Hey! So, I've got an update schedule now, and if you'd like to know what it is, go ahead and read my bio. I hope you all have a wonderful day, and I'll do my best to update on time from now on. Enjoy!
Riker curled up, hugging his knees as he sat on top of one of the toilets in a locked stall, his heart pounding in his chest. If he's caught, no, when he's caught, he'll be taking the beating of a lifetime. He'd never tried to escape before. He just has to hope the Lynch family can find him before his dad does.
He winced from where he sat as the doors to the bathroom opened. Small feet shuffled across the linoleum, and Riker relaxed. It was just another kid. He was safe, for now at least.
Mark held out MapQuest instructions in front him, rubbing sleep out of his eyes as he directed Stormie towards the highway. Rydel shuffled her feet nervously behind her father, worried to all hell about her friend. "Is Riker going to be okay?" Ross asked, leaning against his older brother tiredly.
"He's going to be fine, honey." Stormie responded.
"I drew another picture for him." Ross said, pulling a folded piece of paper out of his jacket pocket. He handed it to Rydel, and she unfolded it, glad for the momentary distraction from her worry. "Do you think he'll like it?"
She looked at the scraggly crayon drawing; another plane, of course. Smiling, she handed it back to Ross, ruffling his hair in the process. "I'm sure he'll love it, buddy." Ross smiled, folding up the paper again and stuffing it in his pocket. He yawned suddenly, curling up next to his sister and shutting his eyes. She wrapped her arm around his shoulders, kissing the top of his head.
Rocky stared out the window, rain falling in fat droplets on the glass. He watched them bead up and run in streaks down the clear material. He was worried, worried for his friend and even more worried about what his friend was dragging his family into. But they couldn't just leave him if he was in trouble, they had to try and help. He understood that, but that didn't keep him from being scared.
Riker had found a better hiding spot by then. He'd slipped out the door of the mens bathroom and into the women's. Then it was just a matter of finding the supply closet in the back of the room and getting in. The closet itself was locked shut, but a lock is only as strong as the wood it's built into, and this door had been eaten through by termites. All it took to bust it open was Riker jamming a rusty nail into the material a few times and the lock came free, allowing him inside.
The lights barely worked, were so dim that they hardly did any good and flickered so often Riker feared they'd burn out at any second. He shut the door, hoping against hope that if his dad came in here for some reason, he'd assume the door was locked and leave it be. Still, he backed himself into an empty metal cabinet, shutting the door with a rusty creak and sinking to the floor, curling his head in between his knees.
He felt sick as he realized the possibility of his dad calling the police, like he'd done just the day before. His father might miss his hiding spot, but the police certainly wouldn't. It's looking more and more like Riker's best option would be to give himself up to his dad. He could always lie, say he went to the arcade because he got bored. Sure, he'd probably get hit, but not nearly as hard as if he was caught trying to escape.
No matter what, if he planned on getting away, he knew he couldn't stay at the motel. When the police came, as he knew they would, that girl at the desk would very likely give him away, as well as the number he had called to alert the Lynch family. He'd screwed up, really bad.
Hell, the day had already been full of impulse decisions, and he knew there was no going back. He'd made up his mind in seconds, and bolted from his hiding spot, opening the door to exit the women's restroom and peeking out. The girl at the desk was asleep, which made sneaking forward, out of the bathroom, easy. He took a momentary look around, before pulling his upper body over the desk and snatching away her phone. That way, the Lynch's could in no way be held responsible for his running away. He'd destroy it later, once he got far enough away.
Another glance into the parking lot showed his dads car still in front of their room. He cursed silently, realizing that everything he owned was in there, and there was no way he could get it back. Kissing his belongings goodbye, he slid out the door and around to the back of the building, out of sight of his father.
He snuck through the parking lot towards the road, traffic backed up already at this time of the morning, which must have been no more than 6:45am. He assumed that the Lynch's were less than an hour out, if they hadn't made any wrong turns. He'd get as far away as he could before using the stolen phone and-
Pain flared in his neck and he reached up to grasp at the fingers wrapped around the back of his throat, falling to his knees and squinting his eyes shut, not wanting to believe. Someone breathed in his ear, their voice sending shivers down his spine. "You mind telling me what you're doing out here, boy?"
Stormie pulled into the parking lot, hunting around with her eyes for the receptionist. Leaving the boys in the car (Rydel insisted on coming with) they entered the small building to find a passed out teenage girl behind the desk. She woke with the ring of the bell on the desk and sat up, smiling sleepily at the mother and daughter pair. "What can I do for you two ladies?" She asked.
"We're looking for a family, probably just two men. A father with one son, a tall and skinny blonde boy?" Stormie asked, holding her daughter tight at her side, eyes darting around carefully. A man like Riker's father was no man she wanted near her child. Or any child, for that matter.
"I'm afraid you missed them. Those two checked out not fifteen minutes ago." The sleepy lady said, hunting with her hand for her phone. She looked down and moved aside a few papers, still not turning up the smart device. "Dammit! That brat!" She said, remembering the boy. "That kid you're looking for? He stole my phone, and I'd sure like it back." She huffed, running her hand through her messy hair.
"Really? Can you turn on the GPS?" Rydel asked, hope flaring in her once more. He might not be here, but they could still find him. "We've been looking for him. We could get your phone back for you." She negotiated. The tired girl sighed, opening up a program on the computer in front of her.
"Yeah, okay." The lady said, rubbing her chin, waiting for the tracking device to pinpoint a location. "Looks like...they're pulled off at the side of the highway, just a mile or two from here. You could probably catch up." She said, turning the computer monitor around, letting Stormie and Rydel get a clear look at the location.
"Lets go." Rydel said, grabbing her moms arm and rushing her towards the door. "We'll bring you your phone back." The young girl called as they walked back into the parking lot, Rydel pulling her mom into a sprint towards the car.
Mark had already put the key in the ignition by the time Stormie was sliding into the driver's seat, Rydel climbing into the back. "He's not here." The mother said. "But we know where his dad took him, at least for now. We have to hurry." She said, pulling out of the parking lot.
Riker tried to scream behind the fabric in his mouth, but the muffled cries wouldn't travel over the sound of busy traffic. His dad had tied up his hands and feet, stretching his body out on the floor of the backseat where no one could see him. A handkerchief was tied around the back of his head, the scratchy fabric balled up in his mouth preventing anyone from hearing him. He was officially a hostage of his own father.
The left side of his face radiated pain from where his dad had struck him, knocked him out cold for the few minutes it took the man to bind him up, pulled over to the side of the road where no one could see them.
He heard the engine start, and then felt the car moving. Tears started to leak from his eyes as he realized that this was it. He'd never get away now. His dad's got him, and there's nothing he can do about it.
