Kidnapped

Chapter 4

I woke up alone.

Well, unless you count rats as company. I don't.

I blinked my eyes groggily, trying to get rid of the lingering remains of my dreamless sleep. Even when I opened my eyes, though, I couldn't see much except a dim light coming from a slim crack, most likely a space under a door.

Where am I?

I though, panic and fear slowly rising in my chest. It was like a cold hand was slowly closing over my heart as it tried to beat its' way out of my torso and up into my throat. I'd had the chance to wake up somewhere and not know where I was; the experience wasn't exactly pleasant as it happened.

A heavy scent was in the air, hot, damp, and sweaty-smelling, like someone had worked out and forgotten to take a shower (ble). I was tied to a chair, I could tell, with the ropes twisting harshly into my wrists and ankles, cutting me. My back ached against the cold chair, and my head pounded with fear, panic, and whatever they used to drug me last night.

Last night? Had it really been last night? How long had it really been since I'd been taken? A day? Two? A week?

I tried not to think of the words, but they pushed my efforts away:

I'm kidnapped. Probably no one knows where I am (except my captor).Something extremely horrible was probably going to happen to me.

All 100%, legit, completely true facts! Yay!

Suddenly, in the midst of all my anger, bewilderment, and fear, the door opened. Dull, lamplight streamed in as someone stomped in. "Well, our little bird is awake!" A loud, rude voice announced to who knows who. To anyone, he might've sounded just mean, but to me he sounded pure evil (that might have something to do with the obvious fact that he was my captor). "Good mooooorning!" He shouted in my ear, and I cringed back as he chortled in cruel joy.

I don't like this guy, how about you?

Smacking the back of my head, he walked over a light switch, flipping it on. When I saw the guy's face, well, I'm pretty sure the rats cringed as well as me.

It wasn't like, he was ugly, ( I'm not saying he's gorgeous, so don't get excited) but the cruel expression on his face could curdle milk. In his mid-forties, with rosy, somewhat moist skin, and a sort of chubby form, you might think that at first he looked harmless; WRONG. His dirty-blond hair and stubble on his cheeks only made him look tired and worn out; it was his eyes that were the real truth-keepers.

Medium, icy-gray blue eyes placed a little too close to each other glared at me with dark amusement, greed, and glee. His angry stare sent chills down my spine, and I shivered, despite the hot temperature in the room.

"Hey, boy!" He shouted as he studied me intently. "Come here, let me show you the new catch in full light!"

It's actually quite dark in here, I wanted to point out, but I smothered my inner smart-ass. Also, do not refer to me as a 'catch'.

"What is it, Uncle Aiden?" A new voice said, and a handsome boy about my age appeared in the doorway. His thick, blonde hair glinted in the dim light, and his icy blue-gray eyes were the same as his uncle's. With high cheekbones, a muscled form, and a definite smirk on his lips, he was probably the cutest, most bad-boyish guy I'd ever seen. Yet, all I felt was contempt for him. After all, he was most likely the guy who'd nabbed me from the street. Thinking of that moment brought boiling rage to my chest.

"Your choice of victims was perfect--this one will fetch a good price," The evil guy--Aiden-- commented, pride lacing the edges of his words. "She's nice and pretty, once we get her cleaned up."

"So I'll be sold, then?" I asked--well, more or less demanded-- furiously, my voice cracking and weak, though I recovered quickly. "Am I going to be a slave?"

Aiden turned to me, as if I was an interesting toad specimen who he'd just found could talk. "Maybe, maybe not," He stated. "It depends on the buyer. You could be a slave, an experiment, or someone's..." He paused for a moment, thinking of the correct word.

"Play toy," The younger guy suggested, the smirk still playing across his lips. I was momentarily stunned by what that meant. "In fact, I might need a toy sooner or later..." He trailed off, letting the words hang in the air. I shivered with disgust, before spitting at him. My spit reached quite far, even though I hadn't had much practice, I noted with smugness. I'm a natural at spitting!

Unfortunately, spitting unusually far distances wasn't exactly going to help me, in this case.

