Aria blinked in the darkness her eyes open for the first time in days, or what felt like days. She could no longer tell how long she had been there, sitting in the darkness. Her hands struggled in the ropes, thick and tight wrapped around her, constricting her. She felt her breath and heart beat quicken when she heard the sound of something or someone, coming toward her. A familiar shape came out of the dark, creeping slowly into the small patch of sun in front of the trembling brunet. "Aria, is that you? How'd you end up here?" Said a male voice, Aria shuddered at the tone of the man, now fully in the sunlight. She swallowed before facing the him she had never suspected as a fellow target.
Ezra dropped the note as his face went numb. He fell down against the tree and took a deep breath in, Ella still frozen in front of him. "What...do we do?" she managed after a long pause between them. Ezra shook his head and looked down at his faded jeans. Ella walked closer to him and repeated herself, her tone timid "Ezra, what do we-" "I DON'T KNOW ELLA! WHY DON'T YOU JUST GIVE UP! GO HOME AND FORGET IT, JUST LIKE YOU FORGOT YOUR OWN DAUGHTER!" Ezra was standing up by now, he was throwing his hands everywhere and his face was red in rage. His breathing got heavier as Ella sliced her hand through the air and slapped him in the face. Ezra's cheek turned red and Ella stepped back and looked down at the ground in embarrassment. "I'm, I'm sorry...but I don't owe you any explanations, Ezra I just want to find Aria, that's the only reason I'm here." Ezra put his head in his hands "I'm sorry Ella, but she needs you and you don't seem to give a-" Ella cut him off "Enough! Let's just keep looking, she can't have been taken far." Ezra nodded and followed Ella as she walked determinedly into the forest, hoping and wondering if the woman he loved was safe.
Aria looked back over at Ian, he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. She couldn't bear to look anymore. Ian had been down there for who knows how long, and in consequence he looked horrible. He smelt terrible, his clothes were torn and his face was covered in bruises. His leg was wounded and the large gash was getting infected. Aria winced, she hated Ian for what he was doing to Spencer and her family, but be didn't deserve this. Ian mustered a small laugh when he noticed the expression on Aria's face "Come on, it's not that bad!" he paused and his breathing slowed down as Aria gathered up the courage to look him in the eye "How long have you been here?" she whispered, not sure she really wanted an answer. Ian shrugged and shook his head "I don't know, a few weeks maybe...a month.." Tears streaked down her face as Aria looked down, concealing her face long black wavy hair. She knew her love would come for her, she just didn't know if he would be too late.
Ezra stopped as his phone buzzed in his back pocket. He looked down at the lump in pocket and removed it's contents. The letters on the screen became a blur in his mind. "ARIA!" He screamed as the phone fell out of his hands and he sped off into the forest, leaving Ella utterly confused. She picked up the, now damp, blackberry off the dark black dirty ground and read the text aloud, not realizing what she was about to discover. "You have one hour. The sooner you find her the better off she'll be. When the hour is up you can kiss your precious Aria goodbye. Come and find me, ready or not!" Ella chucked the phone aside and took off after Ezra. She stopped and sunk down when she realized she had no clue where to start. To her, Aria was lost.
Oh I am so super duper sorry about the delay in update! I got seriously sick and then I had exams and things just got overheated. But I hope my readers still have not lost faith! This is the second last chapter of my short little fic, but I am rebooting another of my old fics, The Marian Diariesso please give it a go! Next chap will be up soon! Watch this space!