Bait [Citizen of worlds & Winterwings version]

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Was my kidnapping THAT important? Did my dad do something that hurt Neo so much that he would be willing to get me out of this country?
"Whoa, whoa, slow down, please," I whispered. I said that for two reasons: my legs still hurt and I was struggling to take it all in. "You want to leave the country? What about my stuff and my schooling? Obviously some people would know that I was kidnapped after they find out I leave the country for no reason. Isn't there some sort of... You know, hiding place in here? Some sort of secret passage?" She was hesitant to leave; leaving the country would leave her with no chance of escaping.
 
I looked at her thoughtfully. After all, I knew that she was right. Maybe leaving the country was a bit too much. I smiled as she asked if there was some sort of secret passage - as a matter of fact, there was. I nodded slightly. "Well, there is a secret passage, not far away from here", I said, glancing towards the door to the basement. "I'll just make a quick call", I said, leaving the room.

A few minutes later, I was back. I had packed a bag with what I thought could be needed - water, a bit of food, bandage and other things. "It's down in the basement. We better leave before anyone gets here", I said, grabbing her by the wrist. I went down to the basement with her, and even though the walls were made of cement, there was a part of it being lose that you could slide to the right, so that an opening into the wall appeared. I turned towards her. "You go first", I said, glancing at the pretty small opening, that one had to crawl in to fit. "Don't worry, it'll get bigger later", I said. "If there's nothing you wish to do before we leave? You'll have to hurry though", I said, a bit stressed.
 
I let out a small sigh; we weren't going so far out. Maybe... After getting through that passageway, I can surprise attack him if my condition allows me and I can run away from him!
I watched as he gathered what he--or shall I say, we--needed. I found it unusual that he would make calls when he just said that he was the only one involved in this whole thing; maybe he was just informing his comrades in case they looked for him. We headed down to the basement, and I was surprised when I saw that there was an opening I did not notice earlier before my torture. There were still drops of blood on the floor--my blood--and that made me shudder a little.
When asked if I needed anything else, I saw my pants on top of a box. I grabbed them and put on my slippers. Thank goodness I wore slippers, otherwise I would have to bend down and tie laces, which would take up a lot of time. I used the wall to help me get down on my belly, crawling in through the small hole in the wall. I could not use my legs since they still hurt, and I had to stuff my pants in my mouth to stop myself from groaning from the pain. I could still see Neo's shoes outside; maybe he was waiting for me to go a few meters into the passage before letting himself through.
 
I was happy that she had decided to crawl into the passage, as we didn't have much time. In a way, I was surprised, but in a good way, that she was doing what I told her, not arguing at all. I tried to keep the harsh attitude that I was probably expected to have as I had actually kidnapped her, but sometimes it was hard as she was so nice and doing so good.

"Please hurry", I said, as she had gotten a bit further in the passage, eager to get away from the cabin. I couldn't imagine how much it must hurt as I had recently whipped her, but tried to ignore it. I'd take care of that later. I crawled into the passage as well, following her. "It'll get bigger soon", I said after that we had crawled in the pretty tight passage for about ten minutes.
 
Does he know how hard it is to crawl in this extremely tight and dirty passage with pants in mouth and legs aching and bleeding? I guess not. I moved a little faster until I finally reached the part where it became wider and high enough for me to stand. I crawled farther into the wider space, slowly stood up, and glanced at my body: my arms and legs were covered with dirt, most of the wounds started gushing out blood, and there were lots of cobwebs on my shirt and shorts. I got my pants out of my mouth and took in a gulp of air.

I waited until he caught up, and when he did, I continued walking straight ahead, trying not to stumble and look at him. 'He should see how much I'm struggling to follow his command,' I thought, leaning on the walls for support.

At one point, my knees buckled and I let out a string of curses as my legs hit the floor. How long am I going to last in this condition? There's still infection to worry about.
"Damn it," I muttered. "Does this passage lead to a place with medicine, by chance?" I ask, finally looking up at him. "I won't be able to follow your orders in this state." I made sure to express what I was feeling with those words. I'm tired and in pain, I don't know what's going to happen to me, I've been good and silent all this time, and I just had to let those feelings out.
 
