A://N This is the longest chapter I've ever written in my entirety of Wattpad. I spent a lot of time on this chapter and would really appreciate it if you guys voted and commented a bunch to show your support!
There are lots of switching POV's so make sure to pay attention! Also, comment your starting time here and your finishing time to see how long it took you to read this chapter (it's over 20 pages I think)
TW: RAPE
⚫ Aspen Seraphina Ambrosia POV ⚫
I pulled my legs up to my chest, waiting for the minute they'd get here as I told myself over and over that they would. My mom stayed hopeful, something I didn't understand after being isolated and held captive for five years straight. It was true that she had been helping them, out of force. I mean anyone would help if a gun was pointed at your head.
The door to my "bedroom" swung open, my eyes snapping over to see a disgraceful blonde. Deliah entered the room, her hips swaying to the side with each step she took. She had kept quiet the past couple of days, not saying much to me because she knew I'd slit her throat with any chance I had gotten.
Her hair fell to her shoulders, slightly curled. Pulling out a metal fold-up chair across the room, she took a seat and stared at me for a few moments. She sat at the opposite side of the room, so far that I was unable to reach her from me being chained to the bed. I turned my head to the side, biting my tongue back from saying anything to her at all. There had to be something wrong with her, who rapes their own thirteen-year-old nephew?
"Pierce always did have a type for blondes." She spoke up, breaking the silence that filled the room. It was true, Pierce did have a type for skinny, brown-eyed, blonde hair girls- a theme I had noticed in all his ex-girlfriends. "Surprising that he went for you, considering you're the complete opposite."
"He went for me because unlike everyone else who has hurt him, I give a shit about him." I snapped back at her, not wanting to hear about how I wasn't Pierce's "type" and that he'd never go for me, something that was far from the truth. I was still upset about the photo, not knowing what to believe but my mom had insisted it was a manipulation tactic.
"So did I honey, so did I."
I ignored her comment, knowing I couldn't argue with her because she was so blind to her actions. The ignorance was overwhelming with how she had acted, I didn't see how someone could be so evil. "Why are you here?" I blurted out, not wanting to even breathe the same air as her. My answers weren't clear though- as to why she had been here for how long. Why would she be working with the Vipers?
"To get back at Pierce of course." Deliah shrugged simply, enraging me even more. I dropped my legs from my chest and stood up from the bed as I began to go up to her, being pulled back by the chains. "You RAPED HIM!" I shouted at her as I stood tall, a distance standing between us.
She raped him and wanted revenge. She took his innocence way too soon and committed an act so criminal she should be killed for it. The fact she wasn't in an orange jumpsuit with her face behind bars made me want to scream over and over again to make her feel the guilt for what she had done to him...her own nephew.
"I told him not to tell anyone." Deliah gritted, standing up from her chair and walking closer to me "He promised it would be our little secret. So now I'm hated by everyone in our family, because of something that happened five years ago."
"And you promised to give a shit about him." I gritted back at her, shaking my head in disgrace "You're the biggest piece of shit to walk this earth. You're not remorseful at all, you're just here to get revenge. And for what? You raped a 13-year-old boy, more than once. Of course, he would tell someone, he knew it was wrong and so did you."
"It was not rape."
"It wasn't rape?" I scoffed in all seriousness "So when you pinned him down and he screamed to stop, that wasn't rape? You watched Pierce scream and cry as you forced him into you. You're not remorseful one bit. And trust me, the minute I get out of here- I will hunt you down and kill you myself. You don't deserve to walk free and prison will be too good for you."
Her eyes glared into mine, not breaking away. If I could only reach a few inches further, I'd bash her head into the wall till her skull showed. I was a forgiving person, to say the least, but not to people who did the unthinkable and still didn't have any remorse to show.
The door swung open once again, revealing Cayde and Tucker as they stood in the doorway. "Deliah." Cayde spoke sternly "I believe you have somewhere else to be. Atticus will become angered if he finds out you're down here with Aspen. No conversing with the enemy."
Ironic to think I was the enemy. She broke her glare away from mine, before slowly walking out of the room and letting the guys shut the door behind her. I expected them to walk out with her but they stayed put as they shut the door behind them and turned the lock. I immediately became nervous, not wanting to move an inch as they both stared at me.
"Let's make this quick," Cayde muttered under his breath as they both approached me. Cayde pushed me back onto the bed, shortening the chains of my wrist and ankles so I was unable to even sit up from how tight it had been. "No. Stop." I tugged at the chains, the metal rubbing against my skin.
Tucker went to my legs, ripping down my underwear. My eyes began to widen as the reality kicked in of what was about to happen. "Tucker no! No please!" I begged, tears beginning to stream down my face "Please I'm begging you!"
