Scarlet stared at the abandoned Luna Hospital in horror. It was still perfectly intact, but something about it made you think that ghosts inhabited it. They had taken the bus there, seeing how Scarlet's car was at her grandmother's, and she didn't dare borrow Thorne's convertible.
Wolf was twitching with nervous energy beside her, making Scarlet slightly jumpy. He had hardly talked to her on the way over, mainly replying with grunts to her questions. She was about ready to hit him, but had decided against it due to the fact that he was trying to help her.
They stood there for a minute, before Wolf nodded towards the building, as if to say, "lets get this over with,". Scarlet only grimaced and mad the first step forward. She was scared as heck to go into that building, but she would do anything for her Grandmother. Even be ripped to shreds by mutant wolf men.
The two of them trudged to the door, Wolf slumping his shoulders, but Scarlet holding herself tall and proud. Though Wolf was acting like a dog that had just been kicked, he had a protective air about him that made Scarlet feel almost safe.
Scarlet shuddered as Wolf opened the doors, and was surprised to find that the doors were unlocked. Weren't evil layers supposed to have crazy security?
No. Of course they wouldn't. They had dozens, maybe even hundreds of wolf mutants inside. That was all the protection that they needed.
Once inside, Scarlet felt yet another stab of shock at how pristine the entryway looked. It looked like an old, unused hospital. Just like it should.
Suddenly there was a noise, and the sound of footsteps reverberated behind them. Scarlet flinched and looked back to see a man standing behind them. Wolf snarled beside her, a frightening sound on its own. The man smirked, and a flash of fangs pronounced themselves to Scarlet.
Scarlet set her shoulders back and stood defiantly, making the man chuckle. Another man appeared behind him, though this one had a scowl on his face.
"Congrats, brother," spoke the first one, his voice almost melodic, though in a sick way. "I'm glad you were able to bring the prize."
The man behind him muttered, "and so the lamb comes to the slaughter."
The first man laughed, and took a step forward, and Scarlet took one back, before realizing her mistake. He crossed the remaining space to Scarlet and traced a long fingernail along her cheek. Scarlet wanted to scream, but held it in by gritting her teeth. Wolf tensed beside her, a low growl humming through his body.
"Ran," Wolf snarled at the first man.
The man, Ran, laughed, and withdrew his hand from Scarlet's cheek. "Sorry brother," Ran said, "I forgot how much you liked this one. We'll try to be careful," Ran chuckled darkly, before snapping his fingers. "But I make no promises."
Suddenly, the man behind Ran jumped forward and grasped Scarlet by the wrists before she could even blink. She screamed, and called out for Wolf, but the man had her in too tight of a grip.
"WOLF!" Scarlet yelled at the top of her voice. "Wolf, help! WOLF!" Scarlet screamed over and over again. He didn't even look at her, his eyes trained on the floor, as she was dragged away.
Scarlet let out a dry sob as she was dragged down the stairs of the hospital, and discovered where the wolves resided. The place was scratched from top to bottom and had a prominent male stink lingering over it. She gagged, and fought harder to get away from the man holding her, but it wouldn't do. He was an immovable.
"You can struggle all you want, Red," Ran said, "but Wynn's got guns for days. There's no way in the stars you're gonna get away. Might as well quit now."
Scarlet snarled and tilted her head back, biting Wynn's arm as hard as she could. He let out a grunt of pain and let go of Scarlet for just a second. She tried to run, but was hit around the face by Wynn before she got far, knocking her to the ground.
Stars swirled in Scarlet's vision, and she went quietly as Wynn dragged her farther along the hallway, knowing that there was no more point in fighting. They passed a number of white observation rooms that had probably been used for research in the past, but now had prisoners.
There were only a few people in the different cells, and Scarlet didn't recognize any as she could hardly see through her blurred vision.
Eventually they came to a room, and Scarlet was dropped on the floor. Through her muddy vision she could see that the room was divided by a curtain. It was a small, plain white room and had the overwhelming smell of metal.
Scarlet convulsed on the floor slightly, her head reeling and her stomach churning. Ran laughed, and Wynn left the room, knowing that Scarlet would not be able to move off of the floor.
"Oh, poor Red," Ran said, a small simper in his voice. "I will admit, I like your spirit. You're a fighter." He paused, "I can see why my brother likes you so much."
This made Scarlet laugh. Wolf didn't like her. He betrayed her. He was the reason why she had been captured and would probably be killed. She hadn't even told anyone that she was leaving. They may not notice her disappearance for hours, and by then, she could be dead. She would be dead.
Dead. Her Grandmother. She had to find her before it was too late, before she was killed. Scarlet had to be strong for her Grandmother.
