Hey guys, love that you love my story! :) I did put up chapter 9 earlier but took it down because it was too short. I added to to it though. That's why you got an alert. Just for clarification.

Chapter 9

The stele blade slices through Derek's flesh and stabs his intestine. Pain fills his body like water fills a bucket. He lets out a whimper and braces himself for the next one. And the next. And the next.

But it doesn't come.

Instead Scott grabs his right foot and begins dragging him through the house to the basement door.

It's as if time slows down as he's lying on his back, hands on his wound in his abdomen, while he is being dragged by his one foot. He vaguely remembers his head bouncing off of each step as Scott drags him down the basement stairs. He is numb to the pain in his abdomen as it gushes blood. He's not scared. He's not nervous. He stares at the ceiling of the basement even when Scott stops dragging him, drops his foot, and disappears upstairs. He doesn't register where he is in the house. His mind is blank as he concentrates on his breathing. He is simply allowing himself to die.

"Derek!" Meredith screams.

Suddenly, Derek whips his mind into reality. Ignoring his bleeding abdomen, he turns his body in the direction of Meredith's voice. His heart sinks when he hears the pain in her voice. "Meredith?" he says. He scans the basement with his eyes, but the light from the tiny light bulb above only provides a small spotlight in the middle of the basement where Derek is. Derek finds Meredith's silhouette in the far, dark corner of the basement. He knows that she's lying on the cold basement floor, but he can't see her or assess her injuries.

"Derek?" Meredith whimpers. She sits up only for pain to shoot through her body.

Derek sits up and slowly crawls on his hands and knees towards Meredith. He never notices Scott coming up behind him. Scott grabs him by the hair and pulls hard, pulling Derek up on his knees, forcing him to look up at the ceiling. The combination of Derek's hand and his stab wound sends shock waves up and down his spine. This time he screams in pain.

While holding Derek's hair in his left hand, Scott produces a knife in his right. He holds the blade swiftly at Derek's atom's apple.

"Derek!" Meredith screams in despair at the sight of her husband. His eyes are strained so that he can see Meredith. She struggles against her restraints and crawls towards Derek, tears in her eyes. "No!"

Scott just stands, unmoving. The pressure on the blade does not waiver. "I have to get rid of him for you. You and I are going to run off together and get married." He begins to tighten the pressure on the blade.

"No!" Meredith screams. "If you let him go, I'll come with you," she promises. She gets closer to the light.

"Meredith, no," Derek says.

"Shut up," Scott yells. His right hand that holds the knife against Derek's throat begins to shake. "I wanted to show you how weak he is. That's why I brought him down here for you."

Meredith reaches the light and Derek gasps. What did he do to her? He sees a small cut just below Meredith's left eye with dried blood on it. But what surprises him is her pale face and sunken, glossy eyes. Her red cheeks give away the fact that she's been crying for a while. There is a slight flicker in her eyes, however, as he catches hers with his. And in that moment, their soft eyes communicate love and devotion.

And in that moment, Scott digs the knife into Derek's throat a little deeper, causing blood to trickle out. Derek prepares himself by closing his eyes.

"Stop!" Meredith yells with force in her voice. She forcibly stops herself from crying to trick Scott into believing that she does not care for Derek and that hopefully he will let him go.

Scott loosens his grip against Derek's throat. He stares at Meredith, waiting.

"Drop the knife and I'll go with you, willingly. I won't run or scream. I'll be your wife and we can live together forever. "

Scott considers Meredith's offer and takes it when he hears the distant sound of sirens. He immediately lets go of Derek's hair and drops the knife.

Derek slouches on the floor. Ignoring the pain throughout his body, all he can do is watch as Scott grabs Meredith and takes her away. He tries to yell. He tells his brain to get up and run after her but he simply cannot. His body is so beat up and so weak that it slumps over and he lays on the cold concrete.

Scott places his grip on her right upper arm and squeezes. He forcibly pulls her to her feet. In his hurry to escape before the police arrive, Scott doesn't unbind Meredith's feet. He simply holds her upper arm so tightly that blood flow begins to decrease. He pulls her up the stairs as her feet slam against each step as she struggles to plant her feet on the ground.

Scott has already disappeared from the basement with Meredith, and all Derek can do is pray that the police catch Scott before he can get away with Meredith for the second time. He listens to the sirens get closer and closer. Eventually he gathers his strength, and makes his way towards the staircase. Derek is only half way up the stairs by the time the police are in the house. He lies on his back and uses his fist to beat the wall. He successfully summons help.

Terry is the first to appear in the doorway. He calls for fellow cops before he descends down the stairs. "What happened?" he asks. "Where are Scott and Meredith?" He bends down by Derek's side.

Derek's heart sinks. They didn't catch Scott after all. Once again, Meredith is out there, in the hands of a psycho. "He stabbed me. He took Meredith. You have to go find her."

"Where is he taking her?"

"I don't know."

Terry begins to assess Derek's injuries and immediately radios in for an ambulance.

"No," Derek challenges. "I'm fine. Go find her." His voice is low and raspy. His breathing is shallow.

"I have guys out there right now trying to find her," Terry says pointing up the stairs towards the door.

Derek stops talking. He is finally succumbing to his injuries as pain floods his body once again. He stares straight up towards the ceiling. Tears begin to roll down his face. "She offered herself to him so that he wouldn't kill me. He wasn't going to take it but he did when he heard the sirens." He pauses and looks at Terry. "He just left with her. She's right outside. She has to be." He pauses again. "He's your partner. It's up to you now to save her."

Suddenly their heads snap up when they hear Meredith shout for help.

xoxo

Scott had no choice. The police were closing in on him and he had to figure out a way to get Meredith out of the house. He had not choice; he had to take her out of the house through the back door and into the backyard. He drug Meredith to the back gate leading to freedom but was forced to stop when two police cars pulled up in front of Meredith's house. Now, he stands in the shadows waiting for the police to disappear into the house.

Meredith whimpers. Before she was faced with Derek in the basement with her, Scott came down to slap her around her. He didn't do anything drastic, just enough to cause a few bruises throughout her body. After that she heard Derek talking to Scott. Derek had found her and everything would be okay. But she began to hear Scott threaten Derek so she did not scream for fear of Derek. But now, she has no problem screaming so she opens her mouth and screams, "help!"

Scott's head snaps to face Meredith and his face twists in fury. He tightens his already crippling grip around Meredith's arm and jerks her. "Shut up," he spits. He quickly dashes across the lawn using the darkness as his cover. Meredith's inability to carry her own weight due to her restraints around her ankles slows Scott down drastically. He takes the time to pull his knife out of its hiding place and easily cuts the rope around Meredith's ankles. He makes it to his car in no time.

By now, Terry and his accomplices reach the front porch to see Scott forcibly pushing Meredith into his car.

And in a flash, he takes off and rounds the corner, leaving a distant trail of Meredith's memory.