After an in-depth discussion with Emmithar on the meaning of the word "lifeless", I have to say that I did not want to imply that Sara was dead at the end of the last chapter. I saw it in another meaning, so cut the poor non-native speaker some slack. This is how we say it my language. :P Thanks to Emmithar for the beta and for the ev-, ehm... creative input into the story.

Chapter 2

Greg reached into the trunk, trying to lift Sara carefully. It was not an easy task, but he had to get her out of there and he would not let come Charlie near her anymore. He was shocked at what his so-called friend had done, but he was only concerned with saving Sara. He did not even pay attention what Charlie was doing; his eyes were only on her.

She was unconscious, but Greg could not see any injuries, so she had probably been knocked out somehow, and he hoped it had not left any permanent damage. Charlie had bound her hands and feet, which did not make it easier to get her out. Greg gritted his teeth, seeing what Charlie had done to her.

After some seconds Greg had gotten a good grip on Sara and was pulling her carefully out of the vehicle. He did not like the idea of laying her onto the ground, but he did not have much of a choice, leaving her lying inside the trunk was definitely not an alternative.

"We have to get her to the hospital," he declared, hoping that Charlie would agree, as he would need his car.

"What? Why? No!" Charlie intervened. "I got her for you, Greg."

Greg could not believe what he was hearing, although nothing should really surprise him anymore after what Charlie had done to Sara. Greg laid her slowly onto the ground, hoping she would wake up. It would make things easier, even though the situation was horrible altogether.

"We have to get her to the hospital," he replied firmly. "And I can't believe what you have done, how you can think that I wanted that. That's completely over my head!" he yelled angrily. Greg could usually keep his calm, but the whole situation was driving him to his edge. He turned to Sara again, starting to work on the tape that bound her hands.

"You can't let her go. She'll go straight to the cops," Charlie warned him. Greg knew that this was true of course, but did not care in the slightest.

It came to his mind that Charlie did not even know that Greg worked for the crime lab, and Greg was definitely not going to tell him now. And as for the police finding out about Sara's abduction, it was Charlie who had done it; Greg would not feel sorry for him for a second; and they could not blame Greg, since he had had no idea of what Charlie had been doing. And even if they did, it was not Greg's biggest worry now. Getting Sara home safe and sound was the only thing on his mind.

"We have to get rid of her," Charlie continued, disappointment still sounding through his voice on Greg's apparent disapproval of his deed.

Greg's heart beat even faster at this announcement. He had to get Sara out of here.

"I'll get her to the hospital," he said firmly.

"No! No, stop, Greg. Leave her where she is or I'm going to kill her."

Greg thought his heart might collapse any moment, so fast was it beating, but he knew that he would be, and had to be, able to protect Sara.

"I'll get her out of here," he declared, looking at Charlie again. And was cursing himself for not having paid attention to what the other man was doing, for Charlie had retrieved a gun from somewhere, pointing it shaking at Sara now.

"You won't," he said.

"Don't do this," Greg pleaded, moving himself slowly in front of Sara. "If you kill her, the cops will be after you as well, and it will be for murder," he warned the other man.

"There's no connection between her and I. They'll never get me. She's just a random girl who I don't know."

"You don't know her?" Greg asked trembling, wondering whether this should give him hope or made everything only worse.

"No, I don't," Charlie was shaking his head as if it was a matter-of-course. "You said a brunette." He rubbed his forehead, holding the weapon only with one hand now. "I was hanging around near your place this morning and that's when I saw her… she's pretty, so I thought you'd like her," he rambled on, steadying the gun then.

Greg's mind was racing. On the question why Sara had been near his place he spent only a moment. It was a sharp sting though when he realized that she had maybe wanted to come over for his birthday, had been there for him.

He thought about how he could use the fact that Charlie did not know that Greg knew Sara, and that Sara knew him.

"Get out of the way, Greg," Charlie told him now, approaching him with the directed gun, but staying out of reach.

"No, I won't," Greg said decidedly. "If you shoot, you'll hit me," he said swallowing.

"I'd never hurt you, Greg," Charlie replied horrified. "You're my friend."

Greg was still trying to calm himself. He took a deep breath, before he suggested, "We could bring her to the hospital somehow. She does not know you… does not know us. They'll never find a connection to us." The other man seemed to ponder.

"Charlie, you said you're my friend, please do that for me," Greg asked hopefully.

"She doesn't know us… you're right…" Charlie said slowly, and the slightest bit of tension was going off Greg. He was hoping that things would turn to the good still. Or would at least come to a somewhat bearable end.

It was then he noticed that Sara was wincing and moaning slightly, and he feared what Charlie would do if he panicked when Sara woke up and made clear that she knew Greg. He hated himself only for the thought of what he was about to do, but Greg looked up at Charlie quickly.

"Do you have some cloth to gag her?" Greg hoped it would keep Sara from yelling out that she knew him, until he was able to tell her to remain silent, or at least until Charlie's gun was away as it was definitely the greatest source of danger.

Charlie threw him a piece of cloth that he had retrieved from the trunk of his car and seeing how ragged and dirty it was, Greg was even more horrified at the idea of putting this in Sara's mouth, but it was not like he had a choice.

He grabbed the cloth and was just tying it behind Sara's head carefully, when she opened her eyes. She looked at him, at first dazed for a moment, before the reality of the situation seemed to dawn on her, and she stared at Greg in horror.

