Carlos watched Logan narrowly escape Marcus and Alex in what seemed like slow motion. Kendall was screaming for Logan to run and James was crying. It was up to him to do something, anything, so he did the first thing he could think of: He jumped up to his feet and ran to the door, closing it and blocking it.
"If you want Logan, you have to get through me first!" Carlos yelled as Alex and Marcus barreled into him, not realizing their way out was blocked.
"Move kid, or I'll fuck you up," Alex spat, but Marcus just chuckled and put his hand on Alex's chest to cool him down.
"Wait, Alex. What's waiting for Logan is much, much worse than anything we could do to him."
"Wh-what do you mean?" Carlos asked, confused. He glanced at Kendall and James, but they looked just as clueless as he was, until Kendall's pained green eyes widened with sick realization.
"No, Logan! Come back!" Kendall screeched. He knew just what was waiting for him, or rather, who was waiting for him.
"It's his own damn fault," Alex snapped at Kendall in a voice loud enough to make him flinch. "We taught you boys to know better, haven't we?"
"I say David just kills the brat already," Marcus murmured.
"No! Not Logie!" Carlos yelled, suddenly catching on to what Kendall knew. He turned around to open the door and run out after him, but Marcus yanked him back by the arm. He cried out in pain and tried to shove Marcus away, the only thought running through his mind was to save Logan and bring him back.
"Stop struggling kid," Marcus growled, grabbing the small boy by the shoulders. Carlos wasn't going down without a fight though. He bared his teeth and sank them deep into Marcus' arm. The thug was momentarily stunned by the sharp pain, but he easily tore Carlos away. When he looked into Carlos' innocent, dark eyes, he felt only malice and hate for him and not an ounce of sympathy.
"The little fucker bit me," Marcus yelled. With brute force, he shoved Carlos into the stone wall, his head smacking hard against it. Carlos was out instantly, his body slumping to the floor with a dull thud as soon as Marcus let go of his shoulders.
"Carlos!" James whimpered, crawling over to his still body. He felt his stomach clench when he saw the blood pooling from the back of his best friend's head, tears immediately pricking at his eyes.
"Is he breathing?" Kendall demanded. James nodded when he saw Carlos' chest move up and down weakly. He groaned, feeling woozy, not from just Carlos' blood but from the loss of his own blood. His arm was covered with the sticky red substance and the room smelled harshly like the irony liquid.
Marcus and James looked down at the four helpless bodies, satisfied. The two littlest ones were out like lights, the pretty boy was about to join them, and Kendall was bounded tightly, unable to do anything if he tried. That was how they wanted them, even though it was a fight to weaken them, it was a fun and exhilarating fight, and the weaker they were, the easier it would be to get them to oblige.
As the three teenagers whimpered and moaned, Steve's mumbled and static-y voice sounded through Alex's walkie-talkie.
"Guys, what's taking so long? We need to leave, now," Steve told them.
"Sorry Steve, the kids put up a bit of a fight, but something tells me it'll be smooth sailing from here on out."
Steve was silent for a moment after Alex's reply. "Alex, Marcus, you didn't kill the kids, did you?" He asked with trepidation.
"Who cares?" Marcus snarled. "They're good as dead anyway." Kendall looked up at Marcus questioningly, knotting his eyebrows as a sinking feeling hit his stomach.
"Just bring them to the car," Steve growled, obviously ticked off. Alex just laughed and shoved his walkie-talkie back in his pocket, then hauled James and Kendall up by their arms. James yelped in pain and wavered on his feet, dizzy from fever and loss of blood.
"Kendall, I don't feel good," James said in a scared, slurred voice. He stumbled as if he were drunk and almost fell.
"James! Guys, let me carry him, please," James said to Alex and Marcus. "He's too weak. Just untie me, I won't try anything. I swear," Kendall pleaded with his captors, but they shook their heads.
"No way, boy. David's orders were to keep you tied up at all times. The pretty one can walk," Alex said. He scooped Carlos into his arms, who was still bleeding and passed out.
"Where're we going?" James whimpered, tears blurring his vision. Why were they leaving this hell hole? Was it only going to be worse, wherever they went? He just wanted to go home now, back in his bed at the Palmwoods with Carlos snoring away in the bed next to him, where it was warm and safe and everything made sense, not here in this nightmare.