((If you want to you can write that they get to the place, haven't thought of it really but I was thinking some sort of... place underground.))

I did feel sorry for her, I had to admit, as she seemed to struggle so much, with everything, it seemed. By comparing the two of us I could see a huge difference - I was fit, or at least not injured, while she was. I was in more control as I knew where we were heading and what was going on, while she didn't. I tried to ignore those thoughts, the impulse to just pick her up as we got to a place where the passage got bigger, and carry her on my back. I knew that it wouldn't work, I would get exhausted in no time, but I wished I could have, just to ease the pain she seemed to be in.

I looked at her thoughtfully as she spoke. She was right - she wouldn't be able to follow my orders in the state she was in. I nodded slightly, thinking about it. Of course I had planned on that as well - I didn't whip her uncontrollable like that with no plans on making her better afterwards. I smiled slightly at her in an attempt to make her feel less worried. "When we get there there'll be bandage and other things we need for you to get better. I wouldn't leave you in this terrible state, you just have to make it through this and then when we're safe you'll be able to rest", I said, hoping that the place we were going to actually was safe, and that no one had found it. It felt impossible though that someone had, as it was underground and a secret to everybody except from me and the ones who had helped me.
 
Rest! Even after a few minutes of crawling and walking through this underground passage (well, it seemed like hours to me), I would be able to actually heal myself! I struggled to walk faster, hoping we'd reach the destination soon enough.

At the end of the passageway, there was a red light on a door made of steel with some sort of wheel in the middle. There was an arrow indicating that it should be turned clockwise. I pulled the wheel with the weight of my body and the door opened with a loud groan. It sounded like it hasn't been opened in a long time. I felt the wall for a light switch, pressing a weird button that turned on the lights. It was extremely bright!

This place looked pretty much like the cottage we were in earlier, but the only difference was that there was less furniture and color here. It was probably stocked with food and other necessities for an escapee, but only for a limited time. One cannot stay in this bland place forever. I slowly sat down on the chair closest to me and sighed, tilting my head to the ceiling and closing my eyes. I was so tired and I was beginning to become unconscious from the loss of blood.
 
As she opened the door and went inside, I felt relieved, seeing that the place looked pretty much what I had hoped for this whole time. I knew we were going to be able to stay here for at least some time, hopefully to make her wounds heal somewhat, I thought, as she sat down on a chair. I didn't sit down, though. I smiled at her although I was pretty worried as she seemed very tired. I hurried over to a shelf with plenty of things for me to use, such as bandage and more. I pulled out some bandages and some liquid used for cleaning wounds, thinking that it was a good time to clean her wounds and wash it up as we had walked a long way by now. "Hey, we need to get those wounds cleaned", I said, helping her to lay down on a madras not far away. I began cleaning her wounds carefully as I didn't want it to hurt all that much.

When I was finished cleaning it, I let it be, thinking that the best thing would obviously be to go to a hospital with it, but of course, that wasn't possible now. I tried not to worry but I was worried there might be an infection, it wouldn't surprise me, thinking of what we had done recently. "I'm sorry you have to go through this", I said, thinking about the fact that I was the one resposible for her wounds in the first place, responsible for her suffering. "You shouldn't move too much. I'll put on some bandage later, I think it'd do good getting some fresh air", I said, realizing that the air down here wasn't so fresh. "Well, as fresh as it is", I said.
 
I was awake enough to feel myself being carried. I wanted to hold on to him tightly because I didn't want to move much because of the pain, but I was too weak to do that. I ended up slumping in his arms, wincing as the wounds on the back of my legs hit the soft surface when he laid me down.
I chuckled as he mentioned fresh air. "Fresh... I think I'll live... For now. How deep underground are we, anyway?" I asked.

After a few minutes, I slowly turned over to the right side of the madrass. Curious, I gathered whatever strength and courage I had left to look up and ask.
"Uh... N-neo... right?" I asked, my voice shaking because I was tired. "When... When was the last time you slept?" After a few seconds of silence, I added, "Uh, I m-mean, you're staying up and all, making sure I won't leave." I sighed. "I wouldn't dare go back the way we came from in my condition, anyway, so you don't have to worry."
 
