Read Survivor: 1 for Free Online Page B

over and she kicked out with her feet, but she didn't get anywhere: he had tied her ankles together, too.

    Mr. Smith laughed. "Now now, Mrs. Miller. No need to
get antsy."
    "Let me out now!" Lisa screamed. The sound of her
scream was loud, even to her ears. She let loose another
loud, piercing scream and tried to lunge off the bed at
Mr. Smith.
    Mr. Smith's cocky grinned disappeared. He swarmed
over the bed, his body pinning her down as she
screamed and flayed on the bed. You cocksucking motherfucker, I'm gonna kill you-"
    Now now, let's not have any of that." He damped one
large, meaty hand over her mouth to shut her up. Lisa
clamped her teeth over the fleshy part of his thumb and
bit down hard. Mr. Smith yelled and jerked back, holding
his thumb. Lisa squirmed violently and tried to scream
again, but managed only a slight croak. "You bitch!" He
held up his bleeding hand to Lisa, his features seeming
to say /can't-believe-you-bit-me!
    Lisa took a deep breath and yelled at the top of her
lungs. Her back arched as she lifted her upper body off
the mattress. Mr. Smith fumbled in a small bag she saw
on the nightstand, and he extracted a handkerchief. He
picked up a small bottle resting by the bag, poured something in the handkerchief, set the bottle down, and advanced toward the bed. Lisa's eyes widened in shock,
and she struggled. Mr. Smith approached her and Lisa
opened her mouth to scream again, but the handkerchief was stuffed into her mouth, the wet part clamped
down over her nostrils, and then she was breathing in a
heavy, acidic stench and she saw stars. The room was
spinning, and she barely had time to recognize the looming figure of Mr. Smith over her as her mind reeled from the scent of whatever it was he had given her, and then
her last thought was Oh my God, the baby=

    When she woke up again, she had a splitting headache.
She tasted something in her mouth and ran her tongue
along it. It was a loth rag, wedged into her mouth and
tied around the back of her head. She was gagged.
    The sun had dropped outside and it was darker in the
room now. She lay on the bed, her heart pounding, letting
her eyes grow accustomed to the dark. She heard him before she saw him, from the chair at the writing desk opposite the bed. "You're awake," he said. "You don't have to lie
there and pretend to still be out. I know you're awake"
    She almost let out a sob of frustration and fear. She felt
tears at the back of her throat; her face felt hot and flush.
She was no longer hungry, but there was an empty feeling in her belly anyway-the empty feeling of fear.
    The dark shape sitting at the chair rose to its feet and
walked over to the side of the bed. Lisa could barely
make out Mr. Smith as he stood over her. "I had to gag
you," he said, "because you were being unreasonable.
There's no need to be unreasonable. It's a good thing for
you nobody heard you. If somebody had heard you and
come to investigate, you wouldn't have woken up, little
lady. No sirree."
    Lisa began to cry.
    Mr. Smith leaned over her and she could make his features out more clearly through tear-blurred eyes. He was
grinning. "Everything's going to be fine," he said. "You got
a nice little bump on your noggin, but it's barely noticeable, which is good. We're just going to wait until it gets
dark, then we're going to hit the road. That's why I had to
tie you up and gag you. Once it's dark and the coast is
clear, I'll move you to my van and we'll head off."

    Head off to where? Her mind screamed. She tried to
control her sobs, but couldn't. The tears flowed freely
and her breath was harsh. Why are you doing this?
    As if he had heard her silent question, he smiled: "I
know you're probably wondering why I'm doing this. If
it'll make you feel better, I've never done this kind of
thing before-kidnapping people, that is. I'm not some
psycho or some serial killer. I'm not going to hurt you!
    So why are you doing this?
    Mr. Smith leaned