Free Web of Justice by Rayven T. Hill

of money, but after adding it to the growing amount in her bank account, she’d be that much closer to her goal. College tuition was costly, but every penny she could save would reduce the size of the student loan she’d require.
    Her parents weren’t well off, but they’d promised to kick in as much as they could scrape up, fully supporting her dream to be a personal care aide. She loved the thought of helping to take care of those who needed a little extra love and encouragement to live a full and happy life.
    She stepped off the sidewalk, crossed the parking lot of a strip plaza, and went into a 7-Eleven. She treated herself to a French vanilla iced coffee—her favorite. Suppressing the impulse to buy a slice of pizza, she left the shop, sipping at her drink.
    She turned down the next street. The house where she lived with her parents was three blocks away, and after the heat of the day, she enjoyed the cool evening walk.
    Lindy turned her head as a car drove by. It pulled over half a block ahead and the lights died. A man got out and stepped onto the sidewalk, carrying a plastic grocery bag in one hand. It slipped from his grasp and fell to the sidewalk.
    He crouched down to gather up his belongings as she drew closer. Now only a few feet away, he stood, the bag in his hand.
    “Good evening,” he said, a wide smile crossing his face.
    She smiled back as he stepped aside to let her pass. But she didn’t get past. He took a step toward her and slipped the bag over her head, his strong hands tightening it around her neck.
    Her attempts to scream were stifled by the lack of air in the bag and the viselike grip around her throat. Her drink hit the sidewalk, the cool liquid splashing her legs as she grabbed frantically at his wrists and struggled to free herself.
    She grew weak, her head faint from lack of oxygen. He spun her around, and she fought to hold her footing as he wrapped an arm about her neck and dragged her off the sidewalk. She stumbled over the curb, twisted her right leg, and felt a sharp pain in her ankle.
    He hissed in her ear. “Stay still or I’ll kill you.”
    A ring of keys jingled, the trunk of his vehicle popped open, and he pushed her inside. Her head struck the lid, stunning her, and she fell to her back. She clawed at the suffocating bag, ripped it loose, and took a deep gasp of air as the trunk lid slammed.
    She screamed, “Help!” Her muffled voice echoed in the confined area. “Help!”
    A car door closed, the muffler rumbled beneath her, and the vehicle pulled away. Tires whined as the car gathered speed.
    Panic engulfed her, and her heart raced, thumping uncontrollably in her chest. She lay on her back and took deep breaths to clear her mind. What would her father tell her to do? He had taught her to remain calm in any emergency, to try to relax and think her way through.
    A weapon. She needed something to protect herself with. Anything she could use against him when he opened the trunk. If he ever did.
    Lindy scrambled to her knees and searched in the darkness, but found nothing she could use. The trunk was absolutely empty.
    All attempts to find an interior latch went unrewarded. Until he opened the lid, there was no way out of the trunk.
    She was at his mercy, overwhelmed by a sense of total helplessness, and she fought back a sudden surge of hysteria.
    Why had he chosen her? She’d walked down that street in her quiet neighborhood many times, often late at night, and never sensed any danger. Nothing like this had ever happened to anyone she knew.
    She rummaged through the pocket of her jeans and pulled out her key ring. It was all she had to protect herself. She held the keys in her right hand, one key protruding between her fingers, her fist tightened around the rest.
    Then an idea struck her. She’d heard on a TV show that if you were kidnapped and held in the trunk of a car, the best thing was to break out the taillight. She’d never expected to be in such a situation, and