Fall With Me

to strangers. I looked him over, taking in his appearance. My eyes widened. I couldn’t find words to describe how fine a man he was. He was almost beautiful. The first thing I took notice of was how his blue eyes were about three shades brighter than any I’d ever seen before. It was such a stark contrast to his pale – almost white – skin and dark hair. Standing beside me, he was easily more than half a foot taller. His height, broad shoulders and lean build reminded me of Ben, but he had a presence that was far more imposing than my best friend’s.
    My gaze settled on his face.
    I realized that he was inspecting me just as closely as I was him. His eyes on me suddenly made me feel uncomfortably vulnerable. I gave my father’s advice a second thought, but quickly canceled out all notions of heeding to his counsel when I reminded myself that he stopped caring a long time ago.
    I straightened to my full height and mustered all the courage I had to keep myself from running away from this stranger.
    Big mistake.
    The confident smirk didn’t leave his face for even a moment.
    “Like what you see?”
    “A bit full of yourself, aren’t you?” I scoffed, annoyed by his audacity.
    He stepped forward, closer to me, and leaned his head toward mine.
    “Don’t I have the right to be?”
    He knew he looked good and wasn’t about to act like he didn’t.
    “Whatever,” was my oh-so-brilliant comeback.
    My shoulders sagged with defeat as I took a step back, unsettled by how close he was now. I rolled my eyes and did a one-eighty, not quite in the mood to play whatever game this stranger was proposing.
    I would soon realize that I was about to play his game whether I liked it or not.
    He grabbed my arm and turned my body to face him. This motion alone made every single internal alarm I had within me go off in a frenzy.
    This man was danger and I knew it. I tried to wriggle away from his touch, but I was no match for his strength.
    “Tell me your name,” he commanded.
    I was about to refuse, but was horrified to find myself blurting out my name in response.
    “Sofia Claremont.”
    As soon as I revealed my name, his eyes lit up with a kind of sinister approval. Then he reached for my face and traced his thumb over my jaw line.
    “Hello, Sofia Claremont. You’re one stupid girl for taking a walk alone at this time of night. You never know what kind of evil a pretty little thing like you could happen to come by.”
    I found myself wondering exactly what kind of evil he was. But I was suddenly overcome by the sensations that were surrounding me. My senses took in everything at once. I heard the waves, felt the sand, smelled the ocean salt, tasted the flavor of cherry and saw the stranger’s manic appearance as he stuck a needle to my neck. The effect was instant. I was barely able to gasp, much less scream. I went from sensing everything to sensing absolutely nothing.
    My last conscious thought was that I may never see Ben again.
     
     

Chapter 2: Sofia
     
    I blinked several times, hoping that I would see a bit more clearly if I did it enough. No chance. I was enveloped by darkness and it didn’t look like that was about to change any time soon.
    I sensed my claustrophobia about to kick in, afraid that, for all I knew, I could be in some sort of extremely enclosed space, but the cold, airy feel of the room soon assured me that I was not.
    I tried to move about the space and quickly realized that the lack of lighting was the least of my concerns. For one thing, I was being held by metal restraints on my wrists and ankles.
    I could barely even raise my arms without requiring a considerable amount of effort. I tried to pull against my chains. They were fastened to the wall. I felt straw beneath my bare feet. I ran my hands over my body and felt the soft linen fabric of the white cover-up I pulled over my swimsuit before my untimely walk earlier that evening.
    I had intended to go for a swim.
    Yet another one of your brilliant ideas, Sofia. Now you’re locked up in some sort of dungeon wearing your swimsuit and a cover-up that’s nowhere near enough to fend off the biting cold. Genius. Just genius.
    I gritted my teeth, loathing myself for being so careless about my own safety. I caught myself before I could turn myself into my own personal villain. The severity of the situation hit me full force and I was unable to suppress a shudder. What have I gotten myself into?
    Despite the cold, I suddenly felt sweat