The Kiss that Sparked it All

Victoria was anxious, her nerves frayed to their breaking point.

She nudged at Elton, desperate for some reassurance. barely above a whisper.

“You alright?” she asked, her voice

Elton managed a wry smile. “As alright as one can be, sitting here chatting with you, which means I’m in one piece. Just got a good whack with a baseball bat-didn’t even draw blood. Missed a chance, though. These thugs have got some nerve, setting up a trap for us and the police.”

Balfour remained silent, deep in thought, trying to figure out how they could increase their chances of escaping. He knew they couldn’t just sit around waiting for doom. He had faith his s grandparents would come for him; after all, they always had his back. But he had no illusions about the kidnappers sitting quietly by. Every second they spent here, the danger amplified.

“Mr. Lewis, they didn’t blindfold you, did they?”

Elton shook his head. “No, they just tied my hands and feet. Kid, you need me to look for something?”

Shifting closer to Balfour, Elton felt the weight of responsibility as the only adult in the room. He was as set on getting them out as they were. No matter how fast the police. might arrive, it wouldn’t beat the kidnappers making their move. Since they’d been thrown in here, his heart hadn’t stopped racing.

“Yeah, Mr. Lewis, I need you to check if there’s any other way out of this room.”

Elton scanned the room carefully. The place was in shambles, reminiscent of an abandoned farmhouse. There was only one door, but behind them was a large window,

barred with iron wires.

He relayed everything he observed to Balfour.

“What’s your plan? They seem to be all around the front door.”

They could already hear the kidnappers outside, laughing and clinking their beer bottles. It seemed they really didn’t believe they would try to escape. Or maybe even with some of them drinking, they still had a few watching over them.

“I’m not sure how many are on guard. Mr. Lewis, since you weren’t blindfolded, could you estimate how many there are?”

Elton furrowed his brow. “When we were in the van, there were three, and I saw another two when they shoved me in here. But I’m not sure if there were more in the next room.” NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.

“There was j

just one guy in the next room, so they’re really not taking us seriously. When they left me and Victoria here, they only left one guy to watch us.”

1/2

08.19

Elton’s eyes lit up with a spark of hope. “So it’s just six of them. If that’s the case, there might be a chance to run for it.”

Victoria gasped at the thought of facing six men. “But we’re just three, and we’re all a bit banged up. How are we supposed to run? Dad maybe we should wait for rescue. If we try escape and they catch us… I can’t even imagine what they’d do to us. Can we jus stay put, please?”

tru to

Elton understood Victoria’s fear all too well but tried to comfort her. “Sweetheart, staying put is the real death sentence. We don’t know when those thugs will decide to get rough with us! They didn’t even bother to blindfold me in the van, which means they

ey weren’t scared I’d see their faces. Maybe they never intended for us to walk out of here alive.

Think about it-what’s scarier, the chance of getting caught and punished by them, or just sitting here waiting for the end?”

Victoria bit her lip and collapsed to the floor, her head bowed as she began to sob softly. “Why is this happening?” she whimpered.