Chapter 10
Steve answered immediately. "What's goin' on?" Were his first words, no hi or how ya doing, he just wanted to know what the hell was happening. A glance at the clock and some quick math told him it wasn't early evening there, more like early morning and he knew Chalice wasn't going to be calling him at this hour just to give him a rundown of her day.
"S-Stevie!" She was crying hysterically, her vision blurred as she drove down the road at wind breaking speeds, needing to get to the airport. "S-Stevie...he took...Marcus...tried...he tried…" She couldn't finish as the tears poured forth like two raging streams, no way to stop them. Her head was pounding along with her heart, knowing she was probably going to end up dying after what she did to Undertaker. "I-I got out and I...I ran him over! Stevie help me!" She wasn't stopping as she ran a red light, thankful no cops were around to stop her since it was a deserted road and all.
"Calm down Chalice, calm down." He urged, his own voice soothing and even though he was physically shaking, wanting nothing more then to snap something in half, preferably that son of a bitch's neck. "Are you okay? Do ya need to go to a hospital?" He asked calmly, knowing if she was this panicked, she'd ignore any wound or injury she had. "You have to tell me where ya are so I can come to you, now calm down honey."
"I-I'm on my way to the airport!" She cried out, not able to calm down no matter how hard she tried. That monster had both of her children and she was helpless against him. "No, I don't need a fucking hospital!" She snapped, nearly running over a squirrel as her car swerved, barely missing a ditch. "I want my children back! Goddamn it!" She was past hysterics and looked in her rearview mirror, gasping. "He's after me! Stevie help me!" She screamed and punched the gas, driving as fast as her Chevy Cobalt would allow. They weren't racing cars for nothing after all.
"Challie girl, calm down and listen to me, ya need to get to that airport right away. I'm on the computer, makin' arrangements fer ya. Get to a public place, get in a crowd, just DON'T stay where yer isolated, here me? Chalice?"
"I love you my brother." She murmured softly before hanging up the phone and punching down on the gas. He wasn't going to get her unless she was already dead and gone as she flew down the road. The airport could be seen just a mile or two up the way, causing her heart to soar with the knowledge that she could very well survive this night. The car was getting closer and she could see he was the one driving, but focused on the road and only that. "I won't be yours Undertaker! If you want me, you'll have my mutilated corpse." She vowed, running another red light. The race was on; Chalice just had a little more to go before she made it to the airport and to the crowds. There she would lose him and get on the plane her brother booked for her. He'd given her the information before she hung up on him, which she was grateful for.
His eyes narrowed when he seen where she was heading. His foot pressed down on the accelerator, the car jetting forward with a new burst of speed, nudging her bumper. She wanted to race, fine, they'd race, and if she wanted to die, well...that would be okay too. He wouldn't actually lay a finger on her, which was the beauty of it. "Come on Chalice; show me that William's temper." He murmured, preparing to ram her again, this time to send her off road.
When he went to ram her again, Chalice moved the car out of the way, smirking as his car did a fishtail and did a few circles in the middle of the highway. She was a Williams through and through, a survivor, not to mention that Steve had taught her how to race when they were younger so she was an expert behind the wheel. "Give it up already and leave me alone!" She shouted to the silence, seeing he'd recovered and was coming after her again. Damn it, didn't this man EVER give up?
'Taker steered the car into a 360, came out of it perfectly and was after her again, quickly regaining lost time. As he wasn't Mark, he didn't believe in trucks. He believed in fancy, done up cars meant for style and speed, all in black of course. He shook his head, wondering how on earth these two morons could constantly underestimate him. Just because her darling hubby was a hick, did not mean HE was one as well. A flick on the dash kicked in the nitrous and less then a second later, his front end had totally demolished her back end.
