Miss Taken

Chapter 16--Adieu

Recap: It's revealed that Lauryn and Riley's fates are execution. Karter kisses Lauryn.

Morning came faster than I had expected it to, which was not an unprecedented occurrence, but this time my exhaustion was warranted, because "morning," Karter had decided, was 3:42 a.m.

Odds were I wouldn't have gotten up if I hadn't been awakened by a hand being clamped firmly over my mouth and arms unseen in the shadows lifting me off the bed I was sharing with Riley. I almost screamed, but the lingering sleep held off any sound until my rationality could explain that the worst thing that could be happening was that I was being kidnapped, making this a sort of kidnappingception.

The door was pulled open by my captor, an action I determined more by his movements around the unseen obstacle than by any sound it emitted. I heard not the latching of the door when we had passed around it, but the silencing of Riley's soft snores.

The hand remained clamped over my mouth, but I was not concerned for my own safety any longer, for I had now determined by smell that my carrier was Karter. This wouldn't be confirmed by sight until we reached his room and light could finally be introduced to my eyes.

There weren't any lights on in Karter's room, but once he closed the door and set me down on something that felt very much like a bed, he flicked on a bedside lamp and the yellow glow of it fell on the plains of our faces like firelight.

"You'd better have a really good reason for getting me up at-" I glanced at the digital clock on his nightstand, which displayed 3:44 a.m. "4 a.m."

"I need your help."

"I'm going back to bed."

"Lauryn," Karter said sternly, grabbing my wrist as I stood up to leave. I hadn't really been going to leave, but some part of my tired humor had thought it would be funny.

"Fine. What do you need?" I asked.

"I... Well, I need you to be really quiet."

I raised an eyebrow. "I don't think I'm the man for the job."

"Unfortunately, you're the only one for the job," Karter said. "I'm getting you out of here."

My eyes widened in surprise. "Tonight?"

"Tonight," he said. "I made a plan. But we have to go right now."

"Wait, but what about Riley?" I asked.

Karter bit his lip hesitantly. "We can't take her."

I frowned. "Why not?"

"It's too dangerous," he said. "With every person that comes our probability of being caught goes way up."

"So?" I said.

"I'm not going to go with more than two people."

"Fine," I said. "Take Riley then."

He rolled his eyes. "You know I'm not going to do that, Laur."

"Why?" I said. "Because you love me?"

He scowled. "I don't love you."

I put a hand to my heart, feigning hurt. "Ouch."

"I'm taking you, and only you, okay? We need to go now."

"I'm not coming with you," I said. "It's not fair that I get to escape and Riley doesn't."

"It's not fair that they kidnapped my sister. Life isn't fair, Lauryn. Get over it and let me save you."

The words were meant to make me go with him, obviously, but they worked out quite the opposite. "Oh, your sister," I said. "I-I didn't even think of... Karter, they'll kill her if you help us!"

"Help you," Karter corrected. "And I've come up with a way to save her, too."

"Is this plan risky?"

"Of course it's risky, Laur. Everything's risky. But we can do it, if we go now."

"No."

"Lauryn!"

"No," I said. "Stay here. Tell me your plan and Riley and I will go on our own. Then they won't hurt your sister and we'll still be within your two-person limit."

"Lauryn, that's insane," he said. "You two can't do it on your own."

"Sexist," I objected.

"Strengthist," he said. "You're not strong enough for some of the things you have to do."

"That's not even a word," I said. "And people can pick up cars when they have adrenaline running in them."

"I absolutely am not going to let you-" Karter started, but it was too late. I had risen from the bed and pulled open the door, and he could speak no more, lest anyone else heard his words.

Still, he followed me angrily as I returned to mine and Riley's room. He closed the door just in time for me to turn on our lamp, which made Riley wrinkle up her nose and roll over, shielding her face from the light with a sleep-laden arm.

"Riley," I said, shaking her. When she didn't wake, I grabbed her left leg and dragged her off the bed. She was only halfway off the bed when she woke up and scowled at me.

"Of course it's you," she said.

"We're going to die," I said. She stared. "They're going to kill us after they get the ransom money from your father. But Karter has a plan, and we can escape and get back home if we go right now."

Riley stared a moment more. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but stopped again and let it fall shut, looking bewildered.

"Okay, let's go," I said.

Persuading Karter turned out to be a more difficult task than persuading Riley. Really, I'm not sure that I actually did ever persuade her. Even after I had convinced Karter (who I still think only did it under pressure of dwindling time), she stared blankly as he explained the plan.

Once the plan had been gone over, Karter produced a screwdriver and moved over to a vent in the wall, unattaching the cover.

"We had better hope that none of the guards that work here have ever seen any action movie ever, or else this'll be the first place they look," I said.

"You'll be quieter if you army crawl," Karter said, ignoring me, "but speed is the most important thing. If you're not out of here by sunrise then you're in trouble."

Riley's eyes followed Karter as he set the cover aside and rose back to his full height. "Can I kiss you goodbye?" she asked forlornly.

"No," Karter said. She nodded as though this answer was to be expected.

Karter and I looked at each other for a moment before settling for a hug, in place of a better action, and bidding each other adieu.

"You remember the plan?" Karter asked as I ducked into the vent.

"Yes, Karter, I remember the plan. Vent, street, bo-"

"No, vent, building, street," Karter said.

"I know, I was messing with you," I said, grinning at him from the dimly lit vent space.

"I should come with you," he sighed.

"But you're not going to," I said. "Thank you, Karter. For everything. Good luck with your sister."

Karter gave me a look at that, but I didn't like it, so I turned away and began to army crawl in the direction he had told us to, calling to Riley to follow.

"What happened with his sister?" Riley asked after Karter had closed the vent behind us and we had moved out of sight.

"It's not important."