~Beauty~
My breathing picks up as I eye the gun he so proudly holds. With his mask up, I have a clear view of his face. He looks a lot like his brother except a bit older. And wilder. His eyes shine with a wickedness I've never seen before. His smile stretches from ear to ear like it's been pinched up by the edges. He shakes his head at me and slowly places his arm down, resting the gun at his side.
"How wonderful," he says, his voice dark like blood. "How wonderful it is to get revenge." His words float out so easily it frightens me. Has he any humanity left? He's as giddy as a kid in a candy store.
I let my eyes wander the room. The ceiling is low and it's dark. The only light coming from the lamp above me and two others spread across the room. The floor is concrete and there is nothing but the occasional box in sight. A sign rest near a staircase a few get away. Basement.
Basement of the museum, right? Don't tell me I've been kidnapped by another criminal. My worries are relieved by the faint and distant pound of music.
Gale can't be far.
Tyler takes a chair from the corner of the room and casually sits on it while I watch from the ground. I'm so terrified I can't move. My bones have frozen up.
"This is nothing personal but that man...he killed my brother." Pain is clear on his face. He covers his mouth with his hand and shakes his head again. "He took him away from me. I can't forgive that. I can't just move on. I have to get revenge. I have to make things right."
Tyler's broken and because of that has gone unhinged. The death of his brother really messed him up. All the anger and sadness piled up and hardened into something ugly. Gale was similar to him once- when he lost his mother- but he changed. This man- I'm not sure if he could. He's gone too far. He has me here, ready to kill me. I won't turn into a rose. I'll die. Is there any turning back for him? What is the place of no return?
He cocks his gun. I jump back and yelp. My hands scrape the floor and I push myself up as if there is some way I could escape. I'm cornered. He stands up from his chair and paces across the room.
Maybe if I distract him- at least for a little while Gale will come and help. Where is he anyways?
"How did you know?" I blurt out, my voice shaky. "How did you know where The Beast lives, who he really is, and about me?"
He sharply turns and stares for a few long moments. Then shrugs. "I guess I can tell you. I mean, two can keep a secret is one of them is dead." The word makes me wobble in my spot.
Dead.
"I got an anonymous tip. I found a letter in front of my house." He reaches into the inside pocket of his jacket and takes out a rolled up paper. He tosses it at me and with shaky hands, I catch it.
The paper is old and yellow. The words written in scripted black ink.
The Beast killed your brother.
"Then, over the next few days I received more notes with more information. I was able to find his mansion and do some spying." He laughs even though nothing he said was funny. "I don't know who sent the letters but they sure are my new favorite person."
Who would know those things about Gale? And why would they tell Tyler Daniels?
He looks back at his gun and weighs it in his hands. I need to distract him some more.
Think. Think. Think.
"Did you drug me? Are you the one who sent the drink?" I wonder out loud.
He nods, smugly. "Yep. I also sent the text." He was playing Gale and I the whole time. We should have known better. Instead, we pranced over here totally clueless.
He squints his eyes and aims his gun. He bites his lip in thought. "Should I let him find your body? Or should I bring it to him?" The sudden outburst sends a chill down my spine.
Maybe you can always turn back from the darkness. Maybe it's just a matter of how hard it'll be. But Tyler Daniels isn't going to turn back. He has his gun pointed at my forehead from a few feet away. He isn't willing to let go of what Gale did. He's already made his decision. He's going to kill me and it's going to make him happy.
"Well, I can always decide that later," he concludes with a shrug. "When you see my brother, tell him I sent you. Tell him that The Beast and him are even."
I shut my eyes. A million images flying through my mind in these final moments. My dad's dancing, my mother's laugh, Grayson playing football, my stack of books at home, Gale's piercing blue eyes, Carina's sweet humming, all of my hopes and dreams for the future.
They are about to disappear. Forever. Gone with the life inside of my body. I'll be dead to the world.
I guess I'm going down like this.
This is how my story ends.
"Hello?!" Someone shouts from just outside the basement.
My eyes snap open and Tyler's head whips around.
Escape.
I charge at the chair in the room and lift it above my head, letting it crash into Tyler's back. He collapses to the floor with a grunt and his gun slides across the room.
Without looking back, I break through the basements door and scream for help. I throw off my heels so I can run without breaking an ankle - only to be pulled back by his arm.
"Help!"
"He can't hear you! He's trapped in an elevator waiting for the police to discover he's a beast! Who knows what they'll do with him?!" Tyler yells as he wrestles to drag me back to the basement.
No. If they find him they'll hurt him! I have to help Gale!
Adrenaline runs through me and I manage to punch Tyler square in the jaw. I feel shooting pain travel through my knuckles. It affects me way more than it did to him. He doesn't even budge. That wasn't a smart idea.
