The gang knew that they had to get to Nicole before it was too late. By the look of her in the photographs, she was already losing time, and in this case time is certainly precious.
However, they did now have a lead and it was the phone number that sent the horrifying pictures of the officer, battered beyond recognition.
Jeremy got to work on tracing where the photographs originated the moment after they were received.
"Sorry to keep asking Jeremy but could you hurry the fudge up, Nicole's running out of time and I need to take my anger out on these shit-ticket revenants" Wynonna said impatiently as she watched jeremy type at lightning speed on his computer.
"Okay okay, im trying. And... I... Am... Done!" Jeremy shouted as he stared at the screen and started to reel off the information.
"Okay, so I traced the number that sent you the photographs of Officer Haught and the signal came from an abandoned slaughterhouse. Why are revenants exactly the same as psychotic serial killers in movies?.... Nevermind. So I would say that is where they are keeping her" Jeremy said with positivity.
"Alright, well we gotta make a plan before we go in, im usually one for charging in guns blazing, but for Nicole's sake we have to think this through" Wynonna said to everyone in the room as they all gathered around her.
"Lets get our girl" Waverly said with determination as they began to get a plan together.
____________
Nicole julted awake to a searing pain on her abdomen and chest. Her senses were overwhelmed with the smell of her own burning flesh. Her vision was blurred but she could still make out the figures in front of her.
She felt so weak as she tried to lift her head but she didn't have much strength left.
The revenants switched up thir methods to electrocution. They wanted Nicole to know how it felt to die and be julted back to life. The were playing God. And how they loved it.
Her vision cleared but she wished she didn't have to see their cruel faces that were full of torment.
The lead revenant waved his hand in front if her face.
"Hey officer, we can't have you dying on us now. There's so much more to do" he chuckled and the others followed his actions.
Nicole felt the pain and agony surge through her veins again.
She closed her eyes and drifted to a place deep in her mind to relieve her of some pain.
***
Nicole was physically awake but her mind was in a dreamlike state. She wanted to block out the revenants cruelty. The place she drifted off to was warming. It gave her some hope. And, of course, Waverly was there.
'I dont know how much longer I can hold on. I can feel myself drifting away, like the life is draining from my body' Nicole whimpered as she lay next to Waverly on the sandy beaches.
Whenever she was afraid or in pain, Nicole would imagine herself at the beach. It calmed her.
'Nicole! Hold on okay. You know we are coming for you. You just need to hold on okay?.... Hold on for me' Waverly frantically spoke to Nicole, her voice laced in fear.
It may have been an imaginary encounter, but she knew it was true. It still gave her hope and energy to hold on and keep fighting.
She looked Waverly in the eyes and held her hand, never wanting to let go.
Then the space between them began to grow and Nicole tried with all of her might to get to Waverly. But it was useless. She began to fade away into the distance.
***
She was suddenly torn from her daydream. And she wished that she could spend every second there.
"Where did you go officer" the revenant tilted his head at Nicole with a confused look on his face.
"Wherever you went, im going to make sure you can never go there again, you will tell me what I want and there is only one way you are getting out of this" the revenant spoke with determination.
Nicole was then overcome by several more blows until she started to see white until her vision faded away.
____________
"Okay, we're here. Dolls and I went over the schematics of the building and it turns out there is more than one way into the rooms. We will split into two groups. One will approach the room from above, whilst the other comes in through the main door" Wynonna said to Doc, Dolls, Jeremy and Waverly who surrounded her.
Once they were in position, Dolls and Jeremy were situated above the room. They dropped in a flashbang and the others opened the thick steel door once the flashbang had done its job, then they opened fire. Dolls and Jeremy provided support from above to ensure that the officer wasn't injured any further.
The revenants squirmed on the floor from the bullet wounds they just sustained.
But before Wynonna managed to put a bullet in their brain, the lead revenant pulled out a gun, what appeared to be Nicole's weapon, and fired a shot in Nicole's direction. If the revenants were going to die, they were going to take Nicole with them.
A scream of pain could be heard again. Nicole had been through so much and she didn't know if she could take any more.
Wynonna fired peacemaker at the weapon and it flew away from his grasp. She sprinted up to the revenants and held peacemaker to his head. "I would tell you to make your peace, but you don't deserve it" she said coldly before firing shots in between the eyes of each revenant, sending the shit-tickets back to where they belong.
Waverly had ran over to the officer who was hanging, almost lifeless, from the chains above. Her complexion was ghostly which was due to severe blood loss. The new wound that she sustained was gushing with blood but luckily the bullet had hit her leg, the revenant clearly wasn't a good shot.
Wynonna set Nicole free from the chains and the officer fell to the bloody ground beneath her. She didn't have the strength to hold herself upright.
Waverly gently lifted the officers face by her chin in order for their eyes to meet.
Her hazel eyes were robbed of their usual warmth and colour, replaced with dull eyes laced with suffering.
