The Land of Dragons

Chapter 2

2019, somewhere underground, just after Chapter 1

Alex's cell was very uncomfortable. The rope was rubbing his wrist red and his leg was locked to a ring in the wall so he couldn't move much. He was scared of the Devils. It was clear they hated him. Despite his guard's hint, he had no idea who they were and what they wanted.

When they had caught him, he had tried to remember the route but it was dark and he hadn't succeeded. He hoped that the others would try to free him. But they're probably caught like me, he thought. He had no idea what was the time. The GDPA meeting ended at six, so he estimated it could be around half past six or maybe seven. Alex had already got bored in trying to free his hands from the rope and he realised he couldn't do anything useful right then so he tried to find a more or less comfortable position. It wasn't an easy task with his hands tied behind his back. He had a vague idea that those people didn't care which time of the day it was when it was about frightening and torturing someone so he tried to sleep.

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The Devils led the captured drivers in a totally dark part of the cave so they couldn't see anything. At one of the corners, a guard cut the rope which connected Pierre to the others. He was the last, so no one noticed. Pierre tried to warn the others, but the attempt was unsuccessful because of the dirty cloth stuffed in his mouth.

The guards waited until the rest of the team disappeared, then they led Pierre back a few corners. After they stopped, he got pushed into a room that was more like a cell. Fortunately, his kidnappers took the ropes off from his hands. He pulled the cloth out of his mouth and tried to forget the muddy taste of it. A guard gave him a glass of water which he took gratefully.

"Stay here," the guard said in a strict tone. "If you try to escape, you're dead." he finished, and closed the door.

Pierre stared at the door. Was this a real threat? he wondered. Judging by the way those men looked like, it was. Anyway, it didn't help him figure out what was happening with them.

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The drivers didn't notice Pierre's disappearance. It was too dark to see amything and the guards did a great job in taking Pierre silently. At the end of the dark tunnel, a guard opened a big door and shoved Charles on the back so he fell into the small room, hitting his shoulder quite painfully and dragging the others with him. The Devils took off the ropes and allowed them to take the cloths from their mouths. They left a bucket of water in a corner then locked the door.

"Stay here or you'll get killed!" one of the guards shouted back. The youngsters were shocked. Lando inched a bit closer to Carlos.

Max went to the door and began kicking it but it only resulted in a sore foot so he finally gave up. The others sat in a loose circle around the room with their backs to the wall. Charles glanced around and that was the moment he realised someone was missing.

"Where's Pierre?" he asked. Silence fell as everyone took in the meaning.

"He's not here, that's for sure," Max stated the obvious.

"Maybe they took him away like they did with Alex!" Carlos voiced the most logical reason.

"What are we going to do?" Lando asked. By then he had inched so close to Carlos that their legs almost touched.

"We should try to find them, shouldn't we?" Charles suggested.

"It doesn't occur to you that we are in a closed room without a key?" Max looked at him scornfully. Charles opened his mouth to fight back but Carlos was faster.

"The door isn't a big problem. I found this in the first room." he lifted a small piece of metal. "We can try to open the door with it."

"Like in the movies, isn't it?" Lando smiled. Charles also laughed but Max was in a bad mood.

"We still have to get past the guards. Or do you have something to make us invisible?" he asked Carlos, his tone heavy with sarcasm. This time it was Charles who answered.

"I heard them talking about a command to leave us for the night. I think they left straight after they locked the door." he said.

They decided Max and Carlos would go scouting around and try to find Alex, Pierre and some kind of exit. Carlos managed to open the lock in a few tries. Max immediately sneaked out. Carlos looked back at Lando then he also left.

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Hope you liked the chapter <3

Edited 11.04.2024.