A/N:
Lori- This chapter is EXTREMELY creepy. I think we even creeped ourselves out writing it. So yeah, just a forewarning: DISTURBINGNESS ALERT

Jaeh- And here I am, loving this chapter too much. There's just something about creepy stuff, you know? xD

Disclaimer:

Jaeh- If we own National Treasure, you'll be seeing a lot of angst in its future. Really. But we don't, so, let us all be content with fanfiction. XD

Lori- I agree. National Treasure, a family friendly romp, should have angst in the next movie :P But I don't own it so all the little kid's psyches are safe.

Speaking of damaged psyches, this story took a er, darker turn then we expected. As stated above, it gets rather creepy. That's why we found it fitting to change the title. And the summary. And the genre. Hope that wasn't too confusing :P

The car sped through the empty streets, turning abruptly through abandoned streets or running through dark alleys. Riley knew that his kidnapper was doing that to throw off Riley's sense of direction, or trying to confuse any police who might have been suspicious. But it didn't matter anyway. Riley had given up trying to memorize the way and just stared out the window.

He hoped to see some sort of help, maybe a cop car, or someone he could signal to. But it was three in the morning and everyone was asleep, and he couldn't even signal anyone if he wanted. Riley twisted his hands behind him, but the handcuffs were beginning to dig into his skin, so he stopped. He cautiously glanced at the kidnapper from the corner of his eye. The man still had that mask on over his face… it was unnerving.

He must have sensed Riley's stare because he chuckled. "Enjoying the ride?"

"Yes, very much, thanks," Riley said through gritted teeth. "It's a blast being kidnapped in the middle of the night."

The man didn't reply to him but Riley could sense with a shiver down his spin, he was grinning. True panic began to settle in his stomach then. Oh God, he thought. What does he want with me? What's going to happen to me? He forced himself to calm down before he gave his fear away. Keep your head, Riley. Like Ben would do. Yeah. He'd keep his head.

The car seemed to go faster. Riley noticed how many red lights they already ran, and hoped to God that some cop would tail them or something. Then they abruptly drove off the road to a very deserted, creepy looking place, no buildings in sight. Riley heard the car roll over gravel before it slowed to a stop. He found himself staring at an abandoned carnival, complete with huge clown face hanging above the barricaded entrance. He gulped. It's like a scene from a horror movie…

They stopped beside a small side entrance. Riley felt another shiver through him as his assailant slowly walked over to the passenger's side door, feet crunching on the gravel. He opened the door and leered at Riley with cold grey eyes.

"I'm going to untie your legs and you're going to come with me when I open the gate. If you attempt to run off, I won't hesitate to shoot you dead."

Riley stared at him incredulously. "What would ever make you think I'd run away? I thought we were buddies."

The man unbuckled Riley's seat belt, turning away from him for a moment to retrieve something else from the glove compartment. Riley used the opportunity to adjust his seating discreetly so he could make a break for it. Then, his kidnapper snapped open a knife and Riley swallowed hard. "Ah, you are an amusing one, Mr. Poole. Very amusing indeed. But it will amuse me when I squeeze all that arrogance out of you."

"Is that why you dragged me to an abandoned amusement park?" Riley couldn't stop himself. I hope my tongue doesn't get me killed…

As the man began to cut the ropes around his ankles, Riley prepared himself. Maybe if he could take him by surprise… As if sensing this, the kidnapper stopped and turned to Riley, and with unease, Riley thought he could see a manic grin under that mask.

"Trust me on this, Mr. Poole – I won't hesitate to kill you. I'm a great shot. But that doesn't mean I would let you get off that easy."

Riley shifted back into his last seating position. Finally, the ropes were cut, and his legs were free. In that moment, Riley made his decision. Snapping out his leg, he nailed the psycho in the face with his Converse. The man cursed, both hands going up to cover his face, blood spewing between his fingers.

Riley didn't have time to think. He rolled out of the seat, onto the gravel road and barely made it two steps when he was tackled from behind, and his face scraped into dust and rock. He felt the kidnapper's hands begin to pull him backwards and Riley struggled and kicked out for all he was worth.

"Let me go!" Riley shouted furiously. Then his struggling stopped all together when he felt something cold press into his neck and something warm dribble down it.

