Chapter 11

The Coblynau waited for an answer from me. When I couldn’t think of anything to say, he turned away back towards the darkened entrance. “I’s will tell yer more in the morn, get yer some snooze!” The room stayed lit after he was gone.

“Could you understand any of that?” I asked.

Francis made a ridiculous muddled face and shook his head before answering, “He kidnapped us to save us? Doesn’t seem like it though.” He held up his bolted hands as proof.

I started thinking about everything the Coblynau had poorly muttered. “He said something about a Ralella. Do you think he was talking about me?” I had wanted to ask this but couldn’t find the words before.

Francis shrugged. “I don’t know,” He answered. “A goblin just abducted the both of us. I don’t know anything, anymore.” He lied back against the cage and slowly slipped down into a sitting position. I turned and did the same.

I tried to put together the puzzle of how we got here, in my mind, without any of the pieces. ”How did this happen?” I asked, “Do you remember anything?”

Francis gawked at me. “You don’t remember what happened? O&W Bridge was pulled apart by the weirdest tornado I have ever seen.”

While he was talking, I tried hard to remember that but it was all a blur. I asked, “A tornado? What?” Then fear overcame me. My eyes flung open and my stomach flipped in a disgusting way. “Do you think we’re dead? Do you think this is like, I don’t know, purgatory?”

Francis spoke, “Hell, I hope not.” The word hell only furthered my paranoia. “Here, let me test your theory.“ Francis stopped to pinch himself and assured, “Feels like I’m alive.”

I pushed further in my mind but couldn’t grab the scenario he was describing. “I don’t remember any of that. I just remember walking down the trail and talking and you said something about you had to tell me something…I don’t know, it’s just,” I stopped once a painful bolt ran down the base of my skull. “Owe!” I grabbed my head attempting to settle the sting.

“Are you okay?”

I held my head and kept talking through the ache, “I don’t even remember getting that far down the trail. We made it to the bridge?” It was agony trying to recollect a memory that was gone.

“Yup. You were going on about hearing something. I thought you were being adventurous, and it was fun at first. Then about half way down the bridge you got this really weird look in your eyes, like, you weren’t you anymore. Then pieces of the bridge started flying around us. I think we were in the eye of the tornado.”

I felt an unexplainable guilt. “I’m sorry Francis, I don’t know what happened. I feel like it’s my fault you’re here.” I rested my chin in my palms.

“You can’t control the weather, Bon. I’m just glad we’re okay.” I smiled at his words while watching the back of my cell.

“Thanks, Francis. How the hell are we going to get out of here? And if we do, who is going to believe any of this?” It felt impossible. Francis didn’t respond for a moment and then I heard a tormenting moan. I rotated briskly, “Frankie, what’s wrong?” He didn’t respond. “Francis?” The sound was coming from his cell, but Francis was turned away from me.

“Shhh, Bonnie I have an idea.”

I stayed quiet through all his whimpering and felt my jaw drop when I saw his hands separate. “How did you do that?” I whispered.

He twisted to look at me, a plagued smirk on his face and freed hands in the air. “I saw it on TV once. I just broke my thumbs.”