Now Spit — Troy D. Smith

A PbRJV Short - Jerry Carp is minding his own business, going about his simple, average life as always, but then, something happens. He wakes in an unknown place to find his hands tied â€" and he's not alone. Another man nearby, also tied, begins sobbing.

A noise from the next room grows louder; there are muffled cries, a whining shriek, finally nothing...

Chapter One -- Jerry Carp's lids lifted slowly, then fluttered. The light was dim. Jerry had trouble remembering where he was â€" at first it seemed he was home in his own bed â€" but then the raspy pressure of the ropes on his wrists jerked his mind to the here and now. He gasped as sudden fear slammed back into his heart.

He jerked at his bonds. His arms worked furiously, but there was no give in the ropes at all. The flurry of movement attracted the attention of someone else in the room â€" a muffled voice tried to call out. The other man was bound and gagged, like Jerry, and terror oozed out of him like fluid along with his sweat. Something about the other prisoner was vaguely familiar, but Jerry could not pinpoint it.

I wonder if he knows why we're here. Jerry probed into his own memory, trying to come up with any reasonable motive for his abduction. He had no enemies that he knew of. He lived a very quiet life. He had been walking toward his car in the parking garage, having just closed down the office and sent his secretary Mrs. Arbogast home for the night, when a man stepped from the shadows and grabbed him. Jerry remembered the distinct smell of chloroform and the pressure of the man's gloved hand upon his face, and nothing else.