Chapter Five, Damn! I Thought We Had It


His legs burned and he couldn't recall the last time he ran this far.

In fact, he couldn't recall anything from the past few days. Templars, Abstergo, chasing, stronghold, and help, were the only things going through his mind. Half the time they were running and he forgot that Desmond was beside him. Feet stomping against the pavement, he could see the silhouette of the stronghold in the distance. It was comforting, knowing that he was so close but still so far. Taking one last glance around him, he made a check for any suspicious looking men. They had to cross the street. It was the only way to get to the other side. It was dangerous, life threatening even, but they had to do it. Taking in a deep breath, Shaun grabbed Desmond's hand.

"What the-"

"Shut it and run with me as fast as you can," Shaun hissed under his breath, glancing back and forth quickly. Always look before you cross the street, his mother would tell him. Well, he certainly wouldn't forget to do that here. He could feel Desmond's warm, moist, sweat slicked hands grasp his tightly. It was as if he let go, he would be gone and the bad guys would devour him like a lion jumping on a vulnerable gazelle - he wouldn't have much chance alone with them.

Feeling his heart pound heavily inside of his head, blood flowing furiously through his veins, he ran. He ran as hard as he could with Desmond in tow. It felt like an eternity as they crossed the two way streets, completely invisible to anyone watching.

Except one person.

One person who turned on car lights to shine directly at them as they began to make their way into the alley. Shaun froze in an instant, as if someone had taken a bat to his spine, paralyzing him on the spot. In a state of hysteria, Shaun had no idea what to do. He heard the car doors open and close. More than one person had gotten out of the car. They were closer than he had calculated quickly in his head.

"Run, move it!" Desmond whispered hurriedly to him and began to run ahead. He didn't need a reminder to do so. Without resistance, he ran after the man and focused in on not his or Desmond's steps, but the steps of Abstergo edging closer. Head up, focused, he had to keep running for the white sweater that was in front of him. Before he could catch up, he watched – almost in slow motion – as the white sweater fell to the ground. A loud cracking sound ensured and just before Shaun could run over and help him, he too felt the side of his head smash into the concrete ground. Instantly, he could taste the tangy copper as it trickled into his mouth as he felt another thick pair of hands grab his arms and shove them behind his back.

He began to scream, anything to help him and Desmond – but his cry for help was short lived. Immediately, a ragged cloth was shoved into his mouth as they grabbed his hair and yanked him back. He could feel a tight wire dig into his wrists and now, his tightly bound ankles. He could only assume Desmond was getting the same, agonizing treatment as him. He felt a warm liquid trickling down the side of his cheek and a violent lurch in his stomach as he was picked up aggressively from the ground. Before he could see anything that would help him escape, his eyesight abruptly went pitch black. He was conscious, he could feel that much – then it hit him. They had blind folded him, tied him, picked him up and now were walking away with him.

He heard the chatter of the people around him, roughly four men and then the opening of a car trunk.

Without a simple consideration, he was tossed like a bag of potatoes into the small trunk. Just as he was about to try and roll his way out, something rock hard collided with his head and he found himself in a world of complete nothing.

***

Desmond woke gradually to the sound of rattling rocks beneath the tires of the fast moving car.

He could feel the torment of the thick wires indenting his wrists and sore ankles. His jaw cried out in pain, but surprisingly, he didn't feel the cloth that had been shoved down his throat earlier before he had been tossed into the trunk. Groaning with frustration, he glanced around the small area. As a light flickered into the trunk, Desmond saw that Shaun's face was just a foot or so away from his own. It was badly bruised with blood dried on his lips but he was still breathing; Desmond could hardly hear him at that.

"Shaun... Shaun!" Desmond whispered, trying not to alert the men who were taking them away. He didn't respond as Desmond wiggled over to him, gasping as he felt the wire cut into his skin. He could feel the blood trickle down his leg and soak into the trunk's floor. Walking wasn't going to be an option for a while once they got out – if they got out alive. Who knew what the Templars would do him? To... Shaun? What the hell did they want with him? Why did they take him? Was he also... an Assassin? "Shaun, wake up!" He pleaded, their faces inches apart. Another flicker of light passed by them and the closer he got, the less severe the wounds seemed.

