---
“David, where the heck have you b..?” Richard stopped dead and glanced around the dark room. Mark was lying on the floor, obviously unconscious, with his nose bleeding. The beautiful tapestry that usually hung neatly on the left side wall was dangling by the nails that held it up. There was a small sticky note taped to the dangling nail, but Richard did not see it.
---
David stared into the black, beady eyes staring back at him. He realized that his hands were shaking, and he clenched them to stop them from shaking.
“Get into the car, and find the key, but don’t let him get away.”
David saw five men come hurdling out of nowhere towards him. He was shoved into a car and the largest man of them all stuck his hand into David’s pocket and pulled out the key with an evil sneer.
---
Cathy ran to the car and dove into the passenger’s seat, and Steve pulled out of the driveway.
“Sweetie, what is wrong, why are you freaking out? Do you need me to take you to the hospital? What is my name, Cathy?”
“I’m not going crazy, and your name is Steve Nathanial Sett… LEFT! TAKE A LEFT HERE!”
Steve swerved into the left turning lane and made the turn just in time.
“So, where are we going, again?” Steve still sounded worried.
---
David flinched at every sound as they drove to a place he had never seen before.
“He’s awake, dude… what should I do with him?” Asked one of the many fat men in the car.
“Blindfold him; I don’t want him to know how to get back to the library.”
David flailed and squirmed as the man covered his eyes with a bandana, black with red skulls on it.
“Why are they doing this to me?” thought David, “What did I do to them?”
---
“Hey, you’ve reached David Setter, please leave a message and I’ll get back to you, thanks bye.”
The answering machine message ran over and over in Richard’s aching mind as he threw the phone on the couch and pulled on a jacket. He grabbed a flashlight and some bananas and headed out the door, making sure he locked it behind him.
“We wouldn’t want any more creeps sneaking into the dorm would we?” he thought as he ran down the steps.
---
David was finally unmasked and saw to his horror that the large gang had taken him into some wood clearing and was hastily gathering wood. The largest of them all, Grant Norris, stabbed at the back of David’s neck and pushed him toward the small garage in the middle of the clearing, but pushed him aside as he went ahead of him to unlock the door. David was peering into what looked like a house, complete with a fireplace and all.
“Not what you expected is it?” chuckled Grant Norris in a rough voice.
---
Steve and Cathy drove for a few more minutes and stopped in front of Culver Library. They jumped through the door and dashed toward the skinny, annoyed looking librarian sitting straight backed behind the large desk. Cathy carefully wove her way through the dividers leading to the desk. Steve however, leaped over the dividers like a crazy man and ran head first into the desk.
“Excuse me, may I help you?” asked the librarian impatiently, “I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t charge around the library like a mad bull, sir.”
“Oh please,” said Steve, his voice growing steadily louder in anger, “My son might be dead right now and I have no idea where he is.”
“Well sir, I’m sorry, but I can’t help you with your irresponsible parenting habits… Hello, may I help you, ma’am?” added the librarian looking past Steve and happily at Cathy.
“I’m with him, but...”
The smile vanished from the librarian’s face instantly, and she turned her head away from them as if they were not there, she started to type rapidly on her keyboard, the reflection of the screen flickering in her false jeweled glasses.
“Excuse me, but however much you think we’re freaks, you still have a job, and that job is customer service.” Steve said impatiently.
“I’m afraid you’re right,” sighed the librarian, “What is it I can help you with besides your parenting issues?”
“Do you know where our son is?” Cathy asked politely.
---
As dusk settled down to get comfortable for the long night watch that lay ahead, Richard pulled his hood over his aching head, he had been walking for what seemed like hours, but he was disappointed to find that he had only been walking for a mere fifteen minutes. He had looked in the cafeteria, but had had no luck,
He had checked the class schedule board to see if it stated where David Setter might be at that exact moment, but of course, it had no names except the usual class names and times. He was now headed for Little Rosie’s, a lovely coffee shop where Richard and David often bought a cup of coffee and a cookie before settling into study. Richard was hoping to rest and buy a cup of coffee, but he kept telling himself that he was looking for David.
