Hello. This chapter took such a long time for one soul reason: Terminal. Seriously, I've been spending weeks trying to recover from that chaotic mess (but seriously though, the last sentence? I'm not okay, you feel me?) So after some serious book therapy, I now bring you Chapter Eleven! Enjoy!

Chapter Eleven Tick Tock

Ben's POV

My whole body ached. Well, if straw could ache that is. Every inch of me burned and throbbed. Those ugly monkeys had completely torn apart my body limb from limb. Bits of straw lay around like human carnage on the forest floor. Yet none of that mattered at the moment. Those monsters had taken Tory!

Shelton came rushing to my side a moment later, glasses askew. Hi was right beside him.

"Hey man, what happened!?" The tin man's voice was shrill and panicky.

"Those creatures demolished me. Look twenty feet to the right and you'll find my legs." I whispered in between sharp breaths.

"Well, I guess you can say they knocked the stuffing out of ya, eh?" Hi said, straining for humor.

"Not now Hi!" Shelton snapped. "Ah man, this looks bad. Come on Ben, we're taking you back to the city!"

"No, guys I'm fine. Just hurry up and put me back together here. We gotta find Tory!"

While the boys looked skeptical at my claim, they reluctantly began to search for the rest of me. I laid my head back on a stone and looked towards the night sky.

I'll find you. Whatever it takes, I swear it. Just, please, stay safe till then…

Tory's POV

Madison stroked the top of Cooper's head, smiling wickedly. "What a nice, sweet little dog." She cooed.

I stood, restrained by guards, glaring at her.

Get your hands off my wolf dog, you bitch!I seethed in my mind. Even so, I held my tongue. She did have the upper hand after all.

The witch grabbed Cooper by the collar and threw up inside an iron cage. My heart tightened as the door closed, trapping my Coop. Madison trained her cold eyes on me.

"And Tory darlin, how nice of you to visit me. It gets quite lonely in this old drafty castle." Her voice was mocking and vicious, hidden with a layer of Southern sweet. Out of the corner of my eye, two of the Courtney monkeys were hauling Cooper away. Tears threatened to break.

"What are you going to do with my dog? Let him go!" I spat.

"Patience my pretty, patience."

"What do you want, Madison? Just give him back to me."

"Of course! Of course…all you have to do is give me the ruby slippers. Give them to me and the mutt is yours. Simple!"

I threw my hands up in surrender. "Fine, fine, I give up. Take them! I don't care." Screw Whitney's warnings. Nothing was worth hurting Cooper.

"You're a smart girl, Tory. I knew you'd see reason."

The witch rubbed her green hands greedily, reaching for the shoes. Then, light flashed from the slippers. Madison jumped back, screaming in pain. Her hands smoked and long harsh slashes coated her hands.

"Damnit! I should've known. Those slippers will never come off. So long as your heart is beating and there's blood coursing through your veins." Madison then smiled, "But…fortunately for me, there's an easy solution to that."

My body went rigid. She didn't need to say what this solution was. Her twisted smile said it all.

Death.

The witch took on a theatrical air, frolicking about her dingy quarters. "Oh but how to do it? Must be a grand killing for such a smart little opponent." She pinched my cheek and giggled.

Not wanting to look her in the eye, my vision shifted behind her. There I found Cooper, slowly edging the cage open with his nose. Ever so silently he slipped out of the cage and began creeping towards the door. A monkey must've followed my line of sight and started hooting and hollering, cutting the witch off.

She whipped around and lunged toward the dog. Too late. Cooper was already off, zipping through the door.

"Go!" I shouted, "Run Cooper! Run!"

"What are you doing, you buffoons!? Catch it!" Madison screamed.

I ran to the door and watched Cooper dash down the stairs and leap over the slowly closing draw bridge. Guards with spears, who all closely resembled Chance Claybourne, hurled their weapons at my dog. The pointed objects bounced uselessly against the rocks, barely missing the wolf dog. Cooper's ruffled gray body disappeared behind the rocks.

I let out a cry of relief, feeling a burning pride for my Coop.

He got away. He got away! Oh thank god…thank goodness.

Madison seethed, grabbing me by my lab coat and pulling me close. "Your dog got lucky! He's getting farther than you ever will missy! You and that damn dog." She clenched her fists and shook with rage. I was half afraid she'd explode. A moment later she regained her cool and gazed at me with calm eyes. That did little to comfort me. "But…no matter. It'll all be over soon enough."

