Kidnapping Katie

 Murderous Snake Still Alive on Campus

By Katie Baker

The snake used as a weapon by a notorious serial killer is being kept in a facility on campus. Despite assurances from state and local officials, the snake was not euthanized. An anonymous source has provided this paper with details. For the purpose of this story, the source will be referred to as Mongoose. 

Mongoose revealed that a secret meeting involving Governor Price, Mayor Davis and The President of this University happened after the capture of the snake. Other guests were members of state or local government and faculty. 

“They decided by a vote,” Mongoose said, “They decided what action should be taken. Euthanasia and keeping the snake alive with the public’s knowledge were voted down with few supporters in the room.”

The exact motivation for such a choice isn’t known to our source. Mongoose believes the people at the meeting feared public outcry and protest over keeping the snake alive.

The snake seems to be a part of a top-secret research project at this university. Our source doesn’t know what the purpose of the research is exactly. 

“The facility that snake is kept in is highly secured,” Mongoose said, “Limited access and lots of secure doors requiring fingerprints or eye scans from what I’ve heard.”

The construction costs were high according to our source. The cost was at the state’s expense at the governor’s orders. Construction was also done extraordinarily quickly according to Mongoose; it only took roughly 48 hours to complete with work going on around the clock. 

It is believed that the head of the Biology Department, Dr. Thompson, is in charge of the snake’s care and the research of the snake. Mongoose was able to confirm Dr. Thompson’s presence at the meeting.

Mongoose does not believe there is a threat to public safety. 

“I don’t think there’s any likelihood of the snake escaping,” Mongoose said, “Virtually no one is allowed near the snake. Security is apparently the top-priority.”

The source was asked why they would talk to our newspaper.

“I don’t like the lie,” Mongoose said, “Everyone deserves to know about a killer snake being secured in this city, on this campus.” 

Katie finished a final proof-reading of her story. She was editor-in-chief of the student newspaper. She never thought she’d break a story like this; especially not as a student journalist. An anonymous email and a secret meeting later, she had a huge story. She stretched her arms above her head and yawned in the empty newspaper office. She had a new front-page story for that week’s edition of her paper. 

Dr. Thompson’s blood boiled when he saw the headline on the school’s newspaper. He quickly skimmed the article. He steamed in his office for a moment. He got up and quickly moved to his laboratory. He looked for and found an injectable tranquilizer. He angrily left the building and got into his car. 

Katie finished up in the newspaper office and headed for the exit. The response to her story was bigger than her already high expectations. The governor and mayor had already scheduled press conferences. There was already a small protest outside the University President’s office. Her email inbox was receiving messages at an alarming rate. She was going into her senior year and it seemed like she wouldn’t be lacking job offers upon her graduation 

She had dressed up for the big day; she thought she might be on the local news at some point. She wore a white dress with a small flower print. She wore wedge sandals with a cork heel and platform and brown leather straps. On her legs she wore tan pantyhose. She had her blonde hair up in a ponytail. Her skin was fair and her face lightly freckled.

Her heels clicked loudly on the sidewalk and the bright late morning sun reflected off her pantyhose. She could hear her text-tone going off in her purse as she walked. She noticed a car stop and someone quickly got out. She realized that he was rushing towards her; she then saw that it was Dr. Thompson. She stopped and for him; if he wanted to talk, she’d get an interview from him. 

His arm moved quickly and she was stabbed with a needle in her upper arm. Before she could fully react the plunger had been pushed and the needle withdrawn. 

“What the fuck?” she said as she quickly felt drowsiness coming on. 

“You’ve ruined it,” he said with malice, “You’ll see the damn thing up close.” 

“Wha…?” she slurred. 

Katie tried to move away from him. She stumbled. The world was spinning and fading away from Katie. She gave a weak scream for help, but no one was around. She started to fall, but she felt herself being grabbed by someone. With her last second of consciousness, she felt herself being dragged. 

Dr. Thompson dragged the young journalist to the back door of his car. He laid her on the back seat. He bent her legs so that he could force the door closed. He quickly got in and drove off to the research facility. He sensed that something wasn’t right when he got there.

“I’ll be back,” he said to his unconscious victim as he got out of the car. 

