SIX WEEKS LATER
Aria stumbles out of her room as the siren starts to wail. She hurries down to the game room and finds Hanna and Spencer already seated – they look like they have been there all night and they both acknowledge her with a grunt as she joins them. Seconds later, Emily enters, takes her seat and the siren stops.
"Are you alright?" Aria asks under her breath.
"Yep," Spencer says, sounding anything but. "He's thought of a new game which is even more fun than the others."
"What?" Emily whispers.
"You'll see," Hanna says, putting her head on her arms.
Aria spins the dial and chokes as she reads the new wedge. "Choose a family member?" she says, horrified. "What does this mean?"
"We don't know," Spencer says. "But it's bringing out the worst in all of us."
"But our families aren't here?" Emily pleads. "Please tell me he doesn't have our families."
"We don't know," Hanna says. "Aria, make your choice."
"Mike," Aria says, bursting into tears. "God, we've got to get out of here."
"I know," Spencer whispers. "There's a door at the other end of the corridor that we haven't tried yet. Emily, you think you can pick the lock?"
"If it's a normal lock," Emily says, "but most of these doors are automated."
"That one isn't," Spencer whispers. "We've only got a 5-minute window – every week, the whole system shuts down for that amount of time and then the cameras will reboot."
"What happens if that door doesn't lead anywhere?" Hanna asks. "Then what do we do?"
"We try again next week," Spencer says quietly. "We're going to be okay, Han."
"I'm going to go crazy if I have to stay in this house for another week," Hanna says under her breath.
"Alison survived 8 years on her own," Aria says. "If we stick together, we can survive another week."
"I know, but I'm so scared," Hanna whispers. "I don't want to die in here like Ali."
"We're not going to die," Emily snaps. "We're going to get out of here."
"And then what?" Hanna hisses. "We don't know where we are and A does – he'll catch us and then we'll be even more screwed."
"No," Aria says. "We just need to get to the nearest town and then we'll be okay. Everybody's going to be looking for us."
"Ezra!" Ella shouts, chasing after him in the street. "Ezra are you alright?"
He turns, a tray of coffee cups in his hands, and smiles weakly. "Hello Ella," he says. "How are you?"
"Not bad all things considered," Ella says. "I wish they'd found them before Christmas – I hate the thought of them out there, alone and afraid while the rest of the world is celebrating."
"Not everybody," Ezra frowns. "I spent Christmas Day with Caleb and Toby looking over CCTV footage again – we haven't given up on the girls, Ella."
"Have you slept?" Ella asks. "You look exhausted."
"I'll sleep when Aria is home and safe," Ezra says. "Have the police said anything more?"
"Only that they're working with police in New York and New Jersey," Ella says. "They've searched the whole of Pennsylvania and they can't find them anyway so they reckon he must have taken them out of state."
"God," Ezra says. "Do you think they'll ever find them?"
"I have to believe they will," Ella says. "And so do you. Have you started at Hollis yet?"
"Yes, I started last week," Ezra says. "They've got me covering some of Byron's lectures too, just to take the load off."
"Yeah, well he's taking a leave of absence until Aria is home safe," Ella says. "If Aria comes home safe."
"I better get these coffees to Caleb and Toby," Ezra says. "Call me if you hear anything?"
"Of course," Ella says. "You too." He starts to walk away and then she remembers, "Oh, Ezra? Have you spoken to Jason in a while?"
"No," Ezra says. "I heard he was going on the searches with the police, I guess he's pretty torn up about Aria too. I'll give him a call tonight if you like?"
"Okay, let me know how you get on," Ella says, walking away.
Ezra watches her go and then heads off to Caleb's, knocking quietly on the door. "Ezra?" Caleb shouts from the living room. "Have you got my caffeine?"
"Yes," Ezra says, passing him a cup as he walks into the living room. "How's it going?"
"I've reviewed this footage 1000 times," Caleb groans. "The only car I can't trace is this one."
"Have you tracked it through other CCTV?" Ezra asks. "Can we work out where it went?"
"I'm trying but whoever this is, he's as tech savvy as I am," Caleb says. "He's cut out every single CCTV camera in the area for 24 hours."
"Does the car not have GPS?" Toby asks, walking into the room and grabbing the third cup of coffee."
"Yes, but it's password protected and firewalled and all sorts of crazy shit," Caleb says. "Whoever this is, he is not here to play."
As the clock ticks to midnight, the girls are losing strength. Aria is slumped over the table, sleeping with her head on her arms, Spencer is sitting with her back against her wall, dozing off, Hanna is flat out on the floor, snoring quietly, and Emily is sitting on her chair, drumming her hand on her table. As the system starts to power down, Emily runs around the room, shakes them all awake and they open the door, running to the end.
