Man I struggled with this chapter, not gonna lie. I'm hitting walls all over the place. Ack. Anyway, here goes.
Vicki's cell was dark, damp and smelt like mildew. It was barely a room it was so tiny, and the GC cared so little about her comfort that it was completely empty save for a hole in the corner that acted as a bathroom. She had been thrown back into the cell after her interrogation and her whole body was in pain. Her ribs were sore, surely one or two were broken. Her face stung and she had a splitting headache. The guards had dropped her on the concrete floor and she was now barely able to move, her body ached so much. She felt her eyes begin to sting with tears that she ferociously tried to blink back. She didn't want to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing her cry, but it was too much. She was terrified. Terrified for herself or course, but more terrified for what was to come. She knew Judd would have found her to be missing by now and she knew he'd be planning to come rescue her. But what about their fight? Maybe he didn't want to rescue her. You said horrible things to him. Maybe he hates you. A frightening voice in her head hissed at her. No. Of course he'd still want to save her. Wouldn't he? Her mind felt like it was turning in circles. She figured they were just lies from the enemy. She squeezed her eyes shut as the tears threatened to spill over. She prayed fiercely, please don't let him come here. Keep him away! She couldn't hold it in anymore. The tears came, and they came in waves. She was terrified, she missed Judd so much. She cried harder as she remembered the last thing she had said to him, "I just don't like you very much right now". She didn't want that to be the last thing she'd ever say to him. She just wanted to see his face one more time. She'd give anything to see him walk into this cell right now and take her in his arms and softly kiss her bruises and hold her as she cried. But if he was here, he'd be the next GC Judahite victim. She shook her head. She was so confused and so, so alone. She hoped he wouldn't come, she prayed he wouldn't come, she didn't want him to come. But she knew deep down that he would. He always did. No matter the danger, he was always there for her. That's one of the reasons she loved him. She rolled into a ball on the cold hard floor and cried and cried until she drifted off to sleep and dreamed of being back home with Judd, safe and sound in his arms.
"Okay, we need a plan." Mark said, pacing the floor.
"Where do you think they're holding her?" Darrion asked.
"The closest GC holding facility probably." Lionel suggested.
"Where do you think that is?" Shelly asked.
"Someone would know. Maybe Chang knows?" Judd piped up.
"We could try." Lionel said, "He's not with GC anymore, but he might have some crazy piece of technology that can help us."
"If it's all we got, it's all we got." Mark said, "Lets call him."
Within minutes, Judd had hooked up the video phone and was frantically dialing Chang Wong in Petra. He tapped the mouse, agitated until his friend answered.
"Judd," Chang greeted, "What's up? You look awful."
"Thanks man," Judd replied, "Appreciate it."
"Sorry." Chang apologized, "What's happening."
"Chang, we need your help." Judd said, "Do you know where the closest GC holding facility is?"
"I might if you send me though your location." Chang replied.
Judd sent though the address and Chang punched some numbers into his computer, chewing his lower lip and furrowing his eyebrows.
"Closest Holding Facility?" Chang muttered.
"What is it?" Judd asked.
"It looks like the closest GC prison is about 50 miles north of your current location. In Appleton"
Judd blew air through his lips, "Great. That's apparently a hot bed of GC activity."
"Sure is." Chang said, "Even looks like Fulcire is currently doing some work there."
Judd dropped his head in his hands, "Fulcire. Great."
"Why do you need to know?" Chang asked, raising an eyebrow.
Judd sighed and looked at his friend, "Vicki was captured by GC."
Chang's eyes widened, "You're kidding."
"I wish I was kidding." Judd replied.
"Man, I'm so sorry."
"Yeah, well, we have a crew together," Judd replied, "We're going to try and find her. We're hoping they're holding her nearby."
"They probably are!" Chang said, "And they're probably just waiting for you to sweep in there on your white horse so they can capture you too! I know GC, you'll all be walking right into a trap."
"And what do you suppose I do Chang!?" Judd exclaimed, "Leave her there to suffer alone? Let her die alone?"
Chang shook his head sadly, "Of course not. You've just got to be careful. Security will be tight and the streets will probably be crawling with GC. I suggest you go off road."
