Cora-
It was day 14 of being in this abandoned warehouse. I have been keeping track of the days on a piece of wood, I use a broken part of one of the windows to carve into it. I kept thinking about the day he took me, the fear, and the wonder of what would happen to me. The day was January 19th, 2025 when I got a call from one of my neighbors.
“Hello Cora, I am so sorry about the late notice but I was wondering if you could watch Anna and James tonight? If you are busy I totally understand,” Tammy asks.
I reply “I am free. I can be over in 15 minutes!”
She then thanked me and apologies again but I reassure her it is no big deal. That day just felt so normal I always thought if something were to happen I would feel it. As I arrive at Tammy’s house I don’t knock on the door I just walk in. We have always been close with them so this was a normal thing. Anna ran up to me and give me a hug.
“Can we play with the new dolls that mom got for me?” Anna asks.
“Of course,” I say yes and follow her to the playroom. After about 10 minutes I look for James he is eleven so he didn’t really need to be watched. I find him playing video games in his room. I leave him be for now because I don’t want to interrupt him.
At around 8 we all sat on the couch to watch a movie. I went into the kitchen to bring out some snacks. It was about half an hour into the movie when I get up to use the bathroom. As I’m washing my hands I hear a noise, it was a small noise but still made me nervous.
“Anna, James, go upstairs and get into your pajamas quickly,” I yell out.
I only ask them to do this because of the noise I heard I was a little freaked out by it. While they are upstairs I check all the doors and windows. When I get to the front door I realized it was cracked open. I immediately close and lock the door. I ran upstairs and told the kids to stay up there because I had a surprise when in reality I needed to check the house to make sure no one got in. I didn’t text Tammy about it because I thought I was being dramatic. I checked the whole house and didn’t see anyone so I called the kids back downstairs. I told them that the surprise wouldn't work out because it was too late and told them I would next time. I only said this to not freak them out.
I put them to bed at 10:30 p.m. and went out to the couch to wait for Tammy to come home. So said she would be home at 11 p.m. so I only had a half hour left. I heard a noise coming from the kitchen but I don’t think anything of it because I had already checked the house. The noise gets louder and more frequent, I slowly get off the couch and walk towards the kitchen. That’s when I saw him standing, waiting, for me. As he swung the knife around he was getting closer to me. I backed up until I had nowhere left to go.
“Long time no see. You're just as beautiful as I remember,” he says.
“Who are you?” I scream out.
The black mask covered everything but his eyes. I know those eyes I have seen those eyes. Before I can do anything he pushes the knife through my stomach and then drags me through the house and out the front door. He throws me into his van and starts driving. Everything is blurry and cold.
I wake up to nothing, no windows, no doors, no light. I try to get up but nothing works, I feel a warm puddle soaking my clothes. I hear a noise from the floor I frantically sit up but I can't I’m too weak. A bright light appears from the floor and a tall figure is now walking toward me.
“I brought some things to clean that out for you,” he says.
“I don’t want it,” I reply.
He walks over slowly and runs his fingers through my hair. I try to move away but it’s no use.
“I will bring you food in a few hours. I will also leave these bandages here for you if you change your mind,” he says.
As he walked away he turned on a small light that was in the middle of the room. Once he left I took a good look around the room for something to help me escape. I don’t see anything from where I am laying so I decide to use the bandages he left for me and hope it helps.

Nate-
I had been waiting the longest time to do this and now I had my plan ready. The first day I saw her during my freshman year of high school I knew she was the one for me. She had long dark hair with blue eyes. I tried to talk to her but I was one of the weird kids and she was popular so I knew it was a long shot. I ended up getting her to talk and agree to go out to eat with me. I was so excited the whole week. When it came to the day I was waiting for her at the restaurant and she never showed. Hours and hours went by until I finally concluded she was not coming. This made me so mad I knew what I had to do. I have been planning this for a year and a half now and think it will work. I hacked into her phone records and saw she was babysitting for her neighbors so that’s where I planned my attack. I arrived and went through the front door which was surprisingly unlocked. I then hid in the kitchen until I knew she was alone. Once I knew I came out of where I was hiding and took her. I didn’t want to hurt her but she left me with no choice. As the knife punctured her beautiful skin I felt awful. However that all went away when I had her in my van. I felt like my life was finally completed. I visited her with some first aid but she refused to take it. On my way back down I turned on the light for her so she could see around a bit.

Cora-
I finally got the strength to sit up and crawl around. I looked for anything that would give me a hint as to where I was and who took me. The only things I found were blankets and pillows in an old bin. When I got a closer look I see that the light is a lamp sitting on a chair. I see if I can take the light bulb out and break it to try to hurt him enough that I can get out but I can’t get it to unscrew. It is no use. I grab a small piece of wood and a very small piece of glass I found on the floor to carve a line in it. I need to know how many days I will be here. I thought about the small piece of glass and if it would do any damage but I knew it wouldn’t. All I can think about is how I am going to get out. I think there are windows in here but it is night so I can’t tell.