"Well, Mr. Poole," he snarled in Riley's ear, out of breath. "I didn't realize how feisty you were. This makes things all the more interesting for me."

Riley didn't like the sound of that, but he figured now wasn't the best time to spew a sarcastic remark, especially with a knife pressed painfully into his neck.

"Now come quietly, or next time I won't be so…kind to you."

Riley couldn't nod, could barely speak, but he managed to croak out "…fine." Riley was released and he wished he could touch his neck to see just how much blood was drawn…

"Time to go," his kidnapper said in a singsong voice. Riley gritted his teeth and let himself be pushed forward toward the incredibly creepy abandoned carnival. He watched as his kidnapper pulled open a chain link fence that led into the carnival.

Riley shuddered. Something about the way that… that insane maniac spoke to him was…unnerving to say the least. Riley knew his kidnapper was serious about shooting him if he tried to escape. Riley knew he was in a presence of a lunatic. I foresee a lot of pain for me in the future. Riley sighed, and bit his tongue. But by God, I'm going to get out of this alive. God, help me. Help me…


Devin pushed Riley forward. Riley was a little bit off balance, because of his bound hands, and he tripped on the loose gravel. Devin laughed cruelly, and gestured with his knife for Riley to get up. "Come on, Mr. Poole. Surely you do not expect me to help you up?"

"I would have appreciated it." Riley spat some dirt out, blood trickling from his neck. Devin glanced at the wound, and shook his head. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. You might want to get that cleaned. Caked with who knows what… I don't want you to die before I'm finished playing with you." Devin knelt down next to the sprawled form and ran a grimy hand over the wound, wiping away the blood. Riley winced in disgust and at stinging feeling in his neck. Devin laughed at the young man's discomfort and wiped his hand on Riley's shirt.

"Consider this comeuppance for my nose. Feel lucky that this is all you're gonna get for breaking it."

"Oh yeah…breaking it was a lot of fun," Riley ground out. Devin gave him a rough kick in the stomach. Riley curled up, gasping in pain.

"Up." Devin commanded, thoroughly enjoying himself. Riley glared at him, with defiant blue eyes and slowly forced himself to his feet. Ah, Mr. Poole. It will be fun to break you. He roughly shoved Riley and pushed his prey into the carnival. They passed a merry-go-round, clearly dilapidated and unusable. Some of the horses' heads were missing an ear, or its nose; some of them actually gone. Devin grinned madly, and glanced at Riley. "See that there?"

"It's a creepy, broken merry-go-round."

Devin cackled. "I remember going around on this assignment once. Had to kill some child. I accidentally slipped and chipped the ear on the horsie he was riding. First time I ever mucked up a job."

Riley didn't say anything and instead turned away from the ride. Devin steered him closer to it. "Of course, I finished the job. Had to pick the kiddo up after school and put him out his misery – " Devin winked at Riley " – and finished the job."

Riley visibly shuddered, his facing loosing what little color it had.

"You…you sick-"

"Riley, Riley, Riley. In my book, a job is job. Money is money, doesn't matter too much who the target is." Riley looked nauseous and Devin laughed again. "I live for this, Mr. Riley Poole. It's my job, my calling, if you will." His laugh faded into a grin.

He pushed his catch towards the Ferris wheel. "We're going to play on that soon. It still works, you know. Hotwired the thing myself. Of course, it might collapse at any given moment, but that adds to the fun, right?"

"So you make creepy carnival rides in your spare time?" Riley asked evenly. "That's a weird hobby."

"You can say that…" Devin said thoughtfully. "I do enjoy places like these. Abandoned wastelands… once full of laughter and cheer!" Devin exaggerated the two words in a mocking fashion. "I like the idea that it's all futile… that it will shut down and rot with the people. That everything in life is like a carnival, will die, leaving nothing but a festering corpse behind…" He ran a hand through Riley's hair then dug his dirty fingernails into Riley's skull. He smirked at the way Riley tried to jerk out of his grip. "But also I like bringing some of the fun back here…"

Devin released his hold on Riley's head and was satisfied to see a true spark of fear in his eyes. He shoved Riley forward again. "I regret to inform you, Mr. Poole that we're going to have to head straight to our destination. I enjoyed our little tour… Did you?" Riley didn't answer, but Devin paid it no mind. Ah fear. He inhaled deeply, like he was trying to absorb every sense of fear Riley was giving off. Nothing better than fear.

