Sorry for the delay in updates. This one was kind of hard.
Chapter 10: Maya's Rescuers-sort of:
Feeling the threads plaster against her tongue, the bound and gagged Maya St. Germain thrashed, and struggled, staring up at the black hooded figure lurking off to the side of the room, sitting on the bottom of the stairs, face turned towards her, covered by a black featureless mask. The hooded figure had said nothing since Maya had woken up. She stared at the figure, waiting for something. A word. A threat. Even a slap across the face. Anything.
Nothing happened. The dark figure just sat there and stared. Though Maya couldn't see the figure's face at all, its head was turned towards her, watchful. It sent cold chills down her back, though it might just have been the icy temperature of the room. Was it Lyndon James? That creep from True North? She couldn't tell. She never would have thought he'd dress up like that, but one would never know. James was the first thought that came to mind. She shivered as she was watched.
The figure stood on the stairs and for the first time, Maya got a good look at the hooded person's frame. As soon as she really looked, she realized it wasn't Lyndon. The body was too narrow and small. She tried to keep her galloping, trembling nerves under control, but couldn't. It was a relief that this wasn't Lyndon. She knew that if it was him, she probably would have been killed by now. Or raped. Or both. Knowing that it wasn't Lyndon though didn't leave her with any idea about who this was or why they had taken her.
She tried to groan behind her gag, trying to ask the hooded figure what he wanted. She tried to maneuver the gag out of her mouth with her tongue, but to no avail. The gag had been tied too tightly into her mouth around her face. The figure walked down the stairs easily, not seeming to be affected at all by the frigid temperature in the room.
The figure hit the floor on both combat boot clad feet, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a phone. Black gloved fingers that had once been covered in soap before the figure wiped it off began typing something out. The hooded figure leaned down, turning to Maya as the dark haired girl tried to squirm away. The hooded figure turned the phone to Maya, showing the girl the screen.
The words on the phone read, "Do you miss Emily, little Maya? Don't worry. You'll see her soon. You're just bait to catch a far bigger fish." –A
Maya looked up at the black cloth covering the hooded figure's face. –A? Was that supposed to mean something? What did he mean, catching a bigger fish? She squirmed harder against the ropes, glaring at her kidnapper. She heard a feminine chuckle from the figure and the figure stood up, looking to the door and Maya followed where the figure turned his-her? head. No one had come through yet.
Maya angled her head slightly, trying to see what the hooded figure was looking at. It seemed to be nothing. Who was this person trying to bait? Maya squeezed her eyes shut. She just wanted to see her mom and dad, Tyler, Kenya, Zoe and Emily. She closed her eyes, just wanting to think about being in Emily's arms again. She just wanted to hear her sisters' and father's laughter, her brother's fierce hug, her mother's warm smile. She wanted this nightmare to end.
Her eyes flew open when she heard the rolling of tires outside and the sound of a car parking. She made muffled, urgent, "Mmm! Mmm!" Noises, moving on the floor. The hooded figure lifted its head, turned back to Maya and raised its right finger to its mask again, going "shhh." The figure turned the phone around and started typing again. As the sounds of car doors closing reached Maya's ears, the figure leaned down and showed her the writing on the screen.
"It looks like your rescuers are here. Lucky Maya." –A. Maya tried to gulp at the feel of the cold gaze cast over her from behind that black mask. The figure pulled the phone away, put it in their pocket and walked towards the window next to the door, a film of grime plastered over the glass. The figure pressed their right black leather covered hand against the filthy window and scraped away the dark, thick patches of dirt and grime away, looking out the window.
The hooded figure turned back to the still frightened and apprehensive Maya, walking over to her, and reaching down.
Maya thrashed around, trying to get away from the figure, but whoever it was, grabbed her by the shoulders and lifted her easily up, forcing her onto her feet and dragging her towards the stairs.
The hooded figure hauled Maya up the stairs, onto the metal walkway, lined on both sides with steel railings. Maya tried to squirm, but even with the figure's slight build, they were strong enough to pull her through the walkway, unbothered by Maya's attempts at resistance.
The figure held Maya to themselves, her back to the figure's chest, and Maya's eyebrows lifted, alert suddenly to the feeling of a soft chest at her back. Breasts. This person had breasts. It was definitely a girl.
Below them, the door swung open. Three figures with red hooded coats walked through. All with white, demonic masks covering their faces. Maya looked down from where her kidnapper was holding her above on the boardwalk. The three were inside the factory, looking around the room.
They looked at each other before looking around and spreading out, keeping their gloved hands closed to their pockets, likely keeping their hands near a hidden weapon on each of their person.
Maya squirmed more in the kidnapper's hands, but couldn't move much. Even if she could, she was still gagged. However, her and the kidnapper's staying out of the red hooded figures' views didn't last long. One of them, bearing the mask of a smiling, frightening man with a backpack strapped to the figure's back had the good sense to look up, eyes landing on the walkway. And eyes then landing on Maya and her captor.
