6. Aldyn

Chapter 6

Aldyn

W here was Jody?

I took a turn and suddenly she wasn’t there with me. My heart yelled at me to double back. That was my mate back there. She needed help. But I was of no use to her if I got caught.

Our captor, Evil Santa, as Jody called him, started taunting me. I blocked him out. There was no use listening to him. I just had stay out of his grasp. Had to find a way to get help, to get us all out of here before things turned ugly.

Who was I kidding? Things were already ugly.

But they could get worse. They could always get worse. I took another turn, careful to stay out of the main hallway. I did not want Evil Santa to catch sight of me and add me to his group of captives.

My communicator didn’t work. But there were comms embedded in the wall of the store. Maybe the hardwire would get out.

It was worth a shot.

I found one. The screen was cracked and a number pad beside it had clearly seen better days. But I wasn’t here to judge its aesthetics.

The machine turned on when I pressed it and I almost let out a sound of joy. Almost. I snapped my mouth shut at the last second. I wasn’t going to let a stupid mistake get in my way.

The comm screen wanted a password. I assumed it was something I could type in on the number pad. I tried a few numbers, selecting the most worn digits on the pad first. But nothing happened.

Out of desperation I punched in the zero key as many times as I could.

Success!

But it became immediately clear that whatever Evil Santa was using to make my comm malfunction, it was affecting the comm on the wall as well. There was no signal. I tried making a call anyway, but it failed to connect.

I wasn’t sure what to do next. Did I go back for my denya? I couldn’t leave her in Evil Santa’s clutches. And I had a weapon up my sleeve, or, well not quite up my sleeve. But I had a weapon he couldn’t see.

I wasn’t exactly a trained fighter. And Evil Santa was big.

But there were three humans out there. We could take him if we worked together. As long as he didn’t have a blaster or another weapon. Or laser eyes. I smiled at the suggestion Jody had made.

My mate was a clever woman, and I could tell there was a sense of humor there ready to unfold. I wanted to find out what she would say when we weren’t hiding in fear for our lives. I wanted to find out who she would be then.

But that meant I had to find a way to get us out of here.

I was getting close to the back of the store. I was pretty sure there was an exit back there. I didn’t know if the force field would have it blocked off. I didn’t know if it only covered the exits or the windows or the entire building. I figured I was going to find out. What other choice did I have?

Once I got outside of the building I could find some help. Find a communicator and call the police. They could end this. They were more than equipped to deal with Evil Santa.

It was a plan. Even a decent one, some would say.

But then it all crashed and burned.

Jody cried out.

Evil Santa had her. And he was going to get me next.