Quillon’s Ordeal

Reality hits!

The next day came back heavy on Quillon. s*x is over, no Caius around and no class to attend as most of his classes fall between Tuesdays and Fridays. Just the annoying sounds of laughter from Alaric and his lover, Isidore. Quillon ordered a good platter of rice and turkey, ate to his satisfaction and topped the menu up with a chilled bottle of 4th street wine. He finished eating and immediately dozed off afterwards. “A good nap is never enough….” He said to himself as he woke up with beads of sweat all over his face. It’s almost five o’clock in the evening but the boredom still lingers. He picks up his phone and tries to reply to a few messages on his i********:. It was then he realized that he had fixed today to meet with Lucian, one of Florida’s finest queer guys posing to have a compelling profile with whom he had been talking for weeks.

In a bid to kill the boredom and fight his loneliness, he texted Lucian to confirm their meetup. “I almost thought you’d stand me up ... .thank goodness you remembered,” Lucian replied to Quillon. “Who would say no to one of Florida’s finests? Also, I don’t break promises so yeah…..I remember” “Great, let’s meet then, I’ll be home alone till nightfall, so you can be on your way now. Please, your highness!” Lucian teased. “Alright your majesty, I’ll be on my way soon. Same address….yeah?” “Yes, same address. I’m home alone, please hurry before my friends get back”. Quillon smiled at the text, happiness wrapping around him like a warm hug. “Maybe this is the one” he thought to himself as he hurriedly douched, had his bath, and dashed into his closet for a nice outfit. Judging by the lavish persona that Lucian has displayed on his social media profile, he thought to wear something between formal and casual. Something not too fancy but not degrading either. Finally, he picked a white shirt with black whip stripes and plain black suit pants. Dressed up with the speed of light and tucked his phone, powerbank, lighting cord, and pocket perfume into his green Goyard crossbody bag. To look smart-casual, he slid his feet into his black slides, ordered a ride and rushed off to meet the Taxi which was already waiting for him at the bus stop. For security reasons, he had claimed to live by the bus stop and asked the driver to wait for him there.

Quillon’s heart thudded against his ribs as the Taxi driver sped along the street, each drift sharper than the last. He clutched his iPhone X tighter, scrolling through the last text from Lucian “I’m home alone, please hurry before my friends get back”

He safely arrived at the said location but got welcomed with a series of slaps and hard punches -the type to tell him that he wasn’t a guest here but a bargaining chip-a leverage. The shock was overwhelming, Quillon wondered if he had taken the wrong route or this was all just a cruel plan of Lucian. “You know why you’re here. Don’t you?” echoed one of the men to Quillon. His voice was low and steady, his eyes, like others’ were gleaming in the dim light. Quillon immediately shook his head in pretense even though he knew he was there because he had been “catfished!”

The strange men hijacked Quillon from the taxi and placed him on a bike, with one of them sitting firmly behind him as they rode recklessly to their den. “Get up man, you ain’t dead yet” growled one of the gang members as Quillon fell off the green Kawasaki ninja on which he was carried. The liquid flowing from the side of his head runs into his mouth tasting like metal and steel, fear gripped him even more as the Draco-the gang leader forcefully pulled him upwards and pushed him back onto the bike. Wrapped in a cocoon of mixed emotions with a thousand questions running through Quillon’s mind, he got tempted to ask what was going on or at least scream for help from the passersby but not a single word could come out of his mouth. It was a short but rough ride along the countryside of the city of Miami down to the quiet and cold shelter of a hangar-like structure. A couple of spent bullets scattered across the floor with dark reddish-brown residue covering most areas of the surface.