Dirt

The summer was winding down, and it had been pretty eventful. After Matt's birthday, the entire group spent almost every waking moment together. There were times that the guys had to do some errands for my dad, and they would be gone for a day or two, but they always came back. Marley and Jimmy were practically dating. They were funny, because they didn't want to put a label on it and call what they had a relationship, but they were very adamant about how they were not going to be dating anyone else.

Zacky and I spent a lot of quality time together, too. I was really glad. It was almost like we had grown up together. We had inside jokes that none of the other people knew about, and I felt like I could tell him just about anything. Something else exciting had happened as well. Zacky had asked me how I marketed myself, and I had no real clue what he meant by that. We talked about it, and aside from playing at Tim's bar, and going to play the occasional open mic night, I wasn't really putting my music out there. So he set me up with my own web page. He recorded me playing and singing, then loaded it onto the page. He told me that way, people could check out my page and download my music for next to nothing, then they could tell all their friends to do the same. He said it wasn't major, but it was something. And by the end of the summer, I'd had thousands of views on my webpage. Zacky said if that continued, I should start posting videos to YouTube. He said maybe I could start my own channel. He reminded me that that was how Justin Bieber got his big break. I just laughed at him.

I never did get a real answer from Pop as to how things were going with Harrison. He just told me he had everything covered and for me not to worry. Only whenever I mentioned coming back to register for classes, he would tell me to wait a little while longer. He even told me the last time I talked to him that maybe I should take a semester off. Something was going on, and it was starting to worry me. Erin said that she couldn't get much more out of her dad than I did. It was a little disheartening.

Zee also asked Jessi to move in with him. She, of course, said yes. He promised that they would find a nice apartment, or even a small house, together that they both liked. I was thrilled that they were willing to make a life together. I must have sung 'Going to the Chapel' a hundred times around her. Every time she would tell me to shut the fuck up, but I could see the twinkle in her eyes. Erin and I started calling our selves the Last of the Mohicans. I'm still not sure why. It's not exactly like we were single. We were both in just as committed relationships, but it was just funny to mess with her.

Pop had planned a big to-do for us coming home. He wanted a party, and a big stinking deal. The girls and I decided to forgo all that and just come home a day earlier. We surprised everyone, ourselves included, by showing up at the house while they were all sitting around having an impromptu meeting. We weren't sure what they were talking about, but I for one sure did enjoy the shocked looks on all their faces. Pop was the first one to jump up and give us a hug. He wrapped the three of us in a big bear hug and chastised us at the same time for not telling him we were coming. Then we broke apart to hug everyone else in the room. I gave Wolf a big fat hug. I felt like I hadn't seen him in forever, which in reality, I really hadn't. After the hugs and 'welcome back's', we settled down in the living room to talk. I decided that the bunch of us needed a home cooked meal, so Jessi and I worked our asses off in the kitchen. We didn't bother serving the meal at the table, we just made everyone plates and sat around in the living room. Later that evening, after everyone had gone home, I sat and talked to Pop for a while.

"So," I started quietly, "how have things been going?" Just fine, he told me. "Okay, but...what's been happening with Harrison?"

He rolled his eyes. "Jesus, Princess, you worry so much about the wrong things. I really believe there's nothing to be concerned about there. He's just a punk ass kid who got his ego inflated, and became too big for his britches. Don't fret."

"But Pop, that's the thing. I am worried about it. And nothing you're telling me is making this any easier. Can you just give me a straight answer please?"

"The short answer is that nothing has happened. He's been stand-offish, but he's done nothing to warrant any action against him. He's all talk, Ash. So stop worrying about it."

I smiled at him and got up to kiss him on the cheek. "I love you Pop. Thanks for telling me. I guess I'll go to bed now. I'm going over to the college tomorrow to see if I can get registered for classes next semester. Gotta finish up that college edumacation!" I figured he was going to argue again, so I didn't give him the chance. I ran up the stairs and closed my bedroom door.

The next morning I woke up early so I could sneak out of the house before Pop could get up and argue with me. I showered and quickly put on some jeans, a flowing tank top, and since summer was coming to a close, I decided to take advantage of the warm weather one more time and wear some gladiator sandals. I drove over with the windows rolled down. The weather was just so nice. I even sang some songs that came on the radio. I was in the best mood by the time I pulled into the parking lot for the main building.

I stepped out of the car and immediately sensed that something was off. I couldn't place it, but something was wrong. I quickly opened my purse and pulled out my cell phone. I wasn't sure who I should call, so I left it open to my favorites screen. Thanks, Pop, for making me paranoid. I thought maybe I was just going crazy, but I'd rather be paranoid than dead. Nothing happened, though, so I started to make my way inside the building.

