A/N: Hey guys :) New chapter again - sorry it took me so long to write this and actually get it posted, these chapters take me a lot longer than other stories' chapters do, because I want them to be longer and... deeper than most. And I have to be in a certain mood to write these, haha XD Anyways, I hope you guys like this chapter, please review with your thoughts after! :D
Disclaimer: I do now own Camp Rock, JONAS, or anything at all. Just my little plot :D
I couldn't help the horrified shriek that erupted at his words. My hands flew up to my mouth, turning the scream into a squeak, and as I glanced back at him, watching as a triumphant, satisfied spark lit up his eyes, a smirk on the corners of his lips. I couldn't believe my ears- of course, I knew he had dark ulterior motives, but even I hadn't seen this coming. What he was suggesting... it was positively horrifying. I wouldn't do it, of course I wouldn't. What did he think- I was going to... no, I couldn't even think the words in my head. I was too afraid they might become real if I did. He surely couldn't expect me to actually go along with his plan, could he?
His smirk lit up his whole face, and he reached forwards. Before I had the chance to pull away, his hand reached and grabbed onto my wrist, ripping my hands away from my face. If I hadn't still been in shock from what he'd just said, maybe I would have been able to move back in time... but it was rather unlikely.
He pulled me closer, and I closed my eyes, not wanting to look at his ugly, contorted face. Of course, he may not be a naturally ugly person, but what the person does is what determines how beautiful (or should I say handsome, in this department) they really are. You might be a gorgeous person, but if you're ugly on the inside, you can never be beautiful on the outside. Just saying.
I sucked in a breath, feeling him right next to me, maybe an inch or two away from me at the most, and I felt his hot breath against my cheek.
"You'll do as I ask, Mitchie," His tone held a warning note, making it rather clear that I was to obey him, one way or the other, "Or something very bad will happen to someone you care deeply about." I froze, mentally running through any possible notions as to what he could mean... maybe Joe?
At the thought, I stopped, ducking my head as a blush turned my cheeks a heated red. I was embarrassed- I hardly knew Joe besides the fact that I was locked in the same cell as he and his brothers. I wished fervently that Dain wouldn't notice, but thankfully, he seemed to be preoccupied with some other thought.
"Get up." It took me a second to realize he was talking to me, and I jerked my head up, tensing immediately. He didn't wait for me to respond, however, as he yanked me to my feet, his hand still firmly clamped onto my wrists. "I have someone you might want to meet." His smile, now wicked and dark as he turned to look back at me, made my heart race again. Obviously, he didn't mean the Lucas Brothers, or any of his estranged family members, and hence he had me clueless.
He pulled me out of the dark, cluttered room, and I blinked rapidly as the bright light hit me, temporarily blinding me. It took a second, but I managed to recover as quickly as I could, and staggered after him, although he hadn't even hesitated in the slightest bit. He was determined- this was a bad, bad, very bad sign. He seemed way too eager to show me this mysterious person, which in itself was another bad sign. I bit my lip, wishing I could be anywhere but here.
He halted, pulling something out of his pocket and whipping it around. I flinched, although he didn't hit me with it, and I saw his smile which said he knew he wasn't going to hit me in the first place, but he just liked to 'have a little fun'. He reached around, grasping my waist firmly so I couldn't wriggle away, and pulled him closer to me, before something was suddenly thrust in front of me, blocking off my vision. It took me a moment to realize he had just blindfolded me.
Suddenly, in the dark and unable to see, I felt much more frightened and alone. I felt helpless.
He grabbed hold of my wrists, and I felt him binding them together. I groaned, attempting to pull away, but it only jerks on my wrists, causing me to stumble, yet he didn't hesitate. I felt him knot the rope, and suddenly, he began to walk. I tried my best to keep up with him, having no other choice but to follow. He didn't slow, despite the fact I was tripping and barely able to keep up, instead, his steps quickened, as if he was enjoying my blindly following him. He was a sick, twisted human being. If one could even refer to him as a human... maybe he wasn't really human at all. He certainly didn't have humanly emotions, in the least bit.
He stops in front of me, and I stumble, almost falling over him, but he doesn't bother to catch me, and I fall straight at his feet. Great, just great. I coughed, attempting to find a way to push myself back up when my wrists are tied and I'm blindfolded, and not succeeding very well. He never even once tried to help me up. Finally, I managed to get back onto my own two feet again, and I stood uncertainly, not even quite sure where Dain was- if he was standing next to me, or he'd turned and walked away to leave me who knows where in this evil, dark, forbidden place.
