Author's note: hello, people. Sorry, I didn't update for about a week or two because I went to my cottage, but I will really try my best now not to leave huge gaps of time in between chapters. I hope you enjoy chapter fourteen. Please review? :)

Chapter 14

Kate shook her head, "It won't," she cried, "How can things possibly get better?"

"Thomas!' Arthur shouted as he ran over to where they were sitting, panic in his eyes, "Take Kate and get the hell out of here. Now!"

"What? What's going on?" Thomas asked, jumping up off his seat.

"They're here. Lots of them. Take Kate somewhere safe," Arthur replied.

"Where?"

"I don't know… somewhere. Just go!"

"Thomas?" Kate stared at him with concern, "Who are you talking to?"

"We need to get out of here," he told her, taking her by the arm.

"What? Why?" she glared at him in confusion.

"There are people here that want to hurt you. You need to get somewhere safe. Now let's go," Thomas hurried over to the exit, pulling Kate after him. Hesitantly, she followed.

"Who were you talking to?" she questioned.

"That doesn't matter now. Lets just focus on getting out of here."

"Tell me!" she insisted, pulling away from his grasp.

"Not now!" he snapped impatiently, frustrated at Kate's stubbornness "We don't have time for this!" He looked at her, seeing her tearful brown eyes staring back at him, full of fear and confusion. His voice softened, "Kate? Do you trust me?"

Kate was silent. Could she really trust anyone at this point? Then she remembered her cousin, who she hasn't seen since she was six, when he moved away to where Arthur lived. He was like another big brother to her, always comforting her and trying to make her smile. "Of course I trust you," she replied after a pause.

"Do you think I would ever do something to hurt you?" he asked softly.

"No, you wouldn't" she shook her head apologetically.

"Please, just come with me, and I will explain everything when we have time."

"Okay," Kate agreed.

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"Paul, what the hell do we do now? If Kate calls the police, we'll all end up in jail!" Lola inhaled her cigarette, slowly exhaling the smoke.

"She won't call the cops," Paul took Lola's hand and moved it to his mouth, breathing in through the cigarette.

"How can you be so sure?" she grumbled, getting up from her seat and walking over to the window. She rested her arms on the windowsill and blankly stared outside.

"Baby, don't worry," Paul wrapped his arms around Lola's shoulders from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder. Their moment was interrupted by a loud vibration coming from Paul's pocket, followed by the ringing of his cell phone. He released Lola and reached in his pocket, pulling out a shiny slide-phone. "Hello?"

"There is one way for you to fix what you've done," a scratchy voice from the other end of the line told him.

"You mean for what Kate has done," Paul corrected.

"She's your little whore, you're responsible for what she does," the voice thundered, "So are you going to listen or not?"

"Y - yes," Paul stammered, "of course."

"Personally you can't do anything, but you hold the key to getting rid of the one person that could pose a threat to us right now. All you have to do is turn that key."

"I don't understand…"

"Then LISTEN!" the voice snapped. "the only person that could pose a serious threat to us is lying in a coma on life support right now," he went on, "getting rid of him is as simple as pressing a button… or pulling a plug." he stopped, waiting for Paul's reply.

"I still don't understand," Paul frowned, "Its not like I can get myself into that room and - "

"You idiot! I said you have to turn the key, not pull the plug!"

"What key? What are you talking about?"

"It's a metaphor, idiot! Kids these days!" the voice sighed in aggravation, waiting for Paul to understand. Nothing. "The key is Rachel!" the voice grunted, irritated with Paul's narrow mind.

Paul scowled. "No… she would never do that. That wouldn't work…"

"Paul! If you want to get out of this alive, you have to find a way to make her do it. Or you and your girlfriend Lola die."

"Rachel is intent on saving Arthur. She says she doesn't want that family to suffer anymore. There is no way she would pull the plug!" Paul argued.

"Oh, she'll do it. Paul, I think we both know Rachel would do anything for you."

