Wow, sorry for the insanely slow update, life kind of got in the way. I hope some of you guys are still with me, and I hope you enjoy the chapter. There's only going to be one more after this, which should be up later this month. And if you like this story, feel free to check out some of my others; this one is definitely not one of my best. That said, I have put a lot of work into it, so if you like it please do leave a review letting me know. Thanks for the reviews last time, by the way, you guys are great. Enjoy, and I'll see you next time.
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By the time Spencer and her accomplice arrived at the main building – which was actually an even smaller hut behind the cabin – she was reasonably sure something was wrong. It wasn't just the uneasy feeling that came from having kidnapped and tied up her friends, then left them locked in a room in the middle of nowhere. It was something more than that, a deep unsettled feeling that meant that her hands were shaking when she reached out to open the door.
"Wren," she said, and he turned to look, pushing back his hood like he was taking off a mask. And in a way, he was; when he wasn't wearing his A-Team attire, he was just the sweet, gentle guy she'd fallen for. He wasn't the complicated and potentially dangerous man who was part of a team determined to destroy her friends – although even when he smiled at her, traces of that lingered in his eyes. She doubted she'd ever fully be able to trust him, although she would probably always love him.
"What is it?" he asked, reaching out to take her trembling hand in his. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she responded, but her wavering voice gave her away even if the hesitation in her eyes hadn't. "It's just… I didn't think it would be so hard."
"Neither did I," he said, his voice full of regret, and before Spencer could put the pieces together he'd opened the door and shoved her through, his gloved hands cold and unyielding on her skin.
"What are you doing?" She whirled around, and suddenly his hood was back up, his face was guarded, and she knew she'd made a terrible mistake.
"I'm sorry, Spencer." The words were genuine, the concern real, but there was a finality in his eyes that made it clear this was where his loyalties lay. "I know you've been working against us. And as much as I love you, there are some things that are bigger than that."
"So you're on Mona's side?" Spencer tried to slow the frantic beating of her heart, but all she managed to do was think about the amount of blood that it was sending racing through her body, and the thought made her feel faintly queasy.
"I always was," Wren confirmed. "And I thought you were too."
She was in too deep to back out, and it was too late now to come up with any excuses. She'd been found out. Taking a step back, she bit her lip and asked, "So what happens now?"
"It's not for me to decide." Wren's eyes darted around the room, checking that all the exits – both doors and all three windows – were locked and blocked. No escape.
"Yeah?" Spencer was stalling for time, and they both knew it. She also had the sinking feeling that it wasn't going to do her any good. "Whose decision is it?"
At that moment the back door swung open, revealing a dark-haired girl wearing an all-too-familiar red coat. In that moment Spencer knew she was doomed. "That," said Mona, stepping forward, "would be mine."
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It was quiet. Emily was still passed out, Hanna was quietly sobbing in the corner, and Aria was desperately trying to untie herself. All she'd managed was to get the duct tape off her mouth by rubbing it against her shoulder, although the ropes around her wrists did feel a little looser.
"Hanna," she whispered, and the blonde girl jerked her head up to look at her. "You need to listen to me."
Hanna nodded, encouraging her to go on.
"I think Spencer's on our side," Aria said quickly, glancing at the door in case anyone were to come in. There were at least two A-Team members here tonight, but probably more. Maybe Red Coat was even here. "I don't know what's going on exactly, but I think she's trying to help us."
Hanna just rolled her eyes, clearly not buying it.
"I'm serious," Aria pressed. "I don't think she turned on us. She's probably working to destroy it from the inside out."
There was no response, but of course Hanna couldn't say anything.
"Try rubbing your mouth on your shoulder," Aria suggested, her eyes flicking over to where her own shrivelled piece of duct tape lay on the floor.
Aria watched as Hanna did as she suggested, and after a couple of minutes she was successful.
"Thank god," Hanna muttered, letting out a breath of air that cause the piece of tape to flutter to the floor. "That thing was driving me crazy."
Aria gave her a sympathetic look, but she couldn't hold her gaze for long before she found herself looking at Emily again.
"Is she okay?" Hanna asked quietly.
"She's breathing," Aria reported, shuffling across the floor to get a better look. "And the bleeding seems to have stopped, so that's good."
"Yeah." Hanna let out a long breath, looking around the room. "Is there any way out of here?"
"Not that I can see." Aria took one last look at Emily and then started scanning the room, looking for a loose screw or something else that would be sharp enough to cut through the ropes. "But if Spencer comes back…"
"Are you sure that will make things better?" Hanna's voice was dark, suspicious, and Aria felt a pang of fear.
"I'm sure," she said confidently, although she couldn't help the tiny sliver of doubt that pierced her mind. Spencer was on their side; she hadn't saved them yet because she was thinking of a plan, or waiting for the right time, or something. There had to be an explanation.
"So what do we do in the meantime?"
"We keep looking," Aria said, hating the way her voice trembled. She was tired of A always making them the victims, but it was so much worse now she knew that one of her friends was in on it. Whatever Spencer's intentions, she'd been working against them, and she wasn't sure she was ready to deal with that. She could trust her, yes, but she didn't know if she'd ever be able to forgive her.
"Looking for wh-" Hanna's words were cut off as the door swung open, revealing two silhouetted figures.
