Spies in Saddles [Book One]

Chapter Seven: Chloroform Isn't Shaken Off As Quickly As Movies Might Think

Hola!! So happy I can upload again. I'm almost done with the book, I think. Remember - it's just a short story, 50K words or so. And I gotta be done by, like, the 20th so one way or another I suppose. Please enjoy this chapter - it was fun. Not as fun as the elevator one, but yeah. Please vote/comment/follow!! means so much to me :)

Gracias!! <3 vb123321

Chapter Seven

Chloroform Isn't Shaken Off As Quickly As Movies Might Think

The first thing I was aware of was a sudden, falling sensation. I opened my mouth to yell, but as my body hit the floor with a crash, I could only groan.

My eyes were open but my view of the world was awful blurry. Blinking, I touched my face, wondering if my glasses had fallen off, but they were still on, if a little askew. I groaned again as my head swam dizzily, my empty stomach churning. Flat on my back on a cold tile floor, I could only stare at the swirling ceiling and hope I didn't throw up all over myself.

After a few minutes – or possibly a couple days – I remembered what had happened, and immediately a blast of panic shot through me. I sat up too fast, causing bile to rise in my throat as I clutched my head with both hands and squinted against the blinding light overhead. Taking a moment to straighten myself out, I slowly looked around.

Where had they taken me?

The room was small, about the size of my bedroom back home, and painted a dull grey-white. The cot I had just fallen off of stood to my right, the door to my left. After another full minute spent trying to calm my stomach, I grabbed the side of the cot and propelled myself to my feet. Staggering, I fell against the side wall and pressed myself against the cool stone for a moment, trying to slow my racing heart.

Taking deep breaths and trying not to freak out, I walked unsteadily to the door and gave it a good tug. It didn't open – it's not like I expected it to – and I kicked it in frustration, regretting it at once as a bolt of pain shot through my head. Wincing, I sank down on the cot and gave the door a good glower, wondering what the hell I was supposed to do. Where were Molly and Kate? Had they gotten caught?

Chloroform really did something wacky to your system. Now I was freezing, wrapping my arms tightly around my body as my teeth chattered. I forced myself to try and think. What did they do in spy movies at this point? Lift the door off the hinges or something? A picture of Captain Jack Sparrow using a bench to spring open his cell door came to mind, but a) I wasn't in a prison cell, b) I didn't have a bench, and c) I definitely was not Captain Jack Sparrow.

"I give up," I mumbled to myself, still shivering and feeling pretty depressed. Why had I wanted to get into this mess? Why had I convinced my mom to let me go with Jer? I just ended up kidnapped somewhere, stuck where no one would find me –

And then it hit me. When they kidnapped me, they took me here. So did that mean that Christina and Rosie and Jackson's sister were here, too?

I got to my feet again, ignoring the pukey feeling. I had a purpose. Unfortunately, having purpose doesn't mean you have a way out, so a second later I found myself kicking the door again. Growling, I rattled the handle until I thought it would snap off, finally giving the door a good punch. I regretted that, too.

I had just turned back to the cot when I heard something from outside the door. A second later, the doorknob was turning on its own accord, something scraping softly against it from the outside. Gulping, I stared around wildly for something to protect myself as I remembered the Alley Men from last night and this morning and their guns and deadly faces – there, the padding of the cot!