This one is to clear up any confusion caused by "Fragments".
"Why me?" I was asking in despair. I've never hurt a fly and found myself suddenly kidnapped. I was very short before my due date, which made things not easier. I found an answer to my question, when I was forced by my kidnappers to speak to a total stranger on the phone. The kidnappers believed the stranger, who was called Fin, was my husband. A mistake. My real husband is a soldier and was at the time on tour in Afghanistan. Fin confirmed it was a case of mistaken identity. The kidnappers' target had been Fin's wife, who was also pregnant and Latina like me. I was of course scared. For the child's sake I tried to stay calm. Fin promised me to try and get me released as soon as possible. I hoped the police was arriving soon. It took more than two weeks and the cavalry arriving wasn't the police, but mercenaries or so I thought.
There were four guys, who were guarding me twenty four hours a day. Two were okay - they took care their partners in crime didn't get out of hand - but the other two I was worried about. One of them liked to rough handle me and pushing me around a bit when I had to go to toilet, which was often due to the baby squeezing my bladder. The other stared at me, when he thought I wasn't watching. He never dared to touch me, but alone the looks sent a shiver down my spine. There was also their boss Damien, who came sometimes to visit. He was self-assured and from what I understood Fin, to whom I've spoken a second time, was going to organize something for Damien. Since I had seen my hostage takers faces I was sure they would kill me as soon as Fin had done their bidding. What if I couldn't rely on Fin and he hadn't contacted the police or would not do the job Damien had asked him to do? What if the baby was arriving earlier than thought? I started to get insane with worry. Besides I was bored like hell. There was nothing to do. My body ached in every position due to my huge tummy. At least the unborn was active. A good sign I thought. My hostage takers also fed me regularly. They weren't prepared for a pregnant woman. They brought take aways. The portions were too large and too few. In the last trimester I had started eating five or six small portions instead of three square meals a day, because I couldn't eat so much in one go. The Chinese food caused me heartburn. Since the kidnappers weren't Latin American origin, they didn't consider to bring me something Mexican, which I really craved.
More than two weeks had passed. Damien had arrived to discuss some issues with the other guys. They were looking up in surprise, when a truck approached. Damien sent one of his henchmen to the front door to check the situation out. It was the one who liked to stare at me. The situation was tense. Everything went haywire. When the guy opened the door, pistol at the ready, he was shot. At the same time we were attacked from all angles. Three men entered via the roof, one of the two windows and the back door. They all had machine guns and mowed my kidnappers down. I screamed in shock.
To my dismay Damien dived behind me and before I could react had me in an iron grip and a loaded gun pressed to my temple. He tried to escape through the back door. I was of course frightened, but also thought I couldn't stand being a hostage any longer. Seeing my chance I stomped heartily on his foot. Damien cried out and released me. I jumped out of the way clumsily. Machine guns trained on the ring leader, but he escaped unharmed through the back. I thought my nightmare was finally over, but suddenly I felt something wet dripping down my legs. At first I thought I had peed into my panties, when the attack started. Pain settled in nearly immediately. I realized I was in labor and wanted to cry. There was nobody to support me. At home in Wyoming I had chosen my neighbor to be my birthing partner and close friend, since I knew my husband wasn't going to be at the birth. "Elizabeth, are you alright?" A female in a courier uniform asked in Spanish. "Yes... No." I replied. She was tall and had black hair, olive skin and brown eyes. It seemed she was married, because she was wearing a gold ring on the left ring finger. Her name was Nicola. "I... My labor has started." "We'll better get you checked out at a hospital. Antonio, can you call round which hospital is nearest? I think Fin mentioned something like the Mercy and Baptist and maybe the South Miami Hospital." Nicola's calmness and Antonio's quick nod, re-assured and soothed me. Another wave of contractions hit me. I groaned with the pain. "Take a deep breath. Yes, that's good." Nicola guided me through the contraction. Antonio in the meantime called the hospitals. He looked exotic. Antonio was not that tall, in his mid-thirties and had light brown hair, almond shaped black eyes and caramel colored skin. He paced impatiently up and down, while waiting for the different hospitals replies. The Baptist was willing to take me. It was the furthest away. We drove there. The midwife was very good, but told us it was too early, so I wasn't admitted. Grey, who was driving and another person, who had helped free me, said he would bring us to the house of his friend. He was African American and very inconspicuous. We went to Miami Beach. Finally I met Fin. To my surprise he wasn't Hispanic. He was taller than Nicola, light ash blond and had blue grey eyes. Based on the Spanish Nicola and the others spoke I thought they were Colombian Americans. Antonio had a slightly different lilt and Fin's accent was there, but difficult to place. Antonio updated Fin what had happened. To my amazement Fin's eyes turned blue, when he heard Damien had escaped, then suddenly grey. I hadn't seen that in any other person so far. To my surprise Fin also apologized, admitting it was his fault I had been kidnapped. He looked contrite and said he was also sorry that the stress of being a hostage and the shoot-out had caused the premature labor. I absolved him. The baby might would have been born earlier than planned anyway. I only hoped she was healthy. Nicola promised to stay with me during the birth. She told me she had one small son herself. While Antonio regaled me with growing up in Ibiza - that explained his accent -, Fin took Grey aside. Antonio stared at them. There were some tensions, which I didn't have an explanation for. Nicola noticed I was following the men. She rolled her eyes and simply said: "Male and their blood lust." She shut up, when Antonio shot her a poisonous glare. I assumed it had something to do with Damien escaping. I didn't want to know too much. The guys asked me if I wanted to go to the police. There were some more tensions. Sensing they would prefer if the police could be kept out, I decided I owed them and wouldn't press the matter with law enforcement. They were visibly relieved.