Aria's heart stopped as she realized who it was.
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Hanna's mouth snapped shut and she stared at the two people standing in the doorway. The first one was Wren, clad in a black hoodie and brandishing his smile like a weapon. So that was who had been behind setting this up. The other person, however, was of more concern. Wren was holding Spencer's arm so tightly the other girl was actually whimpering, and when he pushed her forwards Hanna could see that, like the others, her hands were tied behind her. So either this was all part of her plan, or Aria was right.
"Make yourself comfortable," Wren said as Spencer tumbled to the floor, landing beside Aria. "It won't be long now."
Then he was gone, and silence filled the room. It was the kind of silence that permeated everything, sneaking into cracks in the wall, drifting down from the ceiling, cloaking them all in its spell. Then Spencer let out a single sob and the spell was broken.
"I'm s-sorry," she mumbled.
Aria leaned her head against the taller girl, in lieu of patting her shoulder, and Spencer closed her eyes, her face crumpling; she looked, for lack of a better word, broken. In that moment Hanna realized her mistake. Spencer could spin a story with effortless ease, but she couldn't fake emotion like this. No one was that good.
"So you're on our side," Hanna said quietly, needing to hear her confirm what she already knew.
"I always was," Spencer said, opening her eyes and turning her gaze on Hanna. "I would never hurt you guys. I'm sorry I let it get this far, but I thought I could handle it."
"So this isn't part of your plan?"
Spencer snorted, a single tear dripping down her cheek now the only sign of her internal distress; she was hiding it well. "Yes, Hanna, being tied up and locked inside an abandoned cabin was exactly what I was hoping would happen."
In other circumstances Hanna would bristle at Spencer's tone, but now it just made her laugh. But as soon as the laughter died the silence returned, more suffocating than before. After a while she asked, her voice impossibly small, "So what do we do now?"
"We try to find a way out." Spencer sat up straighter, looking around, but Aria shook her head sadly.
"We've tried," she said. "There's no way out except for that door. I don't suppose you have a key on you?"
"No. But I do have something to tell you."
Hanna narrowed her eyes, instantly suspicious. After everything that had happened, what could she possibly have to say to them? She had a feeling it wasn't an apology, and she didn't know if she would have accepted one anyway.
"Mona's here," Spencer revealed. "She's Red Coat."
Hanna leaned back against the wall, processing. She had actually thought Mona cared about her; sometimes she'd even fantasized about being friends with her again. And this is how the universe repaid her optimism. She shook her head, as if that would somehow make the fact less true. "I can't believe it. After everything…"
"I'm sorry, Han," Aria said, but apologies could no more change the truth than denial could.
Hanna was about to reply, to say that it didn't matter, to assure them that she was okay, but something caught her eye. "Guys," she said softly, "Em's waking up."
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It took Emily almost a minute to understand what was happening. At first she thought she was just groggy from sleep, that her limbs were still waking up and any moment now feeling would return to her hands and legs and her head would stop throbbing. But then the room came into focus, and the looks in her friends' eyes says it all.
"Hey," Aria said softly, her eyes glimmering with concern. "Are you okay?"
Emily tried to respond, but her mouth felt dry. With a weak moan she pulled herself into a sitting position, feeling her heart stop as she realized that her hands were tied. Her friends were still looking at her, waiting for an answer. "I'm fine," she mumbled, because it was expected rather than because she meant it. From what she could tell, none of them were fine, and it was unlikely they ever would be. "What happened?"
Spencer ducked her head and looked away as she admitted, "I knocked you out."
"What?" Emily asked, her eyes widening as the memory drifted back to her.
"I was trying to help," Spencer said quickly, and in answer to her friends' questioning looks she sighed. "I've been working with Mona and Wren for a couple months. Mona – Red Coat – wants to get back at us for everything we let Ali do. I don't know what Wren's part in it is. But I do know why we're here tonight. At least, I think I do."
Emily blinked, still trying to take everything in. Spencer was a double-agent, they were all in the middle of nowhere, Mona was Red Coat, and all of this did not add up to anything pleasant.
"So?" Hanna prompted. "Why are we here?"
"Mona thinks that Ali is still alive," Spencer explained. "She's trying to use us to lure her out."
"How?" Aria asked. "By kidnapping us?"
"N-no." Spencer bit her lip, causing Emily's heart to skip a couple of beats; given everything that had already happened, if Spencer was reluctant to tell them something, it must be terrible. "By killing us."
Silence followed her words. Emily tried to ignore the pounding in her head, but that meant the only thing she had to focus on was the horrible situation she was in. She sat up straighter and looked around, searching desperately for an exit, but there was nothing. Aria caught her eye and shook her head sadly; the others had evidently already tried to get out.
"So you were just going to let Mona murder us?" Hanna asked, sceptical.
"Of course not," Spencer shot back indignantly. "I was going to get you all out of here, but then Wren figured out I was going against Mona… and now here we are."
"So if you're not going to save us," Emily said, hardly daring to ask, "how are we going to get out of here?"
As if in answer to her question the door swung open, and all four girls shrank back, instantly on alert. But the figure stepped forward, surveyed the room, and said gently, "I think I may be able to help."
And Emily stared, wondering if maybe, just maybe, everything wasn't lost after all.
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Hit me with your theories, guys. Who do you think it is?
