12:15 am

"Ash, wake up," a familiar voice whispered frantically. Ashlyn's eyesight was blurred. She couldn't focus on anything. She wondered if the night's events had been just a dream, but the pounding headache told her otherwise.

Ashlyn's eyesight was blurred, but all her other senses worked perfectly. Her wrists were being rubbed raw by rope. The rope secured her wrist behind her back, and she sat in a chair. The cord wrapped around her to bind her to the chair. She registered the voice as E.J's, and she guessed he was in a similar position.

Ashlyn's vision eventually cleared up. Her head was still pounding. She noticed that E.J had a pretty big black eye. "You okay?" Ashlyn asked.

"I'm fine," E.J responded. "I took a singular swing to the eye before they realized chloroform would work better."

"They ragged you?" Ashlyn asked. "How did they manage that?"

"They had someone waiting with a rag," E.J said. "Are you okay? You looked pretty out of it when they dragged you in."

"I will be," Ashlyn responded. "I got hit with a bat instead."

"I'm going to kill them," E.J swore.

"There will be time for that later," Ashlyn said. "Let's focus on getting out."

The door swung open. A man entered, smirking at his two hostages. "Perfect," he said. Ashlyn recognized that voice. It was the man with the gun. "Such pretty kids."

The man grabbed Ashlyn's face. "It's going to suck ruining such pretty faces," he said. With the bit of courage, she could muster, she spat in his face. The victory was short-lived. The man kicked her in the ribs.

E.J tried to break up the ropes. "Don't fret," he responded. "You'll both be dead soon enough. You both come from wealthy upbringings. You probably haven't gone a day without some form of luxury. You don't care about who your parents had to step on to become rich. Well, now you will."

Ashlyn and E.J shared a look. Their parents weren't the best people, and they had seen it firsthand. There's a reason Ashlyn hasn't told them that Maddox isn't just a new friend. They didn't know how far that went, though. "We're about to head to a second location," the man said. "The police are already on our tails. I want to leave a little something."

He pulled out a knife. The man approached E.J. "Close your eyes," E.J instructed. Ashlyn couldn't close her eyes. She knew if she did, darkness would overtake her. She had to watch as the knife made contact with E.J's skin. He carved out a piece. Blood began to stream down his arm. Ashlyn felt like she was about to throw up.

Ashlyn had already succumbed to darkness by the time it was her turn.