Catalyst: A Red Dog Thriller (The Altered Book 1)

by Blou Bryant

  Gloria grabbed his bicep again and looked at him sadly, “Oh, honey, you need something fun more than any of us,” she said, and followed after Mercedes, her hand letting go at the last possible moment. Wyatt didn’t have even a moment of regret as he watched her sway away from them.

  To Ford, he said, “And here we are. Now, can we can head out?”

  “What I said before,” Ford started to say when Wyatt interrupted him.

  “I remember, I’ll be ostracized for life if I leave after Jessica embarrassed me like that,” he said. “You know what, if I wanted to be popular, I’d join the football team, hang out with the cool kids and come to parties like this. I wouldn’t hang around with you, that’s for sure, if I cared. I don’t.”

  Ford stared at him for a moment and then said, “You do care, but I’m fine with this. Let’s roll.”

  Wyatt thought about what Ford had said. It was true, he did care. He still was messed up by the yo-yo of feelings from the night and was still pissed at Jessica. She’d known him for over ten years and yet had pretended for a laugh that she didn’t even recognize him. Sure, the email wasn’t from her, but so what, be human, be kind, would that have been so hard?

  On the first floor, Mercedes and Gloria danced with abandon in the living room, mostly ignored by the men around them, who were complexly focused on the TV shooter. Wyatt wasn’t angry at the girls; he was amused at how quickly they’d moved on. People were all the same, just like Jessica. This knowledge gave him the power to decide to tell her exactly what he thought.

  “Hey, Ford. Wait for me outside, ok?” he said and, not bothering to wait for an answer ran up to the second floor.

  When he arrived, the giggling girls were still sitting in the room they’d been in, but Jessica was gone. “Where is she?” he asked.

  A couple of them shrugged and looked away, but he rejected their attempt to dismiss him, walked up to the bed and stared them down, “Hey, I’m talking to you. Where is she?”

  When he showed no sign of leaving, one rolled her eyes and said, “She’s with her boyfriend, Justin,” with disdain in her voice. He walked away without further comment.

  When he returned to the first floor, he decided to give up on her. After all, why should he care? “Ford,” he called out to his friend, who hadn’t left and was dancing with the two girls, “let’s ditch this show.”

  “Fine by me,” replied Ford, and turned his back to the girls. “I can see better on the internet,” he said, without bothering to look back for their reaction to his insult. “I take it she wasn’t upstairs?”

  “Nope.”

  “It’s better that way. She’s a nobody in waiting, a year from now you won’t even remember that she existed,” said Ford, a perfect echo to how Wyatt felt. The two friends weaved their way through the party and out onto the deck. The circles were still closed but this time he didn’t care. He didn’t need a party that didn’t want him.

  They walked in silence, both stepping carefully in the darkness as they searched for their car among the many parked in the back field. As they approached where they’d remembered leaving the Datsun, Wyatt heard an argument from further off. One voice of the two was familiar. “That’s Jessica,” he said.

  Ford let out a long sigh, “Don’t do it, buddy. Get in the car,” he said, and took hold of his friend by the arm.

  Wyatt shrugged him off and ran towards the voices, not bothering to watch his footing as he raced across the dark field. As he approached, he heard someone growl, “You’re not leaving. This won’t happen, I won’t let you.”

  Jessica high, clear voice was instantly recognizable – to him at least. She said, “I’m not only going to leave, you’re coming with me. Give me the keys, you little chicken.”

  There was the sound of a struggle and in the moonlight, he saw a figure fall to the ground. He ran forward, and found Jessica with someone standing over her. The guy said, “You’re not going anywhere, got it?”

  Wyatt recognized the guy as Justin, a defenseman on the school hockey team. Justin was well over six feet tall and almost square, all shoulders and no neck. The size didn’t register as he pushed the guy back. “Leave her alone,” he said.

  “Are you kidding me?” said Justin, and tried to move past Wyatt, who was determined to not give an inch. He planted his feet firmly in the ground and pushed back. Justin must have been surprised at Wyatt’s resistance and he ended up stumbling back several feet.

