~A Lesson In Love~
by Meg Jones
Chapter 1
"Honey, I'm hooommme!" I smiled at myself as I walked through the door and dropped my car keys on the small table beside the door. I expected to hear a
reply from my beloved wife Meg. But to my surprise, there came none. "Meg?" I
called again, thinking that maybe she was asleep. I looked around and walked
up the green carpeted stairs and down the hall to our room. It was unoccupied
and deadly quiet. She wasn't in the bathroom, nor in the reading room, or on
the patio, or the living room. I trudged downstairs now into the kitchen,
feeling disappointed that she wasn't here, when she promised she would be.
She said that she had something important to tell me. I had been away for a
whole week and was really looking forward to seeing the love of my life. I
searched the bright, sunlit kitchen for a note. There was none to be seen. I
sighed and walked out the glass sliding doors in the back, hoping to find
comfort in the warm summer day. Suddenly I stopped dead in my tracks. "Oh my
good Lord!" I screamed. The deck items were thrown about, as if someone had
had a major fight out here. To make matters worse, there were big red blood
spots all over the place. A note flapped lazily in the breeze on a tall
support beam directly in front of me. Feeling queasy, I forced myself to walk
over to it and tear it down. I read over it carefully, and still not
believing my own eyes, I read it again. It said:
Dear Daniel Jones,
As you may have found out, your whore bag of a wife has been kidnapped. Call
the cops and she dies. You can have her back for 8.5 million dollars. Bring
the money to the park at midnight and leave it under the big oak tree in the
back and leave. Any less than what we ask for and you can still have her
back, just not alive.
"No, no, no!" I screamed and tore the note into little shreds, my only
evidence as to who the kidnapper could be. I leaned over the railing and felt
everything rush to my head. I threw up and leaned there, the heat of the day
becoming unbearable. The whole backyard began to spin and I fell drunkenly
over into the only chair that was upright. The sun blinded me and my stomach
was in knots. My head swayed back and forth and I couldn't steady it. My
heart pounded in my ribs, my limbs were numb. I shook my head to clear it and
stood up shakily and ran into the house, hitting the kitchen counter and
knocking over a vase of flowers as I did. I finally reached the cordless
phone in the living room and quickly dialed Darren's number. "Hello?" came
Darren's chipper voice. "Oh my God Darren!" my voice broke and I started to
cry. "Whoa whoa Daniel, what's the matter?" he asked, his voice no longer
happy. "Darren, it's, it's Meg!" I cried again, my voice high pitched, unlike
my own. "What? What about her? Did you guys fight?" Darren asked. "She's,
she's been kidnapped!" I screamed, dropping the phone from my shaky hands. I
picked it up just in time to hear Darren yell, "What?! Oh my...Dan, I'll be
right over!" I heard a click on the other line. I let out a huge wail and
slammed down the phone. My surroundings began to spin again and I felt the
urge to vomit. So I ran to the bathroom just in time and puked. I collapsed
on the cold green tiles, half conscious, thinking, why why? Why my loving,
caring, sweet wife? Why her? What did she do? "What did she do?!" I screamed
and slammed my fist against the floor. Just then the front door opened and
slammed shut, and I could hear Darren's voice calling my name. "Dan? Daniel,
where are you?" he shouted from the living room. I quickly staggered out of
the bathroom. I felt so drunk! As soon as he saw me he gave me a big hug. "Oh
my God Daniel what happened?" he asked, pulling away from me. I motioned
towards the back porch and he began walking towards it, looking confused. I
didn't follow because I knew he would figure it out soon enough for himself.
Sure enough I heard him scream and in an instant he was back in the room,
looking paler than ever, sweat pouring off his face. He bent over and took a
few deep breaths. "That's not all," I managed, "There was a note, it said if
I called the police, she would die. They want 8 and a half million dollars
for her!" I cried, feeling my head began to roll to the side. "8 and a half
million dollars?! Dan, we don't have that kind of money!" Darren cried. "No
shit sherlock!" I screamed back at him. He looked hurt for a moment and
turned away from me. "I'm sorry, I'm just...so...so confused. Dammit!" I
yelled and kicked at the glass table. It didn't move, and pain shot through
my foot. "Where do we bring the money?" Darren whispered, grabbing onto the
couch for support. He stared up at the ceiling, taking deep, shaky breaths.
"The park, at midnight. Oh God Darren, I'm so scared for her!" I sobbed.
