"Honey I'm home!" I call out as I step across the threshold into our home.
The house echoes back quiet, still, and cold. I know she's gone again. I wonder what she'll come up with this time. That line about getting distracted and driving to the Grand Canyon last time was an interesting one for sure I know she was there because she needed me to send her transportation home... Not sure how she got there as her car was in the garage. I feel a sigh leave me and watch the cloud it makes hover dissipating slowly in the stillness.
There's that weird little quirk she has of always turning the heater down to barely on when she leaves the house that tells me she's not home. I've even caught her doing it when she just heading to walk down the driveway to the mailbox. She insists on keeping the house hot when she is home no matter how much I complain that she must be trying to cook me, she always just laughs at my complaints and brushes them off saying it's just because she's tired of being cold. I've tried explaining energy conservation and that it would cost us less if she kept the temperature more stable instead of the constant reheating of the house, but she just tells me she understands and then continues on doing it how she always has. I even tried arguing that she could be warm faster if she didn't have to wait for the house to warm up upon returning... She never responds to that argument just looks away and carries on with whatever else she was doing acting as if I haven't spoken.
I know today isn't just a quick run to the grocery store though as I can smell the staleness starting to settle into the house. She must have been gone a week at least meaning she left not long after I headed out for my work trip.
I always worry when she stops responding to my texts while I'm away, but I try to reassure myself because she's been waiting for my return more often than she's missed it. It's getting worse though. It started as maybe once a year that she'd be out on a trip with friends that she couldn't cut short and would make it back a day or two after I returned. Back then she'd always respond when I texted her too. Sometimes it would take a few hours, but we never went a whole day without texting. Now this will make the third trip this year I found out about because I returned home and found the house empty. I wonder how many other trips she has taken without being discovered by making it back before I discovered her absence. She still meets me at the door excited I'm back more often than not, but I don't think it's unreasonable to expect her to make an effort to get home. Especially today like I did. It's our anniversary for Pete's sake and I told her specifically I would make it back for today.
I had almost deluded myself into thinking maybe she'd been ignoring my messages because she was planning a surprise for us. I tried to keep a hope alive. I thought maybe that "drive to the Grand Canyon" story was a lame cover for her scouting somewhere special for us to go to celebrate. Of course it wasn't though. I don't know how I thought that would be the case as she ended up stranded there without her phone or purse.
I sigh again, reaching over to turn on the heater and keeping my boots on as I trudge into the house.
"She can't complain about boots in the house if she's gone and the house is practically freezing when I get back." I call out into the empty house defending myself.
As I walk past the guest room on my way to our bedroom, I feel a warm draft coming from around the door.
That doesn't make sense, that room shouldn't be any warmer than the rest of the house... Maybe she's hiding out in there to surprise me and fell asleep! My heart skips in hopeful excitement, I drop my stuff where I stand in the hallway, as I reach for the door handle.
The door swings open with a creak. Heat rushes over me escaping from the pitch-black room only semi lit from the light coming in from the hallway. Anna hates the dark she'd never be in a pitch-black room... Would she? I step forward into the room. A chill rushes over me. This room has big, beautiful windows and it is still daylight outside. It's never pitch dark in here during the day.
I rush to turn around and reach for my gun. The gun that I dropped with my duffle bag in the hallway but suddenly there's hands grabbing for me and a prick on my neck.
These people don't know what they've gotten themselves into even in the dark I can hold my own I think shaking off the hands and turning towards where I think they must be standing. But as I turn to face my attacker even the light from the hallway disappears and I don't remember.
------------------------------------------------------
"Ugh" I moan as the room spins and my head feels like it's being split open. I don't remember having that much to drink... Or anything to drink...
Trying to think isn't helping the migraine that's somehow still building. I think I remember getting home... and then I'm not sure ugh getting jostled around like this really isn't helping either.
Wait, jostled around? I've gotten the spins from a hangover before, but it's never felt like being tossed around like cargo before.
I try to crack my eyes open groaning again as the light feels like daggers driving into my brain. Anna must still be gone, or she would already be by my side fussing and making sure I've got enough water and pain meds. She'd hold off on making fun of how bad I'm feeling until after she's drugged me up to functional because she says it's not fun to pick on an invalid who can't appreciate her humor through their pain.
I shake my head hoping to clear it, but it just makes the spins worse, and my eyes fly open as I think I'm about to puke my guts out. Luckily my stomach freezes in surprise just as thoroughly as I do. I am not at home.
I slowly turn my head back and forth to get a good look at where I am and confirm I'm not hallucinating. I am inside what looks like a metal dog crate. It looks like it's made out of straight sheets metal with small diamonds cut out in evenly spaced rows around all four sides and the top. It's sized for a very large dog I can sit up straight and stretch my legs out in front of me. It's narrow though I was propped up leaning with my shoulder wedged against one of the corners and from that position I bump my elbow on the other side. It's a weird shape for a dog crate it fits me perfectly... It's almost a little too perfect of a fit making it feel more like it's designed for me or at least something my shape... My very human shape...