Home [Sequel to Shark Teeth] (Jean Hobbs)

Chapter 18

Daniel's POV

Darkness. That's all I can remember. A scream, a familiar voice calling my name and then darkness.

Where was I..? I'm awake, and yet my eyes refused to open...

I attempted to open my mouth to talk, only for no words to come out no matter how desperately I tried.

"Daniel..?" A voice called softly. "It's okay. We're going to get you help." They said, whatever I was laying on suddenly jolting violently.

I must be in a car..? Yeah... Now it makes a little more sense. The darkness, a scream, a familiar voice and a car door slamming shut.

Was I safe..? Was I really free from James..?

"Daniel? Can you open your eyes?" The voice called again.

Definitely not James... Or Oliver...

"I'm going to take you somewhere safe, Carlos will be waiting for you..." They sighed. "I'm sorry..."

"W-Who are you..?" I managed to say once I'd mustered up all the strength that I had, feeling my throat burning.

"Y-You don't remember my voice..?" They asked, sounding genuinely surprised before chuckling a little, almost sadly. "I don't blame you... With everything that's been going on, I think I'd forget my voice too."

Their voice... It definitely belonged to a man, but who..? There was something oddly familiar about it that I just couldn't put my finger on.

Oliver..?

No... It couldn't be, but it sounded almost similar.

"Why can't I see..?" I whimpered, feeling my hands tremble in fear. Was this all just another sick and twisted plan from James? Had he hired someone to take him to some other torture chamber?

"I don't know, Dan... But we're going to get you sorted out, Alright? Hold on just a little while longer. Everything will be alright." He said, the car coming to a halt for a moment. "You have to tell me if this hurts, okay..?" He asked.

I suddenly felt a hand gently graze my face, making me flinch when he touched one of the cuts on my cheek. The hand slowly moved up, lightly pressing a finger against my eyelid and pulling it open.

Everything was blurry, I was only able to make out colours and a few obvious shapes but I could see nonetheless.

"I-It doesn't hurt." I said, my eye falling shut again when he pulled his hand away.

"You may just need some eye drops, that's all." The man said. "I'll pull the car over when I get the opportunity, I have some in my bag somewhere." He hummed, ruffling my hair before beginning to drive again.

"Why are you helping me..?" I asked, making an attempt to sit up, only for him to push me back down.

"You need to lay down, save your strength for when you get to Carlos, okay?" He sighed. "I'm helping you because that's what I should've done when you were first in trouble."

"Are you ever going to tell me who you are?" I asked, making him let out a small chuckle.

"You already know who I am, Dan. You just have to remember."

I just sighed as the car came to a halt again, the man getting out and pulling open the door behind my head. There was the sound of rustling for a moment before he let out a triumphant noise. "Got it." He said. "I'm gonna put in some eye drops, okay?" He asked.

I just nodded my head, allowing him to gently pry my eyes open and put the eye drops in. My vision began to finally clear up, the blur disappearing within a few minutes. The man stood over me, staring down. "How does that feel now..?" He asked.

"Better..." I said as I stared up at him. He was wearing an odd looking red and black mask over his nose and mouth with a pair of sunglasses on and a black beanie that covered his hair. "Good." He hummed as he closed the car door again before climbing into the driver's seat.

I managed to sit up, much to the man's dismay, resting my head on the seat in front and just staring ahead at the road.

"Am I safe now..?" I asked. The man shrugged.

"It's difficult to tell with James. My best bet is saying that you aren't and that you need to stay with Carlos for as long as you can until you're absolutely sure the coast is clear." He said, turning his head to look at me for just a fraction of a second too long before turning back to the road and shaking his head. "I can't guarantee that you're going to be okay. But I'll try my hardest to keep you safe."

I turned to stare at him, trying to take in as many of his features as I could despite the disguise. "Can you at least tell me your name?" I asked, earning a small chuckle.

"Still persistent as ever, aren't you?" He asked. "You already know my name."

I just continued to stare at him for a while. "You're not Ryan after a ton of plastic surgery are you?" I asked, making the man laugh.

"Definitely not." He said as he pulled up in the car park of a nearby park, not far from Carlos' house.

"Carlos is here. He's waiting for you." He said. "Do you need help getting out of the car?" He offered. I shook my head in response before hesitating for a moment when I remembered the state of my legs.

"Please." I said. The man nodded as he got out of the car, pulling open the door and hoisting me onto his back. "Hold on tight, okay?" He asked. "I promise I won't drop you." He said, something sounding familiar in his tone.

I just wrapped my arms around his neck, holding onto him as he carried me across the car park.

"Oh my god! Daniel!" A voice called out, Carlos sprinting over as the man gently placed me down. Carlos threw his arms around me, pulling me into a tight hug and making me wince a little in pain. "Fuck- I missed you so much! Are you okay?!" He asked.

I opened my mouth to say something, the memories of everything that had happened to me suddenly playing in my mind, like it was all suddenly catching up with me. I began to tremble, feeling my stomach lurch as I clung onto Carlos tightly, suddenly bursting into tears.

"It's okay Daniel... I'll take you home. We can get you the help you need..." He whispered in my ear as he pulled off his jacket and quickly wrapped it around my shoulders.

"I'll see you around, Dan..." The man said as he rested a hand on my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze that told me everything was going to be okay before I heard his footsteps walking away.

Who the fuck was that?