  Wyatt put his hands up, it wouldn’t be his first fight this semester. “I said, leave her alone.”

  “Are you kidding me?” said Justin. “She’s a nut job, and you are too if you think you’re going to fight me.” He strode forward and batted away Wyatt’s attempt to punch him. This time he was ready and had a shoulder down and elbow up, his signature move in most hockey games. Wyatt tried to jab at him with his left hand, but was off balance and the blow was a weak one.

  As Justin passed by, Wyatt grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back. Jessica got on her feet. “Help me, please,” she said, her voice tinged with panic.

  Justin laughed at her, “You’re crazy,” he said and grabbed Wyatt by the neck with his left hand. “Get out of here…” he started to say.

  “No,” said Wyatt and swung at him with his right fist. He connected squarely with Justin’s jaw and knocked the other guy to the ground, unconscious.

  Jessica pushed past and knelt next to her boyfriend, searching his pockets. Wyatt watched her as other partiers showed up, attracted by the commotion. “What’s going on?” one asked. Wyatt felt a surge of pride, he’d saved the girl, and he was the hero.

  “Oh my God, he’s got a gun!” shouted Jessica. “Get back.”

  The people who had approached now quickly retreated and Wyatt’s euphoria evaporated, he stood still, and looked down at them. Justin certainly didn’t appear to be awake, much less holding a gun. Wyatt didn’t understand what was happening and said, “What?”

  Jessica didn’t bother to look at him or respond. She stood up, her body preventing him from seeing Justin. A moment later, a shot rang out, the bright flash blinding him momentarily.

  He stepped forward, next to Jessica, and looked down, but couldn’t see anything, his night vision ruined by the flash. The sound didn’t however deafen him enough to not hear Jessica whisper, “Get in the car, you two. Wyatt drives, one-arm can get in the passenger side.”

  “What?” he asked, too stunned to understand what was going on. “Why would we get in the car?”

  Ford ignored him and said to Jessica, “It’d be better if I drive.”

  “With one arm?”

  “Trust me, my friend isn’t all that good behind the wheel, even with two.”

  “Fine, whatever, I don’t care who drives,” she said. There were shouts from the house, but the people who had been close to them had fled, it was now just the three of them. “But, we do need to leave, and soon,” she said.

  The gun glinted in the moonlight as she swung it back and forth between him and Ford. His friend gave her a wide birth as he walked around and opened the driver’s side door. “Come on, looks like we’re going for a drive,” he said, and got in with no hesitation, or as far as Wyatt could tell, fear. He was as relaxed as always.

  He stared at Jessica, and tried to read her eyes in the darkness, but saw nothing other than the faintest white of her pupils. It told him nothing, but another movement of the weapon in her hand made her intentions clear enough. He decided that following her orders, for the moment at least, would be for the best.

  Wyatt stepped carefully over Justin’s limp form, walked around Jessica and got in the front passenger side. She followed him and got in the backseat. “Ok, guy, put it in gear,” she said, and handed Ford the keys.

  “Where to?” he asked.

  Jessica waved the gun between the two of them. “Straight up, across the field, there’s an access road, go left and just follow it,” she said, just as comfortable and confident as she had been in the bedro
om. “I’ll tell you more, when I’m ready.”

  Ford nodded and put the car in gear. To Wyatt, he said, “So, you got your date after all. I hope you’re happy.”

  Chapter 3

  Wyatt couldn’t see Jessica, so he focused his gaze on the dirt road they were following, and kept quiet as he had no clue what to say or do. Without moving his head, he glanced at Ford, who appeared remarkably relaxed given that they’d just been kidnapped. He had his one hand on the wheel and had the Audi going faster than Wyatt was comfortable with.

  Ford glanced at Wyatt, and caught his eye, “Nice ride, eh? Black leather and state of the art tech.”

  Wyatt shrugged and didn’t reply. Unlike his friend, he wasn’t enjoying the ride. He considered opening the door and rolling out, but that’d leave Ford alone with their abductor.

