Kidnapping

SIGNY

The car moves steadily down the road, the tires humming against the pavement as the buildings outside the windows slowly disappear behind us. The inside of the vehicle is unusually quiet, except for the occasional sound of the air conditioner and the faint rustling of clothes whenever someone shifts in their seat.

Jacob sits in the middle of the back seat, looking completely miserable. A rope is wrapped securely around his upper body, keeping his arms close to his sides. It is not tight enough to hurt him, but it is more than enough to make it impossible for him to simply open the door and walk away. He keeps testing the rope every few seconds, pulling against it with an increasingly irritated expression before finally giving up and sinking back into his seat.

He looks at all of us one by one. Nobody says anything. Jacob slowly narrows his eyes. “This is kidnapping, you know that, right?”

Cleovon, sitting beside him, glances over without the slightest hint of concern. “Yes.”

Jacob stares at him. The simple answer seems to catch him off guard more than an argument would have. “Yes?” he repeats.

“Yes,” Cleovon says again, turning his attention back toward the road.

Jacob’s mouth falls open slightly. “You’re not even going to deny it?”

“Why would I deny something you already figured out?”

“Because kidnapping is a crime!”

“That sounds like a problem for you to worry about,” Cyprus says, chuckling as he continues to drive.

Jacob's expression twists in disbelief. “How is that a problem for me? You’re the one kidnapping me!”

From the front seat, Huxlee lets out a quiet laugh. “Stop complaining. We’re not going to hurt you.”

Seriously, Cyprus the troublemaker and Huxlee the school nerd are a good match. They will make a good couple and will shock the entire campus.

“That’s supposed to make me feel better?” Jacob asks, his brows knitting together.

“It should.”

“It doesn’t!”

I glance at Jacob from where I sit and struggle to keep myself from laughing. He looks ridiculous sitting there with the rope around him, his hair slightly messy from all his earlier struggling and his face twisted into an expression that makes it painfully obvious how much he regrets getting involved with us.

“You could always cooperate,” I say, sitting on the other side of him.

Jacob immediately turns toward me and then shifts to Ciela. “Ciela, please tell me you understand how insane this is.”

Ciela raises an eyebrow. “Which part?”

He looks down at the rope wrapped around him. “This!”

She glances at it before looking back at him. “Oh. That.”

“Yes, ‘ that!’ ”

I fold my arms and look at him with an unimpressed expression. “If you had cooperated earlier, you wouldn’t be tied up right now.”

Jacob stares at me as though I have just said the most ridiculous thing he has ever heard. “You tied me up because I wouldn’t cooperate!”

“Exactly.”

“That makes absolutely no sense!”

“It makes perfect sense.”

“No, it doesn’t!”

I simply shrug. Jacob looks around the car, seemingly searching for someone who might actually agree with him. His gaze lands on Huxlee, then Cleovon, then Cyprus. But nobody says anything.

His expression slowly falls. “You’re all crazy.”

“Maybe,” Cleovon says.

Jacob looks at him. “That’s it?”

Cleovon shrugs. “What do you want me to say?”

“I don’t know! Maybe apologize?”

“No.”

Jacob closes his eyes and takes a long, slow breath through his nose as if he is desperately trying to convince himself that this entire situation is not actually happening.

I turn my attention toward the window. Outside, the familiar streets become less recognizable as we drive farther away. The shops and houses gradually give way to quieter roads, and the steady movement of the car makes it difficult to tell exactly where we are heading.

That seems to bother Jacob too. His eyes open again, and he looks out the window before turning toward us.

“Wait,” he says.

Nobody responds.

“Where are we going?”

The question makes the atmosphere inside the car shift slightly. Cyprus glances at him through the rearview mirror.

Jacob notices. “Seriously,” he says, his voice becoming more cautious. “Where are you taking me?”

Cleovon looks over at him. “You’ll find out.”

Jacob's eyes widen. “That is not an answer.”

“It’s the only one you’re getting.”

