Accidentally Kidnapped

Chapter 30

        Heath didn't want to come along so Micheal, Nick, Cage, and I were at the Alberta Halloween Carnival. Key word here is Halloween. I wasn't aware that it was a horror carnival until we drove up to the gates and I saw the jester at the front waving a giant axe and handing out pamphlets. Needless to say, I hated being here every second and Cage wouldn't let go of my hand. Not because he was afraid, but because I was. It was comforting to cower behind him whenever a clown jumped out at us.

        Since it was the last day, the fairgrounds was full of mostly teenagers and adults. There weren't very many kids because it was late at night and it was a horror carnival even though it wasn't anywhere close to Halloween. It was the middle of January, for goodness sakes. The sky was a clear dark blue with very few stars and everything was lit up from the fair lights. There was the usual House of Mirrors, Maze of Jesters, and Tunnel of Death along with many booth games and fair stands with vendors dressed as ghosts, ghouls, and goblins selling food.

        There was also a very ridiculous number of clowns, which meant a very ridiculous amount of nightmares I'd have tonight.

        I don't know why we were even here. Cage Vickers was not the type of man who went to carnivals, it seemed, but apparently I was wrong. He didn't even scream when a man that had a fake axe sticking from his chest rushed at us even though I did. I did more screaming in one night than I had ever done in the past seventeen years. And Cage loved every minute of this new form of torture. 

        I was sweating through my clothes. Not because I was scared, but because of what I planned to do. The little bubble of desperation that was in me from the night they hijacked my car had grown bigger. Four days without Fern. That might not seem like a lot, but spending 96 hours with Cage Vickers and the Crows (yes, I did the math) for four days straight was one hour too much for me.

        The burner phone shoved into my bra was uncomfortable but I wasn't complaining. It was more than I could think he'd let me do. 

        Through all the laughter and conversations around us, I couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. There was something very important that Cage and I needed to talk about and I was desperate to get the truth from him whether it killed me to hear it or not.

        "You've been very quiet, November." Nick suddenly spoke up, his voice amused. "I never would have believed it would ever get this silent again with you around."

        "Shocking, isn't it?" I replied quietly.

        Cage pressed his lips together and said nothing. He'd been very quiet as well and barely said more than a couple sentences. One hour, and the only things I heard from Cage were 'If you pull on my ear again, I'll break your fingers' and 'Stop walking so slow. A turtle walks faster than you.' and 'They're not going to hurt you, November. They're just clowns.' and 'I think mashed potatoes are the best version of potatoes.'

        I stuck out my foot to try and trip Cage just for the heck of it. Of course, Cage didn't trip because he was one composed bastard, but he did give me a glare colder than the night air. Hey, that rhymed.

        "We're gonna go the concession stand." Micheal announced. I think they just wanted to get away from Cage and I because the tension between us was so uncomfortable. With a wave, Micheal and Nick walked away and that's when I noticed the gun tucked under Micheal's shirt very unstably. Thankfully, Nick noticed it as well and made Micheal fix it before anyone else could see.

        Cage and I were holding hands. Actually, it was more like Cage forced his fingers through mine and I was just letting it hang there because I could see no other choice. Before we entered the fairgrounds, Cage said, and I quote, "You can either hold my hand or I can handcuff us together. After your little failed stunt to escape, I'm not letting you wander around because I know you'll get yourself into some stupid fucking mess-" and that was as far as he got because I wet-willied his sorry butt after that.