Author's Note: Thanks for all your support! Final installment of the climax, anyone? While I was writing this, I was jumping out of my seat. So, maybe while you're reading it, you can feel my anxiousness too. Oh a tip, this part skips from Abby's POV to Jason's. Don't be confused.
A. "I felt a numb tear fall down before I lost consciousness, the image of only one person appearing in the darkness before everything disappeared."
It was so dizzying. The chemicals lingered in my airways, making it hard to concentrate. My head was heavy like it had been smacked into something hard. The chloroform had sedated me long enough so that I was now bound, arms and legs, in the middle of some unstable building with no furniture except for a half a dozen wooden chairs and a small table on shiny wood floors. The constant wiggling of the place gave me an unsettling feeling in my core.
I turned my head back to check on Nina, who was tied with her back against mine in the same manner. Her head drooped and her eyes were still shut. They must've given her a larger dosage because she was a lot more violent than me during our capture.
There was nothing over my mouth, but I chose to stay silent. There was four large men dressed in black, covering every identifiable part of their bodies except their eyes, sitting in front of the only way out. They all wielded intimidating looking knives. If I screamed, I would be dead multiple times before anyone could come. And I would probably wake up Nina, who would try and save me and harm herself in the process. It is really pointless to endanger myself with no chance of retrieval. I can't act without thinking.
The kidnappers glanced over at us from their game of poker. Their eyes appraised me briefly before turning back to the cards.
From what I heard since becoming conscious, there were two others who went out to get food and make a call. I pondered on whether I should take the chance while there is only four or wait until they were distracted by food.
I glanced back at Nina when she stirred and saw her eyes tighten as she struggled to get up. I scooted back into her back infinitesimally and tugged at her fingers slightly.
"Which one of them is the heiress?" One of the men in black asked, his voice particularly raspy with an Italian accent."
"We'll know when that manager guy comes with the money. We'll give him the heiress and sell the other for some extra cash. I heard the Filipino trade is looking for service girls. They both look better than average. This could ring in some serious dough." Number two to the left responded in his own Italian accent.
"I didn't expect them to be so quiet after all the fighting in the van," another laughed abominably.
The last turned to me and the corners of his crinkled as if he was grinning. "Well, scream anytime you want, sweetheart. But you may not like my reaction to it."
I didn't look away, even though the threat sent chills up and down my spine. Normally, that would not intimidate me, but I was helpless bound up like package. After a moment, the four was immersed in their game again.
Nina's eyes opened, she blinked several times, and looked around the room with foggy focus. Her eyes grew larger when she saw the kidnappers, and her whole body became alert. A worried expression took over her face when she finally met my eyes. I pressed my lips together to tell her to stay quiet and gave a weary look over at the men again. They were grumbling over the last game and accusing the winner of cheating.
I tried to keep my expression blank, but my heart was overloading. I already assumed they took us because of money. I am an heiress. That's why I have drivers taking me everywhere and usually have bodyguards nearby. But today, I made the mistake of sending away my driver and going walking without any precautions. And now, I was a sitting duck until someone came to give these damned criminals ransom, and even then, we might not leave here safely.
I bit my bottom lip and wriggled my wrists to loosen my own rope. The harsh ties grazed against my skin, and it burned with every movement. I tried to ignore the pain and kept my eyes on the kidnappers as my fingers reached for the ties on Nina's wrists. I scooted closer so that our backs flushed together, hiding our arms from view and bringing our bent legs closer in reach behind us. I gave her a look and she nodded in response, moving her wrists around to help me loosen the knots.
Three poker games passed before the other two men came bustling through the doors after a series of patterned knocks. The first one was carrying a series of fast food bags and the second had a tray of drinks. The men abandoned their cards and moved to the table and chairs. Huddled together, they dug inside their bags and ate, forgetting about us for the moment. In the midst of stuffing their faces, they had set their weapons aside.
I undid the last knot around Nina's ankles, and then she moved to do mine, but I stopped her fingers, giving her a slight shake of my head. I turned back to the kidnappers and cleared my throat loudly. They all looked up at me simultaneously. I took in a deep breath and squeezed Nina's hands.
"Excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom."
"This one is definitely the heiress. She's even in the mood to be demanding when she's a kidnap victim," one of them said, getting up from his chair and walking toward us.
The only one with the gun picked it up from the tabletop and made his way to us. He limped over, covering the lower left side of his abdomen with his palm. I remembered that the two who grabbed us should have at least been seriously bruised, because they were elbowed in the stomach and kicked in the shins repeatedly before we were knocked out by the chloroform. I grabbed Nina's hands and squeezed as hard as I can, hoping she could read my mind just this once.
