The sun glistened off the windscreen, blinding Charlie as she pulled into the off road lane way. She slowed down and came to a halt a few meters from the old run down house. She looked at the old rickety boards that covered the windows. The safe guard on the door was hanging from one hinge and the porche looked like it would collapse if any weight was placed on it. Charlie swallowed hard. The place sent a shiver down her spine and the thought of Ruby being held hostage inside ached in her heart.

She leaned across to the passenger seat and opened the glove compartment and pulled out her gun. She clipped the holdster onto her belt buckle behind her back and placed the gun inside, pulling her top down to cover it. She closed the glove compartment and then picked Ruby's insulin kit up off the seat and sat back up in her seat. She removed the keys from the ignition and got out of the car, closing the door gently as not to startle the scumbags trying to ruin her life.

The place was quiet. The only sound coming from Charlie's footsteps. Even the birds swooping around the trees glided with sleek noiseless movements. Almost like they could sense danger. As Charlie rounded the corner to the back of the house she spotted a familiar car parked outside. She stopped in her tracks trying to remember where she had seen that car before. When suddenly it hit her like a blow to the side of the head. John Doe she thought to herself. The man Angelo had let walk free was inside..........with Ruby.

Charlie inhaled a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She walked up to the back door and pushed the back door open.

"Alright, I'm here", Charlie shouted, making her presence known in the house, "now give me my daughter back and we can sort this out right now".

Silence. Then a sudden sound of sniggering and footsteps. Charlie turned startled as she turned toward the old living room. Beams of light shining through the boarded up windows lit up the man's face. Charlie took a step back. Her police senses warning her that this situation was too dangerous for one person. But she couldn't risk Ruby's life. That's if she was still alive.

"What do you want? Where's Ruby?, she demanded.

"Firstly sweetheart, I want you to ditch the gun", Derrick demanded. A sinister look on his face. He looked at Charlie's empty expression and got angry. "Don't play stupid with me I saw you load up in your car...now lose it!!", he yelled.

Charlie jumped slightly at his screeching yells. She knew he wasn't fooling around. With no other choice she removed the holdster from her belt and flung it down the hall. She looked at Derrick as he broke into a grin. How could he be so evil she thought to herself.

"Please just let me see Ruby?" she pleaded. Charlie could feel her emotions as a mother bubbling to the surface, but she couldn't break. If she did, Derrick would prey off her to his advantage. "Look, she's diabetic, she needs medication or she'll die....please?" she begged.

Derrick looked at her. He wasn't convinced of her pleas. How could he trust a cop? If this was some sort of trick his whole plan for immunity from anything to do with the police investigation would be comprimised and it was a risk he was not prepared to take. He couldn't trust her to tell the truth. In the back of his mind he freedom was all he cared about.

"Listen to me, if Ruby doesn't get her insulin she will die and whatever plan you have, it will be worthless. So just please....", Charlie broke off tears beginning to well up in her eyes, "please just let me see her".

He looked at her in the eye. His mind now conflicted. If she was telling the truth his plan would be ruined and this have all been for nothing. He would face more charges than the one's he was already facing. But if she was lying.....then he could still lose out. But the first option was the only one that allowed him the chance to turn things around.

"Fine", Derrick finally conceeded, "Walk ahead of me and don't pull any funny stuff. First door on your left", he said, nodding in the direction of the dark corridor.

Charlie turned around and walked in the direction Derrick nodded at. She walked carefully, afraid Derrick might try something sneaky. She came up to the door and stopped. She looked at Derrick and his face was blank. He just stared at her. Charlie turned her focus back to the door and placed her hand on the door knob and twisted it. She pushed the door open and looked inside. The room was dark and dank. The only light again coming from the beams of light coming from the window.

She stepped inside and out of the corner of her eye she she saw Ruby. She was sitting on a mattress her back nestled into the corner. She had her arms wrapped around her legs and her head was down. Her hands bound together by a rope. Charlie ran for her daughter, climbing onto the matress and stroking her daughters hair.

"Ruby...Ruby", she said.

Ruby began to lift her head, slowly. She squinted at the beams of light shining in through the window in her direction. Her head ached and she felt dizzy and sick. Her mouth was dry and everything around her was spinning.

"Mu...mum", she managed. She leaned forward and buried her head into Charlie's chest, sobbing.

Charlie wrapped both her hands around her daughter and gripped her as tightly as she could. She ran her hand through Rubys hair rocked her back and forth.

"Shhhhhhh...it's ok, everything's going to be ok", she released Ruby from her grip and took her insulin kit out of her pocket. She removed the BSL monitor and pricked Ruby's finger for a blood sample. She inserted the sample strip into the monitor and read the level reading. She frowned.

"It's bad isn't it", Ruby said, she could feel herself getting drowsy.

"It could be better but it's not a disaster", Charlie tried to reassure her without hiding sugar coating it. She removed a bottle of insulin from the kit and a syringe. Taking the cap of the needle she inserted it into the bottle and drew out the accurate amount needed. She rolled up Rubys top and injected it in her stomach. Wiping away the speck of blood she looked at her daughter. Using her free hand she wiped away her tears and stroked her cheek. She smiled at her. Trying to make everything feel better.

Charlie packed everything into the kit and placed it back in her pocket. She reached into her other pocket and pulled out a cereal bar.

"Here eat this", she opened the packaging and handed it to Ruby.

She knew it wasn't much but Ruby needed to keep her levels right. If Ruby were to have a hypo, she wasn't sure how she could manage it in the circumstances they were in. Charlie watched as Ruby finished off the cereal bar. Then she turned and looked at Derrick. He stood up from leaning against the door frame and walked away, closing the door behind him.

Charlie turned back around focused on Ruby who was staring back at her with a look of dread and fear. It was then she noticed the blood on her top. Charlie placed her hand on Ruby's chest and when she did Ruby winced in pain.

"Ow! I think the bursted my stitches when they dragged me out of the house. It really hurts.", Ruby said inbetween sobs.

Charlie lowered the neck of Rubys top and peeled back some of the blood stained bandaging. Ruby was right. The stiches had burst and she was bleeding pretty badly. This was not good. If this got infected Charlie wasn't sure what could happen to Ruby. She reattached the bandage and fixed Ruby's top. She removed her jacket and placed it around Ruby's shoulders and then pgently plached her hand back over Ruby's chest applying pressure gradually as not to hurt her. She hoped this would ease the bleeding until they managed to get out of this place.

She sat back against the wall and pulled Ruby into her embrace, keeping her hand firmly in place over the wound. Ruby nestled herself into her mothers embrace and wiped the tears from her face. Even though they were in the middle of nowhere in the pressence of a mad man, somehow Ruby felt safe in her mother's arms. Charlie kissed the top of Ruby's head leaned her chin atop of her head. She wondered how she was going to get her out of there. Sooner rather than later............


Sorry I haven't updated in a while. Been a little busy lately. Anyways I hope you like the chapter and please review. I'd love to read your comments and opinions!!