Waverly held her close but Nicole screamed in agony at the slightest touch Waverly gave.
She lay on the floor wretched in agony, her face closed in a grimace. The pain was unbearable.
"N-Nicole!... Keep your eyes open and look at me okay! Don't die on me... Please!" she begged with a hoarse voice that was straining her throat. "We have to get her to the hospital, fast.... She's dying!" Waverly cried and Dolls swiftly picked the officer up into his arms as gently as he could.
____________
The drive to the hospital was quiet, apart from the screams Nicole gave everytime there was a bump in the road. Once they arrived at the hospital, Dolls ran through the doors with the bloodied officer in his arms and nurses were soon at his feet with a gurney. They rushed Nicole off and Waverly couldnt help but feel useless as she saw a doctor climb on top of Nicole to perform CPR.
They moved to the waiting area and everyone remained silent. There were no words for the sight that they saw.
Nicole covered head to toe in blood, some areas dry but most was fresh. The revenants kept her chained up like an animal.
When they got to Nicole, she wasn't in her shirt as it was torn to peices. But it revealed more of her bruises and lacerations.
They hadn't seen anything like it.
____________
Hours had passed and it was now early hours of the morning. The Doctor came into the waiting room and said Nicole's name.
The gang stood up and walked towards the doctor.
"The injuries that Officer Haught sustained are extremely severe and when we were operating she experienced cardiac arrest on multiple occasions. She is out of surgery now but we are going to keep a very close eye on her so that her vitals stay stable. You are welcome to go and see her in her room but she will not be awake yet. It will be a while until the anaesthesia wears off." the doctor explained in a professional but sympathetic tone.
The gang wasted no time and made their way to Nicole's room.
There she was. Laying so peacefully in the hospital bed. They could now see the injuries that she had sustained properly now that she was cleaned up.
They each grabbed a seat in the room, Waverly sat in the seat right next to Nicole's bed, she grabbed Nicole's hand and began gently drawing circles in her palm.
"Oh Nicole. What did they do to you?". A tear escaped Waverly's eye and she stared at the redhead thankful that she was alive.
____________
A couple of hours had passed and by then it was only Waverly that remained in the room. The others went back to the station to do their jobs.
Waverly was still sat in the chair next to Nicole's bed but she had fallen asleep, slumped over the bed with a tight grasp on Nicole's hand.
Nicole stirred slightly and she slowly opened her eyes. Her vision had to adjust to the brightness but it didn't take long.
She moved her head in the direction of Waverly slowly as the pain was still present, although she was on a high amount of pain medication to which she was thankful for.
Waverly julted awake from the slight movement and stared at Nicole.
"H-hey, Waverly.... you found me" Nicole managed to form a sentence but she was still a little dazed from the anesthesia.
"Of course we did. I don't know what I would have done without you" Waverly said quietly, trying to hold back the tears once more.
Nicole managed to lift her hand to cup Waverly's face. The brunette leant into her grasp lovingly.
"Um... Before all of this happened, i told you that I wanted to speak to you about something. Are you okay to talk with me now?" Waverly asked just wanting to tell Nicole what she has to say.
Nicole simply nodded and stared into the brunettes beautiful eyes. It was hard for her not to get lost in them but she really wanted to hear what Waverly had to say.
"Do you remember the night we met? I remember it so clearly, how could i forget. I was in shorty's and I was being hastled by drunks. More specifically a drunk Champ. Anyway, you saved me then, and you have saved me many times more. I couldnt be more greatful." Waverly said still wanting to get something off her chest.
"Nicole. Ah god I have no idea how to tell you this....you are so special to me Nicole. We almost lost you today and it made me realise that I cant hold this in any longer because, life is too short. I dont want to be friends, what I think about most in this world... Is you. God that sounded more romantic in my head. Uh, please say something Nicole because I like you and I really don't know how to do this." Waverly said nervously but was thankful that she got her feelings out there.
Nicole stared at Waverly with loving eyes. She tried her best to lift herself up and move closer to the brunette. The pain was worsening but she didn't care. All she wanted to do was kiss Waverly and hold her tightly, she's been waiting a long time. Almost too long.
Nicole smiled and pulled Waverly in to a slow, tender kiss that was also fueled by passion. It was better than Nicole imagined because this time it was real and not a dream.
Their soft lips glided together in a slow rhythm until they parted to catch their breath.
They stared into each others eyes lovingly and pressed their foreheads together.
Nicole only said one thing.
"I like you too" she said panting as she pulled the brunette into yet another kiss. Although this time it was rough but just as passionate as the first.
Nicole had been waiting for this moment since she met Waverly. When she first locked eyes with her, she instantly knew that she would be significant in her life.
Waverly didn't notice that their relationship was more than platonic at first. But she slowly started to realise that what she felt for the officer was stronger than friendship.