Chapter Seven
Oz paced in his room, bleach-blonde hair no longer spiked, but brushed down, and not a trace of gel anywhere. He needed to help Darien get rid of Arnaud, that was obvious. He had a feeling the strangers were the only one who had a chance against the vicious bastard, but right now, their state was not looking good. If he tried to go in and free Darien, he could not only die, but risk other lives, including Darien's, although he doubted that Darien was in any immediate danger. Oz stood no chance against Arnaud, and he was very aware of that fact. But he did know someone who might.
Darien's friend. What was his name? Bobby? Yeah, that was it. Bobby could get Darien out, and help get Arnaud away from Hafen. He knew that he was about to take a very big risk, but it was the only chance he had. If they didn't succeed in freeing Darien, they would both die, and more than likely the town would be punished as Arnaud had promised.
Oz had faith in this man, even if he was bald, and rude. He was anything but unloyal. The man seemed to be very close to Darien, and Oz had a hunch that he would give his life for the younger man. So odds were, he wasn't going to fail.
Having made up his mind for the moment, he stopped pacing and ran to his closet to grab a clean shirt. He threw it over his head and rushed out the door without so much as a goodbye to his grieving parents. They never noticed that he was gone.
~*~*~
Bobby Hobbes, dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt, walked ahead of Claire, searching every corner for a sign of Darien, or Arnaud. He wanted to badly to be optimistic, but under the circumstances, he found it more difficult than one would think. He knew how badly Arnaud wanted Darien, so there wouldn't be any clue as to where they were. It would be worse than looking for a needle in a haystack, even though the town was so small. He had no idea where to look.
He turned around to look at Claire. She was looking intently as well, with a less sanguine look plastered firmly on her face. She caught Bobby's eye and tried to give a smile, but she was too worried for it to come out as she had hoped.
Bobby slowed down and waited until she was walking next to him. "Someone in this town has to have some idea of where they could be."
"I don't know, Bobby," she said quietly. "These people seem to want nothing to do with the situation. They want to cooperate with Arnaud and get him out of here as fast as they can. I don't think they'd help us, even if they did know where he is, and I don't think they know anything about this."
Bobby shook his head firmly. "I don't believe that. Arnaud is less careful around these people because he knows that they want to cooperate with him. Someone had to have found out."
Claire was about to say something, then paused and stopped walking "You may have a point there. No, listen. Darien was going to help Oz, right? Oz has to know where Darien is!"
"Y'think?"
"Of course! I just know it- Oz has to know something. It only makes sense. We have to talk to him." For the first time since Darien had left, Bobby saw a glimmer of hope in her eyes, and it was enough to reassure him.
"Alright, it's a plan."
They were about to continue walking in the direction of Oz's house, when he stopped in front of them in the middle of the road. "We need to go somewhere else," he whispered darkly.
"I'm sorry?" Claire asked.
"You heard me. If you want to know where Darien is," he continued in a low voice, "follow me." He pulled his black hood over his head and pointed his head to the ground so no one would be able to recognize him. He put his hand in his pockets, and shuffled his feet, hoping that he was doing the right thing.
After a ten minute walk, they were back to "Miss Lucy's" home.
"Alright, Pally. Where's Darien?" Bobby demanded as soon as they were back in his room, and sitting on his bed.
"Cool it, ok? What is you problem?" Oz asked with a disgusted look on his face.
"I don't happen to trust your type, that's what the problem is."
"Bobby!" Claire exclaimed giving him a shocked look. She crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him with her mouth partly ajar.
"I'm sorry, okay? But teenagers just… they're not right," he defended himself.
Claire's eyes and mouth opened more, taken aback by his attitude. "Be nice!"
Bobby sulked in his chair, slouched, and shot Oz a dirty look, but he didn't give any more rude comments, much to the delight of the teenager.
"Ok, look. I know where the bastard is keeping Darien, but once again, I could cause some serious… damage if he were to find out that I was telling you this."
Claire was about to reassure him, but he cut her off.
"I don't care, though. He has to get out of here. He's ruining our town. People can't sleep, in fear that they'll die while sleeping, and everything is just going wrong. I think, no I know, that you are the only three that can save us from him." He pulled his hood off and Claire saw, for the first time, how worried he was. His face was creased with concern, and he looked more pale than usual. His baby blue eyes looked to her expectantly.
"We'll get him out of your town, Oz," she said confidently. "Where is Darien?"
"There's this empty place just out of town…"
~*~*~
Arnaud walked back into where Darien was being kept, his face mostly clean of blood, except for a red tint right under his nose. He held in his hand many wires. Walking right up to Darien's unconscious body, he kicked his stomach as hard as could, rewarding himself with a sense of accomplishment, then he bent down next to him. Arnaud attached wires under the big head of hair and then woke him up with a slap.
"Get up," he ordered. Darien obeyed, and his eyes fluttered open.
"You still here, huh?" he quipped without a smile. Then he felt the wires. "What the Hell are these?" He tried to pull on them, but they didn't budge.
"You'll find out soon," Arnaud assured him as he left the room. He came to a computer just outside of the door and stopped. A woman stood next to him in front of the computer, dressed in a dark red suit-dress and high-heels.
"Ready, Dana?" he asked her, with a sly grin on his face.
She smiled back. "Everything's ready, we're just waiting for him."
He wrapped an arm around her waist, pleased that they both came to about the same height, even with her heels on. "How long do you estimate it will take at this rate?"
"Maybe ten minutes at the most."
"Perfect." He lightly brushed his lips against hers, then kissed her. She laid her arms over his shoulders and kissed him back.