"Make her shut up," Tucker muttered to Cayde. Cayde soon took a black bandana before tying it around my mouth, making my screams become muffled. Cayde ripped off my shirt along with my bra, groping my breast as Tucker tried to force himself in me. Tears streamed down my face and I closed my eyes shut as I wanted to pretend I was anywhere else besides here.
Tucker forced himself into me, making me scream in agony from the pain. I began to choke on my own tears as they flooded my face. My stomach turned into knots as I just wanted this to all be over.
Tucker took his turn, grabbing and groping my body. He soon pulled out and right when I thought my agony was gone, Cayde took a position in Tucker's spot. Cayde's hands roamed my body as I squirmed against the bed, trying to escape his touch. He took no time but to force himself back into me, making me scream once again.
My eyes became blurred from the tears, looking up as Tucker looked down at me. He kept his arms crossed over his chest as he stared down at me, with a smirk of proudness crossed across his face. This is all he wanted from me, he wanted to have sex with me whether it consent or not. I looked up to the Tucker that was once sweet, the one who slept with me the night I had been upset and related to me about having dead parents. And now he was taking the chance he got to rape me.
Cayde moaned as he continued. I closed my eyes shut, forcing both of their faces out of my eyesight. My body became numb as I laid there by myself, completely shutting off from everything around me. Once you handle so much emotion you aren't able to anymore. Everyone wanted to take advantage of me in some way, and they were doing it sexually.
I let out a last scream, forcing it out as much as possible as the bandana gagged me. My eyes flung open when the door swung open, revealing my mother. Her face became pale white as if she had just seen a ghost. Cayde pulled away from me quickly, my mom grabbing him and slamming him against the wall.
She took no time but to throw a punch directly into his stomach. "You fucker." She gritted in pure anger before taking a punch from Cayde as well as Tucker. She didn't stumble or fall but kept her ground even after taking punches from both of them. My mom backed up to the other side of the room, grabbing the hand-held mirror that sat on the dresser and slamming it against the wall. The glass shattered, as she bent over and picked up a shard that was long a point.
She took no time but to rush over to Cayde, stabbing him directly in the side and turning it sideways as it was in him. His screams became loud and filled with agony before she ripped it out and looked over to Tucker. His eyes were wide and took that as his time to go, not wanting to be stabbed just like Cayde. Tucker pushed Cayde out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
My mom rushed over to me, covering my naked body with a blanket before doing anything. She took the bandana out of my mouth as well as undid the chains from my ankles and wrist. I sat up with tears streaming down my face, keeping the blanket wrapped around my body. My mom sat down next to me, pulling me into a tight hug as I sobbed into her shoulder.
My entire body hurt, aching in every inch. My tears continued to stream down the sides of my face, and I began to hyperventilate before going into an asthma attack. "It's ok baby, it's ok." She reassured quietly as she continued to rub "Just try to breathe, in through your nose out through your mouth."
I had known my mother knew it wasn't as simple as it sounded, and that it was in fact not ok. But what are you supposed to say to your 18-year-old daughter who is held hostage and raped by two different men that she once trusted. I knew she knew how I felt with the trauma I endorsed in over two weeks, I couldn't imagine what she had in the past years.
"I feel like I'm going to be sick." I forced the words out as my stomach turned into knots. My mom reached over to the side of the bed, grabbing the miniature garbage can that had sat low to the floor. I grabbed both sides of the trash can before throwing up it, my stomach still turned in knots.
* * * * *
⚫ Pierce Henderson Gunner POV ⚫
"The search for 18-year-old Aspen Seraphina Ambrosia continues to seize the nations. With the last spotting of her in Washington, police continue to expand their search. With how long she has been gone, police have debated turning her case from missing persons to a homicide case-" I quickly turned off the radio, not wanting to hear another thing about the case and them now thinking she could be dead.
I gripped the steering wheel as we all followed Xander onto an off-road. Today was the day we were looking to go get Aspen back and were driving to the warehouse that Lana had mentioned from when they were younger. Bainbridge Island was small compared to other cities in Washington and luckily for once, the rain had held out.
We had rented a few cars once we had gotten here, needing transportation to get the fuck out of these woods. As we drove further into the woods, the trees were everywhere and covered the sunlight from the sky coming in. Mr. Ambrosia sat in the front of my passenger seat, completely silent and uneasy as we got closer and closer.
Aster, Evangeline, and June sat in the backseat; all not saying a word. "Aspen and Lana used to come down here all the time. She loved it, being able to walk for miles with not a person in sight- guess I should've watched a little closer considering there had been a gang in these woods." Mr. Ambrosia spoke up, feeling defeated.
"Dad you didn't know, and we didn't know this was all going to happen. What's important right now is finding her-" Aster explained. It was obvious Mr. Ambrosia was now questioning his many years of parenting. He seemed to fail to understand the depth around Ashlynn and what she did, but personally, I believe he didn't want to understand.
