She loved cigarettes... more than life...
Christopher: (Extra long chapter coming up)
"It's been sixteen minutes." Ethan said, tapping his foot against the floor and staring at his phone. "I'm calling the womanhunt."
"Calm down." I rolled my eyes. "She'll be here soon- I'm sure she just got sidetracked by a cute dog or started arguing with cashier."
"I don't know..." he mumbled, "I feel like something is wrong..."
I opened my mouth to respond, but my ringtone cut me off. 'NO CALLER ID' was displayed on the screen. A drop of fear spread through me as I clicked the accept button. Issac motioned for me to put it on speaker.
I cleared my throat. "Hello?"
"Red Devil, how wonderful it is to meet you." A sweet, looking voice sighed. "I assume the rest of 'Hell's Angels' are with you?"
I tensed at my code name. "Who is this?"
She laughed, a sound that lacked joy or humour. "Telling you would take away half the fun. Now, I have something that I think you all are unable to live without."
"What, our phone chargers?" Caleb asked. Nick slapped him upside the head.
"What? No... I have a certain Arya McKenzie?"
"What?" I breathed out, a pit forming at the bottom of my stomach.
"Here, just to be nice, I'll put her on for you. Arya! It's your little friends!"
"ZIP IT WANNABE BARBIE!" An enraged voice screamed in the background.
"Yep that's definitely Skittle." I snorted.
"You know, for someone who's life depends on me, you're being awfully rude." Caller said breezily.
"Skittle? Hey, Skittle?" I called out. "You okay?"
"Just fine and dandy," I could hear the eye-roll, "it's not like I've been kidnapped or-"
"That's enough chatter!" Caller chirruped. "Now boys, I want you to hand over your businesses or else your pretty little friend dies. You have one week." The call ended and the silence that followed was the loudest I'd ever heard.
"This is bad," Caleb Martinez, master of observation, said. "Like, really really bad."
"What do we do, Issac?" I asked, ignoring my friend's remark.
He stood up and chewed his bottom lip thoughtfully, staring out of the window, "cash in every favour we are owed. Call the police and call Lucas- I'm sure he'll want to help."
"On it Boss," Ethan said, a dangerous determination glinting in his eyes, "we'll find her."
The room was charged with a newfound energy. The Hell's Angels- hey, I didn't chose the name, okay?- had a job to do and a person to find.
X
"We won't find her."
"Shut up!" I snapped, slapping Caleb upside the head.
"It's been four days," tears sprung to his eyes and he coughed and wiped them away, "it's like- it's like she's disappeared off the face of the earth."
"We will find her, Caleb." Nick said determinedly. "We have to." He added quietly.
I cleared my throat and tapped my foot against the floor incessantly. "Jess, have you found anything yet?"
"Patience is a virtue," the purple-haired girl growled, furiously typing in her computer with one hand. She slurped her drink through a straw and paused her assault on the keyboard long enough to adjust her glasses. "You haven't given me anything to go off on."
"Take your time, Jess." Jacob chimed in.
"Thanks Cobble!" She gave him a half-smile, then turned her attention back to the screen.
Cobble? I mouthed to the my friends, who seemed just as surprised and confused as I was. It didn't escape either of our notice that Jacob's ears turned pink as he stammered out a 'thank you'.
I raised an eyebrow and Jacob scowled, brushing me off.
"I've got it!" Jess whispered, then repeated it louder, a jubilant joy injected in her tone, "I'VE GOT IT!"
We leaped forward and for a second, our laughter and excited shouts filled the air. We had the location. Now we just had to get Arya.
X
"What the hell?"
I kicked over an empty chair and surveyed the equally empty room. "What the hell indeed."
"Are you sure you got the right location Jess?" Zack asked, lowering his gun.
"Of course!" She snapped, twirling a lock of hair between her fingers, "I don't understand... I'm sure I tracked the correct location."
"Where is she then, huh?" Ethan growled, eyes burning with a fiery anger.
Arya:
The world was a blur of colours when I opened my eyes.
I immediately closed them again.
'Maybe if I close my eyes, she won't notice me.' I thought naively.
"Don't worry, child." A soft, feminine voice spoke.
'Hold up... that doesn't sound like my kidnapper...' Hesitantly, I peeled my eyes opened and hissed at the weak light. I blinked harshly and scanned my surroundings. I was in a room furnished with only a small bed and dusty curtains. The windows were open, but the musty smell still remained.
I squinted at the woman in front of me. Her auburn hair was pulled in a sharp bun and she wore a dark blue suit paired with black heels. Her eyes crinkled at the edges when she smiled. I tried to mimic the movement, but found it a struggle.
"Arya McKenzie, right?" She asked, but it wasn't really a question, "My name is Lisa Brown. Judging by your expression, I'm assuming you've heard of me."
Yes, I tried to say, but not a single sound escaped. I clutched my throat and frowned, trying again.
"Your vocal cords have been completely burned." Her eyes were tinged with sadness, "They might heal, but I'm not sure. Can you tell me what happened?"
I shot her a look and she winced.
"Sorry, poor choice of wording. Do you want a notepad and pen, or do you know sign language?"
