Sale

“So you just got that piece on sale.”

“You’d be surprised at what you can find at an army surplus store.” Mike hacked at the rope on his wrists with the army knife he’d propped up between his feet.

“Some kidnapper,” Jake grumbled. “He knocks us out, ties us up, but doesn’t think to take your knife or your gun.”

“I’m guessing he miscalculated our weights in ratio to the tranquilizing agent in the tranq darts and assumed we’d still be unconscious when he got back,” Mike said.

“Or he’s strong enough and fast enough that it doesn’t matter if you’re awake, untied, and armed.” A shadow fell across the doorway, and for a moment both men couldn’t see.

Then their eyes adjusted, and they realized that their captor was a boy, no older than fifteen, slight of build and with features like a china doll. And a pair of bright, bright blue eyes.

“Why did you kidnap us?” Jake demanded.

The boy tilted his head to the side quizzically. “Who says I kidnapped you? It’s not as if I’ve asked your families for ransom.”

“Then why did you take us?”

The boy’s smile was slow and calm and utterly terrifying. “Jei wanted something to eat.”

(206 words)