Devin stopped, and pointed to the funhouse in the middle of the carnival. A place had never looked so inviting. Even the doll factory he last did his work in was nothing compared to this.

Devin pushed Riley in the door, which hung precariously on its hinged. He led Riley to the middle of the room, passing the distorting mirrors and still grinning madly. Riley tried to pull away, but Devin quickly yanked on Riley's sleeves. He slammed Riley against a narrow mirror, causing it to crack and get stained with blood. "Now, Mr. Poole, I want you to behave. I have this place memorized, and it would do you no good to hide. Unless I tell you to play hide and seek with me. Understand?"

Riley struggled a bit, but Devin pressed him closer to the wall. "Got it, buddy?"

"Yes!" Riley mumbled, still squirming in Devin's iron grip.

Devin let go, and Riley stumbled to the floor. Devin laughed evilly. "Is that the best you could do?"

Riley glared at him, and stood up. Devin pushed him forward again. Have to keep my eye on this one. I hope he tries something stupid. Devin grinned, and kicked Riley into the center of the room.

Riley's head throbbed in pain, where it had cracked the mirror. This man was a psychopath, in every sense of the word. A sick disgusting, depraved individual who in the very least should be thrown into prison and never see the light of day again. Riley couldn't get his head around that his captor had murdered an innocent child. Every time he thought of it he felt like throwing up.

He talked about hurting people like it was a recreational sport.

Riley had a horrible feeling some sort of sick torture was waiting for him. He had never remembered feeling this frightened in his life, and it didn't help that he had no idea what was planned for him. If I die here, I'm giving Ben my Star Wars and Star Trek and Lord of the Rings dvd collections, and Abby, my Wii, complete with the Tennis game she hates so much because she can't win. Just to annoy them. Then again… how can I give them those things if I'm dead? Oh stop that, Riley, you're not going to die. Someone's going to find you. I hope…

"We're here, Mr. Poole…" came the cold voice in his ear, interrupting his thoughts. Riley blinked and looked around. The room was pretty much bare, save for a chair in the center. A dim light was the only way he could see into the room. Then he heard a shuffling sound he snapped his head around.

"Ah, you brought him Devin. Good job." Riley's stomach lurched at the voice.

"Ian?!" Riley gasped, unable to stop himself. The blond Brit stepped into his field of vision, smiling at him.

"Surprised to see me?" Ian asked, amused at the shock on Riley's face.

"But – you were-jail – " Riley spluttered.

"Yes, and I broke out. Obviously." Ian said in a bored tone. "Now, I have you, and I can collect the money I deserve from Benny-boy."

Riley felt himself almost begin to laugh. He wasn't sure why, but something like relief came over him. "That's it?! Ransom?" For some reason, Riley actually felt better about Ian being there…. Ian was a low-life scum, but Riley doubted he was as low as Devin, as Riley now knew him. Being alone with Devin terrified Riley. The man was so frightening, as if he stepped out of some sort of horror movie. As if sensing these thoughts, Devin tightened his grip around Riley.

Another thought came to Riley. Does Ian even know how crazy this guy actually is? Why would he ever hire him? Oh, right. To kidnap me. I hope that's all these two have planned, anyway.

"Tie him to the chair," Ian said carelessly.

"I don't appreciate being ordered around," Devin said in a dangerous voice.

Ian narrowed his eyes at Devin. "You are under contract until the ransom is paid. And you agreed to do as I say, and then you'll get your share."

Devin made a growling noise in Riley's ear and then man-handled him none too gently into the chair. There was a ripping sound and Riley grimaced as he Devin duct taped him onto the chair. That's gonna hurt later…

Then he leaned down and whispered in Riley's ear so only he could hear him, "Don't worry Mr. Poole… I won't go back on my words…I will have some fun before this is over."

Riley's stomach clenched. He had to force himself to remain looking straight forward, trying to keep his breathing calm. At least I know what I have in store for me. Even if I'd rather not…

Ian held up an old fashioned phone and grinned at Riley. "Well, Riley, shall we call your little friends?"

Lori- O_o Egads. Please review!

Jaeh- Creep-factor scale: 6. I wonder if it'll still go up.