Everywhere I Am, That's Where I'm Not
Lisa
struggled her way back to consciousness.
The room was frightfully dark, and in the distance she heard water
lapping against wood.
“Ughs…”
she tried to rub her head but found her arms pinned – naturally. “Cecil?” she asked, opening her eyes.
Her
surroundings came into focus – an unpretentious cabin, sturdy but clearly had
been unoccupied for some time. Furniture
sat sprinkled minimally around the living area, a table and chair close to the
fire bore Cecil, who sat reading a map quite intently.
Her
words drew his attention. “In a moment,
Lisa…Yes…To one-twelve. Perfect!” He casually strode over to the bed and
loosened the bounds about her wrists.
“There now – don’t struggle. You
want to stay well, don’t you?”
She eyed
him suspiciously. “What are you going to
do with me?”
“Do you
think I’m as numbskulled as my dear brother?” Cecil wondered. “A good villain never reveals his plot – not
until he’s completed his mission.”
“Mission?”
Lisa wondered.
“All in
good time. Now, have a little dinner,”
he brought her a cup of broth and she pretended to drink from it ‘til he seemed
satisfied. He gathered up the map, and a
small green backpack. “I’ll be leaving
soon – be a good dear and stay still, won’t you?”
The
second she knew he’d left the area, Lisa began to rub the ropes to shreds
against the pine wood bedposts. It took
her an hour to work them loose, but once she had she wasted no time creeping
toward the table.
She
gasped, deciphering quickly the notes and calculations. They were the coordinates of the back entrance
to the rare book room at the Springfield Library! But what did that have to do with her kidnapping? The plot still deciphering itself in her
head, Lisa grabbed the coordinates and rushed out the door, vowing to make it
downtown if she had to run the entire way by herself.