August 5th, 1984

I noticed my head was pounding before I opened my eyes.

I was in a partially finished basement, and it wasn't cold like It seemed like it should.

I sat up and looked around, and I saw two other people. I gasped and saw both of them smile.

"Hi." The woman said. She looked like she was in her late thirties. She had brown hair and wrinkle lines by her eyes when she smiled.

There was a man too, who seemed very close with the woman: black hair and a scruff growing on his face.

"Who are you guys?" I asked.

"Don't worry. We don't work for him." The guy said.

I frowned. "How can I trust you?"

He shrugged. "You'll learn over time."

"Overtime?" I yelled. "I need to get out of here! Ge- I mean, my boyfriend is going to wake up and find me missing! Wait, what day is it?"

The woman pointed to a calendar with a clock next to it.

It was the next day—nighttime.

"Oh no." I scoffed. "No, no, no, no!"

"We've been here a long time." The woman said.

"How long?" I asked.

"Honey, how long has it been?" She asked the man. I assumed they must've been married, considering they had identical gold rings on their left hands.

"...fourteen years." He said after thinking.

I nearly choked on air. "Fourteen years?! Why are you still here? How are you still living?!"

"The guy brings us food, and he's not skimpy with it." The man said.

I was about to explode. "And you didn't try to escape?"

"Of course we tried." The man said. "Impossible. The guy keeps the door locked tight up there. Even if you got past that point, the dog up there causes an uproar."

I saw a small TV in the corner with a remote. "He gives you a TV as well?"

"Yep. We're pretty familiar with what's happening out in the world today. We haven't checked up much today. Would you like to watch it with us?"

Something about these two seemed familiar to me. I wasn't sure where I had seen them before, though.

I hurried over a little closer to them, but not by much.

It was on the news, showing nothing but the weather. I wanted to stay and watch, though, so I didn't get bored. There wasn't much to do in here anyway.

The door leading out of here suddenly whipped open. I turned my neck, hoping it was the police or someone coming to get us out of here.

Or maybe my Prince coming to rescue me.

"Here." The same mysterious guy tossed a large bag of chips down. "Eat up."

It was a decent-sized portion that all of us could share. Although, it wasn't an ideal dinner.

"You can have most of it. We're not too hungry." The woman said.

I shook my head. "Honestly, I'm so afraid I don't even have an appetite right now."

She put a hand on my shoulder, and I shrugged it off. I didn't trust her that much yet.

She was understanding and put her hand back slowly.

"What is your name?" I asked.

She laughed. "We're not allowed to share that information."

"Why not?" I asked.

The man spoke up. "Big man says so. Apparently, it's 'dangerous,' but I don't see how."

"Then... why don't we make up names?" I asked. "That's not breaking the rules, is it?"

"That's not a bad idea..." the woman said.

"I'll go first," I said. "My fake name is... Michelle."

"Hello, Michelle." The woman said. "I suppose I'll go with... Helen."

"I like the name Dan." The guy said.

"Honey, that's my brother's name," Helen said.

"Well, I like it."

"Are we allowed to share things about our life?" I asked.

"Maybe... he didn't say anything about that, did he?" Dan asked.

Helen shook her head. "No, he didn't."

I looked at the clock a little while later, finding it was nearly two in the morning. Although I was out for almost a day, I was getting tired. "Where do we sleep?" I asked.

"Your sleeping bag is behind that wall," Dan said, pointing behind me. "As I said, it's not bad here."

I frowned. Why would this guy kidnap people and treat them anything but poorly? Isn't that the point? Shouldn't we be tied up in chairs with bloody wrists?

I got up and went around the corner, finding a small lamp, pillow, and sleeping bag.

The sleeping bag was small, but I curled up to fit inside. I would have one heck of a stretch to do in the morning.

Jeena's Point of View

The Morning of August 5th

I walked out of my bedroom while Andy was still sleeping to get myself something to eat. Instead, I found George in the living room pacing and panting.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked.

"Was DJ in there with you?" He asked frantically.

"No, why?"

"She's... she's gone! I didn't see her this morning, so I figured she came out here to eat but..." he started getting weepy. "Oh man. Oh no, what if she changed her mind? What if she-"

"Hey, George!" I put my hands on his shoulders. "She definitely did not change her mind. I'm
Sure she just went out for a walk or something-"

"What's that?" He interrupted me, bending down.

At first, I couldn't tell what he was staring at, but I saw a few footprints in black when I shifted my viewpoint. It was faint, but it was there.

"Did you go out last night?" He asked.

"No... Andy and I were here the whole night."

"These are not DJ's feet. They're way too big." He gasped. "Did someone take her?!-"

"George!" I yelled, causing Andy to come out of my room.

"What's with the yelling? It's nine in the morning." He complained.

"It's not that early," I said. "George is all worried that Deej is missing because she's not here."

