Yo

Ok, so last time Elena was bleeding in Turkey, Nate was at home and Phil came up with an evil plan…

We're going back to the past to find out what actually happened…


Chapter 6

Several months ago

Ted straightened as the tent flap opened revealing a rather rotund figure in the doorway.

Nate, Sully and Chloe stared as Phil entered.

Before them stood a squat, slightly overweight man, who had strawberry blond hair and flaky red skin.

Nate swapped glances with Sully who looked as disbelieving as he did. This was all wrong. Chloe frowned from her chair.

'I think I recognise you from somewhere…that's it! You're that guy from the commercial about weight loss!' she said eagerly. Nate took a good hard look at Phil who was a little taken aback.

'Are you sure? I think I know the one you're talking about, but it can't be him, that guy was skinny,' Nate said.

'Hey that's unfair, the commercial's two years old now…people change,' Phil defended himself, in a slightly whiny voice, Nate noted.

'Talk about falling off the wagon,' Sully commented and Phil scowled at him.

'Look, just because I endorsed a weight loss program doesn't mean I have to be skinny myself,' Phil said argued. There was silence.

'It kinda does,' Chloe said.

Phil gave a strangled cry and barked some orders. Guards poured into the tent. They dragged the three prisoners and their chairs outside. Ted followed at a distance, unsure of what was going to happen next.

'You will pay for your insolence!' Phil shouted at Sully who raised an eyebrow.

'Why just me? They were making fun of you too and what's with leaving the tent?' he replied. Phil took a deep breath, clearly his prisoners weren't going to cooperate. He was going to have to be patient and just like his therapist had told him, he closed his eyes and counted to ten.

When he opened them again he could tell that all three of them had quickly wiped the smiles from their faces. They were making fun of him. Phil gritted his teeth, he knew he shouldn't have done that advert.

'I left the tent because I'm claustrophobic,' Phil said evenly. Chloe stifled another laugh and Phil shot her a glance of pure venom. She quietened down but was still smiling. He wasn't getting anywhere. Clearly Ted hadn't been violent enough with this lot. He was going to have words with him later.

Phil pulled out his gun and just the like that the laughter in their eyes disappeared. He rolled his eyes, he should've just done this from the beginning.

'I've had enough of this nonsense,' Phil pointed the gun at Chloe, 'Tell me what I want to know Mr Drake and I won't shoot Miss Frazier.'

Nate sobered, 'Look, I don't know where the second jaw bone is, I'm gonna need more time to look at the first one.'

Phil pulled the trigger. It took every fibre of Chloe's being not to close her eyes and flinch. She was glad that she didn't because just before he pulled the trigger Ted knocked Phil's hand. The shot went wide.

'What the heck was that for?' Phil thundered. Ted didn't back down.

'Drake isn't going to deal with you if you kill the girl straight away-you need her as leverage,' he explained in a level voice. Phil grunted, taking in Ted's point.

When Phil fired, Nate's heart had leapt into his throat. This guy wasn't playing around. If he didn't think of something quickly someone was going to get hurt.

Ted, too, felt slightly rattled. Phil hadn't mentioned actually killing anybody, the man was deranged if he thought he could get away with all this. That and he was rather fond of Chloe.

Phil turned back to his captives, 'Fine, Mr Drake, you can have the jawbone and teeth but if you fail, I'm afraid Miss Frazier is going to have to pay. With her life.'

Nate let out an exasperated sigh. It was always like this, why was nothing easy? Chloe shared the same thoughts and wondered why it was always her who had to pay. Why did no one ever use Sully?

'It's not that simple,' Nate said, 'I need to see the original excavation sites and have a look for myself.'

Phil turned things over in his mind, every so often looking at the ever darkening sky, 'We'll head out tomorrow when the light is better. Right now I feel like some dinner.'

He turned away and shouting more orders to the guards, made his way to another tent. He was just about to enter when he paused as if remembering something.

'Wanalulu!' he shouted.

There was a moments silence. Ted dropped his head into his hands and groaned. He shuffled towards Phil.

'Don't tell me your surname is Wanalulu,' Nate asked, failing epically to hide the surprise from his face.

'It is, I told him not to call me that though,' Ted muttered as he passed them. Sully just shook his head, it wasn't often he was surrounded by crazy people with even crazier names.

Chloe knew her thoughts well enough to know what the next one would be.

