Prodigal Son
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Kelly woke in near darkness and to the jackhammer that was pounding in her head.
"Now I know how Peter must have felt when he was beaten up," she quipped but her own anxiety threatened to undo her. "Where am I?"
Kelly tried to look around but the aching in her shoulders told her that she was no longer lying on the floor. Her wrists also ached and the cuffs around them chafed her skin.
"Oh man, that's going to leave a mark," she joked once more, trying to fight the rising fear in the pit of her stomach.
Kelly was reminded of the time when she was a kid and tried to play a trick on Peter. He got back at her by tying her to a chair and leaving her in the attic for several minutes. Dad was furious. Neither one of them played any tricks on each other for a month, because both had been grounded and could not watch television for at least a week. This, however, was no child's trick. Kelly had been handcuffed and strung up like a chicken, but she didn't know where she was.
Kelly struggled to maneuver herself to see if she could see anything and soon discovered that her feet were bound as well.
"Oh, no. This really can't be happening."
"Oh yes it is, my dear, and the more you struggle the tighter things will get."
"Why are you doing this?" Kelly screamed.
"Because I can, and because I know it will make him suffer."
"Who?"
"You know who, your brother."
Kelly's eyes grew wide when the realization hit home. She was bait for whatever fate awaited Peter Caine.
"You won't get away with this," she stated, trying to put on a brave face as her father would instruct her to do many times.
"Oh, I already have," Masterson stated, then he turned toward someone out of sight and nodded his head.
Lights flooded the area and Kelly could see she was in some kind of holding tank with only one way out. The tank was large and had been modified for some unknown purpose. She could see that her feet had been not only handcuffed but there was a chain anchored to what looked like a very thick clear piece of plastic or glass that served as a shelf. Then the sound of water could be heard raining overhead and Kelly's heart froze. A sheet of rain was coming down between her and the only escape route. Another three feet below and the liquid started to pool on the floor.
"Let's really see if your brother cares so much about you. That's not water that's acid. And you my dear are right in the middle of it. If he wants to save you, he's going to have to go through that. He'll have only six hours to discover where you are. I will be back to check on you later. Don't go anywhere."
"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it," Kelly said sarcastically as Masterson turned and walked out of sight. 'But you don't know what I have up my sleeve.'
As soon as Masterson was out of site, Kelly tried to get some relief from the cuffs biting into her wrists. Even though her ankles were also shackled, using her knees she tried to maneuver her body to see if she couldn't get into a better position to grab onto the chain. As her legs moved around, she suddenly felt one of her shoes give way.
"Uh oh," Kelly exclaimed out loud. She watched the shoe drop and expected to hear the telltale sound of acid bubbling up to eat the shoe, but nothing happened. The shoe just floated there, as if it was a boat, but then it slowly sank from sight, or was that due to the water rising. She couldn't tell, only one thought did occur to her. Masterson had lied.
That revelation spurred her into action. 'Use me for bait,' she thought. 'You don't know who you're dealing with.'
Kelly did her best to feel the cuffs of her shirt. Finding the secret pocket that had been sewn into the fabric, Kelly slowly began to remove the slender piece of metal hidden there. She felt lucky that she had decided to wear this particular shirt today. The small piece of metal that she kept hidden there had saved her butt quite a few times since moving out. She never told her mother about those incidents, but it certainly came in handy. Kelly pushed the memories from her mind and once again turned her attention to freeing herself from the situation. First step was removing the slender metal pick. It was a slow and careful process. One slip and the slender piece of metal could tumble down just as her shoe did.
As soon as she had the piece of metal freed, she did her best to maneuver it into the keyhole of the handcuff. She had to totally rely on feel this time because to crane her neck so far back could cause more injury and strain on her arms. Kelly discovered she had been holding her breath when she felt the slender piece of metal enter the small opening in the cuff that contained the locking mechanism. It took her several more minutes to work the lock. She had to take a breather a few times, and her eyes continued to dart toward the stairs, hoping that Masterson would not return and discover what she was doing.
As she glanced furtively one more time toward the exit, Kelly almost gave a sudden start when the left cuff dropped open. As soon as she was able to free her left wrist, Kelly worked on freeing her right. Once her wrists were free she dropped to the floor, harder than she expected. She felt one of her ankles give way, and fell backwards onto her behind. Ignoring the pain in her right ankle, she used the small piece of metal to remove the handcuffs from both.
"Thanks, Dad, for teaching me a few of your magic tricks," Kelly said to the air.
But once freed, she realized she had no place to go. Her right ankle was swelling and she feared it was sprained. Even if she managed to get past the rain, she would have to get up those stairs.
"Oh Peter, I hope Mrs. Wu's labor is over soon." Then she realized Peter didn't even know where she was. Kelly stared through the curtain of rain and nibbled her nails, then struck the metal wall in anger. It reverberated from the impact, sending a deep tone throughout the chamber. Even though Masterson had lied about that acid, her injured ankle wasn't going to allow her to move very far. She was still a prisoner and bait for her brother.
'Not if I can help it,' Kelly thought, then steeled herself for her next move despite her injury.
Continues with Part 10
Alisa Joaquin Copyright@2006.
This story cannot be reprinted or sold in any other form without strict permission from
the author. It is being distributed here solely for your enjoyment.
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