"Have you guys heard from Jack at all today?" Rudy ran up to Milton and Kim as soon as they came through the door. "He normally stops by before school, but he didn't today."

"No, he wasn't at school today." Kim shook her head. She was worried. Really worried. Not once had Jack missed school without texting them.

"I haven't heard from him either." Milton had been biting his nails since lunch.

"I hope he's okay." Rudy fiddled nervously with his belt as he went back to pacing.

"GUYS." They all jumped when Jerry exploded through the doors and stumbled through the lobby. "RUDY! Turn on the news!"

"What?" Kim caught Jerry before he could tumble over the bench on the edge of the mat. "Jerry what-?"

"Just turn it on!" Jerry tore out of her grasp as Rudy fumbled for the remote and got the news going.

year old Jack Brewer has been reported missing.

"WHAT?!" silence fell over the dojo as a picture of Jack celebrating a tournament win filled the screen.

He was last seen at the Bobby Wasabi dojo at around four-thirty on Monday afternoon. His stepfather Gareth Blake picked him up early from class, neither of them have been seen since. Investigators believe this to be an act of parental abduction. Jack was last seen wearing a white karate gi and a green tee-shirt. If you have any information of the whereabouts of Jack Brewer and Gareth Blake…

Rudy turned off the TV and dropped the remote.

"He's gone…" Jerry finally broke the silence. "Jack is… gone…"

"He'll be okay." Kim was pacing back and forth like a caged lion. "I mean, it's Jack. He can handle anything."

"Kim's right." Milton tried to lift the spirits of those around him, but his heart, too was pounding against his ribs, trying to escape his chest. "This is Jack we're talking about. If he can take down a third-degree blackbelt with a broken hand, he can do anything."

"Guys, I appreciate the optimism here, but this is different." Rudy didn't want to say it just as much as the kids didn't want to hear it. "Let's go to the police station and find out if there's anything we can do to help out. Jack needs us right now."

.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.

"Woah, what a weird dream." Jack thought to himself as he woke up. His room seemed darker than usual. And his bed less comfortable. Wait. Had he fallen asleep in his gi? "That crazy dream… wasn't a dream… was it?" he went to rub the sleep out of his eyes like he did every time he woke up, but when he tried to bring his left hand to his face, his right shoulder protested. "What the-?" as he fully came around, Jack realized his hands were bound behind his back, there was some kind of fabric in his mouth being held in by duct tape, and his feet were tied together. He tried to sit up, but his head quickly connected with something above. He could tell he was in motion. Was he in the trunk of a car?

Jack struggled against the rope at first, but after what could have been seconds or hours, all he managed to do was chafe his ankles and make his wrists bleed. Even if he did manage to get free, what could he do? He could feel that the car was moving fast, so he wouldn't be able to bail without major road rash or getting hit by another car. And if he did somehow manage to get away without dying, he took Gareth's threat against his mom seriously. He wouldn't put her in danger. And so, he just lay there, trying to find a position that was any semblance of comfortable. Before long, he gave up on his tossing and turning and just tried to ignore the ache in his… well… everywhere.

They were driving for what seemed like forever before the car finally slowed a bit and Jack could feel that they were merging off of the highway. His heart sped up as he realized that they might be stopping, which meant Gareth might take him out of the trunk. With each turn they made, Jack's shoulders and hips groaned in pain. He wasn't used to staying still for so long, especially with no option to move.

Eventually, the car came to an abrupt stop and Jack let out a grunt as he was thrown into the back of the seats. He listened, trying his best to keep his breathing steady as he heard Gareth turn off the car, open the door, and shout a greeting to somebody. He couldn't quite hear what was being said at first, but after a few minutes, the voices came closer.

"…just check on the boy. Can't have him causing trouble." Gareth's voice sent a chill across Jack's entire body. For the first time, he realized how powerless he was. And that was terrifying.

"Just hurry in." An unfamiliar man's voice called back. "I got a couple a whores waiting."

"Will do!" The voice was right on top of him now. Jack didn't even have time to think before the trunk opened and he had to shut his eyes against the outside world. It was nearly dusk, but having spent so much time in the darkness, the minimal light pierced his eyes like flaming daggers.

"Oh, you woke up." Gareth mused before grabbing Jack by the hair and yanking him into a sitting position. "Enjoy the ride?" he snickered while ripping the duct tape off of Jack's face and pulling out the rag that had been trapped inside his mouth.

"Where are we?" Jack demanded as soon as he was able. His voice was hoarse and his throat was dry and sore. How long had he been asleep?

"Oh shut up." Jack's head snapped to the left as Gareth backhanded him. "You don't need to know. Now drink up."

Jack looked back up to see a plastic water bottle in Gareth's hand. He clamped his mouth shut and turned his head away, remembering what had happened last time he's been made to drink something.

"Oh don't be a pussy." Gareth roughly grabbed Jack by the jaw and forced his mouth open. "It's just water this time. Now drink it." Jack complied, though, it wasn't as if he had much of a choice in the matter. Gareth practically had the water bottle straight up and down against Jack's mouth. He gulped the water down as fast as he could, but about two-thirds of the way through, he choked and began coughing, which only caused him to inhale more water, which led to more coughing. "What are trying to do? Drown yourself?" Gareth just laughed as Jack hacked up the water, coughing painfully until his lungs settled down. "Don't try to pull shit like that." Jack just glared back. "You don't get to die until I'm ready to kill you, understand?"

Jack felt like his heart stopped for a moment when Gareth said that.

"I said. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" Gareth's fists were tangled in Jack's gi and their noses were no more than an inch apart as he screamed.

"Yes." Jack felt his glare melt into terror as he shut his eyes and turned away.

"Good. I'm glad we understand each other." Gareth released him and grabbed the rag off the ground. "Now, do I need to put this back in? Or are you going to keep quiet?"

"I'll be quiet." Jack practically whispered. He didn't want to be choking on that thing for who knows how long again.

"Good choice." Gareth tossed the rag into the trunk. "Just remember if you do decide to waste your time, nobody will hear you scream. At least, nobody who cares." With that, Gareth slammed his foot into Jack's sternum, sending him crumpling back onto the floor of the car, and slammed the trunk, leaving Jack alone in total darkness again.