Oh look, I'm back to torture you all! Only joking, but in all seriousness this story ain't gonna help the feels! Thanks so much to everyone that reviewed. I loved reading them all! Keep it up and I hope you enjoy
Reviewers:
Rylee: Aw thank you, I'm pretty sure there are far better fanfics out there than this. Ya the fear and romance is fun to write. x x x
starkid5ever32: I know, but it just has to be Lauren. There's more twists to come and you'll keep asking yourself 'why Lo?' Thanks, I really do hope people actually want me to keep going with this.
TearsOfaClown: Oh no, sorry about the attack on the feels, but there are more to come I'm afraid, hope you can handle it! I'll probably update about once a week because I've other fics too that I can't just drop but this is my favourite at the moment so I'm hopeful that my updates will be consistent. Will Lauren survive? Will Joe survive? You're going to have to wait and see ;)
PotterFanatic: I know, it seems odd that it's only chapter 3 but the train bit is only a stage for the real plot. Thanks for reviewing and I hope you enjo
starkidllamas-llama: Patience XD I know I'm being mean with the cliffhangers but it's a suspenseful story. Thanks for the review x x
Fudge-The-Tie: Those feels are gonna stay broken I'm afraid. At least for a while ;) Thanks x x
I-Wanna-Be-A-Starkid-Fangirl: I'm so sorry I kept you waiting for an update, I promise I won't leave such long gaps again. Thanks for the review x x
Beffax3: I like to switch things up a bit, instead of being all romance stuff all the time ;) thanks and sorry for making you wait so long for an update x x
C: Your wishes have finally been answered. Sorry for the lack of an update and thanks for reading x x
Guest: Thank you, I'm glad you liked it x x
Julia's breath caught as she saw two men emerge from the underground. What was going on? No ransom call had been made. Her brow furrowed in confusion as her eyes landed on a third figure between them and her hand flew to her mouth upon seeing the large blood stain on the man's chest. Suddenly she noticed the Starkid converse, the familiar red t-shirt and scruffy fair hair,
"Joe," she gasped
She stood up, causing the ambulance attendee to jump. Julia pulled away from the emergency crew, ignoring their attempts to call her back and began to make her way through to Joe. A police officer stepped in front of her, his face serious,
"Ma'am this is a closed of area, you need to stay back," he insisted
Julia hardly heard his words and was far more interested in what was going on behind him. The two men, who had brought Joe up were backing away, their guns ready, and a flurry of medical professionals now surrounded her friend's body,
"That man… over there," she said, staring at Joe's lifeless form, "he's my friend. Is he… is he alive?"
The police officer followed her gaze and turned back to her, his face softening as he saw a tear escape the corner of her eye,
"I don't know… What's his name Ma'am? I can go over and inquire for you."
"Joe," she whispered, "his name's Joe Walker."
The police man nodded slightly and ducked under the plastic barrier. Julia took a deep breath and tried to reassure herself that Joe was going to be just fine. She tore her eyes away from him for second, scouring the surrounding scene, but there was no sign that any other passengers had come up with Joe. Meredith, Brian, Lauren, Joey, Jaime, Dylan and Brian were still down there. She felt someone touch her shoulder and looked up to see that the police officer had returned,
"He's still alive," he informed her gravely, "but his condition is critical and quickly deteriorating. He'll be moved shortly and taken to hospital. If you would like to travel in the ambulance with him…"
"Yes, he needs somebody," Julia interrupted hastily. After a minute she turned to the police officer again, "Why did ye let the men that brought Joe up get away?"
"Well, considering there is still approximately 50 civilians trapped down there, the risk would be too high. Until we feel we've gotten the maximum amount of people out safely that we possibly can, we can make no further advancement. It's a very delicate situation and unfortunately, they have the upper hand."
Julia nodded her understanding and watched as Joe was lifted onto a gurney. She followed the police officer over to the waiting ambulance. and found herself shaking as she climbed in next to her friend and took his hand,
"I'm here Walker, don't you dare give up," she choked, "we need you… Lauren needs you. She's going to be out soon and you have to be here for her when she does... She loves you too you know."
Julia sat almost waiting for a response but Joe remained still and unmoving except for the weak rise and fall of his chest. His face was pale and his red Spiderman shirt had been cut away. A young doctor sat beside Julia, monitoring Joe's stats and holding a thick cloth over the bullet wound in an attempt to staunch the blood loss,
They reached the hospital within minutes and Joe was whisked away to surgery. A kind faced middle-aged nurse approached Julia and took her arm,
"Come with me sweetie, we need to get you checked over."
"I'm fine," Julia insisted, still staring at the double doors through which Joe had disappeared.
The nurse nodded, "I'll show you the waiting room."
Julia reluctantly agreed and allowed the nurse to guide her away. The nurse tried to comfort her by saying that Joe was in good hands, but Julia couldn't relax. Out of all her friends, was it possible that Joe was in the best scenario? They were still hostages in a train that could explode at any minute, not to mention the psychopaths pointing guns at them. Julia took a seat and looked up at the nurse,
"If you need anything, just ask," she said softly
"Could…could you let me know if more people who were on the train are brought here," Julia asked hesitantly, "I have friends that are still… down there."
"Of course, I'll have someone keep an eye out for them."
