-Content Warning-
There are depictions of violence in this chapter that might not be suitable for everyone, so please come back next week if this bothers you. If not, please read and enjoy-
"You know, at first I wasn't sure if you really were her. Winter Schnee, I mean. But it's such a rare name, so I started to do some research, and guess who's pretty little face was all over the Atlas news? Ha! I couldn't believe my luck!" laughed Tryian as he took his eyes off the road, watching the panic swell in Winter's gaze.
"Oh yes, I know exactly who you are. I also know a good few people who'd love to get their hands on you, but definitely not for free," He chuckled, a twisted grin growing on his face. "That bastard Earl told you about the rumors, right? All those little stories about people going missing near me? Or maybe he saved you from all of the nasty little details? Either way, most of them were nonsense. But, those rumors did come from some truth, that's for sure" He was trying to keep his laughter in, but it kept slipping out from between his lips, like some kind of demented hyena.
Winter lunged for the door, yanking on the handle with all the force she could muster. When it didn't budge, she tried to manually open the lock, but it felt like it was glued down or something. Winter started to bash the door with her shoulder, but it still stayed sealed.
"Ooh, sorry about that, but children's locks can sometimes be the most damned thing, can't they?" He laughed like he'd just said the funniest joke in the world, while Winter felt like she was about to be sick.
Winter's mouth was way too heavy to move now, so all she could do was groan in response. Her heart was beating hard and fast in her chest, her brain running rampant thinking of everything that could happen to her, who she could be sold to, where they'd keep her, what horrible things anyone could do to her if they got their hands on her…
Winter was used to people trying to use her to get money or respect, that was part of the life of an heiress. But her parents always told her to be wary of strangers, that some people would do horrible things to get what they wanted. Winter'd always thought they meant that someone would try to rob her if she wasn't careful, but now she understood what they were saying, far, far, too late.
Winter never exactly felt safe around Tyrian and always thought he was a little creepy for sure. But never in a million years did Winter think that he could drive her to the brink of terror. That's why as she laid there, she let the tears spill from her eyes. They'd warned her about this, but here she was anyway, how about that! Winter felt laughs bubble out with the sobs, the noises she was making were twisted and dark, and everything felt so pointless and desperate.
Despite the hopelessness inside of her, Winter still had some fight left in her too. She looked at Tyrian, thinking about what would happen if she started to attack him. It was the perfect time for him to look over at her, almost as if he was reading her mind, "I wouldn't try anything funny if I were you. These roads are offley slippery, and we might not be going that fast, but crashing the car probably isn't the best idea, don't you agree?" He taunted, taking a hard right, and sliding dangerously, almost hitting a mailbox as he skitted.
He laughed loudly as he saw the idea die behind her eyes. Tyrian lit up at this, like it was a signal he'd been waiting for, because now he was cackling. "I bet you're curious what's gonna happen to you, aren't you? Well, in a few minutes your legs will slowly start to tingle before you lose control over them. After that, the same thing's gonna happen to your arms, and you're gonna sit nice and still for me. I'm gonna go and hand you over to some good friends of mine and they're gonna give your daddy a ring and he's gonna give us a nice paycheck before we give you back," The more Tryrian explained the faster Winter's heart beat; now it was going so fast she was worried it might pop. Honestly, that might be preferable to whatever happened to her.
"Don't worry, nobody's gonna hurt a white hair on your pretty little head, you're way too valuable for that… But then again, who knows?" He asked, leaning in so close Winter could feel his breath on her cheek. Winter shivered and turned away from him and to the window, her hot breath and tears clouded the glass.
But, even through the fog and the tears, she still saw a tall man in a white dress shirt stomping down the sidewalk just ahead of them coming their way. Qrow! Winter thought desperately, relief and adrenaline filling her body.
There was a four way stop a few car lengths up the road, totally deserted aside from Tyrians car going down the road and Qrow walking up it. Qrow was heading back to the banquet hall from the look of things, and Tyrian was about to drive right by him once they passed the light.
Winter's jaw opened up, and if she could've she would've yelled for him. Instead, it came out as a grumble, which just made Tyrian laugh louder, like her suffering was fueling him.
