When Scarlett next awoke, it was to an unpleasant throbbing sensation in her head and her cheek pressed against the cold metal of the van as they sped down the bumpy road. For the longest time, she didn't open her eyes. Her mouth felt terribly dry, and there was a sharp pain coming from the side of her cheek where she must have bit it. Her tongue probed at the ragged flesh, and she tasted blood. Vague memories of punching and kicking the man who tried to force her into the van flashed in her mind, followed by the painful crack of the rifle's butt on the back of her head. She'd fallen unconcious after that.
She sat up slowly, groaning as the pounding in her head increased. Her hands were bound behind her back by chains that rubbed her wrists raw when she tried to free herself. A scraping sound beside her captured her attention suddenly, and she peered into the darkness, not able to see what she shared the space with. "Hello?" Her voice was raspy and dry, and she swallowed before trying again. "Who's there?"
"Scarlett?" Stan sounded just as bad as her. He crawled closer to her so that they could see eachother in the gloom. "Thank God you're alright. He hit you hard with that gun. Are you sure you're okay, though? Maybe you should rest a bit longer, or something..."
"Stan." She interrupted. "Thanks for your concern, but honestly that isn't the problem right now. If you haven't noticed, we've been trapped in a speeding van for, oh, about ten hours now, I suspect. Our captors obviously don't care whether they harm us or not. We have no idea what they're planning to do whenever we get to where they're taking us. My health is hardly the most important thing at this point."
He was silent for a moment, and finally muttered, "You logic annoys me greatly." Scarlett could hear the sound of him shuffling into a sitting position beside her, and she suspected his hands were bound as well. "Have you see anyone else?"
"I can't really see anything in here." Scarlett answered, rather unhelpfully.
"Wait a minute! I found someone!" Stan's voice rose a bit, though he had enough sense to keep it at a hushed whisper. He was kicking at a shape infront of his feet that groaned softly. "Hey, I think it's Craig... Yeah, I can see his hair. But what's that beside him...?" His face suddenly flushed as the slow realization dawned on him. Craig lay with his body curled around Faith, as though protecting her. He remembered vaguely his sister's struggles to get free, and how the men had attempted to whack her with the gun repeatedly. Stan had been half-unconcious at that point, brought down by a blow to the head as Scarlett had been, and he now suspected that Craig had taken the assault for the silver-haired girl.
Scarlett had to stop herself from laughing out loud. "Wow." She grinned, looking at Stan's half-angry and half-confused expression. "Bet you didn't expect that."
"Stop kicking..." Craig muttered under his breath as Stan aimed another kick at his head. The boy shifted slightly, then stiffened as he let out a low hiss of pain. "Faith." He muttered, sitting up with some difficulty. "Faith, are you alright?" Looking down at the silver-haired girl, his brows furrowed in worry. While they'd been unconcious, she had begun to shiver, and so he'd wrapped his arms more firmly around her to attempt to keep her warm. Had that nout been enough? "Faith... hey, Faith!"
"Shut up." Faith grumbled, pulling sighs of relief from both Craig and Stan. She blinked open her eyes and sat up slowly, the shackles on her wrists jangling. Looking around at her friends, it took awhile for things to fall into place. "So... does anybody know where we're going...?"
All eyes turned to Scarlett, who blinked in surprise. "Me? Wait, why would I know?"
"You're the one hopelessly in love with Mr. Garra." Craig explained, cocking one eyebrow at her startled expression. "We figured you'd have the best best idea of where the hell these guys were taking us. They obviously had some sort of relation to him... and you, it seemed. The guy Dennis acted like they'd been looking for you."
"Wait, hold on!" Stan interrupted. "How come I know nothing about this? Scarlett, you and Mr. Garra...?" He trailed off, dropping his gaze and clearing his throat to try and erase the hurt tone his voice betrayed. "Craig, how did you know?"
"I've got big ears." Was the black-haired boy's reply, complete with the rolling of his eyes. "It's been pretty obvious. Hey, what's wrong with you, anyway?"
