A/N: Big thanks to my Beta TangledPencils, because when she is done, the chapter always looks way better than before. Also thanks to all who sent a review, it made writing this chapter much easier.

There comes the action, folks.

Fire and water

by Nicol Leoraine

Chapter 24

He didn't want to die.

The thought ran through his head even before he truly realised what was going on. Still on the edge of unconsciousness, he felt his body being hauled up stairs, then unceremoniously being dumped on a chair. He immediatelystarted sliding off of it, his body not his own to control, his limbs feeling like lead. Before he fell to the floor, a pair of hands grabbed him and pushed him back up into the chair, for a moment keeping him upright, while another set of hands swiftly secured his arms and legs to the chair with tape.

Kyle's head lolled to the side and his eyes became open slits, but all he saw was darkness. He blinked confusedly, struggling to make out his surroundings when a beam of light hit his eyes and he jerked, startled.

"I see our sacrifice is awake," a voice spoke with a soft snort and Kyle opened his mouth to speak when a hand appeared from the darkness and slapped more tape over his mouth, effectively stopping his protest before he could even form it. Kyle gave an angry and scared cry but it came out sounding more like the whine of a child than a real scream, and that made the panic inside him grow.

The light vanished from his face and the beam was turned toward something out of his sight. He tried to turn and look; he wanted to know what was going on, but at the same time he fervently prayed to be unconscious again, to have that darkness wrap around him and erase all the fears.

"H...how do you want to do this, Master?" a young voice asked from behind him and Kyle flinched, once again startled by the sound as well as the other presence. He couldn't clearly remember what happened in the kitchen, but the detective that came to his house warned him about two suspects. At least that information was right, though for all Kyle knew, there could've been a whole gang lurking in the darkness and he would never know. When the detective had initially come, he'd at first felt apprehensive. Then, when he was assured that he would be guarded and that nothing could get in the house without them knowing, Kyle felt relief. Why not? The police were here, keeping him safe, while his family was on their way to relatives. Sure, he wanted to go with them, just leave the city until that murderer was caught. But then he got a chance to participate, to even help the cops, and something inside him said 'Do it, Kyle.' Why the hell not? He was safe.

That was what he'd thought several hours ago. Now he could only kick himself for his stupid naivety. He swore several times, albeit it came out just as a panicked mumbling and he was back in the dark room, bound to a char and without a way to communicate with his captors.

Kyle clenched his fists in silent rage and lifted his head. He tried to listen to what his captors were planning, but it was too late for that to be of much use he realised, when his body was once again swathed in the light from the high powered flashlight, and the sound of the foot steps on the wooden floor echoed in his mind.

"Open the can, Jonah." The order floated through the silence and Kyle frowned in confusion, until his nostrils were hit by the familiar stench of gasoline. In that moment, all color left his face and he went slack with shock. They were planning to burn him!

'I will burn alive!' echoed in his head and all he could think about was the image he once saw on TV; where a guy had set himself on fire in a protest against something that Kyle had thought pointless at the time. He still saw that man engulfed in flames, running around frenziedly until he fell to the ground…where he lay writhing and twitching, giving out inarticulate sounds of pain and agony. His mental picture changed, remembering how he'd burned himself once on a hot stove and how it hurt, even though it was just his finger. He couldn't even imagine the pain...

Something inside him broke loose, and Kyle started struggling. He clenched his fists and tried to kick out with his legs, all the while trying to scream around the gag in his mouth, but the tape didn't allow for much motion and he was simply left to exhaust himself, similar to parents ignoring a child throwing a tantrum.

"You know this won't help you a bit," the voice Kyle identified as the Master filtered through the darkness,sounding almost bored, a fact that only served to fuel his anger and he resumed his fight with the bonds. He could feel the one on his left wrist stretching and that gave him hope, which was instantly crushed.

"Jonah, use moretape, I don't want him pulling free once we start the barbeque," the master said, laughing when Kyle flinched at the words. Jonah nervously pulled out the tape and leaned over the victim, working on his hands. He didn't realise just how close he was, until he heard the panicked breath near his ear. Glancing upwards, Jonah looked straight into Kyle's eyes and he paused, fascinated by the fear he saw there. For a moment he felt the connection between them, felt those eyes pray for help or curse to death. For a moment, he was frozen.

Then Kyle's head came down in a sudden move and his forehead connected right with Jonah's nose, sending him stumbling back and grasping the injury in surprise. Jonah finally halted his retreat, and lowered his hand only to see it was covered in blood, and his eyes narrowed.

Kyle only had a second to enjoy this small triumph before he glimpsed the fist heading towards his face and heard the angry curse before thankfully, the world went dark again.

-xXxXx-

"Damn, I think it's broken," Jonah complained, one hand trying to stop the blood flow, the other stretching, the knuckles still sore from the hit.

"It's your own fault," the master said unsympathetically. "Next time maybe you'll be more careful." He smirked, looking from the victim to Jonah, then at the blood that was dripping on the floor. 'Another bit of evidence to lead the cops away from me,' he thought smugly.

Jonah threw him an annoyed glare, but didn't comment. It really was his fault, and under any other circumstances he would've probably stabbed the guy already. But this time he understood the fear he saw in those eyes all too well. He felt the same horror when the Master hadtold him just how the third victim was supposed to die, and even now the thought made him sick.

"Well, get on with the show," the master's voice pulled him back to reality and Jonah shuddered.

"Or do you think he's going to spontaneously combust?"

Jonah shook his head and opened the can, having a little trouble with the seal because his fingers were slick from blood. When he managed he looked at the Master and got his permission in a nod. Lifting up the can, Jonah spilled some of the gas on the victim's shirt and was just about to pour the liquid onto his head, when something startled him. He froze with the can in the air, head tilted.

