The Kidnapping Of Tom Holland (Wattys2019)

Chapter Ten

Tom couldn't understand the emptiness he felt inside. He wasn't alone in this anymore with Harrison here and sue him if that sounded selfish. However, they were still trapped someplace with the psycho that was once a close friend. They were still trapped with the man who'd raped him.

The tension between Harrison and Gerald rose every time he entered the room and tried to bring him food or even come near him. Tom thought that it was only a matter of time before Harrison exploded and attacked Gerald.

Tom refused to let Gerald see how much he really destroyed him. Whenever he was around he put on a mask and pretended like he was okay. He continued to defy the man and deny him what he wanted by swearing at him and yelling at him but deep down, Tom was broken and scared.

Of course, he knew that Harrison had put in action a plan to get them out of this mess. He just hoped that the police would hurry and find them before something bad happened.

And as fate would have it, that was just too much to hope for.

__ __

"Tom, are you feeling alright?" Harrison asked, feeling his forehead for a high temperature. Tom felt sick and he knew it had something to do with the food he ate earlier. He was sweating and he had the urge to puke all over the white carpet.

"I'm...fine." Tom squeezed out from between clenched teeth. His voice sounds strained and he can only try not to pass out. Regardless of the way he was feeling, he considered telling Harrison not to get upset.

"Like hell you are." Harrison, face starting to turn a shade of red, began yelling for Gerald to get his ass to the room.

Tom was really out of it when Gerald burst into the room, not sure what the yelling was about. Harrison had made him lay down but he had sat up as much as he could manage when the man entered the room.

Gerald scanned the room quickly before letting his eyes rest on Harrison. "What the hell are you yelling about now?"

"There's something wrong with Tom." Harrison told him. As if to prove his point, Tom groaned and collapsed back on the bed. He had broken out into a cold sweat and he felt cold. He was shaking slightly and he was pretty sure he had a fever. Gerald came closer to Tom, turning his back on Harrison and that was his mistake. As soon as he wasn't facing him, Harrison launched at the man, swinging full force with a wooden board from the bookcase in the corner. The board connected with his head and Gerald fell, knocked out.

Harrison bent over him, patting him down. He pulled out car keys from Gerald's right pocket and rushed over to Tom, helping him off the bed. It was easy to stand but hard to walk and he needed Harrison to support his weight. Tom's eyes lingered on Gerald's unconscious form in a daze before they disappeared around the corner and continued down the hall.

"You do realize that once he wakes up, he's going to be pissed right?" Tom told him. His voice sounded weak to his own ears, not how he was used to it sounding.

Harrison glanced over at him, a half smirk on his face. "Yeah, but we'll be gone long before then."

Tom smiled weakly at Harrison and they continued down the hall. It was hard for his fever ridden mind to keep track of anything going on but with each step, he felt stronger and more able to move on his own. They turned down another hall which led them to an empty room and beyond that another hallway. The two of them went on like this for minutes--but it felt like hours--before Harrison sighed angrily.

"This place is like a goddamn maze. Where the hell are we?"

Tom wanted to sit down and close his eyes but he couldn't because he had to stay alert. He had to help Harrison find a way out for the both of them. Rubbing his hands together, Tom took a deep breath and glanced down the hall to his left. It was a dark maroon corridor but the lights overhead made it bright enough to see. He felt rumbling under his feet and he realized something.

"Haz, we're above an underground subway." Tom told him, his bright brown eyes wide.

Harrison frowned at him and Tom could almost see the gears turning in his head as he thought about what he said. Then Harrison's face lifted and brightened as he smiled. "We follow the sound. The louder it gets, the closer we are to the exit."

The loud shout of an angry kidnapper made both friends look at each other--one with fear, the other with determination.

"Let's hurry."

   __ __

Everything was a blur. Tom remembered reaching the exit, the door that would lead to their freedom, before he'd been grabbed by the back of his shirt and dragged backwards. He remembered crying out as Gerald swung him around into the wall, pinning him there with a knife against his throat, demanding that Harrison stop where he was.

Tom was so close to freedom, to being free from this psychopath and yet so far away from it. He was terrified and his fear only rose with the knife pressed against his throat. He was afraid to move, he was ill and if he even coughed, the movement could kill him.  He watched as Harrison stood by the door, his arm still outstretched, hand hovering over the knob. His body was half-turned to face the two of them and his face showed pure anger.

"Step away from the door." Gerald demanded. There was a cut on his temple where he'd been wacked with the wooden board and it was bleeding sluggishly. When Harrison refused to move, he raised his voice. "Now!"

Harrison moved two feet from the door, his gaze meeting Tom's eyes. Tom tilted his head and he knew that while Harrison knew what he was saying without words, Gerald didn't. To him, it looked like he was shifting because it was uncomfortable being in the position he was in.

"I want you to walk slowly towards me and no funny business." Gerald ordered. 

Harrison started to move and Tom shook his head as much as he could. "Don't. He won't hurt me. Just GO."

Gerald turned his attention to him and smiled manically at him and Tom cringed at the way he pressed his body against his. "You and I both know that isn't true."

"Fuck you!" Tom growled but it wasn't said with as much conviction as he wanted. It didn't sound like it either. His voice was losing pitch and him being ill was to blame. "You fucking piece of shit! Let me go!"

Tom did it. He raised his leg up and kneed Gerald in the crotch, causing the man to double over slightly with baited breath and he brought his knee up again into his nose, hopefully breaking it. That was enough to make him drop the knife and cover his own face with his hands, and gave Tom the time to slip by, grab Harrison and dip out of the front door. Into the night.