Beginning & End

Chapter 43

Finn's POV

"Is mom gonna be alright?" Ross asks me while fidgeting around in his seat. We've been in the hospital for about an hour.

"Yeah, the doctor said it was just an asthma attack and she'll be fine as long as she gets some rest." I reply putting my hand on his head.

"Excuse me, Mr. Hudson?" I look up and see an officer that I recognize from the station.

"Yes?"

"We need to ask your son questions about Mr. Weston."

"You can handle this, right?" He nods his head, yes then leaves the waiting room.

Eventually a doctor comes in to tell me that I can see Rachel. I get up from my chair and follow him into a hospital room where Rachel is lying down, awake.

"Hey, sweetie. How are you feeling?" My fingers carefully trace a circle formation on her forehead.

"Tired, where's Ross? Is he okay?" She asks worriedly. "Yeah, he's fine. An officer is interviewing him right now." Relief covers her face.

"Go back to sleep, you need the rest." I say.

She nods and slowly fades back to sleep which leaves me sitting in her room, fiddling with a string hanging from my sweatshirt.

My phone makes a ding noise, I check and see I have a message from an anonymous number.

Hey Finn!

I hear poor Rachie is in the hospital, I guess that challenge was to much for her fragile little lungs! Never the less, I have a new challenge, that you will be completing.

I know for a fact that you brought the police with you last time and just so you think I was bluffing about hurting your kids, why don't you look at the little video I made?

Below the message was a video, which I clicked on.

"Haylee? Why are you crying?" I couldn't see him in the video but I know it was Brody talking.

I then see Haylee bawled up on the floor crying. She doesn't respond.

He kicks her square in the stomach, which makes her cry even more.

"Just like Rachel...you never listen."

Heat is flooding my body, along with guilt. How could something like this of happened? How could I let it happen?

The video continues:

"I suggest you meet your daughter at 381 Voight Street tonight at 10. She'll be in the bright building. Also, I suggest you leave your police friends at the station this time or you'll be sorry."

The video ends.

I can't tell the police about this, I'm not risking my child's life like that.

"Dad?" It was Ross.

"Hey buddy, what'd they ask you?"

"If I knew where I was and what he did to me. I honestly didn't know where I was and he didn't hurt me." I watch his eyes shift to the ground.

"Did he hurt your sisters while you were there?" He gives me a confused look, like he didn't know what I was talking about.

"Haylee and Emma were there too?"

"Yes." I reply.

"I'm sorry dad. I'm so sorry." He cries into my chest.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Ross. I'm sorry I let something like this happen to you."

There's a long pause before I respond. "Why don't you go and sit by mom?" I point over to her. He nods and goes to sit and hold her hand.

I look at my watch, 7 pm. I have a couple hours before I should leave.

********

At 9:30, I leave for the address Brody gave me. In the car, I think back to when he said "bright" building.

As I drive farther and farther to my location, I drive farther and farther into the shadier parts of New York.

I hear my phone say "Arrived at 381 Voight Street." I now know what Brody meant by bright. The building that was labeled 381 was smoking and had a visible fire.

I get out of my car and sprint to the flaming house. I could hear a familiar voice screaming.

Haylee

A locked door is now the only thing separating me from her. I bust it down with my foot and I'm greeted with stray fire embers landing on my skin and clothes.

"Haylee? Where are you?!" I shout nowhere in particular.

"Dad?!"

"Where are you?!" I continue to shout.

"Upstairs!!"

I find the stairs and run up them in search of her. I hear a struggling noise from a room almost covered in flames. I get into the room and see Haylee on the floor, tied to a chair.

"Haylee!" I yell relieved, but there was still a blazing fire and I had to untie her.

I rush to her and nervously untie the tight knots on her wrists and ankles.

The surrounding air floods down my throat, it feels like my throat is also on fire. Any air in a fire is deadly and can affect you permanently, so I hold my breath.

Haylee wiggles her hands out of the rope and helps me with her ankles.

"Don't breathe the air!" I inform her. She holds her breath just like me.

Finally we get her ankles free. I pick her up and carry her out with heat flooding my back. I look behind me and see an ember must've caught my sweatshirt on fire. I set Haylee down and remove my sweatshirt right before it could spread.

"Come on!" She yelps.

I follow her down the stairs and out the door back to fresh air.

Me and Haylee run a safe distance away from the deteriorating building and let out scary coughs.

"Are you okay?" I ask Haylee.

"No."