Zinna pointed the camera face down on the chair, then walked over to me.
"I did what you asked. Please, don't hurt them." I begged.
"Don't you know that there's only one way supernaturals can truly be hurt? The only way to kill them effectively is through pain. Simple enough, right?" She signed, smiling as she motioned.
"You can't use wolfsbane! I saw you get trapped that night in the bank vault!" I said. "Not for long. And no, I won't be using wolfsbane."
With those words, she closed the distance between us and brought a knife up to my face. It was so polished that I could see my reflection in it as clear as any mirror.
"Emotional pain," she put the blade in its case before signing again, "is what kills us. Luckily for my family, I was strong enough to move past their murders. You would know all about that, wouldn't you?"
I gasped, looking up at her.
"How do you know about my family?" I whispered. "A little birdy." She signed. "Do you know him?" I asked. "I know of him. A genius truly." She replied.
I gulped. "Is he here?"
"Well now, I wouldn't want to ruin any surprises! I'm sure your big brother will give you a warm, welcoming reunion...that is if you make it out of here." She said back.
"I don't care what you do to me." I stated, "Just please, don't hurt my friends. They will do what you ask."
"Somehow, I'm not assured," she signed, then rolled her eyes and took a blocky item from a duffle bag behind the chair.
"What is that?" I asked.
Smiling, she tore the plastic from around it, and held it up for me to see.
A bomb.
I really wasn't going to make it out. I never told Theo that I loved him.
Tears began to slip down my cheeks silently. I would die, and he would never know that regardless of the nightmare he had revealed to me, I loved him.
I loved him more than my next breath. He had opened up to me a world I had never dreamed possible. A safe world where I was desired and protected. Where I hadn't been a freak, or a serial killer's sister. If I was going to die, I had to tell him, somehow.
"Thinking of that aggressive moron?" She signed snarkily as she passed by me. I heard her set the bomb down, then a few clicking noises and a beep.
Then tick-tocking.
She returned to stand in front of me.
"I suppose I could let you watch the seconds tick by." She commented, then reached up and loosened the rope. She pushed me to the oppsotie side of the beam, forced me to sit, and tied my hands behind the pole.
I was facing the bomb now, which ticked by at 4:29:07.
"Wait!" I said as she stood back up, "You said they had twenty-four hours!" "I never said you did. I said I wouldn't hurt the townspeople. Remember what I said about emotional pain?" She signed, then bent down and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear, "That's how I break your pack. I won't have to kill them. They'll kill themselves. Be it through anger, or seeking revenge, or sadness or insanity. It'll be very poetic, I'm sure."
When her hands settled, she stood back up and walked upstairs, leaving me alone to watch the bomb tick down to my death.
The break up with Theo weighed on me heavily at that moment. It seemed so stupid now. Faced with a bomb that would end my life in four and a half hours, it didn't even matter then. Why hadn't I said that I could get past it and that I loved him?
And now, I would never get the chance.
But I had to try and save myself. More than likely, she would be too busy to bother checking on me again.
I couldn't see much in the darkness of the basement. Besides the light to my back and the numbers on the bomb, there was nothing but pitch black around me.
Using my feet, I stretched my leg as far as I could and searched for anything that might be sharp enough to use against the rope. I started from the left, and slowly swept across the floor. Dirt scraped under my shoe, but I felt nothing.
I kept going. Just before I stopped at the farthest I could reach to the right, I heard a light clank, like metal, on the cement.
I could just barely touch it.
I was so tired. The amount of blood I had lost, along with the probable concussion Zinna had given me, was not a good combination. I could pass out at any second, and for who knew how long. Then time would dwindle, and my friends...Theo...would never know they were running on 19 hours shorter time than they were told.
But I stretched farther, feeling an ache from reaching more than I ever had. My shoe caught on to the object and I attempted to drag it to me.
By the time I had even gotten in within light enough for me to see, a little under an hour had passed. I could see now that it was a dull hatchet blade. Rust colored the old metal, and the handle was long gone. If I could manage to push it to my hands somehow, I might could wear the rope down.
But how long would that take?
~Theo POV~
I sat in my truck, going back and forth between rubbing my eyes and pinching the bridge of my nose.
We had searched for three hours, and not even a scent.
This thing had hidden her well, and I was nauseous at the thought that she could be dying right now, and I couldn't help her. I had promised that I would protect her, and I had failed.