"But there's a footprint-"

"George, I'm sure it was either yours or Andrew's. I think you're just being paranoid."

He sat on the couch, running his hands through his hair. "You need to get her chipped."

I laughed. "I've thought about it."

I decided to go down to the parking lot to see if her car was still there.

And sure enough, it was.

So was mine, so she didn't steal my car.

She couldn't have gone far. So then I checked the loop that people sometimes use to do a couple of laps. DJ doesn't do it often, but if she does, it's to burn off some steam.

I saw a few people there, but none of them were her.

A bit of panic rose in my chest. Breathe, Jeena, I told myself. Maybe she got a ride to work from her friend. And she forgot to leave a note.

I came back inside and went to the phone.

"No luck?" George asked.

"No. I'm calling a few people." I said. I had the phone book next to me, so I had the number of the restaurant.

Thankfully, it sounded like she picked up. "Hello?

"Hey, Amanda. It's Jeena."

"Oh, hey Jeena! What's up?" She asked.

I sighed. "Did you give Deej a ride to work?"

There was silence for a few seconds. "No."

My stomach began to hurt a little. "Oh."

"Why?" Amanda asked.

"She's not here. None of us can find her. George, Andrew, and I."

"Oh." She said. "I'll look out for her. But, I'm sorry, I'm not sure where she is."

"That's alright," I said. "Thanks anyway."

I sighed, my pulse getting a little quicker—only one other person to call.

"Hi, mom," I said. "Is DJ at your place?"

"No..." She replied.

Oh boy.

"Why do you ask?"

I swallowed hard. "Um... we're not exactly sure where she is. She sorta disappeared without a word."

"This morning?" She asked.

"Well, we're not sure how long she's been gone, and her car is still here. But yes, she wasn't here this morning." I sighed. "I think we'll wait until tomorrow morning to panic. If she's not back by ten tomorrow, I'll probably have to report her missing."

I saw George's face get white. Andrew put an arm around his shoulder and rubbed it comfortingly.

"We'll be on the lookout."

"Thanks, ma," I said and hung up.

I turned around and took a deep breath. "No one gets to worry yet. I'm sure she's fine."

August 6th, 1984
9:30 A.M.

DJ's Point of View

My back was a little sore when I woke up, and I really had to pee.

I was thankful to find there was a bathroom down here with a shower. But, even if I did shower, What was I supposed to do about clothing?

"Good morning." I heard someone say.

It was Helen. She was shyly peeking around the corner where I was sitting on my sleeping bag. "I thought I heard you moving around."

I smiled. "Hello."

I heard the TV go on, so I stood up again and walked over, searching for some escape route.

My heart sank when I saw what the news was showing.

"...the eighteen-year-old girl has been missing since yesterday morning."

I gulped, seeing that Helen and Dan were staring intently at the TV.

"Um, is it gonna be bad if you hear my real name?" I asked.

"If he's listening to us, maybe," Helen said. "He doesn't usually wake up until later, though. Unless, of course, you're not comfortable with it."

I frowned, and the TV said my name. My heart's pace quickened.

I couldn't look at anything but the TV.

Especially when George came onto the screen. It was a video of him from the Top of the Pops. Whoever was speaking over it started talking again. "It was announced just a few hours ago that this young lady has been with singer/songwriter George Michael for a long time. They've kept their relationship private for nearly six months, including their short break-up between that time."

I saw Helen's face shoot in my direction. "Your boyfriend is George Michael?" She asked.

I blushed. "Yeah. How do you know who he is?" I asked.

"This TV gets a lot of programs. MTV showed him and his band a lot." She laughed. "George is extremely attractive. Wow, you scored, honey."

I shook my head with a laugh. "I guess I did."

George came back onto the screen. But this time, It was live. Andy was there too. George had bags under his eyes like he hadn't been sleeping. "That song was about her. Careless Whisper," He croaked. "I messed up. I don't know how she found it in her heart to come back to me. But she's gone again. I don't know where..." His voice trailed off as he started to get weepy.

My eyes started stinging, and I couldn't even watch anymore. I tucked my knees into my chest and held my face in my hands. "I need to get out of here. I can't believe how long you've been here! You guys are insane!"

"DJ-"

"Just because you know my name doesn't mean I'll let you use it." I snapped. I stood up and ran up the basement stairs, banging on the door and yanking at the handle. "Let me out! I have a life to live!" I yelled. "I didn't have a childhood! Don't take away my future!"

My hands were starting to hurt after so many hits, and somehow the door flew open. I was shocked, seeing an empty, normal-looking home.

And there was the front door.

Before I could even take a step forward, someone's body shadowed over me. "Just where do you think you're going?"

I cleared my throat. "Out of this place."

I saw the dog Dan was talking about. It growled.

"Easy, boy." The man said. "You're not going anywhere. Get back down there."

He was very demanding, and the door looked locked up tight by its bolts.

I walked back down defeated and flinched when the door slammed.