"It's ok, we'll get her back." he said, coming up and patting my shoulder.
"Where are we going to get the money?" I cried. "The bank, we'll draw it out
from everyone's accounts. The whole band." "Darren no! We can't do that,
we'll all go broke. Besides, what if..." I trailed off, not wanting to think
of what would happen to my love if we didn't pay the ransom. Or, what could
have already happened. "That's not all Dan..." he pulled me forward and
whispered his plan into my ear. "Do you think it will work?" I whispered
back. He shrugged. "There's only one way to find out." he replied.
Chapter 2
My heart raced as I climbed into the tree at the park. It was a 45 minutes
till midnight and Daz's plan was in full swing. I scrambled up the rough bark
and perched in the leafiest area of the tree. From here I was well
camouflaged, yet I could see perfectly to the bottom of the tree. I was
shaking violently and felt extremely sick, so I ran over the plan in my mind
to comfort myself. Darren had secretly (in case we were being watched) went
to each of the band members house, looking as if he were just going for a
daily chat. He had told them what happened and each one took him to the bank
and drew out all the cash they had. Sure, this had roused curiosity amoungst
the bankers, but that was the least of our problems now. Ben had dressed up
like me, combed his hair exactly like mine, and practiced walking like me. He
would place the money under the tree and leave, while I sat and waited for
whoever it was that kidnapped my wife, to show up. Darren, Karl, Ben, Anna,
Lee, and Nicole, were stationed around the park, each keeping a lookout for
something suspicious. Once the kidnapper showed up, we would all attack him
or her, praying that the person would be on foot. I still felt unsure. What
if we were already being watched? Would they show up here this early, just to
make sure that we didn't do anything that we weren't supposed to? What if
they were professional kidnappers and had a plan far more better than our
simple one? What if...I closed my eyes at the question that had been
reoccuring to me since I found the note...what if Meg were already dead? My
stomach heaved and my mouth began to water, as I felt the drink I had
earlier to calm me down, come up. I swallowed hard and took a deep breath. If
only we could have walkie talkies, then Darren or someone else could comfort
me. I pressed the light up button on my watch and looked at the time. 11:35.
My heart sank. I was hoping that maybe it would be almost midnight, so I
could find my sweetheart and go home. Something moved in the branches below
my foot. I froze in place and clung to the tree. It moved again, this time
nearer to me. My breath quickened. Two pairs of glowing eyes starred up at me
from the lower branch. I sighed and loosened my grip on the tree. It was only
a cat. The feline meowed and then jumped down the tree and padded off,
probably pissed off that I was in it's space. My stomach growled. I hadn't
eaten all day. I was tired and hungry and would give anything to just go home
and go to sleep. My eyes began to droop as I thought of going home with Meg
in my arms, having a bite to eat, taking a shower, and falling asleep in our
king sized bed, under that warm comforter, arms around each other... The
limbs swayed as a cool ocean breeze hit them. I opened my eyes again and
looked at my watch. 5 till 12! My heart raced and I just had to smile. This
was it, this was the moment I had been waiting for! I strained my eyes and
looked out across the park. Nothing moved. Ben had already visited the tree,
the duffle bags filled with money were there. I hoped Darren and all the
others were alright.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a motor sounded from the other
side of the park. It wasn't loud, it must have had a muffler on it. But I
could still hear it, distinct in the dead quiet of the night. The vehicle
started across the field and came towards the tree. I began shaking all over.
Within minutes a black four-wheeler pulled up under the tree and put the bags
of money onto the back. Before taking off, the driver glanced up the tree. I
froze as I watched the hooded person skim the branches, fearing that they had
spotted me. But I relaxed as they shrugged and started off to the opposite
side of the field very slowly, as to be as quiet as possible. Now! My mind
screamed. I jumped down and began running, calling for Darren and the rest of
them to catch the four-wheeler.
