26 The Wai

MAYA'S POV

I woke up with a start, not knowing where I was. I was surrounded by thick darkness and I couldn't see my surroundings. I was lying down on a hard cold floor and it was slightly damp .My hands and legs were shackled with chains and the cuffs were digging into my skin every time I moved.I don't know how long I had been here, there was no way of telling. When I tried to move I realized that I couldn't get very far, the shackles held fast to something but I couldn't make it out in the blackness.

I would have called out for Rita but my mouth was gagged and all I could do was listen out for any kind of movement around me. But there was just an echo of silence all around, all I could hear was my slackened breathing and the sound of the sea. I was probably somewhere close to the sea but where?

They probably separated us-divide and conquer. I felt cold and hungry, like I hadn't eaten for days. My mouth was dry and I would have killed for a drop of water. My dress had been stripped off me and only my flimsy corset covered my body, which didn't help protect me from the freezing cold.It was like-0 degrees in here, my body shook violently because of the cold and there was not much I could do about it. All I could do was stare into the darkness until my eyes burned.

I fell asleep at some point, well all I could do was sleep. When I was awake I would just stare into the darkness until I fell asleep again and the cycle continued.No-one came to check on me, to torture me or to throw food at me like what happened in the movies.

How could Mark and Steve be so cruel? What did they want from me?? If he was holding me until some sort of ransom was paid, then I'm sure someone would have paid it by now. Even Kyle would have given his last dollar to make sure I was released.But I was still lying here, wallowing in my own waste..The room wreaked and it caused me to be constantly nauseous.Maybe that was his strategy, he wanted me to slowly die here, where no one could find me.

I could feel my body weakening, I was slowly slipping away. I couldn't tell when I was conscious or not, I felt trapped in my own body. I cried until I had no more tears left to cry.Bits and pieces of my life flashed through my mind and I was slowly losing my sanity.

I had hallucinations of Kyle coming to rescue me, lying down next to me, telling me not to give up. I was slowly losing this battle for my life-I was beyond weak, hopeless and giving up seemed very appealing. What was I even holding on for when clearly the odds were against me. I would never make it out of here alive, no one was going to find me..

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KYLE'S POV

It was almost three weeks and we still hadn't found Maya. Rita had mysteriously turned up in her bed a few days after they had been abducted. She had no clue as to how she got home and had no idea where they had taken Maya. The last time she had seen Maya was in the rest room on the day they were kidnapped.

Mark had demanded a hefty a hefty ransom of $5 billion andhe didn't make contact on the day we were supposed to do the switch.The cops told me to be patient, it was probably delay tactics to keep us on the edge. We just had to wait it out but after two days we were still waiting for that call but it never came. Mark and Steve were both found dead three days later.A couple of surfers found the mangled bodies close to the sea shore.

Now we were right back where we started. I was going insane. We had no leads and I searched every where for Maya- I even offered a hugeransom if she was found. I followed every lead and traveled from city to city, most times on a wild goose chase. I always came at a dead end and I hadn't slept properly for weeks. I couldn't eat because I found it hard to keep anything down. I had cancelled all my shows indefinitely and kept myself away from the public eye. Our PR handled the press and social media updates.On the positive side The Billionaire's Song was on the number one spot ever since Maya went missing. There was always a large group of people holding night vigils outside her office building, every-night, from the time she went missing.

The police had so many false leads and were about to give up the search. They were now talking about finding her 'body' in order to close the case. My brain would shut down whenever they would bring that up.Maya was alive-I could feel it. If she wasn't then I'm sure I would have felt it too.

She was somewhere out there and I would find her and bring her back home.I would never give up search until I held her in my arms once again.I had to hold on to that. I was not about to lose hope.

I was driving to Rita's house to try and jack her memory again. Maybe she would remember something no matter how insignificant.Rita was in a bad state, she was always crying and was slowly slipping into a depression. At least James was there to keep an eye on her.

I needed to hold Maya so badly. To see her beautiful face-to hear her laugh. I was scared and tired but I wouldn't admit it to anyone. She was probably scared as well and I didn't want to think about the other stuff she could be going through right now.I prayed everyday for a sign that would lead me to her, that would point me in the right direction.

I jumped out of my car and rang Rita's door bell.She opened the door and threw herself into my arms and started to bawl her eyes out.My eyes pooled with tears but I blinked them back, as we held onto each other.She was probably the only one that really understood what I was going through, we both loved Maya and we were slowly losing our minds with worry.

We stepped into the house and she led me into the sitting room. I dashed away the tears from my face and waited for Rita to calm down.

"I'm sorry Kyle-but-I'm just scared!" she wailed as he covered her face.

"I know-me too," I put my arm around her and let her cry it all out.

She was a mess-even worse than I was if that was even remotely possible. Her eyes had dark circles and she had lost a lot of weight. Her clothes were hanging off her body, like she had borrowed them from someone.

"Hey-you look like crap," I smiled at her.

"Look who's talking," She smiled through her tears.

"At least I still work out..it helps me with the stress," I said sadly.

"I'm slowly losing my mind Ky-I don't know what else we can do-" She wrung her hands in distress.

"I know-" I sighed, "You haven't remembered anything else?" I asked

"No-I'm sorry," She frowned.

"Don't worry about it," I tried to hide my disappointment.

We made small talk and then I told her I was leaving.

"James is still asleep if you want to see him?" She queried.

James had finally told her how he felt and she felt the same way about him so they've been inseparable ever since.

"I'm going to head out, I'll see him later," I stood up to leave.

"Take care of yourself okay?" I enveloped Rita in a hug.

"Yeah-you too- I can't even imagine what you must be going through," She squeezed my arm.

"You probably have some idea," I smiled.

"Yeah-I guess I do," she smiled back.

"See you later," I waved at her as I drove away.