Reluctant

Chapter 7 Jess's POV

My eyes open to Carter seated in a chair opposite of me. His arms, legs and chest are adorned with thick, brown ropes. Like him, I'm tied down to a chair. I attempt to move to no avail. A deep laugh startles me and jolts Carter to conscious. He groans and struggles against the restraints. Carter swears loudly and another chuckle is heard.

A growl escapes from my lips and a figure appears to our right. I squint my eyes at the mysterious man and clench my fists tightly; my knuckles turn almost completely white. The man smiles, his face encompassed in a horrifying smile that send chills through my body.

He makes his way over to us without a word and stands behind Carter, placing his hands on his shoulders. Carter squirms under his touch with an angry and disgusted expression etched into his features. I shoot a glare at the peculiar man. Oh, if looks could kill. 

The man removes his large hands from Carter's shoulders and claps his hands once. His smile deepens sending a wave of fear through me. He raises an eyebrow and bows slightly. 

"Welcome to your new home," he says in an anxious and obnoxious voice I immediately begin to dislike. 

Carter scoffs at the man's words which earns him a smack across his face. I pull against the ropes and let out a threatening growl. The man averts his eyes to me and pulls a knife from his pocket. He makes his way over to me and presses the blade to my throat. I swallow slowly and keep my eyes locked to his.

"Listen here," he says. "I'm the head of this village and will not tolerate it being ruined by a couple of kids. Got it?" 

I snarl and spit in his face. He wipes away the saliva and presses the knife deeper into my neck. By now, Carter is yelling and thrashing around like an animal. A string of swear words tumble out of his mouth as the odd man turns to Carter.

"Watch your mouth, boy," he spits. "I'm not afraid to come over there and slice your throat open." 

Carter gives the man a stern look and snarls in his direction. The man nods and looks back and forth between Carter and I. 

"Now, you shall call me Kaleb. You will not disobey the rules here or you will be punished. Understood?" 

Carter and I grunt in response and the man -Kaleb- walks to the door. He exists without another word.

I turn my attention to Carter, who is staring down at the floor angrily. He mumbles something under his breath and averts his eyes to mine. A mix of worry and anger fills his eyes. Eventually, he relaxes back into the chair and breathes deeply. Slowly, he starts pulling at the ropes on his wrists.

After a few attempts, he manages to slip his left hand loose and proceeds to undo the other areas bonded to the chair. Once he was completely untied, he makes his way over to me and kneels down to untie my ankles. Next, he unties my wrist and proceeds to kneel behind me to lessen the pressure of the chest constriction. I untie my other wrist and stand.

I stretch out my body and suddenly realize that every weapon I had in possession was gone. My eyes widen in realization and I look around the room frantically. I look at Carter and clear my throat and his eyes dart to mine. 

"Carter," I say slowly. "Weapons." 

His eyes widen as well when I bring it to his attention. He curses under his breath and clenches his fists. He starts breathing heavily and starts pacing around the room. The sound of a door opening stops him suddenly. He frowns deepens and he pulls me behind him. Kaleb stands across the room from us. His face was a mixture of curiosity and anger. He smiles darkly and turns his attention to Carter.

"Well, well," Kaleb says with a raised eyebrow. "What'do we have here?"

Carter becomes rigid as Kaleb continues making his way over to us. A low sound slips past Carter's lips and into the tension-filled air between them. 

"Where's our weapons?" Carter asks calmly.

"My office," Kaleb smiles. "Somewhere you'll never go." 

I slip from behind Carter and face the stubborn man in front of us. Kaleb turns his attention to me and glares daggers at me. I stand straighter and examine him slowly and careful. Tall-ish and sandy-blonde,  muscular, with blue-ish green eye and freckles. 

The blonde walks closer to us and Carter curls his fists tighter. He stops and then him and Carter stare each other down. The rivalry formed between the men was almost instantaneously. The brunette by my side squints at the sandy-haired boy and his breathing quickens.

"Well," Kaleb says. "You gonna do anything pretty-boy?"

"Nah," Carter replies. "Wouldn't wanna get  my hands dirty." 

Kaleb's eyes widen at the sudden outburst. He smirks and spins on his heel; he walk away from us without a word. Carter turns to me and cracks a triumphant smile. I nudge his shoulder and his smile widens. 

"Well?" He says. I raise my eyebrow at him and he shakes his head. "Nothing."

I turn to look at our current surroundings. A warehouse. Great. And, of course, empty besides the chairs we were formerly attached to. Nothing worse than this. 

A loud sound is heard and the both of us look around to locate the source. A voice comes onto the intercom and I jump at the sound.

"Dinner will be served in ten minutes," the voice says. "Make your way outside to the tables. All of you."

I turn my gaze to Carter, earning a smile from him. I shrug. Oh well. Carter peers down at me with his hazel eyes and cracks a goofy smile. A laugh escapes my lips despite my best efforts to contain it. I push him away from me gently and smile

"Dork," I laugh.

He smiles brightly and jumps suddenly. The voice appears onto the intercom once again.

"Five minutes."

Carter shrugs his shoulders and peers down at me. I lock eyes with him and poke his side, which causes him to squirm away with a squeal. I laugh and turn towards the door.

"Ready to mingle?" Carter asks.

I shrug and walk out the door into the cool night air followed by my close companion.

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Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Here's the update. Stay safe during the holidays and don't forget to smile with those lovely faces.

Stay perfect my lovelies <3 :)

-Lani