The Uniques

Chapter Seven

          *Jamie*

            I left, the picture of the kidnapper fresh in my mind. It couldn’t be him. They only suspected it was him, they didn’t say it was actually him, right? I didn’t bother to read the article properly and on hindsight, that was kind of stupid.

            I raced along, the leaves whirling behind me as I continued my sprint.  Oh god, I hope she was still there. I hope she was still there. I ran and ran. Why would she be with a kidnapper? Oh god, please don’t tell me. But it had to be that way. She must have been kidnapped from our small town and nobody knows where she is. Oh god, please tell me she’s safe.

            I leapt across a log in the way and continued on, coming to a stop at the clearing. I was breathing heavily, trying to catch my breath. I morphed quickly and edged closer. That day I was lucky, I didn’t get shot or injured. I had to be more careful now. I edged across and clearing, pushing my way through the thick growth. I saw the building, and no guards were patrolling. I said a quick prayer and sprinted towards the door, ducking in quickly. I edged slowly against the wall, turning quickly. No one. I walked past each room slowly, cautiously. Still, no one.

            I got to the second level and did the same. Weirdly, all the rooms were empty, deserted. By the time I reached the fifth floor, I already knew what had happened. Still, I pressed on, finding Quinn’s room. I stumbled in and it was totally empty. I grimaced. There was no trace of anyone ever being here at all.

            I walked up and pressed my face to the window. The reflection showed that there was someone behind me. I told myself to breathe normally, act normally, pretend I didn’t know he was there. I heard the safety click of a gun and the metal pressed into the back of my head.

            “Who are you?” I asked, not turning around. He laughed dryly. “Who are YOU?” he asked. “Why should I tell you?” I challenged, moving ever so slowly. “Why should I tell YOU?” he asked, laughing.

            “Because…” I said slowly, tapping at the window quietly. It was quite a sturdy window. “No point trying to break through,” he said, sensing that I was going to break the window and jump. I spun around and went at him. Shocked, he shot a few shots that hit the window. Just what I wanted, and what he was cursing himself for. The window would take sometime to split, so I sent a punch at his nose, grabbing his gun.

            “You should train more,” I said, pointing the gun at his forehead. “Go ahead, shoot me!” he said, holding his bleeding nose. “Not unless you’ll tell me the answers I want to know,” I said quietly, pressing the gun harder into his forehead. He raised his eyebrow.

            “What happened to all your friends?” I asked. He remained silent. I shot a bullet centimetres form her ear. “There was a news article. It wasn’t safe anymore,” he quickly blurted. “What happened to Quinn Collier?” I asked, growling. “She’s boss pride and joy, nothing will happen to her,” he answered, just as quickly.

            “How sure are you?!” I asked. “Yesterday boss shot the guard who was flirting with her!” he choked out, almost on the brink of tears. Good. She was trapped, but at least she was treated well. “Do you have a family?” I asked. He nodded slowly, bewildered by my question. “Where’s the address of your house?” I asked, keeping the gun pointed at him.

            He spat out the address quickly, spluttering. “You’ll keep this life away from you. Move your family away tomorrow, throw away your cellphone and start a new life, you get me?” I asked, forcing the gun deeper. He was sweating. “Okay, okay, I promise!” he quickly said. I knocked his eye with my elbow and he passed out from the pain. I dragged him on to my back and started the run back to his house. I deposited him outside his front yard just as he stirred.