NaNoWriMo Chapter 18

The Ransom (and why it wasn’t paid)

When I awoke, it was in my bedroom. My parents (whom I couldn’t remember at all) were looking over at me. I blinked hazily.

“You paid the ransom?” They nodded. I threw my arms around them.

“So you remember us, then?” they asked, delighted. I slowly nodded my head.

“A bit. I was pretty thoroughly brainwashed, though. But I can get to know you again!” They nodded, but less convincingly than last time.

“Did they get those crooks locked up? You know, that girl left me on autopilot.”

“We know darling, but don’t you know how you escaped? Don’t you remember everything?”

“No, what is there to remember? I didn’t escape… did I?”

And that was when I woke.

I was still on the rocket ship, and the autopilot was still on. But that dream had brought with it a brainwave: a brainwave and a memory. I thought back to the time… a time that I remembered… when my parents were at home.

Earlier…
I puffed up the mansion steps, entered the house and flopped down on the sofa. I was exhausted. For some reason, Mum had thought that it would be a good idea if I exercised a bit. I didn’t agree.
I heard my parents talking in the background. “Wow,” said Dad. “Look at this!” Mum leaned over, craning her neck to see the screen in front of dad. When she could finally see, she let out a low whistle. “Wow!” she said. “It costs more money than we have combined to send a rocket to Mars. Yet what does NASA do? Waste money on those pointless reconnaissance missions.”

More money than we have combined…

It was like a thousand bells were ringing all at once inside my head. And so I made my plans.