If there was anything he hated, it was waiting. He hadn't paid much attention to how long his two captives had been passed out, but he was already tired of waiting for them to wake up. He stood up from the couch he had laid Mello on to check on Matt. He hadn't been quite as careful with the redhead as he had been with Mello, deciding to just leave him on the the boy's side with his foot earned him a groan, but no other signs of waking up. Frowning in annoyance, he sat on the couch again, checking the knots in the ropes keeping Mello's arms and legs bound for what must have been the hundredth time. Now that she was here, the last thing he wanted was for her to pull a sneaky move and get away.
Feeling the fog of a heavy sleep clear, Mello felt the pinch of something binding her wrists. Still not fully aware, she attempted to shift, becoming annoyed when her limbs disobeyed her. Cracking open an eye, ready to tell Matt off for making her feel cramped, her heart clenched in her chest when brown wood paneled walls greeted her instead of the welcoming off-white color of her room's walls. As her mind frantically tried to catch up with what was going on around her, she wasn't even aware of the man watching her every move.
"Well good morning, sunshine." He couldn't stop his face from breaking out into a grin as he watched her struggle. She was ten times more beautiful like this than she ever was before. He brushed her hair out of her eyes, enjoying the way she flinched as she realized he was there. "How are you feeling?"
Mello didn't think her heart could beat much faster as a smooth and deep voice reached her ears. That was most definitely not Matt. A tremor of fear racked its way down her entire body as a hand oh so gently caressed her cheek and forehead. She felt like screaming, but she was almost certain nothing would happen if she opened her mouth to try. Realizing she'd shut her eyes again when she heard the voice, she all but forced herself to open them and look at the man whom she feared more than anything.
Her reaction was perfect. He could practically taste her fear as she looked up at him from her place on the couch, still too shocked to struggle against the ropes. "What's wrong, aren't you going to talk to me? It's so good to see you again, Mello."
If she wasn't having a heart attack before, she definitely was now. Sitting before her looking absolutely pleased with himself was none other than Beyond, L's brother who had supposedly moved there from across the country only a few months ago. Her throat felt tight, and her stomach did somersaults as she tried to piece everything together.
"What's the matter? You should be happy to see me. You have no idea how much fun we're going to have I've been waiting to see you again for far too long. Did you like your ring?" Just the tone of his voice made Mello almost nauseous with fear, and the constant barrage of questions and vaguely threatening statements weren't helping things. He didn't bother waiting for a response this time, continuing to talk as he ran his fingers through her hair almost lovingly. "Tonight you'll be completely mine. And then I'll make sure no one else can ever have you," he finished as he leaned down, pressing his lips against hers.
Looking a bit less amused than before when Mello flinched away and stared at him in horrified silence, Beyond stood up once again, briefly leaving the room. Moments later, he walked back in with something that made her already pounding heart skip a beat; it was one of the biggest knives she had ever seen. She didn't even want to know what he planned to do with let out an unsettling laugh before plopping next to her on the couch again, running the flat side of the blade gently over her cheek. "Why don't you want to talk to me?"
"I-I-" She just couldn't manage to form words as the cold steel of the blade ran across her cheek. She could feel her eyes squeezing shut again as she leaned away. What did Beyond even expect her to say? Then it hit her. "Where's Matt?" She tried to sound in control, but the wavering in her voice gave made it almost impossible.
"I see that's still all you care about. He's right there," Beyond replied as he gestured towards Matt with the knife, grinning. "The way you think will change by the end of today, so don't you worry."
Mello wasn't sure exactly what Beyond meant with that statement, but she wasn't about to let anything happen to Matt. "L-let him go!" With renewed vigor, she struggled against the ropes as she continued yelling. "He has nothing to do with this!" Though to Beyond, Matt was a rather important player in his little game.
"He has everything to do with this." Putting his hand on her shoulder to slow down her struggling a little, he leaned in almost close enough for their lips to touch again, still grinning like a maniac. "You don't need to think about him anymore. Not until he wakes up."
