Gerald pulled up in front of the exact house Ferdinand described to him, since it was an open compound, he caught sight of Brandon. With the look on Brandon's face, it seems like he's been waiting for quite a while ago.
"Are you Mr. Brandon, sir?" Gerald asked as soon as he got to Brandon, feigning ignorance like he wasn't aware of whom the man before him was. Brandon, who was standing on the veranda, nodded, a look of relief on his face.
"Thank goodness, you're here!" he uttered, heaving out a faint sigh of relief. "I've been waiting for what seems like forever for you, and I was starting to think if Ferdinand changed his mind to get back at him."
"Ah -not at all! I was only being delayed by traffic, the police were doing a stop and search." Gerald enunciated, leading the way to the taxi. "I heard the police were informed of some insecurity which resulted into this."
"Oh, I see. I couldn't help but think otherwise." Brandon replied with his words strained, opening the door and getting into the car-likewise Gerald too, who hopped into the driver's seat.
"Don't worry, I'll get you to where you need to go." Gerald told him with assurance in his voice, pulling away from the curb. "I'm a good driver at this job, to cover up with where I slacked, I'll have us reach our destination in no time."
"Please be careful with your driving, young man!" Brandon cautioned sharply. "I'm barely old, but I don't think I'm ready to die yet -it would seem too early, you know."
Gerald couldn't believe his ears as he was tempted to laugh at the old man's phrase but hold and have himself composed. He does not want to die soon, but he's bent on ending the lives of those who are yet to reach half his age!
The ride was quiet, the atmosphere in the car was tensed, if not deafening since none of them had nothing else to discussed . The ride, itself, was quite a journey and just when Gerald was only a few seconds to their destination, the car started to stutter, making strange noises.
Brandon's eyes widened as he heard the car sputter and clank. "What's happening, why is the taxi suddenly developing problems?" he asked, a note of panic in his voice. He was starting to think otherwise, but Ferdinand's assurance was enough to calm his nerves down a bit.
Gerald sighed, trying to keep his voice level. "I'm not sure of what the problem really is." He innocently said to Brandon. "But I think something might be wrong with the engine."
"Oh no." Brandon muttered, sinking back into his seat. "What are we going to do? We're out in the middle of nowhere!"
We'll figure something out." Gerald enounced with assurance, turning down a side road.
"Don't worry, I'll help you get the car fixed." Brandon said, getting out of the car. "You wait here, and I'll go look under the hood."
Gerald protested, but Brandon was already on his way to the front of the car. He opened the hood and peered inside, trying to figure out what was wrong. He wasn't an expert mechanic, but he knew a little bit about cars.
After a few minutes, he thought he had a solution. "I think it's the alternator." Brandon said, closing the hood. "It might be a simple fix. Do you have any tools?"
Gerald nodded. "I've got a toolbox in the trunk." He told Brandon in reply. "Let's get it out and see if we can fix this, I'm not good at things like this, but it won't hurt if we try."
Together, they opened the trunk and found the toolbox. "Let's see which one will actually do thejob..."Brandon uttered thoughtfully, unaware that Gerald had left his side. "I think I found it, this will do thejob."
Brandon picked the suited tools and was about to close the car trunk but felt a sharp pain behind his neck instead, he did not know what had happened to him afterward -that was the only thing he remembered before blacking out...
*******
Brandon opened his eyes to the sharp pains he felt behind his head, he was confused, and he felt like his senses weren't in the right order as he tried reaching out to his neck with his hand but was more confused and surprised that his hand found difficulty in reaching his head.
He was feeling dizzy and his eyes were heavy as he forced them opened. He wondered how long he had blacked out and what was the cause of it and the reasons behind the pains he's feeling.
As he tried forcing his hand to his head, he realized it was difficult to let his from his behind and he felt like it was tightly tied against each other. Realization hit him harder when he noticed his sense of sight was upside down, he was seeing the edges of the room's floor directly instead of the walls, and he seemed to be floating too.
"How is that even possible? Or am I in some funny dream?" He wondered out as he stared at his unfamiliar and uncomfortable position, he eyes widened in horror at the sight before him. His legs were being tied up against the ceiling, which gave the upside down vibe he was having.
"How did I get myself in such an awful position as this?" He blurted out, his lips quivering in fear, and noticed he was having no clothes on except his undershorts. He struggled so hard as he tried to reach his tied feet, but its result was void, causing more fear to settle inside him.
He did not realize the two humans who had just joined him in the room.
"Stop struggling, uncle Brandon." He heard the familiar feminine voice. "If you should keep this up, the result will be more dangerous than you will ever think -if the rope should snap because of this, you might break your neck, if possible, your spinal cord too."
Brandon stared at her feet, trailing his gaze to her head -this only widened his horror expression the most. If only his hands weren't tied, he would have tried using them to wipe his eyes to be sure of his sight.
"Ciara...？" He called out, a note of horror and as well as surprise in his voice that slowly settled into that of calmness soon afterward. "Ciara, is that you?"
"Who else if not Fellers daughter?" She sarcastically gave him her reply, her arms behind her back. "Are you expecting to see someone else here?"
"Ah, no!" He quickly uttered, without thinking it twice. "It's a good thing you are here, quickly untie me, I'm not feeling comfortable with this position and I wondered how I got here."
"Why should I untie you when this is undoubtedly what I want for you?" He heard her countered, her voice sharp and stern.
"Pardon...？" Brandon exclaimed, with the thought that he was having issues with his hearing ability. Why would she want me tied in this awful position?
"Long talks aside, uncle Brandon, you have just one chance to be truthful with your answer then I'll let you go but otherwise..."Threat was laced in her voice, and Brandon could never have missed that. "What actually happened to my parents that morning they both passed away?"
Brandon's lips were slightly open due to the shock he felt hearing such a question from Ciara. He never expected her to ask him such a question, he opened his mouth to speak but nothing was coming out -no words...