The Silhouette's Prisoner

by Sherry Zeng and Katherine Chou

  "Well, how do you know my siblings’ names? HOW? You have to be working for the mysterious kidnapper. Grrr…" I threw all my anger at him.

  He backed away in shock, holding his hands up. Then, he recovered and pulled out a tranquillizer gun. He was too late.

  "Oomph!" he cried. "Woe is me." His knees buckled, and he fainted girlishly with his hand on his forehead.

  Too bad I had to kick him. He was cute, but he wasn’t trustworthy. Surely, he worked for the mysterious person who was holding Sharon against her will. I mean how did he even know my siblings’ name??

  Chapter 25 - Sharon-Fooooood!

  "Ok, so I have a plan. Meet me when you bring me dinner, ok?" I told David.

  He nodded and left. I went over the plan in my head. So I would loosen the vent when David got here. Then, we would crawl through the vents and find the right path using the map. I would know I am on the right path if there is light!!! Then, we would crawl out the vent leading outside.

  I had perfect tools that David collected. If there was lasers blocking the path, David would turn them off using the password Jacque used. If there were guards, I would use the tranquillizer gun David stole or knock them out. If there was a moat, I would use the self-inflatable boat David found. Then, if there were monsters in the moat, I would either use the raw meat I packed or use the tranquilizer gun. I didn’t want my backpack to smell disgusting, so I put the meat in a Tupperware box put in multiple Ziploc Bags. If there were any other problems, I would use a baseball bat to solve them. I also packed a bunch of juice and crackers in case we got hungry.

  I went over this plan quietly. I tried to take my mind off the risky plan by playing on the Mac. I listened to songs downloaded in the computer. Then, dinner came. David and I gulped up my delicious and mouthwatering dinner. To take my mind off the nerve-wrecking plan, I focused on food. David ate the 5-cheese pasta, mint chocolate chip ice cream and drank the fresh lemonade. This must be the best meal he had in years. I had the steak, cheese cake, and iced tea. We shared the buffalo wings. They were so good! It was better to savor this dinner. It might be the last one I’d have… no, ignore that thought.

  Then, it was time. My heart beat wildly, and I made sure that I had everything. Then, the surveillance camera was set up, and I loosened the air vent. I told David to follow me and we carefully crawled in.

  Chapter 26 - Andy- The Bland Room

  The adorably cute and very nice alligator threw me up in a dark and surprisingly waterless room. Then he even let me pet his furry spiky head. He then looked dully at me with his gorgeous yellow eyes. I looked around the room. It was barren and was colored gray. I disliked it at once. I smelled the air. It smelled like grapes that went bad. This room was small and felt refrigerated. Also, it was eerily quiet.

  The cute and pretty alligator stared at me and crawled out of the bland doors. I sighed happily. Maybe that was what my sisters call "love". I wanted to keep it as a pet and make sure it didn’t run away. I wanted to take it on walks and teach it tricks like the doggy I had always wanted. Suddenly, I heard a loud crash! Then, all went dark.

  Chapter 27 - David-All the Places I Would Go…

  I was so excited to leave this horrid place. I couldn’t wait to see the world!!! I wanted to see places like Atlantis, Troy, Heaven, Unlidhet, Far Far Away, Elmo’s World, and Space Mountain! I'd never been to those places. I only saw them on TV in the servant quarters. I could not wait! I wanted to explore space and live with the Martians!! I also wanted to visit Mickey Mouse!! I could not wait!! I almost couldn’t contain my excitement. I was still happy when carrying Sharon’s dinner.

  "Is there something wrong with you??" Mommy suspiciously questioned when she passed me in the hallway.

  "No," I squealed and I carefully ran away carrying Sharon’s dinner.

  I was bubbling with excitement when I entered the large bedroom. We shared the food. I brought a tiny bit more because I was eating with Sharon. I brought a whole other meal! Then, Sharon silently and nervously loosened the air vent. She told me to follow her. I hoped she knew what she was doing.

  Chapter 28 - Andy-Martian!!!

  I sat there on the cold floor wondering where my Sissies were. I shivered under my thin winter jacket. It was way too freezing.

  "Hello? I need the heat on." I shouted to the open air. This was not fair! I wanted to play on the alligator. Actually, I didn’t want to play with the alligator. He was now a bad boy. He went away! My sissies would call it ditching, but I didn’t know what it meant.

