Finding Beauty

Chapter 9

In this moment, I want The Beast to come back. I don't care if he's a murderer and what he came to do was brutally kill this man. So be it. Let him kill him. I don't want to be burnt alive.

I don't want to die.

"Now, come out of that car," he demands. I hesitate for a moment and he barks at me,"Come out or I'll set this whole forest on fire!"

I rush out, trembling, and try to keep my distance from him. He grabs my injured arm and holds me under a firm grip. The flame thrower handle rest in his other hand while the tank is on his back.

"You got yourself quite the scratch." He twists my arm, looking at it closely. "You know a little fire could do the trick, stop the bleeding." I flinch and he laughs. A real laugh. He finds my fear funny?

That's when I get a good look at him. His red hair goes down to his shoulders, he's all sweaty and has a mask to protect his face against the flames.

"Now, you gonna tell me who you are and what you're doing with The Beast? What are you to him?"

"He kidnapped me," I answer honestly.

"Kidnapped you? I thought he only messed with criminals. What could a little girl like you do to provoke him? Shoplift?"

"I..." I think about it for a second and realize I still don't know. Why did he take me? Was it to pay for my mother's mistake? He said his house or should I say mansion was my home now so I'll be there for a while. He certainly didn't kidnap me to be friends. So why?

"I don't know."

"Meh." He shrugs and starts walking, pulling me with him. "Probably needed a girlfriend."

"Where are you taking me?"

He glances at me and pulls up his mask, showing the smirk on his greasy face. "To the fire."

~The Beast~

He's nowhere in sight. Even the fire is gone. It leads me to believe one thing. It was a set up. He knew I would come after him. I knew this would be a problem. People were beginning to provoke me just for the sake of finding more out about me. Luckily, none of them will find their way back to society to tell others about it.

So where is he? I'm about to go check out Cabin A21 when a shriek startles me.

Belle!

I sprint in the direction of the car. The bumpy terrain has nothing on me. My beastly transformation gave me special abilities. I can run faster than any human, jump farther, and I'm way stronger. Without them, I don't know if I would he able to fight crime like I do now. In that way, the witches spell is working against her.

It's silent in the woods. All I can hear is the crunch of leaves under my boots and the rich air reminds me of the tranquil hikes I use to take with...Never mind it. I don't feel calm at all because Belle's shriek just ripped through the silence and it's my fault.

My car is off the side of the road with the drivers door open. To my relief and dismay, she isn't in it. "Belle?!" I call. "Belle?!"

"Help!" Her blood curling scream tears through my heart. This is my fault. If she's hurt it will be on me. I never meant to hurt her.

I find her deeper in the forest. Rope binds her waist and arms to a large tree. She's sweaty and blood trickles down her arm and onto the soil beneath her.

Beside her is Ryan Daniels. A mask covers his face and he holds a flame thrower handle in his arms. At the sight of me, he aims it at Belle. Her face pales.

Ryan speaks, his voice is muffled and unclear because of the mask. "Now, I don't know if y'all know this but I had a daughter. She loved The Hunger Games." Belle squirms under the ropes and stares at me. She's waiting for me to do something. She's depending on me. She thinks I'll help her? After all I've put her through, she thinks I'm capable of doing something good?

"I must have watched it 'bout a hundred times with her. My favorite part was when that braid girl caught on fire." Belle takes a shaky breath before looking at me intently once again. "Tell me sweetheart, how'd you like to be the girl on fire?"

I lunge at Ryan Daniels and shove him away from Belle with all my strength. Thrown off guard, he lands a good 15 feet away. With my claws, I cut the rope holding Belle. She marvels at the distance he was launched, so does Ryan but she can't afford to be distracted or amazed right now.

"Run," I command while pulling the ropes off of her. She starts to but her shirt is caught on the bark's splintered trunk. We both tug on the fabric to no avail.

"Take it off and-"

The gun of Ryan's flame thrower hits me right in the ribs. I fall to the ground, all the air knocked out of me.

Belle shrugs off her flannel and runs. She's not fast enough because he kicks her to the ground leaving a boot print on her black tank top.

He chuckles and grabs her by her hair. "You ain't answered my question!" he yells in her face. In response, she kicks him in the back of his knee. He let's her go to stabilize himself and it buys me enough time to get back up.

Belle grabs a large branch from the floor and tries to strike him in the head but he moves back and positions the gun, his finger about to pull the trigger.

I know what I have to do. I already almost let her die in my basement. I can't let her burn. It hurts to admit but I kind of deserve it. I deserve it way more than her.

It all seems to happen at the same time. I jump in front of Belle, Ryan Daniels presses the trigger, and the police sirens sound in the distance.

Then, the light.

Author's Note- Dun, dun, dun!

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