"Thank you," Julia murmured, sinking back into the armchair for the long wait.
Julia looked up exhausted as she heard the door open again. For the past 6 hours countless nurses had been updating her on Joe's condition. Charlene had joined her hours ago but neither felt like talking much, so they just sat in silence.
This time however as the door opened, Julia felt a load lift of her shoulders as her eyes landed on her friends. She stood up and looked at them, disbelievingly before breaking down. They piled into the stingy waiting room and pulled each other into a group hug,
"Thank God, you're all ok. I thought… because it was so long... "she sobbed, unable to finish.
"How's Joe?" Jaime asked quietly, thinking of Lauren.
"He's in surgery. A doctor or nurse comes in every half hour or so to update us on his condition but they won't give any definate answers when you ask," Charlene replied.
"Where are Lauren and Joey?" Julia asked suspiciously, looking around.
Dylan caught Brian's eye, silently debating whether they should tell her. The colour slowly drained from Julia's cheeks as the realisation hit,
"They're still on the train."
It wasn't a question, but a statement and no one contradicted her.
"Are they ok?" she asked quietly
"They're not hurt," Meredith answered, "but…" She looked around now for help as tears pricked her eyes.
Brian, seeing her discomfort, wrapped his arm around her waist and turned to Julia, "Juls I think you should sit down for this..."
It's like the calm before the storm, Lauren thought. Neither Joey or herself said anything as they waited for the phone to ring and the atmosphere in carriage was some how far less tense. Lauren had her head resting on Joey's shoulder and no one was paying them too much attention. Despite the fact that she knew this peace was merely temporary, Lauren felt at ease. She was doing this for Joe. All he had to do was survive and it would be worth it.
She still had the Alice's blue teddy bear clutched to her chest and as she looked up her eyes met with the young girl's. She wondered if this was how Alice would grow up to be, a killing machine. It was difficult to imagine now, she was still so young, but these people would be well able to brainwash even the most innocent.
Suddenly a shrill ringing erupted from the small black mobile, causing her to jump and her bravery began to evaporate. She felt Joey's hand tighten around her protectively. Kate's eyes flitted over to the pair huddled on the ground before she pressed the answer button. They could just about hear the sound of a male voice on the other end of the line stating that they had the cash for the final two hostages. After a moment Kate ended the call and turned to them,
"Time to go."
Joey felt Lauren ripped away from him as he was roughly pulled to his feet,
"Take him up and meet us as planned," Kate stated, turning to Marcus, "you know the drill."
Marcus nodded and made to grab Joey's arm,
"Wait," Joey insisted, "I want to swap with Lauren."
Lauren's eyes went wide with fear and she began to shake her head frantically as the promise she made with Jaime struck her. Kate raised her eye brows in amusement and smirked,
"No, Lauren and myself have a deal...and I don't like to break a promise."
Joey looked past her and saw Lauren with her head bowed. The guy, Shane, had his arm across her front, pinning her to his chest and a black hand gun was pointed at her temple. She looked so frightened and tiny, her head barely reaching his shoulder.
"Lauren…" he started
"Please," she whispered, lifting her head and giving him a weak smile, "just go. I'm ok."
Joey cleared his throat and nodded, knowing deep down that Lauren would never let him take her place, "love you Lo, remember that. Remember always that we love you."
With that Joey was pulled towards the carriage door and he watched as Lauren was carried away in the opposite direction. He knew in that moment that he would never forgive himself for not being able to save her. Memories of their friendship flooded his mind and he felt his eyes water. What would happen to her after this? Would they ever see her again? Would her body turn up in a few weeks? The thought killed him.
As they climbed the underground steps Joey began to hear the sound of people and sirens. It was weird to think that the rest of the world was still there. He had no idea how long he'd been down there but it felt like a lifetime ago that he had been enjoying a normal life. He squinted his eyes as the sunlight hit his face.
Suddenly a gunshot went off and Joey froze, looking around in confusion. It had sounded too close to have been Lauren. A swarm of police officers surrounded him and guided him forwards, towards a waiting ambulance and as he looked over his shoulder he was shocked to see the body of Marcus lying dead on the tarmacadam. Police officers were filing into the underground, weapons aloft. He stopped, refusing to move any further,
"What about the bomb?" he inquired fearfully, thinking of Lauren still down there, "aren't you afraid they'll activate it."
"This is our last chance," one of the police women answered, pointing to Marcus "we either let them escape or take the risk. We've gotten as many people out as we possibly can."
Joey nodded. Perhaps there was a small chance that Lauren would be ok if the police caught them and he chose to hold onto that hope. He stood waiting, and not once did he tear his eyes away from the entrance to the underground. He strained his ears, listening for a gunshot or some other sound that might tell him what was going on below.
Finally, he saw a police officer emerge, carrying a red baseball cap, the one that Joe had given Lauren only hours before. More police officers began to resurface and Joey saw one of the older, more mature officers approaching the chief of police, shaking his head,
"They're gone Sir," he stated.
"As I'd predicted," the chief replied solemnly, sighing and wiping his brow, "what about the girl?"
The officer shook his head, "Gone too Sir.
I'm gonna be so cruel when it comes to cliffhangers XD What do you think? Will they be able to save Lauren? Will Joe survive? Please review and let me know what you think x x x