Triple A and Marie J. -Chapter 5

Alex Andrew Adams:

“Well, I’m not sure you want to hear-”

“Zack,” I command, well, Zack, “Spill.”

“Okay, look; basically, some dudes broke into your cousin's house and left with her.”

I raise my eyebrows.

I raise MY eyebrows. Zack.

“Yes?”

“I want. Every. Detail.”

“Umm, see, I wasn’t there so the best I can do is- uh. . . Tell you what I know.”

“Starting with how you know it.”

“Right. Starting with how I was on my phone doing homework.” Homework? Ya, right.

“Then some random number calls my phone. Normally, I wouldn’t answer people I don’t know, but. . . I don’t know, it felt more compelling somehow; like if I didn’t answer something bad would happen. So I answer it and a robotic voice tells me ‘Thank you for answering R.A.N.. Agent 17 will inform you briefly.’ So I sorta just stand there for a bit, maybe thirty seconds, when Agent 17 says that some dudes broke into Marie’s house and left with her.”

“So all this happened when, exactly?”

At seven in the morning. You were up at seven in the morning?

“Maybe,” he tells me slyly.

“Okay. So how did they know your cell number, that you had a phone, and knew Marie?”

“Um, well, they didn’t exactly inform me of everything.”

“Including why they called a minor, who isn’t, I don’t know, even related?”

“That is a perfect example of what they didn’t tell me!”

“You realize it could have been a prank call, right?”

“That would be a lot of work wasted. A robotic voice, making up an acronym, finding out if I knew a ‘Marie’; Pretty real to me. Oh! The cool part was that Agent 17 had the same voice as the guy who made the video about simulating that house and racing through it!”

“He what?!”

“Dude, you have a lot of questions. I’m going downstairs to eat breakfast. You hungry? ‘Cuz you weren’t thinking about it, and unless you weren't thinking about anything, because you never-”
But whatever he said next, I'll never know, because I am already at the bottom of the stairs.

Triple A and Marie J. -Chapter 4

Marie Joanna Adams:

This time, when I wake up, maybe I’ll be back home. This was a crazy Wizard-of- Oz dream and any minute Mom’ll be saying Good morning or Time to wake up. Or maybe it was some kind of a prank Alex played because he can’t get over being shorter than Zack and I. That Munchkin will get a good laugh and I can eat breakfast. That would all be absolutely great! 

I open one eye. No such luck. Oh, well, Alex wouldn’t have been able to pull it off anyway. I sigh and sit up. Honestly, there is no possible way in or out of here. They could have at least put a window in here. But, instead, there are no windows, no doors, no secret underground passage ways behind bookshelves; just me. Well, just me and some cardboard-flavored- cereal, that is. Yay.

~~

Crack! 

I jump right up. What was that? It must be the only sound I’ve heard all day! Okay, what are my options? That sound could be anything. From construction across the street to danger around the corner, I probably shouldn’t get my hopes up. I walk to the nearest wall; Nothing. I run to the other side of the room and press my ear on that wall; still nothing. Please, oh please don’t be construction!  

Thud! 

Footsteps! Really close footsteps! Could it be help? I shouldn’t get my hopes up. It’s probably just some janitor or something. But what if it is help?! I suddenly realize I am bouncing on my toes. I put my feet flat on the ground. But if it is help then- Why am I jumping up and down? Wow, I must be desperate.

Triple A and Marie J. -Chapter 3

  Alex Andrew Adams:

I go downstairs, ready for breakfast when Mom tells me to go play with Marie. I mean, ‘play’?! How old am I, five? Excuse me, I am twelve years old, and I do not ‘play’! That being said, I do end up calling Marie on Mom’s phone. Annnnd… it goes to voice mail.

