I slammed the door closed and then got into the van myself. I buckled myself up and let the engine rip. Unlike my rusted classic, the van started up smoothly, almost as if it were waiting for me to drive it. Well, that's what all vehicles were supposed to be like. Vincent was laying on the floor of the van behind me; he was blindfolded and had earmuffs. Respectvely, his hands and legs were tied with a musty rope. I brought out my phone and texted Micheal. 'I got him in the van.'
An icon that had three dots popped on the screen before his text came through, 'Good. Get him to my office.'
I took my time each time I pressed the virtual keys. 'You want me to come now or later?'
To which, he responded, 'Bring him here now (if possible)'
'Roger.' The test icon disappeared as I tossed the phone on the dashboard. I reved up the engine, again, and started to drive out.
______________________________________
Vincent POV:
I woke up to the soft, forward motion beneath my feet. I would have actually slept to the monotone rhythm if it was not for the fact that I was being kidnapped. I opened my eyes only to confront absolute darkness. There was also complete silence resounding in my ears; I tried to move my limbs, but they were tied together. Holy shit! What the hell had a gotten into? My mouth was the only thing that wasn't covered, so I started to use it. "Hey, mister, I already told you that I don't have any money; I also don't have a family! So, why do you want me?" I wasn't really expecting an answer; more so, I was trying to get him to sympathize with me. "I never had any parents; I had a grandfather once. But, he got shot." As soon as I said that, I feel the air around me shift in tone. The stale surroundings that I felt with my skin turned into something much heavier although I couldn't understand why, "Wait a second! You're not a human trafficker, are you?!" I just realized it. He sell me to whomever he wanted without anyone suspecting that I was missing.
Suddenly, I voice- the old man's- rang in my head. "Kid, you better shut the hell up."
I was aggravated. "If I'm going to get sold off anyway, why can't I talk?!"
I heard a sigh before he said, "Look, you aren't going to get sold off to anyone, and I'm not trying to rob you. Okay?"
"Then, what do you want from me?" I asked. My interest was piqued.
The old man must of hit a ditch or something because my body went flying when the vehicle abruptly stopped. Shit! I might have gone too far! I laid there not knowing what was going to happen. For the first time in many years, I felt a sense of loneliness wash over me. It was different to feel alone when you had people around you for so long- even if the 'long' was a few short days. The silence and the darkness incubated those feelings, making them worse.
The door to where I was made a sliding noise. The bright sun warmed my cold skin, but I rolled away from it trying to avoid whomever was going to see me. The old man's voice allowed itself into the space, "Rolling away isn't going to make you disappear, you know that right?"
I let out a diminished laugh and replied, "It was worth a try. Not that I have many."
The old man chuckled as well, and I could hear his footsteps closing in on me. His gentle hands sliced away at the blindfold and ripped of the ear muffs. The sunlight penetrated my eyes, so I shut my eyes as son as I opened them. The sounds of bustling people and cars overran te silence which I was kept in before. The old man called out to me, "I promise that nothing too bad is going to happen to you."
I squinted to see his face a little better. Dark hair with symmetrical white streaks, red eyes, and a decently kept physique despite being well into his old age. "Too bad?" I reiterated.
He started to cut the ropes off my limbs. "As in, I'm not going to make you my slave or anything. Actually, you just have to meet someone."
I stretched my fingers, elbows, and my shoulders. My toes, knees, and calves came next. "I just have to meet someone?" I repeated.
He guided me to the front seat of the van and closed the door behind me. He jogged around the van to climb into the driver's seat. "Yeah. Just to meet somebody," he continued, "Now, lets not get all fiesty and start to run off, okay?"
"Okay."
"Good. We'll be there in about five minutes, so you start by wiping that weird expression off your face before someone thinks that I kidnapped you." He laughed at his own little wordplay. I just gave him a cold glare.
I settled into my seat and buckled the seatbelt. I didn't want to die too early. "Do you have a name?" I asked him. Referring to him as 'old man' was getting tiring in my head.
He put his hands on ten and two and said, "Flin."
"Do you have a last name, Flin?"
"Not something that you have to concern yourself with."
So, he was a tough nut to crack, but I tried once more. "Is there going to be food at the place we're going to?"
He looked at me as he stepped on the gas. "Maybe."
"Okay..." I added, "Can you tell me who I'm meeting?"
"Nope. You'll see for yourself." I rapped my fingers on the dashboard playing a tune that only resembled anything in my head. "Would you please stop that?" he asked.
"Why should I?" I retorted. I continued to aggressively tap the dashboard.
"'Cause I have a taser in the front pocket, and I have room in the back."
I stopped. I looked at his front pockets to see a bulge on his right one. I couldn't tell if it was really a taser, but I did not want to take my chances. "What's your favorite color?" I asked innocently,
Without deterring his eyes from the road, he responded, "Depends."
"Alright," I continued, "What's your favorite animal?"
"Depends."
"What's your favorite food?" I started to rapid-fire questions at him.
"Depends."
"Day of the year?"
"Depends."
"Movie?"
"Depends."
"Weapon?"
"Depends."
I lost it. "You can't just say 'DEPENDS' for every FUCKING question!!!"
"Why can't I?" he replied. We hit a small bump on the road.
"Don't you want to get to know your new companion?" I asked. I was trying to relate to him in any way I could.
"Why would I want to bond with prey?" he asked, "It would just make it harder for me to kill it later."
I looked at him with wide eyes. 'If you put it that way..." I trailed off trying to find the right words. "Who's your favorite person in the entire world?"
Instead of immediately responding, Flin held a misty eye at the road for a second. He turned into a parking lot at our right and said, "We're here."
"But, you haven't answered my question yet!" I whined.
He looked at me and softly said, "Depends."