Kidnapped

Chapter 33

Chapter 33:

The car rolled to a stop on the dark street beneath a burnt-out streetlight. I pulled the key out of the ignition and the car died, sending us into darkness and silence. We sat there for a few minutes, then I checked the clock.

11:36.

I reached around and grabbed the gun off of the backseat, clutching it in my hands nervously. Dave shifted in his seat to face me, but neither of us said anything. There was nothing to say.

Then Dave leaned over and kissed me softly on the lips. He pulled away, but I pulled him back, kissing him a second time.

"You're shaking." He said.

"I'm just...cold." I told him.

"It's nearly eighty degrees in here."

"Well." I sighed, trying to calm my rippling nerves.

"We'll be okay." He said, and I shook my head.

"Dave, your leg is broken. You can barely walk, you can't go in there."

"Well you can't go alone." He replied, his face flickering with worry.

"I can." I countered. "I have to."

"No, you don't."

"It's my father we're talking about. I have to face him alone, and I won't let you get killed because of me."

"Well it's my parents, and I won't let you get killed just for them." He shot back.

"Dave." I said, looking him in the eye. He looked down at the seat, then closed his eyes in defeat.

"You don't have to do it, you know." Dave said quietly. I started to reply, but he shook his head, silencing me. "We've made it so far, and its a wonder we're even alive still. Going into that alley could throw away everything, and what we've been through wouldn't matter anymore."

"And not going into that alley would do the same. The man that created this mess would get away with everything." I said, still holding the gun in my lap.

"We could call the police." He said.

"He'd kill your parents." I replied. A pained look crossed his face, and he took a deep breath, steadying his emotions.

"I'd do it." He said quietly. "If it meant you'd be safe."

"And I'm the crazy one."

We were quiet for a few moments. "So you want to go alone, and make me sit here all alone?" Dave asked.

"Yeah." I replied slowly. "That way if something happens to me-"

"Don't talk like that." He said, covering my mouth with his hand. "Please, please don't talk like that. You're not going to die."

"No. I'm not." I agreed, though as the seconds passed I became less and less sure of it. We both glanced at the clock.

11:53.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked. I nodded, then reached for the car door handle.

"Can you drive like that? We might have to make a mad dash out of here."

"I'll find a way if I have to." He replied, and I pushed the door open, stepping into the dark night. Dave got out too, hopping on his crutches to meet me halfway around the car.

I hugged him tightly, then looked up into his eyes.

"I'm not happy about this." He told me.

"Never said you had to be." I replied. He smiled, then kissed me again.

"Go." He said, looking down at the gun in my hands. "And promise you won't do anything stupid."

"Going in there is stupid." I told him. "But I do promise I won't get killed."

"And don't you dare break that promise." He said, and I hugged him again to assure him.

Then I turned away and stepped off into the darkness. I heard shuffling, then a door close behind me as Dave climbed into the driver's seat of the car.

My footsteps were like a heartbeat, a drum. Pounding in my ears, loud and deep. Slow. Steady. And the only thing keeping me going. I followed the sidewalk, but didn't walk on it. I chose my own path through the grass, silently making my way deeper into the unknown.

Then I reached the alley, and I paused, staring into what seemed like a dark abyss about to swallow me whole. Then I stepped forward, my feet patting the rough pavement softly.

Then, from somewhere beyond me, a deep, low laugh resonated through the black wall in front of me.

And suddenly I felt scared. Vulnerable. And so, so alone.