"Huh?" Stan blushed, not having realized he'd zoned out. "Um- it's... it's nothing. Just... uh, nothing." He forced a small laugh, though it was apparently convincing enough, as the only one who looked at him strangely was Faith. Did she feel the way his heart hurt? They often seemed to be able to tone into eachothers emotions. Did she think it was ridiculous that he felt this way? After all, he and Scarlett were never together in the first place. It wasn't like they ever would be, either. "Erm.. continue with... whatever you were saying."
"So." Craig began again, looking at Scarlett. "Do you know where we're going?"
"All I know is these people are part of an organization called the Shadow." Scarlett answered him, her solemn tone especially dark in the reverberating metal of the van. "They're involved in drug dealing, apparently. They smuggle drugs from places like Mexico. Brian's father used to be their leader before he died."
The hushed silence was followed by a tiny, polite cough from Faith. "So, that being said... it's safe to assume that Mr.- ahem, Brian- is a... a criminal?" There was no accusation in her voice, though the underlying current of fear was enough to set Scarlett's teeth on edge.
"He's still the same!" She protested quickly. "Nothing's changed! He's... he's still the same guy..."
"Scarlett." Craig's voice was uncharacteristically gentle. "You know that's not the case. That most certainly changes everything. And to answer your question, Faith... yes, I believe that's fair to assume. Why else would they know him by name? And more importantly, why would he know them? Something isn't right here at all. Scarlett, is there anything else you know?"
For a moment, she was tempted to tell him about that night. Lark's bloodied body on the floor of her apartment, Brian beaten and listless, the strange men that had appeared at her door hours later. But how could she tell them about that? With their trust in the English teacher already shaken, how could she tell them about the girl whole death Brian may or may not have had a part in? There was no way. "No, nothing else."
"Hey, guys." Stan spoke suddenly, alerting his companions' attention. "Um, just wondering... does anybody even know where Brian is?"
Again, all eyes turned to Scarlett, who appeared shocked at the sudden realization that the subject of their conversation was, in fact, absent. He had in fact been the first thing on her mind when she'd awoken, but she had assumed he'd be sitting up front, since he obviously knew these people. But as Stan's words sank in, she realized how ridiculous that was. Brian obviously wasn't on good ground with these men.
"...I'm here..."
The gusty sigh of relief escaped her lips before she could stop it as she heard the dry voice of the English teacher come from the other wide of the van. "Thank God... Brian, why didn't you tell us you were here? That scared me so badly, I swear..."
The voice groaned softly as slowly, Brian pushed himself up onto his hands and knees. His vision was swimming terribly, and his head pounded as though firecrackers were going off in his brain. "Where... where are you...?" He was vaguely aware of watching silently as blood swam down the side of his face, dripping steadily onto the metal ground below. It stung his eye as he tried to look around, unable to focus before his vision blurred.
Faith peered through the darkness, able to see quite a bit better now that her eyes had adjusted to the darkness. She spotted him almost immediately, teetering precariously on his hands and knees. Moving towards him, she placed a hand on his shoulder, then froze when she saw the blood beneath him. "He's hurt." She reported, her voice tightly controlled.
Scarlett made her way over immediately, crawling through the darkness past Craig and Stan. By his side now, she could clearly see the wound on his head, stretching from the center of his forehead to his left temple. Blood trickled down his face, over his eye which he now held closed, and on to the ground. He was breathing heavily, she noticed, and when she reached out to touch his face his skin was ice cold.
Just as she opened her mouth to speak, thinking furiously over the first aid she'd learned from her sister, the massive doors of the van swung open. She looked up immediately, nearly blinded by the moonlight and city lights that flooded into the cramped space. Two men stood outside, one was recognizable as Dennis, the other was a massive brown-haired brute with a nose that looked like it'd been broken a fair number of times.
