Jack scanned the lamps lining the streets and the full moon above gave enough light to see the silhouettes of the warehouses that populated the area. The winter spirit was somehow convinced that if Jamie had really been kidnapped and locked up, he would probably be held captive in that area. If he wasn't there, then he was somewhere else or he was...
Jack bit his lip. Don't even go there, he warned himself.
He flew downwards and halted as his feet touched the rough surface of the asphalt. He called out for Jamie, but wasn't entirely sure if the boy could hear him. What if he had been knocked out and had not come round?
Jack flew up to the nearest warehouse and peered through the dusty windows. There was absolutely nothing to be seen. It was pitch black. Jack rapped several times on the pane, before conceiving an idea. He touched the pane with the tip of his staff and watched as the frost swirled on it. Frost on a window pane in the middle of summer. Anyone would think that was weird. But not Jamie, he would know what- or who- it was.
In a matter of minutes, every warehouse on that street had frost swirling on each window pane and some, even on the walls. Jack grinned at the masterpiece he had created before chiding himself. How could he even think of fun when his first believer was being held captive somewhere, probably already seeing his life flash before his eyes?
Then Jack's ears picked up on that faint pounding sound.
#
Mrs. Bennett stood straight up. Sophie quickly erased the smile that her lips were forming began hurrying towards the exit of the restaurant. Mrs. Bennett followed without hesitation. Every patron in the room turned to watch as the three of them ran out, each seeming to follow the other. Mrs. Bennett cast one look over her shoulder at Mr. Bane and dashed out through the double glass doors.
"Sophie!" she called.
Sophie didn't turn nor stop running, heading towards the main street. The area around them was only occupied by cars, mostly belonging to the restaurant's patrons, as the other lots were mostly closed shops. Her mother panted to keep up. Mr. Bane was faster, however, and caught up with her.
"Sophie!"
Sophie stopped, whirling around. Mr. Bane had gotten his soon-to-be wife in a stranglehold, his eyes blazing with- Sophie couldn't tell what it was. It wasn't fury. It wasn't vengeance. It was something else, something entirely different. It wasn't as frightening as fury would've been, but Sophie felt afraid.
Well, no matter what his eyes screamed, he still had her mother in a stranglehold.
"Let go of her," Sophie said, her voice quivering slightly. She glanced in the direction of the restaurant they had just ran out from. Why wasn't anybody looking their way? She felt a ripple of frustration and annoyance. She took a tentative step forwards, but immediately stopped as Mr. Bane tightened his grip. Mrs. Bennett fixed Sophie with a pleading look.
"One more step and..." Mr. Bane began, but never finished his sentence.
"HELP!"
Sophie's scream pierced the still night air, so sudden that both Mrs. Bennett and Mr. Bane was shocked, and the latter cast furtive, panicked glances around, his grip tightening as Mrs. Bennett tried in vain to prise his fingers off her throat. Sophie hurried forwards and took Mr. Bane's distracted situation to her advantage by delivering a kick to his shin. He yelled in pain, releasing his grip, and Mrs. Bennett was led away by Sophie. One glance over her shoulder told the teen that the customers in the restaurant had heard her scream as they were hurrying out, curious as to what had happened. The two of them reached the main street where Sophie tried to flag down a cab, but there didn't seem to be any vacant ones.
"The car?" Mrs. Bennett asked.
Sophie shook her head. "He has the keys," she said.
A bitter expression formed on Mrs. Bennett's face. Sophie wanted to ask what she was thinking, but their attentions were redirected when a cacophony of shouts was heard. Both turned to see several patrons trying to restrain Mr. Bane, who had recovered from the shock and was trying to run after them. They didn't have to be rocket scientists to figure out who was bothering who, though some merely stood by and watch, fearful of getting involved and others, not wanting to get involved, assuming it had been nothing but a small domestic affair. For the first time in her life, Sophie was pleased there were still people who fancied themselves superheroes.
"Sophie, come on." She turned at the sound of her mother's voice and noticed that Mrs. Bennett had managed to flag down a taxi which they hurriedly climbed into, just as Mr. Bane succeeded in wrenching himself from the patrons' grips and ran in the direction of his car.
"Where to?" the taxi driver asked, nonchalantly, in a weird accent.
Mrs. Bennett and Sophie exchanged glances. They hadn't thought about that. Sophie brainstormed a place and responded with the name of a random street in Burgess that was located miles from where they were. It was near the outskirts of the town, but not quite there.
"Are you crazy? Do you know how far is that?" Mrs. Bennett asked her daughter, as the latter commanded the driver to take them there as fast as he could.
"Well, it'll give us time to think while we're traveling!" she replied. "Mom, where would you hide a kid once you've kidnapped him or her?"
"So he really kidnapped Jamie?"
"Gosh, mom, just answer the question! Oh, don't worry about it, it's obvious he would be somewhere people can't easily find him. Where in Burgess is it always really quiet at this time?
"Outskirts, road to countryside," said a voice that wasn't Mrs. Bennett's. The taxi driver cast them a quick glance through the rear mirror. "Ghost city. Especially at night."
Sophie and Mrs. Bennett exchanged looks again. "Um, so, can you take us there?"
"Of course," the driver responded, as he took a sharp turn. "But kidnapper not so stupid. Take your son far away. Out of town."
Mrs. Bennett felt uneasy. "How do you know it's my son?"
"Lucky guess."
"Maybe you should mind your own business," Sophie snapped. "And step on it!"
#
He felt hopeless, useless. How did he get himself in such a mess? Thinking back to earlier that morning, which seemed like a thousand light years away, it had been all because of his ignorance and his big mouth. If Mr. Bane didn't kill him soon, he would do it himself.
A soft crackling sound reached his ears, but he paid no heed to it. He was no longer bleeding, which was the only good thing that had happened that evening besides succeeding in escaping his bonds. Many escape plans were forming in his mind but all of them seemed too ridiculous to be executed. Jamie's eyelids felt heavy and he decided to take a short nap. He leaned his head against a part of the wall beneath a window and gazed at the moonlight which shone through it, forming a patch of light on the floor. He closed his eyes, drifting off...
Jamie jumped as his eyes flew open. He glared upwards, where that same crackling sound had came from. He listened carefully, noting that it sounded oddly familiar. Slowly getting to his feet, he looked up at the window and stopped short when he saw what it was.
The window pane had beautiful frost patterns swirling on it, despite it being summer. The light from the moon illuminated them, making them sparkle like diamonds. Jamie's eyes widened. Could it be...?
"Jack!" he yelled, before turning to look at the next window, which had also been frosted over, and the next, and the next. Jack was near, he was sure of it, but he couldn't see him anywhere outside in the dimly-lit streets. Jamie strained his ears to listen for the sound of the spirit's laughter, and managed to pick up on it, though it sounded distant.
Jamie ran around and stumbled about in the darkness for a couple of minutes before ending back up at the front door. He began to pound on it with his good hand, hoping someone out there could hear him this time.
Okay, the cab driver is just there for... comic relief; he isn't really part of the plot. He's just really nosey, that's all.
Thanks a lot for your continued support despite the deteriorating quality of the chapters...