Kian heard Lucy scream and then he heard nothing. Now he was frantic.
"Hello?! ... Lucy! ... shit, shit, shit, shit..."
He didn't know what to do, he didn't know if she was in true danger enough for him to call the police especially since over the past year, he's had a couple run-ins with the police in which is stepdad had to help bail him out. He's even been on the verge of getting kicked out of his house due to his old ways returning.
Kian had to think quick...so he grabbed his car keys; sending himself into possible danger. But it was all for Lucy.
. . .
Stass, Gilinsky, Lucy, and Nate were all on their knees in the woods. The only light that Daisy and Madison had were the ones on their phones. They didn't want to draw too much attention by starting a fire.
Nate tried moving his wrists in order to loosen the rope around them but it was tied entirely too tight. His mouth was taped & he had a burlap sack over his head which didn't exactly make it easier to breathe. He heard others panting & quietly sobbing around him. It was dark and scary. He heard someone walking around, breaking twigs on the ground with crunchy leaves. He heard the night's crickets & owls. Madison walked behind him and made sure the rope was still tight.
"Welcome to your fate," they heard Daisy said. Madison was trying not to laugh, remaining quiet since they could probably make out her voice. "Two of you are here because you're a couple of undeserving assholes that think you can live life without a care in the world. Hurting those who were once closest to you...people that trusted you and loved you. And the other two...well, you were just in the line of fire. Little pawns. So why are we doing this, you're wondering? It's just a little experiment. We wanna see how long you can survive in the middle of nowhere while you're bound & silent...no food, no water, no phone. No way to call for help. If you make it out successfully, then congrats. We'll be long gone before then."
The burlap sack was abruptly snatched off of Gilinsky's head and so was Nate's.
"You two boys are going with us," Daisy continued. "We figured it's best to keep you separated from your damsels in distress."
A masked Madison shined the light in Gilinsky's face. His eyes were red with tears, his face was slightly dirty. All he could think about was getting back to Vanessa and marrying her like they planned.
The camera light briefly swept across Madison's eyes and Jack immediately knew it was her, he knew those eyes too well even if it had been years. But he couldn't say a single word, everything was muffled.
"Get up," Daisy commanded the boys behind her mask. "And ladies, I wouldn't try anything stupid. There are eyes on you that you can't see."
Lucy and Stass continued to sob well after they couldn't hear footsteps anymore.
With the boys, they were unsure how far they had walked after a while. When they reached the designated spot, the girls pushed them down to their knees again. Luckily, Jack's hands were tied in front of him. When they were captured, he was the last to get tied up and had started to come to. Daisy had to hold him down, being much stronger than him. They didn't have time to turn him around so they tied his hands up front.
Jack used this advantage to grab some dirt, leaves, and pebbles; enclosing it all in his hands. Nate was the only one that witnessed this, wishing he could do the same. But he knew Gilinsky was about to try something either really smart or really stupid.
And then...he went for it. He waited until Daisy got close then quickly tossed up all the dirt, leaves, & pebbles into Daisy's eyes. She screamed while Gilinsky scrambled to his feet. He was going to help Nate but he still had Madison to worry about. So he ran. Just as Madison began to run after him, Nate stuck his leg out, tripping her. This resulted in Madison kicking Nate in the face before getting back on her feet to continue the chase.
Nate saw this as a chance to run, himself. He had to find Lucy but he had no idea which way to go.
. . .
The girls heard the scream and wondered what had happened. Stass worked harder to free her own hands and eventually the rope loosened. She got the burlap off her head & the tape off her mouth.
"We have to go," she whispered to Lucy as she untied her.
Lucy ripped the tape off her mouth with her freed hands. "What about Nate and Jack?"
"We need to get help. We won't be of any help just searching."
"If we can't find them, what makes you think we can find our way back to the road?" Lucy stood up.
"Lucy!" The girls heard a male voice in the distance. "Lucy, you out there?!"
Lucy wanted to shout back but she didn't want to be found by the enemy, either.
"We have to follow his voice," she whispered.
. . .
Moments later, another scream was heard. It caused Nate to stop in his tracks. It caused Lucy & Stass to stop in their tracks. Little did everyone know, the scream came from Madison.
Madison dropped to her knees.
It was Jack.
