Moral Degeneration

“That was the best,” Luna said. She laid on the bed still boneless. I removed the second condom we used and threw it in the trash with a groan. “Why did we wait so long?” 

 

“No idea,” I said. Laying back down on the bed there was a little blood but I threw that sheet off and pulled her over to lay on my shoulder. “You okay?” 

 

“I hurt,” she admitted. “But I feel too good to care. I um I’m sorry for dropping the love bomb.” 

 

I chuckled, kissing her forehead. “I understand. And I do love you. A part of me knew. But I didn’t know it until you said it.” 

 

Luna giggled. “I don’t think this date could get any better.” 

 

“We still need to take your anal virginity,” I said. 

She winced. “Give me a couple days. I’m hurting,” she whined. 

 

“That’s fine,” I said. “There anything else you wanted to do? I’ve given you your gifts. Gone everywhere I could think of for a date. But this was your fantasy. What do you want?”

“I always heard that people walked the Stone Arch Bridge. They get to the middle and kiss for the first time,” she said. 

“Never heard of it,” I said. “Want to go?” 

 

“You don’t have to,” she said meekly. 

 

“We can fuck again,” I said moving my hand to her pussy. 

 

She winced and pushed my hand away. “Let’s go to the bridge. I need a break.” I doubted walking would make her feel any better, but I was fine with it. It was her day. I put the camera away. Put her in the shower to help her clean up and we were dressed and out the door once more. 

Leaving the hotel we decided to walk to the bridge. It wasn’t terribly far, but of course I had to give her a piggyback ride. Her legs kept shaking for some reason. 

 

“You’re the best,” she whispered, happily laying her head on my shoulder. “How’d I get so lucky?”

 

“Well you have great tits and ass. And you’re cute. I feel pretty lucky myself,” I said. She giggled. Our talking was sporadic as I walked us. I felt pretty strong right then. I had measured my height that morning, and I planned to check later if I really had gotten taller after taking her virginity. 

 

“Yesterday was fun,” she said. 

 

“Which part?”

 

“The threesome,” she said. “I always knew I’d be with a girl. But with you here I haven’t really pushed for it. It was a…nice surprise.” 

 

“I enjoyed it. Pretty hot seeing her go down on you,” I said. “You gonna dump me for girls?”

“Fuck no,” she said. “There’s something about your dick. I just love it.” She was saying love a lot more lately. I didn’t mind. 

 

“Good. I hope you’re not thinking we are done with the oral,” I said. “I don’t have the best resource for condoms yet.” 

 

“There’s got to be somewhere we can get them,” she whined. 

“Already addicted?” 

“Yes,” she said unashamedly. “Give me a little bit to recover and I want your dick in me as much as possible.” My dick bulged from the comment. 

 

“Whatever you say.” Turning my head to kiss her I noticed a car out of my peripherals. It was going slow. Too slow. “Fuck, charlie horse,” I said. Dropping her I limped to the guardrail. We were next to the Mississippi River. A guard rail on a levee next to us I noticed the Stone Arch Bridge ahead. The bridge itself was tall. Large stone arches were connected together spanning the Mississippi. Bright lights made the bridge easy to spot. 

 

“You ok?” Luna asked as I pretended to rub my calf. 

 

“Yeah. Fucked you too hard,” I said. I shot discrete glances behind us. There were a few people walking along with us, but I didn’t see any women too suspicious. “Come on.” I grabbed her hand and we walked a little faster toward the bridge. I pretended everything was normal as we walked. 

 

“The Mississippi is so beautiful,” Luna noted. Moving to the guard rails I joined her. The water had a few ice chunks on the edges of the river, but the water flowed slowly South. I agreed and kept watching the van that was following us. They parked but no one got out. I was getting worried as I watched them. “What’s wrong?” Luna asked. 

 

“Nothing,” I said. Putting my hand to her back we started walking again. I noticed the trap immediately. A group of 3 were walking at us. They appeared to be separate, staggering the line they walked in. Keeping their eyes everywhere but us the 3 older women continued to head right for us. 

 

“Run,” I whispered grabbing Luna’s hand. I pulled her and we were off. I pretended we were just caught by inspiration to cross the street. 

 

“What?” She asked trying to catch her feet as I pulled her. 

 

“Kidnappers,” I hissed as we got to the other side and really started running. 

 

The 3 women ran for us. Luna kicked it into gear and started running. Ignoring her own pain we turned around. I led, pushing us as we turned down the block. We were young and had a good lead as we pushed past people. I heard a car squeal it’s tires. I guessed it was the van chasing us. 

