Chapter
21
When Brian opened his eyes it took him a few moments before he
realized where he was. He was hoping that it was all a nightmare and that he
would wake up in the hospital bed and everything would be okay again. Instead,
he woke up in a small musty room. It looked incredibly old and he was tied to a
chair. There was a window, but a blanket had been draped over it.
“The other four were released,” Brian heard. His eyes widened and
he listened intently.
“I want all four of them. We don’t have a lot of time. As soon as
we’ve got him, we’ll kill them all together. Then we’ll make a run for it. But,
we’ve gotta play it safe,” Rob mumbled.
“Oh my God,” Brian murmured. They wouldn’t get them. They
couldn’t.
“They’ve got security guards Rob,” Craig informed. “How are we
supposed to get around ‘em.”
“I forgot about that…”
“Well,” Jack started. “How’s about we just kill that one in there.
I mean, at least one of ‘em will be gone.”
“Yeah,” Craig agreed.
Brian’s heart beat rapidly. He searched around for some way to get
out. He was tied to the chair, but there had to be a way. He squirmed
uncontrollably, still trying to keep quiet. If he could just get to the window…
“No. I’ve got a better idea,” Rob said, a smile forming on his
face.
“But, we’ve gotta go take care of some things first. Charlie, go
check on the kid, then meet us outside. Okay? I got my cell phone…so we’re good
to go.”
Brian bit his lip in panic, drawing blood. He heard the footsteps
approaching his room. Brian quickly shut his eyes. The door opened loudly.
Charlie stepped over towards Brian. He appeared to be sleeping soundly.
Brian kept quiet until he heard the car doors slam. He waited a
few more minutes; just to be sure everyone was gone.
He struggled for nearly fifteen minutes. He slowly began to become
exhausted. His head pounded. Being just in a car accident, he was in no
condition to break out. Brian shut his eyes. This wasn’t going to work. No
matter how much he tried, he couldn’t get untied. Feeling ready to scream,
Brian felt the rope slowly become loose. He began panting, trying to get the
rest of the rope off of his hands. He sighed in relief as the rope fell to the
ground. He then knelt down and untied the rope that held his feet. Brian ran to
the window. He pulled down the blanket and pulled the window open. It looked
like a pretty far jump, but his door had been locked from the outside. There wasn’t
time to try and knock it open.
“This is gonna hurt,” he mumbled to himself quietly. But it was
his only way out.
Brian pulled himself up onto the sill and jumped. He hit the
ground with a thump. He moaned softly, struggling to sit up. Everything hurt.
It hurt too bad to even breathe. He stood up slowly, fighting off the nausea.
Brian glanced around at his surroundings. He then took off running through the
woods in desperate search for help.
It only took a few minutes for Brian to become tired and nauseous.
He couldn’t run anymore…he just couldn’t. Feeling ready to cry, Brian lowered
himself to the ground. He sat there panting uncontrollably.
**************************************
Kevin’s cell phone rang, knocking him out of his thoughts.
“Hello,” he sighed, expecting it to be his mother.
“Hello Kevin,” the voice was eerie and Kevin immediately
recognized it with startling clarity.
“Wh-what wh-w-here’s Brian,” he stammered.
“Oh Kevin, scared,” he sniggered, his tone menacing. “Now, maybe
I’ll let ‘im out. Maybe. But…you and your little friends are gonna have to pay
up. Got it?”
“Pay up? H-how much,” Kevin demanded.
“Well…considering the fact that there are five bank accounts. We
figure you guys can handle five million in cash.”
“Oh my God,” Kevin murmured silently, his mind racing.
“Oh…but if that’s too much Mr. Richardson. No problem, we can just
kill Brian.”
“NO! DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH HIM!” Kevin hollered.
“Fine. You want Brian back. You’d better not contact the police. I
was thinking that you could drop the money off in an alley down in Milton.
“Milton? That’s…that’s like an hour away I think…”
“Yes, you’re correct. Anyway, the alley’s on Ledger Street. The
town’s tiny. You’ll be able to find it quick with a map. I’ll have Brian, you
have the money. I’m warning you Richardson, you screw up, Littrell’s dead, and
I mean it. No police, I wouldn’t dare contacting them! Got it?”
Kevin swallowed hard, fighting back the tears. “Yeah…wh…what
time?”
“Tonight will be fine. Depending on how long it takes you. We’ll
give ya till nine. You show up after, it’ll be too late.”
“All right. Please…please don’t hurt him. We’ll be there. With the
money, just us, I promise!”
“Good.” And he hung up.
“Ok,” Rob started. “Perfect, everything’s perfect. Those kids’ll
never do anything to hurt one of their precious friends. We’ve got them right
where we want them,” Rob sniggered. “We’ve got a few more arrangements to make.
We’ve gotta have a clear way outta here. I’m trying to think of who we could
call to cover us…”
“We’ve got everything we need to get outta here. I don’t like the
idea of lettin’ them boys off…but it’s our only option. Let’s go…we got to get
back. Check on Littrell.”
They arrived back twenty-five minutes later. Rob headed down the
hall. The other four sat in the kitchen. He unlocked the door and walked in
with a shocked expression on his face.
“CHARLIE! YOU IDIOT! WHERE IS HE?”
“What,” Charlie mumbled walking down the hall, Chris, Jack, and
Craig behind him.
“WHERE IS HE,” Rob demanded. His face flushed with anger. “WHERE?”
“Honestly man, he was right here when I left! I don’t know where
he could possibly be…”
Rob grabbed Charlie by the throat and slammed him against the
wall. “You will find him. Now who would like to go with Charlie?”
The other three stood silently, Rob’s intense glare boring into
them. “Fine…I’ll go.” Craig said, his reluctance evident.
***********************
Brian trudged through the woods. Fighting to stay conscious. Every
bone in his body ached. His head throbbed and his stomach hurt terribly.
“Get in the car Charlie,” Craig barked. “We find that kid. I’m
gonna kill ‘im. I swear. It ain’t gonna be pretty…”
They drove on for nearly an hour. “Let’s stop,” Charlie suggested.
“Maybe…maybe he’s further into the woods. I mean why would he walk on the
street when he knows we’re out lookin’ for him.”
“Good idea. Move it! We have to get him and get back before dark.
That’s when the rest of them are coming back.”
They stepped out of the car and began their search for Brian.
***
