The car kept driving, headed who-knew-where. With his hands tied behind his back, Ezra Isander could do nothing but babble incoherently. His body sat limp and resigned in the back seat, hoping a miracle would bring someone to save him.
"Hey! How much money do you want?" Ezra blurted, trying to loosen the bindings around his wrists. "Don't bother asking my dad. I can pay you myself. Just name the price, as long as you let me go right now!"
The two kidnappers in front ignored him. Instead, they were busy singing along to the dangdut koplo playing on the radio.
Ezra kicked the backs of the front seats.
The kidnapper beside the driver finally turned around with a scowl. "Will you shut up?!"
Ezra immediately shrank back. He turned his gaze toward the window.
The air felt colder now. It wasn't just the car's AC—the road had begun to climb, too. Tall trees lined both sides of the road. A small white building with a curved roof briefly caught his eye—an iconic structure in the mountain region that he often saw in the media, though he'd never visited it in person.
Not long after that, the car stopped. The kidnapper opened the back door and dragged Ezra out. Ezra stumbled along, nearly falling, before being shoved into a small wooden cabin.
"Feel like screaming? Go ahead!" the kidnapper said as he untied Ezra's hands. "No one's going to hear you here."
Ezra rubbed his reddened wrists.
"Don't worry about starving to death," the other kidnapper chimed in as he entered carrying two plastic bags filled with bread and bottled water. "It's only for a few days. After that, you'll be released."
They left and locked the door from the outside.
Ezra sank down on the edge of the bed. It was called a kidnapping, but it was kind of weird that they'd given him supplies. He'd been kidnapped and dumped in the middle of the forest. Even if he could escape through this window with iron bars, what if he ran into a wild animal outside?
Half a day passed. Ezra didn't touch the food at all.
When he glanced toward the window, he spotted a man outside gathering branches. Ezra quickly slipped his hands between the bars and called out softly.
"Psst! Hey, you over there!"
His whisper was so faint that maybe only the gecko on the wall could hear it. The man outside merely glanced over, then walked away carrying a bundle of branches.
"Aw... why'd you leave? Hey, mister!" Ezra groaned in despair.
Afternoon turned into night. Ezra sat dazed on the bed, racking his brain. Meanwhile, the two kidnappers outside were still having a grand time singing dangdut koplo at karaoke. Ezra was sure that even if he made it out of there alive, he'd have every dangdut koplo song memorized and be ready to audition for a dangdut show.
Though he was sleepy, Ezra tried not to close his eyes, afraid they might do something to him. But exhaustion eventually won, and he fell asleep.
The next morning, Ezra jolted awake in shock. He checked every part of his body. Once he confirmed everything was still intact, he let out a relieved breath.
He tiptoed toward the door and pressed his ear against the wooden panel. The radio had gone silent. Ezra peeked through a crack in the door. The two kidnappers were nowhere to be seen.
"Mom... Dad... they dumped me here..." he whimpered.
But his sobbing stopped when his stomach let out a loud growl.
"Ugh... I'm hungry."
Ezra glanced at the plastic bags on the table. Whatever. He hadn't eaten since yesterday afternoon. He grabbed some bread and chewed it quickly while scanning the room.
When he looked toward the window, he saw yesterday's man again, picking up branches in the same spot. Ezra immediately dropped the bread wrapper and ran to the window.
"Hey! Mister!" Ezra shouted, waving his hands through the bars. "Yeah, you! Mr. Branch Guy!"
The man turned and stared at him blankly.
"Help me!" Ezra cried. "I've been kidnapped. Please get me out of here!"
The man ignored him and went back to gathering branches.
"Can he even hear me?" Ezra began to panic. "Hey, Mr. Branch Guy! One hundred million!" Ezra shouted excitedly. "I'll give you one hundred million if you can get me out of here! Please!"
The man tied his bundles of branches together with rope, then hoisted them onto his back.
"Mr. B r a n c h G u y! Please..." Ezra's voice was beginning to turn hoarse.
As the man walked away, Ezra gripped the iron bars. His hopes suddenly crumbled.
But then, all of a sudden, the man was standing right behind the window.
"One hundred million. For real?"
Ezra nodded rapidly. His hopes soared again. "I'll pay you one hundred million! I'll add another one hundred million if you'll take me home. Please..."
"Wait a second."
Ezra began to smile with relief.
"The door's padlocked," the man continued.
Ezra's smile vanished instantly. "Then what do we do?" he panicked. "Mom... Dad... your son is going to die here!"
Ezra slumped onto the floor, tears streaming down his face.
"Forgive me, Mom... Actually, I'm gay. I like guys," he blurted, resigned to his fate. "I had a crush on Athan, my roommate, but Athan likes girls—the photography student type. I tried to like girls, but I still couldn't, Mom... Forgive me... Please tell my mother..."
While Ezra was busy sobbing over his fate, there was a click. The front door suddenly swung wide open.
Ezra gaped. "The door... it's open?"
"Tell her yourself," the man said from the doorway.
Ezra immediately jumped to his feet and ran outside, taking deep breaths of the fresh air.
"I'm free! I'm free!" he cheered.
The man furrowed his brow, watching Ezra carry on like someone who had just gotten out of prison.
"Now take me home."
"Where do you live?"
"Jakarta. Bintaro. Take me to Bintaro!" Ezra said eagerly.
But their escape was cut short. The kidnappers' car suddenly returned and pulled up beside the cabin. One of the kidnappers spotted them, immediately jumped out, and shouted.
Ezra panicked. Suddenly, the man grabbed his sleeve and forced him to run through the dense forest.
They ran without any direction. Ezra no longer cared about the tall grass scratching his hands and feet. When he looked back, the two kidnappers were still doggedly pursuing them.
The man quickened his pace and clasped Ezra's hand so he wouldn't fall behind. Ezra was nearly out of breath, but the fear of being locked up again drove him to keep pushing himself.
Suddenly, the man pulled Ezra into hiding behind a thick cluster of bushes.
Ezra held his breath and pressed himself against the man's side as he heard the two kidnappers' footsteps pass right beside them.
After making sure it was safe and the two kidnappers had moved away, the man beside him finally spoke.
"They're gone."
"They're gone?" Ezra repeated softly, breathing a sigh of relief.
"I'd better take you to the police station."
Ezra looked up at the man beside him, meeting his dark eyes. It was strange—they'd only just met, but being with him made Ezra feel safe.
"My name's Ezra," he said suddenly.
The man looked at Ezra for a moment before answering curtly, "Damar."
"That's a..." Ezra smiled crookedly. "...handsome name."