Vespers Rising

Chapter 4

The Vesper agents carried the Cahills to the dark alley at the back of the bank. The alley was in shadow and the gray cloud cover hid it from view. The Vepers sat the Cahills on the ground at the back of the alley, and turned to the mouth of it. Mr.McItyre laid side ways, his back against Nellie's knees. Nellie, like Dan and Amy, was sitting up and leaning against the wall behind them. Amy and Dan sat on either side of Nellie, heads touching. Poor Uncle Fiske was face-first on the ground, his mouth full of dirt and sand.

The Vespers where in such a heated argument that they didn't see Dan slowly blink, then shift and moan. He woke up from his drugged haze and found himself in an alley. Through the darkness he could see three shapes, the Vespers. He reached into his pocket to grab his cell phone. Uncle Fiske made them get one so they can stay in contact, and if they get hurt or worse.

Dan clicked the first contact and heard no one answer. He got the voice mail, "Yo! You reached the voice box of the mega gangsta star Jonah Wizard, please leave an awesome message after the beep, yo." Beep.

"Jonah, it's Dan. The Vepers have captured us, and drugged Amy and everyone else. We need help, like pronto, and-" The phone was yanked from Dan's hand and placed into the breast pocket of Margaret.

"Calling for an SOS, are you. You and your family, with us, will be so far gone when they get here. No evidence to point to us, and no clues to follow. But that wouldn't be fun now, would it?" She smiled a dangerous smile, and reached into her pocket to pull out a sheet of paper. She placed it on the ground next to Dan, then promptly picked him up, with his sister, and headed towards a dark black van that had pulled up to the curb.

Margaret tossed them roughly into the back of the van, then Nellie, Fiske and Mr.McIntyre landed after them onto the carpeted ground. Amy landed on Dan, her elbow digging into his ribs. "Hey!" He yelped angrily, momentarily forgetting that Amy was unconscious. "What was that for?" He softly pushed her off him, her body moving effortlessly.

Her head hit the ground softly, a moan popping out of her mouth. Dan quickly turned, surprised by the sound. He shook her shoulders, whispering desperately, "Amy, wake up. Amy! Wake up!" Dan didn't know what to do. He needed someone to help him plan an escape from the dreaded Vespers. And, he wouldn't admit it to anyone, he was scared to be alone while everyone was asleep. He had been alone before and didn't want to feel that again. He shivered at the memory of the time where he and Amy split up, actually he was the one who ran away, but he didn't know what to do. Dan was a person who didn't like feeling helpless.

Amy's eyes flickered, another moan came out. "Amy!" Dan exclaimed excitedly, but quietly. She lifted herself onto her elbows, her head heavy and cloudy. "Dan?" She asked while rubbing a spot on her head. She was starting to get a headache. Dan felt so relieved he could've hugged her, but he didn't, it would've been super gross. He nodded, his messy blonde hair covering his jade-green eyes.

A smile appeared on her lips and she wrapped her thin arms around Dan's neck, squeezing him close. Dan tried to push her away, but he secretly liked how it felt. "Okay, enough with the disgusting lovey-dovey stuff. We need to get out of here, pronto," Dan said to Amy, who laid back down on the cushiony red-velvet carpet. Her head was now throbbing, barely able to process what Dan just said.

"What should we do, then?" Amy asked, her hand swiftly running through her hair nervously. Her jade eyes questioning her little brother, desperation clear. Dan's eyebrows scrunched together in thought. What should we do, he asked himself over and over again. Hmmmmm. Maybe....no. How about......that wouldn't work. After a few minutes of silence, and intensive thinking, that hurt Dan's head a lot, they came up with nothing.

"How about we jump out of the door of the van, you know, like in those awesome spy movies?" Dan suggested desperately. Amy shook her head.

"I think we're going too fast, and those are special effects Dan. I don't think you can actually do that in real life." Amy said in her teacher voice that always got on Dan's nerves.

"Then you suggest something a know-it-all!" He exploded, earning himself a hurtful look from Amy. "Sorry Amy, I'm just so tired of getting captured by people I could die, and this time we don't know anything about our captors. Like, when we were captured by the Holts, we knew what to do, their weaknesses, how to trick them. But this is different, we don't know anything about this family, no one does." Frustrated, that's what Dan felt. Frustrated and just plain tired. Amy gave him a sympathetic and agreeing look, saying she felt the same.

Amy wished she could do something, she wished she had her cell phone still. That's when an idea popped into her head. "Dan, do you have your cell phone?" Dan shook his head slowly.

"But, Mr.McIntyre probably does," Dan replied excitedly, finally finding something to do. He checked the older man's pockets, and pulled out a sleek black flip phone. Dan and Amy crowded around the phone, getting ready to call one of their Cahill cousins. Who should we call, the one person we can trust to come and help us. Dan searched through the contacts when the van slammed to a stop. The sudden loss of motion sent Dan and Amy bumping into the front seats, slamming their heads into the hard seat backs. Amy cried out in pain, adding onto her already throbbing headache.

The van's back doors slid open and the couple appeared, Margaret right behind them. The man and woman grabbed Nellie, Fiske and Mr.McIntyre, leaving Margaret to yank a reluctant Amy and Dan out of the car. Amy gasped at the scene before her.