Chapter One

Sitting on the floor of my local corner shop with a gun pointed at my head, isn't how I thought my night would be going, but here I am. To try to get an understanding of what the heck I'm talking about, I'm gonna have to take you back to a few hours ago, you know when my life was normal.

A few hours before

"Blake did you drink all the milk?!" I shout looking into my fridge to see an empty carton of milk sat on the shelf, I don't get why people when they're finished with something put it back in the fridge, do they think the thing is just gonna magically appear full again?

"No, I saved a bit at the bottom for you" he explains pointing to the carton of milk in my hand, I look down to see the tiniest bit ever.

"Oh thanks, I can feed my pet mouse now" I exclaim walking over throwing the carton in the bin, while he just laughs going back to his game.

"Can mice drink milk?" He asks with a smirk on his face still staring at the tv, I knew this meant he was only half listening to me.

"I don't know I'll have to get back to you on that one but the point is, if you're gonna drink the last of the milk, A, don't put the empty carton back in the fridge and B, at least drink it all!" I shout throwing my arms in the air, he just shrugs his shoulders brushing me off, well we've lost contact now as he's gone back to playing his pointless game!

"Well I guess I've been chosen to go get more" I sigh but he doesn't even look up from the tv, wow I'm glad I'm interesting to him.

I take my coat off the hook while grabbing my purse, I really didn't feel like going out but I've been wanting scrambled eggs for days, and the day I'm allowing myself to indulge, my lovely supportive boyfriend drinks all the milk.

"I'm just heading out to get some milk, do you need anything?" I ask from the door, he just waves his hand at me again his eyes not leaving the tv, how can a game possibly be that interesting?

I walk out my door to see my neighbour also walking out of his door holding a black bin bag.

"My turn to take the rubbish out" he smiles as he closes his door, I send him a smile starting  to walk down the hall towards the lift.

"How's Blake?" He asks while we wait for the lift to come up, I roll my eyes remembering what just happened, right now he's been rather annoying.

"Oh he doesn't have a care in the world, right now he's sat on his game, he drank all of the milk saving me the tiniest bit, forcing me to venture out into the wild at 10pm to get some," I explain as the doors open, he laughs letting me walk in first.

I thank him waiting for him to join me before clicking the button for the ground floor.

"Did he at least put the carton away?" He asks with a smile, I say no which makes him shake his head, well at least one person is siding with me about the carton rule "Layla's just the same" he smiles talking about his wife, just as a ding erupts from the lift telling us we're on our floor, he smiles letting me walk out first once again.

"Well I hope you fix your milk carton crisis," he smiles walking to the huge bins outside, I smile but quickly turn a question popping in my mind.

"Do mice drink milk?" I ask, he looks at me confused shaking his head, he dumps the rubbish in the bin turning back to face me.

"I wouldn't know" he laughs walking back into the building sending me a wave, I send one back before starting my journey down the street.

Oh did I forget to mention that I don't drive? My darling boyfriend is actually sending me venturing into the wilderness at 10 pm at night. I pull my coat tighter around myself the cold night sending a shiver through my body, the little corner shop wasn't far away but I didn't want to catch a chill. I pass a few people going about their journeys sending a few of them a little smile, everyone needs one of them sometimes. I finally see the corner shop at the end of the street a few people walking in and out. As I make it to the entrance a woman holding a baby in one of those sling things walks up, I smile moving aside letting her go first, she was carrying a little baby that could get cold more easily than me.

I walk in after her seeing the cashier Rick smiling behind the counter, I send him a quick smile heading towards the milk section to finally get my milk to make scrambled eggs. As I pick the milk up off the aisle a mans very loud voice fills the little shop.

"Everyone get down!" He shouts his voice echoing, I place my beloved milk back walking to the side to see what the commotion was when I see two masked men, all in black  holding rather big guns in their hands.

I quickly walk down the aisle away from them trying my best not to be seen, my phone vibrating in my pocket makes me quickly pull it out as the men continued to shout, Blake was on the other end.