"Did you-" he started but stopped.

"Shut up," the Master hissed. They listened for a moment and heard another bump, much softer this time, but still it meant someone was there. Jonah swallowed and slowly put the canisterdown, looking at the Master, waiting for orders.

"Should I... check it?" he asked in a whisper but got a shake of a head.

"No, I will. You finish this, start the fire," the Master said and bent down, pulling a gun from the holster on his leg. "Don't mess this up!" he warned, before the Master vanished through the doorway.

Jonah counted to ten, then when he was sure it wasn't all just a trick, he turned and without a glance ran to the window. He couldn't do this, he had to get away. Even if it meant that the Master would be after him, he knew that there was little chance he would live another year if he stayed with the man either. And there was still the hope that the person who caused the noise might be a cop and that the Master would be either killed or arrested. Jonah fervently hoped for the first as he reached the window, only to swear in dismay when he saw the bars outside the glass. What kind of an idiot had put bars into the windows?

Finding that there was no escaping that way, Jonah rushed around Kyle to the door through which the Master had left. Taking in a deep breath, he slowly and silently pushed it open. His eyes were mostly used to the darkness by now, and he saw that the hall was empty. Not waiting any longer, Jonah left the prisoner alone, intent on making his own escape.

-xXxXx-

It was the stupid stair. When Nick left his car with only a flashlight and a gun, he knew it was a stupid idea. Once he entered the building, he spent a minute just listening, hardly even breathing. He heard some voices coming from above and he decided to risk discovery by turning on his flashlight for a moment, searching for the stairs. He quickly scanned the lay-out, taking notice of several pulled out floor boards, a wall with a rather big hole in it as if someone had attacked it with a sledge hammer and some cables laying in the middle of the room. Making a mental note of where everything was, he turned off the flashlight and listened once again.

The voices were quiet and sporadic, but he could make out that they were coming from the first floor, so very carefully he headed for the stairs.

Nick didn't know what he would do once he found the Master and Jonah. He didn't have a grand plan of making an arrest all by himself, hell, he'd be lucky if he got out of this without a fight. He just knew that he couldn't stand by and do nothing. So he slowly made his way up the stairs, praying that they wouldn't creak, and won't give away his presence. He made it almost to the top, when his foot slipped into an empty space where the stair should've been and he teetered dangerously as he stumbled. Luckily, one foot was still solidly on the previous step and he managed to catch his balance, barely skinning his shin against the ragged edge of the step above. He let out a grunt, and realized with frustration that the noise had to have been heard and that soon there would be an armed killer heading his way.

Wasting no time, Nick caught the railing and pulled himself up, taking the last two steps in a hurry, not really caring if someone heard. Breathing hard, he turned to look around but saw only darkness and was too wary to use his flashlight at this point. With his heart beating wildly, Nick reached out and groped for the nearest wall to try and orientate himself. Finding the wall with his outstretched hand, he started carefully sidling along it, his gun poised in readiness. He'd taken only a few steps when he heard movement coming from the farther end of the hall and he could swear his heart skipped a beat.

Nick froze for a second, hardly daring to move, but his instincts screamed that he had to. The other person could turn on his flashlight any second and blind him. Though Nick had the chance to do the same, he knew there were two of them and that giving away his position might prove deadly. Snapping out of his immobility, he forced his body to move, groping blindly in the dark until his hand hit a doorknob. He heard the steps coming, the same hesitance and caution, but he didn't wait. He silently turned the doorknob, and pushed the door open, thanking his lucky stars that it didn't make a sound, then slid inside and pushed it nearly closed, leaving only a slit to peek through. He'd only just been in time too he realised, when he saw the beam of light searching the hall.

He pushed himself against the wall and practically stopped breathing when the other person passed by the door, ignoring it. He let out a sigh only when he heard the steps going down the stairs. Now he knew where the Master was. That only left Jonah and Nick was confident he could handle that one. Slowly slipping out of his hiding place, Nick headed toward the door the Master came out of. He was in the middle of the hall when he bumped into something and Nick jumped back, startled. It was only when he heard a surprised gasp that Nick realised he'd collided with a person, but this time it was too late to retreat.

-xXxXx-

The stench made him sick and he fought the urge to vomit. He knew he couldn't, not when something was keeping his mouth shut. It was just an instinct but it kept him from choking. He didn't know why he was gagged or why he couldn't move. He just knew his head hurt and the smell of gasoline made him sick.

'Gasoline? What the hell?'

Then it all came back to him and the earlier confusion was replaced by panic. Gasoline. He had it on his clothes, should've had it on his body too, but he didn't feel wet, maybe just drenched in cold sweat. Something stopped them from pouring that can on him, but what was it?

Maybe help was coming, Kyle hoped, then pushed the thought back. He didn't hear any sirens, hell, he didn't hear anything! Which meant that he was alone. He jerked his hand and felt the tape on his left wrist loosen up a bit. Good, he'd managed to hit that bastard before he could add another layer of tape. Which meant that maybe there was a chance to escape. With this hope came strengthand Kyle started fighting his bonds.

He kicked out, one of his legs getting free and hitting something, knocking it over. Kyle paused in his efforts, frowning, trying to figure out what it was. Only when more of the stench hit his nose did he realise it was the can. He'dknocked it over and now gaswas pouring out, onto the floor, soaking into the wood. Kyle froze, not sure if this was in his favor or not. If the Master came back, there was no gasoline for Kyle, but then, all it took was a spark or a lighter and the floor under his feet would eruptinto flames. With a desperate sob, Kyle resumed his fight for freedom, one thought replaying in his mind like a mantra.

'I don't want to die.'

TBC