The one that saw the two of them, hit the arm of one of the other's, pointing, the other with a hawk mask, turned and saw, jumping a little before catching the last one's attention and pointing their attention to the walkway above. Immediately, all three brightly clad figures ran to the stairs. The hooded figure pulled Maya back, right arm around the black-haired girl's shoulders, turning down the walkway. The walkway rattled with the vibrations of Maya's kidnapper running with her and the three people dressed in red coats bolted up the stairs down the walkway.
It was when they were halfway to the other side of the walkway, when Maya spotted a heavy rope constructed net hanging from one of the rafters above the walkway. Running with Maya, the hooded figure pulled out a scalpel and sliced four long thin ropes holding the net up. Maya's eyes widened as she heard a metal creaking above them and saw the net descending.
As soon as all four ropes were cut, the hooded figure sheathed the scalpel back into their sleeve, maneuvering Maya enough to do it.
Two yells were heard behind them and two 'thunks' were heard as well. The hooded figure turned the corner of the walkway with Maya, and the black-haired girl saw as they swiveled that two of the red cloaked figures had been bound to the floor of the walkway by the net, but the third one, with the backpack chased fast after them, gaining on them with fierce speed.
The hooded figure must have realized that the one with the backpack was only inches from them now and let out a huff of rage, throwing Maya down hard onto the walkway. Maya let out a muffled scream as the grate of the floor grinded into her stomach, legs and arms. She barely registered the black leather shoe covered feet turning, the hooded figure now facing the encroaching crimson swathed one.
(Page break)
The black hooded figure stood tall-for its build anyway, staring at Alison across the walkways. Alison breathed hard behind her mask, hands fingering the handle of her knife. She wasn't worried about Margo and Shana. They had hunter knives. They were likely cutting themselves loose now. She waited for –A to make his or her move. Her teeth clenched, waiting. Her eyes scowled darkly, challenging. It was dark and she was more than certain that –A couldn't see her glaring eyes in the dark, but she was ready. As ready as she ever was. This –A freak had better be ready too.
She smirked at him or her beneath the mask, knowing that –A couldn't see. Before Alison could move, -A reached into the black sleeve of the hoodie, producing a thin, silver, sharp scalpel. Alison stiffened for a moment, blood turning cold, though she knew she shouldn't have been surprised. –A had to have used something to cut the ropes of the net with. Her blue eyes traveled to where Maya lay and then back up to –A, who was stalking closer to the bound girl, reaching down with a free hand and grabbing Maya by her dark mane, pulling Maya's head back, revealing the girl's throat. Without even really needing to think about it, Alison's hands flew to the handle of her pistol fishing it out of the holster sewed into the inside of her red coat, pulling it out and aiming the barrel at –A.
-A must have seen the pistol immediately because he or she stiffened as soon as that masked face was towards Alison. "I'm warning you," Alison darkly, voice lowering, though she had no doubt that –A knew who she was, "Step away from her now. Don't even think about using that blade, psycho." The dark figure cocked its head and Alison could almost feel the smirk underneath the black mask that –A must have had on his or her face.
Tugging on Maya tighter, picking the girl up, eliciting a pained whimper from the girl, -A threw the bound girl at Alison, startling the blonde. "What the-?" She managed out as the dark-haired girl careened with her. They both nearly crashed to the hard metal grating of the walkway. Alison gripped both the butt of the revolver and Maya's arm, steadying her as they slammed into the metal railings.
-A bolted past the two of them, running down the walkway fast. Shana and Margo ran towards them. "-A!" Margo snarled, brandishing her hunter knife, a decimated net behind the two of them. –A stopped running for only a second before they gripped the railings and swung him or herself up, right foot colliding with Margo's stabbing arm, slamming into the limb and sending the knife flying, thrusting Margo back into Shana.
Both young women let out grunts of pain as they were thrown back and –A, jumped over the railings, earning a gape from Alison, watching as –A landed on their feet, ran out the metal door fast, into the woods.
Margo and Shana, now both picking themselves from where they had fallen and after they ran to the door, checking to see where –A had gone, they turned back, walking to the stairs as Alison lifted herself from the railing and trailed down the stairs carefully, putting her gun away and helping the still bound Maya down with her. They both reached the floor and Alison pulled out her switchblade, making Maya stiffen for a second before the blonde brought the blade to Maya's bonds and cut them loose.
The ropes fell to the floor and Maya, stumbling as she now could stand fully, grabbed her gag and pulled it out of her mouth, looking at her three rescuers incredulously. She almost stumbled again as she stepped back, staring at the three porcelain faces of a scowling hawk, a grinning man and a haunted staring mask.
"Whoa now." Margo chuckled, "Don't worry."
