Later that night...
Elena's POV
The smell of smoke and iron intermingle in the air along with a whiff of something I can describe as compact and condense. I open my eyes to the shooting pains that are striking the crown of my head only to see this haunting blackness ahead of me. My back is against a wall and as I stretch my legs I am somewhat relieved to have some space ahead of me. It's hard to tell how much space though, because of the aphotic environment I'm currently in.
As far as my recollection goes, the last thing I recall is Daniel's face in a blur. I was holding his gun in my hand and I vaguely remember what happened after that. From the looks of my on going situation, it seems that I wasn't very lucky and I have a disturbing foreboding that something is terribly wrong.
That bastard was holding a syringe when he tackled me. He fucking drugged me. That's probably why I was brave enough to hold the gun in my hands, because my perception was warped and my senses immediately reduced. I could have fucking shot him at that moment, what the hell was I thinking? Things would only go downhill for me.
However, things don't seem very peachy right now.
I should have shot him when I had the chance. It would have been considered self defense and this time I wouldn't have regretted my actions.
Fuck-Elena get out of here!
I'll distract him!
I curl up into a ball onto the cold floor while tears well up in my eyes. Yoongi's voice is running in circles on my mind. He tried to help me escape, while Daniel was choking him. I bite on my lip hard as I anxiously wonder to myself if he's okay.
Alive.
If something happens to my best friend, I'll never be able to forgive myself.
My skin is feverish, goosebumps have formed on the surface while cold sweat courses through my entire body. My head is pounding to the point that even thinking feels unbearable. I wrap my coat around my waist and just sit there in silence while uncontrolled sobs leave my mouth. The faint sound travels around the room in the smallest of echoes and my breathing is sharp and wobbly, as the result of my agonizingly fast heartbeat and the insufferable nausea that makes my stomach churn.
I blink continuously for a few seconds when perturbation overtakes me; what the hell happened to me? Why the hell can't I see anything? My legs are numb and I can this uncomfortable prickling sensation overwhelms both of my feet and it's like having a thousand needles piercing my skin. It's cold in here and it feels like I'm trapped inside of a freezer. Like a blind person, I attempt to navigate through my environment using only my hands. I stand on my bruised knees and extend my arms above my head and feeling for the ceiling. Then I touch the wall next to me and that's when I finally realized that I'm not in a room, but a van. The sudden bumpy feeling from under me that causes me to fall on my face proves my theory right.
How long have I been in here?
Where are we headed?
For fucks sake, why on earth would Seokjin go this far? What does he have to win by kidnapping me?
Why go this far?
Has Jungkook managed to find the footage?
Jungkook.
I hope he's alright wherever he is.
A whirlwind of intrusive thoughts and questions bombard my brain dozens at a time and all I can do right now is sit still in the back of an ice cold van doing nothing.
The least Daniel could do is let some of the hot air from the AC reach the back. I could tell that he was feeling guilty for taking Seokjin's side, but that doesn't mean I'll forgive him any time soon.
I still want to plant a bullet in his head for fucking me over.
Having nothing else to do, I put my hands in my coat pockets. My fingers graze my keys for my apartment and my lipstick on one pocket and something solid on the other one and that's when my pulse quickens. I fish out my cell phone and I nearly cry out of happiness. What makes me smile even wider is the fact that I still have some remaining battery life. I let out a long sigh of relief.
That idiot didn't even bother to check my pockets for any trackable devices. What a tool.
If I make it out of here, I will apologize to Jungkook for lecturing him the night he beat up Daniel. I'll give him a fucking written apology if needed, or get down on my knees and bow before him. He'd gotten what he deserved.
That's when the van pulls to a halt and I fall on my side in an abrupt manner. My phone flies away from my grip on the opposite side of the van and I curse under my breath. I hear brief sounds coming from outside and my guess is that we've reached the destination. Seeing that I have no time to retrieve my cell, I quickly go back to where I was laying down a moment ago and wipe my tears from my cheeks, when the door suddenly opens. The sounds of a pair of footsteps echoes in the back while I can hear faint chatter coming from the outside. Shit, there's more than one person here with us.
