MInTheGap Fiction Fiction Writing from MInTheGap

Walking in a Winter Wonderland–Page 8

At day break, I saw a house.  It was a very large house, with a gate and walls around it.  I wondered why they needed a gate when there was no road to it.  Now that I was in the sunlight, I could see why.  The snow had been recently moved there.  Stealthily crawling over to the wall, I found a spot where I could look over it.  I saw a window.  In the window, I saw Kendall.  She was tied in a chair with the guy pointing a gun at her.  I was not close enough to read their lips, but I could tell that she wasn’t happy.

I took a chance that he was alone, and I hopped the wall.  Not a problem.  I walked over to the window and looked in.  Noticing only two tracks going in the house, and none around but my own, I felt that my guess was safe.  Looking in the window again, I saw that the man had left.  Kendall sat crying in the corner.  Her mouth was gagged and she couldn’t move.  I didn’t know how long the man would be out of the room, so I tried to see if the window would open.  It didn’t, but Kendall saw me.  She stopped crying for an instant, but I think that she realized that if she stopped, the guy would find me for sure.

Looking around the building, I found a slant in some of the brick.  Working hard at digging the snow away, I was able to find the door to the cellar.  It was unlocked.  With painstaking quiet, I opened the cellar door.  Going inside, I made just as sure to shut it quietly too.  I looked around the cellar, and noticing that there was a generator for power, I walked over to it.  It was now about 10:00 AM.  You can imagine how tired I was.  I thought this my only hope.  I cut the staircase in two places, a trick I saw on MacGuyver, and picked up a big shovel.  I walked over to the generator, and stopped the motor.  I heard someone say something upstairs, and then some feet motion in my direction.  Getting behind the stairs, the door opened.  The man fell down, and I bashed him on the head.  Dragging him up the stairs, I brought him into the room in which I had seen Kendall.  I reached to untie her.  The knot was tied to a string which was tied to something else.  A bomb perhaps?

I tied the guy up in another chair.  I un-gagged Kendall, and went over to a chair.  “I’m so glad you showed up.”

“Thanks.”  I went to sit and said, “I better not sit down.”

“Why?”

“If I sit down, I might fall to sleep!”  I stood next to the guy, but he seemed out cold.  “Stay here.”  I said to Kendall.  She looked at me funny.  All right, so it wasn’t very funny.  I admit it.  I walked over into the kitchen.  Looking around, I found some smelling salts.  I walked over to the man and put them under his nose.  Well, they kept me awake.

He finally woke up.  “What is the wire to?”  I questioned him.

“Huh?  Wire?”  He asked groggily.  “Oh, that wire.  It is attached to nothing.”

“Nothing?!”

“Yes.  The boss just said to make sure to delay you here as long as possible.”

“The boss?”

“Yeah, you know, the guy who took Kendall in the first place.”  I walked over and untied Kendall.  She was feeling her wrists and neck.

“You don’t know how good that feels.”

“Believe me, sweetheart (with an accent), I do,” I said to Kendall.  Turning to the man, “I want to know everything you know about your boss and why I’m here.”

“Frankly, you’re nothing like the guy that he said would come out here, so I guess I could tell, if I were persuaded…”

“What would you like?”

“For starters, I’d like to be free of these ropes.”

“Okay.  But how do I know you won’t turn on me?”

“You trust me, I’ll trust you.”

“Okay, deal.”  I freed him.

“Now, after I have had a good lunch, I’ll tell you everything I know.”

“I’ll make the lunch,” said Kendall.  She went into the kitchen.

“You don’t look so good, sir…”

“Adam.”

“Adam.  If I were you, I’d get a little sleep.”

“I don’t need to sleep right now.”