~Beauty~
Beth took this as her moment of opportunity. She was going to try and escape.
Sure Teigan had said he was going to let her go and sure he hadn't tried to hurt her yet but to wait like a sitting duck would be idiotic. She hadn't seen Carina in the last few hours and Teigan had just announced he was going to bed. Neither one of them would be watching her very closely.
During her trips around the house she discovered that the windows had alarms on them so those weren't an option. She also found that the front door had a lock on it. The only place the key could be was upstairs. It was probably why he didn't want her to go up there.
After a quick survey of the room, Beth tip-toed over to the staircase. She felt lucky the house was in good shape so she wouldn't have to worry about creaking floorboards. To further help herself out, she left the volume of the TV high to drown out any noises she might make. She hurried up the steps and peeked around the corner, hoping the Beast was asleep in bed already.
Beth's hand flew to her mouth. It was no wonder he wanted her to stay downstairs. The second floor was a wreck.
There had been gray wallpaper on the walls, with golden angular shapes. However, there were only bits of it remaining on the wall, the rest hung off in chunks or had giant shreds in them. A few framed paintings were hung up on the wall, some crooked, some cracked, and some no longer hanging on the walls. The carpet was tattered and bumpy against the filthy floorboards. There were three doors on the upper floor and all of them were hanging on their hinges. Perhaps he kept Beth downstairs because it was a safety hazard.
She ran into the room to her and shut the door behind her. By the structure of the room, she assumed it was meant to be another bedroom. However, Teigan wasn't using it for this function. Instead, it had taken on the role of a giant closet someone shoved a bunch of junk into. There was a huge stack of clothes in one corner and the rest were boxes of knick-knacks, books and other belongings. She couldn't help but notice that all the clothes were made for a woman. None of it seemed like something Carina would fit in.
Whose clothes are these?
Beth dropped the sunflower decorated blouse, afraid that she might be holding something once worn by someone long dead. She forced herself away from the diverse book collection, reminding herself that she might be running out of time.
The next door led to a bedroom. In the middle of the room was a king sized bed. There was a big closet on the left and desk littered with papers next to the door. She was shocked to find that the room was similar to Grayson's. A rock band poster hung crookedly above the bed and there was a stereo almost completely covered by CD cases. Despite the abundance of things to look at, one particular object in the room had caught her attention.
The rose her mother had stolen was kept in a vase at his bedside table. She knew it was the same rose because of it's shade and unearthly glow. Again, she was entranced by its beauty. Something about it didn't sit right with her. Much like Teigan's appearance it was . . . different. It wasn't natural. The word 'magic' lingered in her head.
Then she heard footsteps down the hall. The bed had ample room underneath it so she slid under just in time to see Teigan's set of feet walk inside. She cursed herself. Would she have to wait until he fell asleep to crawl back out?
She heard him shuffle things around the room, huffing every few seconds. "Where is that stupid key?!"
The sudden burst of noise caused her to jump. Her head banged up against the box spring and resulted in an echo. Teigan stopped moving. She held her breath.
"I don't have time for this!"
He continued to pace his room, turning things over, and dropping things on the floor. She heard the rustle of fabric and a faint clatter of a metal object. A shiny golden key landed just beyond what the bed concealed. If she reached out her hand she'd be able to grasp it.
It had to be the key for the front door. She had to get it before he did.
When his shoes turned to face the opposite side, Beth tentatively reached her hand out from under the bed.
Please don't turn around, please don't turn around, please don't turn around.
Her fingers locked around the key and she pulled it to her chest. She let out a quiet sigh.
"Dang it!" She didn't jump this time. She was too aware that her life could be on the line.
Teigan's shoes turned towards her and he knelt down. His hand pulling his bedsheets back.
A phone chimed. He groaned. "Forget this."
His black sneakers stepped out and Beth practically melted. She counted to ten and then slid out from under his bed. With a quick scope out of the hall, she sprinted to the steps and ran down, not stopping until she reached the front door. Again, she checked for the maid and her capture. With everything clear, she unlocked the door and placed then placed the key on the chair in the living room. Hopefully Teigan would believe he had dropped it in the living room later and this would buy her time before he noticed she was gone.
The door opened and the orange sky behind the pine trees looked epically beautiful to her. She breathed in the breath of fresh air and stepped out into her newly returned freedom.
The house was as nice on the outside as it was on the inside. She only glanced it over to find the address. She wanted to make sure she could tell the police exactly where to find him. In the driveway was a four door sedan. She ran over to it, ready to shatter it's windows and try to find a way to get it started but to her amazement, it unlocked itself.
