[X] 7 "Am I being kidnapped?": (Bloodshifter, BFldyq, Zap Rowsdower, Cassiemouse, abyssmal_kismet, Ephemeral_Dreamer, redaeth)
[X] 4 Unlock the door and escape!: (Xilph, theBSDude, StackedDeck, Wootius)
You could try handling this with tact, but hey! You haven't been honest enough lately for your tastes.
"So, am I being kidnapped?"
The driver jerks the wheel in response to your slightly-muffled voice. The mask ruins your normal youthful exuberance. He regains control since the car wasn't moving quickly, but you're pretty sure that he didn't expect that. "W-why would you ask a question like that?"
"You're not wearing a breath mask or an environmentally sealed suit like father and his workers do, this car is a little too old, two men with breath masks did pull up after we left, and you're sweating." You tilt your head inquisitively as you ask again, "Am I being kidnapped?"
He sighs, and flips a switch on the dash that makes the door next to you click. "I prefer to think of it in a more . . . optimistic way. You are being diverted, miss Harkinian."
He really just came out and said it? That's no fun! "To what purpose?"
"My employer wants to speak to you."
After that he refuses to say anything, simply driving the car out deeper into the city. You watch out the window. The door's locked now, after all.
The first difference that you notice is the lack of greenery. The view out of your window had always been full of green. The deep shades of the lawn, the darker green of the bushes and red and pink roses were what was there now, but even the sides of the roads have their green stripes replaced by pavement as you continue. Then the lots the houses sit on get notably smaller, and then the houses themselves. There's a long time when all you see are houses with only one story, sitting on plots of land only twice as large as they are. There are still trees aplenty, but their leaves have mostly fallen.
These houses don't look very well taken care of.
The driver stops at a red light with half a dozen other slightly beaten-up old cars, and you look at the closest house. Its white paint is peeling in a patch, and the lawn needs to be weeded. The flower bed bears half a dozen Marigolds in orange and yellow, around a patch of plants with large flat leaves like elephants' ears.
Most of the houses are in similar condition, and then suddenly they're replaced by buildings that are obviously not dwelling places at all, but businesses. The lots are full of cars and their windows bare neon signs, and the people- oh god the people are everywhere! They're dressed in bright, colorful clothes and their- their selves are just so different!
You see a man- you think he's a man- with rocky growths coming out of his back and a tan tint to his skin talking to another man even more mutated than he. A group of women with pointed ears and an inhuman slant to their faces get into a van together, and you catch sight of a man-shaped thing shrouded in darkness down an alley before you're whisked past it.
Most of them are recognizable as people to you, but some of them, like that rock mutant . . .
You shudder. That just looked wrong.
"We're here." Your kidnapper says stonily, before unlocking the door. "No trouble, mind. All I've got to do is say your name, and all those witnesses will turn around and find something better to do. Your dad's got no friends here."
Your door doesn't open from the inside, even when unlocked, so you have to wait for the man to come around and open it for you.
You ignore him and get out, looking around at where you are. What's a McDonalds?
"This way, the boss is waiting."
He leads you through the door and into a restaurant of some sort. A quick glance at the menu tells you that they serve burgers, and the short line in front of the register gives you a sour look as they take you in. There's a man with pointed ears, a woman with the same ears but bright orange hair and dark skin, and one of the rock men.
You're led down a lower level, past a man sipping a drink with his hat pulled down low over his face to hide his features, and then you come face to face with 'the boss'.
He's tall, taller than you by at least half a foot, which given that you're nearly six feet tall surprises you. His hair is the same brilliant orange-red as the woman in line and he wears is cut short and pushed forward, and his eyes are as black as his suit.
The boss stands, bows slightly. "Miss Zelda, how nice to see you. Do sit. We have many things to discuss."
[] what do?