Taken (TordEdd) [Book 2 of Wanted]

Chapter 16

Edd was in his usual prison cell, sitting on his cold, hard bed. His head was in his hands. It had been months. Months since he had last since seen his family. Months since he had last been in the Red Army Base. He felt as if he was trapped in the cell for years. He felt weak and pathetic.

Am I weak? Am I pathetic? Should I just be able to find a way out myself? Is that why Tord hasn't come yet?

Edd chuckled to himself, grabbing a sharp piece of metal and going over to the corner of his cell. He scraped the piece into the cement wall, adding another tally next to the many others. He sighed and turned, going to the cell bars. He peeked out, seeing a guard sitting a few feet away from his cell. 

The guard's head was down, his hand gently wrapped around the ring of keys. Edd knew he was asleep, hearing his quiet snores. He snickered and shook his head. "Idiot," he muttered.

The door of the prison room opened and the guard snorted, quickly sitting up and looking around. The female, Edd identified as the leader of this facility he was trapped in, walked in. He never caught her name. All he heard were the words 'She,' and 'Her,' and 'Leader'. The guard looked over at her and dipped his head with respect.

The woman scoffed, rolling her eyes. She pulled out a pistol and aimed it at the guard's head, blowing the trigger before he even got a chance to react. The bullet buried deep into his head, making his body twitch and slump forward. "Pathetic," she growled, putting the pistol back in its holster on her waist.

Edd crossed his arms as he glared at her. He was an inch or two taller then her, so she didn't really intimidate him. Even though she was the leader of the place he's been stuck in, he knew that she was just as weak as he was, possibly. 

She approached his cell, a key in her hand. "Hello, Edd," she stated. "How's it been, hmm?"

Edd shrugged. "Oh, the usual," he said.

She giggled at this. "Why, it seems the months you've been here means you learned your place here. You are a prisoner, so you treat everyone with respect." She looked over at the dead guard in the chair. "Even the dead ones," she added.

Edd rolled his eyes silently, stepping back as she opened his cell. "What are you doing?" he asked.

The woman shrugged. "Getting you out of here before the Red Army gets here for battle. I don't want them finding you since, well, the prison room is close to their doors and all that."

Edd felt a spark of joy flicker through him. He quickly buried it, gazing at the woman. "How do you know that they're attacking?"

"Red Leader declared war upon us about two days ago. He didn't say when, but my spies have been decreasing since then. It seems he's catching them and killing them, clever guy," she said, chuckling. She pulled out a pair of handcuffs, going over to Edd and pulling his arms to his back. She cuffed his wrists, making sure they were tight. "Anyways, let's go."

She pushed Edd out of his cell and out of the prison room, heading down the hallway and walking forward. She went towards a door, reached over, and opened it. Below them were stairs going down, Edd easily assuming this was probably their basement. She pushed him forward, which he obliged and stepped down the steps carefully. Once they reached the bottom, she headed to a chair that sat in the center of the room, a pole sitting behind it. Ropes and chains scattered around the legs of the chair, metal clips on the arms to hold the prisoner in place. She pushed Edd towards the chair, setting him down, and tying him up.

"You know... There really isn't a point of all this," Edd said with a straight face. "Why do you want Tord's army so bad?"

"It's not that I just want his army," the woman replied. "I just want him to go into hiding and to never set foot into the category of trying to take over the world. His men and women are dying each day, each hour. It's sad, really. He seems to care more about them then you, since he hasn't given them up to me and my people."

Edd huffed, rolling his eyes. "Say what you want, lady, I don't care. There's obviously a reason why he's not giving them up, along with his position."

"No," she replied, narrowing her eyes at Edd. "There isn't. He's too selfish and he's a dictator, for Christ's sake! He's literally taking over more of the world as we speak."

Edd shrugged. "I know, I've been with him for ten years."

The woman seemed to gag, making it obvious. "Ugh, yuck. How could anyone love that commie, Norwegian idiot? Disgusting."

"Well, you're looking at the person who does," Edd spat. "And his daughter and soon-to-be son."

The woman's glare turned soft. "He has children?"

"Yes. Our children," Edd said simply. "His son is coming within a few more months."

"Well, I knew you were expecting," she said. "And I know he's the father."

"Then why did you ask if he had children? You sent him so many threat notes about me and his family."

The woman shrugged. "Hmph, sorry," she said. "I just forgot. Look, Edd, I've been through a lot preparing my army for his attacks. I know he's a cunning man and he would do anything to get you back, but he won't until he gives up those people he's brainwashed."

"He hasn't brainwashed them!" Edd protested, now struggling against the clips that held him in the chair. He felt the ropes that were tied around his ankles slightly tighten, making sure he didn't kick. He huffed, stopping his struggles soon enough. "He has never brainwashed anyone. Those men and women came accordingly, wanting to join his army."

"Well," the woman stated. "Maybe he hasn't brainwashed anyone."

Edd huffed, rolling his eyes. 

"But maybe he's brainwashed you."