Greg tried to bring both easement and an apology in his expression when he looked at her. She tried to move, but was nearly unable to, and muffled sounds were coming out of her mouth. Greg glanced at Charlie fearfully, hoping the other man would not freak.

"So what are we going to do now?" Charlie asked.

"Get her into the car and-," Greg started but the other man shook his head decidedly.

"Let's get her inside," he said, pointing at the cabin they had parked next to. "I have to think."

Greg did not like the idea, but once again he had not much of a choice. He had to keep Charlie calm, or nobody knew what was going to happen. He helped Sara to her feet, after he had removed the tape that had bound her legs. Charlie approached them and held the gun pointed at Sara's head.

"Go with him," he ordered, signing at Greg. Sara looked at the gun fearfully, and it was not before Greg pulled her into the direction of the cabin that she took her gaze of it. Now she gave Greg a look of utter disbelief and abhorrence, and Greg looked away in pain, back at the man he had formerly called his friend.

Once they were inside, Greg brought Sara to the couch that was standing at one end of the room, watching then uneasily how Charlie was binding her legs together again, without laying the gun out of his hand for a moment. Sara had long stopped trying to yell at them, only the expression of fear and disgust had remained.

Charlie strode quickly towards the door of the cabin, and Greg followed him, throwing a last glance at Sara who was avoiding his gaze now.

Sara had made sure to get off shift in time for once. Since Greg had decided to take work off on his birthday, she had planned on dropping by at his place. What she remembered was that she had parked her car only a street away from where Greg was living. After that it was black.

Now she was lying somewhere on the cold, hard ground, not knowing how she had gotten there, her head hurting. She moaned softly and tried to open her eyes. Suddenly somebody was bringing a disgusting material into her mouth. Sara finally opened her eyes. It took her a moment before her gaze focused and she could see Greg looking down at her, while he was tightening the knot of the gag.

These were the facts Sara's brain registered, although they seemed to be absurd. She had to be in some terrible nightmare. Or she had lost her mind. The pain in her head was definitely too real for a nightmare.

She stared at Greg, and wondered if it was sorrow she saw in his eyes. What was he doing? Why was he doing that? Sara did not, could not understand. She was not even really afraid, for she knew that Greg would never do anything to her. But what was it then what was happening now?

She tried to move, but failed, tried to yell at him, ask him what he was doing, what he was thinking, but only muffled sounds left her mouth. Greg looked away and Sara could hear another man speaking. Greg was not alone. There was somebody else in it. Sara closed her eyes briefly, telling her heart beating to slow down, hoping for her breath to calm. It felt still too unreal; all of this could not be happening.

Greg and the other man seemed to discuss what to do. Then Greg was pulling her to her feet. She swayed slightly, but he was holding her, keeping her from falling. His touch was careful, avoiding grabbing her too tightly. And she still did not understand. And she had always thought she would be able to figure out everything somehow.

Sara could see the other man now, and had the urge to draw back fearfully when she saw him approaching her with a gun in his hand which he was pointing at her head. Her breathing fastened again in fear. He was not going to shoot her, was he? Why was Greg not doing anything? Why was Greg doing what he was doing?

"Go with him," the man told her. Sara's gaze was fixed at the gun. Then Greg pulled her forward and she turned to look at him. More and more she began to think that it was not her who had lost her mind, but Greg. Greg was doing this to her and it made no sense. It was real, so much she had to realize shaking, but it was not anything she would ever comprehend.

Inside the cabin Greg made her sit onto the couch that was standing on the far end of the room. The other man came and bound her legs again; Sara would have wanted to kick him, hinder him from doing what he was, but the gun in his hand made her lie still. She was afraid now. She had not been earlier when she had thought Greg was alone in this. Greg would never do this to her. Greg would never hurt her. But now together with the other man he was doing so.

Her mind seemed still to explode, trying to process this fact. She just could not believe it. Greg's friend was leaving for the exit quickly and Greg followed him. He was glancing back at Sara, but she did not look at him. She could not anymore. She could not watch Greg do this anymore.

Charlie stopped outside of the door, and Greg quickly caught up to him.

"What do you want to do? We have to get her to the hospital. Didn't we agree on that?" Greg wanted to know, cursing himself that he had let it come so far to let him bring Sara inside.

Charlie was fiddling with the gun, not answering on Greg's question immediately.

"And how do you want to do that?" he asked suddenly after a minute.

"We get her into your car, drive over to Desert Palms where they can check her over…" Greg started.

"So we just walk in with her there and let them call the cops or what?"

Greg was getting desperate, trying to find a solution Charlie was going to accept.

"We could just drop her off somewhere," Charlie suggested now. "Somebody will find her sometime and we'll be long gone then."

"No," Greg said resolutely. They could not let Sara leave alone somewhere, waiting for somebody to find her. There were too many incalculable risks linked to that, and too many horrible fears of what could happen.

Suddenly Charlie cocked the gun, and strode the few paces over to the entrance of the cabin. "I'll just kill her and the problem is solved," he decided fervently.

"No, don't do that. We'll find a solution," Greg called desperately, stopping Charlie in his movement. "Just let me think a moment, please."

"Why do you care so much for her?" Charlie asked frowning. "Do you know her?" he added in a sharp tone.

TBC