Please help me 'cause
I'm breaking down,
this picture's frozen and I can't get out of here
Believe me, I'm just as lost as you
And every time I think I've finally made it
I learn I'm farther away than I've ever been before
I see the clock and it's ticking away, and the hourglass empty
What the fuck do I have to say
Keep it inside the image portrayed
As if I couldn't stand losing as if I couldn't be saved, no way
A small confession I think I'm starting to lose it
I think I'm drifting away from the people I really need
A small reflection on when we were younger
We had it all figured 'cause we had everything covered
Now we're older it's getting harder to see
What this future will hold for us, what the fuck are we going to be?
I'm afraid I'm falling farther away from where I want to be
Trapt- "Still Frame"
Guile heard the crash when he was at the top of the stairs. When Melissa screamed he was at her door. He had only a heartbeat to take the scene in. There were two men dressed in black grabbing at Melissa. He rushed forward and pulled one off of her roughly. Her screams pierced his ears, as he punched the intruder in the gut. He grabbed for the second who was trying to pull Melissa out of the window, she yelled frantically.
"Daddy! Help me. Please!"
Guile punched the second intruder in the face a few times before his grip on his daughter loosened. Melissa fell to the floor by the window. Guile raised the man over his head and slammed him into the ground behind him. He may have been a little older now, but he could sure as hell still fight like a 25 year old. He turned around to attend to his daughter, and froze when he saw the first man he assaulted had grabbed her already. He had one hand over her mouth and the other held an assault rifle, pointed at him. At least it wasn't pointed at Melissa. She was struggling and kicking but the man's grip on her was too strong. Guile stepped forward figuring that this man's mission wasn't to kill him, it was to take Melissa alive. The last thing Guile remembered before the whole world went black was the splatters of his blood landing on his daughter's frightened face before he even realized that he had been shot.
--
By the time Jane made it downstairs, it was over. She found her husband lying on the floor opposite the window in Melissa's room. His white t-shirt was drenched in so much blood that it was almost black with its slickness. She screamed and ran towards his lifeless form. Pressing one hand against the gunshot wound to his abdomen, she looked about frantically for Melissa. She was gone. Tears started flowing from Jane's eyes as she tried to figure out what to do; look for Melissa, or save her husbands life. She yelled for her daughter.
"Melissa! Melissa! Where are you? Come out. I need you to find a phone."
Jane wasn't answered, something she had feared. Stretching her body to its fullest she was able to reach the portable phone on Melissa's nightstand, while still holding pressure on Guile's wound. She dialed 911 and spoke frantically into the receiver.
"My husband has been shot and I think my daughter's been kidnapped."
--
The ringing of the phone broke the happy darkness Cammy had placed herself into. Wagner lifted her body away from him and rose to answer the phone. He had let herself fall asleep while he held her. Most people would find their relationship weird, but it was the perfect relationship for her. He was her brother, nothing more nothing less. But they understood each other so much, they had a great bond. Cammy sat up and wiped sleep from her eyes. She shouldn't have fallen asleep, she was keeping Wagner from getting back to his Air Force dorm, and she knew he had work in the morning. Cammy heard the sound of the phone being dropped and ran into the kitchen where Wagner was. As she entered he turned his face to her. Tears were already flowing down his face from his now bloodshot eyes. Cammy grabbed for him.
"Wagner, what is it?"
His voice trembled as he spoke.
"Guile's been shot, he's in surgery now."
Cammy's heart stopped for a moment before it started beating quicker and brought forth a surge of tears.
"Are Jane and Melissa okay?"
"That was Jane on the phone. She said that Melissa has been kidnapped."
"Kidnapped? You don't think…"
"I don't know Cammy, but we have to get to the hospital right now!"
--
Nervously twisting her fingers around each other, Cammy waited impatiently with Jane and Wagner, for word on Guile's condition. Jane was covered in blood, which she guessed was actually from Guile. Wagner was pacing back and forth adding to her nervousness. After about and hour of waiting, a doctor came into the waiting room.
