A/N: hello! so this came into my mind while i was (shocker) playing softball. im actually using my brain on this one, so we'll see where it goes. enjoy!

xoxoxo

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He just stood there, watching them. His face was shrouded in the shadows cast by the 6:30 setting sun, and she didn't notice him for the longest time. When she did, everyone was packing up their things and getting ready to go home. She saw his trench-coated figure next to a nearby house and squinted at him. Who is that? She wondered. She nudged her friend and jerked her head at the man, saying something. Her friend shrugged and kept packing a hoodie and a pair of gloves into her backpack.

When the girl finished packing up, she cautiously glanced back at where the man had been. He was still there, but all you could see was his shining white teeth, gleaming at her in a sadistic grin.

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A million things run through my mind all day. Sometimes they're songs; sometimes they're serious things like death, or sadness, or shit going on in life at the moment; sometimes they're fantasies about my prince charming and the love story I think I want. Almost always, no thought is indistinguishable from another.

That's what I thought about when I was walking to practice that Friday.

Pretty quickly after that, my mind flew to what ifs. This usually happened when my mind had nothing to think about. What if God isn't real? What if I had a thousand dollars in my pocket? What if someone jumped out from behind that bush and tried to kill me? What if I couldn't fend him off?

That's the problem with a mind like mine. When nothing is happening, you get careless and confused. Then you get bored and do something stupid and crazy. Actually, when I thought about it, maybe that was a teenager thing.

I was on my way from the bus stop toward the softball field: a four-block distance. I still had at least 45 minutes until practice started, so I hoped that I could get a good nap in before I had to get my blood pumping. I turned another corner, noticing about ten cars leading into one driveway. And I thought about parties.

But then, my train of thought was utterly shattered when a muffled squeak sounded in my ear. My head shot up and I froze in my tracks. Out of instinct, I searched the car next to me through the window. The front seat was average, not too dirty, and not too clean. The backseat looked normal, too, with a few doodads in the pockets on the back of the seats.

Unless of course you count the teenaged girl squirming on the floorboards, a gag in her mouth and her limbs tied together.

I recognized her immediately, as Rebecca from my team. I panicked. A million times more thoughts than usual poured through my brain at the speed of sound. Should I call my mom? My dad? The police? Yes, definitely the police. Police like doughnuts… NO, FOCUS! I should get her out of there, in case her kidnapper comes outside. Then I can call the police.

Deciding on that option, I tried the door. Naturally, it was locked. I thought for a second, and then dropped my school bag and softball backpack. I reached into the sports bag and gripped one of the large, optic-yellow, blue-stitched balls that I had stored there. I pulled it back and threw it into the window with as much force as I could. The glass window cracked, but didn't shatter. I grabbed the ball again and put my entire body into the throw. The glass crashed away from its frame, and I unlocked the door from the inside.

I threw open the door and wrapped my arms around Becca's torso, pulling her out as fast as possible. I felt warm blood ooze down my hands, but I didn't know if it was Becca's or mine. I reached into my schoolbag and pulled out a pair of scissors I had somehow needed today, and snipped the ties around Becca's ankles.

"That's all I can do now. Hurry, we have to get out of here before someone finds us!" I pulled her to her feet and snatched my stuff off the ground and ran for it. Rebecca's uneven steps were close behind me, and I led her toward a corner nearby and we hid.

"Okay, here," I whispered, panting. I cut the rope on her wrists and she pulled off her gag.

"Thanks—"

"Save it, I'm no hero." I whipped out my cell phone and slid it open. Shakily, I dialed the three numbers and waited while it rang.

"911, what's your emergency?" a man asked calmly from the other side.

"I need police to help me and my friend. I just got her away from her kidnapper, but I don't know when he'll come after us!" I breathed into the phone.

"Calm down, we'll be there soon. Where are you right now?" he asked.

"Um… somewhere near Mohawk and Baseline… I think we're… north—no, south—of that intersection. Near Burke softball field. Hurry, we're in danger!" I urged.

"Stay where you are. Help is on the way," the man told me, then hung up.

I sighed in relief. "Okay, Becca, we're safe. We just need to wait for the police, okay?"

"Okay. So, what now?" the blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl asked in a frightened voice.

I thought about that. "We can't have him recognize you. Here, change into my school clothes," I said quickly, opening my schoolbag to reveal a tank top and jeans. She looked a bit uncomfortable with the idea.

"C'mon, hurry up," I implored quietly in frustration. She hesitantly nodded, and I turned around to let her change in the shrubs. In the distance, I could hear sirens. After a fast moment, Rebecca was finished.

"Okay, here's a ponytail, put your hair up," I handed her the elastic from around my wrist. She tied her hair into a messy bun and we sat down on the curb to wait for the cops.

They got there quickly. They turned off their sirens when they got closer to our spot, and they terrified us when they reached out to us.

"Which one of you called us?" one officer asked kindly.

I turned red in embarrassment and waved a hand. "Me."

"Good job. Rebecca, you're parents would like to see you."

"Thanks, sir. Oh, hey, Michaela," Rebecca turned back to me before she could get into the car.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Thanksforhearingme," she blurted out in one fell swoop and slid into the cab.

"Um, okay," I stared after the disappearing car.

"Miss," another officer grabbed my attention. "We need to ask you a few questions."

"U-um, okay…" I whimpered, having never been involved with the police before in my life.

"We can take you to the station first, if you'd like," he suggested.

"Um, I'd like to call my dad, if you don't mind," I smiled awkwardly. He nodded.

I flipped out my phone and pressed the number two and held it. It rang twice.

"What's up?" my dad asked casually.

"Um, hey, Dad…" I didn't know where to start.

"Is something wrong?"

"Sort of… yes… no… I don't know," I groaned.

"Helpful."

"Shut up."

"What's happening?" he asked slowly.

"Well, I have the police here with me. And before you can say anything," I interrupted him, "I'm not in trouble. Actually, I'm the hero of this little story. You know Rebecca from my team?"

"Yeah…"

"Yeah, so I found her tied up and gagged in a car. Basically that's it." I didn't mention Becca's comment yesterday, or that I'd seen the man before. I kept those secrets to myself for no apparent reason.

"…Um, okay. We'll pick you up later, I guess."

"Alright. Bye, love you."

"Love you too. Bye," he hung up.

I grabbed my things. "Officer, would you mind bringing me over to that field?" I pointed toward where my softball coach was setting up a pitching machine.

The officer looked confused but he nodded curtly. I dropped my sports stuff at the base of a tree and told my coach that my parents would be by to get it later. He nodded confusedly as I got in the police car and drove away.

"Are you alright, miss?" the officer asked.

"You know, compared to this, I've seen some weird stuff. I'm fine. For now, at least."

For now.

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A/N: R&R! dont forget!