Bounty of Freedom

Chapter 3: Wrong Place, Wrong Time

  The next morning, Derek and Travis woke up, the sun illuminating the room like Christmas lights. They sat up and stretched, their bodies sore from not moving from the night before. Derek rolled out of bed and made his way to the kitchen, beginning to get food out for breakfast. Travis got out of bed and leaned back, the joints in his back cracking. A loud groan escaped his throat as he turned his torso from left to right. 

  The smell of bacon filled the air as Travis stumbled into the kitchen. He yawned and ran his hand through his tousled hair. Derek was frying mushrooms, eggs, and tomatoes. Travis went to help, making sure the bacon in the pan wouldn't burn. Derek finished frying the eggs and tomatoes and got them on a plate that already had sausage and toast. Travis looked through his phone while at the same time, kept an eye on the bacon. 

  Within a twenty minute period, both men had finished cooking breakfast and got the plates on the table. Travis went to get a cup of coffee when he noticed that there was no coffee in the pot. He scowled and turned on Derek. 

  "Derek," Travis snapped, "Why the bloody hell is there no coffee?" 

  "Hey, you're the one that drinks coffee in the morning, not me," Derek retorted. "You can make it yourself, lazy." 

  "I was still in bed, ass," Travis snarled. "You could have helped me a little bit here." 

  "Yeah, yeah, whatever," Derek said as he sat down at the table. 

  "I can go one day without coffee," Travis sighed as he too sat at the table. 

  "You're going to regret that, mate," Derek said. 

 Travis stuck his tongue out at Derek and began to eat. Both men ate in silence.

  Later on, Derek and Travis had changed into comfortable clothing and went out into the streets for a stroll through town. They walk past an outdoor market in the middle of town. The smells of fresh bread and pastries filled the air. They decided to go through to see the place. Both men hovered over each vendor, seeing what each had to offer. Many had jewelry, wood carvings, and lots of food. Many sellers had trays of samples for market-goers to try. They both took one serving of samples and tried them. They smiled at each other as they continued to make their way through the market. 

  They make it to the end and ducked into an alleyway. They traversed through the dark, trash-filled alleyway when they see figures walking towards them. As they get closer, they saw that there were three men who were taller than Derek but more menacing than Travis. Both stopped in their tracks as the other three stood in front of them. 

  "Where do you two think you're going?" one man said in a gravelly French accent. 

 "We're just walking through town, monsieur," Travis replied shakily. "We mean no trouble." 

  "You're not going anywhere now," the second man said, sizing up to Derek, who growled at him. 

  "Oh yeah," Derek said sarcastically. "Who's gonna stop us?" 

  Travis turned around and made a small noise. They were boxed in by three more men. Travis and Derek were both unarmed. They stayed close to one another, protecting the other. One man stepped forward and Travis kicked him in the shin. 

  "You little..." the man grabbed Travis's arm and threw him against the wall, pinning his arm behind his back. 

  Travis was groaning in pain as he squirmed. Derek managed to take down a few men before one of them swung a metal pipe at him, the edge catching him in the side of the head. He collapsed, his vision spinning. The man who had ahold of Travis pulled out a cloth and put it over Travis's nose and mouth. He squealed and kicked, but the man didn't let go. Travis was still trying to kick but, he was becoming limp. The cloth was dipped in chloroform. Travis's movements became very slow as his eyes slowly closed. 

  "Travis..." Derek said. "Stay awake." 

  That was the last thing Derek said before the man who hit him with the pipe hit his head again, this time, a bloody gash appearing on the side of his head. The man with the cloth on Travis's mouth moved the cloth and punched Travis in the face, his lips splitting. Travis passed out, his body landing with a sickening thud. 

  "Take them to Alpha," one man ordered. "We have new pets."