"Welcome to the party," Billy snickered. "So sad we have no refreshments."

"Oh beans," Harmonia whispered. "Oh no."

Again she was scared, as what was once an easy victory was now lost.

"I suggest you take a seat with the others," Billy said. "We have enough problems as it is."

Harmonia looked around the large ballroom, with many groups of people, all next to someone holding a large gun. She saw her teammates, all spread out, having fallen for the same trap.

"They got powers," Billy barked. "Cuff them."

Harmonia grumbled as two men came over to her and Fenton. They put grounders on their wrists to nullify their powers, and now they were just two young adults, one who looked like a social media influencer and a short man who desperately needed a haircut.

They pushed them until they finally sat in a group of other terrified people, some covered in blood, and one was passed out on the floor after being hit in the head. She looked around the room and saw several corpses, and knew that they had no problem shooting her if need be. Their kidnappers talked among themselves, casually, as if they hadn't killed many people, as if this was just a normal day.

Fenton's phone began to ring, and everyone looked at him.

Hundreds of pairs of eyes watched him, waiting for him to move.

Fenton ignored it, and the ringing stopped.

Fenton sighed in relief, but again the phone rang, and Billy came over.

"Answer it," he commanded.

Fenton nodded and answered the phone. It was Ace.

  "Where are you," he asked. "I've been waiting at our spot. I'm worried about you." Fenton looked at Billy, who held a gun to Harmonia's head, and Fenton knew what the answer should be.

"I'm okay", he said. "Everything is fine."

"Then where are you," Ace insisted.

Fenton tried to come up with a good lie.

"The bathroom", he mumbled. "I have an upset stomach. Go on without me."

The phone call ended and Fenton was annoyed. Ace never said goodbye on the phone, and that never changed even then. Billy grinned and lowered his gun, happy that his plan would work.

"The Boss should be coming soon," Billy declared. "Find that woman. This is taking too long." He pointed to a woman, with a face mask on and a pistol. "You, make the ransom for these rich fucks. We can make even more money than anticipated."

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

She nodded and set off to complete her task.

The door squeaked open, and everyone screamed as Candice's henchman strolled in, as if it were natural to still be walking with a missing limb and eye. Fenton cried in terror, as he recognized the corpse that was on the ground next to Candice, now walking upon them, grinning and excited.

"Hello," he moaned. "Nice to meet you all."

The screams continued, their fear only increasing once they saw that the dead man had higher thought.

Billy shot at it in the chest, and it looked down.

"That was rude," he moaned. "Please don't."

One of the kidnappers came with a fire extinguisher and cracked the corpse's head wide open. It fell to the ground and didn't get up. Their screams subsided, and only the cries of a baby could be heard in the quiet ballroom.

"What in God's name was that," Billy said in awe. "Is this the end of times?"

Fenton was considering the same, after he saw the monster disguised as Candice, eating human flesh and spitting out the parts it didn't like. Fenton noticed Billy barked orders at the kidnappers, concluding that he must be in charge. He tried to come up with a plot to kill Billy, hoping that they would be disorganized without him and they would have an advantage.

  Harmonia scooted over to him and whispered in his ear. "My ability still works," she whispered. "I can try fighting them, but they might just shoot everyone else."

  "That's not possible", Fenton whispered. "We have grounders on."

  Harmonia sighed. "I have a confession…"

  Fenton's eyes went wide as she told him something unbelievable.

"Harmonia, how did you get that," he replied. Before she could answer Billy kicked him in the stomach and he fell to the floor.

  "What are you two whispering about over there," he hissed. "Care to share with the class?"

   Harmonia lied. "We were uh… telling each other… that we love each other…", she mumbled. Billy did not believe her. "We uh, we wanted to spend our last moments together," she continued, further digging into her lie.

   Please stop, Fenton thought. Just stop.

  Billy smirked. "'Ain't no way a gopher like him gets a woman like you," Billy laughed.

  "Oh.. thank you," Harmonia exclaimed.

Her narcissism made her caught in her own lie.

  You idiot, Fenton thought. You vapid idiot.

   "So you agree, you are too good for the man of your dreams," Billy insisted.

"I… never said that," Harmonia laughed nervously. Billy glared at her, knowing that she was lying but unable to prove it.

"If I catch you two talking again I'm blowing your brains out."

Harmonia nodded, and pursed her lips, making it clear she had nothing further to say. Fenton didn't bother to get up from the ground, worried that Billy would follow up on his threat.

He laid in defeat, convinced he would die on a ship with vapid rich idiots.