Call It a Dare

I initially came to England in hopes of finding my birth dad, the ever elusive Eugine Sinclair but with a name like that, I think I was better off on my own. He was supposed to be some kind of business man but the more I tried to find out about him, the more I realized he was more than likely made up, probably my mom’s way of getting rid of me. Thanks mom. I didn’t mind though. These last few months spent mindlessly going in circles were a lot more exciting that trying to live off of the dead grunge scene that was Seattle, Washington. Grunge was a zombie and I refused to be part of its apocalypse.

I think it was 11 or 12 by the time I left Ramses, a smoking lounge I worked at in the evening. A lot of people hate cigarettes but there was a kind of familiar warmth for me in the thick, eye burning smoke. It was like a childhood friend or a favourite aunt. I said bye to Ali, the owner who would be shutting down for the night before I strutted out into the chilly English night. My apartment was three blocks away, so there was no need for a car. Cars drove by and, as usual, the drivers made funny faces since nobody’s really social around here. I didn’t think much of it until a van pulled up next to me.

“Hey, love”, called a man, rolling down the window. His van was red, like one of those roadie vans you see in comedy movies about wannabe rock stars. He flashed me a chesire smile as he ran a hand through his messy brown hair. “Do you need a lift?”

In normal circumstances, the average person would say ‘no’ but I’m more of a risk taker. Besides, it was just up the street and with his sincere blue eyes, he couldn’t be all that creepy right? “That would be really great!” I smiled, shoving my fists into the pockets of my denim jacket. The back door slid open to reveal a Gerard Way look alike.

“Hello”, Gerard Way said. “My name’s Michael.”

“Michael”, I repeated.

“Yup. And that’s my friend Louis.” He pointed a finger to the man driving. “What’s your name, doll?”

“You can call me Ace”, I stated.

“Where are you off to, Ace?” Louis asked.

“My apartment. It’s just up the road.”

“Oh, the King’s Complex?” questioned Michael. I nodded. The van was warm and they were both friendly. Michael stared a little more than usual though. I mean, normal people don’t eye you like a piece of steak at the super market. And Louis kept glancing back in the rear view mirror. “Lou. Turn on the radio”, Michael stated. Louis nodded and flicked a switch, causing sound to come out of a set of speakers in the back.

“Oh, I love Motley Crue!” I exclaimed, recognizing the song as Kickstart My Heart. Michael smiled back at me and reached up front to turn it up. He nodded along to it so I did too. We pulled up to a light so I reached up and tapped Louis on the shoulder. “Take a right”, I said, tossing my head. “And the enterance is going to be right by the sign.”

“Gotcha, love”, Louis smiled, patting my hand. I watched with Louis as the light turned green. As soon as it changed colours, Louis gunned the gas and went straight forward, completely missing my turn.

“Hey, didn’t you hear me?” I demanded, reaching for the volume knob. Louis cranked it up before forcefully pushing me into the back with Michael.

“Didn’t your mommy tell you not to get in a car with strangers?” Michael questioned, almost smiling like this was a game.

I felt sick. Was this seriously happening? How the fuck could I be so stupid? Michael lunged at me so I groped for the door handle. Before I could fling it open, he had both my wrists in one hand. “You do that, and I’ll make sure you regret it”, he hissed. “Now listen, Ace, we’re going to go for a little ride, alright? And pick up another friend. You’re going to be quiet or we’ll do a lot worse than kidnap you.”

“Why are you doing this?!” I barked. Michael replied with a sharp smack across my face.

“I’m pretty sure the boy told you to be quiet”, called Louis, taking a turn. I pressed my lips together and struggled in Michael’s grasp only to be rewarded with a strip of duct tape.

“I promise, if you follow the rules, you’ll be fine”, Michael beamed, wrapping the tape around my wrists. It was so tight it chafed and I suddenly realized how people in horror and action movies wind up with so much blood on them. The tape was cutting into my skin. Louis made random twists and turns, like he was trying intentionally to get lost as Michael moved down to my legs. I was taped around the knees, then the ankles like some kind of stuck pig.

“Mikey, I found another one”, Louis stated, slowing the van. Michael nodded and ripped a final strip from the roll.

“Be quiet”, he whispered, pressing the tape to my lips. He fidgeted for a moment and produced and old school stiletto knife from his pocket. “This is our other friend”, Michael said. “If you so much as breathe heavy and scare her off, I’ll slit your pretty little throat and I think we both know what a waste that would be.” I nodded quickly to show I understood, though that didn’t keep Michael from caressing my face with the blade. We were silent as Louis stopped the van and once again rolled down the window. This time, he asked for directions.

The conversation didn’t matter to me so much as why. Why were they doing this? What did they have to gain? Were they stalkers or was this random? What was going to happen to us? My mind spun and I nearly threw up in my mouth as the van door swung open. A pretty girl climbed in, a flower child with long dark hair and a sun shiny tan. She was smiling until she saw me. Before she knew what was happening, Michael had the door slammed shut and her on the floor of the van.

“Ladies, we’re going to go meet up with some real friends”, Louis announced, turning down the radio. “Lily dear, the man here assisting you with your bindings is Michael and the girl sitting with you is Ace or Mace or something equally stupid.”

My name’s not fucking stupid I thought, letting out an angry muffled growl. I swung my legs at Michael who brought his knife swinging down. As the blade sliced open my leg, I wailed and kicked at him again. “Michael, don’t damage the goods!” barked Louis. “We haven’t even made plans yet!”

Well, isn’t that just fucking great? They just kidnapped me and this other girl for, so far, no apparent reason. Who does that? I mean, I had heard things. I had a friend whose older brother was supposed to kidnap the president of his frat in order to join but…they knew each other. And that was a game. This isn’t a game. I don’t know these guys and looking at Lily’s face, she didn’t either. Despite the pain in my legs and the warm feeling of blood saturating my jeans, I swung at Michael again.

“Fucking stop!” Michael hissed, turning away from Lily. Her hands were already bound and he was nearly done with her knees. “If you do it again, I’ll stab her!”

“But I didn’t do anything!” Lily argued.

“OmiGod, princess. Shut the fuck up”, Louis grunted. She started crying which was disgusting in my honest opinion. How the Hell are you expected to get through a survival situation when the only other person on your side is a wimp? I glared some but softened eventually. She was scared. I was scared. Crying was her way of dealing with it like I was being internally angry. Once she was fully taped, Michael sat her next to me and then planted himself between us.

“Just think, this is the start of a whole new adventure for all of us”, he beamed. “And you were kidnapped by us. We’re the best at what we do!”

Louis snickered and stopped making his weird turns. He pulled onto a back road and that was it. We were gone. Just two people picked up off the street so casually nobody would know we were really taken. I dreaded the end of the drive. I wanted Louis to drive forever since I didn’t know what would happen once he parked and took the keys out of the ignition. Everyone knows though, that eventually you’ll run out of gas and you’ll have to stop then.

Maybe they’ll get bored I thought. Or maybe I can convince her to help me get rid of the duct tape. Then we can leave. Looking at the ties though, I couldn’t find a seam so picking apart the tape seemed unlikely. It looked like we were doomed after all.

Notes

-Godot