Chapter 10: Cry Little Sister

"Tell her everything's going to be okay – re-assure her."

"Everything will be okay, baby." He could see her face as he had said those words. She had been crying, of course, tears staining her cheeks, and whimpering in fear. Even so, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about how beautiful she was… "I promise it'll be alright. I'm gonna protect you."

Chase's voice, just as heartless as ever, had said something – and then her screaming had filled his ears. It's knocked all his strength, all his willpower, out of him. In that moment – with the woman he love's screams ringing in his ears – he had wanted to die.

Fuck, he had wanted it so badly.

Because, surely, death could not be as bad as what he'd gone through then. Death must be better than the absolute torture of hearing her scream like that.

Then, Chase had muttered, "Good night, brother," and he had checked out, slipping into nothingness.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

When Paul came to, he couldn't bring himself to open his eyes. He could tell, judging by the sounds he heard, that what he'd see would be the opposite of good.

"Stop!" Shelby's voice begged, quivering with pain and fear, "No – don't, please! No!"

Another ear-splitting scream pierced Paul's ears, and he could bear it no longer. Opening his bruised eyes, he saw that Chase was hovering over Shelby, with his back to him. His arms were busy doing something that Paul couldn't see; something that was causing her great pain. "Ssssh, it's almost done – stop squirming," Chase told her. As much as Paul wanted to speak up, he couldn't due to another strip of tape that had been placed over his mouth.

Another scream – he couldn't stand this – and he heard her moaning, sobbing, pleading for him to stop. "Pl-please…!"

Chase laughed then, before holding her down and busying himself again with whatever he was doing – making her shriek and cry out even more. The sound alone was enough to drive anyone mad, and he was in hell listening to her pain.

"There. All done," Chase stowed the knife he'd been equipped with in his back pocket, "What do you think of it, Paul?" And, he moved aside, so that Paul could see his handiwork.

The sight made his blood boil.

Shelby lay on the metal table, hands still tied down on either side of her body with rope – same for her legs. He shirt had been removed – along with her bra – and Paul could finally see what Chase had been working on when he'd woken up; the word 'SLUT' had been carved into her torso, vertically, running down in-between her breasts to her stomach, where he could make out the spot where Chase had stabbed her. Tears shone on her pallid, exhausted face, and Paul felt his entire body tense with anger. Blood flowed from the letters Chase had hacked into her, and she was shaking uncontrollably.

"Fuckin' masterpiece, isn't it?" Chase grinned at Paul, who did nothing but glare. "What was that? I can't hear you, dumbass -," Moving forward, he pulled the strip of tape off Paul's mouth.

"I'm going to rip you apart, man." Paul snarled, teeth clenched, "I swear." He could hear Shelby's panting, and called out, "Babe – are you alright?"

She giggled breathily, then winced, "Define 'alright'."

"I know. But don't worry; I'm going to get us out of here."

At that, Chase lunged forward, his eyes ablaze with anger. "I wouldn't waste my time filling up her head with lies – if I were you. It's pointless, and it seems cruel to give her false hope."

"It's not a lie. I am going to save her," he replied, shrugging, "And, in the meantime, Sassy's strong. She's fucking tough; you're not going to break her."

Chase considered his words, before raising an eyebrow, "You know what? I'm kind of over you and your shitty attitude -," Lifting a hand, he pressed his thumb into the gash in Paul's torso. Paul let out a groan of agony, eyes closed, teeth gritted, and Shelby felt even more sympathy for him. He was so good at putting up walls to make himself seem un-caring and… hide who he really was. But Shelby knew – more so now than ever – how truly breakable, how scared, he was on the inside. You wouldn't think it, if you saw how he acted around the boys, but horrible situations tend to reveal people's true feelings.

"I do have one thing I'm curious about," Chase said, to the room at large, "There's a trace of an almost… charred-looking scar on her arm. What's it from?"

"She got burned in the sunlight once," Paul replied, so Shelby wouldn't have to.

At that, a dangerous gleam lit in Chase's eyes, and he moved closer to Paul, "It was your fault, wasn't it?"

Paul opened his mouth to speak, but said nothing. Shelby spoke for him: "No. It wasn't."

"Shut up, bitch," Chase's words hit her like a ton of bricks, "I'm talking to Paul. Not you." He turned to her, reached out, and ran a finger over the still-bloody letters carved into her torso. Lifting his hand to his mouth, he licked her blood off, smacking his lips. "Now," he said, turning his attention back to Paul, who's teeth were clenched in disgust, "You wanna know what I think? I think that her getting burned was your fault. I think that you didn't even bother to run after her until she was already screaming –,"

"That's a fucking lie!" Shelby cried, angrily, "He couldn't have stopped me! It wasn't his –,"

"Honey, I swear, if you interrupt me when I'm talking again, I will slit your throat faster than you can say 'sorry'." He flashed a smile that made her shiver; it was so full of malice. Needless to say, she made a mental note to keep her mouth shut.

