Alternate
Chapter 5: Salvation
A/N: Thanks for not murdering me over the last chapter. Please don't murder me over this one?
Dedication: To my wonderful reviewers Wolfhound159, megspazzy, ChristyLoisGilmore17 and DaisyDay.
Sitting on the top step of the basement stairs was none-too-comfortable for either of them but they stayed because of the tantalizing possibility of freedom. The pair listened as Tasha transitioned from the evening news to a B-rate comedy. It was truly disturbing how raucously a woman who was currently holding two people against their will could laugh.
With every second that ticked by Daniel wondered if he was only minutes away from confronting his own mortality head on. He tried to remain calm but the terror deep in the pit of his stomach would not subside. He glanced sidelong at Kate, remembering what he'd been on his way to tell her when he'd run into Tasha. A lump formed in his throat.
"You should tell her," his younger self, leaning up against the wall a few steps down, commented.
Daniel shook his head. It seemed as though whatever medication Tasha had given him had either worn off or hadn't been strong enough to begin with.
"Don't be stupid," his younger self berated "If you don't say something now you might never get the chance."
"Go away," Daniel muttered at his hallucination.
Kate glanced over at Daniel "Hmm?" she inquired, having been deep in thought.
"Nothing," Daniel assured her.
"No, not nothing!" his hallucination screamed "Tell her!"
Daniel glared at the younger version of himself, willing the pesky phantasm to leave, which of course he did not.
"Daniel, you need to be honest with yourself and with Kate," Daniel's jaw went slack when Natalie appeared directly in front of him, her hand on his knee "You love Kate."
"Of cours I do," Daniel replied "But Donnie's better for her. Being with me would just slowly suffocate her beautiful spirit," he hung his head as Natalie's hand moved from his knee to his cheek "I couldn't live with myself if that happened."
Natalie's sudden appearance had surprised and in a way delighted Daniel so much that he'd slipped into a conversation with her, forgetting for a brief moment that Kate was sitting right beside him. But a moment was all it took. Kate had been oddly transfixed by Daniel's body language as he interacted with someone she couldn't see when he began to speak softly to the invisible presence. The words made Kate's stomach do a somersault.
She reached out and touched Daniel's cheek. As Daniel became aware of Kate's touch Natalie leaned in and kissed him on the forehead "Goodbye Daniel," she smiled sweetly before fading away. Surprisingly, Daniel didn't stare longingly at the place where she had been. Instead he found himself staring into Kate Moretti's compassionate face.
"Shouldn't it be my choice who's better for me?" Kate asked.
Realizing he had been caught, Daniel tried to break eye contact with her but found it impossible "Kate..." he began.
Just then the pair became aware of the background noise of the television suddenly being cut off. They held their breaths as each strained to be able to track Tasha's movements through the house. When they heard feet on stairs above them they knew that the best time for their escape attempt was drawing near.
The minutes that passed seemed like hours. Finally Kate pulled herself to her feet. Daniel followed suit and they began figuring out the best position for Kate's kick to have maximum effect.
As they stood close together in the near darkness Kate leaned in and whispered "The second that door goes down we start moving."
Daniel nodded "I'll be right behind you," he assured.
"And Daniel," she added, leaning even closer, her lips either by accident or design he wasn't sure, ghosting across his cheek "We're going to have a long talk when we're out of here."
Not knowing what to say Daniel simply nodded again.
"On the count of three," Kate explained. Though she had recovered from the neuromuscular blocking drug she was sore and significantly weakened by Tasha's cruelty. As she inhaled deeply she just hoped she had enough strength left to bust down that door.
She felt Daniel's hand squeeze hers "Ready when you are," he whispered.
She could feel the confidence in his tone, the confidence he had in her. She drew strength from it as she began the count "One... Two... Three!"
The door splintered and came off its hinges. This was quickly followed by a loud crash as a large bookcase that had been sitting in front of the door and all its contents went tumbling to the floor. For the briefest of moments Daniel and Kate looked at each other. The next moment they were in motion.
