Chapter 32

When Eric finally came to, he felt a stinging pain in his neck that made it very difficult for him to turn his head from side to side. His wrists and ankles were tightly bound with zip ties that bit into his skin. He could tell that he was in a moving vehicle, judging by the sound of the engine and the swaying motions inside of the metal enclosure he was in.

The metal box he was tied up in was dark and cold, and smelled of some chemicals that he didn’t recognize. He was alone and very, very annoyed.

What the hell is going on here? He wondered. Who were those people that ambushed him in Gary’s study and where were they taking him to? What did they want from him?

With a grunt, he pulled himself up to a sitting position, trying to think of a way to free himself. If he changed into a wolf now, the ropes would break, setting him free, but how was he going to burst himself out of this metal enclosure? Was it bolted from outside with a metal bar or with heavy padlocks? Or maybe he could wait until his captors showed up and then he would take them by surprise by changing and attacking them one by one. But what if they were armed with real guns this time around? Even werewolves can die of gunshot, so, the only way he could take them out would be if they were unarmed and that seemed very unlikely. Kidnappers are always armed, especially if they had to go through the pains of tranquilizing him and tying him up like this, they wouldn’t hesitate to kill him if he refused to cooperate with them.

The vehicle screeched to a stop suddenly and Eric bumped his head into the metal wall beside him due to the unexpected halt. He heard heavy boots landing on dry soil and muffled voices. He couldn’t make out what they were saying but if he was to guess, his kidnappers were probably on the phone informing someone, maybe their boss, that they’d arrived at their destination. Eric heard footsteps before he heard the sound of keys and bolts unlocking at the other end of the metal enclosure he was in. His adrenalin kicked up and he prepared himself to change to a wolf if the occasion called for it.

The heavy metal door swung open, and the same commando-looking guys dressed in black, jumped inside the enclosure, armed with rifles that were aimed at his head and chest. There were four of them aiming at him with their guns, while one came closer to him with a carving knife. He bent down and cut the rope tying Eric’s ankles together, allowing him to separate his legs for the first time in hours.

“Stand up,” the one with the knife commanded him. “Follow me.”

Eric stood up with a grunt, pain shot through his body as he made the effort to get on his feet. “Aren’t you going to untie my wrists?” He asked.

“No,” the masked man replied. “Don’t try anything stupid. My men will not hesitate to kill you if you do.”

“Noted,” Eric said deadpan and followed his abductor out of the metal enclosure which turned out to be a small-sized shipping container that was loaded on the back of a long truck. There was a black SUV parked behind the truck with its back door open.

“Get in,” the kidnapper ordered him.

Eric obeyed and entered the vehicle. The interior was warm and way more comfortable than the icy container he had been locked in before. The kidnapper and two of his men joined Eric in the car. The main guy sat opposite Eric, while one of his men sat beside him and the other one beside Eric with their guns pointing at him.

“Where are you taking me?” Eric asked.

“You will know soon enough,” the lead kidnapper said. “Now be quiet and enjoy the ride. Remember, one wrong move and you get a bullet in your head and several more in your chest. Our order is to deliver you alive, but we will deliver your body instead if you refuse to cooperate with us.”

Eric did not doubt that these men would kill him if he so much as breathed the wrong way, so he ordered himself to stay calm and see where this horror movie he was in would lead him to. He would wait for the perfect opportunity to attack them, but for now, he needed to play along with them until he figured out their weak point.

“Cool,” he said nonchalantly, even though he was seriously bothered. “Let’s go then.”

They led him to a place that looked like a factory of some sort, fenced around with a long row of metal mesh that had barbed wires on top of them. There were caution signs placed around the fence warning trespassers against physical contact with the mesh or risk electrocution. Eric sensed that he was been taken to a fortress where escape for him might be nearly impossible, and he felt a wave of panic. If he was going to break free and make a run for it, he had to do it now otherwise, if these masked men managed to get him into this heavily guarded hideout, he may never regain his freedom.

“What is this place?” He asked no one in particular.

“Be quiet,” the leader of the team snapped at him. “You will have enough time to ask questions once you get in. Until then, be quiet.”

“Why me? Did you choose me by random selection or was there an exact reason you guys abducted me? I deserve to know!”

“And I said, be quiet!” The leader sounded pissed. “Now keep it moving. We don’t want to be late.”

“Late for what?” Eric asked, puzzled. He had stopped walking because he was trying to buy time to quickly survey his surrounding and see if there was a way he could escape before these weirdos succeeded in taking him into the foreboding entrapment that he was seeing in front of him. He was flanked by six men including the leader and they were all armed. If he changed into a wolf, he’d be able to take out at least two or three before the others fired at him. That option didn’t seem promising, but what was the alternative? They might kill him inside the fortress, anyway, so why not try and die fighting rather than allow them to lead him to certain death like a lamb to the slaughter.

“Look, I deserve to know why you kidnapped me,” Eric insisted, his eyes darting around as he considered which one of the guys to knocked down first. “Who sent you?”

Instead of responding, the leader nodded once to one of the armed men and he slammed the butt of his rifle on Eric’s head with such force, that Eric thought he heard his skull crack. As he fell to the ground, his last thought before he blacked out was if he would ever see Aubrey again.