"Quickly, Em, quickly," Spencer says, bouncing up and down on the spot. "God, please, please, please."
Emily picks the lock in under 30 seconds and pushes the door open. "Oh my God," Aria whispers as they peer round and see a long ladder. "Where do you think it goes?"
"I don't know, but we have to climb it," Spencer says. "Hanna, you first."
Hanna scrambles up the ladder, then Aria, then Emily and finally Spencer. They climb as fast as they can and when Hannah reaches the top, she swears loudly. "Em, you better get up here," she says. "There's another door."
Aria scrambles up, and then Emily pulls herself up and unlocks the door, gasping joyfully. "Oh my god, we're out," she squeals. "Spence, come on." Spencer hurries up to the top of the ladder and glances down, screaming loudly. "What, what?" Emily gasps.
"He's coming," she shrieks. "We've got to go; we've got to go." She pushes Aria and Hanna out of the door, grabs Emily's hand and they start to run for their lives.
"Where are we, where are we?" Aria says frantically. "Which way do we run?"
"Any way," Hanna says. "Head towards lights."
"He's going to catch us," Emily says, running as she sobs. "God, we're going to die and he's going to bury us like Ali."
"No, he's not," Spencer says tearfully. "We're all going to be fine."
"God, where the hell are we?" Aria sobs. "Can anyone see city lights?"
"That way!" Spencer squeals. "Come on, come on, come on." They speed up, not daring to glance over their shoulders to see if A is gaining on them. Eventually, they break through the treeline, all panting and breathless.
"Where the hell are we?" Spencer asks, looking round for any familiar landmarks.
"I don't care, stop that cab," Aria says, running out into the middle of the road in front of a taxi.
"Where are we going?" the cab driver asks and they all exchange panicked looks.
"Sorry, sir, but where are we?" Hanna says, and now the driver frowns.
"Harrisburg," he says. "Girls, are you okay?"
"Will you take us to Rosewood?" Aria pleads. "We'll pay you whatever you want when we get there, just drive us as fast as you can to the Rosewood police station."
"And can we use a phone?" Spencer begs.
"Sure thing," the driver says, passing them his mobile and starting to drive.
"Who wants to go first?" Spencer asks, waving the phone around.
"Please, me," Aria begs. "I have to speak to Ezra."
"Go," Hanna nods, leaning back in her seat and starting to cry.
Aria dials quickly and then listen to him answer. "Hello?" he says.
"Ezra," she says, bursting into tears. "Oh my God, it's so good to hear your voice."
"Aria!" he shouts and she hears a chair fall over in the background. "Oh my God, Aria, where are you? Babe, I love you, I love you so much. Are you out, are you safe?"
"Yes, we're out," Aria says, sobbing. "We're in Harrisburg, we're coming home. Have you spoken to my parents?"
"Yeah, I'll call them as soon as we're done," Ezra says. "Babe, how's the baby?"
"The baby's gone, Ezra," Aria says. "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay, it's okay," Ezra says. "It's not your fault, I'm just glad you're safe. Listen, I'm with Caleb and Toby, are Hanna and Spencer there?"
"Yes, yes they are," Aria says. "Put Caleb on the phone, Hanna will speak to him."
"Okay, I will," Ezra says. "Aria, babe, I love you so much. Hurry home to me won't you?"
"I'm coming as fast as I can, babe," Aria says, sobbing. "I love you." She turns to Hanna and says, "Caleb wants to speak to you."
Hanna grabs the phone and shouts, "Caleb?"
"Hanna!" Caleb gasps. "Oh my God, Hanna, it's really you! Thank God you're alive!"
"Barely," Hanna says tearfully. "Will you call my mom and tell her I'm coming home?"
"Of course," Caleb says. "Are you alright?"
"No," Hanna says. "I miss you so much."
"Me too," Caleb says, breaking down. "Hanna, I love you. Please hurry."
"I'm coming, baby," Hanna says. "Is Toby there?"
"Yeah," Caleb says. "I'll put him on for Spencer. I love you, Han."
"I love you too," Hanna says and then hands the phone to Spencer wordlessly.
Spencer claps the phone to her ear and says, "Toby? Is that you?"
"It's me, Spence," Toby says. "You doing okay?"
"Better now I'm hearing your voice," Spencer says. "God, what day is it? How long have we been gone?"
"Almost two months' babe," Toby says. "It's the 12th of January."
"We missed Christmas?" Spencer says, surprised. "And New Year's?"
"Yeah, you did," Toby says. "Are you alright?"