---
The fire in the large garage was very comforting as David lounged in a very comfortable, cozy chair, wondering why his kidnappers were acting so nice to him… then it struck him, they had what they wanted, they had the key that David had been so thoroughly protecting, and they had it.
“Come on… ask him, he’s right there! David Setter, you have this opportunity, and you’re just going to sit here dozing off while these people have the key?” David thought to himself as he gathered such confidence, that when he stood up the chair he had been sitting in toppled over. He walked over to where Grant was sitting.
“Hey, Chief? What are you planning to do with the key?” David asked in a very confident voice.
---
“Okay, so you do know where David is?” Steve asked hurriedly,” Where is he?”
“I do not know where your son is, I told you, but I think I might have seen somebody go down to the basement…” replied the librarian, rubbing her chin as she talked.”
“Well, I don’t think David would go in there, do you, Sweetie?” Cathy chimed in.”I don’t think there’s any use looking in there.”
“Yeah…” Steve sounded as though he were trying to reassure himself.” I don’t really think he would go down there.”
---
Richard smiled as he walked into the dormitory and saw Mark picking up the last blanket on the floor from the theft.
“Richard! Where have you been? I woke up and found that you had left me a big mess to clean up. Hey, I thought you were a neat freak, what happened?” Mark asked, sounding amused.
“I didn’t make that mess… I think somebody broke in when I went to look for David. You don’t remember, do you?”
“So is that how I got this bloody nose? I’ve never had one that big in years!”
Richard sighed; he had a lot of explaining to do.
---
David was finally allowed to watch out the small, back seat window as they drove to a farm about sixteen miles away.
“Ugh, boss, when are we gonna get there? I’m starving!”Asked Mariah Snare, one of the fattest men David had ever seen.
“Be quiet, you pig, we’re almost there,” barked Grant.
The car stopped in front of the barn, and they all got out, everyone but Grant and David dashed off to find food in the large house beside the barn. He was held tightly from behind, as not to be able to get away.
“Yeah, like I’m going to make a break for it… where would I go?” thought David angrily.
---
Richard walked into Culver Library and hurried straight down to the basement to look for room two-twenty-two. Mark had found the note on the tapestry and had saved it for Richard, who had read it aloud before dashing straight to the library. It read over and over in Richard’s mind,
Culver Library, please come help,
Gang, found the key, look in room
222.
- David
Richard found the room and opened the door, glancing nervously down the hallway as he stepped into the room. It was a dim room, and the light was flickering. Richard looked around, and saw on the floor a small piece of paper, along with a small key. He hurried to it, praying it was some information about David. He was right; he read the note softly…
Richard, they took me to a farm; 1222 Summer Circle Lane
Come help me
Please, come quickly.
DS
---
“Richard, is that you?” Cathy asked, sounding worried.
Steve and Cathy had decided they would look down in the basement after all. Richard spun around thinking it was an intruder, but sighed with relief as he hurried to show Cathy and Steve the notes.
“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go to the farm!” Said Steve, after reading the notes.
---
David smiled to himself as he watched Grant kneel over the large, dusty chest, trying to unlock it with the key they had stolen from him in the car.
“THIS DOESN’T EVEN FIT INTO THE KEY-HOLE! THIS IS NOT THE RIGHT KEY!” Roared Grant, after trying to shove the key into the hole.
David turned around and pretended like he was looking for it, when a thick, fat, rough hand slapped onto his shoulder.
---
Cathy, Steve, and Richard scrambled out of the car and dashed into the barn, just in time to see Grant take his first blow at David’s face. Richard glanced over at Steve and saw his face growing steadily redder and redder. He clenched his fists and ran toward Grant, and dove onto him just before Grant took another blow at David. David scrambled to his feet, grabbed the key from Richard’s hand, and dashed over to open the chest. Cathy and Richard ran to pull Steve off of the unconscious Grant Norris. They scrambled to see what was in the chest; they all gasped, they were staring at an entire chest of shimmering pearls.
“Dude, you ‘better let me sell some of these things.” Richard said, gasping in amazement.
David looked at Richard, and grinned.