Want to come over Triple? We could ‘play’ together!
My name isn’t Triple, I think back, jumping over our back fence instead of going next door to Marie’s house. And that’s not funny. 
You know, with your narrating your life like that I know you exact move and when you are doing it.I just have more skill then you. 
At spilling your secrets?
Your back door is locked. Are you in the kitchen? 
My window is unlocked.
Your room is on the second floor! 
Well, It’ll be a long wait for you.
Are you secretly evil, I think to Zack, climbing the oak in his backyard? 
No, but whoever took Marie is.
What is that supposed to mean? 
It means hurry up already!
You are such a pain sometimes.
“I know,” Zack tells me, opening the window and pulling me through.

“But seriously, what happened?”

Triple A and Marie J. -Chapter 2

A small suspiciously black van inaudibly pulled up to a house with blue siding. One man got out and went around to the back of the house. The sound of a glass door opening and closing broke out, but that was the only sound. Only two point four minutes went by before he came back outside, and his gloved hands were now full. The van pulled away, and the night was silent.

--

Marie Joanna Adams:

I’ve been here for a about week, now.
A whole week spent in the same room, with the same walls, and the same surprisingly comfortable bed. At least I think I have. I wake up whenever the one lightbulb turns on, and am forced to sleep when the lights go off. There isn’t much to do when the lights go off, except what the new bruise on my knee proves. I’ve looked everywhere for a light switch, and I can’t find it. When the lights are on, however, I can see that the blankets are pink, and the walls are a light purple. Even though I’m a girl, I am not a girly-type, so this is beginning to feel like torture. The only door leads to a cramped bathroom, so I have no idea how they got me in here in the first place.
Whenever I wake up, two cups of water, a bowl of dry cereal, and a sandwich are on the table. I don't know if there is any kind of poison in the food, but I haven't died yet, and I’m too hungry to skip it.
The whole time here has been spent in the same dorky ‘this is my teddy bear’ pajama shirt and shorts,
and frankly I’m lucky that whoever-they-are have air-conditioning, if nothing else.

There are no means of escape by myself. And of course it’s very boring. I’ve been running around the
cramped room trying to build up my speed so I can make a fast escape, because when Alex and Zack
rescue me, (If they can) they’ll probably mess up. I have a feeling they will; it’s unescapable. No pun intended. But it sure seems like they’re taking their sweet time.

“Marie,” they’ll say, “we got here as fast as we could!” When obviously, since Alex has broken a speed record, (or so he says) could get here faster.

It’s very hard having him as a cousin. But it is harder being kidnapped.

Triple A and Marie J. -Chapter 1

Alex Andrew Adams:

I only had thirteen minutes left.
Go, go go! C’mon, Triple-A, hurry up already! It was Zack. Again.
Stop think-talk- whatevering me! It gets on my nerves, then I can’t focus, and if I don’t pass the test this time, I’ll- 

Crash! 

Whoa, careful, Triple-A! You need to watch where you’re going!
Don’t call me that. 
I didn’t. You did.
Stupid thought logic.
Please watch where you are going before you break something again.
I did not break anything! 
Yes, you did.
 Zack wouldn’t let me focus, so I did my best to block him out. 
Your best isn’t very good, then. Around the tree, don’t step in the bush. There’s the window. Open it, quick and easy... Then land on the couch, just like a ninja. 
Just a very young, clumsy ninja. Shut. Up.
I glance at my watch. I have nine minutes to go. I run up the stairs. It’s the door on the right.
Correction: It’s the locked door on my right. I don’t have pockets. Where’s my key? 
You put it in your sock. Oh, right. 
Where would you be without me? I would be somewhere very close to Paradise. Why won’t this door open? I glance at my watch again. Only seven minutes left. The door opens, and I drop to all fours. Opening the window, I jump out and roll. Running around the house, I can hear the sirens starting.
Zack, what do I do now? There’s no response. He must have turned off the Bluetooth chip. The same
Bluetooth chip that’s permanently stuck behind my ear. (Don’t ask.)
“Zack,” I yell, “turn off the simulator!” The sirens turn off, and I am taking off my Virtual Reality mask when I see him coming around the house.
“Alex Andrew Adams,” he says, “you nearly failed. But lucky you, because you, Alex, you just broke the speed record.”