Chapter 4 – Safe at Last?
It was mid-afternoon and Kensei looked over previous case files for missing people on the 'Winchester Road Trip'. There had been 2 cases; disappearances between Bakersfield and Palo Alto. Bodies of both cases were found on a ranch half way between the two towns.
"Shuuhei, you know what car they were driving right? Are there any images between here and Bakersfield? Mainly around Aizen Ranch."
"Of course," Shuuhei nodded. He was determined to find his friends before the night came around again. Renji had replayed the call to him and his supervisor once Kensei had agreed to file an early missing person's case.
It didn't take long to find the 67 Impala on the traffic cam, and he noticed a tow truck pull up in front.
"Captain, there." No mistake, it was Renka and Rukia. Shuuhei's eyes widened as he watched one of the assailants knock Renka out with a wrench. "Dammit."
"Does the tow truck reach the next traffic cam?" Kensei asked.
"Checking. No, nothing." Shuuhei commented. "You knew they'd be around Aizen Ranch?"
"Cell tower near there picked up the tracking signal." Kensei grabbed his jacket and called for backup to raid the buildings on Aizen's property.
The two got into the car and led the swarm of police vehicles to the grounds.
"Back in 2009, a couple of hitchhikers were picked up just outside of Bakersfield, but they never left the main highway. After an extensive search, the bodies of the couple were found buried on Aizen's property. He was arrested and charged with 2 counts of first-degree murder. It was thought that he had some accomplices, but without evidence, nothing was brought forward. It's been 11 years since then and nothing concrete has happened, until now. I guess they couldn't help themselves."
Shuuhei's brows knit together in a frown.
…
"What the hell are you talking about? My father wouldn't do that!" Renka protested.
Kariya snarled in response. "He may have raised you. But he wasn't your father. I AM!"
Kariya's menacing tone, matched with the cold steel of the blade on her bare skin, was enough to cause an intense shiver across Renka's body.
"You're lying. You're not my father."
All of a sudden, the room felt like it was spinning. The blood loss and agitation led to Renka once again becoming unconscious. Kariya yanked her up into a standing position and dragged her into the bathroom. He bolted the door and began to re-bind her wrists to the waterpipe in the corner. Splashing water on her face, Kariya decided he wasn't going to wait for Renka to regain consciousness of her own accord. The blade of his knife grazed down the girls' cheek, causing a large scar to open. Blood continued to drain away from Renka's body as Kariya lay countless wounds all over her skin. The torture was becoming intensely worse until Renka couldn't take any more. The cries and screams she held back for Rukia's benefit began to seep through. Each time she screamed, Kariya tightened his hand around her throat.
After what seemed like an eternity, shouting and banging came from the main area of the cabin.
"GET DOWN ON THE GROUND!"
"Fucking bitch, she tipped them off." Kariya's anger boiled over and he plunged the blade into Renka's abdomen and extracted it again before jumping out of the bathroom window in an attempt to elude the officers.
The noise from the main room in the cabin started to dull as a persistent ringing sounded in her ears. The last thing she saw was a figure busting the door open and rushing to her side.
"Renka! RENKA!"
"Shuu…hei." Renka's eyes fell closed once again and the sound of her friend drowned away.
"I'M GONNA NEED SOME HELP IN HERE!" Shuuhei shouted as he began to give Renka CPR. "Come on, Renka. Stay with me."
The paramedics made their way into the bathroom to continue treatment as Shuuhei held her cold hand in his own. He knew he should keep out of the way given how small the room was, but he played it off as keeping pressure on the abdominal wound.
Still unconscious, Renka's breaths began shallow again. She needed medical care as soon as possible. The paramedics had transferred her to a stretcher and carried her to the awaiting ambulance outside. By now, the blood loss had become apparent where she previously lay. Far too much to have a high chance of survival. Shuuhei glanced around with tears in his eyes. Never in a million years would he think anything like this could happen. Not to his best friend. He turned to where Rukia sat in the other ambulance. "Rukia, you alright?"
"I'm fine. Just take care of Renka. She needs you more than I do." Rukia tried to smile, but it was clear that she was in just as much pain, both physically and emotionally.
"Rukia. Thank you. If you hadn't have called…"
"Shuuhei," Rukia cut him off. "Go. Take care of Renka."
Shuuhei nodded before leaving Rukia with Kensei and the second paramedic team. He got into the back of the ambulance with Renka and held her hand again, applying pressure to the major wounds.
'Renka. Please. You've gotta make it through this.'
"Officer Hisagi. Continue to apply pressure here. I'll give her something to ease the pain."
"Of course."
It didn't take long for them to arrive at the emergency room. As soon as they got there, Renka was rushed into surgery and Shuuhei was told to wait in the family room. There, he called Renji.
"Shuuhei, you found them? Are they okay? Where's Renka? I want to speak with her."
"Renji," Shuuhei started, keeping his voice as calm as he could. "Renka's hurt, bad. She's in surgery right now."
"What… where's Rukia?"
"Rukia's injured too, but not as bad. She's being seen to by triage." As much as he tried to keep it together, Shuuhei's voice broke. "Renji, I don't know if Renka's gonna make it. You need to get down here, now."
On the other end of the phone, Renji's eyes widened. "Was it, him?"
"From the vague description, I'd say it was, though we can't be sure just yet."
A light tap on the door window made Shuuhei look up. Rukia was there. "One second, Renji." He muted the call as Rukia came in. "Rukia?"
"Shuuhei, my cell's out of battery. Could I borrow yours to call my brother? Or Renji?"
"Renji's on the phone now, if you wanna talk to him."
Rukia nodded, slowly as she took the phone from Shuuhei. She unmuted it and spoke. "Renji?"
"RUKIA! Are you ok?" Renji couldn't hide the panic in his tone.
"Yeah, Renji. I'm alright. Thank you, for answering the phone when I called."
"Of course. I'd been trying you all night. We were worried. I was already at the precinct when your call came through."
Rukia sighed, relieved that Renji was the right person to call. She hadn't left instructions for her brother with the code-word. It would have been useless. Thankfully, Renka was more prepared for such a situation. Tears began to stream down her face. "Thank you, Renji."
"You don't need to thank me. You just need to focus on getting better. I'm on my way there now."
A small smile reached Rukia's lips. She knew she could count on him. "Can you, bring Byakuya with you? I want him to know I'm alright."
Renji smiled. "I'll do that. see you soon, Rukia."
Turning to Shuuhei, Rukia handed the phone back to him.
"Thanks, Shuuhei." She paused for a moment before continuing. "Will I have to give a statement?"
"I'm afraid so." Shuuhei's eyes drifted away to the general direction where Renka was in surgery. "You both will, at some point."
"Can I give you my statement now? Get it over with."
Shuuhei wasn't sure why he was shocked given Rukia's determination but nonetheless he frowned. "I'd love to say yes, but Captain needs to be the one to interview you. I'm too close to both you and Renka. Don't want it to seem like information is being withheld on my account."
"I see," Rukia looked down at the tiled floor. The clean green and white design held a much more welcoming feeling than that of the dirty wooden cabin.
"She'll make it. Renka's strong. She'll make it through." Rukia ensured.