Mello grimaced at how sickly sweet Beyond's breath smelled. The close proximity was making her squirm, and in a bold attempt to get away she put her bound hands on the man's chest and pushed, hard. Feeling him give way just the slightest, she seized the opportunity. Pulling her legs up almost to her chest, Mello used all her strength and lashed out, and in one swift move sent Beyond thudding onto the floor, knife clanging onto the hardwood floor and sliding out of reach. She wasn't even thinking anymore as she blindly flung herself off the couch and crawled her way towards Matt.
Dazed for a few moments, Beyond sat up, wiping a bit of blood from his forehead and letting out that unsettling cackle again. The kick had been unexpected, but it just made things even more fun in the long run. He loved a good bothering to go for the knife, he stood and walked over to Mello, grabbing a fistful of her hair. "I like you more and more every day. You've got so much fight in you."
Mello couldn't stop the whimper that escaped from her mouth. She was so close to Matt she could almost touch him. This whole situation was just impossible, surely she was only dreaming? This was just some nightmare her subconscious cooked up because of her extreme desire to know who her stalker was. She shut her eyes again, willing herself to wake up, for it to all be over.
"Open those pretty eyes," Beyond ordered, ruffling her hair. "I want you to watch when I get rid of the last thing keeping you from me."
Turning her head as far as she could with the hand still twisted in her hair, Mello gave Beyond the most menacing look she could muster. "Don't you touch him!" Of course she still feared for her own life, but she knew that as long as she was still breathing she would do everything she could to save Matt.
Ignoring her little outburst, he picked her up from the floor, dropping her on the couch despite her struggling. "Why are you so dedicated to him?" His tone changed sharply at the last word as he began losing his patience. He was better than her last boyfriend, and he was sure as hell better than Matt. She just couldn't understand that.
"Because he's a decent human being, which is much more than you'll ever be!" Mello knew it wasn't wise to egg the man on, she had no idea what his mental state was like. He had seemed like an average guy when she met him at L's house, if not a bit creepy...if only she had known.
"I regret to inform you that decent humans don't exist." Glancing at Matt again, he left Mello on the couch to walk over to the unconscious boy again, his knife still long forgotten. He didn't need it for this, anyway. "Do you really think he wants anything other than to get in your pants? I'm really doing you a favor. Now just stay put for a minute."
"You better not touch him!" Mello struggled to sit up right on the worn out couch, the stuffing having lost its shape many years ago. Losing her balance, she was able to force back a yelp when her shoulder collided with the hard floor.
Beyond rolled his eyes at the thud her fall made. "Told you to stay put." He didn't bother helping her up, but instead fixed a glare on Matt, who was just starting to regain consciousness. He had wanted to wait until the kid was a little more lucid before he ended it all, but he was already impatient and tired of sitting around. There wasn't any point in waiting longer if he wasn't having any fun. He knelt down, wrapping his fingers around the redhead's neck, squeezing as Matt panicked and thrashed to get away from him.
As much as she wanted to help Matt, Mello knew there was nothing she could do. She needed to think! He mind was racing as she desperately tried to think of a way to save her best friend since childhood. She scanned the room hurriedly and could've audibly thanked God as she laid eyes on the crazed man's forgotten knife. As quietly as she could, she inched over to the blade. Carefully picking it up and angling the blade between her wrists she began to saw away at the binding.
The rope began to fray, but not quickly enough. Tear prickled at her eyes when she hear a strangled gasp coming from Matt's direction. She knew if she looked over right then, she would lose her resolve and break down. Instead she doubled her efforts, and was rewarded when she gave a hard pull and the rope gave way. She ignored the red irritated burns on her wrists and set to work freeing her ankles. It was significantly easier without having her wrists came the hard part. Gripping the knife so tightly her knuckles turned white, Mello turned on her hands and knees to look at the man hunched over Matt. She couldn't see his face, but she could practically feel his grin as he watched the boy beneath him slowly die. Blind with rage, Mello flung herself at her kidnapper, a hoarse cry tearing from her throat as she sunk the knife into his shoulder.