Nate-
I knew she needed to eat soon so I decided to run to the store and get her something. I bought I bunch of stuff because I wasn’t sure what she might like. Once I got back I offered her whatever she wanted but she wouldn’t eat anything. I decided to not get frustrated because she doesn't know that I am a good person and just want to be with her. I stay up with her for a while and ask her questions but she doesn’t answer any of them.
After a while of trying to get her to talk, she finally asked me “Why am I here?”
My face lights up when I hear her talk. I missed her voice.
(2 days later)
Cora-
I need to get out of here. This is my third day here and I’m going crazy. My stomach is still in a lot of pain but nothing like when it first happened. Today I decided to try to walk around and maybe figure out where I am. I walk very slowly around the warehouse to try to find a crack in the wall. I was looking for anything I could find. While on the last wall, I had lost hope until I see a small crack in the brick walls. I put my eye up to the hole to look out and all I see is a field. There was nothing that gave me even the slightest hint of where I was. I thought about what the best thing to do was and then it hit me making him trust me. If I got him to trust me maybe he would let me go outside and I could escape.
(1 week later)
Nate-
It’s been about a week since I took my soulmate and made her mine. At first, she was very angry, but she has been warming up to me in the past few days. I think she is liking it here. I know it was all new for her but once she gets used to it she will be so happy with me. I decide to go check on her.
“Hello, beautiful! How did you sleep, darling?” I ask.
She replies “I slept pretty well however it is a little chilly down here do you mind bringing more blankets?”
This was the first time she had ever been really nice and I was so happy she was warming up to me.
I reply with “Yes, of course, I will run to the store quick and grab a few new ones.”
I don’t think she will say anything else until I hear her soft little voice say “Thank you I really do appreciate it.”
My face lights up and my heart skips a beat wow I think to myself I have really done it my plan is working. I smile back and run to the store.

Cora-
I knew he would believe me. All I needed to do was to be nice and he would trust me. However, I did think it was going to take a while to get him to trust me but this week has been a breeze. I realize that if I am nice to him and give him what he wants then he will do the same. I look at the piece of wood, ten tallies are on the wood. I can’t believe it's only been ten days it feels like forever. I wonder what everyone is thinking if I ran away or if they know that I was kidnapped. I mean they have to know. There was blood everywhere.
(3 days later)
Cora-
My stomach still has a big gash, but I have made sure to take care of it very well. The last thing I would want right now is for it to become infected. As I think about it maybe if it got infected he would take me to the doctor maybe I could get out of there. I rub whatever I can on my wound. It hurts so bad but if this works I could get out.

Nate-
Cora has been very sweet to me the past week and I think she is finally starting to like me. This was a new feeling since I knew she never did. I thought to myself maybe I should show her who I am. I also thought if I show her who I am maybe she will be mad or not be nice anymore. I thought about this all day and finally decided I should show her who I really am and stop hiding behind a mask. It’s about five at night when I go deliver her some pizza that I had just picked up. As I am walking to go see her my heart is racing and I am sweating profusely. Showing her who I am made me so nervous but I know it’s what I have to do.

Cora-
I wish I had a clock up here so I knew what time it was. I knew it was time for dinner though I could hear his loud footsteps coming closer and closer. I take a deep breath and get myself in a good mood for him. Whenever I had to see him I would think of my mom and how much I love and miss her. It made me sad but also happy when I would remember all of the memories. The top of the floor slowly creeks open. He was taking forever to open it and when he did I saw his face. No mask on his face. Nate Evans that’s his name I know him. But why would he do this?
“Nate?” I ask.
“Yes, it’s me I have loved you for so long and I finally have you,” he claims.
I know he is nervous by the way he is sweating and stumbling over his words. I don’t know what to say or do so all I do is smile.
“Anything to say?” he asks.
“I knew I recognized you” I mumble.
It was the only thing that came out of my mouth. He smiles when I say this. He always stays to make sure I eat but today he left the pizza by me and left right away. I think it was because he was so nervous.

Nate-
I had to get out of the room with her. I could feel how uncomfortable she was so I gave her the pizza and left. What she said felt fake but she said it so I didn’t care. She was mine forever. Now I knew that she would stay with me and we could be happy together. I went to the store to make her living area more comfortable. I bought a mattress, sheets, blankets, and some new clothes for her. As I arrive back at the warehouse I am very excited to show her everything I got her. Carrying the mattress was pretty hard to do when it was only me. I would have asked her to help me but I’m sure she is in too much pain too.
As I put everything where was wanted she says “Thank you I really do appreciate it.”
My heart feels so warm when I hear her say this, it's like she knew I needed reassurance.
“Now that you know who I am I thought I would do something nice for you so you're welcome,” I say.
After I see she is settled in I leave her be and I am finally relieved. I think this is all going to work out.