"Well, Mitchie, I do believe you'll want to meet one of my honored guests, right, my dear love?" He asks, his tone sugary sweet, and I stepped away from him, disgusted with his sickening voice. In one swift moment, he grabbed me, pinned me up against him, and ripped off the blindfold.
Someone was shaking me. Not just the usual, 'it's time to get up, sweetie' type of shaking, but a much more urgent, worried 'Get up now, please' way. Still half asleep, my eyes heavy, I pushed the hand away, groaning as I did so. Briefly, I wondered what was so important that I would get woken up at this indecent hour in the morning, but I brushed off the thought as I yawned, opened my eyes, and then jumped in surprise. It had taken me a moment since, still half-asleep, I'd forgotten where we were. Now, in a rush, it all came back to me, and I groaned.
"Get up, Joe." Nick's tone had a hint of urgency in it, and I forced myself to wake up, facing my two brothers/band mates, and furrowing my eyebrows together. It took me a second to realize the fourth member of our "party" wasn't there.
I was on my feet in two seconds, my eyes darting worriedly around the room. Mitchie was no where to be seen, and I panicked as I spun around to face Nick and Kevin.
"Where is she?" I couldn't help the fear that had gripped hold of my heart, wondering where she was and what that psychotic monster had done with her. I swear, if he did so much as lay a finger on her...
"I don't know." Kevin confessed. "We woke up, and she was just gone." His eyes held a unspoken fear, and I knew it was for Mitchie's safety. I closed my own eyes, trying to breathe, trying to make sense of the fact that she wasn't here anymore. Where in the world could she go? Wouldn't we have heard the door open, or her footsteps leaving? Or... anything?
All three of us froze as a strangled cry came from somewhere down the corridor, before it immediately cut itself off, and we all shared a look of horror before I lunged at the door, attempting to see through the top bars. The corridor was bare, except for one lone guard, and there definitely was not hide or hair of the monster (as I so graciously referred to him) or Mitchie. I let out a yell in return, slamming my palm against the bars, my heart nearly splitting in half from the cry we'd just heard.
Nick and Kevin were at my side, pulling me back, in an instant, shaking their heads and telling me to be quiet. I couldn't just keep quiet, not while that monster had ahold of Mitchie.
I was no master at reading people. However, it had been plain to see that Mitchie was terrified of him, and hence, I believed she had a very good reason to be afraid. Although I wasn't sure of exactly why, I still trusted her enough to know that she was in serious danger when he was around, and that she herself was well aware of that exact fact.
Footsteps thudded against the stone floor, and the three of us, once again, stopped, our heads all turning to stare at the door. The guard's ugly, fat face stared back at us.
"Hey! You little Lucas boys better knock it off, or it'll be the worst for you." He warned, his voice gruff, and I felt my hands curl into fists at my side, and Nick and Kevin immediately placed restraining hands on my arm. I continued to glare at him, too busy with worry for Mitchie to even consider the fact that he would pound me to the ground in a moment, probably without even trying.
"Joe!" Nick hissed in my ear, tugging at my arm, "Don't push him!" He warned, and I reluctantly stepped back, trying to ignore the guard's triumphant, taunting face, knowing that it wouldn't help Mitchie any if the guard decided to beat us up. Too bad I didn't listen to Nick and Kevin, or my gut instinct. The guard smirked, and before I could realize what was happening, his fist had shot out and I was falling backwards, my hand covering my eye as I cried out in pain. Both Nick and Kevin jumped after me, catching me before I fell, and the guard only gave a single, loud laugh before he stepped back out of the cell, shutting the door firmly behind him.
"Dude!" Kevin groaned, covering his eyes with his hands for a moment. I glared at him, and protested as Nick grasped my wrist and pulled my own hand away from my eye. With a sigh, he ran his hands through his curly hair and copied Kevin by groaning.
"Well, you've got a black eye. And just when your last one was finally starting to heal." He remarked (although I had already guessed this much), "Well, hopefully this will be the last one you'll get." He finished, narrowing his eyes, although I knew he wasn't really mad at me. Well, maybe he was, just a little bit...
Before I could reply to Nick, all three of us froze. Several voices, all rather high-pitched and nervous, could be heard.
My breath caught in my throat, and as much as my lungs burned, I couldn't breathe. It was physically impossible at the moment. I couldn't believe what I was seeing...