  “It’ll be okay boys,” said Jessica, “be quiet for a while, do everything I say and this will turn out fine for both of you. One-Arm, this comes out on Beechcroft soon, it’s the first paved road you’ll come to. Turn right when we get there.”

  “He has a name, it’s Ford,” said Wyatt, in a desire to take some small measure of control of the situation, even it was something as simple as letting her know his friend’s name.

  Ford wasn’t concerned and chuckled, “She has the gun, I’ll to answer to whatever she wants.”

  “Good boy,” she said. “I might like you, One-Arm.”

  “You’re fun, girl. And we’re both aware that you know me. We’ve been in school together for years. You’re just playing at being cool.”

  “Perhaps,” she said pensively. “But I thought I could call you whatever I wanted?”

  “Sure, words mean little,” Ford said, “but can we be semi-honest, if we’re going for a drive in a stolen car, oh yes, and at gunpoint?”

  “Now, honey, don’t be like that, it’s not exactly what you think,” Jessica said. “Don’t be whiny. I have blood on shoes that are worth more than your entire wardrobes, but you don’t hear me complaining. I should, though, I should complain, because that’s a damn shame.”

  Wyatt turned to look back at her. She texted as she talked and, he couldn’t help but admit to himself, in the soft light it gave off, he found her as beautiful as ever. He winced at the thought. “What is this then?”

  She looked up from her phone, put it down and softly said, “First off, it’s not a stolen car, it’s mine. Second, he attacked me. Luckily, you came along.” She moved to the center of the backseat so she could look at him. Their eyes locked and she put a hand on his shoulder.

  Against his will, Wyatt’s heart melted at the look on her face and at the touch of her hand. “You’ve still kidnapped us, you still have a gun,” he said weakly. A part of him tried to believe there was a good reason for their situation. Justin was a big, angry guy who’d been kicked out of more games than he could count. She was a small, gentle woman, and he wanted to trust her.

  She laughed and gently stroked the back of his head, “Babe, would you have come with me that quickly, if I hadn’t?”

  He had to admit to himself that he wouldn’t have. “Why did you have to leave? What was going on with Justin?”

  “I wanted to go home, but he wouldn’t leave me alone. I was trying to leave when he caught up with me,” she said, her voice quivering.

  “He pulled a gun on you?” asked Wyatt.

  She was still stroking his hair. “Yes, you knocked it out of his hand when you hit him. You saved me.”

  He experienced a surge of pride. That made more sense than the idea that she’d shot her boyfriend without cause. Of course, she didn’t have a choice and of course, it wasn’t her fault. “I did what anybody would have,” he said, with false modesty.

  “You’re special, I’ve always known that,” she cooed.

  Ford laughed and asked, “Oh my God, you moron, you buy this bull crap?” As they reached the road, he turned as she’d instructed, hardly slowing as he took the corner, straying into the oncoming lane, and forced a car going in the opposite direction to brake and swing to the side. The sound of its horn followed them down the dark street. “Fast corners are tough with one arm,” he said.

  Wyatt looked to his friend and said, “No need to speed, we’re not in a movie.” He considered the possibility that she was lying. Perhaps she was, a little, but it was clear that she was running because she was scared. She didn’t look like it, but no normal person could shoot someone and not be hyped up. Once the police caught up with them, they’d understand and this would be all over.

  “You seem to think you’re in a movie,” Ford said, “You’re thinking you’ve saved the damsel in distress, aren’t you? Even though she’s not a damsel, and she’s the one who caused the distress?” he said, dismissively. “God, I thought you were half smart, but you’re just like every other guy. A pretty smile, a gentle touch and your brain dissolves.”

  Wyatt looked back at Jessica again and saw her eyes go cold as she stared at his friend. “Shut up, one-arm,” she said. “Just drive.”

  Everyone went quiet so he took the opportunity to pull out his phone as unobtrusively as possible. Why they were in the situation didn’t matter, it was time to call this police. He swiped right to unlock it and before he pulled up the call list, a message arrived, from ‘Mom’. “Don’t call the police,” it said.