I didn't know what to tell her as she asked how deep underground we were, as I honestly didn't know. It didn't feel right to say that I had no clue, but at the same time I didn't feel like lying to her. And so, I just shrugged, as if it didn't matter. Did it, really? Not to me, at least.

I looked at her as she spoke, slightly surprised actually, that she remembered my name. I nodded as she didn't sound too sure if she was right about my name or not. What about her name? I looked at her thoughtfully. Elle. Right, she was called Elle.

I smiled as she wondered when I had last slept. Thinking about it, I realized it had been quite some time since I had a good sleep. I wanted to trust her, I really did, and honestly it'd surprise me if she decided to crawl back the way we came, but the thought of loosing her scared me. Considering leaving her out of sight to get some sleep myself, I finally nodded. "If you say so. I should get some sleep", I said, walking over to her, lying down beside her on the madras. "I have to lie here if I don't want to lie on the floor, obviously. You don't mind me taking a nap, do you? Just wake me up if you need anything", I said, closing my eyes.
 
A few hours had passed... I couldn't actually tell if it was hours or just minutes that passed. I stared at the ceiling, listening to his breathing becoming slower.
I began thinking of the impact of this whole situation. What are my parents doing now? Who's looking for me?
"Bet they're just searching for the money," I muttered, "and not because they really care."
What's next, anyway? I keep asking that question to myself, and it seems like I'm not going anywhere else anytime soon, what with this pain I'm going through. Is this really the life of a kidnapped person? Getting bored to death (literally)?
I sighed and decided to close my eyes and just breathe, eventually slipping into unconsciousness.
 
After some time of sleep, I woke up. It had been quite some time since the last time I had had such a good sleep. It had been a long time since I had slept for more than an hour, I thought, feeling much better now that I had gotten some sleep. Seeing that she was still there and hadn't gone anywhere made me relieved, but on the other hand, it would have been hard for her going anywhere, considering her condition, I thought. If she was desperate enough she would probably have been able to leave though, I thought, looking at her wounded body.

Seeing how much harm I had done to her made me feel quite guilty, but I knew that I had done it so that her parents - her father, actually - would suffer. I didn't mean for her to suffer, as she actually had behaved very well. Looking around, I didn't know what to do. We couldn't stay where we were forever, but it was too dangerous to go somewhere else.
 
"Shit, where the hell is she?"
"Sir, we haven't seen her--"
"Damn it! She was just in the building, for Christ's sake! Didn't you see it in the elevator camera or the parking lot camera?"
"No, sir. Someone who knows the system well blocked the right cameras."
"Well, what are you waiting for, then? Keep searching, you fools!"

He sat down on the leather chair, frustrated. She had left a few minutes before she disappeared, and just like that... she's gone.
'Is this my punishment for not spending that much time with her?' he asked himself, running a hand through his hair. 'These guards are going to have to be changed... And I think this means I should go home more often.'

~

Everything hurt so badly the moment I woke up. It took me a few minutes to bring myself back to reality, and I looked to see that he was already awake. It seemed to me like he'd been awake for quite some time now. How is he awake after only a few hours of sleep?
I turned over, now lying on my stomach, my eyes on him.
I was tied between asking him about this whole kidnapping operation and simply staying quiet. If I dared to ask him again, he'd probably give me more wounds and tie my wrists behind my back. I wouldn't want that happening again. If I stayed quiet, though, I'd never know why I'm being held captive.
I looked to the other side as a question bubbled up inside. "Are you... sending the video now?" I asked, squirming at the thought of my dad--or worse, the public--seeing me in such a state.
 
I looked thoughtful as I watched her, listening to her question, thinking of what to say. Should I lie? No - she'd probably find out the truth sooner or later, anyways. I sighed and looked quite serious as I looked back at her after looking the other way for some time, thinking.

"Honestly, I don't know. I sent it to the others, so I guess they've sent it forward, to your dad, but I can't know for sure", I said, thinking of the video that had been recorded. Her dad would be so worried. The thought of that made me feel good, satisfied. "Don't you worry about it. You're here with me. I'm sorry for what happened but it was necessary. Your father deserves it. You're safe with me", I said.
 