  I started to cry uncontrollably.

  "I want to play on playground! I want to go draw. I don’t want sit here all day. I don’t even want to dance weirdly, because I do that a lot when I am cold. I want my Big Sissies!!" I whined while doing the hokey pokey.

  No one came. I was so sad. Then, someone tied me up from behind. Next, I heard a lump of potatoes being tossed in. It whimpered!!! Next thing I knew, my wish was granted!! I had a friend here!! It barked!! Maybe it was a … umm… Martian!!!

  Chapter 29 - Catie-Blonde Burly Guards

  I was so proud of myself. I bravely kicked the hot guy cold. When he went down, I grabbed the rows and randomly swung it around trying to steer it. It was very hard. I regretted knocking the guy out. Oh well.

  "Woah…." I said as I slipped to the side and the boat suddenly tipped this way and that.

  I was trying so hard to steady the tipping boat that I didn’t realize that I was approaching the main gate. It had two burly blonde guards that were kissing and flexing their muscles. They stopped when they saw me in that tiny boat coming near and near. The guards saluted me. Then, they gasped and growled in unison when they saw that I was a stranger and that the boy in the boat with me was knocked out.

  "Grrr.." they growled again and lifted their meaty arms.

  "Uh... Hi?" I stammered as I backed away holding my arms in defense.

  "Grrr…" they inched closer and closer.

  Then, I felt pain and blacked out.

  Chapter 30 - Sharon-Lost At the Wrong Time

  David and I crawled through the air vent. I made sure that our tracks were covered.

  "Ok. So we first crawl forward, and then turn right at the next turn." I mumbled to myself quietly.

  David obediently and silently followed me. We crawled for a while, and then turned. Suddenly, my mind blanked out.

  "Good thing I have my map!!"I cheerfully whispered.

  I reached into my pocket. It was empty!! I reached into my back pocket. It had a letter in it. Wait what?? A letter?? This wasn’t my pair of jeans! Oh no! Hopelessly, I put the map in my jacket pocket. There was nothing in there.

  "Oh no, this is terrible!" I quietly cried.

  "Is there something wrong?" David innocently asked.

  "Well, I either lost or forgot the map. It either fell out of my jeans, or this is the wrong pair." I said ashamed and red faced.

  "That is bad," David whispered.

  I absent-mindedly handed the letter to David. We started to move around in the vents. The vents were so dusty, narrow, and dark. I looked out an opening, and saw an office. Then, we moved on.

  After what seemed like hours, I looked out again. No, this must be wrong. I rubbed my eyes. Yep, it was the same office. It was official. I didn’t know where we were going.

  Chapter 31 - Andy-Sissy!!!

  I couldn’t see what the Martian looked like since it was taking too long for my eyes to adjust. The strange friend licked my face. I giggled. It reminded me of a dog. I wondered why.

  Suddenly, I heard the lights turn back on. Yay! Sadly, my Martian was only a furry golden and white doggy. The happy thing was that a pretty boy with glowing hazel eyes came in and threw a struggling Sissy 2 in. Two strong and scary men followed.

  "See? I knew that you worked for the kidnapper!" Sissy 2 shouted at the boy.

  "I’m sorry." The boy lowered his eyes.

  "Sure you are!" Sissy2 snapped back. The big boy looked sad. He looked hap
py again when he saw my little friend.

  "Snowy!" he shouted excitedly and the doggy ran to him. "You should not have run away like that! You know how Jacque hates dogs!"

  Without another word, he went out of the door with Snowy and the scary men. Then all went dark again.

  Chapter 32 - David-Silly Mommy

  Sharon sat down very depressed after looking at Mommy’s office for the third time, and then turning left instead of right. She took out a Ziploc bag of crackers. We shared them since she could tell that I was hungry.

  "I’m thirsty. Do you have something to drink?" I whispered.

  Sharon handed me a juice box. I drank it, and finished off the last drop. I got bored, and Sharon just stared and stared and stared. That was when I got the idea to look at the letter Sharon handed me. After all, I was bored! I looked at it. Oh wait, I forgot! I couldn't read that well.

  "Sharon, can you read this to me?? Please please please??" I whispered to her.