  Wyatt stared at the message. How could Mom have any idea what was going on. This wasn’t the first strange message of the night; this time he knew someone was playing with him. He replied, “UR not my Mom.”

  “No, you are right, I’m not,” came the quick answer.

  “Joe, why no call?” asked Wyatt. He glanced out the window as they passed a row of burnt-out buildings, dark monsters illuminated only by the reflected light of the city center. He glanced back when another message appeared. “Trust me,” was the reply. He shook his head, there was no way he’d trust whoever had got him into this in the first place.

  Jessica interrupted his deliberations and asked, “What’s wrong, handsome?” When he didn’t reply, she said pointedly, “Shall we talk about the glowing thing in your lap?”

  Wyatt didn’t reply, but covered the phone with his hand.

  “Oh, it went away. Will it stay away?”

  He considered it, what if he said no, would she shoot him? If she’d just been protecting herself before, if she wasn’t the type to kill someone in cold blood, she wouldn’t. It wouldn’t take long to make a call, he could swipe away the strange texts and have the police on the phone in seconds. He glanced at Ford, who watched him out of the corner of his eye and gently shook his head. The message was clear, don’t do it.

  Jessica interrupted their moment and said, her voice cold, “I don’t know what you two are trying to share but how about one-arm keeps driving and muscle keeps his eyes forward? I see your bright light again and I shoot you through the back of your seat. Not bad enough to kill you, but enough to keep you off the ‘net. Is that a deal, boys?”

  Wyatt froze at the change in tone, and looked forward, his hand still on his phone.

  Ford replied comfortably, “Hon, you have the gun, I’ll go where I’m told and I’m sure that Wyatt won’t call the police, will he? He’ll put his little toy away, won’t he?” he asked with a sideways glance as they continued on their way.

  Wyatt felt betrayed and looked back at his friend with shock and anger. Ford was acting like he was Jessica’s partner, not her hostage. He appeared willing and even happy to help her, drive where she wanted to go, do what she ordered and agree with her at all costs. Without good options, he put the phone back in his pocket.

  Ford didn’t appear to have noticed his friends’ anger and said to Jessica, “There you go, your wannabe boyfriend put it away. Now, about where we’re going. I assume we’re not taking you home, are we?”

  She shook her head, eyes on the rear view mirror. “You’re a quick one, and you’re right, no, we’re not.”

  “Surprise, surprise.”

 
; “Don’t give me lip,” she said.

  Wyatt looked to his friend, still angry but wondering what Ford had figured out that he hadn’t. He interrupted the discussion and asked, “Fine then, you both seem to know something I don’t. How about one of you two geniuses share where are we going?”

  Jessica didn’t answer him, and gave directions to Ford instead, “One-arm, you’ll want to get on the highway in about five minutes. Head south. I’ll give directions as we go.”

  “Why?” asked Wyatt, looking back at her over his shoulder.

  “Let’s keep a bit of mystery in our relationship, Wy-Wy. I can’t say right now, but this wasn’t part of my plan, I didn’t want to do this. Can you trust me?”

  Ford barked out a laugh which was cut short when she pressed the gun up against his head. “Are you done?” she asked.

  Wyatt was scared but saw nothing other than amusement in his friend’s eyes as he replied, “You won’t shoot me, not right now at least. I’ve got my one hand on the wheel and my foot on the gas. You’re smarter than you look and act. In fact, you’re a lot more interesting than I ever thought you were.”

  “Good that you know it but don’t test me, you might not like the results” Jessica said.

  “I won’t, but others will. Tell me, smart girl, what you will do about the police?” Ford asked with an amused edge to his voice.

  Jessica was dismissive, not troubled at all. “I’ll worry about that when the time comes.”

  “Worry then,” Ford said, and nodded at the rear view mirror. Wyatt turned around and saw red and blue lights behind them. Thank God, he thought to himself. This would soon be over.

  Jessica ended his momentary joy with a quick, confident comment, “I still have a gun trained on both of you. Don’t do anything dumb that’ll get people hurt.”

  “Pull over?” asked Ford, she said yes and he did. They sat quietly outside a deserted paint factory as the police car idled behind them.