The Overly Complicated Life of a (Self-Proclaimed) Villain

Chapter 15

Elliot

The surprising factor of our six-hour road trip was the overwhelming sense of guilt that flooded every inch of my being. I felt responsible for Chloe's kidnapping, I felt responsible for not preventing it, I felt responsible for not going sooner. If only I had pressed James on why he was here we could have prevented this whole mission. If only.

I reached a hand out and grabbed my coffee-filled thermos and downed the last sip. The lukewarm coffee I had made at five this morning was bitter on my tongue as I merged lanes and continued down the interstate.

I had been driving since five-thirty this morning, it was now nearing eight in the morning. Bleddyn had finally given up on sleeping and was now drumming his fingers on the armrest.

"Do you want me to take over?" Bleddyn asked, "I'm about to lose my mind not having anything to concentrate on."

"Only if you want to, I'll pull off at the next exit. I need gas anyway." I got off the interstate and pulled into the first gas station I saw. Getting out of the car was a blessing. I was about to start pumping the gas when Bleddyn protested.

"I should pay," he said, pulling out his debit card, "I'm the one who dragged you out here."

I shook my head, "I'm here out of my own volition. You can pay me back another time."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, now run in there and buy us some snacks. I'm starving and my caffeine high is wearing off." Bleddyn threw a smirk at me and disappeared inside the older Mom and Pop store. The wind whipped around me as I waited for the tank to fill, forcing me to pull the front of my jacket even tighter around my chest. It was winter in the north east, the frigid temperatures and the overcast sky were a given.

Bleddyn hurried out of the small store carrying a bag of road trip snacks and went over to my side. "Now, I'm driving. You've been at it for hours, I can get us the rest of the way. Promise." I gave him a smile.

"Fine, but I'm in control of the snack bag."

"Be my guest." Bleddyn laughed as I rounded the car and slid into the passenger's side. Bleddyn handed me the bag of snacks when he was inside and I rummaged through to find lots of candy bars, energy bars, bags of chips, and a few diet sodas. I opened a bag of plain potato chips as we slid back onto the highway.

"I didn't really know what you liked other than coffee so I hope you are okay with the crap I got."

"You did fine, my favorite brand of chip is hardly sold in the US."

"What is it?"

"Cucumber Pepper Ranch Lays." An odd combination, but a good one.

"You like cucumber flavored chips?" Bleddyn mocked.

"Cucumbers are a superior food. They are good when they taste like dirt and water."

"I have never heard that one before. You will never cease to amaze me, Elliot." I chuckled.

Bleddyn

The rest of the car ride went rather smoothly. But I was ready for it to be over by the end. We tracked Google Maps to Chloe's exact location, which was a warehouse in the middle of nowhere.

"Are you ready?" Elliot asked, sliding a mask over his face and handing me one.

"Yeah," I said, "what are these for though?"

"We don't want the people who kidnapped her to know who we are." I still thought it was odd, but pulled the mask over my head anyways.

I stepped out of the car just as my phone buzzed. I looked.

help

It was from Chloe. I began running toward the warehouse, Elliot close behind. Before I reached the doors he pulled me back, "What are you doing?"

"She texted me." I showed him my phone. "We need to get to her."

"It's broad daylight. We have to be careful. What if the door is locked or if the nob is electrified or there are gunmen on the other side? We don't know what these people are like. We need to take our time so we don't die."

"But--"

"No buts. Bleddyn, I need you to be Erebus right now, okay?" I sucked in a breath. He was right.

"Yeah, okay." I pressed my back to the wall and examined the area around us. "The people are probably inside, no sign of anybody here."

"I'm going to try the door," Elliot said quickly, pulling on a rubber glove.

The door opened.

Light flooded the empty space. In the center was a chair where Chloe sat tied up, gagged, and eyes wide. I jerked forward immediately. She was alone. Elliot began to hold me back but allowed me when he realized there was nothing there that could harm us.

"Chloe," I gasped as I began frantically cutting at her bindings. Once her hands were free, Chloe was able to ungag herself and took a few big breaths.

"Bleddyn," she whispered, "you came."

"Of course we did, sorry it took so long," I responded hugging her as soon as she was standing.

"Hugging later, we need to leave before someone gets back." Elliot looked around the room skeptically. "This was all too easy."

"Right you are my dears," a voice boomed just as the doors fell shut, trapping the trio in darkness.