Thanks for all of your lovely reviews. Always a bright spot in my day :-*
This is rather short but at least there's some action and not just talking. Some violence ahead, just so you're warned.
The room's door was suddenly slammed open and both of them jumped at the noise, completely unprepared. Their heads snapped around and Spencer froze when he saw the men from the kitchen stepping into the room, their expressions sinister.
Seth was up in an instant, his hand reaching for the revolver on the nightstand.
"I wouldn't do that, Seth," the man named Carlos stepped forward, his own gun in hand and aimed at them, "I have no beef with you, my friend, but the boy needs to go."
There was no doubt as to what exactly he meant with go.
Spencer felt the by now familiar sensation of cold fear spreading through his veins again as he stared at the armed men across the room. Every alarm bell is head was going off at the scene before him –and this time he was sure he wasn't misinterpreting anything.
His heart started racing when the man named Carlos stepped closer, followed by the others, his expression menacing as he released the safety catch on his gun. He has to go. There really was no misinterpreting that. They were going to kill him, for real this time.
All remnants of calm gone in an instant, Spencer scrambled to get out of bed and to his feet, flight instinct returning with a vengeance.
Before he could even figure out where he wanted to run to though, Seth quickly lifted one arm, keeping him back in the same moment that he took a step forward.
Spencer stopped in his tracks, his eyes flickering over the man's posture, his slightly crouched stance and tensed shoulders to realize that it looked like he was preparing for blocking an attack -as well as attacking. What-?
Seth didn't look back at him to explain.
"Are you fucking serious, Carlos?" he asked darkly, the aggression in his voice thinly veiled.
He sounded truly scary even without a look at his expression and it was clear that the others weren't unaffected by that.
Spencer swallowed hard, somehow frozen in his spot between Seth and the bed.
He's protecting me…he really is protecting me…
Maybe he shouldn't have been so stunned by that realization, after all Seth had promised just that over and over…but only actually seeing it made him believe it for the first time. Don't move, his brain quickly supplied, You wouldn't make it alone. He said he wouldn't let them touch you…he won't…
There wasn't much room for doubts in the situation. At any other time he might have doubted because of the absolutely lethal tone in Seth's voice, or the fact that there must be a reason apart from really dirty looks that he was able to scare these men like this…but right then with Seth as the only thing between him and death, those priorities shifted.
He did the smartest thing he could. He stayed where he was despite every fiber of his body screaming at him to flee over the rushing of blood in his ears, unmoving, anxiously staring at the two men facing off in front of him.
Carlos was sufficiently distracted anyway right then. He looked worried at seeing Seth's determination, but that didn't mean he was backing off. On the contrary, he stepped forward, a deep frown marring his dark face as he addressed Seth.
"You know I respect you, man, but I told you…I can't have him here. It's too much of a risk for all of us."
Seth didn't move out of his stance by an inch, his voice low and deadly, "You take one more step towards him and I swear you'll regret it."
The vigor in his voice stunned both Carlos and Spencer. It was obvious he really, really meant that.
For a sheer endless moment nobody moved or blinked even. Carlos didn't move closer and Spencer could see the hand with the gun shaking slightly –but he also saw the thick, stubby finger eventually curling around the trigger as the gun's muzzle moved to aim at his chest. He drew in a sharp breath, every muscle in his body locking in terror as he realized the man was going to shoot despite Seth's warning.
Everything happened very fast then.
The sound of a gunshot ripped through the tense silence, one that Spencer knew was aimed at him and that he wouldn't be able to evade. In the same second, before he had even begun to consider moving or closing his eyes or praying, Seth suddenly whirled around, grabbed him and shoved him out of the way.
Spencer stumbled back, only after a long second realizing that the pain of metal ripping through his chest wasn't there, that he wasn't hit.
By then Seth had already whirled back around, just in time to keep Carlos from firing a second shot by grabbing the man's arm and twisting it harshly. Carlos yelled loudly, fighting back and then they were in a full on fight, both of them pushing and shoving, Carlos trying to shake Seth off and Seth trying to get to the gun.
Spencer stared at them in shock, finding himself unable to move as he watched Carlos landing a punch in Seth's gut while Seth's fist smacked into Carlos' jaw with unrestrained force. The sense of déjà vu was like a punch to his stomach, so powerful it took his breath away. He had seen this before, Seth kneeling on the ground, fighting someone like this…
There had been blood, too…and there was now, on the floor where the two men were fighting, on their skin, and he couldn't tell where it was coming from, or how much it was…
He whimpered when memories threatened to overwhelm him again, knowing that this wasn't the moment to break down, not with those other men still around…
"Fuck it! I'll do it then!" He had barely finished that thought when one of the men suddenly moved and made a grab for him, yanking at his arm.
