The Seventh Taking: A Mountain Mystery

by BJ Bourg

  I studied my fork longingly. It would make for a decent weapon, and I welcomed the chance for him to step in this cell with me, but I didn’t want to bring trouble down on the girls, so I did as I was told. Our dishes were sitting out in the hallway for about twenty minutes before the hatch opened again and Mr. Bush reappeared to take away the containers, utensils, and canteens. Before he left for the night, he blew out all the lanterns except for the two closest to the rungs in the wall, leaving the cavern cloaked in near darkness.

  “Does he follow this same pattern every day?” I asked from where I leaned against the bars, watching his shadow ascend the ladder to the hole in the ceiling of the cavern.

  “For the most part,” Jillian said. “It’s hard to keep track of time in here, but a few times each year he’s extremely late bringing us food, and each time he returns, he’s either got supplies or he’s kidnapped another person.”

  “Except for last year,” Mable said. “He didn’t bring anyone new.”

  Jillian nodded her head to Joy, Charlie, and then me. “This is the first time he’s kidnapped three people so close together.”

  I grunted, cursing myself for allowing this to happen. I turned back to my cell, where Mable and Joy were getting ready for bed. Charlie was already sleeping soundly across the hall, and I could hear Jillian and Jennifer moving about. Joy had pushed her cot next to mine and was fluffing her pillow. She then stretched out on it and stared up at me.

  I walked to her and slipped onto my cot, rolling on my shoulder so I could look at her. Her eyes were moist and her lips trembled. “I’m so scared, Abe.”

  I scooted closer to her, and she crawled up against me, resting her head against my chest. I knew if I wasn’t careful, I’d forget where I was and start to think everything was okay. I lay there holding Joy, staring up at the dark ceiling. Although it wasn’t as comfortable as my bed back home, this cot was much better than the unforgiving rocks Charlie and I’d been forced to sleep on during the past week or so. I flexed my right fist, testing the pain in my forearm. Other than a dull pinch, it was healing up nicely.

  “What happened to your arm?” Joy rubbed the bandage. “I noticed it when he first brought you in here.”

  “A bear attacked me.”

  Even in the shadows, I could see her eyes widen. “Are you serious?”

  “Luckily, he only wanted the food behind me. If he’d wanted to kill me, there’s not much I could’ve done except bleed.” I leaned up on my elbow and looked over toward the other cot. “Mable, why do you think this guy kidnapped y’all? I mean, what does he do with y’all beside feed y’all?”

  “Nothing, really.”

  “Then why would he just stuff y’all underground for all these years? Why keep y’all alive? What’s he up to?”

  Mable was silent for almost a minute. “I really don’t know. We’ve talked about that a lot over the years. Jillian thinks he might be saving us to harvest our organs for himself or to sell on the black market.”

  “Hmm, that’s a thought.” I pondered this theory for a few minutes, but then dismissed it. “That can’t be it. There’d have to be blood tests to see if y’all match him or his clients—and that would come before the abduction; otherwise, he could kidnap thousands of people before finding the right one, and that would be a lot of wasted time and effort.”

  “But then why?” Joy asked. “What does he want with us?”

  “Has he ever hurt any of y’all?”

  “No.”

  I paused, trying to decide how to frame my next question. My heart pounded in my chest as I thought about him doing anything to Joy. “Has he done anything bad…you know, really bad…to y’all?”

  “He’s never touched any of us,” Mable said. “He’s never even said a word to any of us. We’ve tried talking to him at times to ask why he was doing this to us, but he’s never said a word.”

  “You’ve never heard his voice?” I asked. “Ever?”

  “The only sound that ever came out of his mouth was when Woody escaped, and he didn’t really talk. It was more like a growl—an angry growl. Like a mad dog.” Mable shuddered. “He was so mad. I thought he was going to kill us all. He grabbed some of his shelves and pulled them down, started throwing his supplies around. He looked and sounded like an animal.”

  “Maybe he can’t talk,” I said.

  “We thought of that. We also thought he might be part human and part animal.”

  I laughed.

  “I’m serious,” Mable said, sounding offended.