"No need to cry so loudly, it won't help you any," Tyrian grinned madly, slowing down as the light ahead of them turned yellow.
An idea flashed in her head, and she hoped to anyone listening that it worked. The light turned red and Tyrain came to a stop, like any good law-abiding citizen would, while Qrow started to walk towards them briskly.
The closer he got the clearer WInter could see his face. He wasn't mad anymore, but somber and thoughtful, scratching his chin not realizing that there wasn't any hair to itch. He was looking down at the snowy ground, his thoughts raging.
Winter had to do something to get him to notice her quickly, or else her window of opportunity would disappear. She cast a quick glance at Tyrian and saw an easy smile on his lips, his eyes too busy looking her body up and down to notice her gaze.
"That dress really does suit you, I thought that when you walked in. I was really hoping that red head would be joining us tonight, but you win some you lose some," He cackled, leaning back in his seat like he was taking a victory lap.
Tyrian turned on the radio to some nauseating rock music, tapping his finger on the wheel as he enjoyed himself.
Winter's stomach was churning hard, and she felt like she could be sick at any moment. If there was one saving grace to any of this, it was that Amy had been lucky enough to not go with her. Whatever happened from here on out, she was at least glad for that.
With the glow of the red light illuminating her, she took a deep breath and slammed her head against her window so hard the car shook. Winter could instantly feel a lump growing right above her forehead. She was glad her hair was covering it. It wouldn't be the best if her first Christmas pictures with the girls and Qrow had her sporting a huge bruise.
Tyrian looked around the car, confused on what just happened. He turned down the music for a moment and looked around. His eyes went to Winter for an instant before he shrugged, turning the music back up. Either he didn't notice she'd hit the car, or he really didn't care about what she did right now.
Qrow'd also been snapped out of his daze, at least a little bit. He was looking around, confused at what he'd heard and where it had come from. He was looking over at a coffee shop when Winter hit the window again, even harder than the last time.
Winter's vision went blurry and she wasn't sure if it was from the drugs or the head trauma. Qrow was shifting around in her vision, but he was looking right at her now. He was looking at her as if she was looking at a ghost, with a lot of skepticism and fear.
"Winter, is that you?" He asked from outside the car, walking up to it quickly. Winter hardly heard him and she was glad. That meant Tyrian probably hadn't heard him at all. She looked out at the window, gasping from the pain and nodded to Qrow.
He didn't say anything, but he could see something was wrong with her as he got to the car. Winter looked up at him, her panting fogging up the glass so much she was scared he'd lose sight of her. Her mind was hazy, but she found the strength to mouth one word. "Help," She begged silently, another tear falling from her eyes.
Qrow grabbed at the handle and tried to pull it open, but it held strong, "Hey, open up the car! Winter, are you ok?" He yelled to Tyrian, finally cutting through the sounds of the guitar and getting him to turn towards Qrow. Qrow used his elbow to hit Winter's window, and she saw it wain. On the second hit, a spiderweb of cracks grew along the window.
Winter closed her eyes tight, readying herself for the glass to come flying in with Qrows elbow. But the third hit never came. Tyrian had finally understood what was going on and had hit the gas hard, leaving Qrow in the dust.
"Winter!" She heard Qrow yell, his cries growing more and more distant with every passing second as they drove past the red light. Winter opened her eyes and looked back at him, her stomach somehow dropping even lower as her last hope was left behind. H
Winter felt Tyrian grab onto her hair, yanking her face away from the window and away from Qrow, she saw how much he wanted to throw her against the dashboard. He came close, but he held back, instead he forced her backward so she was leaning back in her seat.
"You better hope that stunt didn't leave a mark! Damaged goods aren't exactly good in my line of work," He balled his fists like he was about to hit her, but then dropped them, thinking better of it.
Winter felt her breathing start to get out of control again, Qrow was gone and it was just her again. The numbness was climbing up her legs, and Winter wanted to burst into tears when she realized that she couldn't wiggle her toes anymore.