Steadying the young woman, Margo eased Maya back as the girl eyed Margo's mask. "Oh no, seriously, nothing to worry about!" Margo insisted, pulling the porcelain mask of the hawk's face off, "We're just people. Honest." She smiled at Maya as the other girl lifted an eyebrow.
Alison chuckled behind her grinning mask at Maya's expression, hand reaching up and pulling her own off revealing her smirking, cherub face to Maya, watching as those almond shaped eyes got impossibly wider.
"Don't get too scared Maya," She chortled, "I promise I don't bite unless you piss me off."
Maya's blood drained from her face and she watched, fixated, completely lost and unable to do anything except stare. The words slowly came out of her mouth, "Alison? Alison DiLaurentis?"
"Ooh, she talks," Alison laughed a warm, bell like laugh that startled the other girl and made Margo roll her eyes, "Sorry. I'm sure after what you just went through this is probably really confusing. But yes, I do go by that name. Sometimes."
"Sometimes." Maya echoed quietly, still staring at Alison as if she was looking at a ghost and for all Alison knew, maybe Maya had told herself she was, "You're dead. Everyone in Rosewood says you're dead! They found your body."
Alison smirked, "That's what I keep hearing. The body's not mine. I don't know who was in that coffin. Because it's me," she opened her arms up, smiling, "In the flesh. And you're Maya St. Germain. Emily's girlfriend." If possible, Maya looked even more stunned.
"How did you-?" She let out, confused and Alison cocked her head, speaking playfully, "When people think you're dead, you have a lot of free time to check on who your closest friends are getting…close with."
Still not answering, Maya just closed her mouth and then opened it, trying to let more words out, but she just couldn't. Finally, Shana chuckled, pulling her mask off, "Maya, I think maybe you should come with us. Sit down for a while. You look like you're about to faint." She took a step towards the door, gesturing for Maya to follow.
Maya looked at Shana and finally processing that these were real flesh and blood people, slowly walked to the door with Shana guiding her.
Alison smiled wider, encouraged by this. However, she knew that they had to get a specific answer out of the way first. "Shana," She said, turning to the older girl, "Can you give me your phone for a second?" Shana glanced to Alison, smile turning to a frown. "Ali," She said, uncertain, "You sure now's a good time?" Alison chuckled, shaking her head as she caught Maya's confounded expression, and knew with an emotional kick in the gut that she was going to end up doing what she did best-manipulating people, "Now's a rotten, really bad time, but we have to know immediately. If Emily's in any danger…" She let her voice trail off as she saw Maya snap her head to the blonde, eyes becoming wide and frightened.
"Emily's in danger?" Maya's voice quavered as she froze in her spot.
Alison nodded, eyes narrowed, "Possibly. We don't know yet. I'll know much quicker if I can see a picture of the possible danger."
She looked at Shana in point and the other nodded, rolling her eyes and pulling out her cell phone. She turned it on and swiped through the screen till she found the picture of the young man, Nate, who claimed he was Maya's cousin and showed it to Maya. "Do you know this guy, Maya?" Shana asked, watching the other girl. The reaction was jolting and made Alison stiffen with dread. Maya stepped back, face growing pale again, mouth gaping. Visceral fear crossed those dark chocolate brown eyes.
"I'll take that as a 'yes,' then." Alison said quietly, heart pounding. She turned her head quick to Shana and Margo, staring at them in meaning. Both older girls, now with wide eyes nodded and Shana turned out the door, leading the fearful Maya out, Margo tagging behind.
"Emily's with him?" Maya almost whimpered out, looking back to Alison desperately for confirmation or denial. Alison's teeth clenched. "We'll find out when we get there," She responded, trying to keep the protective anger out of her voice, "We'll explain what's going on and who that hooded freak was later. Because this is going to get complicated to explain." As they went back into the woods, towards the car, Alison could feel the adrenaline far from waning as it once had when she and Maya began down the stairs. Here they went again. They needed to get back to Rosewood's main town. To Emily and the other girls. Now.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone and a piece of paper with some of her contacts. She needed to call for more people, but Noel and Cece were first. She texted Noel quickly since she knew he'd be consistently the closest physically to the girls right now. She tried to ignore the sickening feeling that crept through her at the thought of Spencer with Lyndon. She had to push that aside right now if they wanted a plan.
Her message that she sent was, "We've got Maya. She's safe. But really, really bad news, Noel. It's him. Nate is Lyndon James. Don't let Emily or any of the girls be alone with him!" She hit "send" and did the same with Cece's number. After minutes of that as she walked through the path to the Honda, following Shana, Margo and the still panicked Maya, she started putting in new numbers. Between –A's group, Lyndon James and Wren, it was time to bring in reinforcements. It was time to call in Sam and Kira.
Well, I can safely say that this was the most clumsily written chapter ever. I'm not very good at writing action scenes.