Eve sat on the park bench feeling the winds whip up around her as an air of discontent filled her up inside. Now as she looked around the quiet park watching the day slip away, she wondered if Chris was right about the things he'd told her earlier. While he'd promised that somehow things would be better, she was still having her doubts as Henry's latest phone call filled her mind up once again with worries.
"Be there on the bench at six and not a minute late because if you are, I swear to you that you'll never see Sarah again," Henry had warned her promising that if she didn't follow his instructions to a tee that he would find a way to destroy her life.
Even now as she thought of his outrageous request, she wished that somehow there was some other alternative. He'd insisted she wait for him in the park where he would pick her up and take her back with him where she belonged and only then would she and Sarah be reunited once he was certain she wouldn't be leaving him once again. The plan was for Eve to go with Henry when he arrived with Chris, Kevin and Jack tailing them as Victor's contacts in New York would bust in and put an end to the nightmare taking place as soon as she and Sarah reconnected. It seemed like the perfect plan, except for the fact Eve felt it was too much of a risk. There was far too much riding on Henry's not being wise to what Chris was doing and given that he'd already been a step ahead of them, she was beginning to wonder if she'd have the strength to pull something like this off, but when she thought of her precious daughter she knew she had to try.
"Six fifteen," she whispered to herself realizing Henry was late as she could feel the weight of Chris's eyes upon her from across the park. Despite the fact they'd bickered on what to do in this situation, she suddenly felt safer in having him near her. Even now she knew that they had far too much to talk about in such short time, but she just prayed that somehow they could get back to that family they'd dreamt about in the past with one another.
"I'm right here with you," she heard a voice whisper as she looked up over her shoulder to see a city worker reaching into one of the trash bins beside her.
"Chris," she gasped unable to believe the bold move on his part as her eyes widened in surprise.
"Don't look at me," he urged her as Eve sat straighter looking forward out into the park once again, "I don't want to tip Henry off, but I couldn't just leave you hanging."
"You really shouldn't be out here right now this close to me," Eve offered up again as her stomach was tied in knots, "If he's seen you…"
"Eve, I don't think he's coming," Chris replied with a sigh, "If he meant what he said on the phone, then he would've been here fifteen minutes ago."
"Chris we have to wait. If he's running behind and…" she began again trying to pretend that she wasn't having a conversation with him.
"Eve, he's playing another game with us. This is part of the thrill for him," Chris explained pretending to sift through the trash bin before him, "I just have a bad feeling about this Eve."
"This all has a bad feel to it, but it's Sarah's life," Eve answered quickly feeling the winds pick up around her as a breath escaped her lips, "I can't risk it by jumping the gun."
"I know that, but…" Chris started once again.
"Chris, someone's coming," Eve whispered watching as a tall man in a black trench coat began approaching her. His head was masked by the dark hat he was wearing as his face was tipped down to the ground avoiding any possible contact or identification from those around him as Eve's pulse raced in her chest.
"I'll go, but I swear if he does anything…" Chris began again.
"Chris please," Eve begged of him hearing him shuffle off as she wondered if the man before her was the same monster that had tortured her over the last few years, but before her panic could get the best of her the man stopped right in front of her bringing an end to the questions running through her head as she found herself face to face with unfamiliar eyes.
"Mrs. Ramsey," the man questioned as Eve realized that he looked not a day over twenty as his very blue eyes connected with hers.
"Yes," she questioned a lump forming in her throat as he reached into his pocket pulling out an envelope and handing it to her.
"I was supposed to give you this," he explained quickly taking off as Eve's hands began to shake upon accepting the envelope in her hands. Pulling all of her strength together, she tore open the envelope fearing what could be inside as her heart thudded in her chest and as her eyes fell upon it's contents, she realized what she had to do.
******************
"What's going on," Chris grumbled watching the man interact with Eve as he tried to see if it was Henry, but as the man walked away after giving Eve something, he was even more puzzled by what was taking place.
"What's he doing?" Kevin questioned over his shoulder as Eve rose up from the park bench looking around the park for a moment before turning away from the two of them and heading out of the park.
"I don't know, but I'm not going to stay back here and wait to find out," Chris decided taking a step forward as Kevin reached for his arm.
"We have the tracking device in her purse," Kevin reminded him.
