CONTEST: "The keyword of the week" / LOST || Memories of an unexpected awakening.

Waking up was like emerging from nowhere, from a deep and empty sleep; as if I had been transported to a place I didn't know where I had come from; with no memory, no recollection, no identity. My head was throbbing incessantly, as if a hydropneumatic hammer was trying to pierce my skull. “Where am I? What is this place? Why am I here?” were some of the questions I asked myself, although these were insignificant as I could not even remember my name.

I looked up and, no matter how hard I tried to recognize the place, it was impossible. Only four walls of a faded white tone and crushed, was what I could see with the few rays of sunlight that filtered through the small window. The nauseating musty smell was mixed with my own vinegar aroma. “I must have been here for days” I thought, “I need to get out of here... I need some fresh air” I thought to myself. I tried to sit up, but the cold, hard floor was determined to bind me to it. “I feel very weak, but I must get out of here any way I can,” I mentally prepared myself.

With effort, I managed to get up. My trembling legs could hardly hold me up. I leaned one of my hands on the wall and, with the other, touched the back of my head and felt a dry mass stuck in my hair. I wanted to remove it to inspect it, but the sharp pain from that almost made me faint again. “It's a bump,” I identified the lump emanating pain. “My God, help me get out of here!”, I begged. I walked leaning against the wall so I wouldn't fall and headed towards a door at the back. “That's the way out, I need to reach it.”

When I arrived, behind the worn wooden door, I heard a voice say:

-Continue without waking up. He probably won't survive; you hit him too hard. -said the voice.

-Have you already asked for the ransom money? -I heard him ask later.

-Hurry; if the family communicates with the authorities they might find this place. -He then said.

-If you don't collect the full money you won't get out of here alive. -I heard him shout.

That was all I could hear, and it was enough to understand my situation. “I am kidnapped,” I deduced.

My hands began to tremble and my breathing became agitated. Panic quickly took hold of me. Without knowing how, I managed to remain calm. “I need to think. What do I do?”, I crouched down leaning against the wall next to the door. "I have to get out of here. I must escape. I must live!", I said to myself to fill me with courage. I needed it.

I stayed like that for about an hour, motionless, concentrating my last energies, waiting for an opportunity. I was waiting for my captor to ascertain my condition, and then it would be the moment to act; my only chance. I was not sure what would happen, but I could not imagine any other way to escape.

Soon, without expecting it, I heard a loud sound that immediately repeated itself. Boom and Boom; two shots, one after the other. “I am lost”, “This is my end”, I thought, and at the same time my eyes shed some tears; I lost hope and resigned myself.

After that, Trass! A loud bang knocked down that wooden door that I had previously seen as my exit obstacle. I closed my eyes and waited for my end. The coup de grace.

-He's here! -a shout that signaled my position.

-Jhon? -Jhon? Open your eyes. -Said a voice as I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Jon? That was my name... at least I managed to know my name before I died," was the only thing that went through my mind at that instant.

-Open your eyes. You're safe now. -said that voice.

When I opened them, my eyes met those of my savior. His dark blue uniform and black bulletproof vest; an image I will always remember. M. Rodriguez A., a name I will never forget.

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• Royalty free image generated with Gemini.
• Invited @paholags, @emmabritt and @hljott.
• Here is the link to the Contest: "The keyword of the week".

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