I try my hardest to not move a muscle and look convincingly unconscious enough for their liking. If I am to escape this place, I need to be really careful. It's bad enough I can't get my cell phone back.
"Is she awake?" I hear someone ask.
"She's still knocked out." Daniel's voice replies with a hint of remorse. I can hear something plastic being thrown at him when he catches it just in time.
"When you abduct your victim at least make sure to restrain them." The other man says and I gulp.
Fuck.
Without my phone I'm done for.
Daniel binds my wrists together using a zip tie and I nearly groan at how tightly he secures them. He then ties up my feet and I let out a shaky breath. Fucking bastard, I should have shot him when I had the opportunity. He carries me and I pretend being unconscious as he brings me out of the vehicle. It's rather uncomfortable to be in a position in which I'm being carried with my arms behind my back as it takes an inhumane amount of self control to not curl up into a ball in his embrace from how cold the air is. His hands are gripping my bare legs and I want to rip his arms apart for touching me. Obviously, I can't fight him on my own right now, not when there are at least two men accompanying him.
What am I going to do?
"Take her where the boss ordered and don't do anything unless he says the word." One of the men commands and I can feel his back muscles clench. "You think you can handle it?" He asks like its the punchline to a joke.
"Yeah," Daniel rasps and with that he goes his own way.
Sure, of course he could handle a defenseless 'unconscious' woman.
I slowly tilt my head and open my eyes only slightly, just to take a quick look of my surroundings. From what I've gathered so far, we must be somewhere deserted, because the air is colder here and it's quieter. When I open my eyes, I catch a glimpse of a tall building that looks uninhabited at first glance. Tall trees are surrounding the place and there's a main road. I think I can see an unoccupied parking lot that's really close to the forest, but I'm not quite sure, since I screwed my eyes shut before anyone would suspect I'm awake.
Soon enough, we enter the abandoned building and Daniel is carrying me up a few flights of stairs when we suddenly enter a random room. He sets me down on what feels like an old musty sofa and I hear him walk away. Once I'm sure that he's nowhere nearby, I finally open my eyes only to find the perpetrator sitting right across of me on a smaller chair. He's sitting so incredibly close that it makes me feel violated on so many levels. I flinch and scoot away from him so that I'm at the corner of the sofa and gets up from the chair.
"I thought you were awake." He says swiftly then holds up what seems to be my cell phone from the van and that results in making my skin crawl. "You dropped this in the van."
"Motherfucker, you betrayed us." I hiss. My emotions are getting the best of me as anger runs through my veins like adrenaline. "I bet you told Seokjin everything didn't you? You told him the entire plan because you're a damn coward. I fucking bet you didn't even blink when Seokjin offered you a better deal."
Daniel sighs tiredly and runs a hand through his blonde hair before cracking his knuckles. "I get that you're angry Elena trust me I know how you feel."
"You know nothing!" I scream at him, not knowing how I found the strength in me to do such a thing. "You fucking tried to strangle my best friend to death! You drugged and abducted me! Nobody knows where the fuck I am and there's blackmail held over my head and for what!" I hadn't realised I broke down crying until I feel my nose run and warm tears fall on my cleavage. "And you're just sitting on the other end doing absolutely nothing because you're fucking afraid of your own shadow." Daniel simply looks at me with pity and I hate that. I hate him. After a few moments of me weeping in front of him and my heart shattering into a million slivers, I lamely crouch on the sofa, my face looking down on the demolished floor. "Why?" I whimper. "Why did you do it? Couldn't you wait just a few more hours?"
"He has my fiance." Is all that he says and I look up at him with teary eyes.
"We were going to retrieve the footage. We were going to wipe the hard drive clean."
"No, you weren't." He breathes.
"Yes, we fucking were." I insist. "Jungkook promised me."
"Sure." Daniel laughs to himself. "If you have so much faith in your dear boyfriend, then why do I have this?" He whips out his cellphone and shows me a picture of me and Jungkook in the private room.
