20 Days of Chill: Philadelphia (Day 5)

(Note: Each Friday during the 20 Days of Chill, the stories are meant to link to one another. This is the start of mine … and I am not sure, honestly, where it will go. So keep coming back to see where it leads!)  

Feeling groggy and like his body had a 400-pound suit on it, Reggie struggled to make it to his feet. His head was pounding and his eyes felt heavy as ever.

After wiping his eyes gingerly, Reggie slowly sat up and peered around. He was in a strange place that he had never remembered seeing. No people were around, so he just scanned for a moment. Where was he and how did he get here?

He briefly scratched his head and looked over his body to see if anything seemed different. It didn’t. That didn’t mean something wasn’t different – it very well could be. But at least it wasn’t noticeable.

He needed clues. Reggie worked for an international corporation and held a lot of secrets. He had been trailed many times. He knew the secrets he held were ones others wanted. Unfortunately for Reggie, those who wanted these secrets didn’t want them for positive reasons.

Still, where was he and how did he get here. Why was he only wearing an undershirt, boxers and socks? He looked around and saw the rest of his clothes on the floor. As he stood he felt some stinking in his ankles and wrists. He looked closely and saw red marks, almost as if he was tied up. He felt his neck and there was a lose piece of leather around it … a collar of some sort.

Did he get mixed up with some sort of kinky gal while out late? He tried to remove the loose collar, but couldn’t. It was locked on and there was a chip with a light on it. What the hell was this? Was he being tracked? Was it going to blow up? How much danger was Reggie in?

Then he heard his phone ring. He reached over to his clothes and found his iPhone in his pants pocket.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Reggie. I trust you slept well.”

“Who the hell is this?” Reggie screamed into the phone.

“That will become apparent in time, Reggie. The bottom line is this, you are under our control. So if you want to lose that powerful collar and be released , you better start to listen. We want the plans to X-Corp’s time traveler and we want them now.”

Reggie felt the collar around his neck, hearing quiet noises from it. He remained quiet.

“Reggie, we don’t have time to waste. You’ll do as we say, or you will start feeling what that collar can do.”

Reggie broke his silence, screaming into the phone.

“I don’t know who you are, but I’l … .”

Zaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaap!

Reggie flopped to the ground as a bolt of electricity surged through the collar. The phone disconnected and Reggie was out cold, slightly moving as the electricity seemed to still be moving through his body.

An hour later, the phone rings again. Reggie, still groggy, picks it up.

“I told you, don’t mess with us, Reggie. Things can get worse.”

After a few deep breaths, Reggie finally replied. “And what do you think you are going to get out of me?”

“We know you have the secrets, Reggie. It’s time for you to deliver them. But first, you are on the wrong side of the country. You might want to access your Google Drive, where you’ll find tickets to get where you need to go. Don’t mess with us, Reggie. I assure you we aren’t kidding. And before you think about trying to cut that collar off and running, let me show we aren’t kidding.”

With that, the phone disconnects and a beep of a new text message comes up. It’s from an unknown sender. No tracking of any kind available. Nothing. But it was a photo.

Sitting on the floor of a dark and gloomy warehouse was Reggie’s wife. She was tied up with duck tape over her mouth. Virtual fear was in her eyes as she was looking directly at the camera.

Reggie’s face grew red with anger. He stared at the photo before going to his Google Drive and finding tickets for a flight.

“Philadelphia to San Francisco? How the hell did I end up in Philadelphia?”

The time on the tickets showed the flight leaving in two hours. He had no idea where he was or how long it would take to get to the airport, so Reggie knew he had to get going. His wife needed his help and he planned on doing what he needed to do to keep her safe … and then he’d make whoever was behind this pay.

Reggie was out the door fast and looking for any signs of life. A taxi came driving by and Reggie stepped out in front.

“I’m done for the night,” the cabbie yelled.

“I’ll pay double the fair … just get me to Philadelphia airport as fast as you can,” Reggie responded.

The cabbie, knowing he’d be making an easy tip on this pointed to the back seat. It was 40 minutes to the airport with traffic, he said. Reggie didn’t care. He needed that time to formulate a plan, to look through his phone and other items to see if he could figure anything out.

Only one thing was on his mind though … getting to San Francisco to save his wife.

This post is part of the 20 Days of Chill Writing Challenge hosted by A ‘lil HooHaa. Please check out the link if you’d like to see others or join in. You don’t have to do every theme if you don’t want! And for those participating, take a moment and check out the other participants! You can see the 2017 themes by clicking here. 

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!