  “I’m sorry,” I said quickly. “I thought you said you thought he was part human and part animal.”

  “I did say that.”

  I lay back down, pulled Joy closer. “I don’t think you have to worry about that.”

  “How can you be so sure?” Mable asked.

  “Trust me…he’s human.” I then changed the subject and asked Joy how she had been abducted.

  “My dad and I had gotten into a fight, and I stormed off, thinking I’d walk to the car on my own. I walked for about an hour and when I didn’t see anyone, I got scared. I had this feeling like someone was watching me and—”

  “I had that same feeling!”

  “It was really scary. I decided to go back and find my parents. I was just walking along the trail and suddenly something came out of the bushes and grabbed me.” Joy shuddered. “That was the scariest moment of my life. And that’s all I remember.”

  We spoke softly for about an hour—trying not to wake the others—and somewhere along the way she drifted off to sleep, her last sentence an unintelligible gurgle about some cat named Sparky. I closed my own eyes, but couldn’t go to sleep right away. I shivered, so I reached for a nearby blanket. Although it was the middle of summer, it was cold in these mountains, and I found myself craving the blistering heat of the Louisiana sun. Had I been told a month ago I’d miss being home once I was gone, I would’ve vehemently denied it, but here I was as miserable and homesick as that dog my mom used to talk about—she was called Lassie or something.

  As I lay there, I began to consider our escape options. If I was going to get Joy and the other girls out of here alive, Charlie and I would have to do something—and do it soon. Somewhere in the darkness of the cavern I thought I heard gentle crying. Mable and Joy were breathing steadily beside me, so I knew it wasn’t them. It had to be either Jennifer or Jillian. While I felt bad for them, it was good to hear them crying—it meant they wanted to leave this place as much as I did.

  * * *

  I was awakened by the sound of voices and the smell of bacon. I stirred in my cot, then pushed myself to a sitting position. Joy and Mable were placing the food containers on the table. Joy looked over. “Hey, sleepy-head, I thought you’d never wake up.”

  I rubbed my face. “I can’t remember the last time I slept that good.” I turned to see what Charlie was up to. He was sitting at the other table with Jennifer and Jillian. I walked to the bars. “How you feeling, Charlie?”

  He looked up, his cheeks puffed out from the food in his mouth. He chewed quickly, swallowed. “Other than being a prisoner at the center of the earth and having a massive headache, I feel good.”

  “What happened to you?” I asked. “You were supposed to go get help at that cabin, but you never came back.”

  “I could ask you the same thing,” he said. “If there’s anybody in the world that’s un-abductable, I would’ve guessed it was you. How’d he get the drop on you?”

  “He just came out of nowhere.” I shook my head. “I tried to fight back, but I couldn’t. I was still too weak. What about you?”

  Charlie took his plate of food and carried it with him to the bars of his cell, eating as he talked. “Well, I made it to the cabin.”

  I cocked my head sideways. “You did?”

  “Yeah, that’s where I was taken. When I got to it, I banged on the door, but nobody answered. The door was unlocked, so I went inside and looked around. I found some fresh-baked bread o
n the stovetop and took a piece while I searched inside the cabin. I called out a bunch of times, but nobody answered.

  “I saw one of those tree suits hanging against the wall. When I walked by it, it dropped on top of me and put a white handkerchief across my face. I fought hard, but he held that rag against my face. I finally passed out. That’s the last thing I remember until I woke up in here this morning.”

  “You don’t remember vomiting last night? Or being spoonfed your supper?” I asked.

  Charlie paused, a piece of bacon hanging from his mouth. “Who spoonfed me?”

  “We did,” Jennifer and Jillian said.

  Charlie beamed as he nodded his head in approval. “I could get used to this.”

  “Before you get too excited,” I said, “you should know you vomited all over them.”

  Charlie spat his food out of his mouth. He turned to look at Jillian and Jennifer, who sat at the table eating. “Did I really?”

  They smiled and nodded. “But it’s okay,” Jillian said. “We’ve all been through it, and we all reacted the same way when we came down off the medicine.”

  “Jillian, who took care of you?” I asked.

