Lori- Thanks for all the great reviews!!!
Jaeh- Yeah! I didn't really expect 40+ reviews before chapter 5! wow guys, thanks!
Ben stared at the empty space in front of him. He turned to Ian. "Where. The hell. Is Riley." Ben growled. He took a step forward, but Abigail held him back with her hand. "Where is he Ian?!"
Ian touched the bridge of his nose, and huffed. "Devin. That son of a – "
"Ian, I thought you said Riley was here." Abigail walked forward and looked intently at the chair, as if to make sure that Riley really wasn't there. She looked at the cut tape and shuddered, knowing Riley had been held captive on the chair. Anxiously, she turned. "Riley?" Abigail shouted. Only an echo answered her, and she sighed dejectedly.
"Where's Riley?!" Ben screamed at Ian. "Where the hell did you take my best friend?!" He turned to the chair, and frantically searched for any clue to where Riley could be. He saw a few drops of blood on the floor, and his heart immediately jumped in fear. He whirled around to face Ian again, but he wasn't there anymore.
"Ben, Ian ran to the car." Abigail yelled at him, already halfway towards the door in pursuit.
"The money." Ben cursed under his breath and followed.
Ian reached the car, and yanked the door open, which they thankfully had forgotten to lock. He peered inside, but found no duffel bags. He swore, and entered the car to make sure there really was nothing.
By the time he got out of the car, Ben had already caught up to him. He slammed Ian against the door.
"Bloody hell, Ben!"
"WHERE'S RILEY?!" Ben screamed into his face. Ian didn't move, staring at Ben. He had never seen Ben that… angry before. It honestly unnerved him. Ian wanted to kick Ben off himself, but Ben pinned him to the car.
"I don't know! It's out of my hands now - Devin has him, the b-"
"This is NOT helping Riley!" Abby yelled, pulling Ben off Ian with difficulty. "Verdammt, Ian! He's your henchman! Where would he take Riley? What does he want with him?"
Ian ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't know, Abigail." Ian looked at Abigail, his voice dead serious. "I don't know."
"What does he want with Riley, Ian?" Abigail asked exasperatedly. She opened the car door and sat in the seat. "What was his name? Devin?"
Ian nodded, gritting his teeth. The maniac got what he wanted… "We need to figure something out… we need to get – "
Before Ian could even finish, Ben slammed his fist into his jaw. Ian staggered backwards and cursed, massaging his jaw. "What the hell was that?"
"That was for kidnapping Riley. Heck, why is Riley always the victim?" Ben sighed, and leaned against the car. "Why is it never me?"
Ian rubbed his chin and glared at Ben. "Are you done?" Ben stared back angrily, but said nothing. Ian took it as a yes, and continued. "Well, then, we better get on finding Riley." Ian sighed, and rubbed his forehead. "Devin… Devin's dangerous. As much as I hate that twit of yours, I wouldn't wish Devin on anybody." He looked up at Ben, whose eyes quickly flashed from anger to fear.
"Abigail raised an eyebrow at Ian. "It sounds like you're actually worried about him."
Ian glared at her. "Far from it. Devin has the money you still owe me. And the only way I could get it is by finding that twerp."
Ben clenched his fists until the fingernails dug into his skin. "We need to find Riley before Devin does something to him."
Abigail bit her lower lip. She had never seen Ben so furious and so... scared before. Abigail sighed, and massaged her right temple. She was scared too, of course. From what she heard from Ian, Devin was not someone anyone would want to meet in a dark alley, or anywhere for that matter. Even Ian couldn't keep him in place. Abigail frowned. She glanced around, hoping to find some sort of clue… There! What…
A small piece of paper peeked from under the car seat. Abigail reached for it, and unfolded the note. What she read made her blood run cold, and she instantly launched into reading it aloud. Ben and Ian immediately hushed, and both tried to look over Abigail's shoulder.
"Mr. Gates and Ms. Chase…
I hope you don't mind me borrowing your little friend here for a while. We were having too much fun playing, but Daddy Ian doesn't want us to play grown-up games like I'm used to. So I took my toy away for a moment so I could play with him alone. We're going to have so much fun, wish you were here.
Oh, and I grabbed some of your money too. I hope you don't mind, seeing as you're so keen on giving it to Ian anyway, that must mean you don't care where it goes. The bags were heavy, but Riley didn't protest when he carried them off into our new hiding place. Of course, my little tricks of persuasion could be the reason for that, but he has been a very good kid so far. Thanks for the cash – I'll make sure to spend it wisely.
Well, it's time to play hide and seek.
PS: Riley says hi."
Abigail paled, and dropped the letter. "Games? Wh – "
"Oh my God, what is-" Ben's eyes widened, and he picked up the letter from the ground, scanning it again.
Ian leaned against the car and crossed his arms. "What the hell is that psycho up to…"
Riley watched as Devin sorted through a pile of cash from the duffle bag. For the first time, the man had taken his mask off and Riley was able to see what he actually looked like.
He had a pale gaunt face, no hair on his head at all, he looked almost skull-like. Riley shuddered as the steely gray eyes lingered on him for a moment. "Well, Mr. Poole. It seems like your friends do care about you, if they're willing to pay all this money."