"Hey Freya, could you get me an energy drink while you're there?" He asks, I take another look to see where the men were, they had everyone apart from Rick sit on the floor.

"Blake I'm in the shop but two men have walked in with guns, please you need to get help" I whisper down the phone, quickly checking where the two men were.

"Haha funny one, so can you get me one?" He asks, at this moment I felt like throwing my phone but that would draw way too much attention to where I am.

"Blake I'm not joking please," I beg but as I go to look at the men one was missing, the shorter one was gone, I quickly turn to see him right behind me.

"Freya?" Blake asks down the phone but I was frozen from fear, the guy rips my phone off me holding it to his ear.

"I'm sorry, Freya can't come to the phone right now," he smiles evilly dropping the phone, roughly taking me by the arm dragging me down the isles to where everyone else was.

I'm pushed to the ground next to the women with the baby and another guy that came in after me, the small guy holds the gun up to my head my hands immediately going up in surrender.

"Don't try to run" he growls,  I quickly nod scared for my life, this took a turn!

Present time

So you're now up to date on the events that led up to this point, missing milk, annoying boyfriend and crazy short robber guy. What a great night I'm having right now! But let's just get back to the story.

Little short robber guy finally pulls the gun away from my head, while the tall robber guy continues to shout at Rick. The girls baby was just crying uncontrollably, with all the shouting she must have woke up. I slide over to her putting the dummy in her mouth, which makes the small guy shout once again.

"What are you doing?!" He shouts towards me, I hold my hands up in surrender once again, last time I try to help someone.

"I was just helping the baby," I mutter, does this guy need to show us he's tough even with his size?

The taller guy pulls Rick over the counter and to the floor to join our group, he proceeds to pace around the shop floor for a little while, his eyes looking over the group than down and something in his hands, from afar it looked like a little photo that you could fit in your wallet.

"You," he finally speaks pointing towards me, I look behind just to make sure he was definitely wanting me, okay why is everyone targeting me right now?

"Stand up," he says in a deep voice which terrified me,  I slowly get to my feet my hands still up in surrender.

I didn't want them to think I was gonna try something. My whole body shook from fear, I didn't know what was gonna happen.

"Name?" He asks me, I went to speak but no words came out I was terrified, these people could do anything to us, most importantly me I'm the one they're targeting!

"Freya, the person on the phone back there called her Freya" small robber guy speaks up from behind tall robber dude, I just nod my head confirming that was indeed my name.

"Well Freya, you have a very important job to do," the tall guy smiles walking towards me, he looks down at the woman and her baby then back at me in the eyes "take the baby," he says with a straight face, I just stare at him confused that is a very weird request.

"No please she's only a month old" the women cries holding her baby tightly, there is no way I'm gonna take her baby away from her that's horrible....and weird.

"Either she takes the baby or I will," he shouts down at the woman before taking steps back looking at the clock "times ticking," he smiles again with his arms crossed, he was being dead serious.

I look down to the woman who was on the floor with tears rolling down her face, we make eye contact where she slowly begins to nod while unclipping the baby from her sling thing. I knell down closer to her as she passes me the small crying child, I hold her in my arms a pink blanket wrapped around her tiny body.

"What's her name?" I whisper to the crying women,  she whispers back Amelia "I promise, I won't let anything happen to her" I whisper as the tall guy smacks the counter telling me to hurry it up.

I rise to my feet turning so I was now facing the two men the baby still crying, tall guy clicks his finger pointing down to the space beside him. I slowly, my body still scared, walk over where he makes me face the other guy.

"What do you think?" The tall guy asks placing his arm on my shoulder, the dude just nods saying yeah which didn't make any sense to me at the time.

"I thought the same thing" the tall one mutters fully resting his hand on my shoulder, I was beyond scared at this point.

He pushes me to start walking towards the isles as sirens could be heard from outside, yes the police gonna come and save us, this little baby can go back to her mother and I can finally eat my scrambled eggs!