To take off my mind from the pain, I decided on a name for my daughter.
I knew I was expecting a girl. My husband and I hadn't been able to agree on what to call her. Being grateful I considered naming her after Fin, but his full name was Coldham Fintan and that was unsuitable. I also didn't consider Grey, so I choose Nicola Antonia Barreintos after rolling the names around my tongue.
Finally the contractions were only a few minutes apart and we went back to the hospital. I got an epidural, because I felt wasn't going to be able to cope with the strength of the contractions. Finally I held my daughter in hands. From the time when the waters broke till the last push 9 hours had passed. Nickie was red and wrinkled, but for me she was the most beautiful baby ever. I thought Nickie looked a bit like her father. Thank goodness my daughter didn't suffer any negative effects from being born too early. We could leave the hospital a day later.
The kidnapping marked me. I had flash backs and nightmares for a long time. My trust in strangers was gone. For a while I saw hostage takers around each corner or behind every bush. If I wouldn't have had Nickie I would have buried myself at home and been a reclusive. She forced me to go out and encounter people every day. Slowly I returned to my old self.
My husband didn't notice the changes. He was either on tour or too concerned with himself and getting used to Nickie.
Every year on Nickie's birthday a gift arrived for her anonymous. I guessed they were from Fin.
I never saw him or any of my rescuers again beside Nicola, who stayed in contact.
©2014
"Why me?" I was asking in despair. I've never hurt a fly and found myself suddenly kidnapped. I was very short before my due date, which made things not easier. I found an answer to my question, when I was forced by my kidnappers to speak to a total stranger on the phone. The kidnappers believed the stranger, who was called Fin, was my husband. A mistake. My real husband is a soldier and was at the time on tour in Afghanistan. Fin confirmed it was a case of mistaken identity. The kidnappers' target had been Fin's wife, who was also pregnant and Latina like me. I was of course scared. For the child's sake I tried to stay calm. Fin promised me to try and get me released as soon as possible. I hoped the police was arriving soon. It took more than two weeks and the cavalry arriving wasn't the police, but mercenaries or so I thought.
There were four guys, who were guarding me twenty four hours a day. Two were okay - they took care their partners in crime didn't get out of hand - but the other two I was worried about. One of them liked to rough handle me and pushing me around a bit when I had to go to toilet, which was often due to the baby squeezing my bladder. The other stared at me, when he thought I wasn't watching. He never dared to touch me, but alone the looks sent a shiver down my spine. There was also their boss Damien, who came sometimes to visit. He was self-assured and from what I understood Fin, to whom I've spoken a second time, was going to organize something for Damien. Since I had seen my hostage takers faces I was sure they would kill me as soon as Fin had done their bidding. What if I couldn't rely on Fin and he hadn't contacted the police or would not do the job Damien had asked him to do? What if the baby was arriving earlier than thought? I started to get insane with worry. Besides I was bored like hell. There was nothing to do. My body ached in every position due to my huge tummy. At least the unborn was active. A good sign I thought. My hostage takers also fed me regularly. They weren't prepared for a pregnant woman. They brought take aways. The portions were too large and too few. In the last trimester I had started eating five or six small portions instead of three square meals a day, because I couldn't eat so much in one go. The Chinese food caused me heartburn. Since the kidnappers weren't Latin American origin, they didn't consider to bring me something Mexican, which I really craved.
More than two weeks had passed. Damien had arrived to discuss some issues with the other guys. They were looking up in surprise, when a truck approached. Damien sent one of his henchmen to the front door to check the situation out. It was the one who liked to stare at me. The situation was tense. Everything went haywire. When the guy opened the door, pistol at the ready, he was shot. At the same time we were attacked from all angles. Three men entered via the roof, one of the two windows and the back door. They all had machine guns and mowed my kidnappers down. I screamed in shock.
