Chapter Four
As Zander walked through the door to his room at Jake's, he got a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. He had never really been very good with instincts before, but he knew this was an instinct and that something was very wrong.
"Maybe I should call Elizabeth," he said to himself as he shut the door behind him. Then he shook his head. "I just left her. How could something be wrong? She was fine when I left." Still it didn't feel right. "I am just going to call her to tell her goodnight. I don't even have to tell her why I'm calling. I'll just call her studio and when I hear her voice I will know that everything's fine."
Zander threw his keys on his dresser and started walking towards his phone on the end-table by his bed, but before he could reach it, the phone rang. He eyed it suspiciously before picking me up.
"Zander? Oh thank god you are there," came a panicked voice.
"Gia? What's wrong?"
"It's Nikolas."
"What about him?"
"Well, we were kind of having this romantic moment and stuff and the power went out so he went to check on the fuse box, and he didn't come back. And it's been forty-five minutes. It's really dark here, and I opened the window and yelled out to him but he didn't answer, and I'm too scared to go out there by myself."
"Okay, okay. You're at the cottage, right?"
"Right."
"Okay, I'm coming to pick you up. Sit tight, I'll be there as fast as I can." Zander hung up quickly, grabbed his keys and started for the door. Suddenly remembering Elizabeth, he hesitated and turned back to the phone. "No, no. I have to go pick up Gia and then we'll swing by the studio."
Half an hour later, Zander and Gia were rushing down the hallway towards Elizabeth's studio. They turned around the corner and stopped dead in their tracks. The door to the studio was ajar, and glass was everywhere in the room. Elizabeth's painting was dripping with red paint, and on the floor there was a puddle of almost-dry paint. It was like blood. The sight gave Gia the creeps. "Oh my God," she whispered.
"Someone has them both," Zander stated. "Someone took both Elizabeth and Nikolas." Zander turned to Gia and they started directly into each other's wide eyes. "We have to find them."
*********
As Elizabeth came to, her head was spinning wildly. Her body was numb and cold. Her sides ached. She moaned, as she slowly flinched. Her body ached like hell. Her eyes slowly opened, even if it felt painful to do so. She blinked. Suddenly, her eyes were wide in alert. She immediately sat up, "Ow!" Elizabeth screamed, her body aching all over. Her hand immediately went to her head, as she felt a killer pain their. She placed her hands in her knees, trying to get the rush to stop. She gazed around her, and as she looked around, chills started going through her body. Fears came inside of her. Realization struck, as she felt confused by her surroundings. She had no idea where she was-or how she got there!
She immediately jumped up, yet as she stood up, every part of her wanted to fall back down to the ground, for she was so dizzy. She had to get up, figure out where she was. She took a few steps forward, struggling to balance herself. Elizabeth screamed suddenly, however, as she suddenly tripped over a large object, she fell to the floor. Fortunatly, her hands hit the floor first, protecting her face from being bashed into the floor. Yet, it still unbearably hurt falling. Feeling angry, she nervously turned around to look at what she had tripped over. She froze, when she realized that it wasn't something she had tripped over, but it was someone. She peered closer, and gasped as she realized who it was.
"Nikolas!" She panicked, she moved closer to him, ignoring the pain in her body, "What- how did you get here? Nikolas?!" Immediately she placed her ears above his heart, praying she could hear a heartbeat. She let out a sigh of relief as she heard one.
"Nikolas! Nikolas!" She kept repeating, frantic, "Nikolas!" She placed her hand on his forehead, but her hands leaped to his forehead, as she started shaking him desperately, "Nikolas! Nikolas! Wake up- PLEASE wake up! Come on! Oh, COME ON!" She was crying now, as she struggled to shake him, yet nothing seemed to work. She found a wall behind her, and collapsed in exhaustion on it. She screamed in terror. She was a wreck. Her body shaking, she wearily started to look around her. It was a small, dark, area, with walls closing in on her everywhere. There was what seemed like no light, and definitely no window.
There has to be a way out of here. The thought suddenly entered Elizabeth's mind. Using every ounce of strength she had, she stood up. Again ignoring how much pain she was in, she started moving around, feeling at the walls. She screamed as she banged against something. She started feeling furiously, only to be disappointed to realize they were shelves connected to the wall. She fumbled her way around the shelves, making her way to the wall next to it, but she soon wasn't feeling any walls. She froze for a second, yet noticed the wall just curved. She screamed as she bumped yet again to something... wait a minute! She felt a round a little more, as she suddenly realized what it was she had bumped into- stairs! Hope started to spread through her, as she bounded her way to the top of them, as fast as she could. The door stopped her, for she nearly banged into it. She anxiously started to reach for the doorknob, only to have her hopes brought down when she realized that it wouldn't budge!
"Come on," She pleaded, "Come on, open dang it!" she started kicking at the door, pounding at it, anything she could to somehow get it open, "NO! Please! Somebody, anybody!" She begged, yet it was useless. She screamed, as she fell against the door in a heap of tears. As she sat there, thoughts started pouring through her head... why was she here? Where was here? Why was the door locked? WHO did this? And WHY? Who in the world would want to take her and Nikolas?... NIKOLAS! She had completely forgotten after all the excitement of finding the staircase. She ran down the stairs, as fast as she could.
