My Father's House

Chapter 8

"What's wrong with you? Get up!" The woman's rage terrified me. I stood, struggling to stand straight in a compartment meant only for one person. My eyes fell on the small black gun in her hand. Held at her waist, it was pointed directly at me.

I stared, unable to shift my gaze. My heart had been pounding since her entrance but now it somehow doubled its pace.

She laughed softly, gripping my arm and whirling us both toward the door. "My, you are far more naive than I expected. That's right, dear, nice and slow. We are going back out into the train only don't go toward the seat by your friend." Her voice was smooth and slithering, although her British accent seemed affected.

I reached for the handle. My hands shook uncontrollably as I tried to open the door before finally leading us out into the small walkway. Everyone sat as they had before in the cabin, oblivious to my plight. One girl nodded rhythmically to the music playing through her headphones. Another sliced tomatoes and oranges on some meaningless game on her tablet. I saw Garrett, writing in his notebook. He was probably working out some elaborate, hair-brained scheme - a scheme I would never be a part of as I was as good as dead, I was sure.

"No, no not that way. Turn around." I couldn't help trying to walk through the car with my friend in it, friends really, if Kael was in here somewhere. For all his big talk about rescues and taking care of things, he had picked a fantastic time to disappear. I pulled open the door to the adjoining car. Something hard and cold pressed into my back driving me forward. I stepped into the next car, my shaking getting far worse with the realization of how the classic movie scene I'd seen so many times actually felt. It was a shame that my traumatizing experiences as a child hadn't made me stronger. Logically, my life should have had some effect on me that would make me brave and resilient under such circumstances.

"Head for the door. We get off at the next stop," she whispered. I did as she asked, trying to make eye contact with anyone who would look at me, but no one paid particular attention to one of the many passengers traveling through the aisles. We reached the door, and I stopped awkwardly.

"Off to the side. There." I moved where she had indicated with her weapon free arm. What other options did I have? She stood directly behind me. She was about my height. I considered the possibility of throwing my head back, head butting her and throwing her off guard. This would give me enough time to whirl around and secure the weapon. Then, the whole car full of passengers could rush to my rescue. I quickly dispelled the notion. A move like that would probably get me killed.

The woman shifted behind me. "Oh perfect," she muttered. I looked behind me. We could just see into the car we had vacated. I saw Kael push his way into the restroom we had been in one minute earlier. "What is he doing here?" She growled at me. Surprised that she seemed to know him, I shrugged. Without an understanding of their connection, I hoped ignorance was the best strategy.

"Get over into that crowd. Blend!" Her whisper was urgent in my ear. "Any smart ideas will cost you your life. You understand?" I nodded and went to stand in a cluster that had started to form at the other side of the door. I knew this wouldn't completely obscure our view, but it did hide us better than standing alone off to the side of the aisle. The gun in her hand stayed pressed against my back, well hidden by her red jacket. My heart pounded loudly in my chest. The gathering crowd by the door told me we would be stopping soon. If I was going to be rescued, the window of opportunity was quickly disappearing.

An older man looked at me and smiled. I mouthed "help me." He looked behind me at my kidnapper and frowned, moving away from us. My heart fell. Truly, there aren't many gentlemen left in this world. I felt the woman lean in toward me, her black hair coming forward into my face she stood so close. Her proximity sent tingles up and down my spine.

"Whatever that was just there, try something like that again and, trust me, things will get much more unpleasant. Now when we get off the train, we are heading straight for..."

"Madeline!" We both turned to see that Kael had silently come up behind us. "What a pleasant surprise! I was at your funeral just last month. I see you made a swift recovery." He gave a winning smile, something I had never seen him do in our few brief encounters. He moved toward me, but the woman, apparently Madeline, moved her jacket just enough so that he could see her gun.

He moved in closer so that only the two of us could hear him. "Really not necessary for this girl. Just look at her... well, her lack of shoes." Because of my current situation, I had completely forgotten that I had left them under my seat next to Garrett. I looked down at my feet regretfully.

"We are leaving." Madeline gestured toward me. "And if you follow us, I swear, I will kill her. In broad daylight. What do I have to lose? As you said, I'm already dead." She and Kael stared at each other for a moment as if waiting for the other to initiate a fight.

Kael lifted his right arm. A pair of cuffs dangled, one side clamped to his wrist, the other open. Before either of us could react, he clamped the open end swiftly onto my left wrist.

He nodded, satisfied that he'd bested his opponent. "She's not going anywhere without me."

Madeline's face turned a deep shade of red, nearly besting her jacket. The way these two looked at each other, there was no doubt an extensive history existed between them. I wondered what had caused her alleged death. The thought made my skin crawl. At that moment, the brakes on the train screeched and the train began to slow. The gun dug deeply into the side of my back. "This is our stop. And don't let him give you false hope. I would take pleasure in killing you, sweetheart."

My hands shook. I couldn't control it. I heard the metal clanking and thanked God the train's brakes were so loud no one else could hear the noise. My earlier fighter instincts had vanished. I wasn't sure what Madeline's response would be if I inadvertently let the whole train know that two of the passengers were handcuffed together. In fact, I wasn't sure how I felt about this latest development. While I was glad to no longer be alone in this, I had been imagining a scenario where Kael started to fight her off, giving me the chance to run. This, of course, was now out of the question.

The train's pace became slower and slower. Garrett would be searching for me now. Soon, I would be lost to the throng of departing passengers.

As soon as the doors opened, our captor was forcing us off the train. I complied, trying to stay close to Kael and hide our handcuffs. As we exited the train, Kael grasped my hand and started pressing his index finger into my palm again and again. I finally glanced up at him. He mouthed 'run'. My eyes widened and I looked down. There was no way I could start running with that woman behind me with a gun. I shook my head.

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