"I still think he's going to be ready for something like that and I'm not taking any chances," Chris announced pushing his way past Kevin as he chased after Eve refusing to let her out of his sight.
"Your brother's going to blow this," Kevin sneered at Jack as Jack shook his head in response watching his brother chase after Eve.
"Can you blame him?" Jack questioned with a huff, "It's the woman he loves and his daughter we're talking about here. I'm sure you wouldn't be any different…"
"No, you're right I wouldn't," Kevin decided with an afterthought, "but if this man's as evil as you say he is, Chris is going to need more back up than what he has going for him by running off like that. Come on. Let's get a move on it."
"Right after you," Jack nodded as the two of them chased after Chris hoping that somehow they could find a way to gain the upper hand in the situation as Henry was leading them all on what felt like a wild goose chase.
********************
Eve's breath pooled out before her in what felt like a cloud of smoke as a chill hung in the air mixed with the dampness of the impending evening as she looked to the thick, iron gate before her. While she'd been so certain she was prepared for what was ahead of her, the note she'd received only reconfirmed her fears as she prayed that Henry hadn't done something horrible to Sarah. His cryptic letter had contained pictures from her night with Chris as he'd had no problem letting her know that he was well aware of every move she'd made since he'd tried to kill her. Now as she pushed open the gate to the old, broken down abandoned theme park, she felt her heart pounding furiously inside of her as this place was frightening in itself. Surely whatever Henry had planned, he'd thought this one out well as he'd made certain he'd find a way to get her alone out of Chris's line of vision before he struck. Eve just feared that once he came out of hiding that things would take a turn for the worse.
Hearing a squeaking sound from behind her, Eve spun around with a gasp expecting Henry to leap up from the shadows, but instead she noticed a broken wind chime dangling just above her head as she placed her hand over her chest. She kept walking in towards the bird house as instructed and as she followed the path, she rubbed her hands over her arms trying to dispel the chill that had overtaken her. It was now or never and as the bird house came into sight, she just prayed that whatever happened Sarah would be safe.
"Please find us Chris," Eve whispered as she reached out to open the creaking door to the birdhouse as she feared that Henry would take her and Sarah far away from the world she'd fought so hard to return to, or worse as she thought of how he'd tried to kill her once already. Still, as Eve's thoughts were consumed by the daughter she'd fought so hard to protect, she took the first step into darkness through the blackness before her and into the unknown as she said a silent prayer that her daughter would be alright.
********************
"Where are you going," Chris frowned standing at the threshold of the zoo as he found himself wondering just what kind of game Henry was playing with them. He looked around the zoo for any signs of life, but as the emptiness surrounded him, Chris began to wonder if he'd been too slow on following her--if somehow Henry had managed to find a way to snag Eve up without Chris being able to stop it.
"No," Chris tried to dispel the feelings of worry that consumed him as she made his way into the zoo seeking out any signs of Eve. His eyes searched the place frantically until he heard a sound of something slamming in the distance and he raced off following the noise as the he noticed the door to the ancient looking bird house was swinging with the wind.
Unable to think about anything, but finding Eve and keeping her safe, Chris rushed inside immediately surrounded by a deafening blackness as his arms reached out for the walls that surrounded him. While this place had clearly been empty for a long time, there was a musty scent that surrounded him and a floral fragrance that seemed to be tossed into the mix as well as Chris kept moving forward. He could feel the ground loose beneath his feet as he strained to hear something, anything more than the furious pounding of his heart, but he was met by an uncomfortable silence as he fought the urge to call out to Eve and locate her.
A few feet further into the bird house, Chris was granted some hints of light as cracks in the ceiling had brought in some of the sun's fading rays at long last, but before his eyes could completely adjust to what was before him, he saw something hunched over in the far corner of the room before him. He blinked once, twice before it began to register as he realized it looked like Eve's purse.
"No," he gasped rushing forward as his eyes focused more clearly on the discarded purse. Kneeling down beside it, he felt his fears consume him as he realized he'd been too late. He'd come far too close to have it all slip away and he brought the purse up into his hand, he felt his heart sink with despair as it seemed Henry had once again outsmarted him, but before he could lose himself to the misery of the moment, he heard another sound from the distance.