  "Fine," she whispered back, and took the crumpled paper from my outstretched hand.

  Dear Plum Company,

  I have just ordered a new Plumputer, since my Macbook broke. When I got it, I was so excited. I can finally go back to work, play games, and watch TV shows online!! However, when I opened the cardboard box, it had peanuts instead of packing peanuts. Just so you know, peanuts cannot protect valuable items. Also, the peanuts had little suitcases and were crawling around. It looked like they were packing for a vacation. WHAT ARE THOSE THINGS???

  When I cleaned up my computer (it had some peanut butter smeared on it) I opened its sleek cover. And then, instead of a keyboard, it had keys of all kind nailed of a wood board! There were instrument keys, house keys, car keys, and lock keys. What kind of joke is this???

  At least when I turned it on, at least the touch screen still worked. When it turned on though, the picture of sugar plum fairies showed up with the picture of a plum. If it is supposed to look cute, I hate it. They screamed, "Touch me, touch me!!" No wonder the computer was so cheap!

  Well, here is the most horrid part. The computer mouse was an actual, live mouse!! Do you know some people are afraid of mice? Well, I’m not, but I am disgusted by mice. Ugghh!!!! Please change the product. I demand a refund!!

  Very Annoyed,

  Jacque Williams

  P.S. I hate your company

  Sharon cracked a smile. I did too. Mommy seemed very mad in this letter. What she did not know was that the company she bought her computer was from a company that sold prank products for kids to trick each other on April 1st. I wonder why Mommy would fall for that. I kept wondering about the letter. Then, Sharon fell asleep.

  Chapter 33 - Catie-Guilt!

  I could feel Andy’s body shaking as he sobbed. I threw my arms around his tiny shoulders, (partly because I was glad that he did not die) but couldn’t calm him down. If Sharon were here, she could get him smiling in five seconds.

  "I want my house! I want my mommy! I want Snowy and the alligator! I want Sissy 1!" he screamed kicking the air.

  "It’s okay Andy; we are going to get out of here somehow." I was only calming him because I felt sooo guilty. How did he escape the alligator? I had no idea, but I’d ask him later.

  "I DON’T LIKE IT HERE!" Andy wailed. I rolled my eyes.

  "Andy, you were the one who-" I stopped myself just in time.

  There was a time where I would have wanted to blame everything on him on the spot. He was the one who stupidly ran away and got us in this mess in the first place! But after what we had been through, I just couldn’t.

  Chapter 34 - Sharon- Out of Time

  Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Sharon and Catie, Happy birthday to you!! Mom, Dad, and Andy clapped while they sang. Twelve bright candles were lit on top of an elegant and beautiful ice cream cake. The cake was decorated with ribbons and balloons. "Happy Birthday Catie and Sharon!! " was written in light blue, the swirly writing covering the white blank space. My sister and I each made a wish. Catie and I looked at each other and smiled, which we rarely did. 3-2-1, whoosh!! Smoke trailed on top of the candles. Mom cut the cake and passed it out as we opened our gifts.

  "Isn’t it great, don’t you love it?" Mom and Dad asked.

  "Wake up, wake up!!" Someone cried.

  Wait a second, what? I cracked open my eyes, and saw David nudging me awake. So, it was all just a dream. I wanted to be home right now, and under my covers in my warm bed. I sighed, disappointed.

  "Come on, we have to get on with it. We need to hurry!!" David quietly urged.

  "Why?" I lazily asked.

  "I just remembered Mommy planned for her uncle to come in to check the air vents. They got dusty, or at least the air vents in the Party Room did. She scheduled it for noon. I looked at your watch. We still have time, but we need to move quickly. Let’s go!" David crawled ahead.

  "Yeah, let’s go!" I followed David, grabbing my heavy backpack.

  We crawled on forward with a lot of energy. David started to hum an unfamiliar tune.

  "Shhh…" I gently shushed David.

  "Sorry!" He answered.

  We kept on crawling and crawling. We didn’t stop for a break like last time. Oh, no, I thought as I looked at my watch, it was near noon! David and I needed to hurry.

  Chapter 35 - Andy- Voices

  I miss everything! My mommy, my daddy, my Grammy, and my Granddy would be crying for us. I stopped crying when I heard voices next door. I even heard Sissy 1’s name! I quickly told Sissy2.

