Chapter 8
It didn't take long for me to realize something was wrong in the town. All the shops were closed, there were no cars on the streets, and it was just generally devoid of life. What scared me further was that there weren't even any bugs, or mice, or animals…in fact, the only living thing I'd seen so far was the kidnapper.
Desire seemed to notice it too. Her ears were perked, and she slinked along uneasily behind me. This was just plain…FREAKY. The kidnapper's words echoed in my mind: "You'll be sorry!" he had said. Would I disappear with all the people? Where had they gone?
"Maybe it's a ghost town," I mumbled. The silence was really getting to me; now I was talking to myself. I whirled around, like someone had tapped me on the shoulder, but no one was there. Easy girl, calm down… I thought to myself, careful not to say it out loud. It helped a little…but not enough. Why couldn't I calm down?
A cough echoed through the street, and I jumped about a foot in the air. "Who's there?!" I shouted. I whipped my head about wildly, looking for the source of the sound, but I couldn't find it. Perhaps it was my imagination…yes, it had to be…
"Vulpix!" Desire called, and ran toward a door. She barked back at me, urging me to follow, and I ran over to her. I gripped the cool metal doorknob firmly. I was about to go into someone else's house, and if they were home…I flung it open.
No one was there.
I sighed in relief, and stood there in the doorway for a moment. Something just didn't feel right. I mean, it was like somebody was watching me, but no one was there. "Let's get out of here," I mumbled, and did a quick scan of the living room before moving on to the kitchen.
Nobody was in the kitchen either. Or the bathroom, for that matter. It was in the bedroom I got the shock of my life.
"Oh!" A cry escaped my throat. Lying face up on the bed was…a dead body. I tried to run, but my legs were frozen in place, and I couldn't tear my eyes from the horrific sight before me.
Those cold, dead eyes staring up at me…the dry, pale gray skin…it was sickening. The body laid still on the mattress.
"Vulpix!" screamed Desire, clamping her teeth down on my pant leg,
That snapped me back to reality. I bolted from the house, as fast as my legs could carry me. I didn't stop until I reached the building that held the kidnapper.
I yanked open the door, my eyes wide with fright. "Hey you dude!" I shouted stupidly. "Hey! Uh, it, um…"
"I told you so." A smile played around the corner of his mouth, but it gave me the chills. "You peeked into a house, no?"
"Um…yes," I stuttered. I couldn't believe I was doing this…coming back to the man that kidnapped Desire!
"And you have clue what is going on?" his smile widened.
"No…" I backed away. He was starting to creep me out.
"Untie me and I'll tell you."
Naturally, I was a bit skeptical about this, but I agreed. Though only because Desire was ready to Flamethrower if he tried anything funny. My hands shaking from the adrenaline rush, I unfastened the leather straps that held him.
He got up slowly, shaking his wrists. "Thank you."
"Cut the crap. Tell me what's wrong with this town!" I demanded.
His eyes flashed with anger for a moment, but he calmed himself. I could have sworn I saw him smile again. "A rather nasty bout of disease, I'm afraid."
I almost choked on my own spit. "You're telling me a cold epidemic did all this!?" I motioned wildly.
"Well, not a cold exactly," he paused, "it was actually more similar to the flu. Chills, coughing, sore throat, vomiting…the only difference was that this left the victim dead. Doctors' offices were flooded. Such a shame, because somehow the doctors caught it! And with all the doctors sick, there was no one to find a cure…hospitals around the country worked long into the night, testing vaccine after vaccine, until one by one they too fell victim to the disease. Few people escaped it, which is why I'm so surprised to find you here. Come to think of it, where are you from? You don't look like a foreigner."
"Looks can be deceiving," I lied smoothly.
"Ah yes," he cleared his throat, casually leaning closer to me. "I guess they can." I noticed his hands were behind his back. Not a good sign.
Just as casually, I scooted over a bit. He shifted his foot a bit closer. That was when the whole idea of a sneak attack flew out the window. He lunged for me, and I dodged quickly, but he reached out again and grabbed my wrist. I used an old technique I had learned, and twisted out of his grasp. He looked surprised for a moment, so I kicked him where the sun don't shine. And he fell…right on top of me. I tried to get out from under him, but it was too late. He seized my wrists before I could respond, bound them together, and dashed to the cabinet.
All of a sudden, he caught fire! I attempted to climb to my feet, while Desire Flamethrowered him relentlessly. He screamed, and ran to another room. Steam billowed from the doorway. I was on my feet, but I couldn't open the door with my hands tied behind my back! Still, I tried. I turned around, groping for the doorknob, but just then the kidnapper re-entered the room. He was charred, black, and wet. Desire Flamethrowered him again in an attempt to buy me more time, but he was too soaked for the flames to ignite. He smirked at me and strode over to the door, locking it. I tried to run, but he caught me easily and threw me to a wooden table. I kicked at him, screaming my head off, but it had no effect. All of a sudden, he jumped about four feet in the air and yelled in pain. A sharp yelp echoed across the room, and I knew what had happened.
