Kidnapped by Of Mice & Men

Chapter 4: Honor Among Thieves

All throughout that day, I'd been drifting in and out of sleep. I tried to sleep through the fear and stress, but never stayed under very long.

"Man, today was awesome!" A voice said. I knew I recognized it and it was so familiar to me. I just couldn't remember where I'd heard it from.

"Yeah, like I said, the crowds over here are pretty cool." I heard my assailant say. The area felt like it began to move and it took a few minutes for me to realize what was going on. I was in one of the Warped busses.

"For once, my obnoxious but favorite cousin, you were right."

"Leaving so soon?" Another familiar voice said, sounding disappointed.

"Dude, I need to sit down for a bit. My legs are killing me." A third voice said, sounding exasperated. His tone grew closer and I began to shrink into the wall.

"Hey, I wouldn't go in there." The man who took me earlier had clear alarm in his voice. I didn't know what to hope for.

The man coming towards my room stifled a laugh. "Come on, dude. It's fine. I-" I heard the door swing open and it seemed as though the man stopped dead in his tracks. "Scott! Tell me what the fuck this is!" The man's voice said, full of rage. I heard footsteps approach, and I whimpered, hiding my face.

"Shhh. Shhh." The stranger said. I could feel his fingertips lightly graze my cheeks and I knew he was taking the blindfold off of me. It lifted off my head gently. Once it was gone, I opened my eyes looked up to face the person who seemed to be my savior.

I couldn't believe it.

It was Aaron Pauley.

My eyes filled with tears that quickly spilled over and ran down my cheeks. Aaron hooked his fingers around the gag in my mouth, but didn't pull it down just yet. "Promise me you won't scream?" He asked. I nodded, all the while still crying. He pulled it down out of my mouth and let it hang loosely around my neck. I started sobbing quietly.

"Oh, sweetheart." He said quietly and sympathetically while pulling me into his lap. "Oh, baby. I'm so sorry." He rubbed my head while I cried into his shoulder.

"Scott, what the hell is this?!" One of the voices from before asked loudly.

"Austin, keep it down, people are hanging around outside." Aaron tried to reason.

Austin Carlile.

The familiar voice from before was Austin Carlile.

Austin turned back around to Scott. "Why?! Dude, she's a kid" He asked in a hushed, but altogether angry tone.

"I watched her on our day off. I liked what I saw, so I took it." I could practically hear the smirk in his voice.

"You bastard! What did you do to her?! She's just a little girl! She's a baby!"
Austin had Scott pinned against a wall and was up in his face. He looked like he was about to explode. "What the fuck did you do?!"

"Aus, think about it. Look at what she's wearing. Look at the pole." Aaron glanced at the room. "I can make a pretty good guess about what he made her do."

Austin grew red with rage. He turned around and punched Scott right in the face. "You sick son of a bitch!" He spit on Scott, who now laid on the ground with a bloody nose.

"Hey, what's going on?" Asked a new voice. I could see a flash of orange out of the corner of my eye and I knew immediately that it was Alan Ashby. His eyes fell on me and grew wide when they darted down to my bound hands behind my back. "Oh my God." He muttered.

I cuddled into Aaron and leaned up to whisper in his ear. "C-can I ...g-g-go...home?" I stuttered and hiccuped through sobs.

"Sweetie, no." Austin said. My face fell. "Not yet anyways. We just need time to figure out a story or something." He leaned in and touched his forehead to mine. "But you will go home, sweet pea. I promise."

"Are you gonna kill me?" My voice broke and a new spring of tears began to flow.

"No. No, baby, no. We don't want to hurt you and we're not going to hurt you. We just need you to cooperate, okay? Can you do that for me?" I nodded and Austin pressed his lips to my forehead. "Atta girl."

Alan rubbed his face with his tattooed hands. "What now?"

"Just...keep her safe and hidden, I guess." Tino said standing in the doorway with Phil. I hadn't even noticed them until he spoke. "Just keep her safe until we know what to do." Everyone nodded in agreement except for Scott, who was still bleeding on the ground.

"Dude! I think you broke my nose!" He yelled at Austin.

"Good." Austin growled. He made his way over to me. I couldn't make myself stop sobbing. "What's your name?" He asked.

"S-S-Sammie." I stuttered. "Sammie S-Solfronk."

"Pretty name for a pretty girl." Aaron said into my hair.

"Can I please stand up?" I asked.

"Of course, of course." Austin struggled to untie my legs. After a few minutes, he turned over to Scott who sat up. "Where's that knife I gave you for your birthday?" Austin asked.

Scott chuckled and pulled the knife he threatened me with earlier out of his back pocket. Austin unsheathed it and examined the dried blood on it. He glanced up and his eyes landed on the cut on my cheek. "Go to hell, Scott." He said through gritted teeth. He sawed through the rope on my legs and it fell to the ground. Austin placed a hand on my shoulder. "We're gonna leave your hands tied as a precaution, okay?" I nodded, trying to put on a brave face.

Alan crossed over to me and gently gripped my arms, raising me to my feet. I hadn't stood up since the night I was drugged. I moaned with relief as I felt the blood begin to circulate in my thighs and legs again.

"Are you hungry?" Phil asked. I nodded. Austin put an arm around my shoulders and I nuzzled into his side. We walked through the door of my prison and into the kitchen area.

Alan pulled a Subway sandwich out of his backpack. "You can have mine."

I shook my head at him. "It's yours. I can't, I'm sorry."

"Sammie, how long has it been since you've eaten?"

I thought back to my last meal. "Almost two days."

Alan raised his eyebrows. "Days?!" He whipped around to Scott. "You couldn't at least feed the poor thing?!"

Scott smiled smugly. "I was a bit preoccupied."

Alan shook his head, steam practically blowing from his ears. "You mother fucker." He turned back to me and unwrapped the sandwich. "Aus, get a paper plate." Austin did as he was told and set the plate onto the table. Aaron pulled out a chair and I sat in it while Alan broke the sandwich into smaller pieces and fed me. I finished the footlong in no time.

"Thank you, Alan." I said quietly. He rubbed my back.

"Why don't you sleep with me tonight?" Alan asked. I grew alarmed and afraid, but Alan smiled sympathetically. "Don't worry, it'll be fine. I just think you need a little bit of comfort." I nodded.

I walked with Alan to his bunk and he helped me ease into the bed. I was tiny for my age, so I knew there wouldn't be a problem getting both of us to fit. He climbed in after me and I tried to get as comfortable as I could with my hands tied behind my back. Everyone else climbed in bed and the lights shut out. I cried as quietly as I could. Alan wrapped his arms around my shoulders. "Shhhh. Don't cry. You're gonna be alright, Sammie. I promise." I felt lips press to my cheek. "And I never break my promises."

•••

So far so good? I hope so!

The song for this chapter is the Moment I Said It by Imogen Heap:

"Sit down, come round,
I need you now
We'll work it all out together
We're getting no where tonight
Now sleep, I promise, it'll all seem better somehow in time"

Thank you!

-Gracie