"You're a monster." I mutter. "If you think that by doing Seokjin's bidding is going to get you out of this you're wrong. You're only digging your grave deeper. God, I hate people like you. Spineless people. Cowards. Because that's all you are. You're made out of lies and false promises thinking that by serving people with authority, the same people who have wrapped their fist around your neck numerous times, is going to get you out alive, but guess what; you'll never be free. The only way to be free in this world is by breaking every single rule, every single obstacle that comes your way and do you know why?" When he doesn't say anything, I proceed. "Because when somebody breathes down your neck all you can do is to either let them crush you or learn to breathe the same air they do. You eventually become what you hate. All there's left to do is adapt to your environment and reshape yourself in a way that when something grazes the surface it gets cut. That's enough of a warning sign to send to someone to not fuck with you."
"Is that what happened to you?" He asks lowly.
"Yes and no." I shrug as far as my arms can take. "It depends on whether you'll let me go."
"You know, there are different kinds of monsters that roam this hellhole." I continue when he comes back, not knowing where exactly I'm going with this. "And not all monsters need to take another life in order to become one. I wonder what kind of monster you are."
Daniel searches for something in his phone and I grow irritated at the fact that he's ignoring me. He taps on something but he doesn't turn the screen to me right away so I can only hear the audio.
"If I can't touch you then it's only fair if you touch yourself in my presence." Jungkook's deep raspy voice says in a commanding tone.
"Fine,"
My cheeks turn hot red at the audio that is playing, that my toes curl inside of my high heels. Soon enough all I can hear are muffled groans and moans from that private session Jungkook and I had in the Golden Closet.
He has fucking copies.
"Fuck," I say in defeat. "Turn it off."
"Make yourself come. Say my name when you come. Imagine that it's my cock that makes you feel so good."
The first clip ends with me screaming Jungkook's name and that's when everything went to shit.
"From the looks of it," Daniel begins, "your boyfriend is no saint considering the fact that he disrespected you and assaulted you in your own workspace. I mean, I already figured that much out when he nearly crushed my windpipe that day in the back alley downtown."
I shake my head, blinking away unwanted tears. "Please, stop."
"Jungkook is the reason you're here Elena." He laughs bitterly. "If he left you alone that night, we wouldn't be here having this conversation."
"I said shut up you bastard!" I finally screech. "Shut the fuck up!"
"If you're calling me spineless, then what the fuck are you?" He grits. "You're with the same person who brought you to your fucking knees. Don't try to guilt trip me about my own actions and decisions. I know I wronged you and I know damn well that I'm being selfish. I don't need you to tell me how fucked up this is. I had no other choice!"
"Jungkook isn't the reason why I'm here," I correct him. "It's because your boss has a twisted perception of what his duties are. And you're his lackey. His fucking bitch."
"What does that make you? You're the one fucking his customers you slut!" He slams his hand on the table with brute force that it nearly cracks the rotten wood. His fist is painted red and that's all I see. "I'm sorry..." Daniel mumbles. "You think I have no backbone, that's fine by me."
"You're a young girl, so I don't blame you for anything that happened, but take a good look of yourself and think before you open that smart mouth of yours. Jungkook tried to take advantage of you that very night and you didn't hesitate to spread your legs one bit. Don't give me the excuse that you're obligated to do your job, because we all know that you already wanted it. I bet you let him continue using you afterwards, because this is what you've become Elena. Your edges don't cut. In fact you're attracting trouble because this is all you know. You don't know what it's like to live a peaceful life. You don't know what it's like being tranquil and at ease with your own self. You don't appreciate the people who genuinely care for your well being and you push them away for someone who you think is good for you. Instead, of settling with a partner who's making you feel safe, you choose someone you will bring you nothing but pain." I stare at him wide eyed and he straightens his coat with wounded knuckles. "I would rather be a coward than a fool."
His phone suddenly buzzes in his pocket and with that he gets off the chair and leaves the room.