"Is someone there…" a small voice sounded as Chris rose to his feet again, "Is anyone here…"
Chris followed the source of the sound as he walked down a narrow hallway and as the silence fell upon him once again, his eyes came into contact with Eve as she huddled down on her knees holding onto something as her back was turned to him.
"Thank God," she cried out choked up on emotion as Chris moved forward and for the first time he saw the tiny pair of arms wrapped around Eve's shoulders.
"Mommy," a small child sobbed as Eve pulled her more completely into her arms, "mommy, what's going on…"
"You're safe now," Eve promised hugging her daughter closer to her as she heard the footsteps behind her. Seconds later she spun around on the defense ready to take on the person behind her, but when Chris stepped out of the shadows, a breath of relief escaped her lips as she rushed over to him holding Sarah as if she'd never let go.
"Eve," Chris began at a loss as he looked to the dark haired child in her arms, "Eve is she…"
"She's okay," Eve explained tearfully, "She's really okay."
"Mommy, where are we," Sarah questioned in confusion as she pulled her eyes out from where she'd been hiding them behind Eve's jacket.
"We're safe now," Eve kissed the top of her head gently as she squeezed her arms around her daughter more completely, "We're going to be okay because now we're with your daddy."
"My daddy," Sarah's brown eyes widened as she looked around the room curiously, "Where is he?"
"He's right over there," Eve nodded in Chris's direction unable to contain her tears as Sarah's big eyes widened and she slowly shifted in Eve's arms to eye Chris with heavy scrutiny before she turned to Eve again bringing her tiny lips up to Eve's ear and whispering before Eve nodded.
Sarah watched Eve for a long moment before bashfully turning to look at Chris once again as her lip curled in a pout, "If you're really my daddy, can we just go home now? I'm hungry…"
"Of course we can," Chris replied with a smile unable to contain the surprise and amazement he'd felt in seeing the little girl in Eve's arms. There was so much running through his mind, but as he could see himself reflected in Sarah's dark eyes, all that mattered was the family he had before him as he reached out to Eve pulling the both of them into an embrace as suddenly everything in his world changed as he was not only with the woman he loved, but his long lost daughter as well. Tears clouded his vision as he had so many questions, but for now all that mattered was that they were safe in his arms and the rest could be dealt with later as Sarah was finally home where she belonged.
"Be there on the bench at six and not a minute late because if you are, I swear to you that you'll never see Sarah again," Henry had warned her promising that if she didn't follow his instructions to a tee that he would find a way to destroy her life.
Even now as she thought of his outrageous request, she wished that somehow there was some other alternative. He'd insisted she wait for him in the park where he would pick her up and take her back with him where she belonged and only then would she and Sarah be reunited once he was certain she wouldn't be leaving him once again. The plan was for Eve to go with Henry when he arrived with Chris, Kevin and Jack tailing them as Victor's contacts in New York would bust in and put an end to the nightmare taking place as soon as she and Sarah reconnected. It seemed like the perfect plan, except for the fact Eve felt it was too much of a risk. There was far too much riding on Henry's not being wise to what Chris was doing and given that he'd already been a step ahead of them, she was beginning to wonder if she'd have the strength to pull something like this off, but when she thought of her precious daughter she knew she had to try.
"Six fifteen," she whispered to herself realizing Henry was late as she could feel the weight of Chris's eyes upon her from across the park. Despite the fact they'd bickered on what to do in this situation, she suddenly felt safer in having him near her. Even now she knew that they had far too much to talk about in such short time, but she just prayed that somehow they could get back to that family they'd dreamt about in the past with one another.
"I'm right here with you," she heard a voice whisper as she looked up over her shoulder to see a city worker reaching into one of the trash bins beside her.
"Chris," she gasped unable to believe the bold move on his part as her eyes widened in surprise.
"Don't look at me," he urged her as Eve sat straighter looking forward out into the park once again, "I don't want to tip Henry off, but I couldn't just leave you hanging."
"You really shouldn't be out here right now this close to me," Eve offered up again as her stomach was tied in knots, "If he's seen you…"
"Eve, I don't think he's coming," Chris replied with a sigh, "If he meant what he said on the phone, then he would've been here fifteen minutes ago."
"Chris we have to wait. If he's running behind and…" she began again trying to pretend that she wasn't having a conversation with him.
