Charlie's POV

I ran blindly through the woods. It got darker as I ran into the woods, and soon I couldn't see much in front of me. That fact scared me.

I heard the ruffling of leaves behind me. I knew I was being followed by Carl. I figured he'd follow, but I expected to have a head start on him.

My arm and shoulder ached, but the adrenaline rush made me fast. When I couldn't hear leaves crackling behind me, I hid behind a thick three.

I had to stop and catch my breath. Fear ran through my body and I willed myself to stop shaking.

I was about to start running again when two hands reached around the tree, suffocating me.

I screamed against the hands, though it was muffled. Another adrenaline rush ran through me and I kicked out.

When I heard the cocking of a gun, I froze.

"That's better. That was some stunt you just pulled. Just for that, I think we'll have to pay Big Brother a visit sometime soon."

Don!

I shook my head "no."

"No? Why not? I'm sure he'd be thrilled to see you." His sinister voice sent chills down my spine. There was so much contempt, anger, rage, and above all, insanity.

I shook my head vigorously as tears streamed down my face.

"Oh, now you're going to cry? You should! After that little stunt, I know what plan I'm going to go with. I think the one where I kill your brother in front of you will be the best. Then, when you go tell Daddy what happened, he'll resent you, maybe even hate you. And that'll kill you almost as much as seeing your brother die will."

I shook uncontrollably.

He left go of me so suddenly that I fell to the ground.

"Now to teach you a lesson."

I gazed up at his face. The hatred in his eyes scared me. I opened my mouth, but no scream would come.

I felt the pain in my head, but I could do nothing about it. I fought to remain conscious, but failed.

Don's POV

My hands shook as I took out my cell phone.

I silently thanked God that Dad wasn't in town today. I couldn't bare to tell him what was going on. I'd call him later, but only after we got Charlie back.

If we did.

I shook my head. I couldn't think about that now. Charlie was going to be okay. I'd get to him in time.

"I need an APB out on a 1996 black sedan. It should be speeding. It's headed north out of LA."

Luckily, we had gotten a witness to the car. The man said he saw two people in the car, but couldn't identify either.

"What are we going to do, Don?" Megan asked.

"We'll have to wait until we've spotted them. Then, go after them."

I sank dow on the steps of the crime scene. The house had been searched. We had found evidence, even DNA, but it would take some time before the results were in.

I put my face in my hands. This could not be happening. Why had I let him come with me? How could I have not seen? How could I have let him get away when he was right there? Why didn't I listen to him?

"Don?"

I looked up to see Megan above me, a cell phone in her hand.

"It's the LAPD. They've found the sedan."

"Already?"

"Apparently, someone had already called in the car. It's pulled over on the side of the highway. No one's inside. They assume the occupants are in the woods to the side of the road."

"Let's go, then."

I stood on shaky feet and got in the van. Megan got in the front seat and I sped away, the siren going full blast.

"I'm coming, Charlie," I promised quietly.

Charlie's POV

I was pulled to my feet. I blinked rapidly, trying to clear the fog in my head.

"Let's go find your brother, huh?" Carl's voice breathed in my ear.

I began to shake again. Something about this man terrified me, but most of all, I was afraid of what he'd do to Don, to Dad.

He pulled me along as we made our way farther into the woods, back to the car.

"You know what I'm going to do to your brother? I'm going to tie him up, right in front of you. I'll tie you in a chair right in front of him. But don't worry, I won't hurt you, just your brother. I'll hit him until he screams. Then, I'll leave you two alone. I'll come back later and cut him until he begs me to stop. Then I'll leave again. And when I come back, I'll light his clothes on fire, waiting until his screams become so pained that it hurts you more than it hurts him. I'll douse the fire, leave you alone, and when I come back, considering he's still alive, I'll tell him lies about you. I'll tell him how it was your plan all along. I'll tell him that you wanted him to be hurt. That's why I never laid a hand on you. I'll tell him you wanted to watch him suffer, that's why you're in the room with him. And when I leave, he'll turn pained eyes on you and ask, 'Why, Charlie? Why?' And you won't have an answer that'll convince him. Soon after that, he'll die. But not so much from the pain, exhaustion, dehydration, starvation. No, he'll die because of the pain you caused him. The pain of betrayal."

Then, Carl laughed so evilly that I feared him to the point of screaming. In my fear, I did something that would be considered foolish by many people.

I hit him, hard in the stomach, and once in the back of the head. Then, I ran. I ran as fast as I could to get away from me.

I didn't stop running, even as I heard gun shots being fired behind me. Even after I knew he wasn't following, I ran. I ran until I w as too exhausted to run anymore. Then, I hid. I hid in a small ditch, covering myself with fallen tree limbs and other natural debris. I wrapped my arms around myself to stop the shaking and cried silently, so he wouldn't hear me.

Don's POV

We pulled up behind the black sedan. I got out and inspected the insides of the car as Megan and I waited for backup. David and Colby would be close behind and the LAPD were to come shortly.

