Author's Note: Before we delve into this new chapter, I just want to thank Muscarie and AmoreDellaLuna for reviewing and keeping up with the story. You the real MVP's. Now on to the next chapter!

Chapter 9

Hotline Bling

Dominique and Carmen held each other in the darkness, tears in their eyes. Anika looks out from their hiding spot while Mike dials the number for the embassy to answer. They're so close to going home, close to this nightmare coming to an end…

"It's ringing, shh…" Mike hushes the two. The three crowd around Mike, the rings being their lifeline.

"Hello, US Embassy of…"

"Hello? I am Michael Jameson. Me and my friends are stranded on an island and are in grave danger. We need…"

"Sir, slow down. What is it you're saying?"

"We're hostages. Hostages on an island, where it's inhabited by pirates and drug lords. We're Americans; our families are…"

"What islands are these?"

"I…I don't know. I think these are the…" he looks at an outdated map, "Rook Islands."

"Sir, Rook Islands are uncharted territory. There's nothing we can do to…"

"Please, sir. You're our only hope!" Carmen cries.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. But it's not on our records. It's undocumented. Our hands are tied."

Click.

"No, no, no," Carmen shakes with sobs. Dominique strokes her back, eyes burning.

The US Embassy won't retrieve them.

They're stranded here.

Gunshots break the silence, followed by screams.

"What the fuck is that?" Mike hissed.

"It's Vaas. He looks pissed." Anika assesses, peeking through the slit of their hideaway.

"You want to fuck with me? Huh? You want to fuck with me? I mean, you got some huge fucking balls to steal from me! Come out with your hands up, motherfuckers, and maybe I won't have to kill you slowly!"

"Shit! He knows!" Anika ducks down, eyes wide like saucers.

"We've been so careful, what could've…"

"I forgot. He does inventory of whatever's in the vault." Burka whispers.

"We're going to die. We're going to die!" Carmen breaks out into sobbing.

"Shut up, Carmen. We don't want him to hear—"

Gunshots. Bodies are dropping.

"The longer you make me wait, the more impatient I become, hermanos. And I think you know you should never keep me fucking waiting."

"He wants us," Burka says silently. Fargo looks up.

"We come out, slowly, and we'll hope it will be quick. You need to start running and hiding. Once he gets his hands on you, you're going to die."

"No." Anika replies.

"We leave together. We can…"

"Come out, come out, wherever you are…I know you're out here somewhere…I can smell fear."

Gunshot.

Another body drops.

Carmen's stifled screams breaks out in the darkness.

"Shut up, shut the fuck up." Dominique presses her hands to Carmen's mouth.

"Come out…Dominique? Doc? I can hear you…"

The group holds each other, trying to stay as silent as possible.

The tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife; the atmosphere's silence is setting Dominique on edge.

Footsteps arrive at the hiding spot.

They slowly leave the area.

Dominique and Anika let out a sigh of relief.

They've been ripped away from their hiding spot one by one; there stands Vaas and his men pointing their guns at them.

"Peek-a-boo, motherfuckers." Vaas grins wickedly.

In the midst of all this terror, a tinny ringtone of an 80s one-hit wonder plays from Dominique's phone.

"Please, tell me, what gave you the balls? Hm? What gave you the fucking idea that you can fuck with me?"

Dominique, Anika, Carmen, and Mike are bound, gagged, and at the mercy of Vaas and his men. Fargo and Burka were killed not too long ago; they were forced to watch as he tortured, beat, and eventually kill them with a bullet in the head. Their bodies lie at their feet, an omen of what's to come.

They know not to beg; begging will get them nowhere. They instead look onward, praying in unison that their deaths will be swift and quick. Dominique forces herself to not make eye contact with Vaas; he seems to be the most venomous when he locks eyes with her.

"I like you, Doc. I actually liked you." He ruffles her dreads. She jerks her head to the side.

"Nurse, mi amigo, you surprised me. Normally I thought you wouldn't be this fucking stupid. I'm disappointed."

"Cook, I'm going to miss your food. I'm going to regret killing you most of all. That dinner you made last week," he whistles, "was to die for." He chuckles. He makes his way to Dominique, and his expression darkens.

"You, you never cease to amaze me," he crouches down to her and yanks off her gag, his right hand grabbing her curls and twisting. She winces.

"You bargain for your life, you share a bed with me, you clean my room, you bathed with me and did all my men's laundry," he grins, "and you try to fuck me over. Tell me, hermana. What should I do with you? I'll even let you choose how you want to die."

"Fuck you," her tongue slips, "you fucking monster."

"In the face of death, you become feisty." He pulls a knife from his sheath.

"I'm going to enjoy killing you, nice and slow, until you beg me to stop and you're screaming my name in the night." His voice croons in her ear. It sounded low, seductive, like sex. Heat roars deep in her gut and she swallows it down.

"As much as I enjoy having your company, I'm afraid our relationship must come to an end." He stands up and strolls over to Carmen.

He cocks his gun and aims it at Carmen's head.

"No hard feelings-"

A loud explosion throws everyone off balance. Dominique sees smoke and flame eat at the trees above Vaas' head.

"Fuck!" He shouts.

"Get to the fucking village! They're ambushing!"

The men scatter. Vaas looks at them.

"Guess we're going to have to continue this, uh…chat…later, yeah?" the tip of his dagger graces Dominique's nose.

"Don't go running off now." He chuckles, then runs off.

Another explosion goes off; this time it's getting closer to the four.

"We can't just wait here until he comes back. We need to get moving." Dominique wiggles in her chair, feeling the material creak and groan against her weight. She could break this thing with little effort.

Rocking back and forth, she falls to her side, the chair splintering into pieces and the ropes sliding off of her. She gets up, massaging her wrists, and makes her way to free her friends.

"That was a close call. Who could be attacking at this time?" Mike asked.

"Whoever it is, we owe them one." Anika replied.

"C'mon, let's get moving before they bomb this place next."

Foliage and trees cut into Dominique's skin as she runs, the blanket of nature becoming her cover. She's lost her friends in the chaos; a few of Vaas' men spotted them and in a fit of panic they fled in separate directions. She was close to Carmen, but she vanished in by the river. She prays she makes it out safely; she would be heartbroken if her friend died in their quest for freedom.

She's doing better than expected; Vaas and Carmen inadvertently taught her about the jungle. She armed herself with a sharp stick even; it may not be as effective as a gun but she can stab someone in their neck if they get too close. She sees the sea and breaks out into a sprint. There's a boat there, she could get help, she could—

Someone grabs her from behind and slams her to a tree, their grimy hand stopping her from screaming.

"Drop. The fucking. Stick." The voice orders.

It's Vaas.

"Didn't I tell you not to run? You Americans never want to fucking listen."