The One With The Transporter

Chapter Two

By: Jana~

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--Chandler stared in horror, muttering the only words that came to mind, "Oh, my, God."

She looked just as horrified, probably moreso, her mouth covered in duct tape, her arms and legs bound with rope, her eyes wide as saucers.

He stood as if cemented in place, feeling as if he couldn't move, unsure of what to do at first. His mind had given thought to so many possibilities as to what 'the package' was, but never did he think it was a living person. The package being a dead body flitted through his brain briefly at one point, but never someone alive, bound and gagged.

But, no, that wasn't true. He had considered the possibility. At the diner, when he'd heard the noise he couldn't explain. Why didn't he look then to be sure? Because it was just too unimaginable. The estimated time of the trip was just under 48 hours, how was she supposed to stay alive all that time? Maybe that was the point. Maybe she wasn't.

Snapping out of his shock, he slowly approached the frightened woman, and her eyes grew even wider with fear.

"I'm- I'm just going to, untie you," he stuttered, reaching slowly for the ropes. "I'm not the one that did this to you, ok?" he offered, hoping it would help alleviate her fears, although he couldn't imagine why it would.

He worked at the knots for several minutes, struggling to get them undone. They were tied tight, and with her position in the trunk and the poor lighting, it was no easy task. Finally, her arms were loose, and she grabbed at the tape on her mouth, pulling it off quickly, like one would a band-aid. She whimpered at the discomfort it caused, then rubbed at her wrists as she watched the man fight and tug at the bindings around her legs.

"Almost done," he promised her, his fingers sore from the cold and strain.

Finally, she was free, and once he helped her out of the trunk, as soon as her feet hit solid ground, she was off running.

"Lady! Wait!" he shouted, cursing under his breath as he began to run after her. "Wait! It's not safe for you to be out here!"

She didn't even slow down. With as much force as she could muster, she continued to run, panting and gasping with exerted energy and fear.

"Lady! Ugh! I'm not going to hurt you!" he called to her, gaining on her fast.

Once within reach, he lunged forward and grabbed her arm, stopping her from running, but she responded by screaming and flailing, hitting him in an attempt to get away. After taking several blows, he grabbed both her wrists, stopping her from attacking further. She was too weak to resist for long.

Her knees buckled as she burst into tears, and he slowly helped her to touch the ground, then released her, dropping to his knees beside her.

"I can't even begin to imagine what you've been through," he nearly whispered, "But I'm not the one responsible for it, ok? And I promise you," he added, uncertain if his words were even reaching her in her terrified state, "I won't hurt you."

She didn't respond with words. She looked up at him, tears in her eyes, her face wet, her complexion splotchy from crying; the fear looking back at him was unmistakable. It was then that he noticed, she was shivering.

She was hardly dressed for the colder weather of evening, he realized, wearing only a short sleeved blouse, thin cotton pants, and nylons with open-toed sandals on her feet.

"Here," he offered, slipping out of his jacket, "You're cold. Take my coat." He draped his jacket over her shoulders, and she recoiled slightly from his kindness. He sighed, nodding in understanding over her reaction. "Do you know who did this to you?" he asked softly. "Do you know why?"

No response. She either didn't know, he reasoned, or didn't trust him enough to tell.

"See, here's the thing," he told her, standing from off his knees. "I don't exactly know what I'm supposed to do now. I mean, at first, logically, you would think to call the police, right?" he asked rhetorically as he began to pace. "But, if I call the police, will they think I had something to do with this and throw me in jail? Really not keen on that idea," he added, half-sarcastically. "And if I do call the police, are the people responsible for this going to be pissed that I didn't deliver their 'package' and send someone after me to kill me? Really don't want to be dead! Even more than I don't want to be in jail."

He ran his fingers through his hair, his frustration showing. "It's not like I can just keep going. Deliver you. Not that I would," he assured her, continuing to babble. "I just have no idea what my choices even are at this point." He stopped pacing abruptly, an idea coming to him. "Can you hand me my cell phone?" he asked of her, pointing at his jacket. "It's in the right pocket."

She hesitated before reaching in to retrieve the phone, extending it towards him, and he kept at a slight distance when he reached for it, feeling she would want it that way. Leaning forward, he carefully took the phone from her, dialing the number from memory.

"Thanks," he muttered, waiting for the familiar voice of his friend to answer.

"Hello?"

"Joey!" Chandler nearly shouted. "Shit, man, did you know?!"

"Know what?" Joey asked, confused.

"The package," Chandler clarified. "Did you know what the package was?!"

"No," he replied calmly, "Why?" Suddenly, he gasped, "You didn't open it, did you?"

Chandler exhaled sharply, "Man, this is a nightmare! What kind of people are you related to?!"

"Dude," Joey asked pointedly, "What the hell are you talking about?"

Chandler's eyes grew wide as he looked over at the woman who was on her knees, hugging herself, and a thought occurred to him. "You could be in on it," he whispered into the phone.

"In on what?!" Joey asked fervently. "What are you talking about?! What's going on?"

Chandler hit the 'off' button, disconnecting the call. He didn't want to believe Joey could be in on something so devious, so criminal, but truth of the matter was, he could be. It was a risk Chandler was unwilling to take.

He paced for a minute or two, half-aware that she was watching him. He guessed she was looking to him for assurances, but how could he offer her any when he himself had no idea what lie in store for them? If Joey was in on the kidnapping, he would surely call someone to let them know that something had gone wrong. Someone would come looking for them. It wasn't safe for them to stay where they were. He needed to fix the flat, and get them off the route they were on. The route he was instructed to take would be the first place they'd look.

"We have to get out of here," he told her. "I don't know what's going on exactly, and I'm not at all sure of what to do at this point, but I know if we sit here like… sitting ducks, we could very easily be looking at a very short life span." He offered her his hand, so to help her off the ground, but her stare remained locked on the road in front of her.

"You don't know if you can trust me, I get that, but, I don't have the time to convince you that you can. Whoever did this to you is gonna know," he looked at his watch, "In about 2 minutes, that you are no longer on the way. If we don't get our asses off this road and soon, we're gonna be dead! And it's gonna take me at least 30 minutes to fix the flat. Ok? So, can you be frightened over there now?" he asked, pointing towards the car in the distance.

He could hear a little sob escape her in the silence of the moment, and he inwardly cursed himself for being so crass.

"Ok, I'm a prick, and I'm sorry. I understand that you're afraid. I really do, but right now, I am too."

She remained perfectly still and perfectly silent.

"Ok," he sighed, kneeling next to her, "Let's try this. My name is Chandler, and I'm an only child. My mom is a romance novelist, my dad does gay burlesque in Vegas. I work as a data processor for a large multi-national corporation, which I hate, but would gladly do till the day I die, provided that day isn't today! Now," he added as he stood again, "I'm gonna go fix the flat tire and try to find a way to stay alive. If you would like to join me, you know where I'll be for the next 30 minutes. After that, you're on your own!"

As he started to walk away, his cell phone began to ring, causing him to stop dead in his tracks…

TBC…

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