The Ordinary Dead

The Mistake

Leliel awoke to the sound of wheels turning on tarmac. The darkness surrounded him, and as he tried to stretch his arms high above his head, he realized that they had been tied together at his wrists, held securely behind his back. When he tried to peel his eyes open, he found that a blindfold had been tied around his head. He was on the floor, lying on his side, and was able to smell the rug underneath him in terrible detail. It smelled of dog hair, dirt and dust, like it hadn't been hoovered in years. Over the top of the dreadful scents, he could smell rubber burning; cigarette smoke; and that lovely 'new car' smell.

Although he couldn't see anything, he knew all too well that he was stuck in the boot of a car, or in the back of a van. He could tell by the way that, when the vehicle swerved around a corner, he was thrown around a large empty area. The wheels churned on the road, running over stones and plants, making loud noises and sending vibrations through the vehicle.

Through the eerie silence, he could hear faint voices speaking into a phone. "Yeah, yeah, we got him," a hoarse, manly voice spoke. "We're taking him there now."

Leliel shuddered when the man spoke. The rope around his wrists was cutting off the circulation into his hands, and stung where it pressed into his skin - but at least his ankles weren't tied together. He tried to listen to the man speaking on the phone, and pick up small details.

"We're almost there." Leliel heard him say, and then he abruptly stopped, clicking the phone off.

A woman's voice spoke afterwards, hurried and panicked. "Shit, Lyle,"

"What is it, Rosaline?"

"We've got a problem," Leliel heard the window open, and her voice became less clear when she spoke, supposedly with her head outside the window. "There's someone following us."

"Fuck," The man - Lyle, hit the accelerator pedal, and the car became louder as it moved faster. "You didn't check this before?"

"I was sure that they weren't following us - and now--"

"God damn it, Rosaline!"

The vehicle jerked violently to the side, sending Leliel smashing into something that felt like a cardboard box. He screamed out, and immediately regretted it.

"Is he awake?" Rosaline asked.

"I bloody hope not," Lyle answered.

"Should I check?"

"We can't exactly stop the car, can we?"

"Why not?"

"Because we're being followed, maybe?"

"Well... I was just thinking. That black Land Rover has been following us for ages,"

"Uhuh? Well, you should have thought earlier."

Leliel laughed a bit, although he knew he shouldn't. Although things were getting pretty bad for him, he decided that they probably couldn't get any worse, and joined in.

"Black Land Rover, huh?" Leliel teased. "That'd be them."

"Shut the hell up, would you?" Lyle turned around and shouted.

"Oh, fine, really," he carried on. "Don't mind me, giving you valuable information. It's fine, honestly. Just throw it down the dr--"

"What do you mean, 'valuable information'?" Lyle asked, cutting Leliel off.

"Lyle, stop talking to him. He hasn't got any so called 'valuable information'." Rosaline added.

"Oh, really? Looks like you don't want to know who's in that car, then? That's fine by me, really."