"Jesus Christ, we're in the middle of nowhere," June said, looking out the window as we continued to drive down the dirt road in some rental black jeep wrangler. It was true that we were in the middle of nowhere, but Tucker insisted we had to continue to go North. Something that struck me as not right.
Xander quickly pulled into a grassy area, putting the car park as everyone else followed behind, doing the same thing. I got out of the driver's side, looking around to see nothing for miles. "What the hell Xander? There's nothing for fucking miles." I shouted over to him as he stared down at a map in his hands.
June handed me an AR-15 which had a strap, allowing me to sling it over my back along with a Glock handgun. I checked the mag, seeing it had been full before heading to the trunk of the jeep to grab more spare ammo. "Here put it on." Sawyer shoved a bullet-proof vest into my chest.
"I'm not putting-"
"Pierce, I'm your older sister and I'm saying put it on. So put it on." Sawyer warned as she sent me a look of Do-It-Now. I rolled my eyes in annoyance, knowing she and Harley would always use the older sister card. "Just do it, Pierce." June elbowed in the side, sending me the same look. To me, wearing a bulletproof vest was just asking to get shot.
"Do it for me, Piercy." Mercury sent me a wink, walking her fingers up my chest. I shoved her back and out of my way before looking back into the trunk as Evangeline and Aster sat everything up. Mr. Ambrosia walked up to the trunk, waiting to be handed a vest along with a gun as he sent a death glare to Mercury.
"What the hell are you looking at old man?" Mercury snapped at him, crossing her arms over her chest as she tapped her fingers against her arm. "Now I don't know much." Mr. Ambrosia sent her a look of amusement "But I do know that's my daughter's boyfriend and I know a slut when I see one."
Mercury's mouth dropped in response, while Aster and I let out a small laugh in response to what Mr. Ambrosia had said to Mercury. I looked over to Mercury sending her a smirk, knowing she had lost that one. With that, she turned around and stormed off to Greyson, Theo, and Tyson.
"Alright, here it is." Xander said as he circled a spot on the map "This is the warehouse, it's about 5 miles in. We are going to cram into two trucks, Mars and Tyson are going to drive when we think we got her, we will be keeping them updated with a radio sound system that we connect to our ears, like a mic."
"We're walking 5 miles?" Greyson chimed in annoyance "For Christ's sake, she's not that important."
"Neither are you so maybe we can just do an exchange. We get Aspen back and give you to them. Sounds perfect to me." Cypress snapped back at Greyson. Mercury and Greyson have been non-stop bitching since we left the hotel, complaining we had to go and get her even though she wasn't part of Crestmont that long.
"She's been in Crestmont since like November, it's February. She's barely any use to us anyway, I mean we wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for her." Greyson snapped back, speaking loud enough for everyone to hear "I say we leave the bitch to die."
"Once a Crestmont, always a Crestmont. She's family Greyson, and if you have a problem with that then you can fly yourself back to New York." Xander said sternly, sending her a glare in response. Greyson became silent, pressing her lips in a thin line as she knew it was her time to shut the fuck up.
"Now everyone gear up and let's roll out!"
* * * * * *
⚫ Aspen Seraphina Ambrosia POV ⚫
"I'm so sorry Aspen, I wish I would've gotten here sooner-" My mom began, feeling guilty as ever. First I found out my mom was in a gang, then I found out she hasn't been dead the past five years, and now she saw her own daughter being raped. I had no idea what to say at this point, my whole life has been ripped away from me.
I lifted my head when I heard sirens begin to go off throughout the building. I looked over to my mom, confused as to what the sirens were for. It was moments later when my door was kicked open. Nixon stood in the doorframe, staring my dead in the eyes before parting his lips "Your gang is coming."
My eyes widened as I couldn't believe I was actually hearing those words after being held captive for weeks. Nixon along with Cole both came in, grabbing both my mom and me. We were both dragged down the hallway, and for the first time in weeks, I had hope of being saved. My feet dragged against the cement cold floor, not knowing where we were headed too.
We went up floor by floor, going to the very top of the building-a part I hadn't been to before. Looking down I saw how high we actually were, knowing there were at least 10 different flights of stairs below us. We reached the top of the stairs, nowhere else to go but in between the doors. They pushed through the doors before entering into a large room that was separated by a layer of glass.
The other side of the room had been empty, with nothing but an entry door. Amora and Jules locked the door behind us, completely boarding it up so no one could come in or escape. My mom and I were both pushed into the middle of the room, looking around at everyone else who had a smirk plastered across their faces.
"Well, today is the day." Nixon smirked proudly "We've been alerted by Tucker that they are only five miles out, getting closer with every step. As Crestmont approaches, we have set up the entire warehouse with traps, not to mention a bomb that will go off in the middle floor, killing anyone who has a foot in this warehouse. Not to mention we have hired ex-military men to guard downstairs, making it harder for them to get up here."