A colleague entered the room, holding an envelope with "Michael Pavia" hastily scrawled at the back.
"Sir, I saw this outside the building," he said as he handed it over, "I think this would help you find your daughter."
Michael tore open the envelope, finding a blue CD inside. Immediately he placed it in his computer and watched in horror as a whip hit his daughter's legs several times. He watched as she bowed her head and tried not to cry out in pain, failing to stop herself near the end.
Rage filled him as he watched the person torturing her. Why did they get Elle, and how were they able to get past the security? Was this happening because of a client he failed to defend? Was it revenge from someone he prosecuted in the past?
He thought over and over again about the cases he'd had in the past, but no case fit in the puzzle.
"Tell the news people that I will give any amount of money to get my daughter back," he told the colleague.
"Yes, sir," he replied, leaving the room and a very confused Michael.

The colleague left the building's lobby and flipped open his phone, waiting for an answer as he grabbed a cup of coffee from the coffee shop nearby.
"Jason," he said, "tell Neo that he's a bit safe for now. The father has not made plans of pursuing her himself, but he's willing to give any amount of cash to get her back."

~

"You're safe with me," he said.
'Ha ha, that doesn't make sense... Who would ever feel safe with a kidnapper?' I asked myself. Almost instantly, my answer to that was 'no one', but I stopped myself. He isn't doing anything to me at the moment, he's healed my wounds, and well, he trusted me enough not to leave.
'I feel a bit safe,' I admitted to myself, 'at least, at this moment. I just hope he doesn't torture me again.'
Speaking of torture, I turned my body to see the condition of my legs. The bandages were still intact, but my whole body ached from the jump. My head still hurt from hitting the floor of the van when we were being chased.
After all that happened to me, I still able to nod and say, "It's okay, I'll be fine."

An unfamiliar ringtone broke the silence a few seconds later. I knew it wasn't my phone ringing.
"How is it possible that people can make calls when you're all the way down here?" I muttered.
 
I smiled slightly at her words, saying she'll be fine, that it's okay. It sounded odd in my ears - she wasn't the one who was supposed to say that, I was. I was the one to comfort her and make her feel better. She probably told herself that, I thought, maybe she wanted to calm herself down.

At the sound of the phone, I flinched a little and immediately became more alert. Who could be calling us down here, how could they even reach us? I was surprised, probably as surprised that I could imagine her being. "I don't know", I said, shrugging, picking the phone up to see who it was. To my relief, it was Jason, and no one else. Hopefully there was some good news.

Listening to what Jason had to say, I nodded thoughtfully. So, it seemed I was safe for now, at least. I grinned at his words and shook my head, turning away slightly from Elle. "You know it's not about the money, right? This isn't something to be bought... how foolish", I murmured, then smiling slightly. "Well, that's good to hear. Thanks", I said, and then I hung up. I turned to Elle and put the phone back in my pocket. "We're a bit safe for now, at least", I said, hugging her carefully, realizing that I didn't like the idea of giving her away, not for any amount of money.
 
My eyes widened the moment he hugged me. This was another unexpected action coming from a kidnapper... but since he wasn't like most of the kidnappers I thought of, I decided to return the hug. I slowly wrapped my arms around him, surprising myself. I felt comfort in this gesture, even though it was highly unlikely that I wouldn't feel that in a situation like this.
I sighed in relief. "Thank God we wouldn't have to go anywhere just yet," I said.

... Wait a moment, we?
'Well, you aren't ready to leave this place just yet, what with your injuries,' a voice in my head told me. 'But maybe it also means you aren't ready to leave him.'
That made more sense, and it brought more comfort to me, knowing I knew the reason behind my thinking.

I reluctantly let go and sat up, surveying my legs. It was difficult to imagine that a few days ago, these legs were scar-less. I checked the back of my legs, lightly tracing the scars with my fingers. My legs didn't hurt as much as they did a few hours ago; it was probably thanks to the sleep. I started tracing the wounds, remembering the moments back in the basement. While doing that, curiosity got to me.
"Don't take this as offensive or anything... how old are you?" I asked, looking up at him but feeling slightly embarrassed inside because I didn't know this whole time.
 