Mrs Wanalulu….

Chloe tried to push all thoughts of the name out of her head. She was not going to be Mrs Wanalulu, she didn't even like Ted and she definitely wasn't going to marry him. Chloe did not marry people, she was a lone wolf. Yeah, right, she thought, they were all being held hostage and all she could think about was Ted's damned surname.

Chloe concluded that she needed to get a life or Ted. Fast.

--

Later

Elena paced the floor of her bedroom.

She was worried about Nate. Well, she would always worry about him but this wasn't a normal situation. He was being held hostage. Elena had a bad feeling about this and since she didn't even know where he was exactly she felt even more useless.

Of course, she could always find out by tracking his mobile or something equally high tech but something else bothered her. Did she want to find trouble? She had a baby to think about now. Was she going to put herself in deliberate danger and what would Nate say? Although, when she thought about it, Elena rarely listened to his advice anyway, much to his chagrin.

Elena sank onto the bed at a loss as to what to do. Fortunately for her though the phone began to ring and she didn't hesitate to pick it up.

'Hello?' she answered.

'Hey, it's Nate, I just wanted to say that we're all fine and things are under control…mostly. Also, I think this is gonna take some time.'

Elena's heart sank, she had a feeling it would turn out like this. 'Uh, ok then, thanks for telling me but where are you guys exactly?'

There was a brief silence where Elena assumed Nate was looking at a map or something, 'I think we're close to Lake Victoria, in a small valley somewhere, according to Ted's GPS, we're at these coordinates,' Nate explained and rattled off some figures which Elena took note of.

'What's happening there?' Elena asked, once again the mysterious Ted had come into the conversation, she still didn't understand why he was so polite or how Nate had managed to take his GPS tracker.

Nate sighed, 'Well, today we met the boss, he was called Phil.'

Elena deadpanned 'Are you kidding me?'

'Nope,' Nate replied, ' he's kinda…tubby…he was on that ad about weight loss…y'know the one… 'Get you rear in gear' and uh, what was it? Oh yeah, 'Take charge, don't be large'. Well anyways, Phil wants to make his own immortal army so he can do something with it, probably take over the world. They usually want to do that.'

Elena took her time absorbing this information. She remembered that guy on the ads quite well, she had done a report fad diets a couple years ago and his was one of them. Having done an interview with him then, she thought he was an alright kind of guy, he came across as quite charitable.

'Are you sure? The guy on that advert was stick thin,' Elena asked.

'Apparently, you don't have to follow the diet you're endorsing,' Nate replied.

'That doesn't make any sense,' Elena muttered but said, louder, 'Do you guys need help?'

'Nah, I think we're good. I don't think there's anything you can do right now,' Nate answered.

There was silence on the line and Elena grew impatient. 'Well?' she said.

'Well what?' Nate replied, genuinely confused.

'Oh brother, aren't you going to ask how I am? I'm your pregnant girlfriend!' Elena practically shouted down the phone. She thought she heard Sully wince at her tone in the background.

Good, Elena thought, at least someone is taking me seriously, it was just a shame it's the wrong person. Nate had only be gone a couple of days but Elena was already feeling the pregnancy. The extra hormones sloshing around were really taking a toll on her mood. Or maybe she was just thinking it was…Elena frowned, she really needed to research this pregnancy thing.

'Uh, I'm sorry,' Nate apologised and Elena could almost see him, rubbing the back of his head, shuffling his feet. It was an endearing sight that would have been more effective if he was actually in the room with her.

'How are you and…err…Junior?' he added and Elena sighed at first, it wasn't quite the same when you had to ask for the question. She then frowned.

'Junior?'

'It would sound bad if I called the baby 'it',' Nate replied and Elena guessed he had a fair point.

'We're fine, I think…today I played the baby some Mozart but then I realised this was useless because it doesn't have ears yet,' Elena said, thinking that 'it' would just have to do for now.

There was a series of muffled thuds followed by quiet.

'Nate? Hello?' Elena spoke but there was no answer. She was beginning to get worried when suddenly Nate spoke.

'Sorry about that, the guards were just serving dinner and I had to hide the phone,' he explained.

'Yeah, about that, how did you even get a phone?' Elena asked.

'Oh, well, you know Ted, the one who kidnapped us? He's kind of on our side, he 'accidently' left his GPS tracker here and, if that wasn't enough, he made sure we got the choc chip cookies.'

