Declan Walsh's Story

Adolphe Stayne had been kidnapping for years-- eight, to be exact-- and yet, there was one thing that was similar in each and every one. As his captive (or captives, in this case) woke, they were always frightened and worried. He compared their behavior to that of an enclosed animal. It was a bit of a show to him, something he found entertaining in a sadistic manner. It was for this reason, then, that he'd stationed himself in the self-made basement to watch the teenagers come to their senses.

The basement hadn't come with his run of the mill home. Instead, he'd toiled to make the extra room while hiding it from the authorities who would surely frown upon such projects. The room where the teenagers lay was crudely made and unlit, save for a small bulb on the ceiling that had a tendency to flicker. Adolphe hadn't bothered to put flooring down and left nothing more than stone walls and the lightbulb in there to indicate they were in a man-made structure.

The other half of the room, where the staircase was held, was much nicer looking. While not perfect, it did have hurriedly black painted walls and linoleum flooring. It was here that he could carry out observation without having to arouse suspicion. Adolphe had settled himself at a table with his feet propped up on the surface as he leaned back in an office chair. The table held an assortment of video and recording equipment that he'd purchased between kidnappings with his ransom money. The TVs live broadcasted from the inside of the room, but he also had a wonderful view through a piece of one-way glass.

It was a wonderful room and it worked perfectly for his occupation. As the teenagers woke, he found it hard to contain his excitement.

"Arden!" he yelled, his voice gruff and commanding like usual. He had not a clue where the woman had gotten to, but he hoped she'd heard him. At least the entire basement wasn't sound proofed like the room the teenagers were in was. "They're waking up, you're missing it!" He picked up the microphone and held it between his calloused hands, wondering what to say first. Something to scare them, to frighten them even more than they already were. He gave it a light tap so that the speakers inside of the sound proofed room boomed softly, hoping to get their attention. "Glad to see all, or most, of you are waking up," he said, making his voice sound sickeningly sweet. The volume had been cranked high so that the entire room would fill with his voice. "Some of you had to take quite the beating so I could get you to obey...it scared me for a bit". From the tone he spoke with, it was easy to tell he wasn't scared at all. In fact, there was only one person in the room he needed alive. That was all. For all he cared, the others could all die eventually.

Adolphe almost yelled for Arden again but then he heard the door at the head of the stairs open and then close. As the stairs, which he'd also had to install himself, creaked lightly, Adolphe glanced briefly over his shoulder. As she moved toward him, though, he turned again to the room. The speakers had begun to go insane, first with a scream and then with a mixture of words and yelling as the teenagers responded to his words.

"What do you want with us?! Why are we here?!" the dark haired girl, who had let out the shriek, curled against the fair-haired boy. Obviously, he was her boyfriend. She spoke to him like he was a boyfriend anyway. Before he could say something, though, the others were responding.

"I'm not scared." That was the fair-haired girl this time. She was so calm. Too calm. Adolphe scoffed and crossed his arms. He'd have to change that, wouldn't he? It was no fun watching hostages that weren't afraid. By then, Arden had reached him and leaned against his body, which was clad in a pair of jeans and a hoodie. Even though he wasn't looking, he could just about sense she was leaning down and so wasn't surprised in the slightest when her bare skin touched him. In fact, he wouldn't have been surprised even if she wore nothing.

Her lips brushed along his cheek and he briefly returned the peck on the cheek without looking up. He wasn't very romantic at all with her. Adolphe had never been. Yet, he certainly wasn't going to completely ignore the attention she gave him or the very physical relationship they shared. Only after she giggled did he decide to look up at her. "Are they afraid? Tell me they're afraid!" He smirked and then chuckled, moving the chair away from the table slightly so she'd be able to see into the room.

"They could certainly be more afraid..." he said, arms still crossed. The way Adolphe said it sounded almost like a mixture of a child's pouting and the anger of a grown man. An odd combination, but it usually meant he was on edge. A confident abuctee was never good. They made poor ransom videos, they spoke too much, and they simply drove him insane. "I've seen middle aged men who were more afraid than these kids.

Feet still balanced on the top of the table, he continued to watch the teenagers. They were all sort of huddled up, especially the girl with the brown hair and the boy with the blonde hair. It seemed weird addressing them like that, since he always knew the names of his captives. In this case, he only knew the name of one.

He'd tuned out the kids in the room for now but, as the only really conscious boy started to raise his voice. "Cowards. Knock us out and put aside then. Show yourselves! Or are you scared that a few teens will show you where you went wrong?" Adolphe's eyes widened at first, shocked that he'd been stood up to by a teenager, nonetheless. In what seemed like a heartbeat, though, his eyes narrowed and he clenched his jaw. The man had already been on edge as it was, but he couldn't bear to hear one of the captives talking to him like this. If Arden had been there before the microphone or anywhere between him and the microphone, he would have pushed her aside as he stood up quickly.

The office chair fell backwards with a clatter as he pulled the microphone up to his mouth. "You listen now and you listen well!" he yelled. If his voice had filled the room before, now it consumed the room, surrounding them in his deafening yell. "You are all at my mercy. There's only one of you that I actually need. In fact, the rest of you should have been killed off. I won't hesitate to do away with any of you that get in my way. You're all apparently too damn disrespectful to respect the man who is the difference between life and death for you little tykes."

He dropped the microphone with a thump. It wailed loudly in response and Adolphe gripped the edge of his table, knuckles turning white. Adolphe's body trembled with the rage that coursed through his body. Straightening up, he pinched the bridge of his nose with his index finger and his thumb sharply. Damn, he was already getting a migraine. "If you all know what is good for you, you'll think twice before you call me a coward. Did I not capture four able-bodied teenagers? Hell, you four didn't even put up much of a fight."

He smirked and, after setting the chair back up on its legs, sat back down with the microphone in hand. "Have a nice day." His voice had returned to its sickeningly sweet sound by then as he spoke his last sentence. Adolphe placed the microphone down finally and leaned back in the chair with a sigh as he rubbed his face with his hands. "Teenagers can be so God damn annoying," he snarled, looking up at Arden. "Well...that's a nice outfit. When did you get it?" He arched an eyebrow curiously, not recognizing the lingerie she wore.