CHAPTER 6

PREVIOUSLY:

--Hands, on my upper arms, squeezing, pain running up and down my arms. Throwing me down into a chair. A light pushed into my face. An obscured face in front of me, questioning.

"You will tell me what I want to know."

"Or what?"

"Or you die."

"I dare you." No reason not to get cocky, right?

"Alright. Boys, unsheathe your knives."

I glanced around, unimpressed. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything."

"Sorry, everything is too much."

"Than your life is too much for us to handle."

A knife strikes my back.

I don't feel a thing.

Neither do they.

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*flashback, Emily's POV, continued*

--"Hey now, relax. No need to be hasty, right?" I smirk at the men, who are all dumbfounded.

"How…why are you not dead? Why must you test our patience?"

"I'm not testing your patience at all, bucko. I'm destroying it."

"If you wish to destroy our patience, you must pay a price first."

"Price? D*mn, I forgot my wallet at home. Guess I'll just have to give you an 'I owe you'. Sorry!" Sarcasm is so much fun to use against your enemies.

"This price is not of money! It is of…you."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Me? What could they possibly want with—oh sh*t.

"By the look on your face, I presume you figured it out."

"Well…why do you want me? Can't you find somebody else?"

"No, you're perfect for it. And it's either that or we find out how to kill you. And we will. We will."

I hesitated. Give up and die, or stay alive and do—that? "Really? You guys drive a hard bargain around here. How's about you, I don't know, let me go and I'll pinky swear not to tell anybody?"

"Not an option. Choose."

"Fine. I'll do it."

"Excellent." A devilish smile spread across his face.

"What do you want me to do?" God, I can only imagine.

--Bright, white light, shining right into my eyes. I'm facing the ceiling.

"NO!" I thrash around in my position on the floor.

"Yes."

"NO! NEVER!"

"Yes, now." He smiles.

"YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!"

"Why yes I can."

The light disappears. Suddenly I'm blind.

(Why can't I see?)

--A sliver of light pokes through the blackness. It burns—so much, like placing hot coals on my eyes—(How do I know how that feels?)—and something slides down my throat. It has no taste, no smell, no texture, no nothing. It's as if it wasn't there.

--"That's ENOUGH! You have worn out your duties here—it's time to face the consequences of trying to deceive me."

"Consequences? You never said anything about consequences."

"That's because there were none—until you misbehaved."

"I did not misbehave! I was doing exactly what you said to do!"

"But you were not enjoying it. Were you?"

"Yes I—no, I wasn't. But that doesn't mean I was—"

"Yes, unfortunately it does. Any last words?"

"Um…" I looked to my left, where a friend (of some sort) was huddled in the corner, eyes wide, and I smiled, an idea forming in my head. "Yes, I do. It's just two words."

"Well then, stop stalling and say them!"

"F*ck you."

His expression was that of outrage and fury, but I didn't see it for very long.

I was already gone.

--"Hey, where do you think you're going?" A hand reached out from behind a cell in the hallway that I was running in, and yanked me to a stop.

"Ouch—hey, dude, let go!"

"Not until you tell me where you're going."

"I'm leaving, can't you tell?"

"Not without me."

"I don't even know you—wait, is it really you?"

"It's really me."

"Wait…Nick?"

"Yes."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because you're not really there."

"What? Of course I am!"

"No…you're not. Because I'm not really here."

"Emily, you're not making any sense!"

"I'm sorry."

--"HELP!" No response.

"HELP!" Again, no response.

"PLEASE, ANYBODY, HELP!" It's hopeless. He's going to come, and he's going to find me and hurt me or kill me and I'll never make it out of here and—

(SAVE ME!)

That wasn't me. Who was that? Nick? No, not Nick. It was a distinctly female voice.

But who's was it?

I suddenly get the feeling that I'm not alone.

*end flashback*

My eyes open wide, as I struggle to regain consciousness. I can see the sky, the clouds, and Emily's face above mine. Her eyes are worried.

"I'm so sorry," she apologizes as I wake up fully. "I didn't know it would have that effect on you. I should have known…you've only been out for a short time."

I rub my head, stopping when I hear the last part. "A short time?"

"Yeah, you don't remember?" She looks puzzled. "You just got out last week."

"Last week?! WHAT?!" Calm down, Nick. Calm down, you know what happens when you overreact.

"Yes, Nick. I can't believe you don't remember that."

"Of course I don't remember—why else would I be asking you?! Do you know how I got out?"

"Yep. I helped you get out."

I scrunched my eyebrows together. "I still don't remember you. Even after that flashback."

"You should, I don't know why you don't." We're both equally confused at this point.

"Maybe I was never really there, like you said…Maybe it never happened…"

(It's as if it wasn't there. –as if none of it happened…)

Holy sh*t.

{JOE LUCAS POV}

"I hate you. I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!"

Walking down the sidewalk in a more remote part of L.A. (which is kind of hard to find these days), I heard a girl's distressed voice. I, being the gentleman I am, decided to go investigate. I walked farther down, following the voices, until I got to an alley, stopping when I heard arguing.

"It's the very first one my great-great-grandfather Orville made! And it was in a steel case! You can't possibly pass this off as an accident!"

"Callie, girl—"

"Don't you 'Callie girl' me! What you did, I'll never forgive you for! I hate you!" Suddenly the girl whose voice it was came running out from the alley, followed by the guy she must've been arguing with. I ran after the two, who were now sprinting down the street, trying to see what was going on.

No, I'm not nosy; merely curious.

(Curiosity is what killed the cat, my boy.)

I skidded to a stop. What the hell? Where did that come from? I've never—

"God, what the hell—" The pair had stopped; the girl was facing my direction, much farther down the street. The guy's hands were wrapped all the way around the girl's arms. She cried out, sending waves of anger through my body. I don't know why I felt so strongly, seeing as I don't know this girl. Nonetheless, I sprinted down the street, yanking the guy away from the girl. This released another cry of pain from her mouth, as his hands were pried off of her.

"Run!" I yelled to the girl, who was already backing away slowly. She nodded and did as I said, as the guy spun around and attempted to wrap his hands around my neck. But I was too quick for him—I already had his arms twisted around behind his back; he was officially immobilized.

Then he kicked me. I fell.

Okay, not completely immobilized. He would've been if he was cooperating; he's just a stubborn guy, isn't he?

"Hey, dude, that's not cool!" I shouted from my position on the ground, as he ran in the same direction that the girl had taken; she had disappeared, but I had a feeling he would find her if I didn't stop him.

So I ran.

Alright, that's the end. Super sorry, but I have to end it here. Just…imagine the rest of the stuff that's gonna happen, and try to figure out how they're all connected. I might finish writing this one day, but I won't post it. Sorry x[ But thanks so much to everybody who's read this and favorited/subscribed/everything.

- Lauren