Petra Marsh: The Easter Abduction - Part 1

The signal for the end of the day came at five o’clock on the Thursday evening, and the thirty year old Petra Marsh put her papers in a neat pile so that she could continue the same old tedium when it was time to start work on Tuesday morning. There was the usual jam at the doorway as everyone tried to get out of the office at the same time, but she just used this moment to change out of her hated black shoes and put on her black flip flops which allowed her feet to be free.

“Liberating your feet, I see.” Petra looked up to see Diana Wilkins smiling at her. “I don’t blame you for doing that, as the dress code here is tyrannical, and this is your own time now.”

Using the word tyrannical was more than a metaphor on this office as the branch manager was a most unpleasant person, and there was a strict dress code in the office with everyone having to wear black trousers, jacket and white shirt, with the women only being allowed to not wear ties or socks. The only other concession for female employees was that they were permitted to wear ladies’ shoes at work, so long as they were black.

“Are you bothering Ms. Marsh again?” Kendra Morgan said as she walked up to Diana, and it was easy to believe that the two were aunt and niece by their looks alone, even with the differences that Diana’s father had provided.

The mother of twenty two year old Diana was the twin sister of Kendra who was approaching fifty, and they shared the same features of blue eyes, thin lips and a slight hooked nose. The slim six foot tall Kendra almost towered over her buxom five foot six niece, and the aunt’s bob haircut was black whereas Diana had straight long brown hair, but they could pass for being mother and daughter, which was true from a genetic standpoint.

“Please, call me Petra, both of you. We’ve known each other long enough to dispense with formalities.”

“Well, in that case, Petra.” Kendra said “Would you like to come with us for a couple of drinks and a sandwich at ‘The Bush’ as it would be better to wait until the rush hour is over. Don’t worry about getting home, as I’ll drive you to your destination.”

“Sure, I don’t mind if you give me a lift, as it beats having to travel by bus.” Petra said as she put her shoes inside her large black handbag before rising up from her desk, and by this time everyone else had got through the door which left the way clear for the trio to leave the office.

Once the three ladies were out on the street, they turned right so that they could walk down to the public house where they had often drank and chatted after work. “Slyde Jones seems to be getting worse every day.” Petra said “Did you see how he reduced Alice to tears with his shouting, and it wasn’t even her fault.”

“Yes.” Diana said “I wonder if he hates women in general and will do anything to make them miserable. This branch has the most horrific codes.”

“There’s no way to remove him from his position, as he is the darling boy of the upper managers. It will require a major scandal that would have to be recorded to get rid of him.” Kendra said, just before they reached the public house. “Okay, is it the same order for everyone, and a large plate of ham and lettuce sandwiches?”

Time had passed with the ladies chatting about inconsequential matters as they ate the plate of sandwiches while sipping their drinks, and Petra was on her third large glass of white wine. “I hate the others at work for treating you to so badly, as I know how you were treated by your mother, Diana.”

“I know, but they aren’t prepared to listen how my parents decided to jet set around the world, while I was left as a problem for my aunt to deal with.” Diana said “I saw so much more of my aunt than my mother and father that I couldn’t care less about them, and at the age of sixteen, I manage to get social services to regard my aunt as my proper guardian.”

“Some of the rumours have been cruel, but what do you expect, seeing as slimy Slyde has turned the office into a dog eat dog zone, where the knives are out for everyone.” Kendra said “At least you still talk to us, Petra, despite all of the stories that you have heard.”

“Even if they did somehow turn out to be true, you two aren’t going to have any babies, and to be honest, it would be nobody’s business anyway. I think that old Slimy is behind it, as I guess he wants to drive all of the ladies away.” Petra said. “I just wish that something would happen to make him lose his job. Anyway, you two seem to be very cheerful this evening, what’s the big secret?”

“I’ll tell you another time.” Kendra said “It would be nice to never see that creep again though.” By this time, Petra was feeling more than a little tipsy as she finished her third glass of wine. “Would you like to finish off the final bit of the bottle, Petra? There’s less than half a glass left.”

“Sure.” Petra said as she held up her glass so that Kendra could fill it half way. “It’ll take the edge off this long and boring weekend.”

Diana looked at Petra “Haven’t you got anything special planned for the weekend? You must have something arranged?”

“I wish I did, but with the bills that I have to pay on my salary, I never have anything left over, so it’s Easter weekend on my own with nothing to do and no one to see. I just wish something interesting would happen to relieve the boredom.”

Kendra leaned over the table after she put the bottle back down. “There are a lot of people out there who would love their live to be boring. I remember an old quote ‘May you live in interesting times’ and it refers to the fact that interesting times in history are generally terrifying to those who had to live in them.”

“I don’t care.” Petra said after took a large sip of the wine. “I just wish that something interesting would happen to me, just so that I don’t have the same old tedium of a quiet long weekend.”

“Be careful what you wish for, Petra, as it may come true.” Diana said as she glanced at her aunt “I bet that you wouldn’t actually wish for it, anyway.”

Petra raised her glass up and at the centre of the round table with the other two touching her glass with theirs. “I wish that something interesting would happen to me this Easter weekend so that I won’t die of boredom. Oh, and may old Slimy be given his marching orders so that the office will be a better place.”