"Ooh, starting to lose a bit more feeling? Don't worry, that won't last for too long. When we get to my friends, they'll give you something that'll make you go to sleep. Just imagine all the fun dreams you're going to have," He whispered into her ear sending a torrent of fear up her body. Tyrian might not have been willing to hit her, but that meant he took even more pleasure out of finding other ways to hurt her
Some part of Winter wanted to give up, to accept whatever happened to her, to try her best and simply ignore everything that happened to her, hoping that nobody did anything too bad to her or at least hoping she wouldn't have to remember it too clearly…
But an image of her mom crossed into her head, and Winter felt a sense of calm wash over her. There'd been a time not too long ago where Willow Schnee was told there was no point in fighting, that she should live her last few days peacefully. But that wasn't what Willow Schnee did. Willow fought every day of her life to smile, to try and stay positive for her daughters and husband, to try her best even though it was hopeless. If there was ever a time to be like Willow Schnee, it was now.
The first thing Winter did was calm her breathing down. She took a long breath in and counted in her head, one, two, three… Letting the air out slowly. She did this two more times, getting more and more control over herself with each second that passed until she finally felt a bit more grounded.
Winter knew a few things. She knew that her legs were numb, but when she tried to move her fingers, they worked almost perfectly. This gave her a bit of well needed confidence and a bit more to work with.
Winter also knew that Tyrian was dropping her off somewhere, probably in the city or just outside of it. And if they were going to the edge of the city, she didn't have long.
Her neurons were firing faster than ever before. It didn't help that Tyrian was giggling every few seconds like he was a kid waiting to open his Christmas presents, it was throwing her off.
Winter moved her fingers one more time making sure they could work, but then she stopped. Not because she was losing feeling or because of Tyrian, but because she felt something wet and sticky on her fingers. She cast her eyes downward and saw a small bit of red blood on her fingers.
An idea popped into Winter's head. A dumb, dangerous idea, but it was something. She moved her eyes to the side and saw that her purse was still open, apparently, she'd forgotten to close it up after dropping her keys into it. Winter felt chills go up her back, and her heart started to beat harder and deeper with excitement and terror.
Winter knew that she only had one chance to get this right. She knew that the edge of the city was fast approaching, she was running out of time, and that she was getting farther and farther away from Qrow with every passing second. As much as she wanted to overthink and make sure everything was perfect and safe, she didn't have that luxury right now. She didn't have any options left, so that meant that it was time to be like Mom.
Winter looked over at Tyrian, his right hand on the wheel while his left rested on his leg, tapping on his jeans to whatever song he was blasting over the speakers. Winter felt sweat start to drip off of her as she moved her arm, which was a lot heavier than normal, as silently as she could over to her purse, her fingers slipping inside.
The tips of her fingers were starting to get numb, so Winter used her palm to feel around, sighing with relief as she found what she was looking for. Her eyes moved over to Tyrian once more, who looked like he just wanted all of this to be done with so he could go home.
Tyrian didn't notice her movements, or at least he didn't act like he had. There was a green light ahead and no other cars in sight, which was about as good as Winter could hope for. Her arms might have been heavy, but Winter didn't care as she pulled her hand out from her purse and lifted it high, Amy's sharp nail file grasped between her fingers tightly. She brought it down hard and fast into the side of Tyrian's right leg, winching as she heard the sharp edge slide into his flesh an inch or two, blood pouring out of the wound and onto her hand.
"Jesus Christ! You crazy bitch!" He shrieked in agony, his right hand going for his wound while his left shakily grabbed hold of the wheel. Winter pushed harder with one hand, the edge eating deeper into the side of his leg, while her other hand reached for the wheel.
Tyrian was a bit distracted, so he didn't give her much of a fight when she wrestled the wheel away from him. Tyrian was grasping at his leg, screams and curses flying from his mouth as blood streamed down his leg.
Winters mind was totally blank now and her body was on full auto-piolet, trying its best to keep her alive. For some reason though, her body thought that the best thing for her to do was to take the wheel away from Tyrian. Not to try and take them anywhere, oh no. Instead, Winter took the wheel and pulled it towards her as hard as she could, forcing the car into a sharp turn.
Shock and fury was still engraved on Tyrians face as he looked up from his wound, "You're gonna regret that you stuid bitch!" He shouted as he reached towards her, his hand about to wrap around her neck. But through the haze of pain, he seemed to finally get what was happening to the car.
