Trigger warning.
Isabella
April and Kendra are in the warehouse. The guy pushes me to the ground and gravity takes over. I land hard.
"Bella!" Kendra shouts, rushing over to me. She helps me over to a wall that I rest against.
"Has he hurt you all?"
"No," Kendra answers. April sits quietly in the corner. My eyes meet hers and she looks at her lap.
"April," I breathe, "What did he do to you?" There are no visible marks on her, making me think the worst.
"It doesn't matter," she whispers.
"Yes, it does," I whisper. She picks at her nails.
"He um," she pauses and turns her head up. Tears fall down her cheeks. "He tried to rape me."
"April-" I breathe. Tears start flowing freely from her eyes. Every bone in my body screams as I scoot over to her. She rests her head on my shoulder and cries. Kendra joins in on the other side of April.
"We'll kill him, April, I promise," Kendra assures.
"He'll get a bullet from each of us."
"Is that what happened between you and Michael?" April cries.
"No," I whisper, my voice cracks at the end. "It never got that far. I'm so sorry April."
"It's not your fault," she cries.
"We'll get out of here, I promise."
Colby
My back is against the wall in this all too familiar of a scene.
"Is she alive?" I ask openly.
"Yeah," Tara answers. Relief floods me. "He beat her a lot, though."
"Have you all seen or heard anything about Kendra?" Luke asks.
"No, I think he had them separated," Sam answers.
"So, what's the plan to kill this son of a bitch?" Mike questions.
"We need Hunter in here," I answer. "He knows Elijah. He knows what he's capable of."
"He could be dead," Luke reminds. I shake my head.
"He wouldn't just kill Hunter. If this was about that he wouldn't have taken the girls. He wants us to know he has power over us."
Just as we fall silent, feet come down the concrete stairs. Hunter is being followed down by Elijah. He's been beaten harshly. Eli pushes him into a cell with Luke.
"What a great way to release my anger!" He laughs. "Much better than Bella and April."
"What the hell did you do to her?" Hunter hisses. Luke helps him sit up.
"None of your concern," Eli smiles.
"I promise I will put a bullet in your head," I assure.
"I haven't even done anything that bad to Bella," he chuckles, tossing his arms in the air.
"You laid a hand on her. That's enough for me."
"To be fair, she did ask for it."
"You're a dead man, Eli," Hunter assures.
"We'll see. Well, I should get to bed. See you all tomorrow." He walks back up the steps and closes the door behind him.
"I'm going to fucking kill him," Hunter breathes.
"Did you see them?" I question.
"No," he sighs. "He took me to an empty room and beat me."
"They're smart," I say mostly to myself. "They'll get out of there."
Isabella
April fell asleep on my shoulder.
"Has he hurt you?" I ask Kendra softly.
"Not yet but I'm sure he will."
"One of us has to get out of here," I whisper.
"How?"
"I don't know," I sigh. Standing carefully, I walk over to the door. My body screams for me to stop. Kendra catches me as I crumble. "You have to."
"He'll kill me if I get out," she whispers.
"He can't kill us," I tell her. "The second he does he loses everything."
"Killing us would break them, giving him more power," she whispers.
"I had the chance to kill him."
"Why didn't you?"
"He had Tara, Kat, and Devyn at gunpoint."
"You were protecting them, Bella."
"But they could die anyway."
"I don't know what we're going to do," she whispers. Our voices are weak.
"Kill him," I cry. "It's all we can do."
Colby
"He's going to kill them, isn't he?" I question. The sun is barely shining through the high windows on the wall.
"Maybe," Hunter sighs.
"I was going to tell her that I love her," I whisper.
"Really?" Sam questions.
"Yeah," I scoff. "We shouldn't have left with that damn chip."
"If the chip wasn't real, how the hell did that one girl find us?" Kat asks.
"I have no clue," I whisper. The door opens and I expect to see Elijah come down. Instead, I see Kendra creeping down the stairs. Luke stands and rushes over to the bars.
"Are you okay?" He questions, taking her hands.
"Where are they?" Hunter asks.
"I'm okay," Kendra answers. "April is in a warehouse and he took Bella somewhere."
"What did he do to her?" Hunter asks. She purses her lips.
"He tried to rape her, Hunter," she whispers. Hunter's fists clench along with his jaw.
"What about Bella?" I question, making her turn to me.
"He beat her badly. She could barely move without being in pain. She needs help and he's not going to give it to her."
