THE BATTLE OF GOOD VERSUS EVIL



Chapter 20



(Holly's Part)



"Tired. What was wrong? So tired. Why?" Holly thought as she tried to

open her eyes. It was too dark to see anything. She could hear the

distant buzz of voices, but none of them sounded familiar. "Where the

heck am I?" She thought to herself as she tried to roll over. Her arms

and legs were like 100 lb. weights. She tried to lift her head but a

wave of nausea forced her to drop it back down on the pillow. The

pillow. It wasn't her pillow. Ice water coursed through her veins. She

remembered now. She was in LA with Stephanie. They went out shopping

that day and Holly had been sure they were being followed. Stephanie

had tried reassuring her that they were in the middle of a busy street

and that no one would be able to hurt them in full view of hundreds of

other people. Holly agreed with her and had even laughed at herself

for being the proverbial hick and thinking that danger lurked around

every corner. Holly recalled telling Stephanie about the weird dream

she'd had her first night in LA. They both figured it was a mix of

nerves from the plane trip and the excitement of getting to meet Kiss

and the rest of the Kiss Family. After all, Steph was the world

traveler and had much more street savvy than she had, but she still

couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched, even being

followed. After they had gone back to the hotel, they each went to

their own rooms. Holly was putting her purchases in her suitcase when

a knock sounded on the door. She was too short to see through the

peephole and then she heard Stephanie's voice asking her to hurry.

Holly opened the door and caught a fleeting glimpse of Stephanie's

back and she grabbed Holly by the arm and pulled her down the hall,

barely giving Holly enough time to close her room door, while saying

that the guys were practicing and they were invited. Holly laughed as

they ran down the hall. In the short time she'd been in LA, she and

Stephanie and had been constantly on the move. As they rounded a

corner another arm grabbed Holly around the waist and put something

over her mouth and nose. She remembered fighting, then everything went

black. Holly cursed herself inwardly for not listening to herself.

Now, because of it, she had gotten herself and Stephanie kidnapped.

"What did they want with her?" She thought as she tried to move her

arms and legs again, but met some kind of resistance. She was tied to

the bed. She didn't know if the room was really dark, or if it was due

to the blindfold that had been put over her eyes. "Why?" She could see

why someone would want Stephanie; after all, she was a very famous

journalist. She'd been published in Rolling Stone, Spin, and Metal

Edge and now she was the journalist on tour with Kiss. Holly couldn't

figure out how she fit into this picture. She wasn't famous. She

didn't know anybody famous. She hadn't met Kiss yet, she wasn't rich

and neither was her family. There was nothing to gain from her

capture, other than the obvious, rape, murder, etc. Her gut told her

that there was more to it than that, but her head hurt to think. Holly

figured that they had separated her from Stephanie to try to gain some

leverage. Holly heard the sound of footfalls on a floor nearby. She

knew her only hope to free herself and Stephanie would be to pretend

to still be under the effects of the drug for as long as she could to

gain as much information as she could. With that plan in mind, Holly

forced herself to control her breathing and to clear her head. She

heard a door open and footsteps came over to her.



"How the hell much of that sleep drug did you give her?" A deep male

voice said as a finger poked her arm. Holly willed herself to remain

relaxed.



"I didn't think I gave her THAT much..."An unseen hand picked up

Holly's wrist as if to check her pulse but dropped it instead. Holly's

arm fell to her side with a soft thud.



"Well, she's still out." the first voice said.



"Sensitives can be just that, really sensitive to outside stimuli,

drugs, etc. Dosing them can be tricky at times. I was sure I didn't

give her very much." the female voice sighed. "These sensitives are

more trouble than they're worth. I mean, really! They are so hard to

work with. They can pick up vibes from a person so it can be hard to

trick the more experienced ones. We were lucky, this one is so

inexperienced, but she will be useful..." The voice trailed off....



"I guess", the first voice said doubtfully. "What does the boss have

planned for this one?"



"I'm not sure. We need to wait for his call." The woman replied with a

sigh. "I hope he calls soon. God I hate Malibu. It's so damp and sandy

here," she complained as she walked across the room. "C'mon, lets get

something to drink. This heat is killing me". The door shut and Holly

could hear the two people talking as they went into another room.



"Malibu," Holly thought. "Stephanie and I are in Malibu. How far is

Malibu from LA?" she wondered. "If only someone knew we were missing.

Steph had two days off from her interviews of the band, but they

hadn't shown up for the practice session. Would Kiss notice? Would

they think it odd that someone not show up when they were specially

invited? Holly signed. There were so many variables and she really

couldn't count on anyone missing them before Stephanie's next

interview. Their Kiss family wouldn't be expecting to hear from them

for about a week, so that wouldn't help." Holly made a frustrated

sound in the back of her throat. What were they going to do? If only

Raven knew they were missing. Raven had some powerful gifts and might

be able to "connect" with them and get some help. But she didn't and

Holly didn't have any gifts. "What the hell!" She thought. "I'm gonna

try it. It sure beats laying here and worrying. At least I'll feel

like I've done something while I wait".



"Stephanie?" I don't know if this works, but I'm gonna try." Holly

concentrated on her thoughts, trying very hard to form each word in

her mind and to shut out the sounds and smells and physical feelings

she was having. "I hope you're ok and that they didn't hurt you. We're

in Malibu, or so one of our captors said. I don't know what to do, so

I'm pretending to still be out from the drug, but I don't think

they're gonna buy that for much longer. If you can hear me, lets try

to call out Raven. She might be our only hope." Holly's head hurt from

the concentration she was giving to her task, but knew she must keep

trying. "RAVEN" Her thoughts screamed, thinking that since Raven was

so far away, it wouldn't hurt to try to get her attention, loudly.

"RAVEN", she repeated. "It's Holly. Stephanie and I have been

kidnapped and are in Malibu. MALIBU. Send HELP. Be CAREFUL." Holly

repeated this message several times before the lingering effects of

the drug and her exhaustion forced her into an uneasy, restless

slumber.