- Chapter Ninety-Six -

Vibin'

[Warning: strong content]

No. Fuckin'. Way.

Immediately understanding the origins of the breadcrumb as well as were it all led, Sam could scarcely believe it... and yet it somehow made all the sense in the world that he would find himself heading back there. As someone that lived and breathed history, on one hand it was kind of exciting to see the wheel at work, the cogs and locations circling back around in his lifetime. Adversely, the marginally penitent thief wasn't exactly thrilled at the prospect of returning to the same haunted place that had cost so many so much.

That cost him so much.

Mindful of the fact that the heiress was still being kept by some unknown entity for some unknown reason, the man felt inclined to ask once more, "What happened to you?"

Curled up in the backseat of a runaway taxi with a driver that had largely resembled a toad, the young woman remembered being cold and frightened to an extent that she hadn't felt since... Since waking up in the darkness, bound and blind, awaiting the whims of two unassuming strangers. Trying not to think about that, more than the artificial metal chill and the forced thrill, she had been so very positive that she was either going to die or be returned to those psychotic hipsters.

Skin crawling until it seemed to vibrate off of the bone, in the snap-back it felt as if she had donned the wrong suit, the flesh tailor-made for another person that was at least a whole foot taller and two dress sizes smaller. Scars following the soul and not just the covering, it was so much more than saying that it was wrong to wear something that belonged to someone else... It was as if she could never be clean again, like no matter how much she pulled at the seams or tried to straighten the wrinkles, it was still a terrible sight to behold.

World whittling down from the sailor's scope of Alexandria to the thin layer of bobbing eggshell holding them aloft, her point of view had become so narrow that she could barely even see the nose at the end of her own face. Forget about the pamphlet being waved around, claiming to be the entire history of the universe, leading all the way up to the unabridged definitive answer for world peace.

Lungs lined with a smothering crust of lead and pumping furiously in shuttered housing as they began to work overtime, there was no mistaking the signs. Well passed the verge of another attack, the young woman held herself as best she could. Free hand taut over her waist while the other was a vice around the reinforced plastic, the sweaty extremity actually holding the phone had gone stiff as a surfboard at a coastal mortician's office.

"..."

"..."

"...!"

Gasp particularly sharp, in spite of her internal organs performing their proper tasks, Dells froze as her brain started to shut itself off (or at the very had gone into a low-power rest mode). Only managing to get out one more piece of the puzzle before total closure, she mumbled into the bleak ether, "...I don't... We were reunited."

Far from the most telling of clues, Sam and the boys peered at one another in legitimate bafflement; given that Nadine hadn't exactly gotten around to telling them who it was that had called, it was only fair for them to be so lost. In her defense, everything had happened so suddenly there really hadn't been time to think to say who it was that had dialed, and anyways, there really hadn't been much of prompt. Which was understandable, considering how frantic everyone was to track down Rafe's little girl.

Suspense the last thing anything of them needed in this climate, the former mercenary let them in on the joke, "Wyatt."

Of fucking course it was. Understanding clear on the grim mask he had donned, the explorer couldn't even take a small amount of satisfaction from Zan and Jian staring cluelessly at the other before being forced to look to the grizzled brunette. It was a meaningless win, something that could easily wait to be covered on the way to their girl.

Middle and index fingers grazing the tenderized side of her bicep, upon hearing his name the soldier had returned to his sister's side; failing to receive even the smallest response to the gesture, he deemed her to have gone semi-catatonic. Taking charge and hooking his elbow through hers with the face of a man that clearly could not be bothered, he leaned into the speaker to be better heard, "What? Wondering how she came to fall into my lap?"

Common figure of speech or not, neither suitor was especially fond of the implications sauntering across their heads in fine négligée and heels, although Nadine knew that it wasn't what they were automatically assuming. At least she hoped that it wasn't. Learning the hard way that it wasn't always her place to pass judgement - although there might have been an exception when it came to anybody bearing the surname Drake - the way she saw it, if the heiress was going to be falling into anyone's lap, it was going to be Sam's.

Additional set of honey disks skimming the lush aqua sky at the sound of measured steps approaching their ship, he gave her battered shoulders the tamest of squeezes, "It was rather shocking for her. Heh," chuckling at the memory as if it were some light and funny thing, unless she told her paramour herself, it could be kept between the two of them, "Nothing for you to lose any sleep over. Now that we're on the same page, I'm fairly confident this is gonna work out for everyone. Well, maybe not everyone..." Glossing over the fact that he had been the one that had ordered her brought to him, the forgotten son beckoned their companion forth. "That depends."