I heard the squealing of the tires, and I spun around on the sidewalk. I made a mental note that there was no one else outside with me. I should have known. I didn't look at my phone, I simply pressed one of the names on my favorites list and prayed they would pick up. I dropped the phone back in my purse and watched as two men stepped out from the van. They didn't have weapons visible, but I knew they had them. I put up my hands and walked slowly towards the van. Then I quickly jumped to the side and started running. Never go willingly with an abductor. That's the quickest way to ensure your body will be found on the side of the road a state or two away. One of the guys yelled that they would shoot me.

"You're going to have to kill me right here in front of my college!" I yelled, hoping it was loud enough to either draw attention from passersby, or whoever was on the other end of my phone. "I'm not letting you take me! Someone help me!"

I was grabbed from behind and a hand clamped over my mouth. The guy drug me back and pushed me into the back of the van. The other followed behind me and drew a gun, keeping me from fighting. I couldn't know for sure, but I was still hoping that someone was listening in from my phone. I asked the guy where they were taking me. The driver just laughed and told me to shut the hell up. We rode in silence, just staring at each other, the one guy with a gun pointed in my face. I tried to stay as calm as possible, trying to figure out how far we'd gone and the directions, but it was hard to stay focused.

We finally stopped, and Quick-Draw McGraw finally put down the gun long enough to pull a dirty pillowcase out of his back pocket and put it over my head. They pulled me out of the van and roughly guided me into a building. I couldn't really tell where I was, but I was trying to listen for anything that might give me away. I was still clutching my purse to my chest, so I tried to talk into it, hoping my imaginary savior was still listening in. "Where are we? I hear running water. Are we near a river, or a lake? Please, just tell me where we are." They said nothing in response.

Once inside the building, I was taken down a set of stairs. I lost my footing at one point and ended up tumbling down the second half of the stairs. I hit my head pretty hard, and twisted my ankle. All my abductors did was laugh. They picked me back up and made me shuffle a few more feet. They stopped me and shoved me down onto what felt like a mattress. One of the guys wrenched my purse out of my hands. The pillowcase was removed and I looked around at my surroundings.

I was in a very large basement. At least, that's what it looked like. It was emptied out, so there was only the concrete walls and the floor, and the flimsy mattress I was sitting on. Two of the guys left to go back upstairs, but the one who had the gun on me earlier stayed behind. "I just made some serious money on you, buttercup. Now be a good girl, and do as your told." He laughed as he walked up the stairs and shut the door.

I was racking my brain. Obviously, the three guys were just hired hands. They probably weren't from the same area I was. The one said they'd been paid. Now all I had to do was figure out who was the person who hired them. I waited for what felt like forever. I was free to move around the room, but when I tried the door at the top of the stairs, it was locked. I made an attempt to climb out of the one tiny window in the room, but it was barred over. There was no obvious means of escape. So I sat back down on the mattress and saved my energy. I would wait as long as it took to fight my way out of there.

I heard keys jingle in the door, and I prepped myself. I narrowed my eyes as Harrison walked down the stairs. He had a smirk plastered on his face. He looked like the cat that ate the canary. And why not? He had major leverage to get everything he wanted. "My, my, my. What do we have here?" he taunted as he circled me. I tensed up and sat on my hands, getting ready to jump up. "My sweet little Ashlynn, at last you're here with me."

I just rolled my eyes at him. "When I get out of here, you're going to be so sorry."

He laughed. "Really? You think so? Who's coming to get you out of here, then? Your dad? Your brother? Oh, maybe it's that wonderful boyfriend of yours. Where is he? Would he save you? Let's ask him, shall we?" The door opened again, and Matt was led down the stairs by one of Harrison's friends. I recognized him because he had tried to join Pop's club once, but was voted out. Matt saw me and tried to run to me, but Harrison pulled out a gun and pointed it at him. "Not so fast, Romeo. Why don't you go stand over there." He gestured to a spot across the room with the gun, and I figured that since he was slightly distracted, I would take the opportunity.

I sprang up from my spot on the floor and rushed at Harrison. He wasn't really expecting it, so when I crashed into him, he went down. I wasn't sure what his friend was going to do. I was hoping he'd be so surprised that he'd freeze, but he didn't. He grabbed me by the hair on the back of my head and lifted me up. Matt was almost to the three of us when Harrison recovered. "No, no, no! We will not behave like this. We're all civilized here." He cocked the gun and pointed it right at my chest. "I don't want to hurt you, Ash, I really don't, but you cannot act like this. You need to learn that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated. Especially if we're going to be married. You're going to have to be punished."