The Douglas Farm
The next day, Oliver woke up exhausted. He was too afraid to go to sleep the night before out of fear that some terrible vision would disturb his dreams. He lay awake all night, staring at the ceiling and reflecting.
When morning came, he pretended to be asleep as Lisa woke, kissed him softly on the cheek, and headed to the kitchen to start breakfast. After he was sure she was gone, Oliver slowly got up, yawned sleepily, and proceeded to groggily shower and dress.
By the time he got to the kitchen, Oliver was sleepier than ever. He took his usual spot at the table and leaned his head on his hand.
"Good morning, dear." he greeted Lisa without enthusiasm.
"Good morning, dahling." Lisa greeted back with a concerned look on her face. "Dahling, are you alright?"
"Hmm?" Oliver replied, his eyelids hanging so heavily, he could hardly keep his eyes open. "Oh yes, honey, I'm fine."
"Are you sure, dahling? You seem sick." she observed as she walked over to him and put her hand on his forehead to check his temperature. Oliver took her hand in his.
"Yes, sweetheart, I'm sure I'm fine. I'm just a little tired, that's all." he said. He kissed her hand as if to reassure her.
Lisa smiled. "Vell, if you're sure then. Do you vant some breakfast? It's not hotscakes." she said sweetly. Oliver smiled.
"No, thank you honey. I'm not too hungry this morning. I think I'll just go straight to work and come home for lunch later. Would you mind sending Eb and Joseph out to work as soon as they've had their breakfast?"
"Of course, dahling." Lisa replied.
"Thank you. Just tell Joseph I'll be out in the tomato field. I'll see you later." Oliver told her.
"Alright, dahling. Be sure not to vork too hard." she warned him as she kissed him goodbye.
"I won't, sweetheart. I love you."
"I love you too, dahling." she replied with a smile. And with that, Oliver was out the door to start another day of work.
The Douglas Farm
The rest of the day passed by uneventfully. Oliver, Joseph, and Eb returned from work permanently for dinner later that night and the four of them ate all together. After supper, Joseph and Eb went to the bedroom to watch television while Lisa and Oliver sat on the couch and read a book together.
Lisa had her head rested on Oliver's shoulder while he held the book up and turned the pages when the both of them were ready. It was a very calm, peaceful night, but for some reason, Oliver kept getting strange, nervous feelings that he couldn't push aside. He grew so anxious he could hardly sit still. He kept on fidgeting with the pages or moving around in his seat.
Lisa sensed his tension. "Dahling, is something the matter?" she asked as she picked her head up to look at him. Oliver looked at her as if he didn't know what she was talking about.
"No honey. Why do you say that?" he asked.
"Vell, it's just that you seem uneasy. You keep moving around like you do vhen you listen to the prices of your crops on the radio." Lisa pointed out.
Oliver kissed her on the forehead reassuringly. "I'm sorry honey. I didn't mean to. I just have this weird feeling inside me. But don't worry. I'm sure it's nothing. Everything's alright."
As soon as those words left his mouth, every piece of electricity in the Douglas's house went out. It was now pitch black. No one could see the hand in front of their faces.
"Olivah," Lisa nervously called out into the darkness.
"Don't worry, honey. I'm right here. There's nothing to worry about. He probably just blew a fuse." he said soothingly as he slowly got up from the couch. "Now just follow the sound of my voice." he told her.
Slowly, Lisa got up from the couch and felt around in the dark for her husband. She was finally able to find his hand. He pulled her over to him and wrapped his arms around her tightly. As he stood holding her, he could feel his wife breathing heavily and nervously. Lisa held on tightly to Oliver's shirt and tried to hide from the horrible darkness that had overpowered her after her accident.
"Don't worry, Lisa. Everything's going to be alright. There's nothing to fear." he tried to convince her, despite the fact that his own bad feeling was getting stronger.
"I'll just get some candles and flashlights and see if I can fix the power. You just sit here on the couch and wait for me. I won't go far. I promise. Will you be alright if I leave you here?" he asked.
