The Search for Prince Charming

Chapter 12: You Owe Me. Again.

Alviss stood up from where he was after hearing me yell my best friend’s name. I was scared, staring at the worst case scenario come to life. Steph was being held against the stalker’s body with his hand covering her mouth and a gun pointed straight at her head. Her eyes were wet from tears forming, unable to do anything about the situation.

“Stay back, and stay where you are! Don’t more, or else!” the stalker yelled at Alviss and I. He slowly backed away, still holding Steph hostage and as a shield. Now that he was so close to us, I could see his features more clearly. He was shaky and jittery, probably from nerves. His body was ragged, very dirty and disgusting. His face had a scar on his forehead. But his eyes were what scared me the most. They were a grayish color, and they were desperate. Steph tried to call out my name, but the man yelled into her ear to shut up. She began to sob, fearing what he would do.

“How did you find us?” Alviss questioned him. I was wondering that as well.

He laughed a menacing laugh. I began to question his sanity, as he sounded like he was on something. “Please, with a car like that,” pointed at Alviss’ Mustang, “it’s not hard to find. It’s nice, by the way.” We continued to glare at this man. “Anyway, I got lucky. I managed to escape your friends, who tried to attack me, and was in hiding for a bit. When I finally could leave, I was driving away and low and behold, I found you!” He gave another laugh. Steph was clearly very uncomfortable in his grasp. She attempted at trying to get away, but he just held her closer to him. “I followed you back here, leading me back to this girl!” He got Steph to get closer to him, making her scream, but his hand muffled the sound. I wanted to kill him.

“What do you want?” I bravely asked. I had no idea what to do in a situation like this, but all I could think to do was stall the time he was here, even if there was hardly anyone to help us. No one was around us, and we couldn’t run into the store to get help or else he would do something to Steph. He must have quickly planned this well, since we were alone and he stood where no one in the store could view him. The chance of someone coming out of the store was small because so few cars were around, and most people were leaving rather than staying at the mall. This was bad.

“What do I want? What do I want?!” he screamed at me. He gave me a creepy smile; clearly cynical. The man then laughed at me, “This girl is my ticket out of trouble.”

I instinctively took a step forward, not really thinking of my actions. How could I? He had my best friend! The stalker threatened me by pushing the barrel against Steph’s skull, but Alviss stopped my actions. He reached for my hand, holding it firmly so I couldn’t continue closer to the stalker, then pulled me back forcefully. I ran into his body, still feeling his hand connected to me, but I kept wanting to move forward. I had to get to Steph, I just had to! Alviss held me back, moving his hands to my upper arms so he could keep me still. “Don’t move, Kora,” he whispered in my ear, “Stop moving. We can’t risk Steph getting hurt, so stop!” His words calmed me down slightly, ever so slightly, so I managed to regain control of myself. Alviss loosened his grip on me, but still held me close to him, most likely in case I did something I would regret.

“Do you know what her daddy has?” he asked. “Her daddy has money. And you see, babe,” How dare he call me babe! I thought, “I’m in a bit of trouble. I owe some men some money, and this beauty,” he sniffed her hair, scaring Steph more than she needed, “will help me get that money.” His smile crept onto his face again, disgusting me even more. So, that’s why he stalked her. It wasn’t some old man’s crush on a younger girl gone dirty and wrong, it was money. This guy followed her for a week to figure out her daily routine so that when he needed to, he could kidnap her and hold her for ransom. But, when his time was up or he found out she knew, he planned to take her today, in which case I and Alviss and company thwarted his plans. This last ditch effort was a dangerous one. I had to get Steph away from him!