Cora-
Once he left I felt better. I think he believes what I tell him which is making progress. My plan is to try to convince him to let me go outside to get some fresh air. I really hope this plan works. As I was going to bed all of a sudden my stomach is in so much pain. I feel like I am getting stabbed all over again. I scream and yell out and within a few minutes, I hear him coming to me. He hurries to unlock the padlock and get up to me as quickly as he can. As he approaches me I am screaming in pain.
He asks “What happened? What’s wrong?”
While sobbing I reply “My stomach. I can’t stand the pain. It just hit me. It has never been this bad.”
He looks so concerned and asks “What should we do? Have you been cleaning it?”
“There weren’t any more bandages to clean it with. I need to go to the hospital,” I say.
He is very hesitant when I ask this.
I didn’t think it was going to work until he says “We can but you have to promise me not to say anything. Okay?”
I am so surprised when he says this.
“I won’t say a word. I want this to work between us.” I reply.
Of course, I was just saying this to get him to trust me. It took a lot in me to say that but I knew I had to for him to believe me.

Nate-
It had been two weeks already and I think she trusts me already. Taking off my mask was the best thing I could have done. I am super nervous about going to the hospital but what she said to me I believe she wants us just as much as I do. I take her to a hospital a few hours away so hopefully, no one would know she is missing there. I have to put her in the back of my van because I didn't want anyone to see her in the front seat. I felt so bad for having to put her back there so I gave her a blanket and pillow.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
“No! It hurts!” she shouts.
“I know only a half hour” I reply.
I feel so bad hearing her scream in pain I knew I should have never done it in the first place.

Cora-
I was in the van. Half an hour left he told me. This is the longest car ride ever. My stomach doesn’t even hurt anymore all I can feel are the butterflies in my stomach. I'm so nervous and I really hope this works I can't go back there.
“Almost there!” he says with a nervous tone.
I don’t reply with anything because nothing will come out. All of a sudden we stop and he turns off the car. My heart is pounding out of my chest and I am sweating profusely. He gets out of the van and opens the back door.
Before I can say or do anything he pulls me close to him and says “You don’t say anything. Remember?”
I reply “I know I just want to feel better.”
This convinces him enough so he picks me up and carries me inside. As he is carrying me I can feel how loud his heart is beating his face is sweating and he looks pale. He brings me into the emergency room and the nurses run up to me right away. They take us to a room and start cleaning out my wound and asking how I got it. I stayed silent and just looked at Nate.
“She uh tripped,” he says nervously.
“She tripped? This isn’t a wound from just falling.” the nurse replies.
“Well she did now can you fix her and we can get on our way please?” Nate asks.
“Yes,” the nurse replies.

Nate-
The nurse is onto us I can tell. I am looking around for the nearest exit just in case we need to make a run for it.
“Could I ask you to step out of the room for this examination?” the nurse says.
I freeze when I hear her say this and I don’t know what to do.
“Uh sure,” I say.
I walk out slowly and give Cora a look to make sure she doesn’t say anything. I step outside the room and they close the door.

Cora-
The nurse knew she knew I was in danger. She asked Nate to step out of the room and he did but was very hesitant. As soon as the door closed I started sobbing. I had to be quiet when I told her what I was going to say.
“Is there something going on here? I feel like something is wrong,” the nurse asks.
“He kidnapped me two weeks ago. This isn't from me falling it’s from him he stabbed me. Please help me,” I say begging.
“I will page security and tell them what's going on. You are safe now,” she says.
All I needed to hear were the last four words and I was relieved. I hear a knock at the door ad the nurse opens it.
“We have him in custody now your going to be okay,” a police officer says.
“Thank you!” I say joyful.

Nate-
How could she? After everything, I did for her. After what she said how could she? The cops took me away and into a room for questioning. I knew this was the end so I told them everything. How in love I am with her, how I knew she was for me, and how I thought it would work out. They, of course, thought I was crazy but I’m not I just need her. I will have her eventually.
(1 week later)
Cora-
After going home and seeing my family again I was so happy. I will never take anything for granade ever again. I saw Anna, James, and Tammy after everything and they were so happy I was back. I apologized for everything to Tammy but she just wanted me to be okay. It was going to be a hard and long recovery but I’m glad I am home. I’m glad I will never have to see him again.

Nate-
I can’t wait to see her again when I get out.