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<a id="_Hlk197602318"></a>That is when she answered a call from her own number. Amber’s blood ran cold as her body froze. She then reached down and pulled her cell from her pocket and raised it to eye level. Despite being in cramped quarters and in complete darkness, her eyes adjusted to the soft light of the screen that illuminated the number she had known for years. She slid her finger across it from left to right, weakly cleared her throat, and then answered the call in a voice barely above a whisper. “Hello,” Amber intoned as her heartbeat was beating in her head and wondering who is on the other end of this call.Six hours ago… The corner Speedway gas station had been busy for most of the day but now that most of the evening commuters are at home, the station had only the attendant on hand, re-stocking the coolers. It was just before dusk when the black van with dark tinted windows veered into the lot and pulled alongside the pumps. It stopped abruptly while the sliding side door simultaneously opened. Two larger figures threw a smaller statured male onto the asphalt. Terrance, a nineteen-year-old Italian thinner kid with ripped jeans and a Rolling Stone large t-shirt that hung loosely over his five-foot five frame, tried to get his bearings while dealing with the sharp pain in his shoulder from when he landed on it. Before he could even blink his eyes open, his duffle bag hit him square in the back. After that, the perpetrators slid the door shut to conceal their identity, but not before issuing an ominous warning. “Last chance to prove you don’t have sawdust for brains. Get this right, or you are out!” The van door clicked shut as the driver punched the gas, causing the van to lurch forward as it sped off down the street and in seconds was out of sight. Terrance brushed back his hair and sat up. After looking around he grabbed his duffel bag and made his way to the men’s room to clean up. He relieved himself at the stall, then washed up at the sink, after letting it run until it was comfortably warm. He took a hard look at his mirror image. It frightened him slightly. Until this moment, he never thought of himself as a threat to anyone. No arrests of any kind. Caught once speeding but that is the extent of his criminal record. Now in a matter of moments he will be a major player. Terrance dried his face and combed back his sandy brown hair. He pulled his duffel bag up onto the sink to check the contents. Duct tape. Rope. Pepper spray. Hand towel. Chloroform. Gun. A Glock 19. He took a deep breath in and slowly expelled it out through puffed out cheeks before he picked up the gun. Until this moment, he hadn’t held it. It seemed like it was still in pristine condition so it’s entirely possible it is brand new, but then again if it could talk, it just might tell a multitude of stories that involve it and the unfortunate fate of anyone who has crossed its path. He pushed everything back into the duffel bag. He took one last look into his hazel eyes in the mirror, and now felt he was ready to move up to the big leagues. He grabbed the bag and made his way inside the gas station. He acted like he was shopping for something to eat but in reality, was waiting for the perfect victim. The end of her shift on the production line surprisingly was without glitches. As Amber packaged the three-pound bags of bird treats into boxes of twelve, she found herself contemplating the decisions she had made that led her to where she is now. Twenty-six. High school graduate. She was married at nineteen, which preceded a miscarriage at twenty-two. Widowed at twenty-four. Her high school sweetheart, Timothy, was coming home from Walmart that fateful night with a twelve-pound turkey in the passenger seat for Thanksgiving when a drunk driver veered into oncoming traffic. He had promised he would always be with her. She believed it. Right up until that moment the airbag failed to deploy, causing his neck to break when his head hit the steering wheel. It was supposed to be the Cinderella story. They were going to live happily ever after. Nope. Why, she thought, do others go on living but she always has something happening to her? Amber finished her shift, put her safety gear into her locker, put her fit bit on, pocketed her cell phone, and headed home. With the windows cracked open an inch, she slowly started to decompress. She stopped at the Speedway on the way home as her gas gauge was at a ¼ tank. She filled up and paid at the pump. Amber was almost gone. She should have been gone but the poster in the window caught her attention. Craving a quick and tasty meal?Grab two delicious pizza slices anda refreshing Big Gulp for only$4! It’s the perfect combo for when you need to refuel on the go. She looked at the time for a second and then closed the car door and made her way inside. She picked out two slices. One cheese and sausage and one pepperoni, then got a big Gulp of Dr. Pepper. Once back in her car, she deposited the pizza in the passenger seat, and the drink in the middle console cupholder. In that second between when she started her Jeep Cherokee and would have shifted the transmission into drive, a hand garbed in a rag came from behind her, covering her mouth. Her eyes opened wide as she tried to push free. Within seconds, her strength became completely depleted, as