Free Blood of Gold by Duncan McGeary Page B

had a final thought: I hope this wasn’t some sort of trick.
    In his mind, he clearly heard the words “You have been chosen.”
     
     

 
    Chapter 8
     
    Rod sat in the dark and wondered if he should try to escape. The closet was big enough for him to lie down in, but he wasn’t sleepy. He felt an unexpected pity for these poor girls, especially once he figured out who they were. Everyone in Crescent City knew about two of the girls, how they had disappeared into thin air. Most thought them dead, or taken far away. The other girl, Laura, had been such a throwaway that no one had even missed her.
    Rod wanted to help them.
    Stockholm syndrome? he wondered. He didn’t think so, but then, someone suffering from Stockholm syndrome probably wouldn’t, right?
    The door opened, but he couldn’t see who was there. It was equally dark in the hallway. It freaked him out a little, how the girls could move around in the dark as if all the lights were on. Now, they usually only turned on the lights when he was there.
    Someone slipped into the closet beside him.
    “Laura?” he whispered.
    “No,” he heard a husky voice say. “It’s Simone. I want to ask you some questions.”
    He sat up, hitting his head on the shelf above him. He swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the sudden lump in his throat. “Sure.”
    Ever since that first day, Rod had tried not to stare at her, but it was difficult. Simone was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen, dark-haired and slender, without any guile in her face. He felt almost guilty being attracted to her, because she was like a young girl in demeanor… but she was all woman in form. Her low voice was unbelievably sexy. Her no-nonsense manner was immensely appealing, especially now that he knew what she had been through. It was her presence, more than anything else, that had kept him from trying to get away.
    She started asking him questions about what had happened in the world since she’d been locked up. The events of 9/11 had occurred after she’d been kidnapped, so the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were news to her. She found the Arab Spring intriguing. The fact that America had a black president astounded her. Rod started to tell her about how far the Internet had come when he had a sudden inspiration.
    “Here,” he said. “Let me show you.” He dug out his cellphone. The light from its screen lit up the inside of the closet. Simone’s face was only inches from his, close enough for him to smell the soap she’d used to clean her hair. Close enough to kiss, he thought. There was a gleam in her eye, as if she could read his intentions. They both moved back a little, as if mutually embarrassed.
    “What is that?” Simone asked.
    “It’s my cellphone,” he said. “I can get Internet service on it.”
    “A phone?” she said. She reached out and grabbed it. “So small!” she marveled, turning it over and over in her hands. Then she sat and stared at him, still holding his phone. “Why didn’t you call for help?” she said finally.
    Rod was embarrassed. Of course, he’d been thinking about it ever since he’d been locked in here, alone. The girls had seen the phone and examined it as if puzzled, but hadn’t seemed to understand what it was or what it could do. Smartphones and Wi-Fi hadn’t existed when they’d been kidnapped.
    “I, uh… I’m not sure,” he stammered. “I want to help you.”
    “Help us?” She sounded suspicious. “Why would you do that?”
    “You don’t remember me, do you, Simone?”
    She gave him a look, as if to say, Obviously not.
    “I was in Mrs. Hogner’s seventh-grade math class with you. I had a crush on you.”
    She examined him, then shook her head. “I’m sorry. I don’t remember much about those days. School seems so… far away.”
    “I still think you’re pretty cool,” he said. God, that sounded lame.
    She looked puzzled. “What about your wife and kids?”
    “I lied.”
    “What?”
    “I thought you’d be less