Someone Like You (Chenry)

Chapter Nineteen

The metal cell was uncomfortable to sit on. Charlotte tried to situate herself where it wouldn't dig into her legs before Dr. Minyak dragged her from it to tie her up to a chair. It wasn't tall enough for her to stand up, which really made her feel like a dog. She was trapped in this small, uncomfortable cell, and while she was out of it for now, it didn't help the panic settling in her bones. Dr. Minyak was the one who kidnapped her. She should have known that it was him behind this whole thing, and she felt horrible that she didn't figure it out. She was supposed to be the smartest girl at school, right?

"I have someone very important to both of you here with me," Minyak said in front of the phone that was recording the ransom video, breaking into Charlotte's thoughts. He stood in front of her right now, but she knew he was going to reveal her on it. He stepped to the side to reveal Charlotte with duct tape over her mouth and ropes around her arms as she sat in a chair that Minyak had apparently obtained out of thin air. "I need both Captain Man and Kid Danger to come to find her, and she won't get hurt if you cooperate with me. But her life is just a little speed bump if you don't follow my rules." He cackled like a madman.

Charlotte squirmed against the chair, trying to get out of this entrapment. Dr. Minyak hurriedly tied her up, so she was hopeful that she could untie herself. She needed to get out of this predicament herself before Minyak killed her with his death machine. There was no way she was going to die today because of a villain here in her hometown. So many villains had risen up in Swellview that could easily destroy everything, but this seemed different now. Maybe it was because he finally had the ability to kill Ray. Maybe it was because it was personal since he kidnapped her. Maybe it was something else. Nonetheless, she didn't want Ray and Henry to come to save her just in case they both get hurt or, God forbid, die.

"We're done now," Minyak said as he tore the duct tape off of her mouth. She winced in pain, feeling the skin around her mouth and lips tingling painfully. "I had to do that because I didn't want you talking to them."

As Minyak walked toward the phone he was using to record the ransom video, Charlotte noticed that the door that he had walked through a few hours earlier opened very quickly and shut just as fast. A frown worked its way onto her face. She couldn't see anything or anyone who could have opened the door, and the room remained empty beside the desk, chair, cell, and people in it. Maybe it was just the wind that opened the door because it did seem very windy outside right now. She did hear the wind whistling through the slates of the warehouse. Besides, she couldn't really worry about any of that right now because Minyak was talking about how well he had done in the ransom video while dissing her acting in the same breath.

"You don't make such a great actress, but it'll have to do," Minyak told her, glancing over his shoulder. Charlotte glared at him, trying to work her hands out of the rope. "We're not going to keep trying to get the perfect shot just because you can't act, though."

"Thanks for all of that. I appreciate it so much."

"My witticisms are always appreciated by everyone."

Charlotte had to figure out how to escape from this place before Ray and Henry came here. She knew they were on their way, but it seemed like it had been forever since Henry had sent her the Morse Code message. What was taking them so long? He said he was coming, but that was so long ago. They were able to film the ransom video, and Minyak talked more about Nurse Cohort and why he was working alone now before they even filmed the video. Charlotte couldn't help but feel bad for Dr. Minyak, but that didn't dismiss his actions as a criminal.

She tugged on the ropes around her wrists, but they were tied as tightly as they could be. There was no way she could slip her wrists through the knots, either, because they were already digging into her skin from all her squirming. Her palms were full of liquid, which she assumed was blood dripping from her wrists. A shiver ran down her back at the feeling of blood dripping down her hands. She wasn't scared of blood, but she didn't like the feeling of it when she couldn't see it.