Chapter 10

He should have guessed it would end the way it is. He has to say, he didn't expect the turnout, thinking he would fulfill being his superhero dream. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, especially in the situation he was in. Carlos slightly smiled, knowing that Katie and the rest were safe and sound.

Carlos winced. He touched the wound in his abdomen, gushing out his blood at a rapid pace, making him whimper lightly. He let his hand drop against the floor as he leaned back against the wall. He weakly turns to the corpse of Louis, his fearful eyes staring into his soul. The teen coughs, most likely from the smoke going into his lungs by the blazing building he was in.

Carlos closed his eyes when more pain shot through his body, then tears spilled from his eyes. He's scared, terrified. He didn't want to die, especially this young. What's worse is that he's dying alone. But most of all: he regrets what he did to his friends. Carefully, he pulled out something from his pocket and stared at it, making his tears more violent. A photo of his friends and him, altogether after getting their first record deal. It showed them all happy, knowing nothing was ever going to separate them. Looking back, he just wishes things were different...

~ 3 hours earlier~

Carlos barged into his room, slamming everything open or shut in anger as he got dressed. He was pissed off- but not to his friend, well maybe. He was furious at the thought of a hurt and kidnapped Katie all because of his fault. Louis and his group were after him only, not the preteen. He knew he shouldn't have come back home, he should have let only the guys and girl as he stayed until the wanted ones were taken care of.

"AH-oof!" He tripped on something, landing on the floor with a thump! Turning around angrily, he went to glare at the object that betrayed him but his eyes immediately softened at the sight of the item. Slowly, he made his way to the fallen picture frame, careful not to cut himself by the broken glass on his carpet. It was a picture of him and the guys. He smiled at the memory. He remembered him and the others being so happy and excited when they got their record deal.

He suddenly frowned, remembering what he had told Kendall earlier. How he had been acting toward everyone through the entire three weeks. Being hunted and working a police case was no excuse. Unfortunately, he stormed off, a simple sign saying that the conversation was over. He regrets it, immensely. Though he can't turn back. Carlos stuffed the item in his pocket then turned to his bedside table. There was his helmet, awaiting its master. The teen walked over to it and put it on, zipping on the strap for the first time in forever. With that done, he exited the room and apartment, knowing to stay out of sight from everyone, especially the guys.

He had no idea where he was going but all he knew was the direction - right. As long as he keeps going that way, he should run into something that would help him out. The teen knows that his chances of finding Katie like that were little to nothing but he hangs onto hope.

'It was still night when she was kidnapped' he thought. 'No one would have seen anything suspicious during that hour so asking around won't help me.' He sighed, not knowing what to do so he just kept walking. Right then, his phone rang. Looking down at the unknown number, he hesitated but decided to pick it up. "Hello?"

"If you ever want to see the girl again, meet us at the abandoned factory." The call ended. Carlos removed the phone from his ear and looked at it in bewilderment. He guesses he has an area to go to. Looking around quickly, he looked over to some elderly person sitting on a bench so he walked over to it.

"Excuse me, sir? Um, do you know if there is an abandoned factory nearby?" Carlos asked. The man turned to him with a kind smile and pointed his withered hand toward the direction he was walking in.

"A few miles that way. You'll know when you get there," the man told him. "If you plan on going inside, you should be careful, young man. It used to be a refinery and could blow into flames if you're not careful."

"Thanks." Carlos turned back around and continued in his original direction, then started running when the thought of Katie being hurt barged into his mind.

Kendall sighed and rubbed his neck, standing in front of his friend's closed bedroom door. He was hesitant, unsure how Carlos would react to seeing him again. He has a feeling that it wouldn't be anything positive. Getting the courage, he knocked on the door and waited.

Nothing.

He tried again.

Nothing.

"Carlos? You there?" Kendall called, cracking the door a bit. Receiving no answer, he fully opened the door to reveal a messy room and broken glass on the carpeted floor. The teen widened his eyes, not seeing his friend anywhere. Running back to the living room, he saw his two other pals. "Carlos isn't here."

"You really didn't think he went after Louis and his gang right?" James questioned worriedly, standing up with the genius.

"Well he did say he would," Logan furrowed his eyebrows. "What should we do?"

"Track his phone" was all Kendall said to make Logan working. He pulled out his own phone and tapped the screen a few times. After a few seconds, he responded. "He's heading west. We should leave now before we lose his signal."

"Great. But we'll keep our distance. He might need help if he manages to find them," the leader decided. With that said, the group left the room and out of the hotel, off to their best friend.

Carlos had finally arrived at the factory that was once a refinery. He knows that the places are dangerous, especially when unsupervised, so he takes the man's warning to heart. Hopping over the fence, the teen snuck inside the building and was quite amazed to see the large interior. However, he couldn't sightsee at the moment. He was on a rescue mission.

As he continued onward, Carlos heard a muffled voice from behind a door. Slowly opening it, he saw Katie gagged and tied to a chair. After checking there were no guards, he ran over and quickly started undoing the bonds. Katie stiffened and started struggling harder.