"Shaun!" He tried one more time, nearly yelling into his ear. He watched the man stir slightly, but his eyes didn't flutter. Shaun merely groaned and moved slightly, cuddling closely into Desmond's body. He looked as if he had been crippled by the way he was curled up in the tight space. Illogically, if he could, he would have wrapped his arms around the man and held him close, assuring him that they were going to be okay. But they weren't – he knew that. The Templars were going to do something to both of them. He needed to talk to Shaun, he needed to know what he was holding back.

Quietly, he leaned in closely towards Shaun. He didn't mean for their lips to brush together as he went to remove the cloth. He had figured it would have been further out, easier for him to tear back – but they had really pushed it in. It felt extremely weird, pushing open someone's mouth when they were unconscious. Is this what a necrophiliac felt like? Desmond thought, chomping down on the cloth. Another line of light passed through them and Desmond froze as he watched Shaun's eyes open. Jerking back, Shaun hit the back of his head against the wall of the trunk. Desmond growled and jerked forward towards him and pressed their lips together – not entirely on purpose – and slowly pulled the cloth out of his mouth.

"What the hell were you doing?" Shaun hissed and tried to raise his arms to rub his head only to remember harshly, that his hands were tied tightly behind his back.

"I was trying to get the gag out of your mouth!"

"Well, you had your tongue pretty far down my throat, trying to get it!"

"What's your problem? Just last night we-"

"Oh shut it! I don't need you to remind me," Shaun snapped, licking the bottom of his lip to taste dry blood. His head was pounding with pain as he tried to concentrate and think of what to do next. Desmond now regretted de-gagging him. What happened to the shy man that he met last night?

"What? You expect me to forget all about last night? If you hadn't led them over to my apartment, none of this would have happened!"

"What? You believe I led them to you? Why the hell would I do that?"

"Because you're one of them! A Templar bastard!"

"What makes you think I'm a bloody Templar? I saved your ass when you were being dragged out of the room!"

"Maybe you were just trying to continue a sick and twisted charade!" Desmond growled, wanting nothing more than to hit Shaun over the head with a bat, or run him over with his motorcycle that he had recently bought.

"Of course! And one of my own nearly smashed my skull open against the concrete to continue the 'charade'," Shaun replied in a bitter tone, swallowing heavily. Desmond narrowed his eyes at him.

"So then... why did you come home with me last night if it wasn't to lead them here?" He asked, completely oblivious to his own question. Another light flickered down across them and Desmond immediately regretted his question.

"The exact same reason why you took me home."

Oh, of course, Desmond thought as he awkwardly wriggled back. Just as he was about to ask Shaun why they wanted him as well, he was abruptly shoved against the mysterious man as the car came to a halt. Cusses were muttered as they heard the doors of the car open and close frantically.

"Pretend you're still passed out," Shaun hissed, closing his eyes. The trunk opened and Desmond watched as they heaved Shaun's dead-like body out. Unease stirred in his stomach, threatening him to release last night's lunch.

"Hey, they coughed up their gags. Should I put them back in?" A deep voice asked and another replied with a 'yes'. Desmond had to fight every urge to cringe when they shoved the cloth back down his throat. He heard Shaun groan at the same result and he wanted to hit him with a crowbar, or any weapon that their kidnappers were carrying. It was his fault.

Closing his eyes, he then suddenly felt a sweaty pair of hands grab his sides and toss him over the man's shoulder. He had to bite his lip subtly to avoid grunting loudly in pain.

"Wait, wait," a man spoke in a deep, husky, voice. Desmond heard the others stop on the spot once again.

"What now?" Another growled in reply. It had to be the other one who was carrying Shaun, due to the irritation in his voice.