"Where's my Grandmother?" Scarlet asked, her words slightly slurred from her still muddy brain.
Instead of his characteristic laugh, Ran sneered, his pearl teeth glinting in the near darkness of the room. Ran moved to stand by the curtain that divided the room, placing his filthy hand on the edge. "You want to see your Grandmother, little Red? She may even be more Red than you."
Scarlet scrunched her face in confusion for just a second, before Ran pulled the curtain back, revealing a bloody corpse.
Scarlet suddenly understood why the room smelled of metal.
It was blood.
And that blood was her Grandmother's.
And her Grandmother was dead.
***
Thorne was rather agitated. His morning had started out pretty crappy (he'd only slept like three hours because he was worried about Cinder) and his hair was a frizzy mess. He ran out of his favorite cereal of rainbow pebbles, and then some stupid Wolf mutants showed up and kidnapped him.
It was quite inconsiderate of them, considering how bad his day was already going. Thorne was not impressed.
The cell that Thorne was being held in smelled of urine and sadness. He was not fond of his accommodations, though they were better than the van he'd been thrown into in the wee hours of the morning. Who kidnaps someone at nine-thirty?
Thorne was actually more upset about the timing of the kidnapping than the actual thing. He also began to wonder why it was called kidnapping. He was an adult man, not a kid, and did not need to be humiliated. What if his friends asked him what he did that weekend? Would he say that he was kidnapped, or mannapped? Was that even a thing?
Whichever one it was, a more important question kept circling in the very back of Thorne's brain. Why had they taken him?
No. The real question was, why wouldn't they take him.
But really, Thorne was so confused as to why they would take him when they clearly only wanted to kill Cinder. He had even heard them talking about cleaning up after he finished with the girl, clearly meaning Cinder. Why would they need him?
As bait.
How rude of them.
Thorne huffed and rolled over onto his stomach. His cell was freezing, and Thorne was bored out of his mind. The room didn't have a single thing inside of it, and was painted in a white hospital color. It made Thorne want to barf. These people had no sense of fashion whatsoever.
What was worse was that Thorne didn't even know who the killer dude even was. They had whacked him over the head and thrown a sack over his head during the actual kidnapping, and only one voice had sounded familiar, though Thorne couldn't quite place who's it was.
He knew that it had to be the jerk that was trying to kill Cinder, due to the fact that it was a bit higher, and less husky than those of the wolf mutants. Plus, he sounded like the leader and had been bossing all of them around like the dogs they were.
Though Thorne was slightly worried about being ripped to shreds by a bunch of wolf mutants, he was glad that it was him and not Cinder. He also knew that she would probably save him before he got killed, so it was all good. Why worry? It only means you have to suffer twice.
Thorne hummed to himself tunelessly. A song about a man in prison trilled through his brain, and he frowned. Yeah, he was in a prison of sorts, but why did his brain have to be so rude? Why didn't he have any-
Suddenly the door opened behind Thorne and he jumped, all thoughts leaving his brain. He turned as fast as he could, so that he could get a look at the man, but he was wearing a mask. Thorne rolled his eyes. It wasn't like he had anyone to tell. Literally. There wasn't even a toilet he could whisper it to in his sleep. Thorne was alone.
Rolling his eyes, Thorne lay back down, propping his arms behind his head. If this idiot was going to come pay him a visit then he might as well get comfortable.
The masked man stood in the doorway, and Thorne was thoroughly confused. I mean, he was gorgeous, but this was just getting creepy. It was one thing to get mannapped, but another to have someone stare you down.
Abruptly, the man reached down to his belt, and pulled out a knife. "You're going to do exactly what I say, or I will cut off your fingers one by one, starting with your left hand." The man said, and it was the same voice Thorne had heard earlier.
Panic rushed through Thorne at those words. Most people wouldn't find it too big of a deal to lose your left fingers, but it would make playing the guitar so much harder. It could ruin his career if this man cut off his fingers. Even if it were only two or three.
"Hey, aces, what the heck! What do you want me to do?" Thorne asked, and though he hated to admit it, there was a hint of pleading in his voice.
"Do everything I say, or else I will be true to my promise" said the masked man, who could potentially be his best friend's killer. The man turned around, as though to leave the room, and Thorne called out to him in a last ditch effort. He was so curious.
"Hey!" Thorne yelled, a little louder than he'd meant to be. "Who the stars are you?"
Mr. Masked Serial Killer turned around, and dragged his hands up to his face, slow as a snail. He reached his fingers back and undid whatever was keeping the mask so tight to his melon.
Then the mask fell down to the floor with a clatter, as Thorne stared horrified at the sight before him, and he realized something.
They'd all been played for fools.