«Alright Sophie...» the last member of the computer club said, checking the time «I think I'm going home now.»
«Go, go. I'll tidy everything up and lock the room as soon as I'm done here.» Sophie replied, stopping her keyboard tapping for a second.
«See you tomorrow then!» they said, leaving the room.
Sophie checked the time.
It was fairly late and had to return home... but she was also having some good momentum and wanted to keep on coding.
"[i:Hrmh... it's always when I get to some fun part that I end up having to pull the brakes...]" she thought, annoyed, then sighed "[i:Well... I'll continue tomorrow I suppose...]"
Sophie saved a copy on her USB drive as a backup, then begrudgingly turned the PC off.
She was SO tempted to continue at home, but she had a rule: never bring work home.
Besides school homework... which she disliked as a concept already.
She then stood up and stretched a bit.
"[i:Ugh... I sat for too long.]" she thought, rubbing her own back "[i:That's what getting lost in the creative process does to a nerd...]"
She turned her attention towards one of the workstations: there was a graphic tablet still plugged in.
Sophie groaned, annoyed.
"[i:I told Zach to put it back in place after he's done at least six times. Of course, he didn't listen this time either." she thought, as she went to unplug it "I'm so done with his carelessness, I'll give him a warning. Next time, I'm kicking him out of the club.]"
After unplugging the tablet, she put it back in its box. Then, she turned around towards one of the bookcases, the tallest.
She had to put that box at the very top.
"[i:... The principal really is a cheapskate, though.]" Sophie commented in her thoughts "[i:He's leading one of the most funded schools in the state, and he still wants to save as much money as possible. How much does a cabinet with a locker cost anyway? Or... even just a fricking ladder, at the very least; one's gonna snap their neck someday. At least the uproar against him would be hilarious...]" she continued as she dragged a table next to the bookcase, then looked at the table and checked its stability and sturdiness with her hands. She appeared unconvinced.
"[i:... As long as it's not MY neck...]"
She went to grab some cardboard from a corner and put it on the table, then took her boots off, as she usually did in those cases.
"[i:... I hope this thing doesn't decide to crack now. I don't think we're gonna get a replacement anytime soon..." she thought, as she climbed on the table "Zach would have to kiss his art career goodbye... and so would I, to my own coccyx...]"
Sophie stood on top of the table, then remained still and widened her eyes as soon as she felt it shake slightly, on top of hearing a sinister creaking that the table never did before.
She remained like this for a few seconds, then sighed in relief and relaxed upon being sure it wasn't gonna break... yet.
She grabbed the box with the tablet inside and attempted to place it at the very top of the cabinet.
It was just barely within reach, and she was trying her very best to resist the temptation of hopping.
«Come on, you piece of...» she uttered under her breath «... dead... Cretaceous... beast...»
[uploadedimage:24912823]
As Sophie struggled to push that box, standing on her toes, someone silently entered the room.
A boy of her age.
After one last push, Sophie finally managed to put the box back in place.
She sighed in relief, again.
«Yeah... no, I'm not gonna do this again...» she commented as she pulled her phone out and started typing in the club group chat.
All the while she still didn't notice the intruder.
Said intruder was starting to take something out of one of his pockets.
Sophie
| "@Zach, I told you several times already: PUT THE GOSH DARN TABLET BACK TO ITS PLACE AFTER YOU'RE DONE."
Zach
| "oh right. forgot"
Sophie
| "No, you didn't. This isn't forgetting anymore, you straight up don't give a dang, because I refuse to believe that you forgot it for the seventh time."
| "Not the first, the second, or the third; The SEVENTH."
As she kept typing, the intruder revealed to have taken out a roll of tape, then silently moved closer to the table.
Zach
| "ok"
| "i just dont wanna climb up there"
| "im scared to get hurt"
Sophie
| "And so, it should be me the one who has to get hurt, huh?"
Zach
| "your lighter than me"
Sophie paused, then let out a deep annoyed sigh.
Meanwhile, the intruder slowly pulled a stripe of tape from the roll and aimed for her ankles.
He looked at her, seemingly waiting for her to be done with the phone.
Sophie
| "OK, here's my deal then: tomorrow, together, we're going to talk with the principal and try to get some better equipment like a cabinet or AT LEAST a ladder. However, after that, I don't want any more excuses. If I see this gosh darn tablet out of place again after you're done, you're out of the club."
| "This is your last warning."
| "Clear enough?"
Zach
| "ok"
Sophie rolled her eyes "[i:He's not gonna do it anyway, is he...?]" she thought "[i:Well, I warned you Zach. If you still don't care, tough luck.]"
Sophie was about lock and put her phone away.
It was in that moment that she realized something was wrong.
But she didn't get enough time to elaborate.
The intruder quickly used the stripe to make Sophie trip and fall on the table, causing her to drop her phone as well.
The impact caused the table to crack and bend as the doe let out a pained groan.
The boy quickly wrapped the girl's ankles together, then immediately went for her mouth to prevent her from screaming.
