The Black Volga- Warsaw, Poland

He knew it was following him. Everywhere Felicks went he saw it. The black Volga, with its darkened windows and shiny exterior, seemed to stalk Felicks day and night.

Just a few weeks earlier, he had moved in with the Maliszewskis. They were nice enough, not much different from the other couples Felicks had lived with over the years. They had two other foster kids living with them, which was a definite perk. Felicks wasn't one to cozy up to strangers, but he was a lot more comfortable with teenagers his age. Younger Eduard was Estonian, and he spent a lot of time fiddling with cassette tapes and fancy computers. He was nice enough, but only liked to talk about programming and strange computer languages that confused Felicks. Toris, the other boy, was a year older than Felicks. He was from Lithuania, but that was as much as Felicks knew. When you met someone who left the USSR, it was an unspoken rule to leave their past behind them. Felicks didn't mind talking, however, so the young blonde chatted non-stop to Toris. In turn, the brunette would listen to whatever needed to be said. The boys complemented each other nicely, and soon became fast friends.

He noticed the Volga a few days after. It sat in the alley, facing towards the apartment. After about an hour, whoever was in it drove off. He saw it often after that. Almost every day it would park in the alley, right after Felicks got home, then leave, right before the Maliszewskis returned from work. It was a bit unordinary, but not weird enough to worry about, so Felicks pushed it to the back of his mind. Then, when he was walking home one day with Toris, he saw it again. This time, it drove down the street, slowing slightly when it passed the boys. Felicks blinked but said nothing.

Soon he noticed it everywhere. The Volga watched him as he walked the streets of Warsaw, never close enough to interfere, but always there. It haunted Felicks wherever he was, but his shyness kept him from mentioning anything to his foster parents. He tried for days to ignore the car and go about his business without calling attention, until his paranoia was suffocating him. Finally, Felicks decided to throw caution to the wind and talk to Toris.

That night, while the Maliszewskis were out on a date, Felicks approached Toris in the bedroom they shared.

"Toris," he said with a deep breath, "Do you know anything about a black Volga?"

The brunette looked at him strangely. It was as if he were recalling a bitter memory.

"Back home, Volgas were used for government officials." Toris stared into the distance. "Whenever we saw them, we knew something bad was going to happen."

"Have you seen any here?" Felicks asked cautiously.

Toris snapped out of his haze. "Maybe once or twice. They aren't really that popular in Poland. Why?"

"I keep seeing this one around," Felicks whispered, as though it could hear him, "I don't know who it is, but I think they're following me."

"Really? Are you sure?"

Felicks nodded. "I see it everywhere! It's always, just, around. You can't see the inside because it's all blackened, but I've never seen anyone get in or out."

Toris thought for a bit. "We can ask Eduard," he suggested, "He's been here for a lot longer than I have. If there's a weirdo who likes to watch people from his car, than Eduard will probably know something about it."

The boys found Eduard in his room, tinkering with his computer. Felicks, his shyness getting the better of him, looked pleadingly at Toris. The older boy lightly tapped Eduard's shoulder. He jumped slightly before turning.

"Oh," he said with a relieved smile, "Sorry. You caught me off guard."

"Eduard," Toris said frowning, "Do you know anything about a black Volga?"

Felicks watched the bespectacled boy closely as he furrowed his brows. Suddenly a look of realization ran across Eduard's face.

"Raivis!" he gasped.

"Raivis?" Toris repeated, "Do you think this is because of him?"

"Who's Raivis?" Felicks asked.

"He used to live here," Toris explained, "before I arrived. But he ran away, right Eduard?"

"We thought so," he replied, "but I'm not sure anymore. He was younger than us, about fifteen. Raivis was nice, but he had a lot of problems. Always getting into trouble because he always opened his mouth when he shouldn't have. He drank a lot too, but you know how it is. You stay out of other people's business. Anyway, right before he disappeared, he mentioned a black Volga. Said it was following him around. I just figured he had gotten into something harder than alcohol."

Felicks didn't know what to say. Any doubts he had about the stalking vehicle were immediately extinguished.

"You don't think it had something to do with his disappearance?" Toris asked.

"I don't know" Eduard answered, "Like I said, he got into trouble a lot. It was probably someone he pissed off. Why are you asking about a Volga anyway?"

"It's been following me," Felicks said quietly, "And I don't know why."

Eduard raised his eyebrows. "You have no idea?"

"No!" Felicks exclaimed indignantly.

"No ties with anyone? Nothing you need to pay?"