I closed my eyes, my heart skipping several beats, and uncontrollable tears slipped down my cheeks. No.
"Landon." I whispered in horror, my body trembling as the broken boy stared back at me, his eyes shocked and terrified. "No." I choked, cut off as Dain shoved me towards the boy roughly, and I saw him trying to struggle to his feet, his eyes firmly fixed on Dain.
"No." His voice cracked, as if he hadn't spoken in quite a while, and I couldn't hold back the choked sob in my throat. He attempted to step towards me, but failed and fell back to his knees, not even able to stand on his own two feet he was so weak. My entire body felt as if it was on fire as I continued to shake, my heart breaking in half as I continued to stare at Landon, who was vainly trying to push himself up. I wanted to help him- I wanted to run forwards and pull him up, but I was afraid of what might happen if I did. I was afraid to even touch him.
"What is she doing here?" It took me a second to realize Landon wasn't talking to me, but past me, and I flinched as I felt someone casually bump my shoulder as he came to stand beside me, leaning into me. I ducked my head, my body tense, but I was too shocked and scared to move, or to do anything at all except stand there, my heart in my throat. "You promised you wouldn't!" His voice cracked again, although this time from both fear and exhaustion, and this time I stepped forwards, towards him. Although I was still terrified, I wanted to be near him, I wanted to hold him again. I finally understood where he'd been the last six years... the horrible, torturous truth came crashing down on me.
"Landon." I whispered, choking slightly as I kneeled down, my eyes meeting his, which held agony and terror, yet love. I didn't know what to say, or if I even should say anything, and so I remained quiet, leaning forwards to engulf him in a hug.
Before I could move closer, a jerk from behind caught me off guard, making my feet slip out from under me, and I just barely avoided my head smashing into the floor, before I was pulled him, and I caught sight of Dain's annoyed expression, his lips pursed into a thin line. He wasn't happy.
"Well, despite our little deal," Dain snapped, glaring down at Landon angrily, "I had no choice but to bring her here, so yes, I've broken my end of the deal... that's just too bad for both of you, I suppose, but that's not really my problem now." He growled, and I felt a surge of anger rush through me at the way he was talking down to Landon. He was too preoccupied to notice. Hence, I took my shot.
I spun around, my hands flying around to smack him in the neck. I'd been aiming for his face, but... well, any shot was worth it.
He froze for a split second, a look of pure hatred washing over his face, before he turned and slapped me, his fist knocking the breath out of me, and I fell to the ground in a tangled heap, curling into a ball instinctively to avoid any more blows. I heard Landon's angry shout from beside me, but I ignored him as I continued to duck my head, my body trembling as I wondered if Dain would hit me again.
"How could you?" Landon yelled, now rushing into action as he stumbled over to me, as if to shield me from Dain's harsh, wicked expression and blows, and I struggled to sit up, my hands still 'convienently' tied behind my back. Landon's expression showed his pain as I flinched, sucking in my breath (thankfully, I could breathe again, and Dain hadn't caused any permanent damage... that I was aware of, anyways). "You made a promise!" He shouted again, and now that he was closer, I saw how thin he had gotten. I saw the trails of bruises covering his bare arms, and the way he could barely support himself. My heart split in half.
My head was still reeling with confusion. I hadn't even known that Landon was still alive, much less... here, with him. I could hardly believe it- not because it was impossible to believe, but because my heart desperately needed to believe that the conclusion I'd jumped to wasn't real. It wasn't true. It hadn't happened. But, although I wanted to deny it with every part of me, I knew it was the truth.
I closed my eyes, still shaking, and sucked in a deep breath.
Why?
Why was this all happening? Why had I even tried to be friends with Dain and his sister before? Why? Why, why, why had I not run from them, run away from them, and never looked back? If I had just never tried to be friendly, if I had never liked them, if I had just avoided them... I wouldn't be here, Landon wouldn't be here, and none of this would be happening right now. None of this would have happened. All of this horrifying, twisted, sick, disturbing, wicked, horrendous events could have been avoided. Why hadn't I seen how crazy they really were right from the beginning? Why was I so blind?
I didn't realize I was crying until I felt a tear slip down my cheek, and felt a soft touch on my face, wiping away the tear.
