Part 3

Desperate Situation

Syd tried everything to make some noise to let Gage know where she was at. But, the chair she was sitting in was too heavy for her to let Gage know where she was. She even tried screaming, but the tape on her mouth prevented her from doing that.

Gage, in the meantime was still standing there when the person hiding in the shadows made their move. They quickly brought the blackjack across the back of his head. Gage slumped to the floor without a sound. Another figure came from the shadows. "What'll we do with this one?" They asked as the two picked up Gage and dragged him into a nearby room.

"First off, let's get him tied up and secured in the chair. Then, we'll decide what to do with both of these pesky Texas Rangers. I'm sure by now Walker is wondering why they haven't contacted him." The other one said as they made sure Gage was tied securely to the chair. He was also blindfolded and had a strip of duct tape placed over his mouth.

"I'll go into the other room and see how our 'other' prisoner is doing." The man said as he left the room and walked down the hall to where Syd was. She heard someone coming through the door. "Well, are you quite comfy Ranger Cooke?" The voice asked. Syd couldn't see the person because of the blindfold. He gently removed the tape from her mouth.

"Where am I?!? What have you done to Range Gage?!?" Syd snapped as she struggled in the chair. "Patience my dear. Your Ranger Gage is in the next room, but he's a little tied up at the moment." The man said with a laugh as he placed the tape back over Syd's mouth and left the room.

Meanwhile, back at Ranger Headquarters........Walker was really beginning to worry. He looked over at both Trivette and Alex. "I'm beginning to get worried. It's been nearly 5 hours since I sent them to that place." Walker said in a concerned voice. "Have you tried calling them?" Alex suggested. Walker nodded his head. "I have Alex. Either they are out of range or something is blocking the signal. Trivette? Why don't you and I take a drive over there to be sure everything's ok." Walker said as he got up and headed towards the door.

Trivette gave him a surprised look. "You mean go to that haunted house??" Trivette asked, with a tinge of fright in his voice. Alex could hardly keep from laughing. "Don't tell me Ranger Jimmy Trivette is afraid of ghosts and goblins." Alex said with a laugh. Walker stood there with a look on his face that Trivette knew all too well. Finally, Trivette nodded his head as he followed Walker out the door.

When they got to the house, they found Gage's car still parked out in front. Walker walked over as he placed his hand on the hood. "Hood's cold. They must still be inside." Walker said as him and Trivette walked up to the front door. "Man, this place gives me the creeps. Why in the heck did you send them here Walker?" Trivette asked.

"It was part of an April Fool joke I was playing on them. But, I've got a gut feeling that something's gone wrong." Walker said as he reached up to knock on the door, only to have the door open by itself. Trivette jumped back as the door swung open with an eerie creak. "How'd you do that?" Trivette asked. "The door must be rigged to open when someone is in front of it. Go find me a branch, so we can keep this door from closing." Walker asked.

Trivette nodded his head and was back within a matter of moments with a branch. He handed it to Walker. "What's the branch for?" Trivette asked as they started to walk into the house. But, before Walker could turn and put the branch in the door, it shut. The sound echoed throughout the empty house. Walker went over as he tried to open the door, but it was no good.

"Must only open from the outside. Trivette? You check down here while I check upstairs. Yell if you find either Syd or Gage." Walker said as he made his way up the stairs. He was careful not to step on any of the steps that were creaky. Trivette searched the downstairs, but could find no sign of either Gage or Syd. He was just walking into another room when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He slowly turned his head, then realized that it was his reflection in a mirror that he was looking at.

"I sure hope Walker find them and we can get out of here. This place is giving me the woolies." Trivette thought outloud, unaware that someone was coming up from behind him. He was just starting to leave the room he was in when the person came up from behind and made a grab for him.

Trivette had no time to react as the person had their arm across Trivette's neck. "Where's your friend Walker?!?" The voice asked. "He's checking the upstairs." Trivette croaked in a hoarse voice. The person quickly got Trivette tied up and placed in another room. He was also blindfolded and a strip of duct tape placed over his mouth.

Another cliffhanger........part 4 coming soon! =)