 

“What the fuck,” Luna gasped. She turned back to see the women chasing us. I risked a look back. I didn’t recognize any of them. I guessed it was a new team trying to get me. These women’s skin was darker. I guessed Latina, but my glance was too quick to be sure. “What’s going on?” Luna rasped as I made us take another turn. 

 

“No idea. Kidnappers, I’m pretty sure,” I said. My breathing was smooth as I forced us to speed up. “They’re probably just after me. Probably leave you alone.” 

 

“Like hell,” she said, speeding up. 

 

“We should split up,” I said. “You get away. Make the call to your mom.” 

 

“I’m not leaving you,” she said running. I cursed. I focused on running. The women behind us were gaining. We pushed more people out of the way as we ran for all we were worth. I didn’t risk using my cell to call. They wouldn’t get there in time anyway. 

 

“Trust me. Need to split,” I said. Keeping my words short and sweet to save breath. 

 

“No,” Luna said. I heard the fear in her voice. I doubted it was all for me. She was scared to be left alone. 

“You love me or not?” I asked. Trying to use it against her.  

 

“I do, so I’m staying,” she said. I sped up, but she kept pace. The van caught up to us and screeched to a halt on the road. The side door opened to reveal 2 more women inside. I really wished I had my guns. Grabbing Luna’s hand I pulled her to turn again. We ran down the street. The Stone Arch Bridge just ahead of us. 

My mind tried to think of what best to do. Yelling out loud that I was getting kidnapped would just cause panic to the pedestrians around us. Running into a building was a surefire way to get caught. At some point there would be a door locked or a dead end. I never put myself in that sort of situation. It was best to stay outside. If we were lucky a police car would show up. But as we got closer to the Stone Arch Bridge I knew we weren’t that lucky. 

I heard the footfalls getting closer. Luna was tiring, but she wasn’t willingly to split up. I considered giving up then. Just letting them take me. I could escape. It wouldn’t be that hard to pretend to be weak. At some point, someone would make a mistake. They wouldn’t expect a 14 year old that had no qualms with killing. I could kill with just my fists, weak or not. I could pick a lock, and survive in the wild for months if that’s what it took. 

 

But I wasn’t the give up type. I hated to admit it, but there was an answer. An answer that the adrenaline junkie in me liked. We stepped onto the bridge. I caught glances behind us. Another van appeared straight ahead. Driving toward us. 

 

We ran. Luna began to cry. I was calm as ever before. I slowed down. Luna hesitated but did so as well. “What?” She gasped. Looking back she eyed the people running at us. “What are you doing?” 

 

“Splitting up,” I said. “They want me, not you.” I leaned forward kissing her. “Call your mom. I’ll see you at home.” 

“Russ!” She yelled. But I turned and jumped over the side of the bridge. I couldn’t help my own yell as the water appeared to move much faster than it did further away. The water became louder and I was bathed in darkness. Biting cold sapped all of my strength as I tried to tell numb muscles to start swimming.

 

It took time but I breached. Breathing in heavily I tried to look back to the bridge, but it was too far to see anything. I tried to start swimming to the shore but a strong current pulled me under. I sucked in a mouthful of water as I was sucked down. I panicked, trying to fight it. My arms flailed. I wasted oxygen.

With great willpower I forced myself to relax. I felt my body speed through the current. Going down and down to the depths. My eyes closed I tried to ignore the fact that I could die if I didn’t come up for air soon. Water roared in my ears as the deathly cold water caused my mind to become sluggish. 

I was out in the air before I knew it. My eyes opened as the current spat me back out. Gasping a deep breath I felt a burst of strength as I tried to swim to shore. I was already out of sight of the bridge. I was shivering, but this was all mental. Moving my arms mechanically the water rushing caused me to barely gain any headway. 

 

I felt like I swam for a long time, but I guessed it was only minutes. The rapids pulling me, buildings going by I eventually got ahold of a rock. Pulling I grabbed another. The current threatened to pull me back in with every rock. Gritting my teeth, forcing my body to move I held on for dear life. I was loud as I groaned and grunted trying to use everything my small body had to latch onto these big rocks. 

 

Then the pull lessened. I rushed forward and was thrown to lay on the large shore of the Mississippi. My breath misted in front of my face as I took huge gulps of air. Not done yet, I rolled over. My entire body shivered from the cold as I let myself feel it. Now that I was out of the water it was proof I was alive. 

