Kidnapped by the Bad Boy - A Caleb Joseph story

Step 3: Surrounded by Enemies

Donovan raised the knife high up above his head, then flipped it around and used the handle to smash open the glass cage. "Follow me," he growled and stalked out of the room. The way this man's muscular thighs filled out his jumpsuit. He moved with purpose. Not quite a stride but more of an amble. 

A guy with that much girth should be a little less graceful, Caleb found himself remarking. Maybe Jessica Lemmon was on to something after all.

Caleb scrambled to get up to his feet without cutting himself on the glass shards scattered across the table and floor. Where were they going?

"Hurry up, Sweet Cheeks!" Donovan called from beyond the doorway. 

Though the pet name made Caleb want to barf, he was too frightened to complain about it. He could stand to have a stupid nickname as long as he had a chance to save Wally.

Donovan led him to a round room where the most mismatched group of people sat around a conference table. Caleb's jaw fell open when he recognized a few of the faces.

"Everyone, meet Caleb, our biggest critic," said Donovan. "Caleb, meet Conner McClain, Peter Montgomery, Zade Holder, Dex Arez, and Benson Ovarton."

Caleb wanted to laugh and cry in equal parts. The dumbest characters he had ever read about were assembled before him like a tribunal ready to judge him for his crimes. Who knew what twisted torture they would subject him to?

But in the farthest corner of the room sat Benson Ovarton, the love interest from Caleb's 2014 NaNoWriMo project, Ruler of the Stars. Caleb couldn't help but look at him a second longer than the other characters. The sight of his childhood creation warmed his heart a little, at least until he remembered that he was currently being held against his will and that Benson had helped kidnap him along with the rest of these sickos!

"What's the matter, Caleb? Cat got your tongue?" Zade Holder laughed. She bounced out of her seat and pulled out her guitar as she walked toward Caleb.

Caleb eyed her cooly. "When life gives you lemons," he quoted as a single tear rolled down his cheek.

Zade strummed her guitar angrily. "We're going to make you pay for what you said about us!" She got right up in Caleb's face and spat on him.

Caleb's calm exterior cracked. Quick as a snake, he snatched her guitar and swung it at her stupid head. The guitar splintered and the strings snapped against her thick skull.

"HEY!" she shrieked, clutching the side of her bleeding head.

"Don't get your panties in a twist!" Caleb sneered, secretly dreading the consequences of his actions.

Donovan grabbed Caleb's arms and held them behind his back. "Stop at once! Or have you forgotten about Wally already?"

Caleb went limp in Donovan's arms. "But she spat on me!" Donovan towered over him so much that he had to look up to see his stern face.

Donovan gently wiped Zade's spit off Caleb's face with a handkerchief. "You'll have much worse happen to you if you keep acting like a child. Zade, sit down."

After that, Donovan sat Caleb down at the table and grabbed a couple of pizzas from one of the shelves. Everyone happily munched on a slice of pizza while Dex (the guy from Zenith, who Caleb barely remembered honestly) explained how it was possible that all these characters from different universes had come together to kidnap Caleb from the real world. Apparently, they were in a secret underground laboratory built beneath Evergreen Cove and Dex had invented an interdimensional portal based on the interlibrary loan system.

Bored, Caleb stopped paying attention to observe the other characters. They were all pretty sexy and generic-looking, except for Zade Holder who was still sniffling over her head injury. Connor McClain wore his bad-boy leather jacket while Peter Montgomery wore a suit with a few buttons undone at the collar. Dex and Benson were wearing sci-fi jumpsuits like Donovan. 

Out of all the characters Caleb supposed Donovan was the most attractive, though he wasn't sure why he was comparing them. Connor was too jumpy like some sort of dog, and Peter was... well, he was really creepy like a sad middle-aged man. Dex and Benson seemed childish, like the type of guys a teenage girl would have a crush on. But maybe Donovan was just the most comforting out of the nostalgia Caleb held for the first bad boy he'd ever read about. Caleb took a big bite of his pizza and chewed, considering.

Suddenly, Caleb noticed a few strands of white fur clinging to Connor's leather jacket. He must be the one who had taken Wally! If only there was a way to track Connor, maybe he'd lead him to where Wally was being held.

"So that's how you got here Sweet Cheeks," Donovan said. "Now you'll never be able to make another bad book review. And we have the rest of your life to show you the error of your ways." He chucked Caleb under the chin and smiled.