A blood curdling scream echoed throughout the night as Chalice felt him plow into her, knowing he had some kind of power behind that car he was driving. Still, her car was still in one piece as she punched the gas more, flying to the airport parking lot, lucky that no security was on duty. She knew it was going to be a race as she screeched her car to a halt, having not been wearing her seatbelt, and darted inside, hoping to get lost in the crowd and get back home to her brother. She was clad in a nightgown, no shoes, her head had a huge black and blue bruise on it and she was pretty sure she had a concussion. Not to mention her arms and upper body were cut from pieces of glass slicing her when Undertaker kicked her windshield in.
He squealed to a halt, spinning and the car finally lurched, the engine revving angrily. His eyes narrowed as he watched her disappear into the crowd, knowing she was probably heading to her brother, how sweet. He also knew following her would only lead to his face on wanted posters or something, not happening. Cursing angrily, he sped out of the parking lot.
"Ma'am, ma'am, are you alright?"
"Does she LOOK alright?"
"Marcus...Rose..." Chalice mumbled out before finally collapsing on the floor, the concussion finally overtaking everything as the darkness settled in. Tears spilled from her closed eyes as her last thoughts were of her beautiful children, her brother and Mark.
"SOMEBODY CALL AN AMBULANCE!" A man shouted, seeing the poor, broken and bloody woman on the ground while everyone else started crowding around her.
She didn't see or hear anything; she was out for the count.
~!~
"She gonna be alright?"
"She has a concussion and some lacerations, she'll be fine, she needs to rest. Mr. Williams, if you don't calm down, you're going to have to leave."
"That's my wife in there!" That was a lie but only Steve knew it, when Chalice had been registered, it was as Williams. He had went with the husband bit because if 'Taker showed up, claiming to be her husband, which legally he still was, he'd be booted out. That was NOT happening.
"Doctor, come quickly, she's waking up!" A nurse called out, rushing over to them, and gasped as the bald man rushed past her and into the room.
Her head was throbbing with pain as Chalice only opened her eyes a fraction, tears already sliding down her cheeks. "S-Stevie..." She whispered when she caught a blurry glimpse of him and sighed with relief, thanking the stars Undertaker wasn't there. "H-He has them...my...children..." She started coughing; groaning since her entire body felt like it'd been in a car wreck. Technically it had.
Steve ushered the nurse the fuck out of his way, ignoring her scowl of displeasure and took Chalice's hand. "It'll be alright Challie girl, we'll get 'em back."
"Do I need to call the police?"
"Ya need to take her blood pressure and mind yer own fuckin' business."
She smiled in spite of the pain, patting her brother's hand in comfort. "I'm...alright..." She managed to get out, slowly opening her eyes fully as her head began thundering with pain. "H-He wants to kill...me..." She whispered out so only he could hear, staring into her brother's bloodshot eyes. "I...crossed the line."
Steve frowned, that didn't sound like 'Taker. 'Taker had been obsessed with having her, not killing her. "How'd ya cross the line, Challie girl?" He asked calmly, sitting on the edge of the bed and smoothing her hair back gently, ignoring everything around them. "What happened honey?" He stared down at her, his blue eyes reassuring her that everything would be alright.
It took nearly an hour, but Chalice told Steve everything. How the Undertaker had shown up after one month of having Rosie and all the words that were said. She then told him about how he got into her house the previous night, since it was now near afternoon, and tried to seduce her, kidnapping Marcus in the process. She cried and cried, not caring about the pain. She just wanted her children back. She went on, telling him how things turned dangerous when Undertaker told he'd have her no matter what and how she'd managed to escape him. Not only had she head butted him and hit him with her car, but she went into detail about the car chase as well. By the time she was done, Chalice was physically, mentally and emotionally drained and it showed as the dark circles were clear around her eyes.
Steve was silent for a long time after that, reflecting on every word she had said. He took in her appearance, her eyes, how shattered she appeared and wished he could soothe away all that pain but knew only having her babies back in her arms and the Undertaker gone would do that. He sighed, rubbing a hand over his bald head, suddenly frowning and glanced down at her sharply. "You said he tried seducin' ya AND kidnapped Marcus?" He demanded. When she nodded he inhaled sharply. "How'd he do all that in one night, by HIMSELF?"