"Mitch." The voice was so familiar, yet so foreign, and yet still so comforting. I glanced up, my vision still blurry, and imagined the pain and suffering that he'd probably gone through for the past six years, the pain and suffering that I had been so blissfully aware of. It made me sick to my stomach, just knowing what he'd been through. I wanted to throw up, just at the very thought.
Before I could stop myself, I felt a sick feeling rushing up, into my throat, and I leaned forwards, emptying the contents of my stomach all over Dain's shoes before he could step back. If I hadn't felt like passing out, I might have laughed at the horrified look on his face, but I was more focused on trying to stay awake, and stop the light-headed, dizziness I was feeling. All the memories were coming back, all the tears and nights I spent crying myself to sleep, while all the time Landon had been Dain's prisoner. And worst of all, none of us had even known. No one had known...
I had to resist the urge to throw up again, my lips pressed firmly into a tight line as I tried to control the spinning in my head.
Dain's hand caught the back of my shirt, pulling me to my feet, although he made sure to keep me a few feet away from him.
"That's it!" He roared, his face an ugly shade of red. "Back to your cell with those Lucas boys..." He smirked at me, and unwillingly memories of earlier flicked into my head, of when he'd told me that he wanted me to, in effect, kill them. Never.
Never would I become the monster he wanted me to be- never would I become like him. Even if it killed me, I would never even lay a finger on Joe, Kevin, or Nick. I wouldn't hurt them just because he wanted someone else to do his dirty work. He was my enemy- my captor- and I wouldn't work for him. Never.
Dain's hand gripped my arm tightly, squeezing it in anger as he dragged me away, away from Landon. I cried out, kicking at him, but he didn't hesitate as he flipped the blindfold back on before lazily throwing me over his shoulder and continuing on, his footsteps thudding loudly against the stone floor. I wished he would put me down so I could swing at him again.
I wasn't quite sure where this new-found confidence, and anger, had come from, but I was pretty sure it had to do with Landon.
I hated Dain. It wasn't a question, it wasn't just a word. I truly, one hundred percent, hated Dain with every fiber in my body. How could he do this to innocent people, and not even care? What he did was sickening, horrible, wicked, and so much more, and yet he would just shrug his shoulders as though it was just some nonchalant matter, not something to be given a second thought.
Dain's grip was tight, unrelenting, as if he really, truly wanted to hurt me right now. Not that there had ever been a moment when he hadn't wanted to, but still, this was different. He was angry- and not just the usual anger he felt towards everyone, but something deep inside that had stirred up. I really wished it would just go back into hiding.
I heard footsteps, other than Dain's, scattering, probably running out of his way, and the sound of a door being pushed open. I groaned, hardly able to imagine which ghost from my past would be behind thisdoor, but instead I felt Dain come to a halt, his entire body tense, and I could feel his anger still radiating from him.
I tensed myself, afraid of what was coming, and I felt his hands grip onto my waist tighter. Before I could comprehend what he was doing, I felt him lift me up, over his shoulder, and suddenly without warning I was flying through the air, my arms and legs flailing as I desperately searched for something solid to grab onto. Nothing.
All too soon, I managed to find something solid after all- or more like, it found me. With a wicked sounding crack, my body hit what I realized later was the right stone wall in the little cell I shared with the Lucas Brothers. Pain was shooting through me like wildfire, and I was gasping for air, rolling onto my back and sucking in my breath, my back feeling as if it was on fire.
Someone was leaning over me, but all I could see was with my fuzzy vision was Dain's triumphant smirk. He continued to glare at me, a gloating expression on his face, but I could still see through his haughty stare. He was angry at me, angry at the entire world, but mostly... angry at me. I honestly could say I didn't care at the moment- the pain running through my body had me preoccupied at the moment.
I knew I'd gotten seriously hurt, but still, all I could see was Landon's broken, shocked expression, and all I could imagine was all the nights he'd spent here, probably going through a similar scenario on a daily basis, and once again, tears filled my eyes. How could we not have known? How blind I had been- thinking all these years that Landon had abandoned me. In fact, it was never his fault in the first place. How could I have been so stupid as to think that he hadn't cared? How could I have ever doubted him?
"Mitchie!" Someone's voice broke me out of my thoughts, and I jerked as I realized that Joe was standing over me, looking terrified, shaking my shoulders. "Mitchie!" I gave a cry of surprise, shoving his hand away from me in a hasty panic, my thoughts flying back to what Dain had told me earlier...