She saw him trip over something and fall during their chase. But after that, he wasn't moving. With shaky hands, she shined her phone's light over at him. He was twitching. There was blood. She didn't think things would get to this point. It was all supposed to be just a sick game. But her revenge consumed her and now she was in an even darker hole than before. Her first instinct was to run back to Daisy so that they could flee the scene. But first, she untied Jack's hands & took the tape off his mouth.
To see her first love like that, motionless on the ground, was a rude awakening. The game was over. She needed to run away.
. . .
Stass and Lucy saw the glow of the car headlights in the distance. It was on a bit of an incline but Lucy and Stass found their way. It was Kian who shouted Lucy's name. He had arrived and found the two cars along with Lucy's phone. He called out to her first and immediately called the police wishing he went with his first instinct to call them before he even left the house.
His heart nearly stopped when he heard the sound of cracking twigs and quiet sobbing. Kian wasted no time helping get them back to the main road, telling them to get in his car.
"W-wait," Lucy cried. "Nate and Jack are out there! We can't just leave them! What if they come back to the road? We f-followed Kian's voice, why can't they follow ours?"
"Because those psychos could follow it too," Stass yelled.
"The police are on their way," Kian assured them. "No one's gonna hurt you guys, okay? Do you have any idea who did this to you or was this a weird Blair Witch experiment gone wrong?"
"Not the time to joke Kian," Lucy hissed. "We were attacked, knocked over the head and tied up. I couldn't see who it was, I just know there was a girl who told us she was gonna leave us out there to fend for ourselves as some sort of cruel joke."
"There was a second person," Stass added quietly. "I saw their masked faces briefly when they pulled me out the trunk of the car."
Lucy began to uncontrollably tremble and cry. One of her oldest friends and her first love were out in the dark woods, scared and alone. She needed the sun to come back up so she can look for them. She needed to know they were okay.
. . .
30 minutes later, the police finally arrived; two squad cars. They evaluated the situation and called for backup to begin a search.
Stass held Lucy close as she still trembled with fear. With every minute that passed, she grew more anxious.
"Found something," they heard a man say from a distance.
"Wh-what does he mean something?!" Lucy was emotionally out of control.
"Medics! Need a stretcher down here!"
"Oh God," Lucy sobbed. "I can't do this."
She couldn't breathe. Kian had her lean forward and hug her legs in order to breathe better.
"Everything's gonna be okay." Kian rubbed her back. "You're okay. Just breathe."
"You don't know what I'm feeling, Kian," she cried.
"No, I do. Before I saw you, I felt the same way you're feeling now...and a 'thank you' wouldn't hurt, by the way."
Lucy rubbed her forehead, sat up straight and tried taking a few deep breaths. "I'm sorry," she spoke quietly. "I am grateful that you're here, Kian. And I thank you, I'm just having a little panic attack, okay?"
"You don't have to apologize." Kian looked around and was the first to spot the stretcher being brought back. He walked toward it with nervousness and Lucy trailed behind him, grabbing onto his arm. Stass wasn't far behind.
"Who is it," Lucy quietly asked without looking.
Kian gulped. "...It's Jack. He's not moving."
Lucy finally looked up and rushed as close as she could before other paramedics held her back. "Jack! Let me go! He's my friend!"
"We're going to save your friend," the male paramedic told her. "You can follow us to Hawthorne."
Lucy was torn. She wanted to make sure Jack was going to be alright but they still haven't found Nate. So she was thinking the worst. The only thing she could think of to do was call Vanessa and warn her about Hawthorne hospital's incoming arrival.
. . .
Jack arrived at the hospital 15 minutes later but Vanessa never got Lucy's message. Her phone was in her purse on silent as she slept on the couch in Nadia's maternity suite. Sammy and Kali went to grab something to eat and Johnson was looking at all the babies down the hallway along with John.
"I can't believe you're a father," Johnson said.
"This is the best day of my life, J." John gazed upon Finn in his bassinet, sleeping peacefully. "Have you heard from Lucy and the guys yet? I thought they'd be back by now."
"Nah," Johnson pulled his phone out. "I don't think...so."
He had a message from Lucy 25 minutes ago and had no idea.
'Something bad happened. G's on his way to Hawthorne ER. Tell u whole story later. Please make sure he's okay.'
"Shit," he whispered.
"What is it?"
"We gotta wake up Vanessa."
. . .
Moments later, John, Vanessa, & Johnson ran out of the elevator doors into the ER. Johnson frantically tried talking to the nurse to get information but she didn't have much information to give. He called Jack's parents to let them know what was going on. When they arrived, they were the only ones allowed to see Jack.