He walked into the building. He made his way through the security doors as quickly as he could. He stepped into the research lab. He looked through the glass to the snake’s enclosure and saw that it was gone. The door to the enclosure was opened; since he knew the snake couldn’t have done that, he knew that it had been moved. 

“Fuck!” he screamed. 

He ran out of the building and back into his car. His victim was still knocked out in the backseat. His plan to feed her to the snake would have to wait. He started his car and drove away from campus. 

Governor Price began his statement as the camera shutters made noise frequently. 

“I have a brief statement,” the Governor began, “I did not support keeping the snake alive. I sought to have it euthanized. The safety of the citizens of this state has always been my top priority. I will use my full authority to see to it that the snake is kept secure until it can be killed. No questions.”

Reporters yelled questions as the governor walked away. He was angry and paranoid. He suspected that the leaker was in his office. He just didn’t have much of an idea who it could be. 

Dr. Thompson parked his car in the garage of his large house. He waited for the garage door to close before getting out. He opened the back door and wrapped his arms around Katie. He pulled the limp reporter out of his car. He held her up as he closed the door of his car. He wrapped his arms around her under her arms and just above her breasts. He started dragging her with much effort. He was already winded when he reached the door into the house. He gently let go of her and opened the door. 

He grabbed her again and dragged her up the two steps and into his house. He sat her down again and closed the door. He wiped the sweat from his brow and looked over his captive. He knelt down at her feet and clumsily worked at getting the straps of her sandals undone. He pulled one of her shoes off and then the other. He rubbed each of her pantyhosed feet before getting back up. 

He wrapped his arms around her yet again and started dragging her yet again. It was much easier without the shoes; her pantyhose-clad feet slid easily on the hard floor. He pulled her towards the basement door. He worked her limp body down the stairs. He moved her body to the unfinished part of his basement. He let her body fall and walked away to gather things. 

He returned with rope and duct along with a few other things. He approached her and rolled the unconscious woman onto her stomach. He grabbed her arms and crossed her wrists behind her back. He coiled rope around her wrists before securing it. He tied her legs just above the knee and at the ankles. He bent her legs up while feeling up and down her nylon-clad legs. He secured the blonde into a hogtie. He finished by stuffing a dirty rag into her mouth and wrapping duct tape over her mouth and around her head. He just needed to wait for the potent tranquilizer to wear. 

Katie awoke slowly. She was uncomfortable and groggy. She tiredly said a few words but realized she couldn’t. That explained the awful taste in her mouth. She realized that she was bound and couldn’t stretch her legs out. She hoped she was still dreaming; everything was foggy. She opened her eyes and saw a concrete floor. She tested her bounds a little before closing her eyes again. She was so sleepy. 

“You’re up,” Dr. Thompson said loudly, “You’re alive and not in the belly of a big snake.”

“Wh rrr ew alkin out?” She said into her gag. 

“I was gonna to feed you to the snake,” he said, “I found that the snake had been removed, so you’re not its meal yet.”

“huh?” the groggy Katie said into her gag. 

“I realized while waiting for you to wake up that I had acted in haste,” he said, “I’m going back to campus to tie-up, figuratively, a few loose ends.”

She screamed into her gag as she watched him walk away. She started fighting against her bounds more strongly as some of the haze in her mind lifted. She was desperate to be free before he came back. 

Dr. Thompson found an email when he got back to his office. It was a statement from the University President sent to all students and staff. 

“I truly regret my decision on the matter of the news that was reported in our newspaper this morning,” it read, “I lacked the foresight needed on such an important matter. While I know our goals were noble, it is clear that it was a mistake to house that snake at our University. I have personally supervised the removal of the snake this morning. I’m not at liberty to tell you where the snake was moved to, but it is no longer on our campus.”

Dr. Thompson had removed all the notes he had taken on the snake. He had gone to the President's office for a brief meeting. He wanted to find out where the snake was, but the President wouldn’t tell him. The President told Dr. Thompson that he was placing him on paid leave until the scandal was resolved. The President said the only job that was in danger was his own. 

Dr. Thompson found that Katie hadn’t been reported missing yet. He cleaned anything sensitive or useful off his desk before leaving the building. He saw a news reporter and a camera in between him and the parking lot. 