"Yes, dahling." Lisa replied hesitantly. Oliver kissed her on the cheek and sat her down gently on the couch once more. She breathed slowly and tried to convince herself that there was nothing to fear. Meanwhile, Oliver went off in search for sources of light. He was successfully able to make it over to the bedroom.
"Eb! Joseph!" he called out. "Are you two in here?"
"We sure are, Mr. Douglas!" Eb called back.
"Where are you?" Oliver asked.
"We're over by the drawers trying to feel around for matches." Joseph informed him.
"Oh, good! I'll help." Oliver volunteered. Slowly, he felt around the room for familiar pieces of furniture and made his way to the draw. He began searching the spots where he usually kept the matches.
"Eureka!" he cried once he found them. "I found some." he informed them.
"And here are some scented candles that Mrs. Douglas kept." Eb said.
"Good work, Eb! Here, set them on the drawer." he commanded. Eb did as he was told. Oliver struck a match and was able to find the candles in front of him. He began to light four candles, one for each of them.
Meanwhile, Lisa was still seated on the couch alone in the dark. She tried to stay calm and fight the, what she knew were, irrational fears, but every time heard a strange noise, her heart would skip a beat. Finally, she couldn't take it any longer. She got up slowly from the couch and began to make her way toward the bedroom. But before she could reach the bedroom door, she heard the front door open slowly.
"Who's there?" she called uneasily into the darkness. When she heard silence follow, she assumed, and prayed, that the wind had blown the door open.
Lisa continued to make her way to the bedroom again, but she suddenly began to hear footsteps behind her. Just as she was about to make a mad dash for the bedroom, someone grabbed her around the waist from behind. She screamed in horror and was about to again, but a hand flew up to her mouth, muffling all her cries.
"Ah, ah, ah," an evil voice reprimanded. "Wouldn't want to your little husband to find out, do we?" At that, the man began to drag Lisa out the front door and outside to a mystery car. The kidnapper was about to force her into the back of the car, but before he could, Lisa bit his hand fiercely. The man released his hold on her and cried out in pain. She ran for the other side of the house and to the bedroom, crying her husband's name as she ran. But before she could make it, her assailant caught up with her and began dragging her back to the car.
For some reason, Oliver had not heard his wife scream out in terror the first time while he was lighting the candles, but suddenly, he heard his name being called wildly several times.
"That's Lisa! And it sounds like it's coming from outside!" Oliver said. Frantically, the three men grabbed a lighted candle and made their way out the bedroom closet. They got outside just in time to see the kidnapper dragging Lisa around the corner to the front of the house.
"Lisa!" Oliver cried as he raced after her with Eb and Joseph close behind. Oliver ran up to the kidnapper and grabbed him just before he could force Lisa in the car. The assailant once again let go of Lisa to defend himself, but before he could get over the shock, Oliver punched him across the face. The man fell to the ground and moaned in pain. Oliver then ran over to Lisa and took her in his arms.
"Eb, call the police." Oliver commanded, but before Eb could run off to the telephone, two large men emerged from the car. All four of them tried to run into the house for safety, but the two men caught up with them before they could reach the house. One of the men grabbed Eb and Joseph by the collar and threw them down to the ground. The other man took Lisa away from Oliver's grasp and pushed him down violently. By this time, the first assailant recovered from the blow and stood up.
"The next time any of you try to be brave, one of you will get hurt." he warned viciously. "Give her here." he commanded the man who had a hold on Lisa. The large man pushed Lisa roughly toward him. The original assailant caught her in his arms and forced her into the car. Oliver jumped up into a standing position and was about to attack the man again, but the larger man that had just pushed Lisa blocked him while the other blocked Eb and Joseph.
The original assailant glared at him menacingly. "We'll be getting in touch with you soon, Oliver. Very soon." He laughed evilly and started up the car. The two other men ran over to the car and quickly hopped in. The car spun around and sped off down the road.
"Lisa!" Oliver cried after the car. "Lisa," he moaned. Oliver sunk to his knees in despair as the car raced on and disappeared over the hill along with his wife.