Chapter 3
I ran through the field as fast as my wobbly legs would carry me. Ahead, Anna
and Karl were attacking the four-wheeler from the sides. The driver tried to
speed up, but it was already to late, Anna was on the vehicle and had pushed
them to the ground. She turned off the four-wheeler, threw the keys as far as
she could, and pounced on the person who was trying despratly to escape from
Darren's grasp. I ran up to the person, out of breath and pulled off their
mask. It was a young girl, in about her twenties, with a pale shimmering face
and long blond hair. She looked up at me with frightened blue eyes. If she
hadn't taken my wife, I might have found her irresistibly beautiful. But I
let it slide. "Where's my wife?" I shouted, grabbing her fiercly by the
collar of her black jacket, and giving her a good shake. "Bite me bastard!"
she screamed and spit in my eye. I threw her down and wiped my face, and
kicked her. She fell to one side gasping. Ben came up behind me. "Where is
she dammit!" he yelled in her face. She stuck her hand into her coat and drew
out a black baretta. Everyone backed off and she shakily got up and backed
away to her four-wheeler. "Boss'll be very displeased to hear this!" she
hissed, pointing the gun from Darren to Nicole, who were coming up on her
right and left sides. "Not if he doesn't hear it." Anna hissed back. "And
what do you expect me to do mate? Keep my big trap shut?" she cried, laughing
at the thought. "No. I don't even expect you to make it back to him." Anna
replied coldly. The girl looked at her nervously, but smiled devilishly.
Suddenly Karl jumped on her back, catching her by surprise, and sending the
gun bouncing into the bushes. She cursed and thrashed under him, knocking him
to the ground. He growled and rolled off by the four wheeler. I lept on her
and grabbed ahold of her neck, while Anna and Nicole searched frantically for
the gun. She gasped and clawed at my hands and cloths, ripping my shirt in
half and scratching at my chest. I began to bleed but I didn't let go.
Finally Anna shot up out of the grass, gun in hand, and pointed it at the
girl, who immediatly surrendered. I wiped my face off and let go, backing
around to Anna's side. "Alright whore, where's Meg?" Anna cried, her eyes
wide, her teeth clenched. "I, I don't know!" the girl shrieked, falling to
the ground and covering her face. "I was only instucted to get the money, I
don't even know where the guy who kidnapped your wife is! I was supposed to
hand the money off to another person, and they would do the same thing, until
finally the money reached him!" she wailed. "Why did he do it?" Anna pushed
on, poking the girl in the temple with the gun. She shrugged. "I guess
because he hates her, he hates Savage Garden, he needs money, and most of
all, he hates you." she said, pointing at me. The tears fell from my eyes and
I turned away. I was't hurt by the comment, just mad. The girl snickered and
laughed, standing up to face Anna. "You won't shoot me, you don't have the
guts!" she taunted, poking Anna in the chest. Anna's teeth chattered, as she
watched the girl walk to her four wheeler and push Karl aside. I began to
walk away, this was all to much. "BANG!" I whipped around just in time to see
the blond girl fall to the ground, dead. I ran back to Anna. "What did you do
that for huh? Now Meg has no chance of living!" I screamed, taking the gun
from her and throwing it into the weeds. "I'm, I'm so sorry Daniel!" she
stammered, her voice trembling, tears staining her cheeks. "She, she just
made me so...mad!" I gave her a hug. "It's alright. I'm sorry too." I
whispered. It was 1:30 already. "My God, the police will be here soon!"
Darren shouted, looking like he was close to fainting. "You're right." Lee
spoke up. He ran throught the field and returned with the gun. He began to
wipe it off with his shirt, and carefully placed it in the girl's bloody
hand, without touching the gun. "There, no finger prints." Karl said. "Oh
God. What have we done?" I mumbled and bent over, and put my hands on my
knees. "Dan, are you ok?" Nicole asked. I shook my head. "Come on! There's no
time!" Darren cried, throwing each of us a duffle bag and running out the
back way of the park. We were home just in time to hear sirens arrive in the
park.
Kidnapper's view:
The death of Marie Patterson was all over the news. That Daniel Jones had
really screwed up this time. I told him in the note, that if he did what he
was told, he could have his wife back. I clicked the TV off and threw the
remote across the room. It smashed in half and landed with a clatter all over
the wooden floor. My other two companions winced. "It's ok boss,we'll catch
the fucker. We still got his wife." one of them said. "Shut up!" I snapped
back at him and walked down the hall. I unlocked the basement door and walked
down the creaking steps. At the bottom I flipped on the light. The woman was
blind folded and her mouth taped shut. She was lying on the cold damp floor,
shivering and crying. Her blindfold was half off. She looked around as I
walked in. I sat down beside her and tightened the loose blind fold and
whispered, "My dear dear Meg, you're husband will rescue you soon. Just to
bad you won't be alive to see him!" A muffled scream escaped her and she
thrashed around as I walked back upstairs and flipped off the light.
chase the trail