I swallowed a lump in my throat, beginning to realize this wasn't going to be as easy as it had seemed. I hadn't thought about them trapping the entire warehouse, and without them knowing about the bomb- that meant anything could happen and they wouldn't know. I knew Tucker would lead them right into danger or even death...
"But we have decided to give you another option." Atticus spoke up, clasping his hands together "No one will get hurt, all traps will be put off in exchange for you two to join our new gang- The Thrashing Gang, a word closely related to Victory."
"See, on our own, we may not be as skillful as Crestmont." Nixon continued where Atticus left off "But together, we will be unstoppable. Our plan is to take over the gang world, including RSP and all international drug trade. You always thought this was a plan of revenge, but we're not stopping at revenge sweetheart."
"That's the stupidest fucking name I've ever heard," I added, not believing their fabulous name of a joint gang would be The Thrashing Gang. "Hey, you Bitch!" Beverly snickered at me "I came up with that!"
"Oh is that what all your two brain cells could come up with?" I gave her a fake pout, making my mom chuckle at my side. Atticus waved off Beverly's anger before turning back to my mom and me, narrowing his eyes at the both of us as he waited for our answer.
"What's it going to be ladies? Ride Or Die?"
Ride Or Die, the same thing Pierce had said to me about joining Crestmont. I swallowed a lump in my throat, looking straight over to Atticus and getting the courage to say what I wanted to say. Looking over to my mom, she shared a look with me and gave me a slight nod in response.
"I'd rather die."
"Well, that's your choice, a very wrong one." Nixon snickered a laugh "But we'll wait to kill you till your gang gets here, puts on an exciting audience. I know you think you're some badass teenage girl Ambrosia since you joined Crestmont, but you're nothing but a dumb bitch."
I looked over to Noah, who just looked down at the ground in defeat. I knew he had been just as nervous and wanted to be found as well. I wasn't going to lose hope though, I knew they were close and that they were going to help us escape any moment.
First I just had to figure out how I was going to escape death...
* * * * * *
⚫ Pierce Henderson Gunner POV ⚫
"Are we almost there? I'm starving." Mercury whined as we continued to head down into the woods. We had to walk to the warehouse because it would be too dangerous to drive down due to the car engines being loud.
"Oh, you're hungry? Let's just stop at the vending machine really quick, do you want potato chips?" Triston said sarcastically before stopping and looking around before turning to Mercury "Would you look at that, there is NONE! Because we're in the middle of the fucking woods trying to end a kidnapping case that is being run by a gang!"
"I wasn't in the mood for potato chips," Mercury muttered under her breath as she sent Triston a glare for her sarcasm. We continued to walk through the crowded woods as Xander insisted he knew where the warehouse was even though we had already been walking for over an hour.
"There it is," Xander said as he looked up from the map and at the warehouse that was 12 stories tall and looked abandoned. This is where they were keeping her? It had looked completely vacant, even with no cars parked around it. "I don't know about this..." June trailed off uneasy "I mean it looks like no one has been here in years."
"No this is it. It looks exactly like the pictures." Tucker spoke up, shutting down what June had been saying. "What pictures..." June trailed off, sending me a look of suspicion. There were no pictures of the warehouse, it wasn't even searchable on google. I pulled June aside as the concern washed over her face.
"I fucking told you something up." I glanced between June and Tucker who was loading up a handgun. "Yeah, that was really weird..." June trailed off, super unsure of what was to be said "Tucker's been taking the lead on this, it doesn't make sense how he's so sure about everything."
"I think he's working with them," I admitted honestly to June. It made sense, Tucker was always disappearing and always seemed to run into the Coinstons randomly which is supposedly how he gained the information. Tucker hated Aspen's guts for rejecting him and now he was suddenly the number one search person for her.
"He couldn't be." June shook her head before coming to reality "Could he?"
"Let's go! Remember everyone to take guard. We don't want to lose anyone, the more of us there are the harder it'll be for them to defeat us." Archer instructed as we all began to enter the warehouse. Pushing the door open, we immediately heard a ticking sound.
"Out!" Archer pushed everyone back, slamming the door shut as a mini bomb had gone off behind the door. "Really great fucking plan Archer, just walk right into a building that probably has how many traps." I rolled my eyes, knowing with dumbass one and dumbass two running this gang, we'd never get to Aspen.
"Let's try it again," Xander said, pushing the door back open only for us to be welcomed by a cloud of black smoke that had filled the hallway. We all held our guns out and right by our sides, waiting to pull the trigger any moment. Mr. Ambrosia was practically shaking with fear, not the slightest bit prepared for what was about to happen but insisted on being involved.
"We're going to split into two groups, cover more ground that way. Archer, Alexandria, Harley, Theo, Phoenix, Greyson, Tucker, and Triston are group one." Xander instructed, "Me, Pierce, Juniper, Cypress, Sawyer, Aster, Mercury, Mr. Ambrosia, and Evangeline are group two."
