Chapter 9: In the Dragon’s Den

I dreamed of the rose garden, the red-headed girl, and oranges and lemons. I ... I guess I’ll need to cover that in this story, buddy, but I’ll need to work up to it. That one still eats at me.

I regained consciousness knowing three things; I was blindfolded and tied to a chair, I’d been worked over while I was unconscious as my sides, gut, and face hurt, and it was all my fault.

Fucking idiot. I should’ve known there would be consequences. All right. Deep breath. Breathe.

I pulled at the cold and wrapped it around myself.

Figure out where you are and if there are any of them around. Then, work on the bonds. After that, you can worry about freedom and how badly you’re hurt. Definitely not topping last year’s birthday.

I took several deep breaths and tried to analyze the scents available.

Oil. Grease. Blood. Rust. Metal. I’m at a garage. Luke’s father has a garage.

I took a moment to whistle as quietly as I could and held my breath.

No immediate response, so not in the room at least. And I can hear the echoes off the concrete. I can risk it.

I started working on my bonds. I’d gotten quite good at undoing knots after the closet.

Rope at least. Would’ve been easier if I’d been awake when I was tied so I could puff out and flex, but I can make do. If they’d used a chain or cuffs I’d be screwed. I could pick cuffs, but that required tools. And a padlock is probably too hard from this position.

I slowly worked on the knots. I kept my ears peaked. I could hear a television muffled from another room. Once I got the rope loose enough, I slipped it off and pulled the blind fold off. Which turned out to be an oily rag. Luckily my eyes had been closed. I was at the far end of the bay to the garage. The television was coming from the office portion. I got up and slowly crept about. I found a door that led out behind the garage that was propped open.

Oh, that is a crazy fucking idea.

My other belched, “But it will work.”

If I don’t die in the process. Eh, Not like I got anything to live for.

I looked around as best I could without nearing the office portion and I found two things of note. Well, three. There were a lot of packages of what I presumed was drugs and several duffel bags filled with cash and most importantly there was a phone.

I took one of the duffels and slipped out the back door and slung it upwards and onto the roof of the garage. Hoping that it wasn’t loud enough to attract attention. Then I returned to the phone. I picked it up and checked. It was working.

Hopefully no one is listening in.

I tried three numbers. First Sarah’s without answer. Then Amanda’s without answer. I gave each three rings. Finally, I dialed 911. “Metro communications. How can I help you.”

I took a deep breath and tried to make my voice sound deeper and added a hick accent, “Don’t want to give my name, but I saw some kids carrying a tied-up boy into Young’s garage. You might want to check it out.”

I hung up and moved back to the chair.

This is stupid. This is stupid.

My other screeched, “They brought you into their parlor. Punish them.”

I replaced the rag that had been used as a makeshift blindfold and then retied the ropes that had bound me to the chair. Tying myself up wasn’t new I had to learn and there were only so many times I could convince Joey and KC to do it, but doing it blindfolded to a chair was. Once I was confident that the bonds would look good and that they wouldn’t accidently fall off I screamed, “HEY! YOU PATHETIC CUNTS!”

I heard Luke’s dad yell, “Shut him up!”

I heard running then Eric shouting, “Shut the fuck up!” I could hear two others breathing. It wasn’t all the dragons, but hopefully it would be enough.

“Oh, fuck off. I’ll make as much noise as your mother did the last time I fucked her. Don’t worry I’m sure she’ll let you eat my jizz out of her again.” The first hit came. Followed by a second and third. “Sad little bitches. Untie me. Make it fair. You’d lose, but at least it wouldn’t be as sad.” I felt something stab my side. If I were religious, this was the place where I’d pray that it missed anything vital. “I always knew you wanted to penetrate me like I did your sister.” My head exploded with pain.

I dreamed of the rose garden and the red headed girl. The recurring dream had been a fixture of my life for many years at this point, but having it twice in a row was rare. I woke up to a light storming through the windows. I looked around and realized I was in a hospital. There was a bird sitting at the window. Two of them. One slightly above and to the left of the other her. I closed my right eye and then reopened it and then did the same with my left. My left eye was the one screwed up. “Not my worst birthday.”

It was about an hour later when the nurse came in, “Hey, you’re awake.”

“Yeah and seeing two of you.”

“That’ll probably quiet the gaggle out there.”

“Gaggle?”

“In the waiting room. You’ve got more girls than there are chairs there. Your parents, Two kind of old women, a deputy, an older black-haired woman, a younger blonde”

Really Amanda is here?

She continued, “and eight about your age.”

Finally, I inhaled deeply, I could tell my face was swollen and likely eighteen shades of purple, but I’d not been able to see it and everything I did see showed my eye was fucked up again, “What’s the deal with my eye?”

“You had an orbital fracture. They’ve repaired it, but you’ll see double for a while.”

“And the weeping blood?”

“Part of the deal.”

“Any idea about release?”

“You’ll have to talk to the doctor about that. There was some internal bleeding where you were stabbed.”

“Stabbed?”

“In the side with a screwdriver.”

“Lovely, what are the visitation rules?”

“Two at a time and till 8.”

“What time is it now?”