When the man was close enough that I could see his emerald eyes and the bit of exposed skin around it with a rather large mole on the temple bone but before he could see that Nina was free, I dug my nails into the back of her hands. As if on cue, one of Nina's legs shot out and quacked him across the chest as he bent down to get us. The gun in his hand fell loose and slid across the wood in between us. The man was swept off balance in a heap before us, and Nina straightened her leg again, this time digging her heel into the precise area he was covering before. He grunted in pain as his eyes rolled back into his head. He passed out cold, and Nina scrambled to get up, grabbing the gun from the floor while the other men ran over to us with their knives bared.
Nina rose and used the gun's handle to smash the one who reached her first, and he fell, holding his head in excruciation pain. I dropped my eyes momentarily and focused on loosening the knots around my wrists. From the corner of my peripheral vision, I saw Nina knee one guy in the crotch, punch one in the jaw, and stab another in the foot with her heel. She muttered a whimper of pain for each one, but continued on bravely. When the last guy fell, she whirled around and kneeled behind me, frantically trying to help untie my ankles. She dropped the gun on the other side of me.
"Why didn't you just shoot them?" I asked, as she pulled the rope away from my legs and moved to my arms.
"And what? Kill them? I want to beat them into oblivion, but I'm not sure I'm ready to kill anyone at this point," she replied, tugging a little too roughly at the knot and sending burning pain up my arm. I cringed, but stayed still.
Movement caught my eye, and I raised my head up to see one of the burly men stumble onto his feet and lunging for us with anger in his eyes and a knife in hand. I screamed and pulled my feet up and used all the force I had to kick him in the stomach, my whole body swinging around and Nina lost the grip of the ropes. My attacker buckled on top of rolling friends again.
"Never mind my arms. Just grab the gun and let's get out of here before they regain consciousness," I suggested, trying to get off the floor without help of my hands.
Nina obeyed immediately, grabbing the gun in one hand and the other pulled me up to my feet and balancing me against her. She grabbed my elbow and led me to the door, kicking aside the bodies in her path grudgingly. Once to the door, she let go of me for a second to yank the door open and then continued to drag me out into the open.
The sea breeze scratched my face and tossed my pony tail about, many of the tendrils already escaped from the struggles in the car. Sounds of the ocean surrounded us, and the sky was gray, a true reflection of the churning waters next to the long strip of wood we were now standing on. The kidnappers had taken us to some sort of dock, and we were on a boathouse. No wonder the space was cramped and the floors rocked relentlessly.
We fought against the beating winds and the sudden rain pouring from the clouds above, having to walk slower to keep from losing balance together. Neither of us were in the right clothes and shoes to be running, or even walking rough ground. The wind howled loudly, deafening in my eardrums. My pony tail whipped around and slapped me in the cheek, so I turned my head to avoid its momentum. I pushed Nina away when I saw the two men pursuing us with their knives, already too close and prepared to descend the blade on Nina, knowing she was the only one really in the position to fight them right now.
I lost my footing, faltering back over the edge of the dock. The broken heel of my shoes caught on the edge, further catching me off balance. I desperately looked for something to grab onto but felt the cold water envelope me a second later. The last thing I saw above the waves was the flash of a knife as it sliced into flesh, blood pooling out to the skin and raining down on the dock.
It was like being buried in ice and suffocated under the constantly moving pillow. My head broke the surface once or twice as my tied arms struggled to be free and my self-preservation mechanisms kicked in. But the ropes were still too tight to break, and I couldn't swim. No matter how my feet pedaled to keep my head above the circulating waters, it pulled me back down with more force each time. In an attempt to get air, I had taken in too much salt water through my nose and mouth. I felt my strength drain from my body and saw one last image flash before my eyes, and then I stilled, every muscle relaxing and allowing the current to take me.
J. "There was blood. So much blood that it fell from her body, absorbing into the worn wood of the pier. The water surged and receded in a turbulent cycle, quickly growing violent as a familiar head struggled to stay above its depths."
Nina was bleeding heavily from her right wrist. The red, potent smell mixed with the water and washed into the ocean. She was handled by two men with daggers. One of the daggers was stained with blood a moment before the rain washed the blade clean. The men, dressed in so much black that only their eyes were visible, dragged Nina toward the boathouse by her arms. She beat against them, always attempting to throw herself off the dock into the water. She screamed and cursed for them to let her go, but they paid no attention.
There was no signs of Abby.
I silently approached them at top speed, pinning the guys down to the dock with my hands at their throats in one strike. Anger and venom flowed through my veins as I stared down at the people who dared to grab Abby from the streets and bring her into danger's reach. Behind me, Nina toppled forward, abruptly without anything to lean on. But as soon as she hit the ground, she crawled toward the edge of the dock, her face bent to the water and the blood trailing down her arm dispensing into its waves.
