Even creepier, the first thing he said was "I know you! You are Catie and Andy, and your sister is missing! Hop on board!" He gestured to the convertible.
"How–how do you know our names, and how do you know about our sister?" I stuttered, trying to line up the dozen questions in my mind.
"Whatever. Just hop in." he answered impatiently back. I was about to spurn his offer, but Andy was already bouncing in the backseat. How did he even get there? I made a helpless attempt to grab him out, but somehow ended up in the car myself.
"Are you ready?" that Vampire Dude asked with a smirk.
"But–wait…" I began, reaching for the door.
"Get buckled up!" Vampire Dude shouted, and he zoomed off at full speed.
Chapter 11 - Sharon –Jacque’s Story
"Ok, so why am I here, and where am I?" I asked Jacque confused.
"Well, you are in my lovely house, and you are here because I want you to be here," Jacque answered.
"But, you aren’t answering my–" I attempted to ask.
"Now, hush up, listen to my story," Jacque shushed me.
JACQUE’S STORY
"Once upon a time, like one or two decades ago, I was married. My husband’s name was Harry Williams. We were very happy together and became rich by making and selling wine in California, where one of our first factories still is. A few years later I became a proud parent of an adorable son. My husband, on the other hand, was not proud at all. The problem was that he wanted a daughter. He wanted a daughter to take to father-daughter dances and take pictures of cute tea parties when she was little. I named the little baby David. Harry didn’t even try to name David. I got annoyed, but then, I knew that my loving husband would get over it. Or at least I thought he would.
“As David grew up, my funny husband drifted farther and farther from me. Oh, I need to go to work, I have a meeting, he would say. He always had excuses. Harry didn’t help with David at all. I rarely saw him anymore. I raised David by myself. Then, one dark, autumn morning, he secretly took all his belongings and his BMW. I remember waking up and not finding him anywhere. When David made vroom zoom noises, I knew he had left. Of course I married again, but it is not the same. And it’s all that stupid David’s fault. I decided to find the perfect daughter and lure my husband back. I observed many pre-teens, and you seem to be the perfect girl. I am also very lonely, so you’ll be my company."
"Are you done yet?" David peeked in.
"No! Shut up and go away!!" Jacque screamed.
David closed the door. I could hear him whimpering. The next thing I heard was him running down the stairs or hallway.
"Never mind that," Jacque sweetly turned to me, "You see, I want you to live with me. It might seem bad, but it will be alright. You will get anything you want, anything."
"I want to go home," I requested.
"Well, anything but that. You can never go home." Jacque sternly replied.
Chapter 12 - Andy- Always Share!
I don’t like the car driver. He had what Big Sissy would call a "sneaky look". He was up to something. When he told us to get on his vehicle, I knew he was a good guy, because he let us ride his no-top car. How nice, he is sharing his car with us! Only good guys would share. That was what my teacher had told us. I jumped eagerly into the vehicle.
Sissy2 didn’t look happy, but when she tried to grab me out, I dragged her in.
At first when he told us to get in, he looked worried, confused, and rushed. Now, he looked like he didn't have a care in the world. I hoped that I could find Sissy 1, and go back home quickly.
Chapter 13 - Catie- Poor Hungry Brat!
The ride was a daze; I don’t exactly remember how it went. I was irritated because it was a hard and long day. I started to think of Mrs. Johns and how worried she might be. Then I had a thought. Since Mrs. Johns was one of those elderly women who was noisy about everything, she probably told the police and all of our neighbors that we were gone. She might have reasonably had us put on the first page of the newspaper explaining that we were missing, along with Sharon's information. Maybe that's how this vampire-looking-dude knew our names!
I was too tired and hungry to protest to our driver. And instead of jumping off the car and escaping, I just closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep to the rhythm of the car. I was about to fall asleep when...
"I’m HUNGRY. Can you give us food? I SAID I’M HUNGRY!!!" Andy shouted. The Vampire Dude ignored him.
Finally, Andy started to cry noisily. The Vampire Dude carelessly threw some bottled water, canned nuts, crackers, and bagels into our laps. By then I was so starved, I didn’t care if they were tainted or not. Right after I finished my food, I drifted asleep, and dreamt of bloodthirsty vampires.
