The Perfect Threat

5. I Blow Stuff Up

~Zoey~

Blood.

That's what I saw. That's all I saw. On my face. On my hands. Everywhere.

Groggily, I opened my eyes. It hurt like heck when I realized there was a steady flow of the stuff down my face from a deep streak of raw flesh. That's when I saw the whip lying on the ground like a wicked snake ready to strike at its prey. And the hunched, pot-bellied man holding it. The Hunchback.

Hunchie grinned broadly in ways that made me cringe. He was sitting in what would have been an elegant room, in a elegant chair. To my left was a large, circular window, though over time, it had turned from being crystal clear to grimy, dust-covered glass, unable to be seen through. A thick, rich set of velvet curtains framed the windows, covered in frosty moth balls. The intoxicating dust that came from them flared it's way up my nostrils. I coughed and sputtered the grime out, unable to wipe it away with my hands which were bound so tightly behind my back it hurt. My head was way too heavy for the rest of my weak body so I let it hang limp, ignoring the protests of my stiff and aching neck. With my head bent, I was able to get a good look at my feet. In my annoying, completely un-athletic flats, my feet were filthy; I had forgotten to wear those little flat-sock-things that circled the inside of my shoes. So therefore, a sticky, splattered coat of blood was also on my feet as well as in between my toes. My feet sat upon a nasty, dirt-covered carpet, with little bugs and things squirming out from the bristles. It made me sick.

"Ugh...." I moaned as I lifted my head to look at my capturer. The Hunchback sat... well... hunched in his chair, grinning broadly from within the mouth-hole in his creepy white mask.

"Well," the Hunchback sat up,"it s'bout time our Sleeping Beauty woke up." I used the rest of my strength to throw myself at him (preferably aiming for his gut) but the bonds tied to my wrists, ankles, and throat held tight. I only managed to throw myself at the ground and face-plant, still attached to my stupid chair. My nose hurt like heck and the filthy carpet below me tasted like crap. I couldn't seem to get the taste off my parched tongue. The Hunchback only chuckled and strode over. He crouched beside me so that his mouth was level with my ear.

"Now," he whispered in a creepy-calm tone,"we can't have our little princess injuring herself so early in the story." He pouted, a devilish gleam still masked behind his eyes. "I would suggest not trying to do that. We wouldn't want things to get... well... nasty."

He flung my chair back up, causing my neck to slam back with an unnatural crack. I whimpered lightly and let my head fall forward again. I still had the filthy spit in my mouth- might as well have a good use for it. The Hunchback only sat there, glaring at me with amusement, waiting for me to give him another excuse to entertain himself. Well, he could see how entertaining I could be when I wanted to. I smiled darkly. Like the resourceful little girl I was, I used my resources... And I mean, all my resources. I spat the nasty floor-gunk still remaining in my mouth and aimed for his face. It hit the dead center of its target, effectively wiping that proud smirk off his face. For a moment, he was stunned. A little Normal girl had just punctured his manly ego. Poor him. Only then, when he gave a murderous grin and his eyes flashed challengingly, I know I wasn't going to get off so easily. I didn't even have time to blink before I felt the handprint slapped hard and indented on my cheek.

"I told you things would have to get nasty if you misstepped, Princess."

I only slunk low in my chair in reply- which was hard when your bound to it. I forced down the urge to leap from my scathing bonds and give this guy a reason to not call me Princess or Sleeping Beauty. God, I hated people's logic. Obviously, because I'm a girl, I'm some helpless damsel in distress. Yeah right. The problem was, how could I get out of this? I mean, I have speed on my side, but I was no Hercules. I didn't have enough strength to beat this guy and the rest of his...um...posse? To be honest, I thought I was screwed. So therefore, I only jolted alive for one reason.

I heard a voice calling my name; a snarky, snobbish, rude, Monarchist's son's voice. I heard Alex Presley; the boy who practically took my mother away from me.

"Zoooeeey!!!" He screamed like a freaking maniac."ZOEY!!!!!"

My head shot up like a rocket. Before I had lost hope, but now I had to get out of here. I had to get Alex out of here. Though I despised those brilliant blue eyes of his, he couldn't get hurt. He didn't deserve the Mark that would ruin his life forever. I began struggling against my bonds with a new motivation: Save Alex Presley's puny little life. Give him yet another thing to owe me for. I mean, hey, if these favors kept piling up, soon I would practically be rolling in them.

The Hunchback smirked,"Gotta boyfriend, have you?" He stepped closer and pricked my chin up with two of his fingers. Now I had to look at him.

"Well, we can't let the lovestruck fool wander his way around our camp. No. I'm feeling quite generous today: I'll give him a sound to find." He smiled darkly. Crap. I didn't like the sound of things.

* * *

So here I was: me. Strapped helplessly to my chair, unable to make any sudden movements without falling over and smashing my aching nose into the floor. I absolutely hated it.

You know in those movies where the captive has their hands tied together, behind their back, but they use a hidden knife in their sleeve or something to cut the bonds? Yeah, hate to break it to you, but that's not what happens in real life. As it turns out, your captives actually are smarter than a fifth grader and tie your hands separately to each of the side columns on the chair. Stupid misleading movies.

And another thing movies forget to mention: your capturer doesn't leave the room to fulfill his evil plan but no- guess what? Instead, he brings the rest of his little posse and gives a full report on the accomplishments of dragging a seventeen year old girl into an abandoned house; into an abandoned dining room in the heart of the Devil's Land, binding her in a lovely combination of rope, chains, and wire (made especially for my throat) and slapping her. Goodie for him. On the upside? Chuckles and Captain Obvious seemed pleased for once in their pathetic lives. On the downside? It's because they were having a competition to see who could make me scream the loudest and cause my so called, "boyfriend", Alex to come "rushing" to my aid like the hero he was. Yeah. Like I was the one who needed saving; I could do this on my own. But Alex? Not so much.

Twelve minutes and seven seconds (eight seconds, nine seconds, ten seconds). This was roughly how long I had been racing through my lovely combination of restraints, attempting to break free while Chuckles, Captain Obvious, and the Hunchback went giggling off like school girls in search of fun torture weapons. They even had a bet going on for which weapon would make me scream the loudest and cause my "Prince Charming" to save me, the "Princess". I was seriously considering trying to use their weapons against them for let alone calling me a "Princess". But, though I hated to admit it, I was scared way beyond my wits. I had to take on three well-trained terrorists and save the luggage that is my "Prince Charming". I only stopped struggling against my ropes, chains, and wires when I heard the rusty squeal of a metal doorknob being turned and three burly men walked in, only, without their usual white masks to hide their identities.

The first to walk in was Chuckles. Immediately, I could tell because of the potbelly that hung way to far over his waistline. He smiled darkly at me and his grey eyes flashed with amusement. A thick, beefy cigar stuck awkwardly out of his unshaven mouth and as he smiled, a hideous set of yellow-brown stained teeth glittered back at me.

A/N: Ok so i'm jusr going to post this because i've been trying to write it for some time now... but i have a major case of writer's block... So even though its mid way through the chapter, here you go!!!