Despite the agony, he reached out and ripped the wheel from Winters's grasp, giving her the perfect opportunity to stab even deeper. He let go of the wheel and grabbed at his leg again, bringing a chorus of cries from his lips.
Winter let go of the file and brought her arms around her head protectively. For a second she was afraid Tyrian would go for the wheel again, but it was too late now. The car had started to skid in the road, the back end of the car came rushing forward as they lost control, spinning out. Out of the corner of her eye, Winter could see a street lamp looming, coming closer and closer.
Tyrian hadn't been smart enough to take his foot off the gas, so they were only getting faster. Tyrian's screams echoed in her ears. If she could've, Winter would've been screaming too.
They crashed into the light with a crunch as it hit the front left of the car, sending both of them lurching forward viscously.
There was an explosion of noise around them, the piercing sound of glass shattering and the horrible crunching noise of bending metal almost deafened popped Winters ear drums. The momentum of the car forced her forwards, her arms cushioned the impact, but it still hurt as she hit. Winters numb legs seemed to slip, and she couldn't catch herself as she fell down and to the side, her eyes closed tightly as she bounced around the car.
Winter was vaguely aware of Tyrian getting thrown violently to the side, but she couldn't focus on anything right now, let alone him. As she settled at the bottom of the car, her mind couldn't help but notice the lack of airbags and wondered if Tyrian knew about that before now.
The engine was a creaking, sputtering disaster that was whining loudly. Winter wondered if it would explode like in a cartoon, but soon enough the sputtering sounds died and Winter was left in a crippling silence, her gasping breaths the only thing to be heard for miles.
Winter kept her eyes glued shut and her arms around her head, expecting another large crash to come from somewhere and to fling her into something else. The copper taste of blood filled her mouth as she felt her whole body trembling.
Slowly, like a baby, Winter opened her eyes for what felt like the first time. She was lying at the bottom of the car, Tyrian's feet by her head and broken bits of glass covering her like a new coat. She moved her arms from around her head, they felt a lot more banged up than they had a few minutes before, and started to dust the glass off of her face.
Once she was mostly clear of glass, Winter forced her left hand under her body, it was mostly numb now, but the adrenaline coursing through her veins was stronger than the drugs. She forced herself up into a sitting position through sheer will power, careful to avoid cutting her hands on the shards of glass.
Looking around, Winter saw that Tyrian was sitting motionless in his seat, his head leaning to the left, bleeding lightly. He would've been resting on the window if it was still there, but it was currently on the floor in pieces now. He was breathing, thankfully, but he was unconscious.
Winter felt a breeze come through the car, but the cold didn't even register for her. She looked over to her side of the car and saw that her door's window had been shattered too. Not only that, but the door was hanging on one hinge, swinging back and forth in the wind.
Winter tried to get to her feet, to walk away from this nightmare, but her arms didn't have the energy to push her anymore. Even if they did, her legs were completely shot now, and she wouldn't have been able to walk anyway. She wasn't sure why, but Winter leaned back and started to laugh hard and deep. If any of Tyrian's friends found her, she wouldn't be able to fight them off or get away. Tears rolled down her face as Winter laughed, hoping that Tyrian didn't wake up. But honestly, Winter didn't exactly care what happened anymore.
There was a crunching noise coming from somewhere Winter couldn't see that stopped the laughter. Winter looked around for something to use as a weapon, but stopped when she realized her arms were totally useless. She couldn't even put her arms up to defend herself anymore.
Then, a tall man with black messy hair, orange eyes, and a warm heart came into view, the snow crunching beneath him. When she saw him, she started to cry uncontrollably, a smile on her face as she tried to reach out for him.
"Winter, oh god that is you! What happened, why're you with that guy from your apartment?" Qrow questioned out of breath, his hands on his knees. He didn't wait for an answer before he got into the car and started to pull Winter up. He was gentle with her, rubbing her back softly and telling her sweet nothings while he got her into the passenger seat after he'd gotten all of the broken glass off of it.
Winter forced her arms around Qrow with strength she didn't know she had left as she balled. She tried to tell him what had happened, but it only came out like a bunch of mush. She managed to get a few words out, "Take… Bad… Help," but Qrow seemed to get the message loud and clear.