"Nikolas!" She shouted, running toward where she saw him before, "Nikolas!" And suddenly, she felt a hand tap her on the shoulder, causing her to scream. Frightened half to death, she jumped around, raising her arms, ready to hit whoever was behind her. She stopped halfway before she realized who was in front of her.
"Nikolas!" She exclaimed, in relief, as she saw him, awake and standing in front of her, "Oh, thank God-Nikolas!"
"Elizabeth," Nikolas gasped, she flew into his arms as he pulled her closer in surprise, "Elizabeth where are we? Are you all right?" he turned to look into her eyes, worry written all over his eyes.
"I don't know," Elizabeth went shakingly, her eyes wide, "I was in my studio, someone came in broke down and grabbed me there... I tried to break free, but he was so strong... the next thing I knew, I woke up in here. Then I found you next to me but you weren't awake yet... what about you? Did they hurt you?" She asked in concern, she immediately brought her hand to his forehead.
"I'm okay," Nikolas assured her. "My head just hurts like hell, that's all."
Elizabeth nodded, she suddenly started asking questions, "Where did they grab you at? Did you see who it was? God, Nikolas! Who would something like this to us? To the both of us? WHO?"
"They grabbed me at home," Nikolas frowned, "I have no clue who grabbed me though, they knocked me out from behind... I went to check the fuse box for Gia and suddenly it happened."
Elizabeth kept shaking her head, "I just don't get this Nikolas, I don't. Why did this happen? Who did this? I'm going crazy not knowing!"
"I have not a clue," Nikolas sighed in frustration, "But whoever did this sure is one sick..." At that moment, the door swung open. Nikolas & Elizabeth both jumped in fright, Nikolas immediately pulled Elizabeth closer to him, tightly, he knew he would do whatever he could to protect her. With fear in their eyes, they both looked up-
They both froze dead in their tracks the second they laid eyes on their captor, "Oh God," Elizabeth trembled, clutching Nikolas' hand as tightly as she could. Oh God. this was not happening... her worst nightmare was not coming true, was not looking directly at them, was not walking straight toward them... and suddenly, he was at the bottom of the fright, both afraid to move.
"Well, well," Tom Baker sneered, he then pulled a gun out from his pocket, and pointed it directly at Elizabeth. "We finally meet again, my beautiful one."
As Zander walked through the door to his room at Jake's, he got a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. He had never really been very good with instincts before, but he knew this was an instinct and that something was very wrong.
"Maybe I should call Elizabeth," he said to himself as he shut the door behind him. Then he shook his head. "I just left her. How could something be wrong? She was fine when I left." Still it didn't feel right. "I am just going to call her to tell her goodnight. I don't even have to tell her why I'm calling. I'll just call her studio and when I hear her voice I will know that everything's fine."
Zander threw his keys on his dresser and started walking towards his phone on the end-table by his bed, but before he could reach it, the phone rang. He eyed it suspiciously before picking me up.
"Zander? Oh thank god you are there," came a panicked voice.
"Gia? What's wrong?"
"It's Nikolas."
"What about him?"
"Well, we were kind of having this romantic moment and stuff and the power went out so he went to check on the fuse box, and he didn't come back. And it's been forty-five minutes. It's really dark here, and I opened the window and yelled out to him but he didn't answer, and I'm too scared to go out there by myself."
"Okay, okay. You're at the cottage, right?"
"Right."
"Okay, I'm coming to pick you up. Sit tight, I'll be there as fast as I can." Zander hung up quickly, grabbed his keys and started for the door. Suddenly remembering Elizabeth, he hesitated and turned back to the phone. "No, no. I have to go pick up Gia and then we'll swing by the studio."
Half an hour later, Zander and Gia were rushing down the hallway towards Elizabeth's studio. They turned around the corner and stopped dead in their tracks. The door to the studio was ajar, and glass was everywhere in the room. Elizabeth's painting was dripping with red paint, and on the floor there was a puddle of almost-dry paint. It was like blood. The sight gave Gia the creeps. "Oh my God," she whispered.
"Someone has them both," Zander stated. "Someone took both Elizabeth and Nikolas." Zander turned to Gia and they started directly into each other's wide eyes. "We have to find them."
*********
As Elizabeth came to, her head was spinning wildly. Her body was numb and cold. Her sides ached. She moaned, as she slowly flinched. Her body ached like hell. Her eyes slowly opened, even if it felt painful to do so. She blinked. Suddenly, her eyes were wide in alert. She immediately sat up, "Ow!" Elizabeth screamed, her body aching all over. Her hand immediately went to her head, as she felt a killer pain their. She placed her hands in her knees, trying to get the rush to stop. She gazed around her, and as she looked around, chills started going through her body. Fears came inside of her. Realization struck, as she felt confused by her surroundings. She had no idea where she was-or how she got there!
