Axky's eyes fluttered open as he strained his neck to look around. His hands were tied behind his back as were his legs. He felt disoriented by the sharp pain on his head, and it took him a while to realize a horrible stench was emanating from his body. As he blinked in the darkness, he recalled how his meting with Gavin Walters had gone south.
That lying piece of shit.
He didn't know how long he'd been unconscious, but his limbs felt as though he was being stabbed multiple times. He rolled on to his side to aid blood circulation to at least one half of his arms and legs.
Tiny droplets fell by his feet as he lay sprawled out in the floor. A few rays of light trickled in through the high window over his head while everything else was dark as night. Cold air ghosted over his body as he squirmed to limit contact with the stone floor.
Damn it. Why is it freezing in here? Where the hell am I anyway?
It looked like a basement of sorts, underground and possibly abandoned. He couldn't move his hands or feet. The rope was thick and already cutting into the flesh of his wrists and ankles.
Why does shit keep happening to us?
Axky sighed. What on earth was he going to do? He decided against screaming bloody murder and causing a ruckus. There had to be a reason his kidnapper hadn't gagged him. His attacker probably wanted to be notified when he gained consciousness.
Well too bad for him. Axky wasn't going to play into his plan. He knew all too well that if he called for help Gavin Asshole Walters could show up instead.
His stomach growled in hunger as he bit his tongue to keep from exclaiming. He missed home, the warmth, the hot meal, cuddling with Paula, teasing Brielle, hanging out with Jack, picking on Vicky's male friends...
All these prople would definitely worry if he went missing.
24 hours. That's how long he needed to stay alive.
Axky closed his eyes. He needed to keep the faith.
***
Vicky and Jack stared in awe at the empty dumpster.
"Here?" asked Jack looking around gingerly covering his nose with a handkerchief.
Vicky winced at the stench and nodded.
"I know the route the garbage van takes." she said pulling out her phone and showing him her map. "It reaches the deposit center and the organic waste gets sorted through and recycled or biodegraded."
"Right," said Jack hopping back on to his bike. "Get on Vicky, we'll follow that truck. We need to get to Axky before they turn him into manure."
Vicky couldn't giggle at the half hearted attempt at humour. She knew Jack was worried, almost as much as Paula, who was working with the police right now.
She hopped on to the bike.
"We'll find you Dad." she said to herself.
***
Jason's bike screeched to a sudden halt by the dumpster, as Gary scrambled to keep from crashing into him. He couldn't stop in time and both of them hurtled head long into the waiting dumpster.
"GARY!" yelled Jason making faces at the liquid muck covering his clothes and hair.
"What?" defended Gary. "You're the one who stopped all of a sudden."
But Jason was staring up at the corner of the container they were in. Gary followed his gaze to see that there was a wrist watch glinting in the corner.
Gary reached up and pulled a little forcefully to dislodge it from the metal junction. It seemed as though someone had tried to throw something in the dump, but accidentally had the watch's strap catch onto the protruding metal.
"I think this person was in a hurry." said Gary looking at the battered old gold watch.
Jason frowned. He recognized that watch and he wasn't happy with the connection he was making.
"Say Gary, do you know where Levi lives?" he asked. Gary looked at Jason in surprise, but nodded.
"Yeah, I know. It's not that far from here. Why?" he said.
"I think this watch belongs to him." said Jason finally. "I remember seeing him wearing this more than once. Gary, I smell a rat."
Just then something squiggled by their feet and both boys jumped.
"I feel a rat." said Gary suppressing a shudder. "Let's get out of here."
***
Levi paced around in his room, unable to sleep. All he could think about was the one person who probably hated him right now.
He hoped that one day, she would find out why he did what he did, and perhaps forgive him.
Revenge hadn't tasted as sweet as he'd liked. He felt hollow, useless and vain. What was the point of everything he did?
Gavin Walters had left the country, Axky was missing, Vicky hated him and he...he hated himself.
Perhaps mediocrity and failure was all he would know.
He shook his head in frustration. His heart giving up on him completely.
Tap.
Tap.
TAP.
Out of habit, Levi hurried to open the window. To his utter surprise, two tween boys catapulted themselves in through the window landing plush on top of him.
The boys had bony elbows and knees and honestly were not as delightful to have crushing him as Vicky had been, so Levi pushed them off.
"Boys?" he asked staring at Jason and Gary in confusion. "What are you doing here? Good God you stink."
Gary cast him a dirty look when he mentioned the smell. Levi got the message and decided wisely to shut up.
Jason held up the battered gold watch. "We have something that belongs to you."
"Something that we found at the scene of the crime." said Gary narrowing his eyes, and bringing his walkie talkie close to his mouth.
"We know you have something to do with Uncle Axky missing. We also know you can help us find him." said Jason calmly. "Cooperate or we hand it over to the police."
"Or we tie you up and torture you for information." said Gary nonchalantly. "Your choice."
Levi let out a strained laugh. "I can't help you guys." he said roughly. "I messed up. I messed everything up. My plan didn't work."
"Don't you have a plan B?" asked Gary disbelievingly.
"I tried every plan. Axky outsmarted me." said Levi slumping on his bed.
"Well, Uncle Axky is obviously not winning." snapped Jason. "He's missing! Probably been kidnapped. Now help us find him."
"I don't know where he is..." started Levi. "I already told Vicky all I know. There is no way I know to track Axky."
"We are not asking you to track Uncle Axky personally." clarified Gary. "We don't think you'd be any good at that."
"We want contacts." said Jason. "Someone who can hack better than you, Vicky or the police force and is available right now. So know anyone?"
Levi frowned. This sounded like a good proposal, asking someone else for help.
But who did he know with outstanding coding skills, who could help find Axky?
"I know a guy." said Levi nervously for the first time in his life. "But he really doesn't like me. Especially because I seemed to have rubbed him the wrong way from the start."
"Who?" demanded Jason.
"He looks a little like me, blue eyes and blond hair." said Levi looking out of the window into the night. "He wears a lip ring and lives twelve blocks away. He idolizes Axky, and I'm sure he'll do everything he can to rescue him."
"Take us to him." said Gary, tucking the watch inside his pocket.
Levi nodded and followed the twins out the window and into the cold night.
***
A/N: Thanks for reading!
Apologies for the late update! Hope everyone is doing well :)
How is Christmas week going for everyone?
Some of you asked me if I landed a job yet. The answer is not yet. :(
I have another interview this week, hopefully I'll have some good news to share soon. Thank you for caring about my little problems. ;)
Lots of love,
Andy