“Agreed.” The nice and aunt said as Petra downed the last of her wine.

“Given the amount of wine that you have drunk, I think that it is time for you to visit the ladies’ room, as I don’t want to have to make a special stop on the way to your house.” Kendra said.

“Sure.” Petra said as she stood up, and the lady seemed to be a little unsteady on her feet due to the amount of wine she had drunk. “I’ll meet you two outside in the street, then.” The woman made her way to the ladies’ room in order to powder her nose as the expression goes, and she met up with the duo in the street about five minutes later.

“It’s getting dark now, have we been in the pub for that long?” Petra said as she pulled back her shirt to reveal the watch underneath. “Eight o’clock! We were in there for hours, but the company was wonderful.”

“Thanks.” Diana said as they started to walk along to where her aunt kept her car. “Kendra, I know of a way in which we can make Petra’s weekend interesting.” The niece took a few slower steps as she spoke so that she was behind the thirty year old.”

“What do you have in mind, Diana?” Kendra said as she kept on walking on Petra’s left.

“Perhaps we could kidnap Petra and hold her prisoner. I’m sure that would stop her life from being boring.”

Petra laughed at this comment. “Kidnap me? That’s the most hilarious thing that I have heard in a long time. As if you two would ever do that to anyone, let alone do it to me.”

There was a surprise for the woman as the niece took hold of her hands and pulled them behind her back, but she didn’t take it seriously when the lady said in a mock villainous voice “I have you now, milady, and I will take you back to my secret lair for ransom. My henchmen aunt, please run ahead to the back of that black van ahead of us and see if you can break into the back so that we can put our captive inside.”

By this time, the mock captive had developed a serious case of the giggles and she wasn’t paying attention to the aunt who had ran past the van whose front was facing them, especially when Kendra turned left so that she would be behind the rear of the vehicle.

“This is getting really silly now, Diana. As if you could ever be an evil kidnapper? Anyway, all I have to do is struggle and pull my hands away from you, so it’s not as if you have planned for this event.”

“Oh, but I have, milady.” Petra was slow on the uptake and her reactions were dulled due to her tipsy condition, so the ratchet sound and the feel of cold metal against her wrists didn’t register in her mind until it was too late.

“OMG! Have you handcuffed me?” Petra said as she pulled her hands around to her right so that she could get a glimpse of the restraint that secured her wrists together behind her back. “You have, you naughty girl. Okay, this is funny and I fell for the joke, so you can remove the handcuffs from my hands. I don’t want to tell your aunt what you have done.”

“Tell her.” Diana said just before they reached the rear of the black van “She’s just around the back of the van. If she tells me to unlock you then I’ll do it.”

In her present state of mind, Petra didn’t notice that the rear doors of the vehicle had been opened, and she stared at the face of the aunt who was between the doors as she brought her hands around to her right so that the woman could see the cuffs. “Kendra, have you seen what your niece has done to my wrists? She’s handcuffed them together! Now, a joke’s a joke, but this is taking it too far, so could you tell her to unlock them.”

The handcuffed lady waited for a response from the aunt, but she was puzzled as to why there was no command from Kendra and why her hands were behind her back. “Kendra, what the hell do you have in your hanff-!” Petra was caught by surprise as arms were wrapped around her stomach from behind, and the aunt brought her hands around to her front so that she could stuff a large red rubber ball into the captive’s mouth.

Before the lady had a chance to react to her situation, the straps that were attached to the ball were taken around to the back of her neck where the ends were buckled together, and she was in no doubt as to what had just happened to her. I’m bound and gagged! Why are you doing this to me, this isn’t a joke anymore! The shock was made worse when the aunt gripped her around the body so that Diana was able to let go of the captive, and Petra screamed when a hood was put over her head with the drawstrings drawn tight so that she couldn’t shake it off. This is a real kidnapping! I can’t even fight back properly as I can’t see!

Diana’s arms went around the knees of the victim who was lifted up before she was placed inside the rear of the vehicle, and there was a peeling noise which was followed by the wrapping of tape around her ankles. A moment later, she was dragged on her bottom until her back was against a wall, and there were two sets of ratchet sounds to indicate that another set of handcuffs were used.

“There’s a steel hoop that sticks out from the wall, which is normally used for securing a toolbox.” Kendra said “We have secured your wrists to this with another set of handcuffs. One part is locked around the hoop and another is around the links at your wrists.”

“This is great, aunty. Ever since I saw that kidnap movie with the posh English girl, I always wanted to try this out on someone and I’ve finally got the chance.” There were sounds of movement in the van, and the slamming of the rear doors informed the captive that she was about to be taken somewhere.

OMG! I know who my kidnappers are, and this isn’t good as I also know what normally happens in a situation like this. Please, it can’t happen to me, don’t let it happen to me.

The front doors of the van opened and closed, and the engine started to turn over after a few more seconds.

“Yes Petra.” Diana said “You are actually being kidnapped so that my aunt and I can have a lot of fun with you. As you can see, we have been planning this for some time, but we felt that this was the night to take you captive. You need to forget about your old life, as it is at an end, slave, and you won’t be working at your old job anymore.”

Petra panicked in the back of the van, and she screamed and struggled as though she was possessed as the vehicle pulled away…