AN: Good things come in small packages… this is not one of them.
She pulled the car to a stop, her hands shaking as she put it into park.
Elliot had given her vague directions through bouts of pain and now here they were parked outside a deserted cabin, two miles from the main road in the outskirts of Ohio. It had been the first time she had actually registered just how far out of the city they had reached. It only taken a few scattered road signs to confirm they we very far from home.
Elliot was clutching his stomach, slumped to the side of the vehicle as Olivia looked ahead through the windshield at the large property nestled in the woods. There was an expansive wooden balcony spanning the perimeter of the house, the tall structure standing on stilts and they appeared to be close to water.
"Where are we?" she whispered concerned, visions of gun wielding psychopaths answering the door, grasping them and shoving them up against the wall, patting them down upon entry. This looked like a property owned by someone wealthy, purposefully positioned in the middle of nowhere with only one long winding dirt road to get in. And out.
"Who lives here Elliot?" she questions, her fingers still poised on the keys, ready to turn the ignition at any minute. She didn't have the energy for anymore surprises and she also didn't have high hopes. The cool night air whipped at her sides as he stayed silent, a permanent reminder that their windows had been shot out and warmth in their vehicle was no longer an option.
"I want you to stay here," he tells her through a pained grunt, his hand still pressing on his wound.
He hadn't even looked at her when he said it but she doesn't miss a beat.
"Like hell."
She side eyes him then and he doesn't react to her refusal but if he thinks for a second she has driven him here just to get himself killed he is sadly mistaken. There was no telling what crowd Elliot was entangled with and with wounds so severe she wasn't taking any chances.
She opens her car door, rounding to his side before she was pulling his door open. She holds her hand out as a gesture of aid and he looks up at her, taking her hand reluctantly and pulling himself up to his feet. She can tell immediately, his strength had considerably dwindled in the car ride as he grasps her shoulder, falling into her until her back hits the side of the car with a grunt.
"Jesus," she whispers as she takes his weight, trying to steady him while he sandwiches her against metal. He manages to lift himself off her and she shuts his door, grasping his elbow and moving his arm over her shoulder. She leads him towards the cabin, noticing he is taking heavy, sluggish steps. She can feel his blood and perspiration lining her palms and she is praying medical aid is immanent.
"Anything I need to know?" she asks, dried leaves crunching beneath their feet, twigs snapping with each step. "Who are these people?" she whispers, her heart thudding at what was to come.
He stays silent, focused only on putting one foot in front of the other without falling.
"Elliot," she repeats a little firmer, desperate for an answer - for some sort of reassurance before they walk into the unknown.
"You can trust her Liv," he whispers in a shaky breath. "You can trust her with your life."
TBC
