The Moonwalkers

Captured

Charles POV
I woke up and suddenly found myself in a... in a very strange room. It was strangely dark, yet still bright. I tried to move, get up from this chair I was sitting on, but there was something holding me back.
I was all tied up, restrained to this wooden chair even with a strip of tape over my mouth. All I could do was struggle helplessly and groan, not sure where I even was. I took a look at my surroundings and noticed a dark aquarium-like room across from me. There was a window beside me, which told me that it was getting dark, and I was directly at the centre.
"He's awake," a voice announced.
I turned to the sound and noticed a couple of burly men coming towards me, an even taller one at their heels. I squinted to take a good look at them because of the dark lighting, but they stepped into the light before I could fully register their faces.
I felt disgusted as soon as I recognised them.
"Still the same, huh, Charles?" The tallest man said, a smirk forming on his evil face. "Regret anything yet?"
All I could do was glare at him, hoping that it was enough to at least bear a hole in the middle of his filthy head. It was Freddy Thomas, a man whose son I had fired due to misconduct. What did you expect me to do, that kid was always late, did none of the work given to him, and yet still felt it was right to act like the big boss.
Turns out, his father was the big boss of an underground cartel. I thought he'd let me off when I threatened to tell the police, which he did up until one of his warehouses blew up. Like I had anything to do with that.
"You're helpless now, Charles," Freddy smirked at me. "You won't be able to do anything but watch."
I wanted to say something, but what came out was a grunt. What does he mean by that? Watch? Watch what?
I felt cold sweat trickling down the back of my neck as the threat note I received a few months ago flashed before my eyes.
We know your family.
The message, so short but bore a thousand threats. At first I didn't pay much attention to it, seeing how the only people I called family turned out to be a pack of monstrous beasts, I didn't know anyone else. But what I saw last month told me something else. Despite being such monsters, they were still kind enough to rescue me from those attackers, which were Freddy's henchmen no doubt, and even made me eat breakfast before letting me off.
Freddy and his goons, they wouldn't save a child if it were to drown before them.
My attention shifted to one of the other men who made his way across the room, stopping beside a lever on the wall.
"I don't think Charles fully understands what's going on yet, why don't we show him?" Freddy grinned. How I wish I can lunge at him right now.
The henchman pulled the lever, illuminating the aquarium built into the wall. Instantly, I could see a large silhouette inside it, something that looked much bigger than a fish.
"Oh? What's inside it? I can't see anything," Freddy said in mock curiosity.
His other henchman made his way towards the glass and wiped it clean with a handkerchief. The tank wasn't filled with fish, not even water.
Charlotte was tied up placed in the room beyond, what I first thought was an aquarium, behind the large pane of glass. She may have been acting a little rude to me ever since the divorce talk, but was I acting any different? She deserved nothing of what Freddy planned to do with her.
I let out a groan as I tried to spring forward, but Freddy came over and smacked me right across the face. Tears spilled out of my eyes as I realised how helpless I was, how I could do nothing to save Charlotte. Do nothing but watch her suffer with whatever he had in store for her.
"I think he's finally realising what he'd done," Freddy cackled, taking pleasure in my fear. "How does it feel when someone messes with your favourite child?"
Favourite child... Charlie was indeed very close to me, my partner in crime as I used to say. Why did she have to be a werewolf? Why? Marrying Christine seemed to be the best thing I've ever done. Now, it just seems like the worst.
Freddy grabbed my face, his lips spreading into a sly grin. Forget marrying Christine, this is the worst thing I've ever done. Letting someone be kidnapped, werewolf or not, Charlie was still a part of me. Someone I loved.
I looked at Freddy pleadingly, hoping that he would say this is all a joke and let her out. I know this is highly unlikely, seeing how Freddy had probably killed more people than I can count. Or else why would he have this room? I just realised that there's this saw table in the corner, stained with something that I doubt is rust.
The henchman who pulled the lever went towards the controls beside the glass that Charlotte was held behind. He did something in it and soon, some sort of mist clouded around Charlotte, obscuring her from our view.
"What's that, you ask?" I turned to Freddy as he spoke. "Poison gas. Twenty minutes inside there and she's gone."
I whimpered a plea, shaking my head as I tried to get up from this chair, struggling as hard as I can to break out of this stupid chair, tear the ropes off and strangle Freddy Thomas for even trying to harm my family.
But the only thing that I managed to do was fall to my side along with the chair.
"Let's just leave Charles here to see what happens when he messes with Freddy Thomas," Freddy laughed, turning away after giving me one last look. "And after that, we'll lock him up in here for a few days. Sometimes, things need time to fully sink in."
With that, the three of them left the room, the two henchmen silent at Freddy's heels. I tried as best as I could to move forward but I couldn't move more than a few inches. Why did Freddy have to take her? Why Charlie? She didn't even do anything to harm anyone.
The last I met her came to mind. It was the day before yesterday, Friday, when I went over with some coffee. It was an awkward interaction, but I just had this nagging feeling that they weren't safe. Looks like I wasn't wrong about that.
I could see Charlotte's silhouette moving like she was squirming in pain. That poison gas must surely be painful.
Please. Oh god... no... she doesn't deserve this, she doesn't deserve any of this. She's so young, she's only fifteen. She still has lots to see, she deserves to live.
It was terrible, left to helplessly lie here and do nothing but watch as a life was being taken away. All I could do was hope for a miracle to suddenly happen, something I've wished for dozens of times before without much luck.
I closed my eyes as I sobbed quietly, wishing that there was something I could do to break her out of there. Something I could do to save her life.
A loud shattering sound suddenly interrupted the eerie stillness of the room, making me jump into alertness. I moved my shoulder across the ground to look and couldn't believe what I was seeing.