"Their blindfolds fell off. We should put them back on, y'know? Just so they can't scamper their way out," Desmond's bad guy laughed. He could hear the others grunt in agreement as a thick piece of material covered his eyes and tied behind his head. If only he wasn't tied, he could have run blindly for the exit. Who were they and what the hell did they want from him?

***

Shaun felt his body fall quickly to the ground.

"Oops, my bad," one of the goons laughed, kicking him in the stomach. He gasped, feeling the little amount of content in his stomach dare to come back up. He screamed and screamed but only a faint muffle came out. His throat was raw as he tried spitting the gag back up. "Oh look, we got ourselves a little screamer!" The same man laughed and grabbed Shaun's feet and began to drag him down the hallway. He could feel the ridges in the floor nick his sides and each time, tears sprang up in his eyes. He wiggled pathetically to get free but with his feet and hands tightly bound, there was nothing he could do. He was also blinded and he wondered where his glasses had disappeared off to.

Before he could get another thought in, he was dropped abruptly and he heard Desmond's body fall beside him.

"Jimmy!" The deep voice shouted, obviously surprised and shocked.

"There they are!" Shaun recognized that voice – the one from back at the apartment and the one who had thought it was going to be an easy job. "That little rat nearly killed me." Shaun felt his heart pounding heavily as he tried to collect his now scattered common sense. But before he could brace himself, he received a hard blow to the back, knocking the wind out of him. He gasped, writhing in pain as he felt a copper tasting liquid in his mouth once again. Before he could start using his lungs again, he felt the man grab the collar of his shirt and hoist him up off the ground. On a positive note, he felt the gag roughly pulled out his mouth as he gasped for breath, trying to choke out a scream.

"Where's all your strength now?" Jimmy laughed as he watched the man's face turn a light shade of blue. Shaun wiggled, trying to pull away from him but it was no use. "I bet you were a real pretty boy before all the bruises and blood, huh?" Shaun felt his stomach lurch cruelly as the man dropped him and his head collided with the cold ground. Ears ringing, he finally managed to take a deep breath.

"Hold him down, will ya? One grabs the ankles and the other, his upper body. I gotta make sure he doesn't get away for this one," Shaun listened as the other men took thundering steps towards him. As if he were paralyzed, Shaun couldn't gather the strength to move away.

If he thought the pain from the previous strikes were horrible, he had it coming to him.

He heard the fabric of his pants rip down the side with the quick swipe of a knife. All of a sudden he found the strength to struggle, much to the protest of the men holding him down. He found the strength to scream, hoping that maybe an employer would come down and rescue them. But it didn't matter – they would be too late. Agony seared through his thigh as he felt the cold, razor-sharp tip of the knife dig into his flesh, tearing the tissue apart slowly. The more he struggled, the worse the pain became as he felt the man dig deeper and made it last as long as he could. He could feel the warm blood spill over and run down his leg from the exposed muscle as the man, after what seemed like ages, pulled his knife back out and chuckled. "Now maybe you won't be able to run away so easily."

Feeling the blood begin to pool over his wound and his voice begin to waver, he silenced himself, tears spilling over onto his cheeks. The wound burned as if someone had pressed his leg against the stove while he tried his hardest not to pass out. He felt his whole body spinning as his head lolled back and forth. Once again, he felt the same stubby hands grab his ankles and begin to drag him across the hallway like a corpse's body. Rendered defenceless, Shaun couldn't stop thinking about Desmond. Everything he heard felt like it was so far away – so distant that he could just barely hear their words. It was as if his head and been rudely plunged underwater and he was slowly drowning, being dragged under to his death. He could hear a long conversation go on – and he could tell when someone was yelling, which happened quite often – until he just eventually felt all sound fade out to a dreaded silence.

Shaun didn't know whether he was still alive or dead.


A/N: Sorry for the long wait! I got it written then I went through a few times and actually edited it, then had Nicole edit it. Anyways, leave reviews 'cause they keep the story running! Also, a big thanks to everyone who's left reviews so far and continued leaving them!

PS; I might be starting a mix for this, so maaaybe, leave some songs in the reviews? Thank you ~