Meanwhile by the woods, the cops had called off their search. They scanned the entire area but saw no sign of Nate. He was declared a missing person. Lucy heart was being tugged in every direction. Nate was missing & Jack was fighting for his life. She wanted to search herself but Stass told her they needed to get back to Hawthorne.
So they went back. And Lucy tried her best to comfort an unstable Vanessa while barely holding it together herself. Kian wanted to be a shoulder for Lucy to cry on but she didn't feel right about it, not with Nate still missing. Sam & Kali had returned but Kali & Stass chose to wait upstairs with Nadia.
For hours the group waited and waited. Finally Jack's father, David, emerged trying hard to hold his head up. Vanessa and Johnson walked up to him, waiting for any news.
"Anything?" Johnson asked with bated breath.
David sighed. "He's responsive now...but...he's not the Jack we once knew. Not anymore."
"What does that mean, Mr. Gilinsky?" Tears welled up in Vanessa's eyes.
"He has a traumatic brain injury. Memory was affected, speech, reaction & reflexes. It's like his slate was nearly wiped clean."
"No," Vanessa tearfully shook her head. "No, he'll remember me. He has to remember me. I need- I need to see him okay? Just let me see him!"
Johnson tried to calm her down but she shook him off.
"He's sleeping right now, Vanessa," David told her. "You all should go home. Shower & get some rest. Eat something."
Everyone else seated in the waiting room all sat with equal disbelief that their friend wouldn't recognize them from a stranger on the street. They all swam in their own personal memories that they had with Gilinsky. If anything, that only made things worse.
"I should get back to Nadia," John spoke, all choked up.
"Are you gonna tell her," Lucy asked. "Because I don't think you should. Not right now."
John thought about it, nodded his head, and headed for the elevators. Sammy followed him
"Let's go," Johnson quietly said to Vanessa.
"I'm not leaving!" Vanessa's voice echoed, causing some hospital personnel to look her way. They saw how puffy her eyes were, how much her hands shook. They had no idea she was just told her fiancé was no longer her fiancé in the worst way.
"Vanessa," David tried to calm her.
"No! That's the love of my life in there and you--" She got choked up on her words. Every single syllable got caught in her throat and it physically hurt to speak. "--I can't just leave. I need to see him. I don't care if he's sleeping."
"He won't know you when he wakes up," David said; his own words pained him just as much.
"I am hanging on by a thread right now, okay? I need...to see him."
"...Okay. Okay."
Vanessa reached for Johnson's hand, squeezing tight as they followed David down the busy corridor. Every step felt heavy for both of them. Johnson wasn't ready to see Gilinsky like that. He began thinking about all the years they spent not being friends, how he wished he could get those back.
Tears instantly fell once Vanessa saw him in that hospital bed. It was like every memory they had rushed to the front of her mind & she wanted to give them all back to him. Instead, her legs gave out. She wasn't as ready as she thought she was. Jack's mother kneeled down next to Vanessa & held her as she wept.
. . .
Kian had brought Lucy home to her mother's new house. Lucy hadn't said a word since she left the hospital. Her mother was watching the news which was covering the incident & she ran to hug Lucy tightly, glad she was alright. But Lucy couldn't ignore the female reporter's voice echoing through the living room & foyer.
'One person, however, is still reported missing. Nathan Maloley of Beverly Hills was last seen leaving Hawthorne Hospital along with Lucille Durant and Jack Gilinsky. It is unknown if he is injured or still with the suspects & in grave danger. But authorities are putting this on high alert. If you have any information on the possible whereabouts of Nathan Maloley, his family asks that you contact the authorities immediately. They are currently praying for a safe return. Live from Hawthorne Hospital, I'm Yvette Colson with Channel 9 News.'
His picture flashed across the screen along with the number for people to call.
"Do you want some tea?" Her mother's voice sounded so distant even though she was right in front of her. "...Lucy?"
"Lucy..." Kian spoke.
Still without speaking another word, Lucy just slowly went upstairs to her room. For a split second, she swore she saw Nate in her room; nearly gasped because of it. But then she realized she only needed sleep.
____________________________
Author's Note:
Sorry for the spaced out update! I just finished up my birthday week and my inspiration hasn't really been sticking around.
Vote & comment! It's a bit of a motivator lol
xo