Kate was first to clamber over the debris, her cuffed hand holding tight to Daniel's. They reached the front door far quicker than the first time. It opened easily but just as they stepped outside a screaming Tasha flung herself down the stairs after them. Neither Kate nor Daniel bother to look back as they fled down the street.
They passed house after darkened house with Tasha hot on their heels. As they rounded a corner Daniel slipped. He did his best to keep from falling but it was in vein. He ended up dragging Kate down on top of him just as a loud pop echoed through the silent streets.
"Shit," he heard Kate mutter. Daniel did his best to scramble to his feet but Kate held him in place "Stay low," she advised in what sounded like a pained voice. She began an awkward crawl along the gutter.
Daniel followed her lead even though the going was much too slow. He couldn't be sure how much ground Tasha had gained on them but every rustle in the bushes he imagined as being her. As they crawled Daniel became aware of Kate's pace growing gradually slower. He was about to ask her about it when another loud pop sounded from behind them. Daniel found himself pulled flush against the pavement by Kate.
"Are you hit?" she asked in a desperate whisper.
"No," Daniel assured her as he reached his free hand up to touch her shoulder. He was horrified when his hand came away covered in her blood.
Approaching footsteps cut his words short before they'd even formed in his mouth. In the glow of a street lamp he watched as Tasha Ogden strode closer. Wearing a nightgown and hair unkempt she wouldn't have appeared all that threatening were it not for the gun she held at the ready. Daniel had never wanted so badly for something not to be real. He blinked several times, repeating in his head that this couldn't be real.
But Tasha kept advancing on them and Kate's blood slowly oozed from the wound in her shoulder to soak into his shirt as she lay on top of him protectively. Tears pricked his eyes as he begged for this all to be a delusion. He had suffered a break with reality because of his conflicting emotions about Kate marrying Donnie. That had to be it. There was no other explanation because this could not be real.
But Tasha was standing over them now, seeming to take a sick pleasure in watching Daniel's misery.
"You're not real," he told her.
Kate lifted her head to look from Tasha to Daniel. She was about to say something when a loud siren pierced the silence and flashing lights cut through the darkness. A black and white police car pulled to an abrupt stop beside them. Two CPD uniformed officers jumped out, their guns pointed at Tasha.
"Drop your weapon!" one of the officers ordered.
Tasha complied after a fraction of a second and was soon taken into custody. She sat in the back of the police car watched closely by one of the officers while the other called for paramedics.
Kate swore to Daniel that her wound was superficial as the officer helped them to their feet. Daniel refused to take her word for it until he'd had a closer look at it for himself. With the aid of the flashlight app on the officet's phone he concluded that it was a mostly superficial wound.
The next few minutes moved by in a surreal daze for Daniel. Paramedics arrived and used bolt cutters to remove the handcuffs that had kept Kate and Daniel attached all day. Even as the paramedics began to treat them Kate insisted on remaining near Daniel. All the way to the hospital she whispered to him, held his hand and stroked his cheek.
"You alright?" she asked as they pulled into the ambulance bay.
Daniel inhaled sharply as one of the paramedics poured antiseptic on one of the more severe gouges left by Tasha's whip "Not really," he admitted, fear and anxiety still coursing through him. He managed a small smile as he squeezed her hand tight "But I will be."
At the hospita they were finally forced to separate. As a doctor sewed up her shoulder, Kate tried not to fidget. She wanted to get back to Daniel. He may have only been a few doors down the hall from where she was but the distance felt so much greater. There were still things they needed to talk about. Thinking of those things made her heart flutter and her stomach drop into her shoes at the same time. It was ironic that it took until her wedding day for her to get a glimpse of Daniel Pierce's true feelings.
After the doctor had finished patching her up one of the officers who had rescued them took her statement. Once that was done Kate made her way into the hall despite the doctor's orders that she try to get some rest. She had barely taken two steps into the hall when...
"Kate!" Donnie ran towards her, scooping her up in his arms and aggravating her injured shoulder in the process "Thank God you're okay."