Suddenly, I'm yanked backwards again. But this time away from Tyler. A familiar figure is in front of me, slamming Tyler into a nearby wall.
I don't process who it is. I'm too focused on getting to Gale. A sign down the hallway on the wall holds directions. An arrow points to my left, stating the elevator is that way. I run as fast as my feet can take me, tripping several times.
Then the air becomes filled with dust and the floor filled with rubble. I cough and wave the dust away. Covering my nose and mouth, I continue even though my lungs start to burn. I use the white bricked wall as my guide since it is becoming harder to see.
Before me is an elevator entry way. It's steel doors are closed shut but the ground around it is indented as if a giant punched it. The elevator must have dropped down with Gale in it.
I gasp in horror. "Gale?"
He may have healing powers because of the curse but a drop like that . . .
Ignoring the pieces of the floor that cut into my feet, I arrive at the entry way. Thinking quickly, I take a metal bar from the floor and shove it through the tiny opening in the doors. My arms ache with the strain and I seem to be making no progress but the sound of alarms going off motivate me to keep trying. I can't let the police find him.
"Gale?!" No answer. It forms a pit in my stomach.
He has to be okay, right? The magic- it always heals him. It doesn't let him die. He has to be okay. He has to be.
"Gale? If you can hear me please answer!" He has to be okay.
I push harder and the metal finally creeks. The doors parted an inch. "Come on!" I keep pushing, my muscles already burning. Then it becomes easier -like the doors are moving on their own - but they aren't.
An other hand is pushing them apart from the inside. They're all the way open in seconds. I drop the metal bar feeling exhausted.
He stands there. His chest rises and falls unsteadily. His mask is off, his hair wild, his face tear stained and twisted with grief. He stares at me.
"You're okay . . ." Relief washes through me. I throw my arms around him and let a sob wrack my body. It doesn't take him more than a second to react. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me closer. His hand cradles my head.
"I thought you were dead . . ." he says his voice a broken whisper. "I thought you were dead and it was all my fault."
"No. You could never do that," I reassure him. "I thought you were hurt-"
"Belle," his voice sounding urgent. I pull away from him to hear the sirens blaring has magnified in sound. They are close now. Just outside. But that's not what he's worried about.
I watch as Tyler's shadow cast upon the wall. He is coming towards us with a gun in hand.
What happened to the man that was just fighting him? Oh my God...Did he kill him?
"We have to get you out of here," Gale says starting to pull me towards an emergency exit a few feet away.
"Wait, no!" I reply standing my ground. "This is your chance to break the curse once and for all. The police are just outside, if we can lead him towards them you can break the curse!"
"Belle, I don't want to risk you getting hurt-"
"Please," I beg as Tyler Daniels turns the corner becoming visible. Gale shakes his head but follows my lead. We let Tyler catch up to us. At the sight of us, his beaten and bruised face scrunches up in anger. He holds his gun up at us again and charges while blindly firing.
Gale pushes me ahead of him and out the emergency door. We run up the steps in sync and look back to make sure he's following. The bullets that swiftly miss us by mere inches are enough of an answer.
We are running down another hallway in seconds. It's the worse place we could possibly be at this moment. It's narrow and long, herding us down it making it easier for Tyler to aim.
A bullet hits the light fixture right above me, making it crash while sparks fly. I cover my head and continue running. Fear courses through me. I don't want to get shot. I don't want that monster chasing us to catch up. My feet ache and sting as their bare skin scrapes against the rough floor but I have to keep going for the both of us.
Gale is just behind me when I hear him scream in agony. He crashes right into me and I struggle to help him get back up. Tyler is still far enough away. I grab Gale and try to pull him up. His leg is bleeding.
"Come on! We're almost outside!" I say trying to encourage him. He manages to get back up and limp towards the door that leads outside.
The cool night air greets us and we rush over to the car. I pull the door open and collapse onto the seat. We're inside and pulling out of the parking lot just as Tyler Daniel's exits the building.
He's a mess and panting. He fires at our car and then at the police that start to pull in. His eyes are wide with desperation. Desperation to kill us.
The police yell at him to put his gun down and hands up. They don't see us. They won't catch Gale. He's safe.
We did it, I think to myself as the car drives down the shadowed road. The moon shines above us and it feels as if we are chasing it -but no matter how many miles we drive we don't get any closer to it. It stays suspended up in the sky.
Now that we brought Tyler Daniels to the police, will the spell be broken?
I look over at Gale who is grinding his teeth in pain because of his wounded leg. Words can't even begin to describe how relieved I am that he'll be okay.
Wait a minute... I think to myself as I realize something big.
I care about Gale. Maybe a little too much.
Author's Note- So do you guys think the curse will the curse be broken? What's next for Belle and Gale?
Thanks for reading!