Where on earth could this thing have stored her?
A message came through on my phone, and I begged for it to not be a video of Cassia. I didn't want to see her like that again until I was untying and kissing her.
I blew a sigh when Liam's name appeared on the screen.
Arrow arrived undectected and safely. Chris will hide it. Making drop off at two a.m.
I looked at the clock, and read 12:43 A.M.
Hopefully, if we met with her, she would tell us where Cassia was. If it meant giving up the Dorados, so be it.
I put the phone down on my knee and rubbed my face again. I felt more tired than usual, probably because I wasn't used to such worry. I had never had to worry about anyone, because they were disposible. Cassia...my only exception.
I took the spear from the passenger seat and gripped the wooden handle. I thought back to the very first time Cassia had sat in that seat. She was angry at me, which is exactly what I had wanted. She'd crossed her legs and stared out the window the entire time, then proceeded to bark commands at me once we got back to Cora's house.
I smiled to myself.
Once I got her out of there, I would show her a good life. Even though I didn't love the thought, I would go so far as to marry her one day, so long as she stayed by my side.
Blowing a sigh, I got out of the truck and stood in the parking lot of the hospital, heading toward the dumpster where Cora would meet me to give the creature the weapons.
Cora was propped up against the big, blue garbage can, and met my look as I approached. "Any sign yet?" I asked, handing her the spear.
"Nope, but it shouldn't be long." She replied, taking the arrows from her jacket pocket.
About twenty minutes later, a car came into the lot and parked. A figure that I recognized stepped from the driver's seat. I would never have guessed that this small framed girl would be our creature.
She held up a piece of paper with words scribbled on it.
Where are the Dorados
"Ensenada, Mexico." Cora said, "Here, here is everything, even the leftover dust." She thrust the wrapped up items into the creature's hands, "Where is our friend?"
The creature smiled, then turned and began walking off. Oh, she wasn't going to pull this shit, not with me.
"Hey, snake-eyes," I growled, snatching her backwards, making her almost drop the things she carried, "Where is she?"
The creature growled in response, dropped the weapons and threw a punch, connecting it to my gut. As I bent over to try and regain my air supply, she scratched words onto the board and showed them to us.
No hints. She has limited time. Better hurry.
"That's not good enough!" I gasped out, but she was already leaving again. Cora raced after her, landing a punch to her jaw. The creature roared, then grew her claws out.
"Think I'm scared of your poison, Mute?" Cora snarled. Growling, the creature struck out, and Cora responded with a perfect blow to the creature's inner elbow, breaking the bone.
The creature dropped the weapons then, and began to fully shift. We watched as she grew taller and scaly, and her eyes narrowed into silver, reptilian slits.
"Theo, it's time." Cora said, and I stood taller.
Oh yes, it was.
Time for the showdown, and time for this creature to die.
I sprung forward, attempting to grab a weapon and the creature swung her tail, slicing deeply into my forearm. Blood colored the torn fabric of my jacket and I backed away from her next strike.
Cora jumped forward, landing a punch to the creature's nose. When she struck the sensitive area, the creature roared in pain and swung at her with it's claws. They tore her shirt front, but missed her skin by half an inch.
"Theo, get a weapon!" She screamed, swinging at the creature again and missing.
I dove for the weapons, but it was too late.
In Cora's haste to yell the words to me, the creature struck out and pushed it's claws into her stomach. With a final roar, the creature snatched the weapons up and shifted back, running toward the car.
I ran to Cora's side and she struggled to continue breathing. "Damn it, Cora!" I yelled, "You should never have taken your eyes off of her!"
"Too...late," She whispered, holding her mangled stomach.
Green veins were making their way up her stomach and down her legs.
"Didn't...think t-that this...would be it." She gasped, giving a rough grunt of a laugh.
"Do you really think you're getting out of this that easy?" I said icily, pulling a syringe with the herbs from my back jeans pocket, "You owe Cassia enough to stick around a while longer."
I then forced the needle into her side and pushed on the syringe. She roared in pain, but the veins began clearing up and eventually all of it was gone, even the entry wound.
"How in the hell did you have that?" She panted, sitting up.
"Melissa." I said, standing up and looking to where the creature's vehicle had been, "She didn't tell us where she is."
"We'll find her, come on," She grunted again, and stood up.
**That was a close one for Cora, but at least Theo thought fast! NOw they have to find Cassia before it's too late! Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed!**