"YOU DIRTY BASTARD, LEAVE DESIRE ALONE!" His head snapped around, and he grabbed me roughly by the neck, choking me. Desire charged him from behind, and bit down hard on his leg, sending a fresh stream of blood running down his calf. He screamed, and shook his leg hard, but did not release his hold on me. It continued in this vein for a few minutes: I kicked and cussed at him, Desire ripped fiercely into his lower leg, and he held me down while doing what looked to be an extremely intricate tap dance. Without warning he plunged his hand into his shirt pocket and produced a small gun, then pointed it at my head.
For a second nobody moved. Desire's growls instantly stopped, my legs quit kicking, and he gritted his teeth at the horrible pain Desire had inflicted. The cold metal of the gun pressed hard into my head.
"Little Vulpix, if you so much as twitch, I will not hesitate to blow your owner's head off. Are we clear?" he addressed Desire, but kept his eyes focused on me.
"Vulpix," she whispered. There was a definite note of panic in it.
He breathed a sigh of relief, but did not relax. "Get me some more leather bondings," he ordered. Desire did not hesitate to retrieve them from the drawer. "Now…tie her up."
Her large brown eyes widened further, and her ears flattened on her head. "Vul…Vulpix!"
He jammed the gun sharply into my head, causing me to inhale sharply. "DO IT!" he screamed.
She was shaking, the poor thing, as she slowly wrapped the tough leather around my legs and chest. "Vulpix," came her whispered apology.
The man was breathing heavily, and my hate for him was mounting quickly. "I have a good reason for this," he said.
I wanted to rip his throat out, but I didn't dare to move. What possible reason could he have for kidnapping Desire and forcing her to do his bidding? I clenched my teeth in anger.
"Vulpix, get that syringe on the table. The red one," he added quickly. He still refused to take his eyes off me.
Desire placed the needle in his hand, crying softly. He took it from her (still looking at me!) and held it over my jeans. My legs tensed up, for I had always been afraid of needles.
"This syringe contains a small amount of the deadly germ," he explained. My eyes went wide with shock. He noticed them, and laughed. "Not enough to kill you, silly. Just enough for your immune system to produce antibodies."
Even so, this didn't sound good. "You're not putting anything in me," I said matter-of-factly.
"Oh yeah?" he rasped, poking the gun barrel into my forehead.
I gulped. "Um, nothing."
He smiled. "Good." And with that, he plunged the needle through my jeans and into my skin.
"EEEEEEEEEEE!" I screamed shrilly. He pumped more of the germ into my body.
After what seemed like forever, he pulled the needle back out. "Done."
I drew a breath shakily. It was over?
"Vulpix, get the empty syringe," he commanded. "This to extract the antibodies," he told me.
I froze. Another needle?!
He held it up. "Ready…and now!" I felt the sharp needle poke through my skin, and I yelled again. He pumped, but this time the syringe filled up instead of emptying itself. I braced myself to endure the horrible pain shooting up and down my leg.
"Okay." He stopped. I was surprised how absolutely calm he was doing this. He must be a doctor…
He removed the needle. "Now. I am going to take the gun away from your head." Desire's ears perked up. "And if you have any sense at all, you won't try to escape. You need the medicine I'm making to be cured. Understood?" I nodded.
"Very well." He pulled the gun away from head. I breathed a sigh of relief, and tried to get up. The leather bindings pushed me back down. "Hey, um…"
He turned around. "I don't fully trust you."
I struggled against the bindings, and cursed under my breath. That double crossing son-of-a-bitch…
"Vulpix!" Desire hopped up beside me.
"Desire," I whispered so low I couldn't even hear myself, "bite through these. Please?"
She grinned, then began chewing quietly through the leather. Luckily the kidnapper didn't look up from his work.
It was taking so LONG for Desire to chew through them! In fact, it took so long, I came up with a theory on why anyone would have a drawer full of leather bindings in their house. The theory: This dude was a mad scientist. Dumb, huh? Told you it was taking waaaay too long.
Twenty minutes later, she had finished (finally!). I stayed down on the table. "Desire," I whispered, I want you to run over there, grab the antibody syringe, and RUN. Got it?" She nodded. "On the count of three. One, two, THREE!" I jumped up from the table quick as you please, and sprinted for the door. The kidnapper looked up, startled, and dropped the syringe he was holding. "Now!" I shouted, and Desire raced over and grabbed the syringe. I jerked the door handle. It didn't open! Oh yeah, it was locked! I panicked and ran to the other side of the room, but Desire kept her head and Flamethrowered it down. I charged back to the door and leapt through the burning wood. I didn't look back to see if the kidnapper followed.