"That's simple, he didn't. He was downstairs in the den when I walked down, after checking on Marcus. I even locked his window before walking out, but his minions are probably serving him once more." Her eyes were filling with more tears as she drew her knees up to her chest and buried her face in them, shaking her head back and forth. "I wish I'd never met him, Stevie. I wish I would've never went on the road with you that summer." She started sobbing violently, knowing her babies were gone possibly forever.
Steve shook his head, sighing and then smiled tiredly down at her. "Darlin', if you'd never met him, never come on the road with me, then you'd never of had them two beautiful kids and you'd of never known Mark. I know he's not himself anymore, but can ya honestly tell me you'd give up the past twenty years with MARK and yer babies for who knows what?"
Sniffling, Chalice simply shook her head no because she wouldn't. She would rather have those wonderful twenty years with Mark and their children then to take it back. She didn't say another word and ended up crying herself to sleep, her heart completely shattered and all that was left in her chest was a hollow hole with no light or soul.
When Chalice was asleep, Steve's cell phone began to ring as he stepped out to answer it. His eyes narrowed at the voice that sounded on the receiving end.
"So...how's YOUR wife doing?"
Steve felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise up. "Where ya at, 'Taker?" He demanded.
"Good question."
"Look man, just give Challie the kids back, what the hell are you gonna do with two kids?"
"What does any man do with his children?"
"A Ted Bundy sumbitch like yerself? Chop 'em into little pieces."
"Interesting idea."
"Uncle Steve!" Marcus's voice sounded from behind, following by a grunt of pain as he was hit in the stomach by one of Undertaker's minions. Marcus was in a bad way while Rosie was upstairs playing with her toys, not even knowing her dear big brother was downstairs being tortured for his mother's disobedience. "Mom..." He coughed out, holding his stomach, and knew he couldn't take much more of this. They'd beaten him with an inch of his life.
"For a child who had so much potential, he's an awfully big disappointment." 'Taker said casually, not sounding the least bit bothered. "Mideon, let him breathe, it'll circulate the pain."
"That's yer son man, don't do it..." Steve whispered, pleading.
"That is MARK'S son, not mine. Rosie is my daughter, my only child."
That wasn't good.
"Dad..." Marcus grunted out before finally collapsing, passing out on the floor, and was dragged off to be locked away.
Steve was in the empty waiting room, needing some time to think while his sister slept. "'Taker, what do ya want? Ya tried to kill Chalice, so obviously ya don't want her anymore. Why're ya playin' these games with her?"
"Because it's amusing."
"Where are you?"
"Let the game begin..."
Steve paled when the line went dead.
Chalice slowly opened her eyes and didn't see her brother anywhere, knowing he probably went to get something to eat. She looked around the room, the beeping monitors, and sighed sadly with tears in her eyes. For some reason, Chalice felt like she had to get out of the hospital and fast. "Stevie?" She called out, her chest rising and falling rapidly, the tears slowly sliding down her cheeks as she backed up on her bed. Where was he? He should be here with her! Chalice felt her stomach twist violently and looked down at the IV in her arm, gritting her teeth, and ripped it out as she cried out in pain.
Steve skidded into the room, seeing blood spurting from where she'd yanked the IV and pressed a gauze pad against it. "Time to go." He said, knowing already she'd felt something, smiling faintly when she nodded. "Come on."
"Hey, you just can't leave, you're-"
Steve knocked that interfering bitch of a nurse out, knowing they had no time. "Shut up..."
"He's here, I can feel it." She whispered, ignoring the pain in her arm, the bleeding would subside in time as she leaned her head on her brother's chest. She didn't know where they'd go, but also knew if they didn't get out, Undertaker would find them. She gasped when she heard footsteps and immediately jumped out of her brother's arms, biting back a cry of pain, and shoved him into a closet with her. It was big enough as she flipped the lock on it, knowing it was Undertaker. It had to be, it just had to be.