I know sign language. Fortunately, when I was younger, my dad taught me. 'You never know when you might need it!' He would always say. Pain exploded in my chest when I thought of him and I tried to push it away.
They forced me to drink boiling water. I signed, tears stinging my eyes. I touched my mouth, feeling the bumpy scarring and shuddered, taking a deep breath.
Lisa reached over and placed a reassuring and on my knee. "I am so sorry..."
Not your fault. I signed jerkily. Why did you rescue me?
"I didn't plan to, if I'm honest," she shrugged, "we were doing some business and my daughter heard through the grapevine that some idiot decided to kidnap a friend of 'Hell's Angels'. She immediately decided to orchestrate your escape because she's been though something similar. Now you see, her brothers weren't too happy with this idea. Oh don't get me wrong, dear, they have nothing against you! It's just that your friend's- Issac Moore- father is a filthy swine who deserves to rot in hell."
I didn't know how to reply so I settled for a simple Okay.
"Let me explain," she cleared her throat and adjusted her position, "one of his men tried to assault my daughter. Fortunately, she managed to escape and successfully identify the pig who did it. Now in our... ahem, business, we have a certain code. In such scenarios, you must hand over the perpetrator without hesitating or questioning. But Alonzo Valencio refused." Her eyes narrowed and her tone darkened as her nostrils flared.
'I really wouldn't want to be Valencio right now.' I thought. 'Who would be crazy enough to mess with the West-Browns?'
"So basically, my sons wanted to get back at Valencio by hurting his son. But my daughter got really angry and is refusing to talk to them," she chuckled, "it's quite amusing, actually, watching them beg for forgiveness."
Despite my predicament, I managed a weak smile.
The door softly creaked open and I looked up, catching the eye of a woman. Her dark hair was pulled in a messy bun and she wore a black shirt with a skull on it and pink 'My Little Pony' trousers- a pairing I thought was an interesting fashion statement.
"Hey you're up!" She gave me a lopsided grin. She leaned against the doorframe, "You must be hungry- want something to eat?"
"She can't speak right now," Lisa explained, "they made her drink boiling water."
The woman scowled and muttered a foul curse under her breath, "I wish I could kill them, but I think that opportunity should go to your family."
I gave her the thumbs up. When can I go back?
"In a bit... once you're feeling better and had something to eat. I'm Iris, by the way."
I'm A-R-Y-A. I spelt it out with some difficulty. Sign language is something you have to practice regularly as it's very easy to forget.
Iris seemed to understand. She smiled, "nice to meet you, Arya. Do you feel good enough to go downstairs? Or you can have breakfast in bed."
I hesitated for a second. I didn't want to create excess stress on the people who saved me, so I agreed to go downstairs.
However, I completely forgot that the West-Browns were a large family.
Seven men were huddled around the table, staring intently at something on the screen. When they noticed we had entered the kitchen, they slammed the laptop lid down and shoved it under a hoodie.
Iris narrowed her eyes at them. "Were you guys watching the new episodes of 'Doctor Who' without us?"
"Psh, no way!" The one with blonde hair and brown eyes laughed nervously, "we wouldn't- we wouldn't dare! Damn is it hot in here or is it just me?"
"Oscar, you suck at lying." The man next to him looked quite similar to 'Oscar', so I assumed they were twins.
"Yeah I know," Oscar sighed dejectedly.
"We shall deal with you later," Lisa snarled and the men visibly gulped. Her tone brightened, "anyways, we have company!"
"Is this the girl we rescued from Valencio?" One of the men drawled, his leg on the chair with his chin lazily resting on it.
"We?" Iris arched an eyebrow.
The man's leg gave out and he cleared his throat, sitting up quickly. "By we, I, of course, meant you-"
"Save it Daimen," Iris rolled her eyes playfully, "let's get Arya here some food."
"I got it!" Oscar yelled, diving to the kitchen. He returned with a plate piled with sandwiches and a toothpick stabbed on top and a packet of Skittles. He exaggeratedly slid it across the table, but misjudged his strength and the plate gracefully glided off the table, hovered for a second, then crashed on the floor, shattering into a thousand pieces.
A heavy silence hung in the air, punctuated by Lisa's heavy and furious breathing.
"Oops?" Oscar chuckled nervously. He picked up the Skittles and handed it to me.
I flinched and curled away from him.
I didn't mean to.
'I don't know why I did that.'
Iris placed a hand on my shoulder and nodded in understanding, her face displaying a brief expression of pain. She took the sweets from Oscar, opened them and handed me a purple Skittle.
I placed it in my mouth, relaxing ever so slightly as it dissolved on my tongue. I refused to look anyone in the eye, possessed with a sudden interest in the floor. 'Is the carpet red to hide the stains, or red to hide the blood?'
"I should, um, probably contact Hell's Angels- let them know we have Arya. I'll tell them to go to the hospital and we'll drop her off there." The eldest man- who I assumed was Mr. West-Brown- murmured and I heard the muffled scrape of a chair being pushed back.
End.
So sorry for the long wait! I was writing another book for a competition and didn't have time to continue this one.
I hope you guys liked it!
Stay safe and thanks for reading :)