Stuck with You

Chapter 2: Just the Beginning

As the hours came and went, the sun was slowly being replaced by darkness. Once more than warm in the van, the hostages were soon freezing and pleading for some sort of blanket. But it was to no avail.

Shivering, Merton watched Archard with narrowed eyes. "You really aren't one of them, are you?"

"No, and I told you that a long time ago," he answered, and paused. "Why were you so interested in Udele?" His voice was low and hesitant. "It's just, well, it's odd."

"Why do you care?" he asked, his eyes hardening.

"Hey," Udele said, earning his attention, "stop, please. He's only trying to look out for me."

Merton's eyes softened. "What do you mean? He is just being nosy." He shivered in the now completely dark van.

"He just wants to look out for me. He knew I didn't know you before... this."

Merton nodded. He was freezing and his firing rage went down with the temperature. "I just don't like nosy people, and I don't trust him."

"Why not?" asked Archard.

"Well, old man, first off you are a stranger, and second, you-" He paused.

"I what?" asked Archard with a sharp, judging tone in his voice.

"You forgot my name," Merton said, trying to cross his arms but remembering his arms were tied.

"That is what all this is about?!" Adahlia questioned.

"And Merton?" asked Udele with sparkling eyes nobody could see.

"What?" he asked.

"I thought you were nice and sweet, but you are being so cruel to Archard." she said, no judgement in her voice.

"They are strangers!" he yelled.

"Well, so am I! I mean, you don't know me at all!" she yelled back.

Something bumped the truck as they realized the doors were opening. "LET'S GO!" a man yelled at them. "GET OUT NOW!" They just realized then that they were at the unknown destination.

"Archy," Adahlia muttered, taking in the sight, "I don't think we're going home anytime soon."

Anchard nodded stiffly as he struggled with the rope bounding his hands. "W-we'll be okay," he said once more, but this time he wasn't trying to convince his wife; but himself. "Everything will be... okay."

"Out, now," the guard said again, his tone even darker. "We don't have time for this."

One by one, the four hostages stumbled out of the van and were shoved forward by the captors. All the while, they watched the building come into view, each too shaken up to speak. Not like anything needed to be said, however. They all knew what was before them. It was an abandoned prison.

Archard looked around, blinking hard, only to realize that this wasn't some nightmare. It was reality. "I'll get us out of here. Run when I say, okay?" he whispered to his wife, but she gave him a cold eye. "What?"

"I told you we shouldn't have come," Adahlia said with great sadness. "I told you."

They reached the door and a doctor came over. "What is he doing?" asked Adahlia.

The guards looked at each other. "Vaccines," they said. So they were forced to take the vaccine and each one a few seconds later felt sleepy.

Udele blinked awake and noticed something rather unusual... Adahlia was faced away from her, rocking back and forth. Udele looked around. She was in a small prison cell with the other three. She got up to see what Adahlia was doing, too tired to talk. She sat next to her and blinked and watched her suck her thumb. Adahlia noticed her a few minutes later and quickly pulled away her thumb and faced away.