I watched Elle sitting there, after letting go of her. I could see that she was thoughtful. What was she thinking about? I wanted to know, but I wasn't the kind of guy who asked that. At least not now. I could imagine that she was thinking about her father, wondering when she'd get to see him again. Maybe she hates me and just wants to leave? I didn't want to think about it like that. She liked me. I could tell by the way she hugged me. That she hugged me back at all, actually. And the fact that she said 'we' and not 'I' made me smile slightly.

Watching her sitting up made me feel a bit guilty, watching her watch her legs, how hurt they were. I wished I could make her legs better, but I knew that all I could do was to try to take care of the injuries that had already been made. I tried to remind myself of the reason to why I had done it in the first place - Elle's father deserved it, he deserved to suffer. What made me feel a bit guilty about what I was doing was that Elle had done nothing wrong, yet she was suffering, too.

I smiled at her question, looking at her as I stood up. "Let me think for a moment", I said, thinking about how old I actually was. "26", I said, nodding slightly, as I had a hard time remembering the exact age - I didn't really celebrate birthdays. "What about you?" I asked, looking quite curious as I watched her. I sat down in front of her, thinking about what I was going to say, if I was going to say anything, at all. "I think we'll have to stay here for a couple of days, at least. Until we're sure of where we're going to go. It's too much of a risk to go out as it is now, the cops are probably looking for u-", I said, pausing, about to say 'us' but realizing that the police didn't know about me, they were looking for Elle only. "...for you", I said, sounding more sad than I had intended to, the sad tone in my voice surprised me. I looked away, feeling embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I... I'm not used to... these kind of feelings", I said, shrugging. It was complicated.
 
I shrugged. "16," I replied, wondering why it took him a moment to remember his age. Maybe when I get older I'll probably forget my age after celebrating several birthdays.

I sighed and nodded, extremely grateful that we didn't have to go anywhere just yet. It caused a lot of pain to get here, and even now it still hurt. Maybe if I tried walking a bit, things would be a little easier. I settled for stretching my legs out, trying to fight the pain while listening to him speak.
"You've got nothing to apologize for," I said, doing my best to help him out a little bit. "I mean, we aren't used to a lot of things, and I think finding out those stuff about ourselves is a good thing..."
Psh, stop feeling all wise when you're talking to a guy who knows more things about life than you do, a voice inside my head told me.
"They wouldn't look for only me," I muttered. "They'll be asking me who kidnapped me, and why it was done... Or why it was me."
Speaking of why he kidnapped me... I just wished he could tell me what happened so that I could at least understand and not try to give him some more trouble.
"If my dad told you he'd do anything to get me back..." I began. "Would you ask for money? Would you want my dad to solve a case for you? I mean, I know you're doing this because he did something to hurt you." I would probably be punished for asking, but I don't want to be clueless.
 
I looked at her thoughtfully as her questions had been asked. I didn't know what to say. I didn't feel like telling the whole story about what had happened in the past, it would take too long, and besides, I didn't feel like re-living everything, feeling the pain once again. I had had enough of it in the past. I smiled at her, a sad smile, a bit impressed that she had the courage to ask. If I were her I wouldn't be sure if I had had the courage to ask such a thing. She was brave though, I thought, so maybe I should let her know something. At least about what I'd like from her father. Thinking about it, I realized that I wasn't sure, myself. What did I want?

"I... I just... I just want him to suffer... the way I suffered", I said, biting my lip. It must be more than that, I thought, looking away for a moment. I wasn't sure if I wanted to let her know about it, though. I looked at her again. "I'm not planning on keeping you here forever though. Of course not", I said, sounding sure of it, as it wasn't my plan, but the thought of letting go of her made me a bit anxious. Not only because it'd mean that Elle's father would get her daughter back, but also because it meant losing Elle. I realized that she meant something to me - she wasn't just some hostage. "Your father should know that everything can't be bought, though. When someone is dead... the person is dead, and isn't coming back... it'll be gone... forever", I said, looking at her with a sad but at the same time serious gaze.
 
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