There wasn't much on the inside of the car. I noted a spot of the blood on the passenger seat. It wasn't too much, but it still made my insides churn.

Please be okay, Charlie.

I got out of the sedan and David and Colby's car puller up.

"Anything?" Colby asked as he came up to me and Megan.

"There's not much in the car. I found a spot of blood in the passenger seat, but it's not too large. It's probably a head wound, judging from where it's at."

How could I sound so calm?

Five minutes later, seeming a life time, the LAPD van pulled in beside ours.

"What do you know?" Lieutenant Graves asked.

"There's been an abduction. The man responsible is a murderer. He's killed twenty people that we know of, considering this is the same guy. He abducted my brother, Charlie Eppes, from the crime scene of his latest victims. From what we can tell, this is his car."

"We checked the license plates. It belongs to a man named Carl Waits. Does that mean anything to you?"

I thought for a minute. The name didn't sound familiar.

"Isn't he the guy who Marks said was his neighbor?" David asked, referring to one of our suspects.

"What else do we have on him?" I asked.

"He must have been the one we were looking for, not Marks. I mean, their houses are side-by-side. Marks claimed innocence and he said he thought his neighbor was awfully suspicious." Megan put in.

"So he has multiple houses?"

"No. We looked up the house we were just at. It's been abandoned."

"That explains the shape it was in. All right, Carl and Charlie have got to be in those woods. We need to-"

I was interrupted by the sound of gunshots.

I felt my knees buckle. I reached out a hand and gripped David's arm.

"You all right, man?" He asked after a minute.

"Yeah. We're wasting time, let's get in there!"

Geared and ready, Colby, David, Megan, the LAPD team, and I went into the woods.

I kept my gun ready at all times. If he had a gun on Charlie, I'd be ready to kill him where he stood.

We moved as quietly as possible. We didn't use our flashlights until the woods became too dark to see. It was eleven o'clock at night, so we needed to see before then, but it was too risky.

After fifteen minutes of moving into the woods, we found our guy.

"FBI! Drop your weapon!" I called out. He was alone. Damn it.

Waits dropped his gun and held his hands up.

"I ran out of bullets anyway," He said.

We moved in slowly around him. When we were sure he wouldn't pull anything, David moved in and handcuffed him, giving him the "you have the right to remain silent" speech.

"Where's Charlie?" I demanded.

"Oh, yes, you're the brother." He smiled so sinisterly that I was ready to kill him. "Charlie got scared and ran farther into the woods, but not until he hit me in the stomach and on my head. I'll definitely have a headache in the morning."

I stepped closer to him. "You deserve more than a headache."

I almost forgot my job and hit him, but David pulled him away.

"What do we do?" Colby asked.

"You and David bring him into the office. I'll take a few of you and continue searching. We have to find Charlie."

"Don, there's a house on the other side of these woods. It's only about a mile deeper and then you'll come upon the house."

"All right. Call in an ambulance. I want a team of medics there when we get through. Colby, take my van and bring it around to that house."

"You got it. Be careful, Don."

"I will. Thanks, guys. You did a good job."

Megan insisted she stay. Three of the men from the LAPD stayed as well, while the rest went back and brought their van around to the house on the other side of the woods.

We split up so we'd cover more ground. The woods were thick, so we had to make sure we'd find him. Besides, he was probably hiding.

I prayed I'd be the one to find him. I knew he'd be scared to death. He'd need me.

Charlie's POV

I burrowed deeper into the ditch when I heard the sound of feet on the leaves. It was him! He was after me. I had to get away, but if I moved, he'd hear me.

I remained as silent as possible. As the footsteps neared, I felt the adrenaline pumping. I had to get out! I had to move.

When I could take it no longer, I sprang forward, running as fast as I could.

"Charlie!" I heard a voice behind me. It didn't sound so sinister, but I couldn't be fooled.

"Charlie!" The scream echoed through the woods. I ran hard, looking back to see how far ahead I was. When I turned back, I fell forward, tripping over a fallen tree.

My leg throbbed, but I crawled as fast as I could, struggling to get to my feet.

I was about to get to my feet when a hand clamped around my mouth.

I screamed, fighting him off. Not again! He'd kill me for sure. If not, he'd kill Don! I'd never be able to save him. I kicked out, but was stopped when I was pulled around to face my attacker.

"Charlie! Charlie! It's me!" Don's face came into view.

I reached up a tentative hand to his face, not trusting myself to believe it was really him.

"D-Don?" I said hoarsely, feeling the tears in my eyes.

"I'm here, Buddy. You're safe now. I've got you. You're okay."

Feeling relieved, my knees buckled. I ignored them and dove into Don's arm. I clutched fistfuls of his shirt as I sobbed.

His arms went protectively around me.

"You're okay now, Charlie. You're safe. I've got you," Don soothed.

I knew he was here, but I didn't feel safe.