"Don't talk to her like that, man." Paul's voice was calm but dangerous all the same. "You have no fucking right. You're such a dick – what the hell has she done to you? Your problem's not with me, not her. So take it out on me."

Chase laughed at that, "How valiant. You're a regular knight in shining armor, aren't you? Just tell me something – the truth…" Shelby held her breath for him to speak again. "And, if you answer truthfully, I'll let you both go. Got it?"

Paul nodded and Shelby felt her heartbeat speed up. "What do you want to know?"

Chase's voice was empty, as he said, "Have you ever lied to your princess over there before?"

She watched Paul carefully; his face stayed calm, but his body tensed, which confused her. He hadn't ever lied to her before. Had he? She tried to clear her mind of doubt, as he opened his mouth to reply, "No, I haven't."

But his voice was uncertain, and Chase shook his head, "Uh-oh, that's the wrong answer." Before anyone could speak, he had raised a fist and punched him. Paul cried out in pain.

"That wasn't a lie, Chase! Fucking hell –,"

"That's another lie," He punched him again, even harder this time.

"Chase, stop!" Shelby couldn't stay quiet anymore, her mind reeling as she watched Paul get beaten.

Chase laughed, "Are you scared, beautiful?" Another punch. "Worried for your boyfriend?" Another. "Huh? Does this scare you?" Another – Paul let out a broken whimper, blood flowing from his nose and mouth. "Seeing your big, strong Paul –," another – she was in hysterics at this point, "- get the shit beaten out of him?" After this punch, Chase grabbed Paul and turned him to look at her. His face was bruised and bloody; he looked completely worn out, weak, and her heart was breaking. "Tell her you love her, Paul."

Spitting blood out of his mouth, he blinked, then whispered, "I love you. I love you so much." His voice was small – he was tired. So tired, and every part of him hurt. His body, his mind, his heart, his soul… He felt dizzy.

"Very good. Now, tell her goodbye." Chase murmured, letting go of him.

Unable to hold his head up anymore, Paul let himself go limp and whispered, "Goodbye."

Then, many things happened at once. A sound rang out through the warehouse – almost like glass shattering – and Chase froze. Footsteps could be heard, and Shelby screamed, signaling where they were – hoping that they would be saved.

But Paul was too tired to pay attention; his eyelids felt like lead, and he was exhausted now. The last thing he heard was the sound of Chase's voice - as he leaned in to whisper "This isn't fucking over," – before his eyes slid shut.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Chase watched the two of them get rescued from outside, on top of a hill overlooking the warehouse's entrance. He had managed to get out before David and his boys saw him, but had left both of them alive…

"You failed."

He jumped at the sudden voice, "Fuck! You scared the shit out of me. Warn a guy next time."

"Shut up." The man said, "You didn't follow through on what we paid you to do."

Chase sighed, "I'm sorry, man – I was this close to finishing them, but then they showed up, and –,"

"We're very disappointed in you," another voice, a female voice, said.

Chase watched her step out of the shadows to stand beside the man, and nodded, "Yeah, I fucking know, okay? Once again: I'm sorry."

"I think we should kill him." The man suggested, grabbing Chase before he could get away, "What do you think, Star?"

Star smiled, running a hand through Chase's hair, a hungry look in her eyes, "Just let me play with him a little bit first."

"Wait!" Chase had to think fast because he knew they weren't kidding around. "Wait – uh… I-I didn't kill Paul and Shelby, like you asked, but I can help you."

The man raised an eyebrow, "You're full of shit, and I'm in the mood for a good kill, so –,"

But Star interrupted, holding him back, "Michael, stop. I want to hear what he has to say…"

Chase winked at her, then continued: "You want them dead. So do I. Well – mainly Paul, but the girl can die too; I couldn't care less."

"But you've already failed us once – how could you help us when you can't even accomplish this?" Michael was skeptical, but Star looked like she was on Chase's side.

Smirking, he replied, "I know what it's like to want revenge. We can plan our next attack as a group, and have ourselves what I'm dotingly going to call 'payback slaughter'. Sound good?"

Star nodded instantly, "I'm in. Michael, he's not lying. He won't fuck up again – I can feel it."

Michael was silent for a moment, staring at Chase, before saying, "Fine. I'm in, too."

"Excellent," Chase folded his arms across his chest, then said, "Remind me again why you hate them so much…"

Michael started to respond, but Star got there first: "Years ago, when I was with David, I was… kind of a tease –,"

"What do you mean 'was'? You still are, babe." Michael chuckled, quietly.

Star grinned, "Anyway, even though I was with David, I was head over heels for Paul. And he knew, but he never returned my feelings. This was before I met Michael, of course. After I found him, I knew he was the one, but to this day, all I really want is… revenge on Paul – for denying me. And since he's got his own little girlfriend now, I figure she can die with him. Hell, I'll kill her myself; it'll be so much fun."

Chase nodded, enthusiastically, "Fair enough. You're fucking right; this is going to be fun."

A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter, even though it really does suck. Chapter 11 will be up soon and don't forget to review! :D