Devin took the duffle bags and slid open a floorboard, pushing them in. It suddenly struck Riley how well his kidnapper knew the place. How many passages and rooms were there in this carnival anyway?
Riley groaned silently. His limbs were sore from being bound in the chair, but his hands were once again behind his back in handcuffs. Devin had temporarily released him to carry the money. The whole time Riley felt the knife pressed into his back.
He stood awkwardly, shifting from one foot to another, trying to ease their soreness.
"Well, now that that's out of the way…." Devin turned toward him, that cruel smile on his face. "…it's about time I tell you what games I have in mind."
"Oh, please do," Riley spat. "I'm so excited."
Devin chuckled. "Eager, are we?"
"No, it's called sarcasm."
Devin simply grinned and took Riley by the arm. "Do you know where we are, Mr. Poole?"
Riley looked around. Devin had brought him into a red and yellow striped circus tent. The stands were empty, and they stood in the center of the ring "Why don't you tell me," Riley shot back.
Then the knife was back, pressing into the small of Riley's back.
"You can do better than that," Devin purred.
"A-A circus tent. We're in a circus tent." Just get that knife off me!
Devin waved his hand, presenting the place proudly."See that wasn't so hard. This is going to be where are first game is. Think of me as the Ringmaster." He bowed with a flourish.
Riley was trying not to panic. Trying not to think of what Devin had in store for him. Think happy thoughts… I'm… watching cool, nice clowns, spraying each other with water and hitting each other with pie… No evil ringmasters ready to feed me to the lion or something… Happy thoughts, Riley.
"Now, see that over here?"
Riley turned and saw a clear rectangular box, about 8 feet tall. Riley nodded in trepidation. "It's one of the many spectacles Houdini used to draw crowds," Devin told him, closing the knife.
Riley jumped when he heard a snap. Devin undid his handcuffs and whirled him around to face the object.
"It called the Chinese Water Torture Cell."
Water torture…? Riley thought in horror. He looked at the box again and saw that it was indeed, filled with water. Oh God.
"Houdini managed to get himself out, with chains on." Devin whispered slyly in his ear. "It's always been interesting to me… to see if a normal person, would be able to get out…. If they have the right amount of desperation."
Riley couldn't let this happen. As Devin began to drag him toward it, Riley fought desperately. He kicked and screamed and flailed, trying everything to keep away from the box.
But despite Devin's skeleton-like appearance, he was surprisingly strong. He yanked Riley up the steps, onto a platform in front of it. Devin slammed Riley violently onto the platform, causing the whole thing to vibrate. Riley lashed out with his legs and arms, still struggling.
"Mr. Poole, you're making a scene. Do calm down." Riley heard what must have been the chains, because he struggled all the harder, now shouting, in the off chance someone would hear him.
"Get away from me!" Riley screamed, fighting back as hard as he could. It did no good; Devin had already chained his legs.
Devin growled in annoyance, grabbing Riley's face in his hands. "Cooperate, Mr. Poole. It'll be easier on both of us that way."
"Don't- touch me!" Riley spat and bit down hard on Devin's hand. Devin cursed and yanked his hand away. He observed his palm and seemed mildly surprised to see blood dribbling from it.
"Good pets don't bite," Devin said dangerously. "Or scream." He took out the fabric and gagged Riley with in again. "I'm sorry, I didn't want it to come to that, but you left me no choice."
Riley closed his eyes tight. There was no way to call for help, nothing he could do. He knew he was moments away from his own death. Devin finished chaining him and leaned over him. Devin was out of breath, the struggle with Riley seemed to have taken energy out of him. Riley wondered if he had fought back just a little bit longer, if it would have made any difference…
"The rules of this game are simple. I drop a key in. You can grab it and unlock your chains or drown."
Riley stared up at him. He's giving me a way out…? Of course he is. This is all part of his sick twisted game.
Devin rolled Riley to his side and removed the gag. He dangled something in front of Riley's face, silver and glinting. The key. There's a way to survive. God… oh God…please…. I want to live.
There was a tiny plop as the key was thrown into the box.
"Go fetch," Devin sneered. Then he kicked Riley into the icy water.
"Riley!" Ben called out to the empty carnival. He was tempted to peek in through every door and every window, but Ian kept moving fast towards different areas where Devin could have hidden Riley. "Ian – are you sure they're still here?"
Ian nodded. "Yes. The car's still here."
"Could they have left on foot?" Abigail asked.
"No. You couldn't leave this place simply on foot. Besides, the only way out is the front gate. There are back doors, but they don't go anywhere but to the road where you stopped. We would have seen them."
Abigail sighed, fear etched across her face. "Where could they be…"
She turned to Ian and glared. "We need to call the police."
Ian grimaced. "Not if I have anything to say about. You forget, Ms. Chase, I still have the gun." He took the weapon out of his jacket.
Abigail took a step toward Ian, looking ready to kill.
Ben put a hand on her arm, holding her back. He wanted to strangle Ian just as much as she did, but he didn't want to risk anything with a gun pointed at them.