Teigan or Carina must be getting ready to take it out, she thought.
Without further hesitation, she opened the back door and climbed in. Her body was just small enough to conceal itself behind the driver's seat. This was where she waited until someone climbed into the front seat.
She prayed for Carina but was met with the scent of a masculent cologne. He started the car and pulled out of the driveway in a flash. He wouldn't have had time to notice Beth even if she was sitting upright.
She spent a few minutes holding her breath and thinking about her next move. She could wait until he pulled over somewhere and try to climb out when he left the vehicle. But it was too much waiting for Beth. She wanted to ensure her safety now.
It's now or never.
Beth locked her arm around Teigan's throat, pulling him into the seat to choke him out. The car swerved and she screamed but refused to loosen her grip.
You have to do this so you can get home.
Teigan clawed at her arm and struggled to free himself while keeping one hand on the wheel. Then a sharp pain stung her arm and she felt a warm liquid stream onto her arm. Her grip weakened long enough for him to escape her grasp. The car did a 180 and she fell against the back seat. He brought the vehicle to a stop and then jumped out.
"Bethany?"
Teigan was horrified to see her clutching her bleeding arm. The red seeped through her fingers and she winced, scooting away from him. He opened the door to the backseat, trying to remember how to speak again. Her little attack was nothing like what he was used to when dealing with the criminals he went after on the regular. In those situations, he had things planned out and nothing came up that wasn't anticipated. A tiny hand reaching for him from the back of his car was highly unanticipated
"You scratched me! What are you, wolverine?"
"You aren't supposed to be here!" he shouted. He brought his hands to his head and stared out at the vast miles of trees around them. None of their branches held the answer to what he should do.
"You're right! I'm not supposed to be in the back of your car, I'm supposed to be at home curled up with a good book but let's not forget you're the only person standing in the way of me doing that! So if you're going to kill me - do it already! But don't drag me back to your mansion of passive aggressiveness, alright?!"
He gawked at the girl. "You are crazy."
"You're a liar! You said you were going to bed! What are you doing driving around anyways? Were you going to find another girl to kidnap? To keep me company?" Teigan questioned whether the girl had been like this her whole life or if the trauma was catching up to her. Perhaps she was losing too much blood and becoming delirious. "Wait a minute . . . That arsonist Ryan Daniels! You're going after him!"
"I- I don't know what you're talking about. You broke a rule! I told you not to try and escape! I told you I would let you go!"
"I don't believe a word that comes out of your mouth!" Bethany said, climbing out of the car. He stepped forward so she couldn't run past him.
"Your arm is going to need stitches. I have to bring you back so Carina can help you." He nudged her back into the car but she was pushing back.
"Wait, what is that?" She was focused on something over his shoulder. Behind him, a ball of flames shot up into the sky, licking at the trees surrounding.
"It's Ryan Daniels." He had had a suspicion he would head in this direction. There were a handful of abandoned cabins in the area, providing the perfect hideout for a person on the run. He knew this because he had squatted in these cabins himself. "I have to go. Stay here."
Teigan didn't come that far just to come that far. He closed the door on her and ran in the direction of the fire. The further he got, the more muffled Beth's screams became.
Beth was back to pounding on doors. Only this time, her injury made the practice harder.
She cried out and then sat back. Ripping a piece of the fabric of her flannel, she tied it around the cut of her arm even though she wanted to dirty Teigans fancy car out of spite. Either he had massively long fingernails or the Beast had claws to go along with his beastly face. She didn't know what to think of it all.
No way.
Beth could hardly believe what she was seeing. At first, she was scared to move in fear that it was an illusion and would fade away.
He left the keys in.
She climbed into the front seat and let out a giddy laugh. "Yes! Come on! Let's go!"
Her fingers gripped the steering wheel while she thought about which direction she should drive in. After a moment, she decided it didn't matter and just drove. The car had a built in screen with a phone icon. She tapped it, planning to dial 911. It was hard to believe her luck.
She glanced up to check for a deer or a sudden turn but was met with a burst of light. With a jerky turn of the wheel, she skidded off the road, almost hitting a tree. Her head slammed into the wheel, causing her world to spin. Leaves crunched under the weight of heavy boots. Another burst of light illuminated the outline of a man in his thirties. His thick and accented voice was loud in the silence of the forest.
"Move the car and I'll set it on fire." She blinked to clear her vision. The man had a flame thrower on his back and pointed the handle at the hood of the car. "But don't get me wrong, I'd love to see you and this car go up in flames."
