The cloth bag over his head was pulled towards his nostrils with every breath, forcing him to pant loudly.  The engine of the vehicle was muffled through the cloth, but still distinct enough to be recognized.  Inside the sack, his eyes grew wide with the realization that he was completely and hopelessly out of control.  The vehicle streaked through the night, but all he could do was sit and wait for whatever horrors would come next.  In a fit of rage, he desperately tried to free himself, but his shackled hands wouldn’t budge.  At last, he resigned himself to the situation, realizing that whatever fate had in store for him was utterly inevitable.  A slow calm washed over him, and he regained his composure beneath the cloth sack that draped over his face.  

A moment later, the vehicle screeched to a sudden halt.  For a few moments, there was complete silence around him.  The tranquility was both terrifying and liberating at the same time.  One by one, he heard the doors open and the other passengers exit swiftly, leaving him all alone within the vehicle.  To his surprise, his hands were no longer bound.  He slowly removed the cloth bag from over his head, not sure what he would find.  He found himself in the backseat of a moving van.  Piled directly behind him were all of his belongings, including picture frames of past memories long gone.  In front of him, the driver’s seat was empty, the key still in the ignition.  Outside there was the first hint of daylight, the sun just beginning to peek over the hills and begin a brand new day.  When he stepped out of the van, he peered at the landscape surrounding him.  He was positioned in front of a traffic light at a four way intersection, and the light had just turned green.  Placing himself in the driver’s seat, he grabbed the key in the ignition and gave it a quick turn.  The engine roared to life.

He awoke with a sigh, deep and drawn out.  He glanced at the other side of the bed that, once occupied, now lay empty.  It had only been three months, but things seemed clearer now.