Game of Patience

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

The warmth of her bed kept her under the covers longer than she should have. The duvet was trapping in the heat, creating the perfect setting for comfort and sleep. Her alarm had long sounded, but Sunday's weren't meant for alarms. They were meant for long lay-ins, late breakfasts and sitting in pajamas avoiding doing the chores you really should be doing. Sundays are for relaxing. But not according to George Phillips, who had been yelling up the stairs for her to get out of bed.

There was a knock on the door and Brooke ignored it, thinking she might convince him that she was still fast asleep. The door opened slightly.

"Are you at least decent?"

"Yes." She sighed, wanting to desperately cling to the last few moments of slumber.

Phillips opened the door and looked inside. His face showed no emotion.

"Your alarm went off an hour ago. We need to get to the office."

"Everyday we go to the office. It's Sunday. Can't we just relax for a change."

"Not this week no. Come on."

"I can stay home alone. You know I'm not a child right?"

"You are legally, and while you are old enough to stay home alone, I want you to come to the office. I'm sure the others have stuff they want to show you. We'll get breakfast on the way. I want you downstairs in fifteen minutes."

Phillips left the room and she groaned. She got out of bed, quickly washed and dressed with five minutes to spare. She poured herself a bowl of cereal and sat down and ate until Phillips came in to find her.

He stood in the doorway dressed in a pair of black jeans and a black vest jumper. His socks had red heels, the only colour on his whole outfit. He stared at her while she ate her cereal. He didn't say anything, he didn't need to, Brooke knew what he was thinking.

"Can I at least finish this?"

"I said fifteen minutes. It's been seventeen."

"Oh no, the whole world fails because you are two minutes late to work."

"We are two minutes late." He corrected. "I just ask one thing from you. We agreed that if you didn't go to school, we would do things this way. Which requires you to get up and ready in time for us to leave for the office. You were meant to have a normal life and we've already gone against one of your parent's wishes."

"Well, they're not here are they? And I guess they wanted a normal life for me, but I'm not normal am I. They trained me since I was young, for a reason I don't know and then went and got themselves killed." She rested the spoon against her bowl and looked up at Phillips. "I never met you before you came to pick me up, do you not find that odd? Not even at work parties, which you claim you were a part of. But I never met you. So they just expect me to be fine and just live how any other kid would, with school and family. But I don't have a family anymore do I."

"You're saying you're not a child but sure seems like you're throwing a tantrum like one. I don't know what your parents were thinking, but this is their wish and we honour it like adults. So if you are quite finished acting like a five year old, put your bowl in the sink and get in the car because we are late."

"Maybe you should get your niece over, you seem to like treating me like a child so much, so maybe having a literal child in the house would be more your thing." She knew she had gone too far, but she had already spoken the words, she couldn't take them back.

"Get in the car." He said sharply.

"I'm going to finish my cereal now." She picked up her spoon and continued eating. She had finished and didn't want anymore, but now she was eating out of principle.

"If you don't get up in one minute I'm going to drive there alone and you will have to walk."

"Fine."

"If you don't arrive in twenty five minutes, you'll be grounded and I'll turn off the wifi for a week."

"But it's a thirty minute walk."

"You better start jogging then, I'd take a coat though, it's meant to rain."

Brooke looked at Phillips, half expecting him to back down, but he didn't. He simply picked up the keys and walked towards the door. He lingered for a moment.

"I bet I could make it in twenty minutes." She shouted to him.

"Then you'll be at least twenty three minutes late."

He opened the door and walked out. She waited until she heard his car driving away before standing up and clearing away her breakfast. She pocketed her phone and purse, and pulled on a coat. She could easily make it in twenty minutes if she ran. It wouldn't be a problem for her.

She slipped on her shoes at the door and opened the front door. She made sure the door clicked shut and locked before she walked down the garden path and out onto the street.

She started with a fast walk just to build up. If she sprinted later she would still make it in plenty of time. Thirty minutes to walk was a slight exaggeration on her behalf.

The sound of her shoes hitting the pavement fell into a steady pattern. It was a sound she loved to get lost in. The cars on the street raced past her and she smiled. The weather was wet, but it wasn't too cold or too warm. It was comfortable.

A van pulled up beside her and stopped. The driver cut the engine and looked at his phone. Brooke quickened her pace, making sure she had plenty of time to get to the office.

She felt someone approach her, but before she could turn to face them a hand covered her mouth and dragged her backwards. She scratched at the hand and tried to kick out, but another person took hold of her legs and the back doors of the van opened. A wave of calmness came over her and her body went limp.

When she woke up she was laying in the back of a van. The back was dark and rough. She was pulled to one side as they took a sharp turn. The driver wasn't sticking to the laws of the road and was clearly in a rush. She looked down, duct tape secured her legs together and her hands were bound too. She couldn't move her lips at all, she was forced to breathe out of her nose. She started to panic.

She tried to make noise but she found her voice betrayed her. So instead she started kicking at the back of the chairs. No one likes a hostage that causes a fuss or a lot of noise.

"Hey! Stop that!" The driver shouted.

She continued. Her strength slowly came back to her as her mind and body became more aware. She kicked as hard as she could with her legs both taped together. The rough floor hurt her back and arms, but she wasn't about to stop. Hopefully the kicking would cause the driver to drive more dangerously and the police would spot them from somewhere.

"Seriously, stop it." He turned to the guy next to him. "Andrew stop her doing that." He turned back round and attempted to concentrate on his driving.

Andrew tried to grab her legs but she kicked his hands away. He tried again and again and eventually he turned back around. Brooke could hear him searching through some kind of bag. He turned back and tried to grab her legs again.

She kicked out, but he was quick. He jabbed a needle into her leg and pushed the liquid into her body. She tried to kick again, but her body felt heavy and unresponsive.

Her eyes grew wide as she understood what had happened. She forced herself to keep her eyes open.

"There's only so long you can fight that off Princess. So save yourself some energy. Close your eyes and -"

She didn't hear the last bit of what Andrew had said. The world around her grew darker, and in that moment, she really wished she was back in her bed. At least it would be warm when sleep infected her.