million

Part III

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I thought of was the pain. Everything ached. I tried to move into a more comfortable position, aware that I was standing, but I had been tightly bound to some kind of stone pillar. Blinking a few times to let my eyes adjust to the dim blue lighting of my surroundings, I felt the familiar surge of panic start to tug at my mind. Where was I? This place didn't look familiar at all. It was a small, dark room with a fairly low ceiling and stone walls, lit by a small blue lamp in the corner. Then I saw the dark figures slumped on the floor. Were those my captors? Or...

One look at the shining black hair splayed out around the still face of a young girl told me all that I needed to know. Cassie. They had taken my family too.

I flinched as someone cackled evilly behind me, then I heard a menacing voice whisper, "You're up now, are you?"

Turning my head as much as I could, I saw a pair of deep-set, hooded eyes stare into mine. An eerie grin full of decaying and crooked teeth spread across a badly-shaven face. My face must have looked shocked or something, because the man threw back his head and guffawed. "Harley, come check this out!" he called out.

Another man, tall and slim and wearing a trench coat, walked into the room from a doorway I hadn't seen before. "Ah, awake now, is he?" The man called Harley laughed, a high, evil laugh. "Good. Sam, back up a bit, you're going to choke him to death with your breath before we get anything out of him." Unlike the first man, Sam, Harley was quite good-looking. Neatly shaven, with short dark hair and fair skin, and dark, calculating eyes."What d-do you want?" I asked, struggling to keep the fear out of my voice.

"Nothing too complicated," Harley said, eyeing me seriously. "I just need some information, on your family. Specifically, your father's business."

"Why—"

Sam reappeared, holding a gun. Harley laughed, then motioned for Sam to aim it at me. "I think I'll be the one asking the questions, kid." The unnerving glint in his eyes shut me up right away.

Harley proceeded to ask me questions about my family, their money, my money, and my father's plumbing business. Then he asked about my relatives, and their employments. I answered dutifully, because Sam was holding the revolver to my head now.

But when Harley asked how much money my dad's business was worth, I had no idea. We never talked about those types of things, so I just told him, "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I genuinely don't."

"No one says genuinely. You're lying."

"I swear I'm not—"

Sam made a sudden movement, and for a second I feared he was going to shoot me, but instead he turned on his heel and stooped down. Craning my neck to see what he was doing, I saw him push the gun up to Cassie's head. "Tell us, or the girl dies."

I gulped. I didn't know what to do. Should I just guess? I didn't want to be responsible for my sister's death. I didn't want anyone to die...

Just then, a small, furry creature charged into the room. Pilot! My dog hardly glanced at me before sinking his sharp fangs into Sam's rear end. Sam yelped in pain and jumped back, and the loud sound of a gunshot rang in our ears. I turned slightly just in time to see Harley collapse and clutch his leg. Sam had dropped the gun on the floor and was trying to reach it while fighting off Pilot, who was snarling and biting every inch of him he could get at. The rope binding my hands suddenly unravelled, and I leapt forward and seized the gun before Sam could reach it. Now I had the advantage.

Suddenly, my dad groaned and rolled over. Taking only a few seconds to absorb the surrounding scene, he whipped out his phone, which Harley and Sam must have been too dense to take, and dialled the emergency number.

Before I knew what was happening, red and blue lights were flashing, and I was being carried out of the room on a stretcher. I tried to fight back, unsure of whom to trust, but I was too exhausted. My eyes began to close...