Heather had never been so completely horrified in her life. Not during her first shock therapy session, nor when she woke up to find her bed-and herself-covered in angry fire ants. Heather was horrified, and that is exactly what she told the others.
Everyone was silent for a long time, but Gwen eventually put a hand on Heather's shoulder and gave her a weak smile. "We're all scared, Heather."
Courtney didn't speak, but grabbed the makeshift bandages Heather'd been trying to bind Alejandro's wound with and started re-wrapping them correctly. If Duncan was scared, he certainly didn't show it; he was silent, and he kept picking at his fingernails.
The sixth boy chuckled darkly.
"Like, ohmigawd!" he mocked with a high-pitched monotone. "I'm, like, so totally scared right now! So uncool!" he giggled.
Heather made to smack him, but Duncan stopped her. "Let him say his piece." He whispered.
The brunette boy let his giggling fade, then spoke once more without the accent. "It's obvious we're all scared, but sitting around and whining about it isn't going to help. I, for one, don't plan on getting shot," he gave Alejandro a disapproving glance, to which the Latin teen responded with a growl. "Nor do I plan on being left to rot in whatever makeshift holding cell our 'lovely' captors have chosen for us. We need a plan," He paused when Courtney raised her hand slightly. With a cocked brow, he pointed to her. "I am not your teacher, so don't treat me as such. While I do appreciate the respect, Miss. Garcia, it makes you look like an ass."
Courtney blushed, but pressed on with her question. "Why do you assume you won't be paid for? I mean, I know my father will pay for me; I'm very valuable. I'm sure that," she paused, looking around at the group. Finally, she decided that the only other person likely to be paid for was Alejandro. "I'm sure that Al's parents will pay for him. He's a diplomat, after all, so he'll have the money."
Alejandro gave her a glare. "Do not ever call me 'Al'." He grunted and clutched his arm before continuing. "That is what Father calls me, and I really do not care to be reminded of him. I doubt he'll pay; this is probably going to be good publicity for him. I am not a son to him, I am hardly noticed unless I do something that will get him in the news." His lip curled and his eyebrows narrowed. "I would rather rot than be paid for by him."
Heather scooted closer and began rubbing his back with one hand. "My parents are probably planning a 'Heather's Gone Forever' party right now. I doubt they'll pay; I doubt they'll even pretend to be sad. They're all losers."
Duncan nodded in agreement. "My 'rents'll probably help yours plan that party; they'll be jumping for joy when they learn I'm gone." He laughed. "Hell, the whole family'll be in on it!"
Courtney looked at Gwen expectantly, but she did not speak. "Gwen," she prompted. "What do you think...?"
Gwen didn't look at the group, and seemed to be far too interested in a loose thread in her skirt to do so. "I don't even live in Victory Gardens; I was just gonna visit Duncan."
"Alone?" Courtney, despite the situation, was immediately suspicious. "Alone with my boyfriend?"
Gwen's head snapped up like a cobra. "Yes, Courtney, alone with your boyfriend! He doesn't even like you anymore; the only reason he hasn't broken up with you is because he's worried about his future in the Baby-Making business." Courtney was shocked, and Gwen took that opportunity to look directly into Duncan's equally shocked eyes. "I can't lie to her anymore, Duncan. I like you, but I shouldn't have to keep secrets from my friend."
"Friend?" Heather scoffed. "I wish I had a friend like that." She grinned maliciously. "It's been a while since I've fucked another girl's boyfriend."
Alejandro then joined in, having successfully removed Heather's hand from his person. "But you seem to have no problem fucking everything else in sight, puta!"
"What did you just call me?"
"You heard me, you fucking s-"
"Will all you maggots just shut the HELL UP!" Chef opened the back of the truck and the teens realized they'd come to a stop. It was cold, and they could see Chef had put on a heavy coat.
"Where are we, Sir?" Courtney asked, having finally spotted the other man. He 'tisk'ed, but never answered. Chef ordered them out, and began checking their names off a list.
"Alejandro Burromuerto,"
"Courtney Garcia,"
"Duncan Webber,"
"Gwendolyn Masters,"
"Heather Chen,"
"Noah Burton,"
Chef crossed out the final name and mumbled. "And the other one's inside," before ordering the students inside a small cabin. Noah, taking in his surroundings, determined they were close to the peak of a very small mountain. It was frigid, much to Heather's displeasure, and it wasn't much warmer inside the cabin. The cabin was homey, and smelled like cedar. There was a wood stove, complete with a barely-alive fire, and three doors. Chef pointed to one of those doors and announced it to be their new home. They were shoved harshly inside soon after, and found themselves in the presence of another teenager.
She turned, frizzy hair mixing with the moon to make strange shadows on the dark room's walls, and smiled. "Hi guys," then she turned back to the window and began singing 'Pop Goes the Weasel'.
Chef chuckled and added, "The girl is Izzy, and the bucket is your bathroom," before shutting and locking the door.
It was now around one 'o clock Friday morning, and seven were missing, soon to be ten.
Thank you all for the lovely reviews on the last chapter; they make me so happy! I'll be checking over this chapter later for any grammarical errors and spelling mix-ups I might have missed, but I have to log because of a rather large storm brewing outside.
Sincerely,
Admiral GiGi, Her Brilliance