He grabbed her and pulled her out of the car, carrying her like a sleeping princess as he walked off to the side of the road. He sat down and kept Winter in his lap, her eyes were closed and her head leaning into the crook of his neck. The sweet smell of oil was starting to replace the smell of blood, the beating of his heart keeping the silence at bay.
She was vaguely aware of him bringing out his phone and talking to the police, but she knew she was already safe, so Winter didn't really care. She didn't pay attention to what he said to the cops, but she did pay attention to the warmth the two of them were sharing as the snow fell around them in the night.
Qrow talked to the police calmly, and she could feel his eyes on her the whole time, nervously looking to see how she was doing.
"Are you ok?" Qrow finally asked after he'd finished explaining to the police, the sound of sirens was in the distance.
"Yeab," Winter said, her mouth starting to feel like whatever had clogged it up was starting to dissipate.
"What happened? You were just at the party, why're you here?" He asked in a panic, mind racing. Winter shook her head and forced her arm up, putting a shaky hand on his chest.
"Later," Was all she got out, knowing any more and her words would fall apart like a house of cards in an earthquake.
"W-What happened?" Winter heard from the car, and heard glass shifting around. There was a sharp intake of breath, and pained sounds coming from the car. Winter opened her eyes and looked over to the car, and saw Tyrian looking around, dazed.
"What's his deal?" Qrow asked Winter, eyes looking at her for any info, intensity and anger radiating from him.
"Bad," Winter forced herself to stutter out, making sure every syllable was clear. Qrow eyed Tyrian down, his face stern. He shifted Winter off of his lap and onto the cold sidewalk below.
"Can you still sit up?" He gently asked her, and she nodded to him in response, "Good. I'll be right back. There's something I have to do before the cops come," He smiled at her, reaching out and grabbing her hand, giving it a long squeeze and leaving his cell phone in her numb fingers, where the 911 operator was still talking to nobody.
When he let go of her, a hard and terrifying look came onto his face, and Winter was sure then that this was what pure fury looked like. He had the presence of someone a lot bigger and a lot scarier as he walked back to the car, the snow had stopped falling, and Winter was positive that it was because it was afraid of Qrow right now.
Winter watched as Qrow walked slowly over to the driver side of the car, where the back left of the car was wedged into the street light. He stepped around the broken glass and bits of blood like they were cracks in the sidewalk.
"Hey, I'm not sure if you remember me, but I'm a friend of Winters. We met in the elevator," Qrow said casually, "Oh, it looks like she really got you good in the leg there, and that's a pretty good gash on your head. I've seen some bad shit, and I can tell you you're gonna be fine. Might have a bit of a limp from now on, but it could be worse," Qrow noted, pointing at the nail file, still deep in Tyrian's leg, blood oozing onto his pants.
"Glad to hear it," Tyrian breathed, his eyes hazy, "Could you help me get out of here?" He asked in a pissed off and aggravated tone, like he had somewhere to be and this was the least important thing on his mind.
"Course, buddy," Qrow said pleasantly, but Winter felt prickles move up her arms at how much rage and anger Qrow was giving off. All of Winter's instincts were telling her that this was a predator about to go in for the kill.
Qrow opened the door, which fell off as soon as he opened it, and reached in to unbuckle Tyrian's seat belt. Then, Qrow got serious. He grabbed Tyrian's collar and dragged him out of the car in one motion, Tyrian screamed in agony, his leg moving and the file cutting deeper. Qrow held him a foot off the ground, his hands tangled in Tyrian's shirt, while the pathetic man weakly grabbed at Qrow, trying to free himself.
"Can you do me a favor and pay attention, what was your name? Tyrian? Can you pay attention for me Tyrian?" Qrow growled, shoving him harder into the side of the car. Tyrian nodded, not talking because he either couldn't get that much air or he was too scared. Winter was betting on the latter.
"Good. Now I might not know exactly what happened here, but something tells me I have a pretty good idea. If I wasn't such a good guy, I'd probably throw you in a river somewhere and smile as the fishes ate you," There was a dark glint in Qrows eyes that made it clear exactly how honest he was being with Tyrian, and they both knew it.
