Two chapters in one day! Felicity is rescued.
An old church. That's where Felicity was at. Oliver stared up at the dilapidated building. The once shining beacon of hope and peace was now beaten down and abandoned. Where there was once gleaming windows depicting scenes from the Old Testament, they were now bordered over and broken. The brick was crumbling in spots and the grass was overtaken by weeds. The sidewalk was cracked in multiple places. Despite the disheveled look of the place, the door was brand new.
"Not subtle," Diggle commented. "Who puts a new door on an old building when they're trying to hide?"
"People who aren't trying to hide," Oliver replies.
Oliver walked to the door and twisted the knob. It was unlocked. He looked back at Digg and motioned him over. He unclipped his gun from his side and joined him at the door. Oliver slid an arrow from his quiver and signaled Digg to push the door open.
The door slowly swung open. They could see a faint light somewhere in the back of the main room. Otherwise, it was dark. Oliver entered first, bow and arrow ready. Diggle followed, covering his back. He heard a creak from above and swung his gun in that direction. His eyes did not see anything, but the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.
Oliver inched forward, skirting around broken pews and tarp covered floors. He made his way to the source of the light, which turned out to be a lantern. He spotted what looked to be a door beyond the lantern. He motioned to Digg and they both went to the door. He put his bow and arrow down, against his side and nudged open the door.
The room was lit. A large desk with a bank of computer screens sat in the middle of the room. A dark-haired man was seated in front of one of the screens. He was chuckling at something on the screen while eating a bowl of popcorn. He didn't hear them enter. Oliver slid behind him until the tip if his arrow grazed his neck. The man froze and slowly turned around. When he saw the Arrow standing in front of him, arrow drawn, his face paled and his popcorn dropped to the ground.
"What...what," his voice wobbled.
"Where is she?" He asked, voice menacing.
The mans hand trembled as he pointed at the screen behind him.
"Watch him," Oliver told Diggle.
He pushed the man out-of-the-way and looked at the computer monitor. What he saw made him sick. Felicity was tied to a chair, in just her bra and underwear. Blood covered her from various wounds on her body. She was crying. She was in pain.
And this man had been sitting her, with his bowl of popcorn. Watching her torture like it was a feature film. His arrow snapped in his hand as rage clouded his brain. He swung around and grabbed the man by his throat. He slammed him against his desk, enjoying the sound of the smack of his head against one of the keyboards.
"Where is she?" He demanded, hand tightening around his throat.
Diggle stepped forward and looked at the screen. He cursed. She didn't look good.
"Downstairs," the man choked out. Spots were forming in front of his eyes as oxygen became scarce. If the Arrow didn't let go soon, he was going to die.
Oliver desperately wanted to kill this piece of filth. His hand tightened even more before he loosened his grip. "The only reason you're alive is because of her. She dies and you die too."
Felicity felt drowsy. Her body hurt in so many places. Colin quit pretending he was interrogating her and moved to his favorite pastime.
Cutting women.
Making them bleed.
Scream.
She screamed. She screamed so loud her voice became hoarse. She knew she was losing more blood than she should. If Oliver didn't come soon, she was going to be dead. He couldn't find her like this. He'd never recover and would blame himself.
She vaguely heard the door slamming open. Shouting happened before a fight broke out. She couldn't get her eyes to open wide enough to see what was going on.
Suddenly someone was in front of her. She whimpered when they touched her shoulder.
"Shh," the person soothed. "It's me."
Her head came up, the cut at her neck protesting the movement. When her eyes focused and saw the distressed face of Oliver, she thought she was hallucinating.
"Are you real?" She asked , voice raspy from screaming.
He reached up and cupped her cheek. His jaw tightened at the disbelieving look in her eyes. "It's me."
Her body began shaking as tears streamed down her face. Relief flooded her body at finally being rescued. He was here. She wasn't going to die.
Oliver used an arrow to cut her bindings. She slumped forward in the chair as he freed her. He carefully gathered her in his arms, trying not to cause her any further pain.
Turning with her in his arms, he faced Diggle, who was tying up an unconscious Colin. Oliver wanted to shoot him full of arrows. Only Felicity's presence kept him from killing him.
"She needs medical attention right away," he told him. "She's covered in blood."
Diggle took out his gun again and led the way out. He would place an anonymous call from the car with Colin's location. The man from earlier was gone. Probably took off as soon as they disappeared below. Oliver avoided tripping over debris on the floor. Felicity clung to his neck. He knew carrying her was jarring her injuries. They had to get her to the hospital.
They made it out of the church without incident. Diggle opened the back door of the car so Oliver could slide in. He settled Felicity comfortably in his arms and motioned for Diggle to get them to the hospital.
If she wasn't okay, he wasn't sure what he would do; or who he would become.