Sophie, at that point, realized what was going on. She tried to reach for the tape on her mouth, but her wrists were quickly grabbed and forced behind her back, then also taped together, immobilizing her.
Finally, the intruder ran for the door, closed it, and ultimately locked it.
Then he stopped.
Breathing heavily and shaking visibly.
He stood in front of the door for several seconds, still breathing heavily, then took a last deep breath, as if he was trying to calm himself down.
Sophie, was already struggling to break free and trying to yell.
The intruder turned towards her, eyes wide open, still shaking slightly.
He then rushed towards her, much to Sophie's inner panic, picked her up bodily and shoved her on a chair, then taped her hands and ankles further to that chair so she wouldn't be able to stand up.
Now the situation seemed to have calmed down... in appearance.
[uploadedimage:24912867]
The intruder stared at her.
Sophie stared back, angrily.
Then he finally spoke.
«Where is he...?»
Sophie raised an eyebrow, wondering who the heck he was talking about.
The boy ripped the tape off Sophie's mouth with a single sharp move, causing her to groan and clench her eyes in pain, again.
Sophie unclosed her eyes «Ugh... is tying people up just to ask them stupid questions a one-off or is it a hobby of yours?!»
«Where is your friend?!» he elaborated.
The doe rolled her eyes «Which one? I have several, you know...»
«The one you usually hang out with!»
«Well, that narrowed it down by a whopping zero percent.»
«The one who does parkour!»
«There we go, now we're down to just four. You can do it, keep trying.»
«DO YOU THINK YOU'RE FUNNY??»
«I wouldn't DARE to steal your spotlight...»
That captor was getting increasingly irritated.
He grabbed Sophie by the shirt and yanked her so they'd be face to face.
«I'm not in the mood for jokes, I warn you...!»
«Then stop behaving like a buffoon...!»
«WHO'S THAT GUY WHO DOES MAGIC STUFF?!»
Sophie imagined who he was looking for already, but it was crystal clear now.
«Why do you want to know...?» she asked, sternly.
The boy shoved her again on the chair.
«You better tell me... where he is, where he lives, what he's doing...»
«Or...?»
«... Don't push your luck...!!»
«OR?! What? Are you going to kill me? Cut my fingers off? Bite my ears off?»
«Do you REALLY want to know??»
«You're shaking like you've just returned from the North Pole. You've never truly hurt anyone before, did you?»
«I WILL if I'll have to...!!»
Sophie smirked «This is not going how you pre-planned it in your head, hm...?»
Angrier than before, the boy grabbed Sophie's face from below the chin, clenching tightly the hand around her cheeks to the point of hurting her.
«Tell me where he is, or I'm going to smash this pretty face of yours on the corner of a table...!!»
«Let's test it, then: do it...!» she challenged him.
The captor just tightened his grip.
«This is your last warning, tell me!!»
«Smash my pretty face first, then MAYBE I'll tell you!»
The guy growled in anger.
He, however, appeared uncertain on what to do.
Then, a notification sound.
From Sophie's phone, the one she dropped earlier.
The boy let the doe go and went to check the phone.
"[i:... Crap, I hadn't time to lock the screen...!]" she thought, as the boy picked it up.
It was a message from Aldine, in the friends' group chat.
Aldine
| "We're leaving now. Are you coming?"
The captor read the message, then checked the profile picture.
He recognized him. Aldine was the one he was looking for.
He then smirked, seeing a chance, and began typing.
«... Hey. HEY HEY! DON'T YOU DARE!! STOP!! SOMEB-»
Sophie's yelling was cut short due to the intruder taping her mouth shut again with tape, this time by wrapping it around her head to make sure it wouldn't come off.
She tried to yell again, but all she could make were only muffled noises.
The other guy resumed typing.
Sophie
| "I was about to hit you up. There's a guy here who wants to talk with you."
Aldine
| "Who's him?"
Sophie
| "Names Noah. You know him?"
Aldine
| "Nnnope. Don't know him. What does he want?"
Noah's eye twitched upon reading that.
Sophie
| "He said its private stuff"
There was a pause of several seconds before Aldine typed again.
Aldine
| "Excuse me?"
Noah groaned and rolled his eyes, after rereading what he typed.
Sophie
| "Wants to tell you private stuff!"
Aldine
| "Aaah."
| "What kind of stuff?"
Sophie
| "How am I supposed to know if it's private????"
Aldine
| "OK then, I'm coming there."
Noah smiled, then locked the screen.
He turned towards Sophie, who was now staring at him wide-eyed, looking far more worried.
Mockingly, he put her phone back in her pocket, without saying a word.
«Hmmhph... hmmmh...!» Sophie angrily muttered, struggling a little.
Noah moved Sophie out of the way so she wouldn't be visible from the door, then took another deep breath.
His heartbeat began to accelerate, as he imagined his target getting closer.
He was shaking again.
He looked around, then grabbed a broomstick and stood next to the door, after unlocking it.
Then he patiently waited.
Sophie, likewise, was now getting definitely anxious and began struggling to free at least her hands before Aldine would come.
But nothing.
Another notification suddenly came to Sophie's phone.
