Day twenty: Tsari asked for Trunk & Trapped under water.

Characters: Scott, Jeff, John

Rating: Teen

Warnings: Kidnapping, Car accident, near-drowning

It had been Scott's final match before the end of season. He'd had an after-game celebratory party for winning their match and their league, and now Jeff was picking his eldest up. John was in the back, having just been picked up from the small observatory in town where John spent most of his free time and that he practically ran himself, despite being only 15.

They pulled up into the car park to wait. Scott would leave before everyone else, a habit he'd picked up on when he had needed to be home to care for his brothers. Now that his mom had moved in with them and Jeff was himself taking a more active role again, Scott could start having a social life as befitted a 16-nearly-17-year-old, but his eldest rarely took advantage of the opportunity.

Tonight's party had been prearranged at the local diner, the team knowing they had won the league already. Jeff had parked up at the end, keeping the entrance clear for those popping in and out, not entirely sure what time Scott would leave exactly. He'd sent a message saying that they were here, but there was no rush to leave.

Scott left the diner alone. All the other players and some of their partners were still celebrating, but he had had enough. Shrugging his jacket on as he left, he noticed his Dad's car parked up at the far end, and he waved, grinning at the corresponding wave and the flash of the headlights.

The squeal of tyres had him on alert as a car suddenly swung in front of him, almost clipping his leg, and he dived to the side.

Jeff, sitting in the front and only half paying attention as he scrolled through his work emails, glanced up at the squeal of brakes. He watched with horror as a car cut across the path of his eldest son, almost hitting him in the process and causing Scott to dive to the ground.

Outraged, Jeff began to get out of the car as Scott picked himself up, a shout dying on his lips as two men jumped out of the car and grabbed his son, hauling him up and into the trunk of the car. John was quicker off the mark, yelling and dashing forward.

They were too far way to do anything, but they could follow, and they both ran for the car, hoping that they hadn't lost the car in the meantime. Jeff shot forward in pursuit as John called the police.

Turning onto the street they were just in time to see the car speeding away, and they followed, matching their speed. It was no good pretending that they weren't following, they had been pretty obvious in the parking lot, and the sudden spurt of speed the car put on as they headed out of town told Jeff that the kidnappers were indeed aware of them. The police had told them to hold back and they would take over, but they weren't here and no way was Jeff going to risk losing them.

The turn off to the disused quarry was easy to mistake for the back road out of town, and not many knew about it. As the car wheels spun on the rough roadway, the driver over-compensated, sending them skidding quite a distance, and both Jeff and John held their breath, praying the driver would get them back on the road.

He didn't get control.

Instead, the car carried on in an uncontrolled skid as tires failed to engage. Three doors opened and three men jumped out as the car plunged over the edge of the cliff and into the lake below.

Sirens had joined them, but Jeff and John only had eyes for where the car had gone over. Jeff had to hold his son back from jumping in after the car, more than aware that in the dark and the cold anything could happen to John.

Instead, they ran back to the car and grabbed the high-powered torch kept there for emergencies, finding the pathway down to the bank of the lake. The car was nowhere to be seen, and with the doors open Jeff was not surprised that it had sunk so rapidly.

Both waded out into the water, only to be held back by policemen. Their cries and pleas were ignored – the sheriff telling them that a specialist team was already on its way doing little to soothe them.

Scott had no idea what was happening. One minute he was diving to the floor to miss the car, the next he'd been hauled up and into the trunk by two men. He was in the trunk before he knew it, and no amount of banging on the metal lid would do anything. He felt around in the dark for something to release the catch, but everything was smooth inside, and his heart plummeted. This was obviously a planned attempt.

His only hope being his Dad had witnessed the whole thing, Scott stopped banging, instead conserving his energy for when they came to get him out, and bracing as the car cornered. The sound of gravel under the car wheels made him frown.

And then there was a moment of weightlessness before a thud. Within moments there was cold water seeping in through the seams, and Scott resumed his banging. Only this time he was desperate. No one came, though, and eventually the water had left him with the tiniest of air pockets. Scott shivered in the dark water, completely trapped.

He wasn't sure what would get to him first – the numbing cold that was already causing him to be drowsy, or the running out of his air…