Madison shoved me back and marched over to a table. She grabbed and hourglass carved out of wood, with blood red sand resting at the bottom of the glass. The witch tipped it over on its end, the sand slowly starting to fall to the bottom. "You see this!? This is how much longer you've got left. And believe me my sweet, it isn't long!" With a mad cackle, she whisked herself to the heavy wooden door, slamming it closed and locking it.

I stared in horror, as my life slipped through an hour glass.

In a panicked rage, I pounded and kicked the door. I searched, yelled, begged for something, anything to help me. Before I knew it, tears poured out of my eyes. I wiped them away, angrily chastising myself for being so weak. But the tears didn't stop. The knot in my chest tightened and my legs fell out from under me.

Tired and scared, I just let them come.

"I'm scared…god damnit…I'm scared!" I cried. "What am I going to do?"

Beside me something glowed. I lifted my head out of curiosity and watched the witch's crystal ball glow and warp into a scene. A moonlit beach, with azure blue waters and sandy white sand.

Morris Island.

Three figures ran through the surf carrying flashlights. Those three dark forms were my friends. Ben, Hi, and Shelton. At the first sight of them, I bolted up and pressed my hands on the smooth marble surface.

The boys were yelling, sweeping the dark beach with their flashlights. "Tory!? Cooper!?" Ben called. "Where are you?"

Hiram stopped and wiped his brow of sweat. "Ben," he heaved, "We've been looking here for hours. I think this is a lost cause."

Ben looked at him with fierce, dark eyes. "They couldn't have vanished into thin air! We have to keep looking!" he snapped.

Shelton put his hand on Ben's shoulder, easing the tension. "We've looked all we could. I don't know where else they could be. I mean it's not like Tory would run away…right?"

Hiram shook his head, "No, not without telling us."

"Then where the hell could she be?" Shelton asked to the air.

There was no response. Ben took a deep breath, fighting to keep his voice steady. His voice was quiet when he spoke, "I know it's late. And I realize you guys are tired. I am too. I just…I'm so worried about them. We can't just give up on them, right?"

Shelton and Hi looked at each other then faced back to Ben with determined stares.

"Absolutely not." Shelton said.

"No way Jose. Not on Tory."

A ghost of a smile appeared on Ben's face. Then it disappeared, replaced with a tired, stony stare. "Okay, then let's keep looking. We just…we gotta find them."

Twin nods from the boys. They clicked on their flashlights and resumed searching. "Tory!? Cooper!?"

Before I could react, the scene changed to my own living room. Kit sat at the couch, hunched over, with his head in his hand. Whitney entered the house looking tired and worn. Kit immediately bounced up, "Have you heard anything?"

Whitney shook her head, "I'm sorry, darlin'. I checked back up at the police station. They put out an amber alert but they haven't any new updates about her."

Kit instantly deflated, shaking his head. "Not good enough…not good enough." He muttered.

Whitney placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, "They're doing all that they can."

Kit slapped her hand away, "Well, they're not doing enough!"

Whitney's eyes went wide as Kit plopped back down on the couch. "I can't believe it; I didn't pay attention to her. Too caught up in my stupid work to see that my own daughter's distress. Now…now she's gone."

Whitney took a seat next to him, voice quiet. "It's not your fault…"

Kit cut her off, shaking his head miserably. "I promised myself…after Colleen died…I promised myself I'd protect Tory." Tears slid down his cheek. "What have I done?" his voice cracked sharply as he covered his face with his hands. Whitney looked at him, tears shining in her own baby blues. She draped an arm over his shoulder and held him close.

At this point, my own tears were coming in torrents. After seeing how much they missed me back home, it put my whole world into a different perspective. Kit and Whitney, whom I pushed away for so long. And the boys who I've always taken for granted. I leaned my head against the crystal ball.

"I'm here Kit! I'm here and I miss you! I'm sorry…I'm so sorry."

Then the scene changed again and warped into the sneering face of Madison. "Oh Kit, I miss you sooooo much. Oh boys, come rescue me!" She mocked me, fake crying to her hands. I glared at her, grinding my teeth. She turned back and starting singing with in a high pitched tune. "Ding dong the girl is dead, ding dong the Brennan girl is dead!"She cackled and disappeared from the ball.

My head whipped back to the hour glass, the sand already half gone.

Tick tock tick tock.

That's all for now! Make sure to tell me what you think of the chapter. I will see you guys in Chapter Twelve. Bye!