!

When Tina opened her eyes, her first thought was that she was alone. She could hear no movement from within the shack, no sign of their abductor. It was daytime, she could tell. There were small cracks in the shack walls, allowing shafts of light to drift into the small building. Now that she could see more clearly, she examined her surroundings. The shack was tiny, as they'd suspected last night, and there was no furniture to speak of. There was nothing but empty space this side of the curtain.

Tina glanced down at Rachel, finding her still out. She got slowly to her feet, pausing when her head spun. "Hello?" she called out cautiously. She didn't think the man was here, but she wasn't sure yet. "Hello?" she called again. When there was no answer she stepped forward cautiously. A board creaked loudly under her feet and she jumped, heart racing. She stayed still for moment but heard nothing more. She crept quietly toward the curtain, her heart beating loudly in her ears. She hesitated in front of it, then grasped it quickly and pulled it back.

The room was empty and Tina was relieved to see it was a small bathroom. It wasn't much, a toilet and a small sink, but it was something. She noted with disappointment that there was no mirror, no glass to break and wield as a weapon. This man was smart.

She headed back into the other room to wake up Rachel. They had to figure out a way out of here before the man came back and Tina wasn't sure how much time they had. She sat down next to her friend and took a moment to examine the girl in the daylight. She was pale and had dirt smudges on her face and Tina was pretty sure she would find the same on her own face. Rachel had a dark bruise blooming on her right cheek from where she'd been struck, twice now, and Tina was sure it would be tender for awhile.

Tina reached out and shook her arm gently. "Rachel," she whispered. "Rachel, wake up." Rachel groaned slightly in her sleep but did not move. Tina shook her harder. "Rachel, come on, wake up."

Rachel stirred before opening her eyes. "Tina?"

"Yeah. We're alone. He's gone."

Rachel blinked, trying to clear the cobwebs from her head. "Gone?"

Tina nodded, moving back as the other girl sat up. "Yeah. I woke up and he was gone. I don't know when he's coming back but I think we need a plan before he does."

Rachel nodded, wincing slightly. Tina frowned when her hand went to her stomach. "Are you ok?"

Rachel nodded again. "Just a little nauseous."

"I think it's the drugs. I got really dizzy when I stood up."

"It would be nice if he fed us before he drugged us. Real food this time," Rachel grumbled.

Tina smiled. "I have good news, though." She waited until she had Rachel's attention before continuing. "There's a bathroom on the other side of the curtain."

"A real bathroom? Thank god."

"Yep, toilet and sink. Not much but it's better than nothing."

Rachel nodded. "I'll take it," she decided. She stood slowly and began to walk the perimeter of the shack. It wasn't much, not larger than 6 feet by 6 feet. "It's nice to be able to see again," Rachel remarked, pacing back and forth. "What time is it?"

Tina glanced down at her watch. "10:00 in the morning," she reported.

Rachel stopped pacing. "We've been gone awhile," she said quietly. "Almost two days."

"They'll find us," Tina said reassuringly. "They have to."

"We need a plan," Rachel said slowly. Tina had known her long enough to know she was already working one out in her mind and stayed quiet. "I think our best bet is to hurt him. Attack him when he's not expecting it. Maybe when he first comes in the door…" Rachel trailed off and looked at Tina.

Tina's eyes widened. "The door!" They both rushed to the door, hoping beyond hope that it was unlocked and they could just walk right out. It wasn't. Tina sighed. "That would have been too easy, right?"

Rachel cracked a smile. "He probably put the padlock back on outside."

Tina nodded, fighting down her disappointment. "So what's the plan?"

"I think we need to attack him when he comes in," Rachel said. "If we get him right when he opens the door, he might be caught off guard and we may be able to slip out."

"What if we don't both get out?" Tina asked hesitantly.

"Whoever gets out goes for help," Rachel said firmly. "We have to take whatever chances we can get. If even one of us gets out of here, our chances are already way better than they are now."

Tina nodded, thinking quietly. After a moment she said, "What if he doesn't come back?"

Rachel stopped, pondering that. "He has to," she said finally. "He took us for a reason, kept us for a reason. There has to be a reason he keeps drugging us. I'm sure he'll be back. The question is when."

"Do you think it will be soon?"

Rachel nodded. "Today, for sure. And when he comes back, we'll be ready."

!