"I'm going to kill him," Hunter promises.
"I'll help," I add. "How did you get down here?"
"I slipped out when he took Bella out."
"Can you find a gun or anything?" Luke questions.
"I can try but I don't know how much time I have until he notices," she answers.
"Then go now," Hunter snaps.
"Hunter," I hiss.
"What, Colby?"
"April is not the only one suffering right now," I remind.
"Bella wasn't almost raped, Colby."
"No," I answer, meeting his harsh tone. "But she was assaulted and beaten. She saved all of us. Trust me I want Eli dead as much as you do but that can't happen if we're fighting."
"Whatever," he huffs. Luke looks back at Kendra.
"Please try finding a weapon. You have to kill him."
"And have fun with that," Eli chuckles as he comes down the stairs. Bella is in his arms. She has bruises covering her arms. "Nice to see you down here, Kendra. I think it's time to go back now."
"Where the hell is April?" Hunter spits.
"In better hands than yours," Eli spits back. Bella's eyes are closed and her body is limp against Eli. Her white tank top is stained and ripped. "Come on, Kendra, I won't hurt her if you just come with."
"You'll hurt her if I do," Kendra replies cooly.
"Probably," he chuckles. "But it'll be a lot worse if you refuse."
"Let her go and I'll come with," Kendra bargains. Without hesitation, he drops Bella. She falls and I flinch as she hits the ground. When I look back at her, her eyes are looking back at me. She gives me the slightest nod. His eyes are on Kendra. Bella reaches up and grabs the keys off of his belt. She tosses them to me and I catch them. He picks her up and slams her against the wall.
"You bitch," he hisses at her, putting his hand around her neck. "You're dead."
"Not before you," she grins. Kendra grabs the gun from the back of his belt and aims it at him. He uses Bella as a shield.
"You wouldn't dare," he hisses.
"Shoot, Kendra."
"Bella, I can't hit you," Kendra defends.
"Kendra-" Bella begins. She's cut off by Eli holding his forearm to her neck. She scratches his arm, trying to escape. Rushing over to the door, I struggle to find the key to unlock it.
"Do you want to know something, Bella?" He grits into her ear.
Michael knows where you are. He knows where to find you and he's not going to let you go again."
"Let her go, Eli," I demand once I get the door open.
"Make me," he spits back. Bella's movements get weaker. Without thinking, I run over and take him to the ground. The three of us fall to the ground. He lets go of Bella and I begin hitting him repeatedly.
"You're done, Eli," I hiss, hitting him over and over again. There's a hand on my arm before I hit him again. Looking, I see Sam standing behind me.
"Go to Bella, we'll take care of him." My eyes find Bella. Kat, Tara, and Devyn are around her, trying to get her to wake up. Quickly, I rush over and cup her cheeks.
"Bella," I call, taking her hand. The girls step back, giving me room. "Hey, we need you to wake up, okay?"
"Bella, please," Tara cries. Sam, Mike, Kevin, and Luke all assure Eli gets into a cell. Hunter rushes out to go find April.
"Bella," I call again, shaking her shoulders. She moves slightly, making my heart rate speed up. "There you go, come on." Her eyes move slightly before opening. "Hey," I smile.
"I should've killed her when I had the chance," Eli hisses, glaring down at Bella. Ignoring him, I help Bella sit up.
"Don't try to push yourself," I warn as she hurries to stand. She leans against me and takes slow, melodic breaths. My arms wrap around her gently and I kiss her head. "Come on, let's get you out of here."
"It hurts, Colby," she whispers. Understanding, I put my arm under her legs and pick her up. She rests her head on my chest as I walk her out of the jail. Elijah swears and curses at us. People stare as I walk her to the hospital. We get there and Kara opens the door for us.
"Is she okay?" Kara asks, following me.
"She will be," I answer quickly. We go into a room and I lay her on the bed.
"What do I need to do, Bella?" I ask, bending down next to her.
"Nothing," she whispers. "I just need time to rest and heal."
"Okay," I nod, brushing hairs out of her face. "I'll stay here with you until you're better."
She smiles softly. "I love you, Colby," she whispers.
"I love you, Bella," I say without hesitation. She smiles and pulls my lips into hers.
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Hi, it's been a while. Sorry that I've literally been a ghost this past month. School started back and it's been messing with my mental health quite a bit. Hopefully, writing again will help me feel better.