles.

Whispering, I say, “Now what? I can’t even see my fingers in front of my face. Is this where you tell me to trust my gut or follow my heart?”

Once again, laughter reverberates around me.

Instead of it being in my head, it sounds as though it is echoing off the cavern walls; as though my “friend” is with me for real, and not just a made-up figment of my imagination.

A nervous shiver works its way down my spine.

I’m not just losing it. I’ve officially lost it.

“I will guide you. All you have to do is have a little faith that you are not alone; that the Lord is clearing a path for you to travel. That’s all it takes.”

I grab hold of the pendant around my neck; a gift my parents gave me two years ago after I came home from a summer Bible camp with my brother.

We’d both accepted Christ that week after years of going to church.

To celebrate, they gave each of us a mustard seed encapsulated in resin to remind us that even the smallest amount of faith can move mountains.

Mine is a pendant, and my brother’s is on a keychain.

“Faith. Faith. Faith,” I repeat over and over again like a mantra, tightening my fingers around the pendant until the edges press into my palm. “I can do this. All I need to do is take the first step.”

“And then another. And another. And another.”

Hours pass before I hear the faintest echo of my captor yelling in frustration when he discovers I’m gone.

The sound freezes me in place because he has a way to see and knows the cave system, while I’m walking blindly, listening to a voice give me directions and getting weaker by the second. Thirst and hunger overcome me.

“Keep going. The path ahead of you will challenge your will to survive, Sadie. There will be times you’ll pray for death. But know that you are meant for a greater purpose.”

That’s when the sound of trickling water hits my ears and gives me the burst of strength I need to keep moving.

Keeping one hand in front of me and one hand on the wall to my right, I make my way toward the noise.

The cave floor becomes slick with moisture the closer I get.

Eventually, I find the source of the water along with a source of light coming through a hole high above the underground lake.

After a week of darkness, the beam of light reflecting off the water appears bright.

I fall to my knees at the edge and add my tears to the sparkling pool of liquid salvation.

It’s not a way out, but it’s just what I need to keep going.

I drink my fill, not caring if it’s safe to do so.

It’s worth the risk if it means a few more days of life.

The water is blissfully cold and soothing to my parched throat.

I can’t stay here for much longer with my captor closing in.

I look around and see several tunnels from where the water has eroded a path to escape.

I just need to follow one of them. Any of them should take me in a different direction from where I came from.

Unfortunately for me, my “friend” is no help in choosing, remaining silent while I decide.

As I skirt around the water, I feel a tug on my coat toward the second tunnel.

I check and see that I’m snagged on a protruding rock.

“I thought you were pulling me in the direction you wanted me to go,” I say out loud. Waiting a beat for a response that never comes, I figure this tunnel is as good as any.