"Eduard," Toris warned, "If he said he didn't do anything, then he didn't do anything. Leave him alone."

Eduard raised up his hands. "Fine, if you say so. But if you got on someone's bad side, don't be surprised if they decide that they want you dead."

"I said enough, Eduard," Toris shouted.

"Shut up, Toris!" he yelled back, "You don't even know what this is about!"

Felicks, still shocked from Eduard's words, ran out of the room. He was never one to get involved where he wasn't needed, he didn't even like talking to strangers, but the story about Raivis rattled around in his head. Could he have inadvertently angered someone? Did it have something to do with his parents whose early car accident related deaths left him orphaned as a baby? Felicks didn't know, and frankly, that was what scared him the most.

Before he knew it, Felicks had made his way out the front door and a few blocks down the street. He stopped running and leaned against the side of a building. He stood there until his breathing was under control. Once he calmed down, Felicks gathered himself up and turned back towards the apartment.

The street was dark and deserted, but Felicks willed himself not to panic again. He knew that absolutely nothing would be solved if he let his fear get the better of him. Felicks marched down the street, determined to fix things with Eduard and Toris.

He didn't see the dark shape roll up until it was too late. A figure darted out of the back seat and covered his face with a chloroform doused cloth. Another pair of hands helped the figure drag Felicks into the black Volga.

Felicks woke up to the sound of a woman speaking in a language that he couldn't understand. He was laying down on a flat, hard surface. A bright light hanging from the ceiling blinded him. He tried to sit up, only to realize that his arms, legs, and head were strapped down. His groans alerted the woman, and the talking stopped. Two female figures wearing scrubs leaned over into Felicks's view. One woman had short hair and kind blue eyes, the other had a scowl on her pretty face.

Felicks screamed.

"No, no," the short-haired one said in Polish, her accent reflecting an Eastern upbringing, "Don't do that, you're going to hurt yourself."

"What does it matter if he hurts himself, Iryna?" the other woman snapped.

"Shh! I thought we agreed not to use names?"

"It doesn't matter! He's not going to tell anybody!" She turned back towards Felicks. "Hello, I'm Natalya, and this is my sister, Iryna. Nice to fucking meet you!"

"What do you want from me?" Felicks cried, "What did I do?"

The short-haired woman, Iryna, wiped the tears off of his face. "No, sweetheart, it's not like that. You didn't do anything wrong."

"What are you going to do to me?"

"Nothing painful, I promise."

Felicks heard a door open. This time, a man spoke in a foreign tongue. Natalya and Iryna backed away and a tall, light-haired man approached Felicks.

"Hello," he said cheerily, "How are you today?"

Felicks didn't know what to say, so he screamed once again.

"If you're trying to call for help, it won't work. Nobody will hear you."

"People know that I'm missing," Felicks exclaimed, "They're out looking for me right now!"

"Maybe," the man reasoned, "but they'll eventually give up."

"Just like they did with the last one, right Ivan?" Natalya loomed over Felicks and smiled wickedly. "Nobody cared about him. He was just some sorry little shit-stain who never had anyone. Just. Like. You."

"It's best if we use people like you," Ivan said with a smile, "Orphans, beggars. People who won't be missed. Less questions need to be asked when we make the exchange."

"You'd be surprised at how much people are willing to pay for an organ," Natalya interjected, "Especially if it's for their kid."

Ivan nodded in agreement. "Don't take it personally. It's just business." He turned his head to the side. "Iryna, is the anesthesia ready?"

"Yes," she answered, "Everything is."

The three doctors put on their caps and surgical masks. They paid no attention to Felicks's desperate thrashing and shouting. They loomed over him, each with a different expression in their eyes. Natalya's were hard and angry, Iryna's were apologetic and warm, and Ivan's were completely blank. Felicks sobbed as the anesthesia mask was placed over his nose and mouth.

"It's okay," Iryna assured him, "It'll all be over soon."

Then everything faded to black.

The Black Volga is a legend that floated around Poland, Mongolia, and parts of the USSR back in the 1960's. Different variations have the driver of the car being all sorts of things, from nuns to Satanists to the devil himself. I find the version I used to be the best because I'm a firm believer in the notion that there is nothing scarier that the extent of human cruelty.

Felicks-Poland

Toris-Lithuania

Eduard-Estonia

Raivis-Latvia

Iryna-Ukraine

Natalya-Belarus

Ivan-Russia

If you have an idea for a chapter that you really want to see written, leave it in the comments!