THE INDUSTRY

BY THE ONE

[ part 1 ]

NOTE: ‘The Industry’ is a series of 11 chapters. It will only make sense if you read them in order!

Kidnapping

Nicole stared out the window of her family’s SUV. The scenery along freeways was never very pretty, especially not at seventy miles an hour heading toward Philadelphia. Scrubby plants and the occasional tree flew by in a blur before Nicole’s unmoving eyes. She was incredibly bored.

She and her parents, along with her older brother Joe, were heading to the city for a day of touring the various museums. The day held promise to be quite entertaining, especially the art museum. Nicole loved art. She had won several awards for her work at her high school, and was looking forward to seeing the works of great artists displayed at the museum. But for now, she was bored.

Finally, after an hour and a half of driving, the city came into view. Nicole slowly came out of her daydreams as they slowed to enter the city streets. The view was much more interesting now, and Nicole started to get excited about seeing the museums. After fighting traffic for another fifteen minutes, they were there.

The art museum was enormous. The front steps were polished marble, and sprawled out away from the doors with the last step being at least thirty yards long. Huge, white pillars decorated the outer walls along with elaborate stone statues carved perfectly into forms of angels. Nicole was awestruck. She had only heard of this place; she hadn’t seen it. Now that she was here in front of this incredible building, she could think of nothing to say. Her brother however, could.

“This is going to be dumb,” Joe muttered. Unlike his sister, he was not a big fan of art.

“It’s not dumb!” contested Nicole, “It’s amazing! You just don’t care about it.”

“No, I don’t,” he said flatly.

Nicole just shook her head and continued gazing at the beautiful structure as they walked up the wide steps to the door.

The interior of the museum was just as grand as the outside. Upon walking in Nicole found herself staring up at an impossibly high stone ceiling. An enormous staircase stretched up and away from her, leading to the various levels of the museum. Though there were no full displays in the lobby, there were several black stone statues. Again Nicole was left breathless with anticipation. She could barely contain herself as they climbed the stairs and started at the first level. A maze of hallways branched off to the left and right. So much to see! And it was only the first floor! Joe occupied himself with a large sculpture made entirely from car parts. Nicole, overwhelmed, picked the nearest hall and headed down it.

“Don’t get too far away, honey!” her mother called after her.

“I won’t!” Nicole called back as she rounded a bend and disappeared from sight. She tried to stay close to the rest of her family, but there was just too much! Concentrating on the art, she wasn’t watching where she was going. As she went around another corner, she bumped into a man standing examining a painting.

“Oh! I’m sorry!” she cried, stepping back.

He smiled. “That’s alright,” he said. His voice had a strange quality to it. The best way Nicole could describe it was that it sounded like a snake’s hiss. It was hypnotizing. “Do you know who painted this?” he asked.

Nicole looked at the painting. “Van Gogh!” She recognized it from her art class.

“Very good! You like art?” he sounded interested.

“Yes, I do, but I’m the only one in my family.”

“Ah!” he smiled, “That’s the sacrifice of an artist: you are always alone in your interests. Even other artists are always different than yourself.”

Nicole laughed uneasily. This man was a little strange. What’s more, she had noticed that he was examining her body. It was definitely time to find a different section of museum to explore!

“Well, I should be going,” she said, “Don’t want my parents to worry…”

“Say, what’s your name?” he asked.

Hoping it would get him to leave her alone, she answered, “Nicole.”

“Goodbye, Nicole. It was nice talking to you. I always love to see young people interested in art…”

“Bye!” Nicole waved and turned. She heard a little rustle, then felt a sharp pain in her right arm. “Hey!” she cried and spun around. The man stood there smiling hungrily, holding a hypodermic needle.

“Oh my God!” Nicole gasped, and turned to run, but her legs felt like lead blocks. She stumbled and fell and tried to get back up, but her arms were sluggish too. Nicole felt sick with fear and panic. She drew a breath to scream for her life, but discovered with horror that she couldn’t make a sound. Her throat felt like it was collapsing on itself, yet she could still breathe. She lay mute and paralyzed on the marble floor of the museum, totally helpless as the man bound her ankles, knees, and wrists with heavy vinyl wire-ties. He rolled her onto her back and unbuckled her jeans. He didn’t take them off; only peeked inside to see Nicole’s black lace panties. He replaced her jeans and looked down her shirt. She was also wearing a black bra.

“Just as I thought: a little slut. You’re going to be perfect!” he said as much to himself as to Nicole. He bent and slung her limp body over his shoulder. Tears fell from her face as her body shook with silent sobs. If someone would only come down this hallway!! She could hear her family’s voices just around the corner. They were so close! So close!!! If she could only make a sound, any noise at all to get their attention!

All hope vanished as the man carried her down the hall. Their voices faded with distance until Nicole couldn’t hear them anymore. She was carried through a service door, through a maintenance room, and out another door. Bright sunlight met her eyes. They were outside! Please let there be someone out here!! There wasn’t. Keys jingled. A car trunk opened and Nicole was flopped inside. The man stepped aside to get to something in the backseat. Nicole could see straight out onto the roads of the city! She was just a little too far away for anyone to recognize her plight. It was torture to watch her freedom slowly slip away in broad daylight behind a museum, with full view of people. Oh, if only someone would see her!! If she could only move or call out!!

The man returned carrying a gas tank and a mask. Nicole could do nothing to pull away as he sealed the mask over her nose and opened the valve.

“Bye-bye, Nicole…” he said in his snake’s voice. His eyes were locked on her body as she began to succumb to the gas. Her vision blurred, and seconds later, she blacked out.

Back in the museum, the only trace of the man or Nicole was a note, found by her parents. It read: “Your daughter Nicole has been taken to The Industry. If in fact you ever see her again, she will not be the girl you know today.”