AN: Short chapter, but a major cliffhanger. I really hope you're enjoying this so far, because the story's climax is coming.
Rachel walked down the hall of the hospital, pulling her purse strap up higher on her shoulder. The damage from the fire last week had been minimal, and it only took a day before everything was up and running again.
As Rachel made her way towards the exit, she spotted Penny standing by a window. It looked as if she was searching for her metro card in her wallet. It didn't surprise Rachel to see that Penny's face was still completely absent of any sign of happiness.
"Hey, Penny," Rachel greeted gently, stepping over to her friend's side. "How're you doing?"
"Fine," Penny replied in an unconvincing tone. She'd finally managed to locate her metro card and moved it into the front of her wallet, so she'd have easier access to it when she arrived at the station. Rachel couldn't stop herself from lightly chewing on her lower lip. She'd almost offered to go kick James' butt for her, but stopped herself in time. She knew that the mere mention of James usually triggered a fresh flow of tears from Penny, and Rachel just couldn't stand seeing Penny cry.
"Put the metro card away, Pen," Rachel wrapped a consoling arm around Penny's shoulders. "I'll give you a free ride home, okay? We can even stop for some gumdrops on the way. I know how much you like gumdrops."
"Thanks, Rach," Penny gave a weak smile, allowing Rachel to shepherd her out the hospital's front door.
"Hey, that's what friends are for, right?" Rachel smiled. "Just wait here. I'll pull the car up for you." With that, Rachel headed out into the parking lot, leaving Penny alone outside the main entrance.
As Penny waited, she felt the need to chew a stick of gum and started going through her purse to look for the package of Juicy Fruit. In doing so, her wallet managed to slip out, falling open when it hit the pavement. As she picked up the fallen wallet, a small snapshot started to slide out from its photo pocket. Slowly, Penny picked it up to look at the picture and instantly felt the tears start to well up in her eyes. The picture, which had been taken on a warm spring afternoon in the park, featured her and James, his arms wrapped around her waist, with Sammy sitting next to them. All three of them were smiling widely at the camera, perfectly happy to be together.
Penny's thoughts and tears were put on hold when a pair of headlights shone down on her. Thinking it was Rachel with the car, Penny brushed away the tears and stood up to walk over. As she approached however, she realized that the car that was sitting there was not Rachel's. The moment this registered, the door on the driver's side opened, and a figure that was hidden behind the glare of the lights stepped out. Penny lifted an arm to shield her eyes, trying to make out the person who was now walking towards her. When the figure was a few steps away, however, a sudden wave of foreboding hit her. Quickly, Penny turned to hurry back inside. Before she could reach them, someone grabbed her from behind, and a cloth was forced over her mouth and nose. For a few brief moments, in the mist of her struggle, Penny could detect the unmistakable smell of the anesthesia the cloth had been soaked in, but then everything went dark.
Hannah smugly glared down at the unconscious Penny. That fire she had set had been a perfect distraction, helping her steal the bottle of anesthesia from the hospital's storage. Even if someone had done inventory afterwards, they would have excused the missing bottle as being lost in the fire. She'd been really clever to prepare for 'Plan B', in the event that she wouldn't have been able to get to Sammy while James was distracted with the hospital fire. Now, he was sure to come to her. After all, James would do anything to save his precious little girlfriend.
Taking a firm grip under Penny's arms, Hannah dragged her over to the passenger side to push her in. The moment she did so, a voice crying out made her jump. That girl that Penny had been talking to a few moments before had returned, and was staring at Hannah in shock.
"Hey!" Rachel shouted, starting to head over. "What're you doing?" Hannah, starting to panic, hurried around the car, practically jumping into the driver's seat, thankful she'd left the car running in neutral. Through the windshield, Hannah noticed Rachel starting to run over, a terrified look on her face. Without blinking, Hannah shifted the car into drive, and began to move forward. Rachel had to do some intensive dodging to avoid getting hit by the car as it rolled by.
"Penny!" Rachel cried, watching helplessly as the car sped off. For a brief moment, she was frozen on the spot, but after a minute, she'd snapped out of it, reaching into her purse for her cell phone to dial 9-1-1.
In the Condo, Mark, Emily, Rodolfo, Zack and Lucia were just starting on dinner.
"So, why isn't Penny back yet?" Zack asked in curiosity, glancing over at her empty seat.
"Maybe she and Rachel decided to stop somewhere on the way back," Rodolfo guessed. "You know how much they like going out after work."
At that moment, there was a knock on the door. Returning her silverware to the table, Emily got up to answer it. Who she saw on the other side of the door was not who she'd expected.
"James!" Emily cried, quickly stepping aside to let the young man in. "This is a surprise."
"Yeah," James muttered as he walked in, glancing over at Mark as he did so, nonverbally saying 'you were right.' In response, Mark sent him an encouraging smile. James uncomfortably shifted on his feet for a moment before continuing. "Um… Is Penny here?"
"No, she's not," Emily replied. James seemed to become even more downtrodden by this. "But you're more them welcome to stay until she does come home. She shouldn't be too much later."
"Thanks," James nodded, his eyes never leaving the ground, his hands stuffed into his pockets. "I'd like that."
Just as James plopped down on the couch to wait, the phone rang across the room. Since she was already up, Emily crossed the room to answer it.
"Hello? ... Rachel, hi! Are you and Penny out…what? Rachel, slow down, please!" Immediately, everyone paused to look over. They all could hear the muffled, faint sounds of Rachel speaking on the other end, and it was clear that she was upset about something. As Emily listened, her face grew pale with shock and fear.
"Thank you, Rachel. We'll be waiting for them to arrive." Emily finally found her voice after a second or two, but it was faint and weak. The moment she'd hung up the phone, she'd dropped to her knees, the stunned expression never leaving her face.
"Emily, what happened?" Mark asked, quickly leaving the table to crouch down beside her, filled with concern.
"Rachel," Emily croaked, her voice shaking with every syllable. "She was going to take Penny home after work. But she left her alone for just a few minutes to get the car. When she came back…she said a woman abducted her and drove off."
"NO!" James was on his feet in an instant. There was now a look of fear and panic on his face, and everyone else's for that matter.
"The police are on their way right now," Emily started to break down, pressing her face into Mark's shoulder as the worried tears started to flow. In response, Mark held her tightly, instinctively rubbing her back and fighting back tears of his own.
"Did…did Rachel say anything else?" James suddenly spoke harshly, eyes starting to burn with a strange light.
"Yes," Emily whispered after a lengthy pause, turning her tear-stained face up to James. "She said the person who kidnapped Penny was a young woman. With blonde hair." James face immediately hardened even more.
"Hannah," he growled, his hands closing into shaking fists at the thought of Penny at the mercy of Hannah.