"Eve, he's playing another game with us. This is part of the thrill for him," Chris explained pretending to sift through the trash bin before him, "I just have a bad feeling about this Eve."
"This all has a bad feel to it, but it's Sarah's life," Eve answered quickly feeling the winds pick up around her as a breath escaped her lips, "I can't risk it by jumping the gun."
"I know that, but…" Chris started once again.
"Chris, someone's coming," Eve whispered watching as a tall man in a black trench coat began approaching her. His head was masked by the dark hat he was wearing as his face was tipped down to the ground avoiding any possible contact or identification from those around him as Eve's pulse raced in her chest.
"I'll go, but I swear if he does anything…" Chris began again.
"Chris please," Eve begged of him hearing him shuffle off as she wondered if the man before her was the same monster that had tortured her over the last few years, but before her panic could get the best of her the man stopped right in front of her bringing an end to the questions running through her head as she found herself face to face with unfamiliar eyes.
"Mrs. Ramsey," the man questioned as Eve realized that he looked not a day over twenty as his very blue eyes connected with hers.
"Yes," she questioned a lump forming in her throat as he reached into his pocket pulling out an envelope and handing it to her.
"I was supposed to give you this," he explained quickly taking off as Eve's hands began to shake upon accepting the envelope in her hands. Pulling all of her strength together, she tore open the envelope fearing what could be inside as her heart thudded in her chest and as her eyes fell upon it's contents, she realized what she had to do.
******************
"What's going on," Chris grumbled watching the man interact with Eve as he tried to see if it was Henry, but as the man walked away after giving Eve something, he was even more puzzled by what was taking place.
"What's he doing?" Kevin questioned over his shoulder as Eve rose up from the park bench looking around the park for a moment before turning away from the two of them and heading out of the park.
"I don't know, but I'm not going to stay back here and wait to find out," Chris decided taking a step forward as Kevin reached for his arm.
"We have the tracking device in her purse," Kevin reminded him.
"I still think he's going to be ready for something like that and I'm not taking any chances," Chris announced pushing his way past Kevin as he chased after Eve refusing to let her out of his sight.
"Your brother's going to blow this," Kevin sneered at Jack as Jack shook his head in response watching his brother chase after Eve.
"Can you blame him?" Jack questioned with a huff, "It's the woman he loves and his daughter we're talking about here. I'm sure you wouldn't be any different…"
"No, you're right I wouldn't," Kevin decided with an afterthought, "but if this man's as evil as you say he is, Chris is going to need more back up than what he has going for him by running off like that. Come on. Let's get a move on it."
"Right after you," Jack nodded as the two of them chased after Chris hoping that somehow they could find a way to gain the upper hand in the situation as Henry was leading them all on what felt like a wild goose chase.
********************
Eve's breath pooled out before her in what felt like a cloud of smoke as a chill hung in the air mixed with the dampness of the impending evening as she looked to the thick, iron gate before her. While she'd been so certain she was prepared for what was ahead of her, the note she'd received only reconfirmed her fears as she prayed that Henry hadn't done something horrible to Sarah. His cryptic letter had contained pictures from her night with Chris as he'd had no problem letting her know that he was well aware of every move she'd made since he'd tried to kill her. Now as she pushed open the gate to the old, broken down abandoned theme park, she felt her heart pounding furiously inside of her as this place was frightening in itself. Surely whatever Henry had planned, he'd thought this one out well as he'd made certain he'd find a way to get her alone out of Chris's line of vision before he struck. Eve just feared that once he came out of hiding that things would take a turn for the worse.
Hearing a squeaking sound from behind her, Eve spun around with a gasp expecting Henry to leap up from the shadows, but instead she noticed a broken wind chime dangling just above her head as she placed her hand over her chest. She kept walking in towards the bird house as instructed and as she followed the path, she rubbed her hands over her arms trying to dispel the chill that had overtaken her. It was now or never and as the bird house came into sight, she just prayed that whatever happened Sarah would be safe.
"Please find us Chris," Eve whispered as she reached out to open the creaking door to the birdhouse as she feared that Henry would take her and Sarah far away from the world she'd fought so hard to return to, or worse as she thought of how he'd tried to kill her once already. Still, as Eve's thoughts were consumed by the daughter she'd fought so hard to protect, she took the first step into darkness through the blackness before her and into the unknown as she said a silent prayer that her daughter would be alright.