Chapter 14 - Sharon-Breakfast Served By a Six Year Old
As Jacque left the room and locked the door, I panicked. So, I can never leave this comfortable, but caged place, I thought to myself. What about Catie or Andy or Mom or Dad? Will I never see them again? Am I going to stay here forever with the silhouette that kidnapped me?
In the middle of my thoughts, I heard a scream.
"Ahhhhh!!!!! Please don’t hit me!! No!!!!" A voice yelled. It sounded like David.
"Why did you interrupt my talk with the new victim, well, girl??? You must be punished!!!" A voice I was sure was Jacque’s boomed.
Wow, she must be so sad of the loss of her husband. She hurt her only son!
Then, I heard the sickening sound of a slap and the sad noise of crying. I cringed and buried my head under my pillow. What kind of place is this??
"Go bring your new sister some late breakfast. She just woke up from a coma, so be careful. I was afraid she wouldn’t make it," the Jacque boomed again.
"Ok," David meekly answered.
A few minutes later, David stumbled in with a large tray. On the tray were syrupy chocolate pancakes, steamed eggs, crispy bacon, a cheese bagel, milk, and orange juice. How can that six year old carry all that??
"Here you go!" David said, feigning cheerfulness.
"Are you alright? Did Jacque hit you?" I asked him.
"Yeah," he answered, looking down, "Do you remember the map I gave you?"
"Oh, yeah! What should I do with it?" I questioned, puzzled.
David leaned over and whispered, "Create different escape routes. I already got a few. We are going to escape." Then, he grabbed my cheese bagel and hungrily stuffed it up.
I took out the map and looked up to ask him why. He was already gone though.
Chapter 15 - Andy-The Magical Castle…with Alligators
Sissy 2 fell asleep, so did I. When I woke up, I was in a front of a huge castle surrounded by walls. We were parked near a moat. I think it had alligators! Surrounding the moat were miles of trees tall as the castle. They even camouflaged the dirt road! I shook Sissy 2 awake and showed her the castle. She only demanded the driver to take us home. The guy she called "Vampire Dude" successfully calmed her down and explained to us that he followed Sissy’s kidnappers here, but was too scared to go on. He gave us climbing ropes and told us to follow him to climb the walls. He said that was the only way in. I was happy. I like climbing. I went to a summer camp before that taught me how to climb walls.
Actually, I was confused. Why didn’t he call the police about the kidnappers instead of bringing us in? Why did we have to climb the wall above the moat? And why must we climb the walls that early? I checked Sissy 2’s watch. It was only four in the morning!
Chapter 16 - Catie-Scissors
Looking back, I still can’t believe that I believed his lame story for an excuse! Anyway, Andy and I swung the ropes over the walls, with Vampire’s instructions. We three climbed without another word. I still wished that I had seen the scissors in his pocket.
"We are almost there." I encouraged myself. I stole a glance at Andy, expecting him to be scared, but he looked excited. The walls weren’t long or high like the Great Wall which I saw in a video my Social Studies teacher sho
wed us, but were still lengthy enough for a seven year old, or pretty much anyone, to get hurt from a fall. Not that I cared if Andy fell. I looked down and gulped. Beneath me was a group of alligators in the moat, waiting for food to fall in. I looked down to see a rowboat. At least if I would fall, I would have more chances of falling into the boat.
"Maybe this isn’t such a good idea." I mumbled to myself. I was about to tell Vampire Dude that we should just tell the police instead of acting like a spy when Andy nudged my arm.
"Uh, Sissy…look." Andy whimpered as he pointed. I followed his finger to find Vampire Dude already at the top of the wall with a big pair of sharp scissors in his hand. Oh, no, was he really going to do what I think he was going to do?
Chapter 17 - Andy-Cut the Rope
I knew that Vampire Dude was going to cut our ropes. I knew he was a bad boy. Catie and I were just staring at him waiting for him to make his move. He raised the scissors, brought them down, and stopped. Hey, that was like the game Cut The Rope! We were the candy, and the alligators were Om Nom. Vampire Dude was the player. I love playing that game, not being that game though!
