Human Interaction by Cheyenne Meadows Read Free Book Online Page B

goatee jabbered some more, adding in another gesture or two, then slammed the door shut.
    "Yeah. Mean freaky person to you, too!"
    I glanced to the back of the room where Meat and Ducky sat side by side, their gazes fixed on me.
    "All better?" Meat inquired.
    "Oh, yeah. You have no idea." I gave the door a small kick in frustration then sauntered back to the wall. "Happen to know what he called me?"
    Ducky spoke up. "Demanding bitch."
    "That's it. Little Mole is gonna get it next time I see him." I huffed as I sat down on the right side of Meat, away from Ducky.
    In complete honesty, my bravery waned. I would like nothing more than to climb on Meat's lap, curl up, and say "Beam me up, Scotty." Oh, I guess Ducky could come, too. If he promised to be nice.
    Meat nudged me with his shoulder. "What did you learn?"
    I closed my eyes and pictured the places I'd just visited, telling them about rooms, people, and the exit door to the back of the deck.
    Ducky sighed in a bored fashion. "Nothing useful."
    I sat up from my slump. "Excuse me? It's more than you guys have."
    "Yeah, but we're along for the ride, Princess, not trying to escape off the boat."
    Oh, yeah. How could I forget Shy's Last Stand?
    My brain clicked. All I needed was ruby slippers. Had the lion… errr… liger. Had the scary… scarecrow vampy. "Ligers, vampys, and kidnappers. Oh, my."
    They both turned to stare at me like I had turned green and grew horns. Okay, so I did pat my head to make sure horns really didn't pop out. But, I certainly hadn't turned green.
    "What?" I stared back at them.
    "Dim, you called her?"
    Meat nodded.
    "I lean more toward lackwit, myself." Ducky added in a loud whisper. Loud enough to make sure I would hear, that is.

CHAPTER 5
     
    "Off boat!"
    A sharp, heavily accented voice rudely woke me from my nap. That voice knew only one level, very loud.
    "Off boat!"
    I glared at the intruder, a bit taller and thinner than Little Mole.
    Ducky and Meat stood slowly, obviously a bit stiff from the steel beds we had been forced to utilize. I followed, less than enthusiastic. Both marched slowly toward the man.
    The annoying kidnapper kept yapping away in the same tone and gesturing with his hand, as if on some strict time schedule.
    "Aren't you getting hungry?" I poked Ducky.
    He glanced down in my direction then back at the man. "Yeah. I should have eaten you when I considered it."
    "Hey!" Stumbling over, I headed straight for the door, pausing momentarily to lecture our captor. "Listen, buster. I'm tired, I'm hot, and I'm cranky. You woke me up from a nice nap with yelling. You now hold the low position on my totem pole."
    He shoved me hard out the door and into the hallway.
    "Slime worm." Childish, but I felt better.
    A few minutes later, we hastily paraded from the boat to a nearby warehouse. The building looked like it had seen many better days. In fact, I would almost bet any strong wind would push it right on over. Pitch dark met us as we traveled up and out of the hold of the ship. Lucky Ducky. He wouldn't morph into a crispy critter today.
    Slime Worm opened the door, gesturing for us to enter. Little Mole, at our backs, gave a bit of encouragement with the barrel of his automatic gun.
    Peeking in the door, I saw a flash of tiny movement scurry for shelter. Oh, I don't think so. Planting my feet, I refused to go another step. "There are mice in there!" I pointed in the direction the rodent had taken.
    Wormy spat more gibberish my way and gestured some more.
    "Oh, no. There are mice and probably rats in there. Big rats." I spread my arms wide indicating how big those might be. "Not to mention bugs and roaches. Ewwwwww ! I hate roaches. Nasty things."
    The captors spoke to one another and made more hand motions. As they didn't seem to be sympathetic to my plight, I decided further explanations were in order. "Rats carry fleas and bugs. Where do you think the Black Plague came from? Being a valuable slave, you wouldn't want me to die from