She moved her head back and forth, her breathing jagged and her heartbeat out of control. She made no noise at all and didn't even seem to notice that I appeared out of nowhere. I tightened the grip of my fingers, cutting off the air supply in the men's throats for a good ten seconds before they lost consciousness and their grips on my arms grew limp. Still alive, for now.
I got up and threw a hand around Nina's waist just before she jumped into the water. I pulled her back against me in an attempt to keep her from drowning herself in the torrent, but she screamed and kicked me, willing her body back to the edge.
"Nina, stop!" I demanded, planting my feet and steeling my hold.
The smell of her blood was less potent, having been constantly diluted by the rain, but it was still uncomfortable for me to be this close. I tried to breathe as little as possible.
"No," she whispered, out of breath and her voice barely filled with sound.
She elbowed me, but I felt no pain and kept her in position. She tried to push my arm away all the while her mouth gasped for air and trying to form some words that I couldn't quite figure out. I finally used my other hand to grab her chin and pulled her face up so that her eyes met mine, forcing her body to stop moving against my chest. Her nails dug into my arm as she caught the air necessary to speak.
"Abby!" She yelled. "Abby. The water. Can't swim. Do something!"
The words registered, and I let her go immediately. Her legs couldn't hold her up, and she fell down again. I launched myself into the water, my eyes searching for my disappearing lifeline. The ocean swirled and tossed against me, furious and fatal to an experienced swimmer in these conditions. But Abby couldn't even swim. My thoughts grew hazy, the images of Catherine being dragged away helplessly by the river replayed in my head. I couldn't allow Abby to come to the same fate, because of my failures. I immersed myself in the water, my head spinning about to find any sign of her. As the moments ticked by, I felt like my whole existence was coming to an end in the murky surface.
"Abby!" I called, hoping she could hear me, hoping she would answer, hoping she was safe.
Nothing. Just the sound of howling winds and crashing waves underneath flooding rains.
About twenty feet from me, the waves pulled away momentarily, exposing a blurry object on its surface and then covered it back up. Half a second was all it took for me to recognize her. Her subtle scent dispersed into the air the moment a part of her came above water. I pushed off, propelling myself in that direction. Diving underwater, the violent cycle was quieted some, and I could easily see her in the gray background.
I could make out a gentle flutter of a heartbeat as I reached out for the body and pulled her up to the surface. My arms around her middle, I lifted her up, supporting her legs as I placed gingerly on the edge of the pier. She laid flat on the wood, unresponsive and unmoving. I jumped onto the dock next to her and leaned over her.
I put a hand on her cheek, feeling the drenched cold skin underneath mine was shocking. I pushed the hair off her face and tapped her cheek gently, my breathing stopped in my chest. Next to me, Mick finally got here and was tending to Nina beside me. Nina was unusually quiet and docile as he took off his jacket and tied it by the sleeves to her chest as applied pressure to keep the loss of blood to a minimum.
"Abby! Wake up!" I said, pulling her into my arms and shaking her.
She showed no signs of response and her breathing didn't return. Her heartbeat was still weak. I laid her back down to do CPR. I tilted her head back and lifted her chin, gently opening her jaw. I pinched her nose and took in a deep breath before delivering it into her open mouth. Her chest rose and fell again, but still no response.
I placed my hands on her sternum and propped myself onto my knees over her. I prepared the restrained strength to do chest pumps and a few droplets from my wet hair fell onto her face. Suddenly, she gasped a large breath of air and her eyes opened wide. I let go of her chest as she continued to slowly catch her breath and the color rushed back into her skin. She coughed nonstop, water she had taken in her lungs thrown back out.
I breathed a sigh of relief and fell back. Abby crawled up into a sitting position, a hand on her chest and her heart speeding to catch up with the rest of her. She looked into my eyes, her face full of terror. But afterwards, her eyes softened and she smiled radiantly with alleviation. I threw myself at her, covering her tiny frame with my arms and pressing her against my chest. She gasped in surprise, but I felt her arms wrap around my back too.
"Don't ever scare me like that again," I yelled into her wet hair as the rain assaulted us.
"Sorry. I'm so sorry," she whispered back.
Footsteps running this way soon revealed the rest of my family, arriving just in time to clean up the scum.
Author's Note: This part wasn't initially planned like this. But I thought it came out well, don't you think? Anyone think they can explain why Abby untied Nina, but didn't allow Nina to untie her at the same time? And then, who was surprised that Nina was the one bleeding and Abby the one drowning? Anyone sense a change in Abby? REVIEW!!! Tell me what you think, because it cheers me up and a happy person works faster.