“Will you talk to us?” she said as he approached. 

“As long as it is very quick,” he sighed. 

The camera man moved to a good position and the reporter went straight into her intro. 

“Where is the snake now?” she asked. 

“I don’t know,” he replied. 

“You weren’t involved in the removal of the snake?” she asked. 

“No,” he answered. 

“What was happening while the snake was on campus? What type of research was being done?” she asked. 

“I don’t know if I’m allowed to say or not,” he answered, “but the biggest thing was finding out where the snake came from and how it ended up in this area. There were some other areas of research but I’m not saying anymore.” 

“Thank you, doctor,” she said. 

He started walking away as the reporter said her outro.

Katie let out a cry as she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. She had fought to get free until her wrists were raw, but there was no give in the ropes. The tranquilizer had fully worn off and she started to remember her abduction. She feared for her life. He was mad at her and already said he was going to feed her to the snake. 

He walked into her sight and yelled to be let go into her gag. He acted like he didn’t notice as he approached her. He knelt down in front of her and started unwrapping the duct tape that held her gag in place. She spit out the rag as soon as she could. 

“Let me go!” she demanded. 

“I’ve been thinking that you’re more valuable alive,” he said, “I’m glad you’re not being digested.”

“Shut the fuck up,” she yelled, “Let me go! I didn’t report anything bad about you. It was just the truth.”

“Your reporting destroyed my project,” he said angrily.

“I reported the truth,” she said, “I will be missed sooner or later and you’ll be found out.”

“You know what,” he said, “I’ll tell you the biggest bombshell about the project, but first you need to tell me who Mongoose is.”

“Never,” she said, “I cannot betray my source.”

“Well,” he said, “if you’re not going to cooperate, this is going to get bad for you. Last chance.”

She didn’t say anything. 

“Let’s start simple,” he said walking around her. 

She wretched her neck trying to see what was going on behind her. She felt him rub her lower legs and feet. She didn’t say anything. She gasped when he dragged a finger across the sole of her pantyhose-clad foot. She involuntarily gave a chuckle as he moved his finger up and down her sole. 

“Don’t,” she said desperately. 

He started tickling her feet aggressively. Katie screamed then started laughing uncontrollably. He ran his fingers from just under her toes to her heel on both her feet. She started struggling and trying to move her feet away. He wrapped his arm around her ankles to keep them still and started tickling her nylon-clad feet one at a time. Her toes flexed and feet wiggled as tried desperately to get free. 

“St...hhahha… Stop… Plea… hahahahahahaha,” she attempted to plead. 

He kept tickling non-stop for a long time. Katie was red in the face and incredibly winded when he finally let up. She laughed or screamed when he would brush her feet lightly. He let go of her feet.

“You ready to talk?” Dr. Thompson asked. 

“No,” she said between breaths, “Journalists don’t give up their sources.”

“You’re not going to like what’s going to happen next,” he warned, “Tell me.”

“I will not,” she said. 

“Fine,” he said, “On to the next thing.”

He walked away and returned with a thin wooden rod. She didn’t know what was going on as he walked behind her. 

“Last chance,” he said. 

She said nothing. He started hitting the soles of her feet with the rod. He made the rod move quick; he barely pulled it away from her feet each time. It stung a little at first, but soon she was feeling the pain. Her soles were turning bright red beneath her tan pantyhose. She began crying as the pain increased. 

“Stop, stop, stop, please stop,” she whispered as the assault on her feet continued. 

He kept it up for a few more minutes. Her feet stung terribly once the strikes had stopped. He walked in front of her. Her eye makeup streaked down her face as the tears were still falling from her eyes. She looked up at him hoping for relief, but also feeling defiance. 

“Are you going to tell me now?” He asked. 

“No,” she said plainly. 

“Fine,” he said with frustration, “Just stay quiet for now.”

He approached her and leaned down. He untied the rope that was keeping her in a hogtie. 

“Thank god,” she whispered as her legs relaxed to the floor. 

He grabbed the rag that had gagged her earlier. She realized what was about to happen. 

“Please,” she begged, “I’ll be Qui…”

“I told you to be quiet,” he said, “Now open your damn mouth or I’ll cane your feet again.”