"Heh, looks like Brian's finally awake." Dennis snorted distastefully at the brown-haired young man, who glared back at him through one eye. Dennis looked at Scarlett and then Faith, then finally to the two boys in the back. Tam was being held by the other man, and she appeared remarkably unscratched compared to the rest of them. She hadn't fought as the others had, knowing it wouldn't do any good to get herself beaten up before a legitimate chance to escape came. However, her eyes widened at seeing the state Brian was in, the wound on his head bleeding profusely.
"What are you planning to do?" Scarlett asked when it appeared nobody had anything else to say.
Dennis began to laugh, as though genuinely amused by her question. "Wouldn't you like to know, missy?" He cackled, patting Tam on the shoulder roughly. "Now, now, why can't you be like your friend here? She's been cool as a cucumber this whole time." In response, the tawny-haired woman glared daggers at him and shrugged the hand off her shoulder. "Well, well. Getting fiesty, I see. You two are quite a bit alike." He jabbed his thumb in Brian's direction absently. "You're just a hell of a lot more stubborn." Turning again to his men, he began barking orders. "Alright, get 'em in the base."
The men hopped into the van and began to gather up their prisoners, prying Scarlett off of Brian with quite a bit of difficulty. Both Stan and Faith were led out somewhat peacefully, and Craig followed at the pleading of Faith. Scarlett and Brian came last, Scarlett still struggling and Brian trying his best just to stay on his feet. One by one, the guards prodded them forward until they were met with the massive doors of a long-abandoned warehouse. Scarlett's eyes widened as she looked up, her gaze trailing over the building that she was sure would soon become their prison.
Dennis knocked on the door impatiently, and soon a small compartment in the door slid open and an eye peeked outward at them. "Password."
"TigerClan." Dennis said. The compartment slid shut again, and after the sound of many locks being undone, the doors slid open with a gutteral groan. Dennis entered first, closely followed by the prisoners, who were urged inside by the guards at their back. Scarlett blinked as she entered, not quite expecting the brightly lit room and her eyes stinging after being in the dark for so long. The dank scent of the warehouse reminded her of the old alleyways she used to visit Shane and Spencer in as a child, and the heavy brick walls added to the illusion.
"Welcome to the Shadow." A man behind her spoke, the one with the badly broken nose. He sneered contemptuously at her, to which she glared in reply. "Home sweet home, missy. You'd better get used to it." He leaned closer as he spoke, and she flinched back to avoid his hot breath. "Fat chance." She muttered defiantly, to which the man laughed. "Fiesty."
"Oi, Broken." Dennis waved the crooked-nosed man to his side, where they began to speak to eachother in hushed voices. In the distraction, Scarlett looked over at Brian. The blood had begun to dry on his face, and she could see the bleeding had slowed to an almost complete stop. He still seemed woozy, lurching forward every once and a while before regaining his balance and straightening up again. He caught her gaze for a moment through his eye that wasn't sealed shut with blood, and the guilt there threw her off guard.
Before she could say anything, one of the men behind her prodded her roughly in the back and the prisoners were herded forward. Through a dark, dank corridor, past numerous cells, all of which stank of blood and drugs. Finally, they were stopped in front of a particularly large cell which was filled with dirty, ragged people, all of which had a complexion similar to Gracia's.
One by one they were pushed into a smaller cell beside this one, connected to it by only a tiny window. Faith landed clumsily on top of an empty burlap sack in the corner after having been pushed down, and Stan fell beside her. Craig ended up skidding on his stomach, and then was landed on by Scarlett, who apoligized and scooted off his back. Tam plopped in, unconcious from a sharp blow to the head. Last came Brian, who was allowed to walk in with minimal violence.
Craig sat up slowly, his rigid blue glare fixed on Brian. "So," he began slowly, brushing dust off of his black jacket. "Are you going to tell us what the hell is going on, Brian? Why exactly were we kidnapped and brought to an abandoned warehouse after a ten-hour drive? And could you please tell us why these people know you?" His voice was somewhere between careful control and rage, and Scarlett could see from the way his hands kept clenching and unclenching that he was having a hard time keeping his anger in check.