"No," Spencer says tearfully. "God, will you call my parents for me?"
"Of course I will," Toby says. "Spencer, I've missed you."
"I missed you too," Spencer says. "We'll be home soon."
"I'm never letting you out of my sight again," Toby laughs. "I'll see you in a bit, okay?"
"Okay," Spencer says tearfully. She hangs up the phone and hands it to Emily, who stares at it blankly before dialling her dad's number.
"Daddy?" she says tearfully and she hears the man at the other end of the line burst into tears.
"Oh my God, Emmy," he says. "You're alive."
"Yeah I am," she sobs. "Dad, I'm out. I'm coming home."
"Oh my God," he says. "Thank God. Where are you?"
"On our way home from Harrisburg," Emily says. "Is Mom there?"
"No, she's down at the police station with the other moms," Wayne replies. "I'll call her right now, they can tell the police."
"Tell her to wait there," Emily says. "We're going to go straight there, okay?"
"Alright, darling," Wayne says. "I'll see you very soon, okay?"
"Yes," Emily says. "I love you."
"I love you too, baby," he says. She hangs up the phone and bursts into a fresh wave of tears, putting her head on Spencer's lap.
"Are you okay?" the cab driver asks Spencer, who currently seems to be the most composed of the four.
"Yes, we're fine," Spencer says.
"I know you," he says seriously. "From your missing posters? They're up all around town."
"Really?" Spencer says. "It's been a while – we didn't think anyone was still looking."
"Your families have been on the news almost every day," he explains. "They've hauled everybody in for questioning. Your boyfriends, your teachers. God this one guy, Fitz something, he was in and out almost every day near the beginning."
"Ezra?" Aria gasps, sitting up and brushing the tears off her face. "Did they charge him?"
"No," the cabbie says. "No, they ended up charging some other guy from your school?"
"Who?" Hanna asks, struggling to sit up.
"Luke?" the cabbie says, trying to remember. "Does that ring a bell?"
"Oh my God, Lucas?" Hanna gasps. "They wouldn't. He could never do this to us."
"Well he wouldn't – or perhaps couldn't – tell the cops where he was keeping you," the cabbie continues. "So they let him out on bail – he's under house arrest now apparently."
"Shit," Emily says. "Poor guy."
"How long do you think this journey will take?" Spencer asks.
"Maybe an hour more?" the cab driver says. "Why don't you settle down and take a nap?"
"I'm not tired," Aria says. "Can we stop at a McDonald's or something? I'm absolutely starved."
"Sure," the cabbie says.
"Ah shit, I don't have any money," Aria says. "Never mind."
"Don't worry, girls," he says. "I've got this."
An hour and a half later, all of the girls' friends and families have gathered outside Rosewood police station. Ezra and Caleb are pacing back and forth across the sidewalk, while Aria's family and Hanna's mom are sitting on the steps. Toby is sitting with Spencer's parents on a nearby bench and Emily's mom and dad are on another. Jason DiLaurentis is sitting on the ground, staring up at the stars, with Noel Kahn and Maya, and there are no less than 20 police officers gathered around in little groups.
"There they are," Ezra shouts as a cab pulls into the road. The car pulls up on the edge of the road and Spencer stumbles out first, throwing herself into Toby's arms. Emily trips out next, squeezes Maya's arm as she passes and then hugs her parents tightly. Hanna comes out crying and throws herself at Caleb, kissing him hungrily and then hugs her mother. Finally, Aria falls out and says, "Someone needs to pay the cabbie," before throwing herself into Ezra's arms and bursting into tears. He lifts her clean off the ground, clinging to her desperately, refusing to let even her parents get to her for a long time.
It takes half an hour before any of the parents let go of their children and even then Aria and Ezra and Hanna and Caleb refuse to let go of each other. "Ladies, we'd like to interview you about your experience," one of the police officers says. "Anything you can tell us about your captor may help lead to his arrest."
"Are you insane?" Caleb snaps. "They're exhausted – let them rest."
"I'll do it now," Aria says. "I want this over and done with. But I want Ezra to come in with me."
"I'm there," Ezra says. "Whatever you need."
"Sweetheart, this might be too much for now," Byron says.
"No, Aria's right," Spencer says. "I'm ready to be done with this. Let's get started."
Ten minutes later, they are all in one interview room, with Ezra, Caleb, Toby and Maya sitting with them. "Tell us everything you know," the detective says.
"We woke up in rooms," Aria says uncertainly. "They looked like prison cells, I guess, but they had cameras in the corners."
"All the doors were automated," Spencer says. "We were underground so there were no windows."
"We spent most of our time in a room we called the game room," Hanna says. "It was almost empty apart from pictures and a table."