He matched the picture shown in the breaking news update to the T. It was Ryan Daniels but didn't he set the fire in the clearing Teigan had run to?
In the moment, Beth wanted the Beast to come back. She didn't care that he was a murderer and what he came to do was brutally kill this man. So be it, she thought. She didn't want to be burned alive. She didn't want to die.
"Come out of that car!" he barked. "Come out or I'll set this whole forest on fire!"
She stepped out, trying to stay out of his arms reach to no avail. He snatched her injured arm and held it up to his greasy face.
"You got yourself quite the cut." He twisted her arm, looking at it more closely. "You know, a little fire could do the trick . . . stop the bleeding." She flinched, getting a laugh out of him - a real laugh. He found her fear funny?
Beth was in the presence of yet another criminal. Unlike Teigan his face was human under the mask he wore to protect himself from the flames. It was pushed up on his head, plastering back his shoulder length red hair.
"You're the girl the Beast kidnapped. Your face is all over the news . . ." She almost asked him if he wanted an autograph. "No matter." He shrugged and started walking, pulling her along with him.
"Where are you taking me?" The thought of being taken by another kidnapper was too much for her to process. Where was Teigan? How long until he realized Ryan Daniels wasn't in the clearing?
He glanced back at her with a smirk on his greasy smirk. "To the fire."
~The Beast~
He was nowhere in sight. Even the fire he had seen was gone. It led Teigan to believe it had been a set up. Ryan Daniels must have known he'd come after him. He knew this would become a problem. People were beginning to provoke him just for the sake of finding out more about him. They wanted to meet the infamous Beast. Luckily, none of the people who lured him in for the thrill of it would find their way back to society to tell others about it.
Where was he?
A shriek tore through the air.
Bethany.
He sprinted in the direction of the car. The bumpy terrain of the forest had nothing on him. His beastly form made certain things easier for him. He was faster and stronger than he had been before. Without his enhanced abilities, he wouldn't be able to do what he did. In a way, the witch's work betrayed her.
His car was off the side of the road with the driver's door popped open. To his relief and dismay, Bethany wasn't in it.
"Bethany?!"
"Help!" Her blood curdling scream tore through his cobwebbed chest. It pulled apart the threads until they were loose enough to break. If she was hurt it would be on him. He had never meant to hurt her.
He found her deeper in the forest. Rope bound her waist and arms to the bark of a tree. Blood trickled down her arm and mixed with her sweat, falling onto the soil beneath her. Ryan Daniels was holding his flame thrower and at the sight of him aimed the end of it at Bethany. Her face paled.
Ryan spoke, his voice muffled because of his mask. "I don't know if y'all know this but I have a daughter. She loved The Hunger Games." She squirmed under the ropes, staring at him. She was waiting for him to do something. Pleading for him to do something. After all he'd put her through, she believed he was capable of doing something good.
"I must have watched it 'bout a hundred times with her. My favorite part was when that girl with the braided hair caught on fire." Bethany took a shaky breath before looking at him intently again. "Tell me sweetheart, how'd you like to be the girl on fire?"
Teigan had to move. Out of all the dangerous situations he had got himself into for the past year or so - this was the riskiest of the bunch. It was because someone else's life was on the line. He couldn't let Bethany die.
He lunged at Ryan Daniels and shoved him away from him with all his strength. Thrown off guard, he landed a good few feet away. With the claws that sprung from his fingertips, he cut the rope holding her against the tree.
"Run!" he commanded, yanking the ropes off of her. She began to sprint but her shirt got caught on the splinters. They tugged on the fabric to no use.
The gun of Ryan's flame thrower hit him in the ribs. He fell to the ground, all the air knocked out of him. Bethany took off her flannel and ran but Ryan's boot kicked her to the ground, leaving a print on the back of her tank top. He chuckled and grabbed her by her hair to yell in her face.
"You ain't answered my question!" She gave a kick to the back of his knee causing him to release her to regain his balance. It bought Teigan more time to get back up.
Bethany searched the dirt until she found a large branch. She swung it in an explosion of force that would have done damage to Ryan Daniels had it hit him. But the man had positioned his flame thrower's gun directly at her, his finger about to pull the trigger.
Teigan knew what he had to do. He had already messed up by taking her away from her home. He couldn't let her burn at the hands of this sick man. It pained him to admit it but he deserved this fate more than she did.
It all happened at the same time. He knocked Bethany out of the way to take her place and Ryan Daniels pressed the trigger.
Then, the light.
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