Judd sighed, "We have no idea what we're going to do, Chang. How do we break into a GC prison and get her out this late in the game? This isn't five years ago. Five years ago we could pull stuff like this off, but we are wanted now. They want us dead, simply for the crime of existing."
"I know." Chang said, "It's risky, man. You have to know you could be walking straight into your own execution."
"Yeah, I know." Judd said, "But I can't stay here and do nothing and watch them behead her on National television. Even if they execute us both, at least I'll know I tried. And I'll be with her."
Chang smiled a sad smile, "If I find out anything about her whereabouts or anything that can make this easier for you, I'll let you know asap, okay? I'm going to send you through the directions to the prison. You go get your wife, man."
"Thanks Chang, I appreciate it." Judd signed off and sighed. "Alright, Chang says that the closest GC prison is 50 miles from here in Appleton. Here is a map."
He slapped the map down in the middle of the table.
"How do we know they're holding her there?" Darrion asked.
"We don't," Judd said, "We can only assume. I highly doubt that they would take her anywhere else. She's wanted, they probably want to deal with her as soon as possible. And we have to deal with the possibility they probably want to trap us."
"We need to outsmart them." Mark said.
"How are we going to do that?" Darrion replied, "We can't just walk into the prison, grab her and walk out."
"Security is going to be really tight." Conrad said.
Shelly groaned, "I literally have no idea what to do!"
"Neither do I." Judd murmured, "I think right now all we can do is pray. Hard."
The kids all joined hands and stood in agreement while Judd prayed, "God, we thank you that you are far above our earthly circumstances. We ask you to protect Vicki while she is being held. We ask that you would bring her comfort and peace that passes all understanding. We pray that you would remind her that you love her and that we love her too. And we ask for your wisdom and guidance in what we are about to do. Guide our paths as we look for her and keep us safe. Lord we need a miracle to pull this off. Please help us. Amen."
The group said, "Amen" in agreement and lifted their heads. Shelly and Darrion had tears in their eyes. Judd was fighting them off.
"I think we need to just do it." Mark said. "We need to just go out and get it done."
"I think some of us should stay behind." Conrad said. "I think someone needs to be here in case any more information comes through."
"Good thinking." Mark said, "Who's staying?"
"Well I'm going. Clearly." Judd said.
"I'm going too." said Lionel.
"Vicki's helped me through so much," Darrion said, "I want to go too."
"So do I." Shelly said.
"So looks like I'm left behind?" Conrad said, annoyed.
"It's still an important job, Conrad." Judd said, "We need a contact here. And what if Chang calls and gives us a tip? We need you here."
"Fine." Conrad said, rolling his eyes.
"I'll stay with you." Shelly piped up.
"Are you sure?" Darrion asked.
"Yeah." Shelly said, smiling at Conrad, "Sure."
They were startled when the phone rang. Judd answered it. It was Melinda, back in Avery.
"Judd, turn on the news. Now." She said.
Judd ran to the television and switched it to the right station. Just as he turned it on, a blonde news anchor was reporting breaking news. In the background was a mugshot of Vicki.
"Breaking News today as young Judahite, Vicki Byrne Thompson was arrested by the authorities for crimes against the Global Community. The teenager is best known for her traitorous broadcast during the GC Gala two years ago, in which she delivered hate-speech against the Global Community and its leader Potentate Carpathia. Byrne Thompson has been on the GC's most wanted list for five years as she has consistently demonstrated dangerous and antisocial behavior. Her main accomplice and husband, Judd Thompson is still on the run and is said to be dangerous and unstable. If anyone knows any information regarding the whereabouts of this young man, there will be a substantial reward if the information leads to his arrest."
Judd stood up and threw the remote across the room.
"Darn right, I'm dangerous and unstable!" he yelled. "They took my wife!"
"Calm down, dude," Lionel said putting a hand on his shoulder, "We can't have you flying off the handle. You need to stay strong and more importantly, sane."
"We need to go." Judd said flatly and stomped out to the car.
Ugh. I didn't like that chapter. I hope you like it better. If you're interested, you can go visit my blog at I post some of my original writing over there. Mostly poetry. I also just wrote a poem based on Judd and Vicki and posted it there. It's called "You", just a couple of posts down. Enjoy! x