Brian looked at him silently for a long time, slumping down against the wall across from him. With an unsteady hand, he wiped away the blood that had dried over his eye, only managing to get enough of it off for him to open his eye a slit. "These guys are called the Shadow." He told him, his voice somewhat slurred. "They're involved in smuggling drugs. Those guys in the cell next to us are probably being held captive to blackmail a Mexican drug-dealing company into getting them a better deal."
Stan scooted closer to the window and peered through it. Closest to him was a girl about his age with long brown hair and haunted gray eyes. "Hello?" He said softly, realizing there was no glass in the window. The girl looked up, startled, then tilted her head to the side in confusion. "What's your name?" He asked her, smiling kindly so she knew he wasn't an enemy.
"Brook." The girl answered, smiling back as she moved closer to him. Several of her companions glared suspiciously at him from behind her, but she seemed to be ignoring them. "Who are you?" She asked in heavily accented english.
"Stan." The gray-haired boy answered before his face solemned. "Hey, we were captured and brought here, and my friends and I kind of suspected the same thing happened to you and your friends. Would you happen to be from Mexico? Was there a reason you were brought here?"
Brook confirmed Brian's theory, and when Stan turned around, his face was ashen. "This isn't good."
"No, really?" Craig muttered. "But Brian, you still haven't told us how you're involved with these guys. How do they know you?"
Scarlett was at Brian's side by now, trying to keep him concious for just a little bit longer to answer Craig's questions. He started when she patted his shoulder and fixed his bleary gaze on Craig. "I work for them."
Scarlett's hand tightened on his shoulder as he continued. "Four years ago, my little half-brother Hawk disappeared. The Shadow came to me, saying they were holding him captive and that in order to get him back I'd have to work for them. There... there was no way I could refuse. Maria was angry at me, saying it was my fault that he was gone, that I should have protected him. That, and they said if I didn't help them, they would kill the rest of my family." He swallowed hard. Funny the truth should spill out so easily when he was on the edge of conciousness.
"So all you've been doing was to save your brother and the rest of your family?" Everything was fitting together. To fulfill some kind of vow he'd made to protect Hawk, he was willing to risk his own life. He believe he was keeping his family safe, when all he was doing was hurting them by taking everything on his own shoulders. The pain she'd seen when he watched Lark's life ebb away, that guilt when he'd looked at her, it was all because bonds of blood and love were slowly digging into him, killing him from the inside. And he'd suffered alone.
Even Craig was silent. He'd had more than his fair share of rough patches, but this was far beyond what even he had witnessed. Swallowing deeply, he pretended to be busy checking up on Tam, surveying the injury on her head. Faith helped him, not quite able to look at Brian now that she knew his story. Stan was deep in conversation with Brook, and Scarlett held Brian's hand as his eyes slowly close and he slipped into sleep.
She squeezed that hand tight, her emerald eyes narrowing to slits. She would make this right. Now that she knew, now that she understood, nothing would stop her. Brian's heart would be free.
Introducing Craig! The one-and-only Fanfiction certified human meatshield!
Ever been beat by ruthless drug dealers? Well, then do I have a deal for you! Craig protects against 43.8430358378% of attacks! Faith approved!
I would be a terrible spokesperson. o.e
So. Brian's not dead, people. Just unconcious. Beating up my characters is fun.
God, why are you people so bent out of shape about Faith? She hasn't even died yet! Grr! You guys just want to take all the fun out of this for me, don't you? DX The killing is the best part.
REMEBER! THE FANART CONTEST IS STILL OPEN! Draw your favorite scene, character, couple, whatever, and send it to me, ayla505 on GMX!
My reviewers: Queen Of The Pens, Stargazer2000, SharpWhisper, and Sparkheart of ThunderClan.
Thank you all for your support! X3 Keep the reviews coming!
*I won't be updating for about a week, 'cause I have to go on vacation. You guys have to wait in suspense. TROLOLOLOL.
Review, and get a free Craig!