With that said, we all began to split up into two different groups, covering two different sides of the buildings. Xander led us down the corridor, looking every which way for somebody to appear. We began going up the steps not touching a single thing.
"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Cypress exclaimed as we came to the top of the stairs "Who takes out the damn floorboards?" I looked down at the ground with a huge gap in the ground, way longer than any of our bodies or even jumping distances. We needed to get over the gap in order to continue to go upwards, but without any side railing, it'd be impossible to cross.
"They knew what they were doing, that's for sure," Xander muttered, looking down to see how deep of a fall it could be, and it was enough to break up some bones once you hit the cement ground.
"It doesn't matter, we still need to figure it out." Aster sighed "Someone think of something, anything." We all looked around the room, trying to find something in order to get to the next hallway. This just all felt like some fucked up video game.
"The pipe." I spoke up, looking up at the metal piper that went across the ceiling "I can use the pipe to cross the gap and then use the ladder that's on the other side for you guys to cross."
"Pierce I don't think the pipe is going to hold you-" Evangeline started but I stopped her before she said anything else. "It's the best we have right now, I'm not going to waste any more time till we find her."
I stepped up onto the side railing for the lower stairwell, grabbing onto the pipe with one hand before gripping it with the other. The pipe immediately created a traveling sound that showed the weight was too much to be held, but there was no other choice.
Gripping onto the metal pipe, I lifted my hands to place them one in front of the other as I tried to cross the gap. The pipe lowered, making everyone gasp as I gripped tighter onto the pipe. I looked down at how deep the fall would be before looking back at the breaking pipe that started to leak water.
"Come on Pierce, it's just like monkey bars when we were kids." June tried to reassure "Except it's a really deep fall...and you could break your ribs...oh and we're in the middle of an enemy warehouse trying to end a national kidnapping case.."
"June please shut the fuck up," I said aggravating, not needing her to make the situation worse with what she had been saying. I lifted myself up as much as I could, gripping onto the pipe by throwing my right hand in front of my left on the pipe.
"Mmm, look at those biceps," Mercury said loudly, trying to get my attention. I ignored her, knowing she'd never stop with the comments. I forced myself across the pipe, it lowering with every single movement I took closer to the other side.
"Oh my god, I can't watch," June mumbled, looking as she covered her eyes in terror. I took a deep breath, knowing the pipe was about to burst before lunging myself over to the other side from where I had been. The second my feet hit the ground on the other side, the pipe had burst before falling straight through the gap.
The pipe fell to the first floor, the sound banging against the cold cement floor. Everyone looked down at it as I grabbed the ladder, laying it across the gap in the floorboards. I held down one end while Xander held down the other.
"Oh my god, I'm terrified of heights." June trembled as she stepped up to the edge of the ladder. She slowly stood up, fixing her posture and gulping in nervousness. She took one step forward before the ladder shifted slightly making her freeze in fear.
"Come on babe, you got this!" Cypress called out to June. Their relationship still made me highly uncomfortable and I hated the idea of it, knowing it wouldn't end well one day. But June of course insisted it never would, something I doubted highly.
June slowly crossed the ladder before reaching the other side of the ladder. Everyone else followed behind shortly, all taking their time to cross before we could finally move on. Xander and I both grabbed the ladder, placing it against the wall in case we needed it to later escape.
* * * * * *
⚫ Aspen Seraphina Ambrosia POV⚫
Sitting nervously, I could feel my body trembling in nervousness. I knew they were here and they were in the building, it was only a matter of time before they would finally reach me. Noah, my mom, and I all sat on the ground near the wall while everyone else slowly waited for their appearance.
"Oh my god, look," I said in complete shock as I stared over at a small tv monitor that was hung to the wall, showing Pierce, Xander, Evangeline, Aster, Juniper, Cypress, Mercury, Sawyer, and my dad...
Noah and my mom's heads both snapped over to the small monitor. My mom's mouth dropped as tears pricked her eyes at the sight of my dad. She hadn't seen him in over five years and now he was here, with no idea that she was alive.
"It's your father..." She said in complete shock, covering her mouth with her hands. She was expecting us to finally be saved but we both didn't expect my father to get caught up in this mess. I was happy to see him but I was scared for what he had gotten himself into. He wasn't prepared for it, no one was if they weren't already in Crestmont.
"Evangeline." Noah let out a breath of relief as he saw his sister through the screen. I looked over to him, sharing a small smile of rejoice knowing we each had someone coming for us. My mom would reunite with my dad and brother. Noah would have Evangeline and I'd finally get to see Pierce.
It was all going to be over soon and I'd be able to get back to New York once and for all. I wanted my normal life back more than anything and every second I was here I was longing to return back to home.