Chapter 18 - Sharon-Exploring…the Room!
I spent the day undisturbed except for some delicious lunch and dinner. David always disappeared with some of my food before I could ask him any questions. Contented, I explored the room and found very curious things. The bookcase was full of weird books. Some books included: How to Become Rich By Grapevines, The Art of Growing Grapes, The Secret to Marketing and Selling, and The Guide to Wine. Then, when I searched in my cherry wood desk, I found a dirty, battered diary in the secret compartment. Almost all the entries had to do with the bad sides of David. Strangely enough, the entries were describing when David was small and little. Near the end of the diary, the handwriting was too hard to read. I made out the words: "run away", "suicide", and "hate". I had no idea what they meant, but I kept them in the back of my mind.
When I went to the closet, I was very delighted. Clothes of all colors and sizes crowded the walk-in closet. I was so happy to change out of my dirty, ripped clothes. In a corner, I found a few suitcases. On them was: Property of Harry Williams. Inside the suitcase were some papers that described how the wine was selling 9 years ago.
I was very confused. Why were some of Jacque’s husband’s belongings here? Wait, was this comfortable, cozy bedroom, Harry’s old bedroom??
Chapter 19 - Catie- The Hungry Alligators
"I really am the second husband of the woman who kidnapped your sister." Vampire Dude declared, "She read in the newspapers that you two were missing, and thought that you were going to rescue your sister. She wanted to see you dead, so she asked me to do the job. This is where your sister is going to stay forever and where you are going to die." He said that all expressionlessly and monotonously.
We helplessly held our breath as he prepared himself to cut the ropes. To me, it happened all so slowly. He raised his cutter again, and brought it down, down… and stopped again.
"I’m sorry." He whispered regretfully.
The next thing I remembered was slicing through open air…
Thud! Huh? My back felt like it was exploding with pain when I opened my eyes. I was conscious enough to realize that I was on a rowboat. Andy landed next to me.
"It is all your fault! Why did you have to drag me into the convertible? Why did you run away?" I angrily yelled.
Andy started to talk, "I'm sorry, Sissy 2! I didn’t know that the convertible was ba-"
He didn’t finish.
"LOOK WHAT YOU DID!! IT IS ALLYOUR FAULT FOR RUNNING AWAY!" I screamed. He was so stupid! It was all his fault for trying to "save" Sharon. Now this boy got us in big trouble: we were stuck on a rowboat with alligators all around!! IT WAS ALL HIS FAULT!!
But what I did next was all my blame. Andy stood up, rubbing his head in pain from the fall. Then I pushed him. Hard.
Splash! I heard Andy cry out loud as he landed in the water. Wait… what was that thing behind him!? I hobbled to the boat’s edge to see Andy thrashing in the moat, with something spiky following him. Oh no! I gasped.
"Andy!" I shouted, reaching a hand for him to grab. Andy tried in vain to swim toward me, but the mud colored alligator had bitten him by his jeans, and was pulling him down. Andy struggled to me as part of his pants ripped and he broke free. He thrashed so close, our finger tips were touching. He was almost there when…
Snap! Andy was swallowed whole by the alligator. I did not have time to feel shocked, because suddenly, I heard steps behind me. Before I could see who it was, I felt as if a two hundred pound table had crashed into my head and all went dark.
Chapter 20 - Sharon-Pink Lemonade
I spent the next few days in comfortable leisure. I opened the Mac Air and played games. I wished I could open my email, but only found that all communication was cut off for me. I guess I couldn’t contact my family then.
The room was completely sealed off. Behind the window was fake wallpaper of trees. It was moving and seemed like it was actually the outside, but it wasn’t the real deal. When I looked around, there was no phone. Oh well, I guess I really was in a comfortable prison.
I shook the door open and jangled the door knob. Guess what? I was locked in. I decided to lie down on my bed and look at the ceiling. I noticed a very small camera in two corners of the room. Wow, this place had very high security.