  “Mr. Bush,” Jillian said.

  “You were all alone with him?” Charlie asked.

  Jillian nodded. “For about a year—until Woody got here. It was really scary.”

  I walked to our table and wolfed my breakfast down next to Joy and Mable. After we were done and Mr. Bush had retrieved our dishes and locked us inside the cavern again, I called everyone to huddle near the bars. “We need to try and figure a way out of here,” I said.

  “There’s no way out,” Jennifer said.

  “Well, we’ll have to see about that.” I turned to Jillian. “Has he ever given any indication why he kidnaps people and brings them here?”

  Jillian shook her head.

  “We’re breeding stock,” Charlie said simply.

  We all looked at him, a quizzical expression on all of our faces. “What are you talking about?” Jillian asked.

  “While I was digging around the cabin, I found some interesting paperwork.” Charlie looked over at me. “A lot of articles about the world coming to an end and a lot of manuals on surviving a nuclear explosion and other types of widespread disasters. There was also a Mayan calendar hanging in one of the rooms.”

  “What does any of that have to do with being breeding stock?” I asked.

  Mable looked at me. “What’s he mean by breeding stock?”

  “I found a notebook with a lot of handwritten stuff in it,” Charlie said. “While his handwriting is hard to read, I found where he had a plan to survive underground for three years, beginning December of 2012. Apparently, whatever was supposed to happen was supposed to happen back then and he was stockpiling enough food, water, and supplies for six people—him and five others.”

  “Don’t you mean six others?” I asked.

  Charlie shook his head. “He had plans for four girls, one boy, and him.”

  “Oh,” I said. “Dave must’ve been a replacement for Woody.”

  “I don’t get it,” Mable said. “Why would he need to replace Woody?”

  “Oh, crap, I get it,” Jillian said. “He needed a guy to go along with us so he can repopulate the earth. He was going to start breeding us once the human race up there”—Jillian pointed to the cavern ceiling—“was annihilated.”

  There was a collective gasp among the other girls.

  “Wait a minute,” Jillian said. “If he had a Mayan calendar, that must mean he thought the world would end in December 2012.”

  “Your point?” Charlie asked.

  “December of 2012 was eight months ago and nothing happened—so why are we still here?” Jillian asked. “Why hasn’t he released us? And why did he kidnap you two?”

  “That last one’s easy,” I said. “He took us to protect his secret. We caught him kidnapping Brett.”

  “Maybe there’s a new date,” Mable offered. “Maybe they pushed it back a couple of years? You know how some preachers say Jesus is coming back on a certain day? Then when that day comes and Jesus doesn’t show up, they move the date.”

  “Well, I’m not waiting around to find out,” I said. “I’m getting out of here, and I’m getting out soon.”

  “There’s no way out,” Jillian said.

  “If a swimmer can get out of this cell, I can, too.” I walked along the bars, pulling on each of them individually, testing them for signs of weakness. When I reached the far left end of our cell, I started walking back, scanning the bars of Charlie’s cell. I walked until I was directly across from Charlie and then froze in place, pointing excitedly at Charlie’s feet. “Your shoes! The safety pins on your shoes. You know how to pick locks, you little thief! You can open the doors.”

  CHAPTER 18

  The girls and I kept watch while Charlie prepared to work on the padlock to his cell. He had removed two of the bigger safety pins from his shoes and bent one into a hook. “Jillian, can you hold the lock steady for me?” he asked.

  Jillian quickly moved beside him and held the padlock in place while he manipulated the tumblers with one of the pins and held tension on the keyhole with the other, ready to turn it when the tumblers all fell into place.

  I looked up to scan the ceiling of the cavern. “I sure hope he doesn’t have hidden cameras in here.”

  Without looking up, Charlie scoffed. “We’re in the middle of the mountains, my young friend. We don’t even have lights or running water up here.”

  I flashed a sheepish smile. “I forgot where we were for a minute.”

  Mable nodded her understanding. “That happens to all of us. I remember one time we were talking and Jennifer asked what was playing on TV.”