Elena was going to ask about how someone could be 'kind of' on your side when another voice spoke.

'I am incredibly sorry, but I'm going to have to cut this phone call short.'

The line went dead.

Elena stared at the phone a sense of dread growing in the pit of her stomach. She hadn't recognised the voice which meant that, possibly, someone had heard the conversation they were having.

Someone who wouldn't be too happy about it.

Without thinking, Elena booted up her laptop and Googled Nate's position.

--

Nate frowned at the young guard who had snatched the phone from his hand.

'Well that was bloody rude,' Chloe said to the him, ' I didn't even get to say hello.'

Sully agreed, 'You guys have no manners.'

The man looked a little hurt, 'What are you talking about? I apologised to her and everything.'

'You didn't even let him say good bye to his pregnant girlfriend,' Chloe added.

'Yeah, you're the worst,' Sully commented.

The guard looked a little guilty and then realised what he was there for and put on a stern expression. 'I don't care about his girlfriend, Mr Phil was clear that there was to be no communication between the prisoners and the outside world.'

'He never told us that,' Nate said. Their legs were still tied to the chair but their arms were free and this was the perfect moment to cross them and put on a haughty expression.

The guard was just about to call a friend for help when Ted walked in. The guard looked a little smug at this. 'The prisoners were talking to someone on this phone,' he reported happily and gave the phone to Ted. Sully gave him a look that said 'dirty little snitch' but was actually happy it was Ted who was on their side.

Ted had never seen this guard before and decided to go with the tough talk and flattering, the new recruits always fell for those

'Well, we can't have that, can we…err..Peter…,' Ted said, reading the name tag on the guard's pocket, 'I'm going to teach them a lesson one by one and by the end of it they won't want to make a phone call again. Ever. Well done for catching them, I knew it was good idea hiring you, I'll put a good word in for you with Phil.'

The guard almost wet himself with excitement. He was going to get a promotion and couldn't wait to tell his ma. She'd be so proud of him. Ted dismissed him and in his enthusiasm to write a letter home, forgot that he was actually abandoning his post.

Ted rubbed his hands together, 'Well that bought us some time,' he said handing the phone back to Nate who tucked it away safely.

'Are you sure it's ok to leave us untied?' Nate asked, 'We were lucky that guy was so green he didn't even realise but next time we might not be so lucky.'

'Most of the guards are alright,' Ted said, 'they think Phil's a little crazy, and since you're allowed to examine the jawbone and teeth it doesn't matter if you're tied up or not. And anyways, you're out numbered, you couldn't escape even if you wanted to.'

Sully grinned, 'You don't even wanna go there. Nate is pretty good at getting out of these situations.'

'That may be so, but Phil is a little different,' Ted replied, 'trust me when I say that he's not someone you want to be against.'

Chloe snorted, dipping a cookie in her tea , 'He's some washed out diet guy, how bad could he be?'

Ted looked at her for a moment and something flashed in his eyes. Chloe would have noticed if she wasn't busy drinking her tea, 'Earlier today, he would've killed you. Phil isn't the brightest crayon in the box. He will do something without thinking about it,' Ted said slowly and Chloe was silent.

Nate and Sully exchanged a look and then, very obviously, stared at Chloe who was unnerved by this attention.

'What's up with you guys?' she asked. There was much eyebrow wiggling from Sully and a lot of head gesturing from Nate. Chloe sighed and threw her hands in the air.

'Fine, fine, Ted, thank you, for saving my life,' she muttered.

If Ted was pleased at this, he didn't show it but turned to Nate.

'So, have you got anywhere with the jawbone?' he asked and Chloe felt relief as the subject changed.

Nate shook his head and picked the box of dragon teeth up, 'There are etchings on the underside of the lid but I won't be able to tell what they are unless I make a rubbing of them or something, but there's something else.'

The way Nate said the last part made Ted lean forward a little. It sounded important.

'What is it?' he asked.

'I need the toilet,' Nate said flatly.

'I thought you were going to say something a lot more interesting,' Chloe said and Ted nodded in agreement. Sully just looked bemused.

'Y'know I wouldn't mind taking a leak either,' he said tactfully. Any developments that ensued from the two remaining occupants of the tent would hopefully amuse him for some time.