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Thomas got into the driver's seat of his car, slamming the door shut. Kate settled herself in the shotgun seat, lightly pulling her door towards her. "Try harder," Thomas laughed, "It didn't close. You need to eat more, Katie." Kate laughed too, opening the door and crashing it forwards with all her strength, making a deafening thud. "Maybe not…" Thomas said, impressed. "Come on, buckle up," he said jokingly, motioning to the seatbelt "Safety first."

"Right," Kate laughed. Thomas never failed to make her smile. He started the car and drove out of the hospital parking lot.

"So are you going to tell me now?" Kate whined impatiently after about a minute of driving.

"Tell you what?" Thomas mocked.

"What happened back there!" Kate burst out impatiently.

"You won't believe me," he warned.

"Why wouldn't I? I said I trust you…" Kate reminded him.

"This is going to sound a bit crazy…" Thomas admitted.

"Please, just tell me!" Kate implored, "I can handle it! I'm not six anymore."

"Those people… well, I don't know who they are, but I know that they are really bad people, and that they want to kill you. And you know I can't let that happen. They were in the hospital. There was a lot of them, and I had to get you out."

Kate broke in, "Yeah, that part I know. But who were you talking to?" No answer came. "Thomas! I trust you. Do you trust me?"

"I was talking to Arthur," he blurted out, "Now stop asking questions. I need to concentrate on the road. The last thing we need right now is for us to drive off a cliff too."

"What? What do you mean you were talking to Arthur?" Kate urged, "What do you mean?"

"I told you it will sound crazy," Thomas repeated. He clicked on the radio, turning up the volume, letting loud music blare through the car.

"Thomas!" Kate slammed the button turning the radio off.

"He's having an out-of-body experience," Thomas explained.

"What?"

"While he's in a coma his spirit, or ghost or whatever you want to call it is wandering around the hospital, and no one can see or hear him. No one except me."

"You're right. That sounds very crazy." Kate agreed. Thomas turned the radio back on, this time even louder. "How come only you can see him? Why can't I?" Kate asked after a moment.

Thomas lowered the volume. "Honestly…" Thomas sighed, "I wish I knew."

"And you can hear him too?" she questioned. Thomas nodded. "What did he tell you?" Kate continued with her questions.

"He told me that the bad guys were in the hospital - that there were a lot of them - and that I need to get you someplace safe. Before that he told me - " Thomas cut himself off. Something in the rear-view mirror caught his eye. "Hey Kate, can you make out who's driving that silver Toyota behind us?"

Kate turned around, and quickly jerked her head back in shock. "Its him! That scary guy that kidnapped DW! Oh my god! He's following us!" Kate panicked, "He's following us! He's going to kill us! He told me if I let DW out he's going to kill me! Oh my god! What if he's got a gun? Oh my god!"

"Kate, you need to calm down," Thomas said, his voice stern and steady, "You have nothing to be afraid of. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. I promise."

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"Dr. Parker, you have a phone call on line one," a receptionist told her as she walked down the hallway.

"Who?" the young surgeon asked without stopping.

"A young man - "

"Tell him to call back later," Dr. Parker replied, walking away.

The receptionist followed. "It sounds important."

"Trust me, it can wait."

"But Julie, he says its an emergency!"

"Fine!" Dr. Parker huffed, turning around and heading back to the phones. "Hello?" she breathed into the phone.

"How'd the surgery go, Doc?" asked the voice on the other end of the line.

"Paul! I told you not to call me!" she hissed, about to hang up.

"Wait! Don't hang up!" he shouted. Silence. "Rachel!"

"Rachel's gone," she snapped.

"My apology, Dr Julie Parker," Paul snarled.

"What do you want Paul?" she asked impatiently, "The surgery just finished. I have better things to do than chat with you."

"Rach - " Paul sighed, "Julie…" he corrected.

"What? I don't have all day Paul. Either you get to the point or I hang up."

"I really need your help. Please."