"The walls were covered in pictures," Emily says. "Of our friends and families. Reminding us of everything we'd lost, I guess."
"And the table?" the detective asked.
"We each had a chair," Spencer says. "Wires and all sorts hooked up to it. And there was a spinner in the middle, with instructions in each wedge."
"He made us play games," Hanna says. "Share a secret, tell a truth, pick your favourite friend. And whoever we picked got an electric shock. A bad one."
"Then it was 'rank your friends'," Emily says. "That was when the degrees of the shocks started to change based on who we wanted to 'punish'. And then he started making us rank our families and…"
"We weren't given much food or water," Spencer says. "Every time we fell asleep, there were these blaring sirens."
"Every time we refused to play, a shock or a siren," Hanna says.
"Um, I should say," Aria says. "I don't want this becoming public knowledge. I don't even want my parents to know, but um…I was pregnant when he took us. I had a miscarriage while I was there, I think it was the stress or the shocks, I don't know, but it didn't…I don't know. It's over now, but I thought you should know."
"Oh Aria," the detective says. "I'm very sorry."
"Yeah, well," Aria says, looking at her lap. "That was the only time I saw A. He was a man, definitely. He seemed to have some sort of medical knowledge because he took care of me when I was losing a lot of blood."
"I think he's young," Spencer says. "He seemed to be fast when he was chasing us when we escaped."
"Okay," the detective says. "Now you came out in where? Harrisburg?"
"Yeah, but we ran for about 15 minutes before we reached the city?" Hanna says, checking with Emily and Spencer.
"It could have been 15 minutes," Spencer says. "It could have been 5 hours. Honestly, running is my least favourite thing to do, I was dying when we got into that cab."
Everybody smiles weakly and Toby squeezes Spencer's shoulders gently.
"Anything else?" Ezra asks. "These girls really need some rest."
"No, I think that's everything for now," the detective says. "You girls go home and don't leave the house until we call, okay? We're gonna put police cars outside your houses, alright?"
"Okay," Aria says, getting to her feet unsteadily. "Ezra, will you come home with me?"
"Of course," Ezra says. "Girls, you wanna stay together or go home?"
"No offence," Hanna says. "But I'm quite looking forward to sleeping in my own bed again."
"Yeah, me too," Spencer laughs bitterly. "We'll all meet tomorrow though? Or the next day?"
"Yeah of course," Aria says. "What time is it?"
"3am," Toby says. "We really should go home."
They all head out of the police station and the girls hug each other tightly. "I couldn't have…I don't think I would have survived without you guys," Aria says tearfully. "I love you."
"Same," they all say in unison and then they just stare at each other.
"God," Spencer says, laughing through her tears. "Who would have thought it would be this hard?"
"Promise me none of y'all will get kidnapped while I'm sleeping, yeah?" Emily says, backhanding tears from her face.
"Promise," Aria says, sobbing. "God, I can't believe we're alive."
"Me neither," Hanna laughs. "But I'm just so tired I can't believe anything."
"Alright," Ezra says, stepping up. "Come on, Aria, let's go." He guides her away, not taking his arm away from her shoulder for a second. He climbs into her parents' car beside her and the three watch them drive away.
"Your turn, Miss Hanna," Ashley says. "You can see the girls tomorrow, okay?"
"Caleb, you coming?" Hanna asks, and he nods, stepping forward and helping her to the car.
"Spence?" Melissa says. "Will you come home please?"
"Of course," Spencer says, hugging her sister and walking with her to their car.
Emily watches the two girls leave and then hurries towards her parents' car, climbing into the backseat and promptly falling asleep.
"We're home," Ezra says, shaking a dozy Aria. "Come on, let's get you to bed."
"Will you stay with me?" Aria says. "You're not going to leave me, are you?"
"Never," he says, glancing at Ella awkwardly. She glances between the pair of them before nodding and in one quick movement, Ezra lifts Aria completely off the ground and carries her up to her room. She clambers into her bed without even taking her shoes off and pulls him down beside her. He lays down cautiously on top of the covers and allows her to curl into him where she immediately falls asleep.
For about ten minutes, there is complete silence and then Aria's door creaks open and Mike creeps in, sitting on the bed by her feet and leaning his head back against the wall. A few minutes later, Ella walks into the room and sits on the floor by Aria's bed and a few minutes later, Byron joins them all.
"I don't think I'll ever sleep again," he says quietly and Ezra nods in agreement.
"Not until they catch that maniac," Ella says. "How the hell did he pull this off?"
"He's a psychopath," Ezra says. "A psycho and a genius. A seriously dangerous combination."