"Well if it isn't the rescue team." Cayde scoffed as he walked up to me, squatting down to my height. He gripped my chin with his left hand as he stared directly into my eyes with a death glare "If your mommy pulls another stunt like that again, I'll kill you both, myself."
He pulled away from me before walking away. I knew that was one of the last times he'd touch me, motivation enough to keep my mouth shut while I waited for everyone to get here. The only thing was that they were making sure they did anything possible for them to not get here.
I glanced over to Deliah who was leaning up against the wall, staring at the monitor. I could only imagine the intrusive disgusting thoughts that had gone through her head. I wanted nothing more but to put a bullet through her head and end her once and all.
"I can't believe your father is here." My mom spoke speechlessly, pulling my glance away from Deliah. I forced her a small smile, not wanting to remind her that he was completely unprepared for what was to happen. The most my dad knew how to do was shoot a gun but I didn't even know if he had ever even punched someone.
"How do you think he's going to react? I mean he thinks you've been dead-" I hadn't thought about how my dad would react till now and it wasn't something I was looking forward to. It would become a complete shock, he wouldn't even have the chance to process it considering the circumstances we are in.
I'm sure he's just finding out that his son and daughter are in a gang and that his wife used to be an infamous leader. Now he's finding out that his daughter was kidnapped, only to then see his wife hasn't been dead for the past five years but instead has been held captive.
Looking over to the other side of the room, I continued to stare at the sheet of glass that went from ceiling to the ground as well as wall to wall. But why? Why was there a sheet of glass, almost window like-that separated us from the other side of the glass.
I just hoped they didn't have anything special planned...
* * * * * *
⚫ Pierce Henderson Gunner POV ⚫
"Go! Go! Go!" Xander yelled at us as we all rushed through the hallway as a ticking noise went on behind us. I looked behind us to see the bomb in the center of the hallway that was purposely placed in the center and tricked to go off with any movement near it.
"Get down!" Aster yelled, forcing us to get to the ground while the small bomb erupted. It wasn't enough to blow up the whole building but it was enough to cause the whole building to shake. The black smoke enclosed us as it spread throughout the hallway. Everyone began coughing as we inhaled the smoke involuntarily, waving it away from our faces.
"Jesus Christ, how many of those things do they have?" Mr. Ambrosia said as he continued to wave the smoke away. Xander pushed us to go on, continuing up the steps and leading us into a room that was at the end of the stairs, with no other staircase to go to in order to get to the top.
As we entered the room, it was filled with men who were dressed in military uniforms. "What the fuck is this? Some orgy party for military roleplay?" I scoffed, with no idea as to why all these guys were just in here standing around as if they were waiting for us to come.
"We must be close." Sawyer added as we stared face to face with the men. She was right, we had to be close and that's why they had men standing around, waiting to beat the shit out of us so we couldn't get to her.
They all began to approach us at the same time, each of them taking on someone. The one that approached me went to send a punch into my face, making me duck immediately. "Shoot." Xander ordered all of us, as we all reached to our sides and pointed a gun at each man.
I wrapped my finger around the trigger before pulling it, the bullet going into the center of his chest. He gripped his chest before falling to the ground and groaning in agony. "They didn't stand a chance." Juniper scoffed in disgrace as we all watched them bleed out onto the floor.
The door to the other side of the room opened to reveal the rest of the gang. "No fun, you guys left no one for us to shoot." Greyson commented as she looked at all the dead men lying across the room.
"They planned this on purpose. They knew we'd split up and wanted us to meet at the same time again." Xander insisted, knowing this was all a setup. "Well, there's only one way to find out." Archer nodded over to the third door in the room.
Here we come, Aspen.
* * * * *
⚫ Aspen Seraphina Ambrosia POV⚫
My head whipped over to the other side of the room to see the door open, revealing the entire gang. Forcing myself up from the ground, I ran over to the sheet of glass that had separated us from them. Placing my hands up against the glass, Pierce pushed himself through everyone and up to the glass.
His gray eyes met mine as he placed his hands on the glass, against mine. "Pierce-" I said breathlessly, not believing he had actually been here. All this time, all the days of waiting had finally come. My heart began racing in my chest and my stomach flipped, the excitement of it finally happening coming over me.
"Aspen." Pierce said just in as much shock as me. I swallowed a lump in my throat, looking at him directly through the glass, wanting to get rid of the wall that was between us. I couldn't be bothered to focus on everyone behind me, because it was the first time I had seen everyone for weeks.
"Ashlynn-" I heard my dad's voice say in complete shock. I looked from Pierce to over to my dad who looked like he was about to faint. "Mom?!" Aster yelled, looking directly through the glass.
"Noah?!" Evangeline's voice exclaimed in the same shock my dad had shared. I looked over to Pierce and the rest of the gang to see their faces of shock as well. I wanted to tell them everything, everything about how Coinstons set all of this up and that Crestmont and Westwoods were never actually enemies.