"This is a life, Ian!" she hissed. "You selfish, conceited… missgeburt-!" She swore in German.
Ian was about to snap back but Ben suddenly raised his hand. "Can anyone else hear that?"
"Hear wha- wait, I hear it." Abigail said, and stopped. "Are those… Are those screams?" She reached for Ben, who grabbed her hand. "Ben… someone's screaming."
"It sounds like Riley," Ben gasped. Abigail went white and stared back at him.
Ben began to call out frantically. "Riley! Riley, where are you?!" Ben looked around wildly, trying to look for where the sound was coming from. "Riley!"
Ian pointed toward a direction. "It's coming from there!" They broke into a run.
"Riley! Riley we're coming! Just… just hold on!"
"Ben, what in the world is that psycho doing to Riley? Why is he screaming?!" Abigail yelled in panic. "Riley! Riley we're coming!"
Then the screams suddenly stopped. The carnival was as still and as quiet as before with only a gust of wind and an occasional cricket chirp.
"Where… what…?" Ben stopped, skidding on the gravel. "Riley?!"
"What… why did he stop?" Abigail looked terrified. "What happened? Oh no… Ben…. What if Devin…" She couldn't say the words.
Ben grabbed her shoulders. "No, Abigail we can't give up hope. Don't think like that. We have to keep looking."
Ian nodded. "Devin may have gagged him or knocked him unconscious. The sounds were somewhere in that direction – " Ian waved a hand " – but I don't know where exactly."
Ben swallowed, and rubbed his face with a hand. "We have to find him. Now." The sense of urgency he felt earlier had turned into downright dread. His heart pounded in his chest, and he honestly never remembered being this scared. He didn't want to assume the worse, but he feared that when they got there it would be already too late.
Riley dropped into the water like a sack of sand, and he struggled to kick up to the surface. The chains were weighing him down, and Riley started to panic.
He thrashed and kicked wildly, then saw the key lying at the bottom of the box. Riley wasn't sure how to reach the small key in the narrow cell. It was nearly impossible to turn. He tried to lower his hands down to reach for it. The cell wouldn't let him twist his body normally, and the chains were restricting his movement.
He let out a couple of air bubbles. Riley knew he was running out of time, but there was absolutely no way that he could reach that small key without some sort of outside help. He glanced desperately at Devin, who watched him with interest. A small, amused smile tugged at Devin's mouth, and he waved a little.
More air escaped from Riley. He twisted this way and that, each time drawing closer and closer to the key, but never completely reaching it. Riley tried jumping a little to adjust his aim, and his fingers drew closer to the key, even brushing against it. Riley made a sound of frustration, causing more bubbles to escape from his mouth. His lungs were burning. He needed air.
Devin tapped on the glass like a kid at the aquarium, and Riley glanced at him. "Having fun?" Devin mouthed, and then laughed. Riley glared, and adjusted his aim again. I'm not going to let him win.
The key brushed against his fingers once more, but closer than before – he almost grabbed it off the floor, but it slipped. Riley's lungs felt like they were about to explode. He needed to breathe something!
I don't know how much longer I can last… I need to concentrate…
Riley kicked at the panels of the box, and he positioned his legs to hold himself steady over bottom. He strained his bound arms and with a thrill in his stomach, managed to grab the key from the floor.
Blackness was gathering at the edges of his vision. He had to get out. Now. He fumbled for the lock, and with nimble fingers he slipped the key into the hole and twisted the key.
The locked clicked and dropped. Riley almost took a breath in relief, but he was still underwater.
The chains slipped off his body easily and sunk to the bottom with a dull clank. Then he kicked up to the surface, and emerged into the air. It was like an icy punch to his lungs, but he felt life flow back into his body.
Oh God, thank you!
Riley hung to the edges of the box, too weak to pull himself. He was coughing up water, his breaths coming out more as sobs of relief.
Two wiry hands grabbed him by the arms and pulled him from the water tank. Riley continued to retch up water. Nothing existed for him at that moment but coughing and breathing.
Finally, he gained his bearings, and simply lay there, gasping and shivering. Then he heard someone clapping enthusiastically.
"Good show, Mr. Poole, good show! I'm glad my toy is as strong as I thought it is!" Riley opened his eyes and just stared dumbly at Devin in disbelief. "You're living up to my expectations Mr. Poole, and I am glad you are!"
Riley managed to muster up a glare. "L-Let… me go…" he wheezed. "Y-You…sick….f-freak…"
"But Riley, we've only just begun!" Devin grinned.
The cuffs were slapped back on, but Riley didn't have the strength to protest. Devin hauled him roughly up onto his feet. Riley couldn't even stand up straight, he was shivering so badly.
Then Devin gave him a hard shove and he tumbled down the platform steps and collapsed in a heap at the bottom. Riley whimpered in pain and managed to curl his body into a fetal position.
Devin squatted beside him, took him by the chin, and said, "Congratulations, Mr. Poole. Are you ready for the next part of the act?"
Lori- We were going to be evil and end the chapter when Devin pushes Riley into the water but we probably would have been killed by you guys :P
Jaeh- We decided a little mercy would be good for us all at this point. xD