Born and raised beneath the sea, Kayla has never been to the surface. She never really wanted to go. Now she has no choice. A deadly virus has invaded her home and the only hope for a cure lies above. With the hospital overflowing, she and Jason ar...
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Jason and Kayla froze in place and put their hands in the air.
"Git inside" said the voice behind the gun.
They exchanged looks, then walked through the door one at a time.
The voice came from a big man in his thirties. He was bald, with a trace of beard shadowing his cheeks. A yellowed shirt, spotted with tobacco stains was tucked inside his faded overalls. His left cheek bulged. He turned his head to the side and spat.
"This here is private prop'ty. Y'all got no bidness here. Set down." He motioned towards two scratched and worn wooden chairs.
They sat. Kayla's stomach tied itself into a hundred knots. Her mouth was dry and her hands shook as he ordered her to put them in front of her. He threw a length of rope at Jason and told him to tie her up.
"Tie her good n tight, too. No funny bidness."
Jason secured Kayla's arms and legs and wrapped a piece of the rope around her waist, fastening her to the chair. When he was finished, he was ordered back to his chair, where their captor performed the same procedures on him.
"There, that'll hold ya til Clive gits back."
He sat down across from them and just stared. Every now and then he would spit.
"We really didn't know this was private property," Kayla began.
The big man lifted his gun and aimed it at her chest. Her mouth snapped shut. Kayla was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. The big man kept staring at her, and when he did, he would lick his lips. It made Kayla's skin crawl.
She jumped when she heard an engine in the driveway. The big man didn't even blink, he just kept staring at her. Heavy footsteps sounded on the stairs and the screen door creaked as it was opened.
"What the hell? Billy, what do you think you're doin'?"
The door closed with a slam.
"Hey, listen, we didn't mean any harm, we just got lost. The bridge was out and we had to go around."
Clive looked at Jason, then at Billy.
"You picked them up on the road?"
"Naw, they walked right on up t' the house."
Clive sat down on the couch and put his head in his hands. Kayla began to hope that maybe he would be reasonable and let them go.
"This here is kidnappin', Billy. You know that, don'tcha?"
"They came on our land!" He glowered.
"You can't just tie people up like that. You could go to prison! D'ya realize that?" His voice rose an octave as he spoke.