My mom and Noah both walked up to the glass while they met my dad and Evangeline. I watched as my dad placed his hand against my moms on the glass, not being able to form any words. The shock became so much that I watched him become dizzy before fainting onto the ground. Aster immediately went up to my dad as he tried to wake him up, still not being able to believe my mom was actually alive.
"Deliah." Pierce gritted, tearing away from the glass the minute his eyes landed on her. I watched as everyone looked at someone they missed before looking directly at their own enemy. My head whipped around when I began to hear slow clapping, only to see Tucker join in on my side of the room.
"Well, well, well." He snickered, a smirk tugging at the side of his lips "Well isn't this a nice reunion, one that we have certainly been awaiting Crestmont."
"Holy shit Pierce was right-" June blinked slowly at Tucker as everyone shared the same state of shock. Finding out my mother and Noah were alive, as well as Tucker was actually working with the Coinston's. And they didn't even know the puzzle behind this mess, only waiting to find out.
"Tucker?! What's going on-" Xander began to try to process this. Aster continued to struggle to wake my dad up but it was no use. The shock had taken over his body, he wasn't able to process this sudden change after grieving his wife for the past five years- it had felt like his wife was a ghost.
Evangeline's eyes were filled with tears as she looked at Noah, not believing he didn't die in the fire and instead had been held prisoner by the Coinston's and Vipers. We weren't fighting against one gang this entire time, we were fighting against both.
"Oh don't be so oblivious." Tucker scoffed at Xander "The constant disappearing, the random knowledge on the Coinstons, the sudden care in Aspen's kidnapping. It was only a matter of time before you realized I have been working with the Coinston's the whole time. I'm surprised Pierce was the first one to figure it out."
I looked back at Pierce who held a glare at Tucker, wanting to jump through the glass and kill him at this very moment. I was still shocked, the question of Pierce knowing about Tucker?
"Why? Why would you do this?" Triston shouted over to Tucker.
"Why? Because I was sick of being in Pierce's shadow. Joining the Coinston's gave me so much more recognition, I was never pushed to the sides when I was with them."
"Are you fucking serious?" Pierce slammed his fist on the glass "You did all of this because you couldn't get your own fucking shadow?"
"Don't steal my girl, Gunner."
"She was never fucking yours!" Pierce shouted, the glass muffling his yells. I couldn't believe Tucker did all of this over me rejecting him, it was petty, to say the least. Pierce was right though, I was never his and never would be. We didn't click like he had hoped, and couldn't accept I didn't want him.
"But we offered Tucker so much more. Power. Something that Crestmont would never give to one of their members." Nixon started to slowly walk up, taking a stance next to Tucker "And Tucker here has now led you guys into one of our biggest traps."
"Tucker this isn't you." I shook my head in disbelief that he'd always been evil "You know it's not you. They're manipulating you, Xander and Archer are the ones who took you in after your parents died. You know you've always had a place in Crestmont."
"Silence, Ambrosia!" Atticus ordered, as he walked up to me and pushed my body against his chest. He had placed me in a headlock, placing the knife up to my neck as the blade went deeper and deeper into my skin. I gripped at his arms that kept me locked in place, trying to force my way out.
"Earlier we offered Ashlynn and Aspen a spot in our new gang, but stupidly they declined. I told them it'd be ride or die, and since they don't want to ride- the only other option is to die." Atticus let out a chuckle "That is unless Pierce Gunner would like to switch places with his beloved girlfriend.
I shook my head as much as I could as I stared directly into Pierce's eyes. "Pierce don't. Don't do it, please I'm begging you." Pierce gulped as his eyes didn't leave mine. I didn't want him to live this hell and I didn't want him to do this for me, it wasn't his fight- it was mine. They would kill me or kill Pierce, which would ruin me. They knew they had a grip on me either way.
"I'll do it." Pierce forced the words out, tears beginning to prick my eyes. I couldn't watch him die, I couldn't. Atticus began to let go of me before telling Pierce he would have to join over to the other side, where they would then end him.
"No! NO! I'll do it!" I screamed, begging them to take me instead of Pierce.
"Aspen! NO!" My mother shouted after me but Atticus gave nothing but a smirk as he grabbed my hand and led me over to the wall, where he pushed my back against, before beginning to wrap the rope around both of my wrists.
"Never thought I'd live to see this dream." Cayde smirked proudly as he raised the gun up to my chest, standing a distance away from me. One bullet, one and it would be all over. I squeezed my eyes shut, not believing my dream of being saved would end with me dying. I would do anything if it meant Pierce would be okay.
I took a deep breath, not daring to open my eyes as I knew seeing the gun would freak me out. It had been a hell of a ride while it had lasted...
"ASPEN, I LOVE YOU!" Pierce's voice shouted from the other side of the room, making my eyes fly open. My heart fluttered and my stomach turned into butterflies, as I let out a breath I had been holding in. I looked to Pierce through the glass as his fist laid flat against the glass.