well as dizziness set in just before she completely blacked out. When she awoke, she was in the dark. In a container of some kind. Wooden. She reached up and felt the top had cracks between the boards. When she pounded the top above her, which is merely inches from her nose, gravity would push a thin layer of dust down onto her, into her eyes and mouth. It was obvious. Someone had buried her alive. The effects of the chloroform knocked her out again, and she slept in the coffin her kidnapers had made for her. She wondered if this was about a ransom of some kind. It would have to go to her only living relatives. They would pay but if the amount was too much, that could pose a problem. Her mom was a part time worker her whole life while her dad retired from concrete work. They are comfortable but in no position to pay a seven-digit ransom. Amber awoke slowly. She was half hoping at the moment her plight was a dream. She covered her eyes and began to cry. In a matter of moments her oxygen would run out. “How can this be happening,” she whispered.” “Tim, you were supposed to be with me always. Where are you? I need you now.” That is when she answered a call from her own number. She was shocked that she had forgotten she had it in her pocket. She pulled it out and was equally shocked at the number that came up on the caller ID. “Hello,” Amber intoned. “Amber it’s me,” Timothy answered in a polished reassuring voice. “Tim, what is this? Am I dead?” “No sweety, you are not dead. You have to stay with me, and it will be all over soon.” “But how? I thought you would never leave me.” “Oh, sweety, I never left. I have been by your side ever since my car accident.” “Why did God take you from me?” Amber cried as she felt like he truly was near her again. “It’s hard to explain. For now, I can only say it was my time. Rest assuredly however, is not your time.” “How do you know for sure?” “I know this because the fit bit you have on has a GPS transponder. Search and rescue are moments away and will unearth you. Trust me Amber. Can you do that?” “I will try Tim.” Amber felt in the darkness for her Fitbit. She then waited while never disconnecting the line with her Tim. Soon, undistinguishable sounds came from above. Then, she could tell someone was digging her out manually. The cracks between the boards then had a flashlight shine down onto her. She squinted while still feeling out of sorts from lack of Oxygen and from the aftereffects of the chloroform. She blacked out. Amber awoke at Saint Anthony hospital, with an IV in her arm, and her parents next to the bed, her mom sitting holding her hand, while her dad was looking on, standing at the window. “Amber, you are here,” her mom said in a voice of both joy and relief. “Mom, where am I? How did I get here?” “Don’t worry about that, you are going to be okay.” Amber felt her face and the cool touch of her own fingertips brought her back to reality. She then realized her hands were empty. “Where is my cell phone?” “Don’t worry about that, we will get you another phone.” “I don’t understand. Why do I need a new phone?” Her mom pulled out her cell phone from her purse and held it out to Amber. It had a broken screen, completely disabling the phone from any functions. Amber swallowed hard. “But I spoke to Tim. He called me.” Her mom looked back at her dad for his input. “Here is what we know. They told us the GPS locator from your Fitbit saved your life. Another ten to twenty minutes later and it would have been too late. They did tell us when they pulled you out, you were unconscious but at the same time, had a firm grip on your phone, holding it to your ear, and somehow it pinged the nearest tower despite being out of power and damaged.” “Tim called me. The caller ID came up as my own number, but it was him. I know my Tim. I am not crazy.” “We never thought you were,” Her mom answered. Amber’s eyes went back and forth between her mom’s eyes and her dad’s. In the hallway, a passerby with music playing on a cell phone came within earshot of them. The song that was playing was “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” by Reign of Z. Amber slowly let herself sink into the soft white linen of the hospital bed. She now knew what had happened. She has been playing this song since its conception to help her with her grief. Tim knew that. He had promised he would never leave her. He didn’t. He never will.EpilogueAmber went back to school to focus her energies on making herself priority one.Terrance was arrested for kidnapping and attempted murder. Once Amber was able to positively ID him, he faced thirty to sixty years if convicted but was given immunity and was put into the witness protection program for turning states evidence against the local gang.The gun that was found on Terrance was linked to several robberies and one attempted murder from three years ago that led to the conviction of Michael Cambiano for all the said charges. He is now serving thirty years to life.Amber’s cell phone was thrown away. Terrance admitted he deliberately disabled the phone in the hopes that she would not be able to call out. No one could explain how the phone was able to power up and take calls much less ping its location.No one but Amber. 😊&nbsp;&nbsp;

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Courtney Skelton

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