"Now, now," Aiden scolded. "We don't want to spoil the product." But he was grinning mischievously, as if he might consider it. Oh, that was not going to happen. Nuh-uh.

Kaden looked at me lazily, before walking over and lifting up my chin, as if inspecting me. "You're right, Uncle."

"I know I'm right. It's a good thing you know it, too," Aiden replied, pride tinting his voice. "I knew that when you joined me in the business, you'd be a good inspector."

"Get away from me, you ____!" Go ahead an insert curse word of your choice right there, the dirtiest you can think of. That's how I felt towards my oh-so-clever captors.

Aiden surprised me by darting forward surprisingly fast and slapping me--quite hard--across the cheek. Stunned by the pain and shock, I shook my head as my vision flashed red. "You'll learn in the future to keep your dirty mouth shut," He hissed in my ear.

As he backed away and rage filled me, I muttered, "Nub." Then I continued. "Dude, you have got to get to anger management classes."

"If you mouth off to me one--" Aiden started, but I cut him off, I was so furious.

"I've heard there are some cheap ones in Johnston," I continued. "But, of course, you might have to go up a level, maybe to an asylum--"

"Take her to the cells, Kaden!" Aiden almost shouted, filling me to the brim with an overwhelming sense of smugness. I had one thing I liked about this guy, now: I could annoy him.

Huh, I thought. Kaden. So that's his name.

Kaden strolled over to where I was tied up, his uncle turned away to face the wall. Bracing myself for a smack, he surprised me by simply cutting the ropes binding me. "Up," He stated, gesturing for me to stand.

I shot straight up, intending to try to make a run for it, but my legs almost gave out beneath me, and I wobbled for a second, before taking a nose dive to the floor. Must be a side affect of the drug they gave me, I thought as the floor rushed up. Great.

Just before I hit the wood floor, though, a strong pair of arms caught me, lifting me back up. The next thing I knew, I was facing Kaden, our noses literally inches apart. He was holding my shoulders, but his icy eyes were on mine. For a moment, I saw something in them--vulnerability? Regret? And something else...

But the expression vanished before I could examine it. Kaden's face hardened, and then he shocked me by throwing me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. I was too stunned to even struggle, and we were out of the room I woke up in and walking down a dark hallway sooner than I could try to escape.

"Nice fall back there," He taunted as I bounced along.

"No," I replied sarcastically. "I was doing a random gravity check. Apparently, gravity still works."

I thought he chuckled, but I couldn't tell for sure. We moved along a little longer in silence before he said, "You shouldn't have teased Aiden like that."

"Why do you care?" I replied grumpily, but I was curious, too.

Instead of answering my question, he swerved around it. "He can do things too make you wish you'd never been born. I know. I've seen it done--"

"Once again, why do you care?" I persisted. "You were in on all of it, weren't you?"

No answer from the sullenly silent Kaden. Fine, then. If he wanted to play the silent game, I wasn't going to argue.

We wound through a series of twisting and winding hallways, down a few stairs (how he managed to keep me steady, I have no idea) and finally entered the basement. When Aiden said 'cells', I realized, he clearly meant cells. They were pretty much jail cells, complete with bars, a cheap, sleazy bed, and a lock and key. Realizing I was going to be put in one of them, I immediately started struggling.

Kaden lifted me off his shoulders as if I weighed nothing, and pushed me roughly into one of the cells, ignoring my efforts to get free. He shut the door behind me, but I could see his face through the bars of the cell. Though it was dim, his expressions were written all over his face, even though they were hard to read. "Do yourself a favor--don't get on Aiden's nerves anymore." He said simply.

"Pfft--" I started, but he cut me off.

"You're the first person who can get to him like that," He commented, but continued. "But if you keep doing it though, I'm pretty sure you'll be the last."

He started walking away calmly, as if nothing he hadn't said anything about my life--and my death. "Was that a compliment?" I called after him. "Or a threat?"

"Maybe it was both." He replied dryly as he disappeared into darkness, but I thought I saw him glance back, with the same expression on his face as when he'd caught me from falling. Then he was gone, and I was alone.

Or so I thought.