She immediately jumped up, yet as she stood up, every part of her wanted to fall back down to the ground, for she was so dizzy. She had to get up, figure out where she was. She took a few steps forward, struggling to balance herself. Elizabeth screamed suddenly, however, as she suddenly tripped over a large object, she fell to the floor. Fortunatly, her hands hit the floor first, protecting her face from being bashed into the floor. Yet, it still unbearably hurt falling. Feeling angry, she nervously turned around to look at what she had tripped over. She froze, when she realized that it wasn't something she had tripped over, but it was someone. She peered closer, and gasped as she realized who it was.
"Nikolas!" She panicked, she moved closer to him, ignoring the pain in her body, "What- how did you get here? Nikolas?!" Immediately she placed her ears above his heart, praying she could hear a heartbeat. She let out a sigh of relief as she heard one.
"Nikolas! Nikolas!" She kept repeating, frantic, "Nikolas!" She placed her hand on his forehead, but her hands leaped to his forehead, as she started shaking him desperately, "Nikolas! Nikolas! Wake up- PLEASE wake up! Come on! Oh, COME ON!" She was crying now, as she struggled to shake him, yet nothing seemed to work. She found a wall behind her, and collapsed in exhaustion on it. She screamed in terror. She was a wreck. Her body shaking, she wearily started to look around her. It was a small, dark, area, with walls closing in on her everywhere. There was what seemed like no light, and definitely no window.
There has to be a way out of here. The thought suddenly entered Elizabeth's mind. Using every ounce of strength she had, she stood up. Again ignoring how much pain she was in, she started moving around, feeling at the walls. She screamed as she banged against something. She started feeling furiously, only to be disappointed to realize they were shelves connected to the wall. She fumbled her way around the shelves, making her way to the wall next to it, but she soon wasn't feeling any walls. She froze for a second, yet noticed the wall just curved. She screamed as she bumped yet again to something... wait a minute! She felt a round a little more, as she suddenly realized what it was she had bumped into- stairs! Hope started to spread through her, as she bounded her way to the top of them, as fast as she could. The door stopped her, for she nearly banged into it. She anxiously started to reach for the doorknob, only to have her hopes brought down when she realized that it wouldn't budge!
"Come on," She pleaded, "Come on, open dang it!" she started kicking at the door, pounding at it, anything she could to somehow get it open, "NO! Please! Somebody, anybody!" She begged, yet it was useless. She screamed, as she fell against the door in a heap of tears. As she sat there, thoughts started pouring through her head... why was she here? Where was here? Why was the door locked? WHO did this? And WHY? Who in the world would want to take her and Nikolas?... NIKOLAS! She had completely forgotten after all the excitement of finding the staircase. She ran down the stairs, as fast as she could.
"Nikolas!" She shouted, running toward where she saw him before, "Nikolas!" And suddenly, she felt a hand tap her on the shoulder, causing her to scream. Frightened half to death, she jumped around, raising her arms, ready to hit whoever was behind her. She stopped halfway before she realized who was in front of her.
"Nikolas!" She exclaimed, in relief, as she saw him, awake and standing in front of her, "Oh, thank God-Nikolas!"
"Elizabeth," Nikolas gasped, she flew into his arms as he pulled her closer in surprise, "Elizabeth where are we? Are you all right?" he turned to look into her eyes, worry written all over his eyes.
"I don't know," Elizabeth went shakingly, her eyes wide, "I was in my studio, someone came in broke down and grabbed me there... I tried to break free, but he was so strong... the next thing I knew, I woke up in here. Then I found you next to me but you weren't awake yet... what about you? Did they hurt you?" She asked in concern, she immediately brought her hand to his forehead.
"I'm okay," Nikolas assured her. "My head just hurts like hell, that's all."
Elizabeth nodded, she suddenly started asking questions, "Where did they grab you at? Did you see who it was? God, Nikolas! Who would something like this to us? To the both of us? WHO?"
"They grabbed me at home," Nikolas frowned, "I have no clue who grabbed me though, they knocked me out from behind... I went to check the fuse box for Gia and suddenly it happened."
Elizabeth kept shaking her head, "I just don't get this Nikolas, I don't. Why did this happen? Who did this? I'm going crazy not knowing!"
"I have not a clue," Nikolas sighed in frustration, "But whoever did this sure is one sick..." At that moment, the door swung open. Nikolas & Elizabeth both jumped in fright, Nikolas immediately pulled Elizabeth closer to him, tightly, he knew he would do whatever he could to protect her. With fear in their eyes, they both looked up-
They both froze dead in their tracks the second they laid eyes on their captor, "Oh God," Elizabeth trembled, clutching Nikolas' hand as tightly as she could. Oh God. this was not happening... her worst nightmare was not coming true, was not looking directly at them, was not walking straight toward them... and suddenly, he was at the bottom of the fright, both afraid to move.
"Well, well," Tom Baker sneered, he then pulled a gun out from his pocket, and pointed it directly at Elizabeth. "We finally meet again, my beautiful one."