A/N: Please don't kill me!! **ducks to avoid sharp flying objects** I'm really sorry this took me so long, I had vacation and lately I've had tons of homework, not to mention the fat that I wrote this entire chapter and then forgot to save it, thereby deleting the entire thing (it was on a school computer, so it didn't do that whole 'rescue' dealiyo). Anyways, I know it's kind of short, but that's only because I (of course) needed to leave you all with an adequately good cliffhanger.
~*The Undoing of the Mediator*~
Chapter 12: Goodbye Earl
Dedicated to all my faithful reviewers!!
When I got up my head hurt like no other. It was as if someone was hammering nails into it over and over. When I reached to rub it though, I realized that my arms were tied together, around some kind of metal pole. I tried my legs, but was unfortunate enough to find out that they, too were tied together. I stared around the seemingly small room I was in, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness. I was in the middle of the room, and to the left and right of me there were uncomfortable-looking couches and this fold-up table in the middle. The doorway was in front of me, only instead of being at room level, there were stairs leading up to the night sky that was just barely visible. There was some sort of stove next to the stairs and a small refrigerator. There was no mistaking where I was, I was in a boat.
The loud humming noise of an engine roared under my feet, and it made my headache ten times worse. The floor was slightly vibrating and every once and awhile the boat would lurch forward, due to what I'm assuming to be waves.
I closed my mind to see if I could remember how I got myself into yet another sticky situation. I mean, seriously! How many times does a girl have to deal with psychopathic killers who tie their victims to a pole inside a boat?
As I was standing there, the memories came flooding back to me. Jesse………I could see him again! But then, wait! Then I blacked out? Typical. All a girl wants in life is to see her boyfriend, but the aforementioned psychopathic killers always have to ruin it.
Suddenly I heard the engine cut and footsteps echo above my head. They started down towards the entrance to the cabin, and I braced myself for whatever was coming.
A foot………and a knee………and another foot………a torso……….and finally my captor was revealed to me, and it was the last person in the world I hoped it to be. Not to say that I didn't really expect it, I just was hoping that it was someone who knew me less, and didn't share my cursed talent for seeing ghosts. Because this guy scared me like nothing else, as proved by my almost nightly nightmares.
Paul finished climbing down the steps and stopped about three feet in front of me, blocking the moonlight and running a hand through his brown curls. He came closer to me and whispered seductively in my ear, "I didn't want to have to do this, Susannah. But you and that cowboy Jesse leave me with no choice. No need to worry about him, though. He will be long gone by the time I've even started on you."
Then he smiled.
Only crazy people talk about murder and smile, and I had no doubts about the state of this guy's sanity.
I looked at him straight in the eye and said, "Untie me, Paul, or I'll kick your butt from here to kingdom come", trying unsuccessfully to cover the shakiness in my voice.
"Now why would I want to do that, Suze? It would ruin all the fun!" He laughed again. He took a step closer to me, and lifted a tan hand, slowly gliding a finger along my cheek. "It's too bad you didn't listen to me, Suze. Jesse wouldn't be fending for his immortal soul at the moment, and you wouldn't be fending for your life. Things would be perfect, and we would be together, the greatest Shifters that ever lived."
"You're crazy!" I yelled, lunging at him in vain with all my might. My binding dug into my wrists and ankles, but I didn't really notice it. "What are you doing to Jesse?" I practically screamed into his face.
If my screams did break his eardrums, which they should've, he didn't say anything. He simply looked at me in amusement. "You look so sexy when you're mad," he said, that wicked grin plastered on his face again. He moved in closer, leaning down, and placed another of those bone-rattling kisses on my lips. I can't even believe that I had *ever* kissed this guy back! With that thought I bit down on his lower lip, hard. With jumped back and I saw blood steaming down his chin. How very much I wished with all my might to smash his face in. I cracked my knuckles behind my back in agitation and anger, spitting on the floor simultaneously, trying to get rid of that kiss.
He touched his lip with a calm finger, and looked at the blood in surprise. "Don't be like that, Suze. I really don't want to hurt you. If only you'd cooperate with me, things would run more smoothly and the world would be perfect. You know I hate losing, and well, there's no way I'm going to lose this one." He ran a finger down my cheek and I turned my head away from him in disgust.
"Now, now Suzie. You know that won't bring Jesse back from eternal damnation," he said, not lifting his hand from my cheek. That was the last straw. No one sentences Jesse to eternal damnation and gets away with it. I tore my hands out of the ropes, not caring that I ripped the skin in the process and punched him in the face with all my might.
"That's for Jesse!" I yelled in his face. While he was recovering I tore the ropes off from around my ankles. When I looked up, he was coming at me with murder in his dark eyes. Without another thought, I jumped him and we both fell to the floor. After many punches and swearing, his hands closed around my neck. I struggled, gasping for air and trying to get out from under his 200 lb. body. He let go with one hand, but you know the bad thing about huge guys? They have huge hands. Like, one is big enough to strangle someone with. So one of his hands was clamped around my neck and the other reached into his pocket. Still gasping for air I watched in horror as he pulled out a very long and very pointy knife. It was even bigger than the one that skank Maria had use don me. I became very still as he slowly glided his hand holding the knife towards my throat. He held it there, and leaned in to whisper quietly in my ear. "Just remember that you brought this upon yourself, Suze. I really don't want to have to do this, but goodbye," he muttered.
A crash resounded somewhere above us and Paul was roughly pulled off of me. Paul looked up at the intruder in complete shock, lost for words.
"I don't think so, Paul," said Jesse murderously.
A/N: Chapter 12 complete………and the fic is winding down to an end =o(. By the way, don't shoot me if there are mistakes in this chappie, I haven't really had time to revise it. Hey ya'll I'm almost at 100 reviews! You're so incredible! Thanks to everyone who reviewed my last chappie! Sorry I can't list you all, but you're AMAZING AND I LOVE YOU TO DEATH!!!**Happy dance**