Papers sealed neat and tidy in an official-looking envelope that was part of a stack, Angel's arms were laden with permissions, forms, and the name of the guy in Cairo that was going to see them on to the next leg of their journey. Hair tied back to keep the risk of heatstroke to a minimum, outside of a few wardrobe choices, the hipster looked completely unchanged from the last time that they had crossed paths. Eyes glittering with a coy and sinister light when giving the conscious girl a once over, the swallow took flight as a slightly sunburned hand waved at the boss and co-conspirator.

Tone steady to imply a level of professionalism, it hardly took a genius to figure out who was on the other end of the line. "Angel not back yet?" Gaze just as level, making absolutely certain that their old victim recognized her old friend, the calmer of the pair could plainly tell who it was that had made it back first based solely on Miss Adler's reactions.

Hole still a long way off from being healed and an even longer ways away from getting a more permanent disguise, the wound in her shoulder tingled even before her brain could comprehend who it was she was even looking at. Terror the wide-eyed variety, the ice caps cracked along the glacier's face, revealing the darker waters that stored long-forgotten horrors from the not-so-distant past. Veins strained and moisture shifting, as Daniella was roused from her mini-coma, she promptly shrieked loud enough for all seven of them to hear.

Evacuating the premises with all possible human haste, Dells spilled more than the contents of her most recent meal across the ground. While the churning of the tide and swaying of the floor had done her no favors, the cause was undoubtedly nerves, her entire silhouette shaking like death worn-over as she lurched out of her sibling's flimsy grasp.

No.

Body reliving every last moment spent in that abyss, from the chains tethering her hand and foot to the initial that would always identify her for the rest of her life, the young woman folded like a paper card in a hurricane. Mind eloping with spirit, the will was sapped from the girl in a split second, leaving her to collapse and flounder in a sizable puddle of vomit.

No! No no no no no no...

Mouth still shaped around the end of the 'oo' sound, the last thing Daniella actively knew was that she was wading through the shallow pool and passed days-old cake for the connection that had been lost in the chaos. Fingers sticky and burning, the heiress passively knew then that she needed the phone in a way that she had never needed anything before. Resolute to stay on her knees until she tracked down the device, no matter how long it took, Dells was determined to sift through the sick. Blessedly coming in to contact with the lifeline before long, they could all hear her hysterical whimpering throughout the entire ordeal.

Dells...

Task keeping her focused enough so that she didn't have to directly confront the flashes of the past right that minute, the ghost pangs that continued to slice mercilessly into the unhealed dough, boiling deep into the fissures, she cried. "My ankle's wet..."

Pale as a pearl and just as round, the malformed tears that welled in the corners of her icy gray topaz were pained and instant and blinding. Forgetting (not to say anything of forgiving) the recent past, the droplets spilled across the topmost layer of skin, soaking in to the borrowed fabric and running freely down her cheeks in a slick stream. Thankfully the visions surrounding her were fleeting, blurred into one another, made mostly of memory. That is, aside from the few that were the product of haunted dreams.

Unmoved by the broken heap that the young woman had dissolved into, Angel couldn't help but wonder where the enterprising young survivor that had recklessly thrown herself out of a second-story window had gone. Alongside Ashley, many a flame had been doused, yet for just a moment it seemed as if this one might have proven to be something more interesting... Hence why this display was quite the disappointment, but perhaps Ash could still have some fun?

Stepping around the pathetic shell of a human like it was yesterday's meme, the hipster reported in, "Everything should be ready for us by the time we arrive in Cairo. There might be some delays in the flight if the weather holds, but otherwise it should be a straight shot from the airport."

Cairo? Collective hearing of the triumvirate burning as the map to the heiress developed a more detailed form, between the possible fib that they were Cairo-bound and the general area she had been lifted from, everything quickly slot into place. Unless of course this was all a part of a major misdirect - it wasn't like the heiress was exactly put together enough to weigh in, and even if she had been, the odds were that she was being kept at arms-length.

Right? He wasn't jealous or any dumb sappy shit like that, it was just that Sam didn't think two complete strangers could come together that quickly in any... meaningful way... Fuck.

Author's Note:

Maybe the warning was unnecessary, however when I was writing how shaken up Dells was, it made sense to add. Also, feel a bit bad pointing out some of Sam's shortcomings two chapters in a row, but it's honest.

THANK YOU, gudi!