“Okay, no. Absolutely not.” Jacob starts struggling against the rope again, twisting his shoulders and trying to pull his arms free. “Stop the car.”

Cyprus sighs. “Would you stop moving?”

“Stop the car first!”

“We’re not stopping.”

“Then I’m calling the police!”

The entire car goes silent. Jacob looks around, apparently satisfied that he has finally found something that might make us take him seriously. Then he remembers the obvious problem. His phone is nowhere in sight. His eyes slowly drop. I notice the realization spreading across his face.

“Where’s my phone?”

Nobody answers.

Jacob looks up again. “Where is my phone?”

Cleovon casually looks toward the front of the car. “Probably somewhere safe.”

Jacob's face goes pale. “You took my phone?”

“You weren't going to need it.”

“You took my phone, tied me up, and put me in a car!”

I bite the inside of my cheek, trying not to laugh.

Jacob notices. “Unknown woman, why are you smiling?!”

“I’m not.”

“You are!”

“I’m really not.”

“You absolutely are!”

Huxlee suddenly covers her mouth, but I can see the corner of her lips lifting.

Jacob looks at her next. “And you! Stop smiling!”

Huxlee immediately straightens her face. “I’m not smiling.”

“You literally are!”

Cyprus starts laughing from the front.

Jacob throws his head back against the seat in frustration. “I cannot believe this,” he mutters. “I’m actually being kidnapped by a bunch of idiots.”

“Hey,” Cleovon says.

Jacob turns toward him.

Cleovon points at himself. “I’m not an idiot.”

Jacob stares at him for a second. Then he looks at the rope around his body. “Right. Sorry. You’re the smart kidnapper.”

Cleovon goes quiet. I can't hold it anymore. A laugh escapes me, and Huxlee immediately starts laughing too. Even Cyprus snickers from the driver's seat.

Jacob looks at all of us with complete disbelief. “This is not funny!”

That only makes us laugh harder.

Jacob groans and sinks farther into his seat, staring out the window with an expression of pure regret. “I should've stayed at my friend’s today.”

—--

The car finally comes to a stop. Jacob lifts his head from where he has been staring blankly out the window and immediately looks around. For the past several minutes, he has been trying to figure out where we are taking him, but nothing outside has given him any useful clue. The moment the engine shuts off, however, his attention sharpens.

“Are we here?” he asks.

Nobody answers him. Cyprus gets out of the car first, followed by Huxlee, Ciela and Cleovon. I step out after them, stretching my legs after being stuck inside the car for so long.

Jacob remains in his seat. He looks at us through the open door. “Are you seriously going to leave me tied up in here?”

Cyprus looks back at him. “Get out.”

“I would love to, but there’s a small problem.” He lifts his arms as much as the rope allows.

Cyprus stares at him for a moment before sighing and walking back toward the car. He reaches inside and loosens the rope enough for Jacob to move properly, though he leaves it around him.

Jacob climbs out, rubbing his arms and giving Cyprus an annoyed look. “You could have just asked me to come with you.”

“We did.”

“You grabbed me.”

“You refused.”

“You kidnapped me!”

“Keep your voice down.”

Jacob opens his mouth to argue again, but he stops when Cyprus turns away and begins walking toward what looks like an ordinary entrance. I follow the others, with Jacob reluctantly trailing behind us. At first, I think we're heading toward some kind of storage building. The place looks completely unremarkable from the outside, with nothing about it suggesting that anything interesting could possibly be underneath it. Then Cyprus opens the door. We step inside. A narrow staircase stretches downward.

Jacob stops at the top. He looks down the stairs, then at Cyprus. “Where exactly are we going?”

“Down.”

“I can see that.”

Cyprus continues walking. Jacob hesitates for another second before following us.

The farther we descend, the colder the air becomes. The sounds from outside gradually disappear until all I can hear is the echo of our footsteps against the walls. The staircase seems to go on much longer than it should, and Jacob's expression becomes increasingly suspicious with every step until we reach the bottom.

Cyprus pushes open another door. We walk through it and stop.