Beyond made a noise somewhere between a yelp and a furious snarl as he shoved her away and grabbed the handle of the knife, trying to ease it out of his shoulder. The angle was so awkward he could barely make it budge without hurting himself even more, but he was sure as hell still trying. In the meantime, Matt was desperately trying to stop coughing as he gasped for air, a bruise already forming where Beyond's hand had been gripping his neck.
Without waiting for Beyond to recover Mello grabbed the closest object to her, which happened to an old ceramic lamp with a terribly frayed cord. Without giving it a second thought, she smashed the old lamp over Beyond's head. She breathed hard as she watched him slump to the floor. Adrenaline was coursing through her veins, and she was ready for anything.
She was ready for him to spring up and attack her, but no such thing happened. She finally lowered her hands to her side from where they had been out in front of her. She sunk to her knees, wrapping her arms around herself as she shook. She couldn't take her eyes off the dark haired man, half wondering if she'd killed him.
When Matt finally managed to catch his breath and sit up, he watched the apparently unconscious man for a moment before wrapping his arms around Mello and hugging her tightly. He would've been dead if it wasn't for her, and he knew it. Could this whole nightmare really finally be over? It took him a few more minutes, but he eventually found his voice. "Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah." Mello barely managed to choke out the words before hot tears began to stream down her cheeks. The feel of Matt's arms around her was more comforting then she could have ever imagined. But what did they do now? She just wanted to run and never look back. "Do you still have your phone?" She rubbed at her eyes furiously as she forced herself to calm down.
"No," he replied with a frown as he wiped the tears from her face. "But I had it when we fell asleep in your room, so maybe he took it. Help me look for it."
She nodded numbly, the thought of taking her eyes off the man for even a second terrifying her. Her mind kept showing her images of him rising up, stronger than before, and over-powering them for good. She rose from the floor, taking a shuddering breath before looking around the room in search of Matt's phone or a possible hiding place.
After scouring the old shack, Matt managed to find his phone discarded in a corner. Half of it, anyway. He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "Mello, he broke it. What are we supposed to do now?"
"Well..." She thought for a minute taking one last look around. "This place has heat. And electricity. He could be using a generator, but if not then there might be a phone line, too." Then another thought occurred to her. She headed over to a window, pushing back the dusty curtains and pulling up and the cloudy glass. She peered outside, her mood lifting as she spotted a dirt road. "This isn't the place her took us to before. Maybe we're closer to civilization?" Though again, there was the simple problem of not leaving this man unattended. And she sure as hell wasn't about to be here alone with him, or leave Matt alone either.
Matt followed her to the window, wishing he at least knew where the hell they were. He wanted to get Mello out of there and back to the safety of her house. "Mell...will you be okay going out and trying to find help? I can look for a phone here and keep an eye on that psycho. We can't both just sit here or nothing's gonna happen. See if there's a car outside you can take."
"Fine..." She knew just sitting here wasn't going to do them any good. "But let's tie him up or something." She would at least feel a little better knowing Matt had a little extra security.
Matt nodded, not minding a little reassurance that he would be safe. After searching the shack a few times, they finally just had to make do with the remains of the ropes that Mello's arms and legs had been bound with and the ceramic lamp's old cord.
Checking to make sure the knots were good and Beyond wouldn't be able to move if he happened to wake up, Mello gave her best friend a tight hug before stepping outside. There was a car about thirty feet from the house, but she didn't need to get any closer to see that it had been torched. She hoped that they were close to a town as she started down the dusty walk into town was a all a blur, along with talking to the police. She remembered sitting in the back of a police car and watching as two officers removed a struggling and cursing Beyond from the small shack. Only when she felt the warm embrace of her best friend did she finally snap back to reality. "It's over," she mumbled into his chest as the patrol car roared to life and headed down the bumpy gravel drive.