"Katie, it's me. I'm here to rescue you," he whispered. Once he got the ties undone, the girl ripped the gag from her mouth and she looked at her savior with wide eyes.

"You shouldn't have come, it's a trap!" She exclaimed. Right at that moment, he was punched to the ground. He groaned and looked up to see Louis smirking at him while Rich held Katie in place. He looked regretful.

"I see you got here just in time," the evil teen chuckled. Carlos slowly got up and got into a defensive position.

"Let Katie go. She has nothing to do with this," he reasoned, not taking his eyes off the teen.

"Oh I know, but I knew that if I could have gotten you here way faster if you would think you were on a special rescue mission," Louis laughed sarcastically. "Now, to get down into business, let's start off as to why I want you dead. Your father. The cop. He killed my little brother and I'm not having it. After I heard that he was still alive and that you were in town, well, I guess I had to take it out on someone. So why not the son?"

"Then let Katie go! If you want me so bad then let her be," he shouted. Louis sighed and shook his head.

"Well, you know, I can't really have her telling the cops what we have been doing so…" At that moment, Louis pulled out a gun and aimed it at Katie. Carlos could only with wide eyes as Rich pushed the girl out of the way and take the shot himself. Luckily, it was only on the shoulder. Louis immediately was furious. "WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!"

"Listen, Louis. This isn't you. It hasn't been since dad died. We have to stop this now before anyone else gets hurt. Or worse," Rich pleaded.

"Traitor," Louis growled and aimed the gun at his brother. Before he could take the shot, Carlos tackled the teen to the ground and pinned him to the floor.

"You two, get out of here now! I'll meet you outside!" Carlos yelled over, struggling with the squirming teen under him. Rich nodded and took Katie by the hand, dragging her out of the exit. Carlos looked back down but was pushed backward. He and Louis both stood. "This is it, Louis. Give up now."

"No way will I ever surrender," he snarled. "You took my brother away from me. You took my mom away. You even turned my own brother against me. So tell me why I should give up?"

"Because… because you're hurting. You're hurting and you need help. People to talk to. All you want to do though is keep it inside you and force it out as anger. I know this because I'm the same way. Trust me when I say that I wanted revenge when I heard that my dad was in a coma because of you, and I let it control me. I was angry at everyone, I kept shutting everyone out but really I was scared. I was scared of what would happen next. But my friends were there to hear me out. They can help me out of my funk like you could with your brother," Carlos sincerely reasoned. He extended his hand. "Please. Let's end this. Together."

Louis looked at his hand then back to his brown eyes. The Latino could have sworn he saw a look of consideration in his eyes but it disappeared as quickly as it was there. Louis glared at the teen and raised his gun back up.

"No," he answered. The round shot but Carlos managed to duck out of the way. They both turned with wide eyes when they heard something spewing. It was a gas tank. Carlos and Louis ran for it as soon as it exploded, which created a shock wave that knocked them both to the ground.

Carlos groaned from the floor. He sat up and cried out, holding his stomach in pain. Looking down, he gasped in shock to see a bullet whole wound near his abdomen. He supposed that the gun must have accidentally fired in his direction somehow. He looked around to see the blazing fire around him. The door he originally came through was nearly blocked off.

He turned to his right and saw the fearful looks of Louis on the ground. There was a giant piece of metal sticking out of his back, a pool of blood forming around him. Carlos groaned at the pounding headache he just noticed.

So there he was now, looking at the photo still in his hands. He could see from the corner of his eye Louis' body burning with the spreading fire. Suddenly, Carlos' ears perked up to the faint sound of sirens in the distance. He couldn't give up, not yet and not now. Taking a few quick breaths, he picked himself up from his position and cried out at the immense pain surging through his body. After a few painful seconds, he was up from the floor.

"Okay. You got this," Carlos motivated himself, slapping his helmet twice. He shuffled to the door, intending to slowly go through, until he heard creaking noises. The metal nearly covering his exit was about to fall so, at a last-minute decision, he ran forward and launched himself through, the item crashing right after he did. He painfully groaned from the floor by the increase of pressure on his wound. His vision started getting blurry but he tried to keep it together.

His ears perked up once more when he heard voices not too far from where he is. Getting excited, he picked himself up again and continued his way through the burning factory. He could have almost laughed when he saw firemen searching the area and putting out the fire. They must have seen him because just as he was about to collapse, arms caught him.

"I've got him!" He faintly heard someone yell. He soon felt himself being moved and placed onto something, then continued to move. This time, though, he felt like he was floating. Something else covered his mouth but he didn't care. It somehow helped him breathe a bit easier.

"Carlos! Oh my God, you're bleeding!" He heard someone exclaim. The teen struggled to crack open his eyes but when he did, he only saw four blurry figures.

"You're going to be alright, we're here for you," another voice consulted. Carlos felt tired, really tired but he's trying so hard to keep conscious but all he wants is to slip away. He heard extremely faint rapid beeping and more rushing voices but it all went away when his world turned dark.

To be continued...