The Kidnapper's Cave

“Mom! I’m going to the park to play with Ria!” “But Anusha, you just went there this morning!” “Yes, but that was long ago, please can I go? Bye!”

Hey guys! I’m Anusha. I’m 10 years old and I live in Bangalore. Join me, I’m going to the park to meet Ria, my best friend. “Hi Anusha!” I ran into Ria right outside the park. I waved back. “It’s starting to drizzle. Wy don’t we go to my house and play with the jewellery kit?” suggested Ria. I liked that idea, so we ran to Ria’s house. “Hello there Anusha!” Ria’s mom greeted. “Hi aunty!” I said and ran upstairs to Ria’s room.

 

“I’m doing the bracelet,” I said. “And I will do the necklace,” Ria replied back. We get along so well! We chatted non-stop as we did our work. Suddenly, as I picked up a red bead, a faint scream came from outside. “W-what was that?” asked Ria looking frightened. “Sounds like someone is being bothered or even tortured. We’ve got to rescue them,” I replied thoughtfully. I had been reading a lot of Nancy Drew lately.  Ria didn’t look so enthusiastic about this idea but she agreed. “Mom won’t believe if we rush down and tell her that someone is being tortured,” pointed out Ria. “But we could say she has a phone call,” she added cleverly. “Mom, your phone is ringing!” As soon as Ria’s mom went in to her bedroom to pick up the phone, Ria and I rushed out of the door screaming “the rain has stopped, we will go to the park!”

“I think the sound came from the forest beyond the park,” I said. So we took our bikes and raced there. We parked our bikes on the gravel road and trekked into the woods. I realized that Ria was a bit scared when she suddenly grasped my hand every few seconds saying that she heard some sound or the other. As we were walking, Ria suddenly tripped and fell! “Ria, are you OK?” I exclaimed running to help her. “Yes, let’s keep walking,” she replied, dusting the mud off her pants. “Ria! You are awesome!” I screamed. “Huh?” said Ria. “Because you tripped right over a trap door!” Ria was also thrilled as she stared at the brown door she was standing on.

We opened the creaky door and climbed down a ladder. It was getting dark and musty as we went deeper inside. Now we were both holding our hands tightly as we reached the soft ground at the bottom of the ladder. We could barely see two feet ahead of us.

“Um, hi!” said a voice behind us. We spun around in shock. There sat a girl who looked above our age! I could not get a word out, but Ria bold asked, “What’s your name? How come you are here?” “My name is Myra. The kidnappers brought me here. I was having a sleepover with my friend Aishwarya in her apartment. While I was drinking water in their backyard in the night, someone tied my hands and legs together and closed my mouth. I guessed that they had mistaken me for Aishwarya who is very rich,” Myra stopped to take a breath and looked around diffidently, feeling she had said too much, “Anusha, I think we should get out of here with Myra,” said Ria.

Suddenly, Myra froze, “I can hear familiar footsteps. It must be the kidnappers.” Ria and I ran behind a dusty cupboard while Myra sat on the floor, acting like nothing happened. “They are coming,” hissed Riya.

Two men walked in. One was short, fat, and had a scowl on his face. The other was thin, tall, and also sour looking. “Tie the girl up Jack,” said the tall man curtly. Jack nodded and got to work. “The girl’s mom says we have got the wrong girl,” Jack said. “What lies!” laughed the tall man.

I was getting bored listening to the two men talk, when the sound of someone struggling came. It was Myra. She wriggled through her ropes and tried to run for her life. But Jack was too quick for her. He caught poor Myra and tied her up again, really tight. Meanwhile I had a plan. I ran and hid behind the chair where Myra was sitting, while Jack was running after her. I picked up  a sharp stone from the ground. “Anusha, what are you doing?” whispered Ria. A little while after Jack tied up Myra, he and the tall man fell asleep with loud snores. I jumped up and cut Myra’s rope. Then we three climbed up the ladder and ran for our lives, but not before we bolted up the trap door from outside. Now the two kidnappers couldn’t come out until the police came and arrested them!

“I’m making chocolate brownies and you make the cake this time, Myra!” Three months had passed and Ria, Myra, and I were baking in the kitchen.

PS: Jack is gone for good!