  “I’ve got it.” Charlie twisted the padlock and pulled it free. He tossed it aside and slowly opened the cell door. It creaked angrily, and Charlie paused—mouth half open—listening for any sound of movement above us.

  “You’re good,” I said.

  Charlie nodded, pushed the cell door some more and then stepped out. Jillian and Jennifer stared wide-eyed at the opening, afraid to walk through the door. Charlie looked back at them and nodded. “It’s okay. Y’all can come out.”

  Tears welled up in Jillian’s eyes as she took one careful step after another until she was standing in the hallway. “This is the first time in seven years I’ve been out of my cell.”

  Jennifer wrapped her arms around Jillian, and Jillian broke down. “It’s okay, Jill,” Jennifer said. “Let it all out. You deserve it.”

  “Yeah,” Mable said. “You deserve to let it all out. You’re the one who held us together for all these years. Now it’s our turn to hold you together.”

  Charlie hurried to my cell door, dropped to his knees, and worked on the padlock. I held it steady for him. “What’s the plan when you get it open?” I asked.

  “This was your idea,” Charlie said. “I thought you had everything figured out.”

  I glanced toward the rungs on the cavern wall. “Maybe we can ambush him the next time he comes down to feed us.”

  Charlie looked up at me. “Are you feeling stronger?”

  I nodded. “I’ll take him out this time. The element of surprise will be on my side.”

  The padlock wriggled in my hand as Charlie worked on the tumblers with one of the safety pins. He would occasionally try to rotate the keyhole with the other safety pin, but it was giving him fits.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “This one’s a little harder to get,” Charlie said. “The tumblers feel a little—”

  “He’s coming,” Jennifer screamed. “He’s coming!”

  A yelp ripped from Jillian’s throat as she rushed back into the cell, followed closely by Jennifer. Charlie worked feverishly on the lock. My eyes were glued to the rungs in the wall. I heard the creaking of the hatch and saw the beam of light shoot down through the opening.

  “You have to hurry, Charlie,
” I said, looking down at his progress.

  “I’m trying.” Charlie’s breathing quickened. The safety pin stabbed in and out of the keyhole. Heavy boots thudded on the rungs.

  “Get back in your cell,” I hissed. “Put your padlock back on.”

  “No, I can do this.” Sweat poured from Charlie’s forehead, dripping in his eyes. He blinked quickly. Rubbed his eyes against his shoulder. “I’ve got this.”

  My heart raced. Mr. Bush’s legs appeared through the opening. “You don’t have time, Charlie. Get back in your cell. Now!”

  Charlie stole a quick glance toward the opening to the hatch. I followed his gaze. Mr. Bush’s foot was about to touch the cavern floor. A flash of movement brought my attention back down to my cell door. Charlie was gone. The only evidence he had been there were the two safety pins protruding from the keyhole of my padlock. I looked around. Before I could scream my objection, Charlie went airborne and dove headlong into the pool of water.

  Mr. Bush turned quickly when he heard the splash of water and rushed toward the pool. I snatched the safety pins from the padlock and slipped them into my pocket before running toward the far right side of my cell. Mr. Bush was pacing like a panther. He growled as he stared into the water. I counted the seconds in my head. They turned into minutes. Panic began to constrict my throat when I counted out four minutes in my head and there was no sign of Charlie. That was his limit. He would have to resurface soon for air and if he were to have a chance at escaping through the hatch, I would have to buy him some time and distract Mr. Bush.

  “Hey, you freak!” I hollered. “Why don’t you come here and face me like a man? Open this cell and I’ll beat your face in. Come on, you big coward! Get in here!”

  Mr. Bush didn’t even acknowledge my existence as he moved from one side of the pool to the other, scanning the water. I ran over and grabbed one of the wooden chairs in my cell, picked it up, and smashed it to the ground. I grabbed a piece of chair leg and ran toward the cell. Using my forward momentum, I launched the chair leg through the bars. The wooden projectile hit Mr. Bush in the back of his head with a thump. He grunted as his head lurched forward. He turned and produced a silver revolver from somewhere inside his leafy suit. Pointing it at me, he ran toward my cell bars screaming.