 

I had been in many hairy situations, but this was one of the scariest. Nature always held all the cards. You could have bullets flying around you, and I would take that over fighting the whim of the elements. Rivers didn’t have a conscience. The people that fired guns did.

 

Taking step after step I shivered and shook more. In the dim light my skin appeared blue. When I was fully out of the water I was grateful to see a set of stone stairs leading up and out of the area. 

 

Stripping off my shirt I dropped it to the ground. My pants and underwear went next. I shivered more, but I knew I had to get out of the clothes. Grabbing my wallet and knife I left the rest. Even the condoms I had in my pocket were left for whoever wanted them. 

I groaned as I got to the stairs in the levee next to the river. Once off the rocks I kicked off my shoes and socks. Shivering my mind was sluggish as I simply walked. I made it to the top of the levee and noticed I was in a small park. Near the edge of the city I assumed. Trees and benches all around I was lucky as no one was walking the park. 

 

Street lights ahead I walked toward them. My body was still numb, and brain was on autopilot. I only thought about finding warmth. Deep breaths brought in and expelled out my body. I felt exhausted, but I couldn’t feel anything at the same time. One step after another I made it out of the small park. Ignoring the bushes and trees as I walked passed. 

 

When I made it out I stepped onto a hard road. Still recovering I jumped as someone honked their horn at me. I looked over slowly to see a van. My mind told me vans were bad, but I couldn’t remember why. I walked to it. The passenger door opened to reveal the last thing I expected. A nice young nun. I remembered a young nun from somewhere but the one I remembered showed more skin. 

 

“Are you alright?” She asked. 

I nodded and sat in the passenger seat. My mind worked enough to turn up the heat and blower of the van’s AC. I shivered as I dropped my wallet and knife. “Are you a boy?” The nun asked. 

 

I nodded again. My eyes shut I had a splitting headache as my body shook all over. The heat from the blowers made my skin tingle. Ever so slowly I felt alive again. My eyes closed. My body shaking. I took in a huge breath as I remembered what happened. 

 

“Drive,” I rasped. “North.” 

 

“You need a hospital,” she said weakly. 

“Drive. North. Friend is trouble,” I said. She nodded and drove slowly North. My mind shut off, but I forced an eye open. “Stone bridge.” The nun nodded and headed that way. I cursed myself for dropping my cell phone. I doubted it worked but still. My cold addled brain hadn’t been working correctly. 

 

I got nervous as we came closer to the bridge. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe they would take Luna. All to get to me. My eyes opened scanning the crowd by the river. Watching for her. We got to the stone arches in a few minutes. Driving on it I didn’t see Luna. My gut clenched. 

 

“You have a cell phone?” I asked. She shook her head. I noticed a payphone at the end of the bridge. Pointing she headed that way. I fished a few quarters out of my wallet and ran out to it. Still nude my body was feeling warmer by the second. I called Luna’s phone but it went straight to voicemail. 

Trying Audrey and Ava’s neither answered. Cursing I got back in the car. There was only one thing I could do. Go home. I would plan from there. “Drive. I’ll tell you where.” 

 

The nun nodded and we were on our way to Audrey’s house. “What happened?” The nun asked. 

 

“Someone tried to kidnap me,” I said. “Jumped in the river to get away.” 

 

“You jumped in the river?” She asked. “If I didn’t see you blue I wouldn’t have believed it. But dang kid.” 

 

I chuckled. Trying to distract myself from the worry I was feeling. “Do nuns take a vow of celibacy?”

 

“Of course,” she said. 

 

“I remembered a female preacher at the church I went to last week. There any men in the clergy?” 

 

“The pope is a man,” she said. “How do you not know this?” 

 

“Been living under a rock,” I said. I was curious how it was different than my world, but really didn’t care. I was hurting. My hands on the vents I focused on getting warm. By the time we made it to Audrey’s neighborhood I was mostly myself again. I directed her to the house and she took me to it. 

 

Digging in my wallet I pulled a $100 bill. “You saved my life,” I said. “Let me know if you ever need a favor.” I gave her the money. 

 

“You don’t have to-”

 

“I want to. I’m serious. Any favor. I’m sure even a nun has a use for a dick,” I said giving her a wink. Getting out of the car I grabbed my wallet and knife and headed to the garage. Punching in the code I sighed when I noticed Violet and Audrey’s cars were parked inside. 