********************
"Where are you going," Chris frowned standing at the threshold of the zoo as he found himself wondering just what kind of game Henry was playing with them. He looked around the zoo for any signs of life, but as the emptiness surrounded him, Chris began to wonder if he'd been too slow on following her--if somehow Henry had managed to find a way to snag Eve up without Chris being able to stop it.
"No," Chris tried to dispel the feelings of worry that consumed him as she made his way into the zoo seeking out any signs of Eve. His eyes searched the place frantically until he heard a sound of something slamming in the distance and he raced off following the noise as the he noticed the door to the ancient looking bird house was swinging with the wind.
Unable to think about anything, but finding Eve and keeping her safe, Chris rushed inside immediately surrounded by a deafening blackness as his arms reached out for the walls that surrounded him. While this place had clearly been empty for a long time, there was a musty scent that surrounded him and a floral fragrance that seemed to be tossed into the mix as well as Chris kept moving forward. He could feel the ground loose beneath his feet as he strained to hear something, anything more than the furious pounding of his heart, but he was met by an uncomfortable silence as he fought the urge to call out to Eve and locate her.
A few feet further into the bird house, Chris was granted some hints of light as cracks in the ceiling had brought in some of the sun's fading rays at long last, but before his eyes could completely adjust to what was before him, he saw something hunched over in the far corner of the room before him. He blinked once, twice before it began to register as he realized it looked like Eve's purse.
"No," he gasped rushing forward as his eyes focused more clearly on the discarded purse. Kneeling down beside it, he felt his fears consume him as he realized he'd been too late. He'd come far too close to have it all slip away and he brought the purse up into his hand, he felt his heart sink with despair as it seemed Henry had once again outsmarted him, but before he could lose himself to the misery of the moment, he heard another sound from the distance.
"Is someone there…" a small voice sounded as Chris rose to his feet again, "Is anyone here…"
Chris followed the source of the sound as he walked down a narrow hallway and as the silence fell upon him once again, his eyes came into contact with Eve as she huddled down on her knees holding onto something as her back was turned to him.
"Thank God," she cried out choked up on emotion as Chris moved forward and for the first time he saw the tiny pair of arms wrapped around Eve's shoulders.
"Mommy," a small child sobbed as Eve pulled her more completely into her arms, "mommy, what's going on…"
"You're safe now," Eve promised hugging her daughter closer to her as she heard the footsteps behind her. Seconds later she spun around on the defense ready to take on the person behind her, but when Chris stepped out of the shadows, a breath of relief escaped her lips as she rushed over to him holding Sarah as if she'd never let go.
"Eve," Chris began at a loss as he looked to the dark haired child in her arms, "Eve is she…"
"She's okay," Eve explained tearfully, "She's really okay."
"Mommy, where are we," Sarah questioned in confusion as she pulled her eyes out from where she'd been hiding them behind Eve's jacket.
"We're safe now," Eve kissed the top of her head gently as she squeezed her arms around her daughter more completely, "We're going to be okay because now we're with your daddy."
"My daddy," Sarah's brown eyes widened as she looked around the room curiously, "Where is he?"
"He's right over there," Eve nodded in Chris's direction unable to contain her tears as Sarah's big eyes widened and she slowly shifted in Eve's arms to eye Chris with heavy scrutiny before she turned to Eve again bringing her tiny lips up to Eve's ear and whispering before Eve nodded.
Sarah watched Eve for a long moment before bashfully turning to look at Chris once again as her lip curled in a pout, "If you're really my daddy, can we just go home now? I'm hungry…"
"Of course we can," Chris replied with a smile unable to contain the surprise and amazement he'd felt in seeing the little girl in Eve's arms. There was so much running through his mind, but as he could see himself reflected in Sarah's dark eyes, all that mattered was the family he had before him as he reached out to Eve pulling the both of them into an embrace as suddenly everything in his world changed as he was not only with the woman he loved, but his long lost daughter as well. Tears clouded his vision as he had so many questions, but for now all that mattered was that they were safe in his arms and the rest could be dealt with later as Sarah was finally home where she belonged.