'I need you to take care of the Lucas Brothers...' I didn't want to see them, I didn't want to be near them, just in case something happened. I couldn't bear it if I hurt them. I closed my eyes, my body stiff as I hoped neither Joe, Kevin, or Nick would come near me, and took a deep breath to calm myself. Breathe, just breathe...
"Mitchie... are you okay?" The look on Joe's face told me that he already knew by my expression, and the way I'd responded to him, that I was far from okay, but he wanted me to tell him that instead of just flat out saying something. I flinched, swallowing harshly as I gave a barely noticable shake of my head. I didn't want to talk, I didn't want to think, I didn't want to be conscious. I wished that when Dain had thrown me, I would've hit my head and blacked out... maybe for all of eternity. I didn't want to wake up right now. I didn't want to be here, I didn't want to think about what Dain had said, or about Landon, or anything at all. I wanted to be blissfully unaware of the entire world.
Joe looked like he wanted to step forwards and wrap his arms around me, but also as if he was afraid of how I would react. He was right to stay where he was- I didn't want to be held, I didn't want to be comforted. I just wanted to be alone, alone and miserable with my terrible thoughts.
"No." I mumbled under my breath, my palms unconsciously curling into fists as my thoughts flickered back to Landon. I couldn't seem to stop the endless memories, that horrific moment, and the years that followed. I just couldn't get over what had happened.
Before I could stop it, a sob tore through my body, and, ignoring the pain that I caused myself, I pulled my knees up, wrapping my arms around them as tears slid down my cheeks uncontrollably. Now that they had started, I couldn't stop them, as much as I wished they would just go away. All the day's events were weighing down on me- starting with Dain's evil smirk as he told me of my 'job', of Dain's triumphant smile as he ripped my blindfold off and allowed me to see Landon, and all the never-ending memories that were now flashing through my head. I just wasn't able to hold everything in any longer.
'God help me, I've come undone.'
I heard cautious footsteps, and I felt someone's arms wrap around my shaking body, pulling me closer, and I turned my head, crying into Joe's shoulder. Sure, I might not have looked up to see who was holding me, but still, I knew it was Joe. He was holding me the same way he'd held me last night.
Somehow, that thought cause me to cry harder, and my hands gripped onto his shirt as I cried. I didn't want to let go- I never wanted to move on from this moment, even though it was terrible... I was afraid of what was going to happen once I pulled back, once I was forced to let go of Joe. I was so afraid...
"Are you hurt?" Joe asked quietly, his breath hot against my cheek, and it took me a second to remember that Dain had thrown me. I shook my head, although my back was screaming, I had more important things to worry about. Like Landon, for example, or what Dain had just told me. I could worry about myself later on, at a reasonable time.
"I'll survive." I choked out, through my tears, and I felt Joe grip me tighter, almost protectively. I leaned closer into his grip, struggling to level my breathing, so I could explain what had happened. With Landon, anyways. I wasn't quite ready to tell him about Dain's assignment, because I didn't think I'd be able to get the words out of my throat without possibly throwing up again.
"Mitchie-" Joe's tone cautioned that I was not alright, and it was obvious, but I couldn't get my thoughts past Landon's broken figure. His horrified expression when he'd caught sight of me, Dain's smirk, Landon's gentle tone when he finally said my name... everything was too much. "What happened?" Joe's gentle, yet firm, voice broke into my thoughts, causing me to finally glance up and meet his eyes. The instant I did, I frowned, doing my best to hold back my gasp of horror.
"What happened with your eye?" I asked instead, my hand lifting up, my finger gently tracing the outline of the nasty bruise he had around his eye. He grimaced, but shook his head, obviously more concerned with finding out what Dain had done than his black eye.
"It can wait." He insisted, and I sighed, closing my eyes as Ladon's face once again flickered into my mind. I choked back a sob, trembling at everything that had happened earlier, and I felt Joe pulling me closer to him again, his breath hot on my cheek as he whispered into my ear. "Please tell me what's wrong." He was practically begging, and I knew I couldn't put off telling him any longer.
"Landon." I choked out, the tears coming harder as I wondered if Dain would do anything to Landon, since I hadn't exactly pleased him. Please don't take it out on Landon, I silently begged, please."Dain's been holding him prisoner here." I sobbed, and I felt Joe suck in a deep breath.
"Who's Landon?" He probed gently, and I could feel myself trembling before I replied. Glancing up at Joe, barely able to see with tears clouding my vision, I answered him.
"My brother."