She was about to protest, but thought better of it. She gave an unhappy groan as the foul tasting rag was stuffed into her mouth. He grabbed duct tape and began wrapping it around her head; this time not bothering with keeping her hair out of it. 

“I’ll give you a little time to think,” he said, “And if you still don’t want to cooperate, we’ll have to move on to the next thing.”

She said something vulgar at him as he walked away. Her feet still stung, but she used them to propel herself onto her side. She tried to reach the knots around her wrist with her fingers, but couldn’t get a grip on them. She tested her bounds some more before giving up. 

Dr. Thompson turned on his TV and started watching the local news. It was 6:00pm and the broadcast was just starting. The music finished and the camera showed the anchors. They introduced themselves and then the camera switched to just being on the female anchor. A graphic on the side of the screen showed a picture of Katie with the word “missing” on the bottom. 

“Shocking news just into us at Channel 5 on this already bizarre day,” she started, “Katie Baker, the student journalist who broke the news about a murderous snake being kept captive without the public’s knowledge, has been reported missing. Roommates reported her missing when she did not return as expected. She was last seen in the journalism office wearing a white dress and brown sandals. Obviously concerned with the circumstances surrounding her, the police are asking the public to report any sighting of Katie Baker or knowledge of her whereabouts. They are reviewing security camera footage from all around the campus. We’ll go live to our reporter at the scene.”

Dr. Thompson shut off his TV. He knew she was going to be reported missing. In his rage, he wasn’t sure if he had avoided security cameras or not. He knew there were no witnesses. He knew he would be in deep shit if the police came knocking, but he would deal with that if it came.

“You ready to talk yet?” Dr. Thompson asked, “Just nod yes or no. Don’t mumble into your gag like an idiot.”

Katie looked at him angrily and shook her head. 

“Alright,” he said, “Let me help you up.”

He pulled her up and she complied. 

“I’m going to untie your hands,” he said, “It’ll be easier for us both if you don’t try to fight.”

He got his knot undone and uncoiled the rope from the young woman’s wrists. She moved her freed wrists to a more comfortable position. Her shoulders were aching from being held in that position for so long and she felt a tremendous relief. 

“Okay,” he said, “Take off your dress.”

She screamed unintelligibly at him.

“Do it,” he said, “I’m not going to rape you.”

She gave an angry grunt. She clumsily pulled her arms out of the straps of her dress. She tried to reach the zipper in the back, but stumbled. He took the hint and unzipped the dress for her. It fell down her body and bunched around her feet. She wore a white strapless bra and light pink underwear beneath her pantyhose. 

“C’mon,” he said as he approached her.

She sighed as he grabbed her and lifted her slightly. His hands felt awful on her bare skin. She fought her instinct to fight back; she thought it would be better to comply. She thought someone would find her sooner rather than later. Soon she found that she was facing a beam when she was set down. 

“Put your arms around the pole,” he said, “cross your wrists.”

She hesitantly did as she was told. He tied her wrists trapping her against the beam. She tested her new binding and found it seemed to be secure as the others. He walked just out of sight before returning carrying an impressive whip. Fear gripped Katie; her resolve to not reveal her source waivered. 

“You wanna talk yet?” he asked. 

She shook her head with extreme trepidation. She couldn’t reveal her source; she had to endure. Her heart raced as he walked behind her. She yelped when she heard the whip crack. She was shaking. She was already crying. It felt like forever; the anticipation was killing her. He was taking his time; he’d never thought he’d have to go so far. 

With all his might, he drew the whip back and swung it forward. It cracked against her back; the pain was blinding. She screamed into her gag. She couldn’t support her own weight; she slid down the beam until she was on her knees. She started sobbing. She had a dark red mark from below her right shoulder down her back. He dropped the whip and moved in front of her.

“You ready to tell me who it is?” he asked.

She nodded pathetically. He removed her gag. She was still sobbing as she took a deep breath in through her mouth. The pain and the fear had overwhelmed her. Her vision slowly returned, but was blurry through her tears. He was knelt down in front of her. 

“Who’s Mongoose, Katie?” he asked almost kindly. 

She paused. She was about to betray all of her principles, but she couldn’t stand to let him go any further. She took a deep breath.

