A Girl, a Boy, and high school drama

Chap 27: Track me Down

Chapter 27

Cassie's POV

"Cassie," called a distant voice. "Cassie, wake up."

Slowly, I was guided towards that voice. "Cassie, get up, quick." It was closer now...

"Cass!" And here it was! My eyes burst open and, immediately, I was overwhelmed.

My parents and Dylan crowded the small hospital room I was in.

My mind was disoriented and my head was aching like hell. Questions flooded my mind. How did I get here? Why did my head hurt so bad? What had happened?

"Wh-what..?" I asked mindlessly.

Dylan said, "She's confused. Tell her what happened."

"Your kidnappers called and told us you were injured and weak and could possibly die in captivity. They said they'd be willing to give you back for a price. So we paid them and brought you back," my mother said.

Pay them? That couldn't possibly happen. Tan would never choose money over revenge. She had come so far. If this was only about money she could've done plenty of other things.

Would she ever do that?

"Cara, tell her the truth," Dylan said, clearly annoyed.

I looked at my mother with anticipation, but she turned the other way. "I- The, uh..."

Dylan interrupted, "The 'price' was your best friend."

My eyes widened in horror of realisation. Kay was with them! Oh my God! They were going to torture her to death. They would probably kill her and then continue torturing her body! What the hell did my mother do?!

"Mother, are you crazy? They wouldn't have done much to me! But Kay? They'll torture her to death. They'll kill her! How could you let her go? You could've had the police follow her at least!"

"I did something better. I inserted a micro transmitter into her hand. It's active."

"Then why are we still here? Send the police after her!"

"Now, there's the catch. The police can't know I did this. I stole it from the lab. They might put me in jail."

"Mom! What is wrong with you?" I shouted. "A girl's life is at stake here and you're bothered about a couple days in jail? Stop being so selfish for once and start thinking straight. You shouldn't have rescued me in the first place. I was FINE."

"No you weren't. You were bruised and fatigued. I did the right thing. It's not your fault that all this is happening. You don't deserve this."

"Neither is it Kay's fault. She does not deserve this either."

"Fine."

"How do you track the location?"

"The tracker is at the lab. I'll have to sneak in."

"Then do it!"

She shot me a stormy glare and then said, "Fine. I'll do it."

"Dylan, go with her to make sure she does it." I commanded.

He nodded and then both of them left.

My dad and I were now alone. It was only then that I noticed the gloom in his expression as he stared at the floor blankly.

"What is it, dad?" I asked, minimising the annoyance in my voice.

His head jerked as he looked up at me with a startled expression. "Huh?" he asked. He hadn't heard me.

"I asked you what was wrong," I said. He sighed in response before taking a seat and nervously scratching his beard.

"I just think that you're going through too much for this girl--Kayley," he said, instantly earning a glare from me, paired with hateful thoughts I would otherwise never have about my father.

"What do you mean? She's not some stranger; she's my best friend. How can you say that? You know I've been friends with her forever. And it's not her fault she's there. I can't believe you, father," I replied.

"I'm not challenging your love for her. But there's a limit to how much you can do. Her parents should do something. For example, when you were in trouble, we saved you; not she."

"Dad, you didn't save me. Don't try to make yourself sound brave. What you and mother did was cowardly. You found an easy way to get me back and you took it. Would it have killed you to call the police and let them handle it?"

"Not me, no. It would have killed you. If they had even the slightest clue that we had called the police you would be gone. They didn't have any reason to keep you alive. We were scared. You can't blame us for wanting our own daughter to be safe." As my dad said these words, I could see the emotion in his voice build and I understood what he must've gone through.

Sure, what he did was wrong, but I could see why he thought it was right. I couldn't imagine being in his position. There was so much he didn't know. He must have so many questions regarding all of this. Poor thing.
*

Kay's POV

My head hung from my neck as my vision blurred and my wounds ached and burned.

Tan laughed.

She had begun this 'game' a few hours ago. In it, she had to tell Jake and me the story of her experience with each of the crazy machines in the lab and I had to test it out for her. Apparently, it was to see if any improvments had been made to the machines recently.

In a word, it was treacherous.

My head spun; parts of my body that I didn't even know existed ached and burned; I was hurt and cold, and I wanted nothing more than to die.

I was surprised my brain was still functioning, after it had been subjected to electrification, extreme heat and fifteen minutes in ice water. The scientist who had adopted Tan had created the strangest serums that never worked. Most of the time, I wasn't even able to catch what the serum was for before having it injected in me.

There was one that could temporarily multiply cell growth locally. He called it the Quick Heal Serum. To test it, Tan made deep, long cuts all over my torso and injected it into me. Inevitably, it didn't work. I was still bleeding them out.

My wrists were full of cuts and my back was bruised.

I was, again, surprised my brain was still functioning.

*

Cassie's POV

"Her vitals are dropping, her veins are full of foreign materials, her blood count is decreasing. We have to do something!" Dylan screamed through the phone.

"Call the police, now!" I said. "There's nothing else we can do."

"I have a gun," my mother said softly.

"Not going to help. Call the police now. Or I will," I said, pausing to think before continuing, "actually, don't go through the hassle. I will call them. What's her location?"

"I can't let you, Cassie," my mother said, with a warning tone.

"What's wrong with you, Cara?" shouted Dylan. Even he was on my side! She had to be crazy to keep arguing about this!

"Mother! Do you realise the gravity of the situation?" I asked rhetorically.

"Yes, but-" I cut her off.

"But nothing! An innocent girl is about to die because of you. How will you live with that all your life?"

There was silence for a while. She was thinking this through. Finally, she sighed in defeat and said, "Okay, call the police. Tell them my tracker says she is a little outside of the city. I'll send you the address right away."
***

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