Chapter 7
Nodding sleepily, I stepped forward, and was jerked in again. This time I was prepared, so the jolt didn't startle me so much. I landed in the middle of a road with a soft plop.
"VULPIX!" Desire popped out of the hole behind me, and it closed and disappeared. "Vul vul!" she ran around in front of me, her energy apparent.
I had a sudden urge to strangle her right then. "Shut up. You kept me up all night, and I'm not putting up with any more of your bullshit. Be quiet and help me, and MAYBE I won't kill you when we get back."
She remained silent, and trotted off down the deserted road. It was early morning here, and a faint mist hung over the asphalt, blurring my vision. I yawned and chased after Desire.
It took ten minutes before I realized something: there were no cars. I glanced around nervously, as if expecting something to happen, but nothing did. NOTHING did. There were no crickets in the bushes, no sounds of a town nearby…
"Desire…!" I shouted, expecting to hear a "Vulpix!" in the distance, but none came. "Desire, answer me!" Still no sound. I was beginning to grow worried. It was either a trick, or she was really lost…I bolted down the road, calling out her name. "Where are you?!" I screeched. "This isn't funny!"
I stopped. "Is this a joke?" But deep down, I knew this was no joke. She was really gone. I had teased her before; cussed at her even, but I never meant for anything to happen! "Oh man…" I buried my face in my hands, and they came away wet. "What did I do?"
"Vul…" a faint cry echoed down the empty street. My head jerked up immediately. "Desire!" I shouted, already hurtling across the pavement. "I'm coming!"
She was alright! I thought happily to myself. But then it occurred to me: What if she had been kidnapped? What if she was hurt? I could never forgive myself…
"Vul…" she called again. I was no closer than before. This was like one of those horrible nightmares, where you're running but never get to what you seek. Only this was no nightmare…someone had Desire, and they were obviously making a getaway.
The mist was growing clearer now, and I could see shapes looming in the distance. Buildings! It was a town! I didn't know whether to be happy or worried about this. A town meant that I could find some clues on what I was supposed to do, but it also meant the kidnapper had a better chance of getting away. So I did the only thing I could do: pray.
I could see a figure now, running through the fog. It was a man, of medium height and build. Surprisingly, he didn't turn at any of the alleys we passed, but kept running down the main road. I could do nothing but follow.
Without warning, he ducked to the right, and I heard a door slam. Within a few seconds, I had reached the turnoff point as well, so I simply copied his moves and opened the first door I saw.
My reasoning had worked well. There, right in front of me, stood the guy who had kidnapped Desire. She was trying to squirm out of his grasp, but failing. A flash of anger coursed through me.
"Give me back that Vulpix," I snarled. He ignored me, and set Desire on a table, strapping her down like a…a THING. My anger grew.
"I'll count to three. Bring me the Vulpix, and I'll leave. Refuse, and I will kick your ass. Got it? One…two…three." He was humming merrily to himself, as if he couldn't hear me. Perhaps he was deaf. But it didn't matter…I was true to my word.
With a cry I sprang forward, and delivered a high kick to the bottom of his chin. He staggered back, and slumped to the floor. He was not unconscious, only dazed. I seized the moment and unstrapped Desire, who yipped in gratitude. I hurried over the to the kidnapper, and tied his hands behind his back, carefully checking to make sure there was no way he could wrench himself free. Satisfied with my handiwork, I propped him up against a wall, expecting an explanation.
I quickly realized my mistake. He pulled his legs to him, Indian style, and moved up onto his knees. He had risen halfway up before another swift kick landed him back on the ground. I could tell he was fighting for consciousness.
Before he could recover, I clasped his legs together to prevent him from getting up. "Desire," I commanded, "find more of those leather bonding thingies and hand them over."
It didn't take long to find the drawer-full of them. Desire removed one, and tentatively set it before me. Despite the kidnapper's angry protests, I bound his ankles to each other. He rolled across the floor in a last-ditch effort to trip me. Needless to say, it didn't work too well against me, but Desire was skirting around him as if he were a steamroller. Considering her height, he probably did seem like a steamroller to her.
"Vulpix!" she whined, as she narrowly missed being squashed by the madman.
"Hold on," I said in an irritated tone, "Almost done…" I picked out the longest leather bond I could find, and gave it to her. "Take this for a minute."
With great exertion, I lifted the screaming man into a chair and forced him down. Desire got the idea, and tried to tie him to the chair, but failed. So we switched roles: She Flamethrowered him relentlessly while I tied his waist around the chair. It wasn't easy work, Desire's flames kept coming MUCH too close to my hands…I reminded myself to scold her afterward.
"Stop!" I ordered. She closed her mouth, leaving a well-done kidnapper. He coughed up some ash, and I wiped it away from his face. "I'll be taking this, thank you," I scooped Desire up in my arms and strutted out the door.
"Wait!" he choked out. I spun around, a hard expression on my face. "What?"
He looked up at me with pleading eyes. "You don't know what you're doing…I need that Vulpix!" he shouted. "Give it to me!"
"Maybe in another lifetime, we could work something out," I said curtly, and continued toward the door.
"You'll be sorry!" he called after me. I paid him no mind…
~~~~~~~~~~~
"Are you okay?" I bent down, and Desire hopped from my arms onto the road.
"Vul," she said quietly. She looked thoughtful, like something had really shaken her up. I suppose getting kidnapped had damaged her emotionally or something. Sure, it was a shock, but…honestly, she was such a wuss…
"Come on," I ordered, and started off down the road. Desire looked puzzled at my behavior. What was so confusing? She got kidnapped, I saved her, now let's get on with business. Aw crap…now something's bothering me. The stupid little…
I whirled around. Desire jumped back, startled. I restrained myself just in time; I didn't want to hurt her until she was of no use to me. That was the only reason. Yes, that was the only reason I hadn't strangled her yet. I kept walking, though something was still eating at me.
I was angry, that I knew. But why was the mystery. Something had just seriously ticked me off, but I couldn't figure out what it was, and that made me more angry and…and…
Desire was whining. She could sense that I was upset. I turned around and screamed at her, telling her that she could shut up right now or I would throw her off the nearest cliff. And what made me REALLY upset was that I knew I wouldn't. She was useful. But something just kept EATING AT ME and telling me otherwise. It was an odd feeling, one I didn't want to admit to having…I clenched my teeth and forced myself to concentrate on the task at hand.
But it seemed like the more I tried to put it out of mind, the stronger it became.