“Her name is Kassie,” she answered, “She didn’t tell me her last name.”

“That’s a start,” he said, “Who does she work for? How did she find out about those things?”

“Sh… She works for the governor as a low-level aide,” she said, “She went to school at our college.”

“Okay,” he said, “How did she find out?”

“She said that the governor was very unhappy about it,” Katie told him, “He wasn’t quiet about it around his staff.”

“What does she look like?” he asked. 

“She’s got dark brown hair past her shoulders,” she said, “She’s a little overweight. She’s young; she didn’t tell me when she graduated, but I think it was probably within the last year or two.”

“Thank you,” he said, “Things will get better for you. I can’t let you go yet though.”

“Let me go,” she said desperately, “I’ll keep this secret. You know what it took for me to tell you a secret.”

“No sale, everyone already knows you're missing” he replied, “Would rather be tied in a chair or laid down?”

“I don’t want to be tied up!” she said.

“That wasn’t an option,” he said. 

“I guess…,” she started, “I guess in a chair.”

He walked away. He got a chair from his dining room and lugged it to the basement. He set it down and then went back upstairs. He grabbed a rug and brought that down as well. He laid down the plush rug and then set the chair on it. He then walked to Katie. 

“I’m going to fully untie you,” he said, “Don’t run and nothing bad will happen to you. You may put your dress back on since you’ve done what I asked you to. Once done with that sit in the chair. Understand?”

“Yes,” she said.

He untied her wrist. Then he united her ankles before slowly running his hands up her nylon-clad legs to the ropes around her knees. He untied those as well allowing her to be completely free for the first time in many hours. She slowly stood and stretched. 

“If you need to stretch, take a minute,” he said. 

She stretched her arms and legs feeling such relief that she didn’t care that she was in her underwear in front of her kidnapper. When she had finished she saw how intently he was staring and it made her skin crawl. She took a deep breath before walking to where her dress had fallen on the floor. He followed her making sure to stand between her and the way out. 

She sat down in the chair and crossed her legs. She limply complied as he grabbed her wrists and tied them in front of her. He tied ropes above and below her breasts securing them to the back of the chair. 

“Do you want me to tie your legs like that?” he asked of her crossed legs. 

She shook her head and uncrossed her legs trying to make sure her knees stayed as tight together as possible. He tied her ankles together and then stood. He looked down at her for a moment. She found that if she had to be tied up by a madman at least it was more comfortable like that.

“I promised that I would tell you something big when you revealed your source,” he said, “And I’m as good as my word. I’m sure you’re aware of 3 female students who have gone missing?”

“Yes,” she said, “I’m guessing you have something to do with that, you monster.”

“I’m not really the monster,” he started, “but that’s not saying I’m a good person. You see all 3 of those girls were fed to that snake by me. I had an experiment in mind with the last two and I chose them so it’d seem like they were runaways. My assistant Candace got wise to the actual origin of the snake and well the snake was a good way to make her disappear. I fabricated some evidence to make it seem like Candace had run away with a boy.”

“What did she know?” the bound journalist asked. 

“I gave you the bombshell I promised,” he said, “I’m not going to tell you anymore.”

“What’ll it hurt?” she asked hopefully.

“More than me,” he said. 

“What?” she asked. 

“I’ll be back in a minute,” he said.

When he returned he brought a brand new handkerchief. He approached her with the balled up hanky. She knew what he wanted her to do, but didn’t want to do it. 

“Open your mouth,” he ordered. 

“Please,” she said, “I’ll be quiet. I don’t want to have a gag in my mouth anymore. Please.”

“Fine,” he said after a brief moment of consideration, “I won’t stuff anything in your mouth as long as I don’t hear you upstairs. I’m still going to put some strips of tape over your mouth.”

She briefly protested, but quickly was resigned to her fate. He ripped off several strips of duct tape and plastered them over her mouth. She was a little muffled and her words were mostly intelligible. 

“Goodnight,” he said as he walked away. 

Dr. Thompson flicked off the basement lights when he reached the top of the stairs. Katie was left in near pitch black. He closed the door and locked it. He then wedged the door so it wouldn’t open even if the lock were picked or broken. He needed to make some phone calls.