 

Feeling a little better I walked into the kitchen from the garage entrance. I heard a yelp and walked in to see Audrey on the phone. “Russ!” She yelled putting the phone on the receiver. She ran over to me. Grabbing onto me desperately. “I was so scared.” 

My mind went a mile a minute. No one should know I was almost kidnapped. “What happened?” 

 

“It’s Ava and Luna. They were kidnapped,” she said, sobbing. I noticed Violet off to the side, her hand shaking as she watched us. I could see her in a state of shock. 

 

My gut clenched as I put together they really weren’t after me. “What happened?” I asked coldly. “From the beginning.” 

 

Audrey cried but began. “That shipment today. It’s one of my oldest clients. The truck blew a couple of tires. I had another lined up to get the load. Took all day. At some point someone noticed a seal broken on the trailer. Driver checked on it. Called it in. I was working on figuring out what happened. They wouldn’t let it out of Canada if a seal was broken. An hour ago I got the call. It was some woman. She said she had you, and Luna, and Ava. I had to get the shipment into the U.S. tonight. No matter what. Or they’d kill you.” 

 

“Fuck,” I said. My mind reeled. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck,” I whispered. Allowing  myself this long to panic. I went through scenarios in my mind. “How long have they been a client?”

 

“Years,” she said. 

“Did you make the call? Is it on it’s way?” She cried and nodded. 

 

“I was just about to call the DOL lady to get ahold of the FBI,” she said. I noticed Agent Reels card beside the phone. 

“Don’t,” I said. “That will get the girls killed.” I looked around thinking. Kidnappings weren’t random. This shipment was planned. It may have been planned and done multiple times. They were ready to take us if something happened. I went through more scenarios. I suspected terrorism. Just because 9/11 was the worst instance of it, didn’t mean it was the only plan out there. Especially before the twin towers fell. 

“Did the callers have accents?” I asked. 

“I don’t know,” Audrey said. I turned around. Going into the garage I grabbed the shotgun from the gun case in the garage. Loading it up with buckshot I went back into the kitchen. Setting it on the counter the first thing I had to do was train these girls how to use it. That would have to wait for another day. 

 

“Ok. When is the truck coming across the border?” I said. I was calm now. Collected. Ready to deal with this. 

 

“Any minute,” she said. 

 

“Where is it going after that?” 

“I don’t know. I was supposed to call them.” I nodded. 

“I need clothes. I will be down in a minute. No calls until I am back.” I ran upstairs and was dressed quickly. I got my handguns but I still didn’t have ammo. I cursed. This was going far too quickly. I needed more time to prepare. By the time I was downstairs the phone was ringing. Audrey answered it. 

 

“Ok,” she eventually said and hung up. “They are over the border with the truck.” 

 

“Make the call,” I said. 

 

She nodded and punched in the phone number she was given. I was sure it was a burner. It wouldn’t help us. I took the phone from Audrey. Her hands were shaking as it rang. When it was finally picked up I spoke. 

 

“Truck is through. What now?” 

 

“Who is this?” The voice asked. I caught an accent. Not Russian this time. I guessed Middle Eastern. Maybe it really was terrorism. 

 

“Russ, you tried to kidnap me,” I said. 

 

“Oh, the boy who jumped. Glad you lived,” she said. “Put Ms. Cooper on.” 

 

“No,” I said. “I want to talk to the girls. You give me proof of life. And we move forward.” 

 

“Sorry, that’s not how we play,” she said. “Give the phone over or they die.” 

I handed the phone to Audrey. That confirmed something for me. There were at least 2 teams. It wouldn’t have hurt her to let me hear them. I bit my lip. We didn’t have a lot of options. I went through more scenarios as Audrey spoke. 

 

“Uh huh. Ok. And then? When do I get my daughters?” She asked. She let out a steadying breath to calm herself. The phone was hung up. Audrey’s tears flowed as she looked to me. 

 

“They want the truck sent to Duluth,” Audrey said. “They’ll give the girls back once the trade has been made.” 

The girls were as good as dead by that point. “Okay, this is what’s going to happen. You 2 are going to stay here. You are going to your room Aud. You will be taking the shotgun. And pointing it at the door. If anyone tries to break in. You will shoot them. Do you understand?” 

 

Aud cried. “Where will you be?” 

“I will be getting Luna and Ava,” I said. 

 

“H-how?” She asked. 

 

“I will call you as soon as I get them,” I said. There was no reason to answer her. Especially since I wasn’t sure myself.