"Somewhere they can't find us, so David can have you all to himself," Marcus said, winking at Kendall, who gazed at the floor, finding himself sickened just looking at the older man's evil face. He was truly ugly, his vicious and remorseful personality reflecting in his eyes and even his skin. He felt his stomach churn when he lifted up Katie to his chest. Kendall didn't want anybody else but himself holding his little sister.
"Let's get to the van," Alex said. He poked Kendall in the sweaty small of his back. Kendall tried to ignore the tears welling in his eyes followed Alex through the hallways of whatever abandoned building they were in. James nearly fell several times, but was forced to keep walking despite his weakness. Kendall kept a close eye out for Logan in the corridors, listening carefully to each closed door room they passed if he could hear him. But Logan didn't seem to be anywhere inside the building, from what he could tell. Maybe Logan had actually gotten away and was on his way to getting help, or maybe he was already in the van, where they were headed. Kendall could only hope that he was safe from his father, though that was very doubtful.
For the first time in days, cold air brushed against Kendall's skin. They were outside. It was dark, probably the middle of the night and no street lights were around, but they were in a large, gravel parking lot. There was no sign of the pickup truck, but instead waiting for them was the epitome of a van you'd find in a kidnapping movie: Big, old, rusty and white, lacking a license plate, with no windows beside the windshield. Steve was standing at the back of the van and opened the two doors when he saw the thugs coming with the kids. He seemed to be mentally counting them and noticed one missing.
"There're only 4 here," Steve said suspiciously. The next thing he noticed was how beaten and worn the children looked. Two of them were unconscious, and the other two could hardly walk. "Where's Logan? What the hell did you do to them?"
"Relax, Logan ran away. We'll let David deal with that brat," Marcus said. "These guys put up a fight. We didn't have much a choice but to do what we did to them."
Steve's eyes widened with anger. He took James' bloody arm in his hand. The teenager was on the brink of fainting, and his face was deathly pale, as if all the blood had left his cheeks.
"M-mom, I want my mom," he whimpered, hardly even noticing where he was or what was going on.
"Lay them down," Steve said, nodding towards Carlos and Katie. "I've got them from here. You guys get in the van and wait for David to get back."
Alex and Marcus seemed hesitant, but when Steve growled "now," and reached to his back pocket, as if something was in it, they quickly set Carlos and Katie inside the van and ran to the front.
"What happened in there?" Steve asked, immediately assessing their wounds. He went to look at Kendall's first, but Kendall waved him off.
"No, wrap James' arm and take care of Carlos first, I'll be fine," Kendall told him. Steve quickly went in his bag to grab a few supplies, treated and wrapped James' sliced up arm and gave him more fever reducers, then checked out Carlos' wound.
"The gash on the back of Carlos' head has stopped bleeding but I'm betting he has a concussion. When he wakes up, he'll probably be in a lot of pain and might be nauseous. Just give him one of these pain relievers. You take one too," Steve said, pressing a pill on the back of Kendall's tongue.
"Steve, can you please untie me?" Kendall asked pleadingly, begging to be free of the bonds restricting his broken wrist. "My friends need me and my wrist hurts so bad. I promise I won't try anything."
Steve obliged, hearing the pain in his voice, and freed Kendall, who breathed a shaky sigh of relief and cradled his throbbing wrist to his chest, thankful for the loss of pressure on his shattered bones.
"Why are we leaving? Can you tell me anything?" Kendall asked.
"We're on the run, that's all I know," Steve told him.
"They said something about David being alone with us, do you know what that means at all?"
Steve shook his head. "I don't know what David's plans are, kid. But they are never good." Steve threw in a couple of water bottles and pieces of bread into the back of the van, the only source of nourishment they would have for the upcoming travel. Kendall crawled into the van beside James, who nestled into his lap, shaking violently.
"I-I just want my friends and sister to be safe," Kendall said tearfully, running his unhurt hand through James' sweaty hair.
"I'm sorry kid," Steve said. He went to close the metal van doors, but Kendall stopped him.
"Wait! Where's Logan? We need to wait for Logan!"
Steve turned away and shook his head. "I don't think Logan will be joining you for this ride," he said.
"What?" Kendall cried. "Logan! No, I need him, you can't-"
"I'm sorry," Steve whispered one more time, before shutting the metal doors with a bang and locking them.