"Hi folks, Mr. Guile is in stable condition. The surgery went great. We were able to removed the bullet and patch him up. He lost a lot of blood, but we had some on tap for him. He should recover fine."
Jane asked quietly.
"Is he awake?"
"Yes and he's asking for all of you. The nurse will take you in to see him."
They followed the nurse into Guile's hospital room. Cammy couldn't believe what she saw. Guile was so pale. He opened his light blue eyes, but he looked so tired. They approached him and he began speaking, very softly and with much struggle.
"Janie, they took our baby."
Jane questioned him, becoming frantic.
"They?"
"Shadowlaw. It was them. They want to make me suffer, so they stole my baby."
Tears flowed slowly from Guile's eyes. Cammy could feel rage filling her up, and it was about to burst out. Shadowlaw had kidnapped Melissa. They had kidnapped a 13 year old girl. Every horrible thing Shadowlaw ever did to her came rushing back from her subconscious suddenly and Cammy screamed.
"I should have fucking killed him when I had the chance!"
Wagner grabbed her shoulders and pulled her body close to his to keep her calm. Jane broke down into heaving sobs as she kneeled by Guile's hospital bed. Vega was the first name that came to Cammy's mind. She, in that moment, prayed like she had never prayed before that Vega wasn't anywhere near Melissa.
--
Ken Masters squinted his eyes and turned the book he was reading sideways. When he realized what the picture was he dropped the book entitled, "What to Expect When You're Expecting" onto the floor and instantly developed a new admiration for his wife. In less than a month his son would be brought into this world. He was Eliza's coach, which was why he was reading that book. He rose from his chair in his study and walked down a grand staircase of his San Francisco home and into Eliza's sitting room. She was on the floor trying to put together some kind of crib/bassinet thing. Ken smiled, watching her squint her blue eyes in concentration. He spoke.
"You're not done yet?"
"No, I am sure you're not done with the book yet."
"I looked at the pictures and that's enough to tell me that I'm glad you're the one having the baby and I'm just the lowly coach."
Eliza pushed the pieces of the contraption away and started the long trek to her feet, her large belly impeding the journey. Ken stepped forward and helped her to her feet as she whined.
"I'm such a cow."
"You're a cow who is bringing our son into the world."
"But I'm still a cow?"
She slapped him on the shoulder and Ken retorted, pretending like her was more hurt than he was. He hadn't been in a street fight, or any tournament for that matter, since in New Orleans when he and Julian had helped Guile in the first steps of bringing Shadowlaw down. He had felt free to begin his life with Eliza. She laughed as she pulled her wavy blonde hair out of her eyes. He put his hands on her belly and waited for the baby to start kicking. After only a few moments he could feel the movement.
"He's a fighter already."
Suddenly, the door to the room burst open, accompanied by the sound of the windows crashing in. Ken pushed Eliza between a wall and him, ready to defend her to the death. When the crashing ceased, there were five men in the room, all armed with assault rifles. Ken yelled.
"Who the hell are you?"
He could feel Eliza trembling behind him. He placed one of his hands on her discreetly, willing her to stay calm.
"I said who the hell are you?"
The men began advancing slowly, Ken made sure that his body covered Eliza's, not an easy task due to her protruding belly. When the first man rushed him, he was ready, blocking his initial thrust and countering with a hard jab to his gut. The man doubled over, dropping his weapon, and was followed by a second, who leapt at him with his foot extended. Ken crouched for a split second, his fist soon busting into the man's chin, sending him flying backwards. The third surprised him and knocked Ken to the side with a hard kick to his shoulder. Ken quickly recovered but it was too late. One of the other men had used Ken's split second absence to aim his rifle at Eliza's belly, his son. Ken froze, and for the first time in a fight ever, let his fear show. Eliza's face mirrored his own as she spoke to him.
"Ken. I'm going to go. They obviously don't want to kill me or they'd have done it by now."
"Eliza, no!"
Ken could feel his heart being ripped in two as he continued.
"I want to help you."
"Then stay clam. Do it for the baby."
Those were the last words Ken heard before he felt the butt of a rifle bash against the back of his head and everything went black.