"This is how it's gonna go," the tall guy whispers walking me down the aisle, while short guy stays with the others on the floor "you're gonna follow me into a car that's parked outback, you're not gonna fight me or I'll just have to take that little baby alone," he warns me walking us to the end of the aisle,  where a door to the back room was located.

I mean I had a choice to leave and get on with my own life, but there was no way I was gonna leave this baby with him, I promised that girl I was gonna look after her.

I nod as he opens the door letting me walk through first, the only thoughts that we're racing around my mind was are we gonna be okay? Why has he chosen to take an innocent baby with him? I hope Blake is okay and helps the police find me and how good the scrambled eggs sound. I know I shouldn't be thinking about eggs but I've been wanting them for a while now!

We get to the final door that leads outside but as he went to open it the door wouldn't budge, wait this could be it, the police could find us and I'll be okay but alas, it wasn't gonna be like that. He pushes me back and starts to kick the door repeatedly, I take a look behind me I couldn't see anyone and he was too focused on the door that maybe he wouldn't notice, but I hesitated and he managed to boot the door open, the cold night air filling the room. He turns back around guiding me out the door where a black car was parked, from the little alley you could see loads of blue flashing lights from the front, why can't they move around to the alley and see us here?! He opens the back door to the car waiting for me to get in, I freeze just staring at the open car, if I get in there would be a possibility that I wouldn't get out again, or I would, but my life would be changed forever.

"Of course sorry doll, I forgot you were holding the baby, let me help you," he says the way he spoke was entirely different to before, he starts putting his hands on my back moving me to the open door.

I give in and realise even if I fought he'd still force me in the car and I have a little baby in my arms, I slowly allow him to help me into the car. Once I'm in he closes the door than shouts obviously to his friend inside, the baby was still crying, she was doing what I wanted to do but I knew I had to be strong.

"It's okay Amelia, I'm gonna figure out a way for us to get out of here," I whisper bouncing her a little to try and calm her down.

The little robber dude runs out the shop holding two bags in his hands, probably full of money.  The taller guy gets in the back next to me as the little one runs to the driver's seat starting the car, we drive off normally down the street where we just blend in. Behind us were a bunch of police cars blocking the other side of the road. I'm so close to freedom but yet so far and I'm actually getting further away from it, once we turn a corner tall robber dude pulls his mask off revealing his face, small robber dude doing the same. Wait that's a bad thing, they've actually just shown me their identities, they're not planning on letting us go.

"Can you please shut that thing up?" Small robber dude shouts from the front, I look down at the baby I didn't know how, I wasn't a mother and that's who she wanted right now.

I bounce her but it wasn't working again she didn't want me! Tall robber dude leans over to the front opening the glove box, while smacking the other dude up the head.

"She's a baby idiot! Here don't worry it's clean" he says sitting back holding a pink dummy in his hand, I take it from him putting into her mouth which slowly makes her calm down.

We drive for around ten minutes, until we pull up at what looked like an old abandoned house. They live here?

"Get the bags, try not to mess that up," the tall guy says to the small guy getting out the car, where he walks to my side.

"I know I made a mistake last time but it won't happen again, I've learnt," the smaller one says getting out the car, leaving the two bags on the front seat closing the door behind him. I would tell him but he's just kidnapped me, I ain't helping him.

Tall guy opens my door taking my hand helping me get out the car with the baby, once out I'm quickly taken into the dark house but the inside didn't look abandoned, it was like any other normal house. Tall guy closes the door hanging his coat up acting so cool about the fact he just kidnapped two people! The small guy looks through the kitchen cupboards while I'm ushered upstairs to a bedroom, that didn't look very clean apart from the bed, it looked rather new.

"Time for a talk," he says closing the door behind him, this once again terrified me, not that I stopped being terrified at all tonight "put the baby on the bed, don't worry she'll be okay," he says walking around the room fixing things, I nod walking over gently placing her on the bed. She fell asleep not long ago, she's probably tired from crying so much.

"Don't look so scared I'm not gonna hurt you, I mean what kind of man beats a woman who just had his kid?" He says which makes me freeze on the spot, did he say I just had his kid? this guy must be crazy!