To my dismay Damien dived behind me and before I could react had me in an iron grip and a loaded gun pressed to my temple. He tried to escape through the back door. I was of course frightened, but also thought I couldn't stand being a hostage any longer. Seeing my chance I stomped heartily on his foot. Damien cried out and released me. I jumped out of the way clumsily. Machine guns trained on the ring leader, but he escaped unharmed through the back. I thought my nightmare was finally over, but suddenly I felt something wet dripping down my legs. At first I thought I had peed into my panties, when the attack started. Pain settled in nearly immediately. I realized I was in labor and wanted to cry. There was nobody to support me. At home in Wyoming I had chosen my neighbor to be my birthing partner and close friend, since I knew my husband wasn't going to be at the birth. "Elizabeth, are you alright?" A female in a courier uniform asked in Spanish. "Yes... No." I replied. She was tall and had black hair, olive skin and brown eyes. It seemed she was married, because she was wearing a gold ring on the left ring finger. Her name was Nicola. "I... My labor has started." "We'll better get you checked out at a hospital. Antonio, can you call round which hospital is nearest? I think Fin mentioned something like the Mercy and Baptist and maybe the South Miami Hospital." Nicola's calmness and Antonio's quick nod, re-assured and soothed me. Another wave of contractions hit me. I groaned with the pain. "Take a deep breath. Yes, that's good." Nicola guided me through the contraction. Antonio in the meantime called the hospitals. He looked exotic. Antonio was not that tall, in his mid-thirties and had light brown hair, almond shaped black eyes and caramel colored skin. He paced impatiently up and down, while waiting for the different hospitals replies. The Baptist was willing to take me. It was the furthest away. We drove there. The midwife was very good, but told us it was too early, so I wasn't admitted. Grey, who was driving and another person, who had helped free me, said he would bring us to the house of his friend. He was African American and very inconspicuous. We went to Miami Beach. Finally I met Fin. To my surprise he wasn't Hispanic. He was taller than Nicola, light ash blond and had blue grey eyes. Based on the Spanish Nicola and the others spoke I thought they were Colombian Americans. Antonio had a slightly different lilt and Fin's accent was there, but difficult to place. Antonio updated Fin what had happened. To my amazement Fin's eyes turned blue, when he heard Damien had escaped, then suddenly grey. I hadn't seen that in any other person so far. To my surprise Fin also apologized, admitting it was his fault I had been kidnapped. He looked contrite and said he was also sorry that the stress of being a hostage and the shoot-out had caused the premature labor. I absolved him. The baby might would have been born earlier than planned anyway. I only hoped she was healthy. Nicola promised to stay with me during the birth. She told me she had one small son herself. While Antonio regaled me with growing up in Ibiza - that explained his accent -, Fin took Grey aside. Antonio stared at them. There were some tensions, which I didn't have an explanation for. Nicola noticed I was following the men. She rolled her eyes and simply said: "Male and their blood lust." She shut up, when Antonio shot her a poisonous glare. I assumed it had something to do with Damien escaping. I didn't want to know too much. The guys asked me if I wanted to go to the police. There were some more tensions. Sensing they would prefer if the police could be kept out, I decided I owed them and wouldn't press the matter with law enforcement. They were visibly relieved.
To take off my mind from the pain, I decided on a name for my daughter.
I knew I was expecting a girl. My husband and I hadn't been able to agree on what to call her. Being grateful I considered naming her after Fin, but his full name was Coldham Fintan and that was unsuitable. I also didn't consider Grey, so I choose Nicola Antonia Barreintos after rolling the names around my tongue.
Finally the contractions were only a few minutes apart and we went back to the hospital. I got an epidural, because I felt wasn't going to be able to cope with the strength of the contractions. Finally I held my daughter in hands. From the time when the waters broke till the last push 9 hours had passed. Nickie was red and wrinkled, but for me she was the most beautiful baby ever. I thought Nickie looked a bit like her father. Thank goodness my daughter didn't suffer any negative effects from being born too early. We could leave the hospital a day later.
The kidnapping marked me. I had flash backs and nightmares for a long time. My trust in strangers was gone. For a while I saw hostage takers around each corner or behind every bush. If I wouldn't have had Nickie I would have buried myself at home and been a reclusive. She forced me to go out and encounter people every day. Slowly I returned to my old self.
My husband didn't notice the changes. He was either on tour or too concerned with himself and getting used to Nickie.
Every year on Nickie's birthday a gift arrived for her anonymous. I guessed they were from Fin.
I never saw him or any of my rescuers again beside Nicola, who stayed in contact.
©2014
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