A/N: Okay, so the bits in italics are memories. Kay? *nods and wanders off*
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Chapter thirty-one: Frozen In Time
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O.C.: What the hell was that?!
Max: Flashback. Happens all the time
-Max and O.C. (Boo)
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'I try to breath
Memories overtaking me
I try to face them but
The thought is too
Much to conceive'
-Staind (Fade)
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The wind was knocked out of her as Erin was slammed into a wall, followed by a fist in the stomach.
"Great" she muttered as she clutched her stomach in pain.
The second punch in the stomach made her gasp in pain and she would've fallen to her knees if she wasn't being pinned to the wall.
"Look what we got here" Erin glared at the owner of the voice.
He was tall, over 6 foot, with brown, almost black hair and tattoos on his neck. The other 2 guys looked pretty much the same. They were probably in a gang.
"You're a pretty one" he sneered as his 2 friends continued to pin her to the wall by her arms. "Pretty and rich."
Rich? She didn't look rich. Why did they think she was rich? Was it the jacket?
He touched her face and Erin turned her head away from him "I know a couple of Steelheads who'd like something like you…"
Erin's reply was to spit in his face. His reply was to punch her. She tasted blood and knew that he'd split her lip.
"Bet you think you're pretty smart, right? Bide your time until someone comes to rescue you?"
Erin continued to glare as she struggled to get free. All the time she felt a shiver run down her spine. She remembered those words; she remembered them so very well.
"This is Seattle, kid. No one gives a shit here."
Erin lashed out with her foot, kicking him between the legs. He fell to the ground in pain and Erin renewed her efforts to get free. It wasn't working.
"What went wrong?" Max stood with her hands on hr hips as she stood in HQ. Biting her lip, she once again, scanned her brothers and sister for serious injures and breathed a sigh of relief when she realised they were just covered in cuts and bruises.
Zack shook his head "They surrounded us. Maybe they figured we'd do something like this? I don't know. They came in quick when Beta team were loading the last van."
"I think one of the cops hit a silent alarm before he came out with the rest of 'em. It was hard to tell" Jondy sighed and touched her bruised cheek "Maybe it was the one that got lucky."
"The cops were probably there on illegal business. When did you lose Erin?" Alec's voice was emotionless. He'd slipped into soldier mode.
"Not long after we were surrounded" Zane rubbed the back of his neck "I was fighting 3 cops and Zack and Jondy were fighting further away. A cop went for her and I told Erin to run. She was near the fence, I saw her get out with 2 cops on her tail. She was headed back this way so whatever happened to her happened between the docks and here."
"That's at least a couple of miles to cover" Max knew the area like the back of her hand "but if White's got her then she could be anywhere."
"She'd have run away from the vans- not wanting to lead them to the vehicles. She'd probably try to double back" Alec said, certain that Erin would do something like that. "She must've run into some trouble or the cops could've caught her."
"I've been monitoring the police frequencies" Brin spoke up from the computer she was still at "They said they lost her."
"She can run like hell, man" Zane patted Alec reassuringly on the back "She was way ahead of 'em."
"Then something else must've happened" Alec looked even more dangerous if that were possible. "I'm gonna go talk to the teams- see if they saw anything" Alec took off immediately.
"If I didn't know any better "Jondy watched Alec go "I'd say he's got it bad."
"That wasn't smart, kid" The leader stood up slowly before lashing out with a punch to the stomach. The other 2 guys let her go and Erin slid to the floor in pain.
The leader smiled "No one does that to me and gets away with it."
He kicked her in the ribs. A couple of seconds later, the other guys joined in too. She felt a fist connect with her head and Erin was knocked unconscious for a fraction of a second.
There was blood, too much blood. Most of it was hers; some of it was Jake's. Why did they have to do that to Jake? Why couldn't they leave him alone? They could hurt her all they wanted if they just left him alone.
Erin curled herself up into a foetal position, trying to protect her ribs and her head as they continued to kick her. She shut her eyes as she felt them catch her shoulder. She felt it give way and now her head was no longer fully protected. They got another kick in to her head.
She wasn't going to cry, Erin decided then and there. They would not see her cry. Jake wouldn't see her cry. She had to be strong for him, she had to protect him the best she could and if that was doing what they wanted- so be it. Her jaw clamped shut as they broke another finger. She wouldn't scream. She wouldn't make a sound. Their laughter made her feel sick.
Her mouth remained shut and her eyes remained closed as she felt their kicks and punches connect again and again. Thankfully, they kept to everything below her head. She knew she was bleeding. She could feel it, she could taste it. She began to feel dizzy from the blood loss or hit on the head, she wasn't sure.
'If this is how I die' Erin thought as she felt a steel toecap connect with her back 'then they better hurry it up before the concussion gets me first.' She heard them laughing as they continued to beat her up. 'Max is gonna be so pissed off with me' Erin thought with bitter amusement before the pain became too much and she couldn't' think anymore.
They'd come for one of them again, and from the smiles on their faces, it was for her. They wanted to break her, she knew that now. They didn't understand why they hadn't driven her and Jake insane. They didn't understand that keeping them together kept them from giving up.
Erin saw the needle in one of their hands as they walked into the room, light streaming in from the door behind them. Erin pushed Jake behind her and stood in a half crouch as she blinked against the light.
"We've got something special planned for you today, Erin" the one with the needle smiled.
Erin shuddered. They only called her by her name when they had one thing in mind. Erin knew what they were going to do to her.
"Get her" the one with the needle spoke to the other man.
He moved forward as commanded but Erin stood her ground, shielding a half-conscious Jake from them. She was pinned quickly and the punch to the face knocked her out.
Next Chapter: Catch Me When I Fall…
"What happened?" Max took her jacket from her as she scanned Erin's face.
"Nothin' much" Erin rotated her shoulder slowly "Don't worry Maxie, White didn't do this. It was just a few guys wanting to play footie wi' my head."
A/N: Sorry I couldn't give you a better preview but the next chapter isn't exactly a masterpiece.
Marty: Dude, don't prod Jensen with any sharp objects no matter how much you want to. I don't want him to die of blood loss. Don't worry, more Logan bashing in the future, but I think some Alec/Erin sexual tension is in order. *frowns* I just don't think I can write it.
Cat: Ah, you're asking the two questions I get asked the most. Erin does have abilities but you don't see them for awhile. As for the Erin/Alec smoochies? Well, they WILL happen; you'll just have to wait a few more chapters.
Messymissy: Erm, okay. There'll be more dreams and stuff later on and more mysterious stuff will keep happening in them. I don't know if the dudes will let slip that Erin can talk, I haven't decided yet, but Erin WILL talk in this story, so she'll be talking in the sequel.
Moonlight: As you can see, it wasn't anyone important that caught Erin. *grins* That doesn't mean Alec is not gonna be any less angry about it.