Spencer shrank back with a yelp, trying to yank his arm away but the man wouldn't let go no matter how hard he tried. The man held him tightly while reaching for something in his pocket and producing a knife.
"No!" Spencer cried, panicked.
It fell on deaf ears. Before he knew it he was spun around and shoved onto the bed face first. The next second the man was on him, a knee digging into his back, a hard hand roughly twisting one of his arms onto his back.
Spencer yelled out in pain and fear, thrashing wildly as he tried to get away. The man ignored him, grabbing him by his hair and forcing his head up. Spencer froze when he felt the cold metal of a knife against his throat. Cold metal, biting pain…he was going to die…
"No!" Seth roared close by. There was another shot, and then a scream and the next second the weight on top of him was gone, the bulky criminal dragging him to his feet and using him like a shield.
Tears shot into Spencer's eyes from the pain of his hair being pulled but even through a blurred vision he could see Carlos on the ground, clutching his bleeding arm, and Seth already getting up from the ground, gun in hand. Once standing, he didn't spare another glance for Carlos, his eyes immediately focusing on Spencer and the man holding him.
"Agh-" Spencer winced when the man pulled at his hair harder, yanking him back.
"Shut up!" the man snapped, then extended his arm, pointing the knife at Seth threateningly to keep him away, "You! Back off!" Spencer could feel him take a breath to say something else, a threat probably -but Seth didn't wait to hear it.
In a flash he was right in front of them, grabbing the man's hand with the knife and twisting it harshly. There was a sickening crack and the man screamed, dropping the knife and releasing his grip on Spencer to clutch his broken appendage.
The second Spencer was free Seth grabbed him and pulled him behind himself, blocking him from everybody else. Only then did he focus on the rest of the men, aiming the gun he'd won at them threateningly. There were two men left, blocking the way to the door. Both of them were looking between Carlos who was bleeding on the floor, their buddy with the broken hand and Seth with alarmed expressions. Clearly they weren't as confident anymore, or as determined to likely get seriously hurt just to get to Spencer.
"Out of the way," Seth growled, finger on the trigger, "move or I'll do it for you."
It was clear that neither man doubted he meant that, that he would shoot. After a moment of thick silence they both gave in, apparently deciding it wasn't worth it and moved aside. Seth's focus didn't waver as he grabbed Spencer's wrist blindly, pulling. Spencer stumbled after him as they moved towards the door and outside.
Seth only glanced at his face briefly as he looked back over his shoulder before pulling him along faster as he hurried down the corridor. He didn't say anything and Spencer couldn't have said anything had he wanted to right then, the shock of what had just happened still sitting too deep. He was just glad that his legs were obeying him and letting Seth get him out of there, away from…
Spencer cast an anxious look back over his shoulder. They weren't being followed yet. No one came after them, not even when they ran out the back door.
There were three cars parked next to the house and Seth pulled him over to one of them, yanking open the door on the passenger's side.
"Get in," he demanded urgently, practically pushing Spencer into the seat before running around to the driver's side, getting in and then racing them off the premise and onto the road.
Then they were on the highway, long before Spencer's brain and body even started to reboot and recover from the shock like state they'd gone into when he'd almost died. Once they did he realized he was shaking, sweating and shivering at the same time, feeling like he was about to black out.
It all just kept flashing in front of his mental eye, the men, the guns…the knife at his throat and the realizing that that man was really about to slit his throat…Seth raising hell, shooting Carlos and breaking that guy's hand like it was nothing…all that violence and blood and screaming…all of it filling his head, so much of it by now that it felt like there was nothing else beside it…and in the midst of all Seth…with liquid eyes but a deadly voice and steady hand on the trigger of a gun-
"-re you okay?" He jumped, startled out of having spaced off by a hand on his arm. His head snapped around to find that Seth was staring at him urgently, "Spencer, talk to me, are you okay?"
Spencer just stared at him, his mouth opening and closing but no words coming out. All he could see was red, all he could do was to keep from screaming.
Was he okay?
He really didn't think so.
Wow, poor Specney can't catch a break.
Okay, so I think pretty soon I've got to turn this arond at least a little and get them to a more relaxed and peaceful place physically as well as metaphorically. This is supposed to be a love story after all. Well, my warped version of one at least. But seriously, I do love me some melodrama and tragic irony and stuff but you know it has to be good first so that there's something to mess with later on...
So, onto the "good" soon. Feel free to offer suggestions as to what you'd like to see. Seth really isn't a sunny character so I think it might be difficult to write any scenes that make Spencer "like him better" or any sugary, sappy stuff...but I will still try to find a middle ground. Ideas my way please :)