  Chapter 36 - David- Mommy Lies

  We were crawling along the air vent when I heard Mommy yell: "There’s something in the air vent! Rats! Even worse, it might be a dog! And I am scared of dogs!" Sharon and I froze. We must be in the Party Room.

  "In addition to everything, my victim, I mean, daughter, is missing! My life sucks!" Mommy continued, in what I could tell her "Fake Whiny Voice."

  Then we heard a man, who must be her uncle, speak. "It is all right Jacque! I will have a look!"

  The next thing I knew was that the air vent being banged open with a hammer.

  "WHOA!" we shouted as we fell from the high. Landing on the big fluffy brown rug, we looked up.

  Just as we expected, we saw the ugly, shocked face of Mommy. She recovered quickly.

  "Oooh, so there you are. My little darlings, there you are! Why don’t you follow me? I have a treat for you!" she sweetly smiled. She walked out of the room, passing the surprised uncle.

  "Oh no, I don’t like the sound of this. This is bad." I mumbled to myself.

  Chapter 37 - Catie- So That's Who It Was!!

  I was thinking about how worried my friends and family back home must have been, when I felt a little tug on my pajama sleeves. Oh, yeah. I almost forgot that I was still wearing my pajamas.

  "Sissy2," Andy whispered when his sobs subsided. "I think there is someone next door!"

  He was right. There WERE voices coming from the left wall. I silently stood up and tiptoed across the dark cell. I felt my way around, and saw a crack in the wall where the voices grew louder and louder. I peeked through the crack to find a fat, but pretty brunette woman screaming her head off to the Vampire Dude. They were in a room similar to ours, but they had the lights on.

  "What do you mean THEY are missing!? What do you mean the surveillance cameras have been shut off!? What do you mean the air vent was loose?!" the woman threw her arms up in disgust.

  "Jacque, honey, I…" The Vampire Dude raised his hands in defense.

  "Don’t HONEY me!" Jacque screamed. "You were supposed to watch over Sharon after you finish off her siblings! I instead saw you sitting there watching TV! Shame! Now, I have to go kidnap another girl if you don’t find her! Also, if you see where David is, bring him to me!" She checked her watch. "Now, I have to go welcome my uncle who volunteered to help me fix the air vents in the Party Room."

  I backed away to the crack as soon as the Jacque walked out of that room in a huff. I ba
rely heard Vampire Dude say quietly, "I should have never married her."

  I was surprised. So that fat woman was the mysterious kidnapper! I thought kidnappers were more like big burly bald guys.

  I tip-toed back to Andy and explained what I heard. It wasn’t until I finished that I noticed he was asleep.

  Chapter 38 - Sharon-That Jacque!

  I eyed David nervously and then shrugged. It’s not like we had a choice. Plus, we were not going to jail or be tortured or anything. We both stepped forward and walked to what could Jacque had in store for us.

  We were both walking forward. As soon as we stepped into the hall, we were blindfolded and tied up. I think I knew where this was going. This wasn’t good!

  Chapter 39 - David-Jail Mates

  We were led down a series of stairs. I was blindfolded, but I could still smell. It smelt like mold and rotten eggs. I knew where this was! This must be the under moat jail Daddy built for intruders.

  Sharon and I walked and walked and walked before Mommy stopped us. She then threw us in a dark room. I felt someone shout in surprise at our presence. We were not alone! Pretty soon, the other person who was in jail with us had untied me and Sharon.

  "Thanks!" I whispered before falling asleep.

  Chapter 40 - Andy-Weird Dreams…

  I was sleeping really good. Tonight, I didn’t have nightmares. I was dreaming of what Mommy and Daddy would do when we got home. In my dream, they were very surprised. My parents hugged us all. Then, the next day, we had a party, and it was so fun! We danced, rode around town in cool cars that lit up, and saw a shaggy white dog that walked on two legs. Yeah, I have weird dreams.

  Mommy and Daddy then gave us gifts. I thought it was because they missed us so much, but they said it was in honor of Uncle Sam. Who is that? I was going to open my present, but I couldn’t. It was held together with all kinds of strong glue. It had super glue, sticky glue, tacky glue, brick glue, and glitter glue. Weird, huh?

  I then was jointed awake and suddenly felt someone hugging me. I looked and screamed with joy. It was…