Chapter re-edited and updated september 25th, 2015.

Peyton didn't know how long they had been driving now. She was laying there, dried tears in her sticky face, still shivering slightly. Her body ached badly from the position she had been confined in through the whole drive. The floor of the trunk was hard and uncomfortable, and the cramped space had her knees bent. She wished she could just stretch. And she was so thirsty, her mouth dry and the gag was not helping. It must have been hours and hours since she last saw light, she was dehydrated, and had fallen in and out of sleep, her fear not giving her rest. God, how she wanted to get out of these damn ropes. They complicated everything, she felt so helpless. A short while earlier, the car had come onto some bumpy, awful road, which only added to her discomfort. It felt like they were driving on some land road. Where was he taking her? Peyton felt her stomach tighten, nausea bubbling in the back of her throat. Being stuck here in darkness, not knowing where she was going or what would happen to her... it was unbearable. She didn't dare start kicking or anything on the trunk walls again, she was so afraid he'd stop the car and come back for her. However, she knew he would come back to her sooner or later, but she'd rather be prepared when he did. She had come up with some kind of "plan", if that's what you could call it. It was a crappy plan, and it probably wouldn't work out at all, but she couldn't give up, she just couldn't. She had to try to get away somehow, or at least try to hurt him. Fight him. Show him who the hell he was dealing with. That he couldn't just take her without a fight.

Suddenly the car was slowing down, and Peyton's breathing started to increase fast. She tried not to panic. Oh god, oh god, oh god…

The car stopped, and Peyton could hear the car door open and close. She prepared herself to fight for her life. She would not let him take her so easily. If there was a possibility to try to get away from him, it was now. Peyton could feel her heart banging in her chest, but she tried not to pay attention to it. Then she heard his hand clutch on the trunk handle, and it slowly opened. It was darker outside now. His face appeared to her, still with that creepy smile on it, only this time, he looked even more pleased.

"Hey baby," he said in a husky voice. Peyton looked at him with wide eyes, holding her breath. "I'm sorry, Peyton, but I have to give you a little something to calm you down for a little while. It's only so I can prepare everything for you. We want everything to be perfect, don't we?" He raised one of his hands, holding a rag, and she could feel a strong smell, making her cringe her nose in disgust. Her heart rate increased fast as Derek bent down, reaching his hand with the rag out to her face. She waited, her breath bated, and just as he was close enough, she made her move.

BAM! She kicked him right in the gut with her feet, and then again, and again, as he shouted out in pain, clutching onto his stomach, and dropping the rag.

"Calm down, Peyton!" he said angrily, trying to grab her feet, but she wasn't going to let him. She started kicking every ounce of that bastard she could get to, screaming through her gag. He howled furiously, and tried to take control over her, but she was going berserk. Then she hit her goal. She managed to kick him right in the crotch, and he shrieked in pain and fell to his knees. Peyton struggled to sit up and desperately rolled out of the trunk. She fell hard on the ground, grunted in pain, but there was no time to think about it now. She rolled over on her stomach. If only her hands were free! She tried her best to crawl away from him, trying to push herself forward with her legs and using her body, even with the ground full off hard, pointy rocks, and she felt her flesh ripping underneath.

She screamed into the gag as she felt his hands get hold of her feet, and he forcefully dragged her back to him, cutting up her stomach and legs on the rocks. It hurt so bad, her eyes were watering; she was struggling to think. She cried out, trying to kick her feet out, twisting and turning her body. Derek was getting impatient and out of breath, and growled, turning her over on her back, making her land on top of her tied hands, pushing them into the hard ground. Though her eyes were streaming from the pain and fear, she kept trying to fight him. He forcefully sat on top of her, trapping her.

"Thatwas not very nice, Peyton!" he yelled enraged, his face red, sweat running down his forehead. Peyton sobbed loudly, desperate and terrified. She tried to get loose from him, she had to, but it was hopeless. "Stay the fuck calm Peyton, or you'll regret it!" he threatened. "I don't want to hurt you, but I damn sure will if I have to!" Peyton closed her watering eyes, trying to block him out, trying to pretend this wasn't really happening.

Only did her eyes open again when the strong scent reached her nose, and her mouth and nose was covered by the rag. She whimpered, staring up at him pleadingly, as she was forced to breathe in the fabric. It had a strong smell, and Peyton started coughing and squirming her head to get away from it. Derek took hold on her head, keeping it still, and she was forced to breathe in again. It felt like her hearing was starting to disappear and her head felt hazy. She closed her eyes for just a moment, but when she opened them again, her vision had gotten blurry. She was only able to see the silhouette of Derek's face looking down at her. She tried to keep her eyelids open, but it got harder and harder. A single tear fell down from her eye, she couldn't let him take her into darkness, then all hope would be lost, her fate in only his hands.

No, no… Stay awake…

Yet, the darkness came; it was unstoppable, and her fate was sucked in with it.

X

It was midnight. Lucas had yet again went outside to clear his head, and his current location was at the River Court. He was sitting on the sideline, holding a basketball, spinning it in his hands. It was a beautiful night, but Lucas didn't pay any attention to it. Other things were occupying his mind.

It felt like he had this black hole in his stomach, and it was just getting bigger and bigger. The longer he waited, the farther away Peyton could be taken. Peyton was his friend, and they had so much history together. She wasn't just a friend. She had a special place in his heart, though he wasn't exactly sure what it meant yet. She just always understood him in a way that other people didn't. And now that she was gone, he kept re-visiting all the moments they had shared together. Through all the heartbreak, pain, terror, laughs and loneliness… she had been there for him, and he had been there for her.

"You don't know me!" she said with sarcasm in her voice, still showing a hint of a smile. "Oh, I think I do!" Lucas replied, smiling back at her…

His mind wandered to the questions of where Peyton could be now. Was she scared? Was she hurt? Was she even alive? "No, don't think that. She's not dead, she can't be." He couldn't allow himself to think those kind of thoughts. He had to be strong… for Peyton.

And what about Derek? What was his plan in all of this? What was he doing to Peyton at this very moment?

Lucas could feel rage boiling up in his chest. Derek. If there was one person he wanted to find as much as Peyton, it was Derek. Every time Lucas' mind allowed him to wander to Peyton, it jumped over to Derek, and every time that happened, he got a sudden urge to punch something or scream out in anger. He had known something was up, there had been something suspicious about Derek.. Ever since he had sniffed her hair at the club the other night, Lucas had known something was wrong. Before that even; the way he was always taking pictures of her, it was creepy. If only Lucas had acted sooner, if only he hadn't let Peyton go home alone that night. He should have brought her with him to the police station, or he should have asked Nathan to take Peyton with him after the press conference. God, there were so many things he wished he'd have done differently, anything, to stop what was going to happen from happening that night.

Lucas stood up and threw the ball angrily away into the dark. He started pacing back and forth, his blood pumping from aggression.

He had to do something. He had to find Peyton. But how? Where could he even start? Derek had never been who he said he was, Lucas bet that wasn't even his real name… They knew nothing about him.

The police were already looking for Peyton and Derek, he knew that… but he wouldn't be able to rest until he found her himself. Maybe he would figure out something that the police had missed? He knew Peyton, he had met with Derek, the police hadn't. There had to be something.

Besides, it was his job to save her, it was like a natural instinct to him. He knew he couldn't live with himself unless he tried, unless he found her before it was too late…

"Nothing will happen to you. I promise."

"You're always saving me..." "Somebody's got to."

A single tear streamed down her face…

"I will save you, Peyton. I promise," he whispered into the dark, his voice trembling.