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Chapter 9

Stan hid his bike and backpack behind some bushes and went up to the apartment complex. Knowing it would be a very bad idea to knock on each door he decided to look in any windows he could reach. The building was a few stories tall so he could only search the first floor windows.

Later after searching every window on the bottom floor and finding nothing Stan began to panic. The way he saw it was every moment Kyle was with that horrible man was another moment something terrible could happen to him. Images of Kyle dying awful and painful deaths flashed through Stan's mind making him shiver and shake his head to get rid of them. Stan knew he had to save Kyle before anything happened or else he would never forgive himself and be able to live normally from then on.

After a moment of worrying and panicking Stan then remembered the piece of paper that led him there. He took it out of his pocket and carefully scanned over it again for any more clues to his best friend's whereabouts.

Suddenly Stan saw something on the paper that he did not notice before. Written very small in the bottom corner of the back of the paper was a room number. Stan now knew which apartment Kyle was being held captive in. It was on the very top floor which explained why he saw nothing in the bottom floor windows.

Then without any second thoughts Stan bolted up the stairs in the right direction. When he got to a turn in the hallway he cautiously peered from behind the corner and saw the door with the correct number on it. Right before Stan was about to head for the door he saw the doorknob turn and Stan quickly hid himself in a janitor's closet. Stan looked through the keyhole in the closet door and saw the man/Dan that had taken Kyle come out of the room. As he walked by Stan noticed that he was carrying a handgun and was heading for the stairs.

Once Stan knew he was out of earshot, he quickly hurried down the hall and up to the right door. He found that it was locked so Stan searched his pockets looking for something that could help him. He found a paperclip, bent it, and picked the lock. The old door creaked open and Stan walked in. It was dark but a curtain drawn window provided some light which was enough for him to see that he was in a small living room.

When Stan saw no one there he noticed another door across the room. He went over to it and opened the unlocked door. This room was even darker because there were no windows. Stan felt around for a light switch and found one after a few seconds. He switched it on and was very surprised to see Kyle tied up in a chair in the middle of the small room.

Kyle was also very surprised to see him and shouted, "Stan!" which was muffled by the duct tape over his mouth. Stan hurried up to Kyle and ripped the tape off. "Ow!" Kyle said a little too loudly.

"Shhh!" Stan said holding a finger to his lips.

Kyle nodded and Stan started to untie him. "What are you doing here? I thought you hated me," Kyle whispered.

Still working at the tight knots in the rope Stan replied, "I don't hate you Kyle, I'm so sorry for what I did. You were right, I should of listened to my best friend".

Stan then accidentally moved Kyle's jacket sleeve while trying to undo the knots that tied Kyle's hands behind his back. He saw the cuts Kyle made on his arm and gave a small gasp. Luckily Kyle didn't hear or notice Stan's discovery so Stan decided he would talk to him about it later.

When Kyle was finally untied he got out of the chair and they hugged each other tightly. "Do you forgive me?" Stan asked when they pulled away.

"Yeah I'm really glad you're here and I'm sorry for running away," said Kyle.

"Aww that is so cute," came a deeper voice.

Kyle and Stan's blood ran cold as they turned around and saw Dan standing in the doorway with his gun in hand.

Cliffy!