"But since I'm so nice, I'm not going to do that. Instead, I'm going to give you a warning and I'm going to hit you. Hard. Here's the warning, if you or anyone else tries to mess with my friend again, I'll come and find you. I've had a lot of experience tracking pieces of filth like you down, and nobody will notice if you disgraces get a bit banged up or worse. So, to make myself clear, if you come near Winter ever again, or even look in her direction, I'll end your pitiful existence with an honest to god smile on my face. Got it?" Qrow growled murderously. Tyrian started to wiggle like a snake now, trying to get out of Qrows grasp, but nothing could get Qrow to let go now. "Understand?"
"Yes! Yes, I understand, please let me go!" Tyrian cried, tears spilling down his face from fear and anguish. Qrow smiled and let him go, grinning even bigger as Tyrian screeched when his leg hit the ground, falling onto his rear end against the side of the car, cradling his injured leg.
"Good. Now don't run off now, not that you could. I have a feeling some people are really gonna wanna hear everything you have to say. Oh, and best not lie, or else," Qrow smiled as he started to walk away, leaving Tyrian a crying, gasping pile of filth in the street.
"Wait, didn't you say you were going to hit me?" He questioned, looking at Qrows back. This made Qrow stop, turn around, and start walking back with a smile, which was the last thing Tyrian wanted.
"Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me," Qrow told him gruffly before he brought his leg back as far as it could, launching it right into Tyrian's gut with enough force to knock the air out of his lungs. Tyrian gaped and grabbed at his stomach, trying his best to keep his food down.
Qrow grabbed Tyrians long ponytail, pulling it into the air and getting Tyrians head up, "I know this makes me a liar, but I don't really care," Qrow spat, before smashing his fist into the side of Tyrians face hard and knocking him to the ground with a thud.
Tyrian's mouth opened and closed, like he was trying to say something, but only anguished squeeks came out, something that brought a smile to Winters lips. "Sorry about the second hit, but you really deserved it," Qrow sighed, his breathing out of control. He walked away, leaving Tyrian collapsed on the ground for the cops to find.
Qrow came back to Winter, his eyes wide and crazed, he sat down with his fists clenched and his breathing erratic to say the last. Winter knew he wanted to go back over there and keep hitting Tyrian, but she was so glad he decided to come back and sit with her instead.
"La-p," Winter said brokenly, getting Qrows attention. His eyes seemed to calm down as he looked at her, an actual smile growing on his face as he silently picked Winter up and moved her back to his lap.
Winter heaved her arm up and rested it on Qrows shoulder. Her fingers were numb, so she moved her hand up and down his hair reassuringly. Her other arm took a few tries, but she got it up on his other shoulder and had the strength to pull him into a hug.
Qrow sighed as he leaned into her, "Even after all this, you're still just trying to make everyone else feel better. Pff, yeah, that sounds about right for you," He chuckled, his breathing starting to get under control now. He grabbed her around the waist and leaned his forehead so it was resting on her shoulder, looking down at the ground.
"I'm so glad you're ok…" He talked so quietly that even if someone had been standing right next to them, Winter still would've been the only person to hear what he said.
The two of them sat in each others embrace for a long time, the snow falling softly on their skin, both of them relieved. When one of them would start crying, the other would do their best to soothe them and calm them down. Then, when the other started to cry, the same thing would happen.
They went like that until the sirens that had started off in the far distance were right on top of them, the red and blue flashing lights speeding towards them. But honestly, Winter didn't care about any of that. She breathed, and moved her hand through Qrows hair. She was still shaking with terror, afraid of what would happen next, but at least she knew that Qrow would be by her side no matter what.
-Authors note/question-
First of all, a quick question: Who's your favorite character from this story so far and why? I'm just curious.
Second, this was probably one of my favorite chapters to write so far, so I really hope you guys enjoyed it. What are your guys thoughts on the story so far? Thoughts on how it might end? We're getting close to the end now, and its kind of surreal, almost been a full year of this story now, and I'm amazed so many people read it weekly! Or, like, at all! Definitely crazy to me. But, anyway, have a great week!