Finish The Story Contest - Week #49

If you still don't know about this type of contest, I'll explain it to you: @bananafish and his gang (or her gang?) create a story and your mission, if you decide to accept it, is to create an ending, but only 500ish words. That's it!

This is my entry. If you want to know more about the contest, I’ll leave you a link to the contest down below.

Source

The Package

by @gaby-crb

(This is the first part of the story)

Condensation clung to the window, occasionally releasing a surge that cleared a path making the outside world visible. The cold white light refracted in the tiny water droplets. It was pretty, Shannon thought, as her breath spread across the cold window.
She checked her phone, the bright screen dazzling her. Her eyes darted to the mirror. The baby didn’t stir, still sound asleep in his comfortable car seat. She checked the time, the numbers read 23:46. There was no message.

She slipped it back into her coat pocket, wrapping her fingers around each other in an attempt to bring them back to life.

The CD stopped playing, the story finished. She pressed replay. The kid would no doubt wake up if it went silent. The story started up from the beginning. It was one she had listened to herself as a child. The narrator had a soothing voice, Shannon felt calm despite her predicament.

She checked her phone again. Still no message. Her eyes darted back to the boy, his blond hair showing underneath his fluffy hat. His cheeks pink. His blue eyes hidden beneath heavy eyelids.

A gloved hand rapped against the window. Shannon jumped, she quickly rolled down the window.

A clean shaven man ducked his head down to look at her.

“You have the package?”

His eyes glanced around the car, resting a few moments on the sleeping boy before returning to her face.

She nodded, her heart hammering in her chest. This was the first time she had done something like this.

She removed the key from the ignition and opened her door, the man stepped out of the way. She was not surprised to measure up as shorter than him. She fumbled with the key in her hand. She found it hard to swallow.

“How many times do I have to do this?”

Her voice shook. She wrapped her arms around herself, giving her hands something to grip onto.

“Until you’ve paid what you owe.”

His voice clawed at her insides. He stepped closer, a hungry look in his eye.

Shannon shivered. She was mentally kicking herself for getting into debt. But there was only one thing she could do now.

---

And here is my ending

"Do not resist. Do not complain", told to herself

The man opened the back door of the vehicle and took the child

"We'll let you know when we need you again," was the last sentence she could hear from that man.

The baby opened his eyes and Shannon could take one last look at his blue eyes. The infant protested but the perpetrator paid no attention.

Shannon returned to the safety of her vehicle. The narrator continued with the story that she knew by heart. She turned off the CD player.

Anxiety began to envelop Shannon, nerves took over her body, she began to pant. Every breath more suffocating than the last one, looking for air or something else to fill the void.

She tried to convince herself, she was doing the only thing she could do. She was doing the right thing to do. Empty words that were constantly repeated in her mind. Meaningless words.

But the panic attack did not leave her in peace, her heart pumped harder and harder, deafening her ears. A lasso seized her neck making her to almost lose consciousness over and over.

She tried to leave but she couldn't move. She couldn't stop shaking. She tried to calm herself, but her eyes went to the emptiness that reflected her rear-view mirror, a soul that was not to blame for this new fate stained by her own hands.

Who was she? She was also a victim of the situation. She couldn't do anything to remedy what had been done. A part of her kept struggling with herself.

However, Shannon could not forget his fluffy hat and the pinkness of his cheeks.

The ignition sound of the criminal's vehicle made the situation more tangible. She could see the smoke from the exhaust pipe of the van through the rearview mirror. A few seconds later, he began his journey to the unknown. She couldn't stop seeing two small red lights, like little red eyes of a snake sneaking in the dark.

She closed her eyes and her hand reached for the ignition switch and the keys started the vehicle. An avalanche of adrenaline ran through her entire being. She stepped on the accelerator thoroughly, marking her tires on the asphalt, turned around and chased the van. In a few seconds, she reached it and without thinking about the consequences she bumped the back of the van making it lost control and crashing them into a tree.

Her tires squealed on the asphalt when she pumped the brake violently. She couldn't stop to think about what she had done, not now. She got out of her car immediately. Both passengers were unconscious. Fortunately, the man had secured the baby in his car seat.

She took the child without looking back and after securing the baby in the backseat, she stepped on the accelerator pedal one more time, entering the darkness of the road in front of her, a path as unknown as her own future.

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Thanks for passing by!

If you want to participate in this contest, go to:

https://steemit.com/finishthestory/@bananafish/finish-the-story-contest-week-49