Did Pierce just say he loved me?
"Oh well, how romantic. Too bad it had to end." Atticus snapped his fingers, making Cole, Cayde, Katarina, and Tucker grab gasoline cans and pour the gasoline everywhere. My eyes widened in response as I realized what they were about to do.
"We're going to end this in our normal style." Nixon laughed as they finished pouring the gasoline everywhere "Oh and don't forget about the bomb. We win again Crestmont, better luck next time- if you make it out."
With that said they all opened up the window, before each climbing their way down the ladder, leaving us all in the warehouse. Tucker was the last one to go, standing at the top of the window, looking at each one of us before pulling out a lighter.
"NO!" Everyone screamed, knowing what he was about to do. With that, Tucker tossed the lighter onto the ground, making the floor light up in fire. The room had gone up in flames within seconds, not leaving a minute to spare. I began tugging at my wrist, trying to get out of the rope ties.
My mom and Noah were unable to get to me as they were trapped into a corner that the fire enclosed in. "Pierce!" I screamed, fear taking over my voice as I began to believe I would burn to death. I looked through the flames to see Pierce and the rest of the gang on the other side. They weren't able to shoot the glass down because it would just hit me, injuring me more.
"Pierce!" I screamed, watching through the glass. Pierce turned sideways, slamming his body into the glass. He did a few times, every time beginning to feel defeated. The flames inched closer to me, the heat making my skin boil. I squirmed within the grips of the rope, trying to tug my way out.
Pierce slammed his body into the glass one last time, allowing for it to all shatter to the ground. I began to cough from all the smoke, my lungs becoming filled with the black smoke. I could barely breathe and was starting to lose consciousness.
Pierce rushed over to me, untying me from the restraints. I lost my balance from becoming light-headed and squinted to see the rest of the gang get Noah and my mom out. We were completely blocked from getting to the other exit, the flames had gotten too tall and were burning the building down in minutes.
"Come on baby." Pierce helped me walk over to the window as I continued coughing, not being able to breathe. He opened the window, looking down to see the very deep drop. He looked around, looking for something to help us out of here, but it felt like it was no use. Pierce quickly grabbed all the rope they had to tie me down, tying it in knots so it was longer.
"You have to trust me ok?" He narrowed his eyes at me, and I nodded slightly. Pierce tied the rope around his waist and tied it to the dresser that was up against the wall. We inched closer to the window, Pierce sitting on the ledge as he helped me onto the ledge.
"Is the dresser going to hold us?" I was fearful of this escape not working. "We have nothing else." He stated, pulling my body close to him. He wrapped his arm around my waist, keeping me close while I wrapped my arms around his neck.
"Ready?" He asked, hanging on tightly to me. "Ready." I nodded but was lying, I was nowhere near ready. Pierce pushed us off the window ledge and we instantly free fell till about the second story. The cold air hit my skin and a rush of wind came over us. The rope ended, us dangling a little above the ground.
Pierce allowed me to drop, landing on my feet before he untied himself and landed as well. "The bomb." I reminded him, knowing it'd go off any second. Pierce grabbed my hand as we began to dart away from the warehouse, running as fast as our feet could take us. I glanced back at the warehouse that had been up in flames before knowing there was one last tick.
Pierce pushed me down to the ground, his body covering mine as the warehouse exploded into pieces. His warmth took over my body and he didn't budge one inch that would expose my body to debris. We laid there for a few moments as we waited for the debris to fall to the ground, not wanting to be hit.
I looked up when I heard a car horn, looking up to a red pickup truck where the bed of the truck was filled with most of the gang. Pierce helped me up from the ground and lifted me up into the truck. We took a seat on the side as Mars sped away from the warehouse. I looked back as I watched it burn to the ground, watching my own hell burn into pieces.
Looking over to Pierce and everyone else, I knew I was finally safe and I was free. I was able to go home again and be able to go back to my normal life. Pierce's arms wrapped around me tightly, pushing his forehead to mine.
"I love you, Pierce."
"I love you, Aspen."
Pierce pressed his lips to mine, kissing me slowly. I knew all was right again.
* * * * * *
Hey guys! 8000+ words later, here we are.
What'd you think of the chapter? It was a rollercoaster for sure
And a million questions below in 1...2....3!
What do you think of Aspen's mom now that you know more about her?
Are you glad they finally found Aspen? Do you think she'll be able to return to normal life?
How do you think Evangeline and Mr. Ambrosia will continue to react?
The Coinstons and Vipers have escaped...what do you think will happen next?
Thoughts on Cayde and Tucker taking advantage of her?
Any guess on what will happen with Deliah next?
What do you think will happen with Tucker next?
They finally both said I love you...thoughts?
Now that we're further into the story: Favorite and least favorite character and why?
Any guesses for the next chapter?
~Ash