But I guess it's too late now…

Amber's POV

I could hear Josh screaming at them still replaying in my mind. I could feel my last slips of hope going away from me… I could actually feel myself giving up. That surge of adrenalin coming in to me was now phasing out of me. I was just too tired.

I had given myself up for nothing, absolutely nothing; they never even had Madi in the first place. How could I have possibly been so very stupid? And now I'm stuck in the back of a white van. At first I was curious to why I hadn't been knocked out, or at least bound and gagged, but after pounding on the back and screaming my head off for a long as I could, I realised it, they were taunting me. There was no way I was going to get back out. They could hear me screaming in the front and it probably sounded like music to their ears. So I stopped, I wouldn't give them the satisfaction of it. I just sat down, swaying, thinking, and praying it wasn't real.

I thought about what had got me into this situation. Josh had tried to warn me, he had told me it was a trap. Oh God, Josh… it hurt thinking of him now. I had spent so long denying that I had any feeling for him and now that I could admit it I had been ripped away from him. Two kisses, that's all we got. That's all I'm going to get, two kisses in my entire lifetime. Or at least I think I got to the point where I was actually hoping that two kisses would be all I got in my entire life-time.

As I thought about death a tear started to slide down my face… no, I couldn't let myself cry. I was going to stay strong until the last moment. I picked my battles but that doesn't mean I never fought them. I am stronger than that and I am going to prove it.

Or at least, I guess… I thought I was… but they were still flowing hard. As much as I wanted to get out of this hell-hole I was also dreading the moment that this van stopped and I had tl face things outside.

No, I am stronger than that.

I am… I promise you that. I can get through this. I'm not the first person to ever be in this position. And I'm not alone; I know Josh will have got back to someone by now. I know someone will care enough about where I am. Why is it my parents had to be out, the moment when I needed them the most? What a shocker it could be for mom and dad, getting home to find their eldest daughter gone and never coming back. I guess that was the whole point of this in the first place.

As the van slid to a halt I straightened my back against the wall and cleared my eyes, determined not to look weak. The doors slid open slowly and Bryce appeared in front of him.

The doors were opened and suddenly the fury at seeing his face was unleashed inside of me and I broke into a fury of swears, and I was yelling at him at the top of my voice. He smiled at me and chuckled.

"Ooh, feisty…" He laughed and beckoned for me to follow him. I stood stubbornly; I was not going to walk to my own death. He laughed again at me and drew out his weapon from his pocket pointing it at my face.

"You're not going to kill me." I told him, looking him in the eyes and trying to pretend I wasn't afraid at the moment. "Not now…"

"No… but we could play with you until you beg to die. Or we could make it so you die painfully?" I looked at him incredulously. This was Josh's flesh and blood. This was the brother of the man, I… the man I… No, I couldn't say it. It was too painful to say now that it was gone. How had it taken me so long to realise it that by the time I had it was far too late. "Now move!" He yelled at me, making me start but still making me more determined. I was not going to give in, I had said I picked my battles and I was going to fight this one. I was going to make things as hard as I possibly could.

"I'm not going to do anything you say." I said and he reached forward and grabbed my wrist. It infuriated him that someone defied him. He always had been obnoxious, ever since he was just Josh's mean older brother in middle school. It occurred to me that the whole thing must have been set up. It couldn't be possible that Parker's two children had ended up at the same school as the rest of us. Parker had had this in planning for years.

"You will go, if you know what's good for you."

"Well I guess I don't then." He laughed again, maliciously, something that sent shivers down my spine. Another man stepped out of the van, the man I had seen earlier…

"Bryce, I'm bored… just pick her up and get over yourself. She'll learn some sense; she'll do anything to stop her death in the end."

"You do it then Alex." And in a second I felt myself being man-handled and swung over his shoulder. I resisted my urge to kick and scream like a child throwing a tantrum, no matter how hard it was. I got used to the swaying movement and tried to contain my vomit, not thinking about the situation I was in and instead searching for a way to escape.

I looked around me; trying to recognise my surroundings, but it was completely impossible. I wasn't even sure I was in Hollywood anymore, but the journey didn't seem like it had been that long. It was half an hour at most and I don't think that was long enough to get that far… although it wasn't like they had been obeying the speed limits.

As the man, Alex, I suppose walked I caught a glimpse of the place they were taking me to, it was a large house. Well, it wasn't really a house to say as much, but a mansion. Or at least it was, now it seemed like it had seen better days. I guess it's the best you can do when you're on the run from jail.

Why were these thoughts running through my mind at the moment? I mean, I'm being forced into basically a prison to die, and I'm complaining about the quality of the prison.

The door of the house approached and as we entered I saw a trap door right on my left. He lifted it up slowly and beckoned once more towards me. All I could see was a deep black hole. I don't think you can blame me for not wanting to go down there.

"For heaven's sake just drop her…" Bryce said, god, how I hated him…

But I didn't have time to dwell on it as Alex, doing as he was told dropped me straight down the whole and I screamed, before scolding myself inwardly, I was Jade West's daughter. I was not afraid of the dark. I banged my head as I fell, leaving me to groan on the floor. As I turned back around Alex pulled me up so close to his face I was within spitting distance of him.

"Night, night, sweetheart, tomorrow the fun begins." He whispered into my ear and it was very good I was within spitting distance of him, because that was what I did. I spat right into his face and my heart was warmed as I saw the look of pure fury on his face.

"That was not a good idea." And somehow I had to think it really wasn't the smartest.

Well that was NOT an easy chapter to write. I realised I had after the previous chapter I didn't have the rest of the plot figured out. So a bit of a well, dramatic filler, I suppose, ignoring the fact that that is almost certainly not a real thing. I hope you enjoyed it never the less. And btw I'm already thinking about what to do nxt as we're reaching the climax of this... so check out my poll on my profile about that... PLEASE, wow I'm immature.

Sensitivity, Serenity and Insanity

CANON 24

Oh and have a very happy New Year because... it's 2012! The world didn't end!

Apart from all of you American readers... then its still 2011, you're a year behind.