Chapter 4
"...ed! Fred!" I heard someone say. It sounded like it was coming from a mile away, but when I blinked and slowly came to, I saw that I was looking directly into Charles's face.
"Man, I thought you were never gonna wake up. He messed you up pretty good," he said, looking at what I supposed were two red wounds on my neck.
"Ow," I muttered, and tried to sit up straight. A thin ray of sunlight was falling in through a crack in the boarded up window, and spread out across the floor, right on the spot where Wesley had been lying before.
"Where did they take Wesley?" I asked, panicking.
"Couldn't say. They took him upstairs hours ago. I doubt they're still working on the man though." Charles said, gesturing at the window. "It's a bright and sunny day, they're probably catching up on their beauty sleep right now. But check this out..."
He pointed towards the door. Putting the palms of my hands firmly on the floor, I carefully made my way over to the door on hands and knees, gritting my teeth to fight the pain. There was a piece of brick placed between the frame and the door, preventing it from closing and falling into the lock automatically.
"I saw your friend Wesley putting it there as they dragged him out. He just had it clenched in his fist, and when they pulled him past the door by his feet, he just slid it into place with out them noticing. I'll tell ya, the man's got guts..."
"There's something written on it," I interrupted. Charles kept the door open an inch with one hand, while I picked up the brick. Wesley had put down two words, etched white in the red brick: 'GET HELP'.
Charles nodded when I showed him the markings. "He's right. We have to get outta here fast and warn someone who can help out."
"What? We can't just leave Wesley here, with them! I don't even want to think about what they're gonna do to him when they find out we're gone!" I said angrily.
"So, we'll act fast. Look, I get what you're sayin', but we can't storm in there without a plan. Usually, I'm all for the pummeling, but we're both pretty damaged. Besides, not to sound like an ass, but we're not even sure he's still alive. We'd just be signing up to get slaughtered."
I just looked at him. As much as I'd hate to leave Wesley behind, Charles had a valid point.
"You're right, we should go while we still have the chance. It's just... he did this to save my life..."
"And we'll save his too. But we need to get some backup first. I promise we'll be back before they wake up," Charles said kindly. I nodded.
As quietly as possible, we both stood up, each of us leaning on the other for support. Very carefully, we opened the dungeon door and looked out into the hallway. It was deserted and almost dark, apart from the few rays of sun coming from the dungeon. Stumbling, we made our way to the end of the corridor and up the stairs.
The sunlight nearly blinded me when we reached the ground floor. Another long corridor stretched out before us, flanked by about a dozen closed or boarded up doors, and ending in a large lobby. We walked past all the doors as silently as we could, but it was impossible to say where the vampires were, or where Wesley was.
"We're gonna have a hell of a job busting in here," Charles whispered.
"I don't care. I'm not gonna leave him –he's my friend," I snapped back.
"I know, I know, I was just saying, 's all..." Charles responded apologetically as we reached the front doors.
Looking around nervously, I rattled the doorknob. Then I stared down at it in disbelief.
"It's locked. And there's no other way out!" I hissed, looking out and feeling increasingly panicked.
"Sure there is," Charles said with a small grin, "we'll just have to use our imagination, won't we?" And with that, he walked up to a window that was only boarded up near the top, to keep direct sunlight out. Covering his face with one arm, he smashed the window with his elbow and quickly removed the remaining pieces of glass.
"That probably woke 'em up. Hurry!" he said. He put his hands on my hips and lifted me up. Quickly, I clambered through the window, closely followed by Charles.
In a matter of seconds, I was standing with my feet solidly on the pavement, blinking against the harsh sunlight.
I noticed Charles taking my hand and followed him apathically as we hurriedly made our way down the street, turning corners and running through alleys until finally, we came to an abrupt halt.
"There's no way they can track us here. Too much sunlight," he said, gasping for breath, as we both slumped down against a wall in an alley.
I looked at Charles, and we both smiled. He really did have the most beautiful eyes, I thought.
Before I knew what I was doing, I leaned over and kissed him softly.