"Go get me a pink lemonade. NOW! Oh yeah, and go do the laundry and wash the dirty dishes. OR ELSE!!" Jacque’s voice screeched.
"Yes Madame!" I heard David squeak.
"Also, go take care of Sharon first. Make sure that she has all that she needs. GO NOW!!!" Jacque yelled.
Poor David. This is child abuse!! I wondered what Jacque did all day. Lie in her bed?? Maybe she sat in a comfortable chair and made sure that her wine was sold. One thing was for sure, David did all the unwanted chores. No wonder she was on the heavy side.
"Do you need anything?" David peeked in.
I noticed that he acquired more bruises and looked very scared. I would not want to be him.
"No, I don’t need anything," I answered.
"Did you plan the escape routes? Or are you going to stay here forever?" David whispered.
I looked down and thought really well. Should I stay in the expensive, cozy room or go back to my loving and warm family, despite the risks?
"I am not sure," I answered, even though the answer was obvious.
David silently disappeared, again.
Chapter 21 - David-My Momma Is So Fat…
I really want to get out of here. My mommy used to be so sweet to me and she was so slim and pretty!! She always looked as if she had on makeup, but I know that she was naturally gorgeous. Then, stupid daddy ran away, leaving mommy mean and gaining weight.
She married a rich, pale faced vampire looking guy who looked like he wanted to suck my blood. He was rich and loved bad mommy so much. He obeyed her every word. He even built mechanical alligators to capture the intruders that fell into the moat. However, he now looked mad and resentful whenever Mommy told him to do something mean. Hmmm, I wonder why.
I hope Sharon created escape routes. Even though she was shy, she looked very smart and very caring. We needed to get out of here. I know that Mommy would make her a personal slave once Mommy was bored with her.
Chapter 22 - Andy-I’m Alive?!
I never knew how it was like to be eaten by an alligator! At first I was scared. But it was so fun! It didn’t even hurt! I remembered me relaxing in the alligator’s stomach which included smoothies! At least I think it was smoothies. It was gushy and brown and looked like mud. And instead of being in a cup, it was all over the floor! The alligator’s stomach was weirdly shaped like a cage with bars. I hope Catie had fun also!! I want to do it again!! Yay!!!!!!
Chapter 23 - Sharon-The Plan
I have decided. We were going to escape. For the next few days, all the surveillance camera saw was me reading, eating, going
to the bathroom, sleeping, or playing on the Mac. David and I changed the images every day. At first, I thought about just hiding in the bathroom and waiting for Jacque to find us gone. Hopefully, she would be so angry that she would run off to find us, leaving the door open. We could then sneak out.
I explained my bathroom plan with David.
"No, there are cameras in the bathroom," David had solemnly said.
"You are just kidding," I replied, convinced that he was just joking.
"Nope!" David said, and pointed them out to me.
"EWWW!!" I shuddered.
Then, Jacque shouted another command, and David left. I found the map of the escape routes and started planning. Well, I had to get out of this room first. The door? Never. The window? Impossible. Now what? Oh I know…..
Chapter 24 - Catie-The Kick
I woke with the musty smell of mold in my nose. It smelled just like the dungeon that I visited in 4th grade. I realized that I was blindfolded and aged up. Where was I? I don’t think I was still on the rowboat. Or wait, maybe I was. After all, I could hear waves lapping against the boat.
I managed to rip off my blindfold to see a cute dude steering the rowboat. So he was the person who knocked me unconscious.
"Mmmph…" I asked him, but there was something in my mouth that kept me from talking.
"Hi there, sweetie!" he winked at me. When he dramatically blew his straight brown hair out of his piercing hazel eyes, I knew he was up to no good.
"Oh, now don’t you sweet talk to me!!" I snapped back, making the dirty sock in my mouth fall.
"I’m not going to hurt you, I am only taking you to- I mean putting you in a- well, never mind, ok??" He stammered, avoiding my eye.
"Who are you?! Where is my sister?! Why didn’t you help me save my brother?!" I screamed at him. I swallowed tears of guilt at the memory of Andy’s death.
"I don’t know where Sharon is kept and I couldn’t save Andy, ok??" He stammered again.