Ted stuck his head out of the tent and called over a group of soldiers. Untying Nate and Sully, Ted handed them over to the guards who took them outside.

There was an uncomfortable silence in tent. Ted whistled tunelessly and Chloe bore holes into the table with her stare. She had shot Sully a withering look when he had left. He had just winked back. As if she didn't know what he was doing. Tsk, men, she thought, all this just because she had ignored Sully's own advances.

While trying very hard not to look at Ted, Chloe noticed that she too needed to use the facilities. Or maybe she just wanted to get the hell out of that tent. Just as she was about to say something, Ted did too and this started the whole conversation about letting the other person speak first and the other insisting the same thing.

'Ladies first,' Ted said.

'Which is why you should go first,' Chloe shot back and Ted smiled.

'Ah, Chloe, you wound me, but no, go ahead.'

Chloe grunted, this was going nowhere and she really did need the toilet now, 'I need the loo.'

Ted hid his grimace well, that wasn't what he was expecting but complied anyway. Crouching he enjoyed their closer proximity and untied the cords that bound Chloe to the chair.

Before he could say anything, Chloe stood abruptly and took a tentative step forward.

She fell over flat on her face.

Ted didn't bother hiding his grimace this time. 'I would've helped you,' he said.

'I don't need your help,' Chloe said, her voice muffled. Strange, Ted, thought, it sounded like she was laughing. That or choking, he couldn't decide.

Rolling over, Chloe couldn't hide her laughter. Ted was stupefied.

'Are you ok?' he asked.

'Yes, it just feels so weird. You know, having dead legs….such a weird feeling, kinda numb but not,' Chloe rambled, feeling both her legs, trying to rub some life into them. Ted sat back on his haunches and scratched his chin.

'Do you want help? I do a good massage,' he offered.

Chloe snatched her legs away. She may have been laughing but she wasn't going to let just any man touch her, she had more class than that. 'No, I can do that myself, thank you,' she muttered.

Without knowing what he was doing himself, Ted leant forward and brushed some dirt from Chloe's cheek. She froze. Her eyes met his.

'What do you think you're doing?' She said in a cold, no nonsense tone. Ted wanted to wince, that sounded like the kind of voice someone would use right before decking them in the face or something equally violent.

'I don't know,' he murmured and breaking eye contact, stood quickly, brushing his clothes down as he did so.

Chloe was glad to get the feeling back in her legs and stood, without, thank the Lord, the help of Ted, who had moved a respectful distance away.

Nate and Sully returned, the guards escorting them nodded to Ted who pointed to Chloe. They seemed to get the message and led her out. Sully sat on his chair.

'Anything interesting happen while we were gone?' he asked. Ted was gazing at the tent flap and had to be prodded by Nate to bring him back to the real world.

'Huh? Oh, not really…Chloe needed the loo,' he said in an offhand way. Sully got the feeling that he wasn't saying everything.

'And?' he encouraged. Ted gave him a flat stare.

'Nothing.'

Sully sighed. He had been hoping for a little more than that but figured there would be more opportunities later on.

Chloe, on the other hand was having a quiet think. Sitting in the dark porta-loo wasn't really where she wanted to do her thinking but she guessed it would have to do.

Ted confused her. It was weird, she always knew where she stood with guys. Nate and Sully both she had figured out but Ted was new and, on the whole, very different from her friends.

For now, Chloe decided she would ignore him, he would give up his interest soon enough or so Chloe hoped. After this whole charade was over maybe she would rethink but she needed to be objective here.

Smiling at herself and feeling a whole lot better, Chloe reached for the toilet roll.

Her hand touched an empty dispenser.

There was no toilet paper left.


I realised after writing this that not much happened but I didn't want to make the chapters exceptionally long…oh well…

I didn't come up with those weight loss slogans and neither did Phil…

Chloe is gonna be normal now...I think it's weird when my leg goes dead, same with pins and needles and sometimes I do laugh…Elena will appear…she's not gonna let Nate suffer alone…

The next chapter should be getting along with things

I always check toilets before I use them….I hate getting caught out of toilet paper

I have started writing to the Bayonetta music now…it gets stuck in my head…it is too good….so is the game...I dunno but maybe because I'm a girl but when I first played the demo…I was a little surprised…that game is weird…everything seems to be innuendo but I like it so I guess it's ok. It's nice to have a female protagonist who seems unnaturally strong for once…