"...ed! Fred!" I heard someone say. It sounded like it was coming from a mile away, but when I blinked and slowly came to, I saw that I was looking directly into Charles's face.
"Man, I thought you were never gonna wake up. He messed you up pretty good," he said, looking at what I supposed were two red wounds on my neck.
"Ow," I muttered, and tried to sit up straight. A thin ray of sunlight was falling in through a crack in the boarded up window, and spread out across the floor, right on the spot where Wesley had been lying before.
"Where did they take Wesley?" I asked, panicking.
"Couldn't say. They took him upstairs hours ago. I doubt they're still working on the man though." Charles said, gesturing at the window. "It's a bright and sunny day, they're probably catching up on their beauty sleep right now. But check this out..."
He pointed towards the door. Putting the palms of my hands firmly on the floor, I carefully made my way over to the door on hands and knees, gritting my teeth to fight the pain. There was a piece of brick placed between the frame and the door, preventing it from closing and falling into the lock automatically.
"I saw your friend Wesley putting it there as they dragged him out. He just had it clenched in his fist, and when they pulled him past the door by his feet, he just slid it into place with out them noticing. I'll tell ya, the man's got guts..."
"There's something written on it," I interrupted. Charles kept the door open an inch with one hand, while I picked up the brick. Wesley had put down two words, etched white in the red brick: 'GET HELP'.
Charles nodded when I showed him the markings. "He's right. We have to get outta here fast and warn someone who can help out."
"What? We can't just leave Wesley here, with them! I don't even want to think about what they're gonna do to him when they find out we're gone!" I said angrily.
"So, we'll act fast. Look, I get what you're sayin', but we can't storm in there without a plan. Usually, I'm all for the pummeling, but we're both pretty damaged. Besides, not to sound like an ass, but we're not even sure he's still alive. We'd just be signing up to get slaughtered."
I just looked at him. As much as I'd hate to leave Wesley behind, Charles had a valid point.
"You're right, we should go while we still have the chance. It's just... he did this to save my life..."
"And we'll save his too. But we need to get some backup first. I promise we'll be back before they wake up," Charles said kindly. I nodded.
As quietly as possible, we both stood up, each of us leaning on the other for support. Very carefully, we opened the dungeon door and looked out into the hallway. It was deserted and almost dark, apart from the few rays of sun coming from the dungeon. Stumbling, we made our way to the end of the corridor and up the stairs.
The sunlight nearly blinded me when we reached the ground floor. Another long corridor stretched out before us, flanked by about a dozen closed or boarded up doors, and ending in a large lobby. We walked past all the doors as silently as we could, but it was impossible to say where the vampires were, or where Wesley was.
"We're gonna have a hell of a job busting in here," Charles whispered.
"I don't care. I'm not gonna leave him –he's my friend," I snapped back.
"I know, I know, I was just saying, 's all..." Charles responded apologetically as we reached the front doors.
Looking around nervously, I rattled the doorknob. Then I stared down at it in disbelief.
"It's locked. And there's no other way out!" I hissed, looking out and feeling increasingly panicked.
"Sure there is," Charles said with a small grin, "we'll just have to use our imagination, won't we?" And with that, he walked up to a window that was only boarded up near the top, to keep direct sunlight out. Covering his face with one arm, he smashed the window with his elbow and quickly removed the remaining pieces of glass.
"That probably woke 'em up. Hurry!" he said. He put his hands on my hips and lifted me up. Quickly, I clambered through the window, closely followed by Charles.
In a matter of seconds, I was standing with my feet solidly on the pavement, blinking against the harsh sunlight.
I noticed Charles taking my hand and followed him apathically as we hurriedly made our way down the street, turning corners and running through alleys until finally, we came to an abrupt halt.
"There's no way they can track us here. Too much sunlight," he said, gasping for breath, as we both slumped down against a wall in an alley.
I looked at Charles, and we both smiled. He really did have the most beautiful eyes, I thought.
Before I knew what I was doing, I leaned over and kissed him softly.