Puck was starting to wish he had gone to school. He could honestly say he had never been in a more uncomfortable environment in his life. He had gone with his mom to the Berry household first, taking a casserole of some sort that he doubted they would even eat. As predicted, her Daddy was in bad shape. He drifted from room to room, clutching a baby blanket her Dad said belonged to Rachel. It was purple with little gold stars on it and something in his chest had clenched painfully when he saw it.

Her Dad seemed more composed, although his eyes were very red. He had greeted Puck and his mom solemnly and the three sat at the dining room table that Puck was used to sitting at with Rachel during their study sessions. He swallowed past a sudden lump in his throat and listened as her Dad discussed what the police had told him.

After about an hour Mr. Schue showed up and joined the conversation. He didn't seem surprised to see Puck there and Puck figured Schue was taking it as hard as the rest of them were.

According to Rachel's Dad, the police still had no suspects but they had someone coming in from the FBI to do testing on the tire prints left behind. They said that since Rachel and Tina were underage they were putting together an Amber Alert statewide and it was going out that morning. They were also putting together a noon press conference to alert the community to the missing girls. Even as he explained these efforts, Puck got the feeling Rachel's Dad didn't think they were going to do any more good than he did.

A loud sob was heard from the next room and Rachel's Dad excused himself quickly, going to check on his partner, Puck's mom following behind him.

When they were alone Puck glanced over at Mr. Schue. "You look like hell," he said.

Schue chuckled. "You look in a mirror this morning?"

Puck shrugged. "Didn't really sleep last night."

Schue nodded. "Me either."

Puck eyed him critically. "Jack Daniels?"

Schue let out a dry chuckle. "Scotch."

Puck raised an eyebrow, impressed, but said nothing.

Schue shrugged. "I don't drink much usually but...well, I thought I'd make an exception last night."

They were quiet for a few minutes and Puck tried hard to forget the last time he was in this house, sitting at this table with Rachel. A study session for chemistry and she was fresh from dance class, still in her workout clothes. She had wanted to shower before studying, insisting she was gross, but he'd said no, that they were wasting study time. Really, he just thought she looked really cute. She'd gotten there moments before he had and her skin was still flushed from practice, hair up in that messy twist thing girls do with pieces coming down around her face. He thought she'd never looked more beautiful than right at that moment. He was going to tell her that, along with a thousand other things, but she'd gotten frustrated with one of the homework problems and had thrown her textbook across the room. He'd spent the next five minutes laughing at her instead.

Schue cleared his throat and Puck was drawn out of his thoughts. "They're doing everything they can," Schue said quietly. "They'll find them."

Puck glared at him. "You don't know that."

"No," Schue said after a moment. "But I believe that. I have to."

"Lots of people disappear and don't get found," Puck said stubbornly.

"Lots of people aren't Rachel Berry."

Puck grinned at that. It was true. "I miss her. Them," he said, catching himself. "I miss them."

Schue smiled at him fondly. "Puck, it's no secret how you feel about Rachel. And I think she feels the same about you."

Puck stared down at his hands. "I never told her," he said quietly. "I was going to but I didn't and she doesn't know."

"She knows."

"I never got to tell her," he repeated. He slammed his palm down on the table, startling Schue. "I should have made her keep our plans that night! Damn it!"

Schue stood up and rounded the table, putting a hand on Puck's shoulder. "You'll tell her," he said. "You'll have your chance. You have to believe that."

Puck closed his eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath. "I wish I could."

!

They waited all day in their positions. Finally, around 4:00pm, they heard the jingling of keys. The sound got closer and Tina tried to force herself to relax.

She was lying on the floor, close to the door. She tried to look unconscious. She hoped he would see her before he saw Rachel, who was trying to hide in the bathroom. Their hope was he would see Tina and think she was sick, maybe dead. They thought there was a chance he would rush to check on her before closing the door. She had a key, her largest one, hidden in her hand and would strike when the time was right. Rachel had another key and was going to come at him from behind when Tina had him distracted.

It was a risky plan, they both knew that. Neither girl was excited at the prospect of being so close to this man but their options were very limited at this point.

The sound of keys grew closer and Tina forced herself to take shallow breaths. She heard the key inserted in the lock, heard the man wiggle it a few times, curse a few times, and then the door was open.

He paused in the doorway, Tina could feel it, and she only hoped he didn't see Rachel first. Rachel was their element of surprise here and if he saw her, he would know they were up to something. He stepped cautiously into the room and Tina felt him stop beside her. She tried to calm her pounding heart, keep her breathing shallow and even. She tried to look dead. The light dimmed and she could hear his breath as he leaned over her. She counted slowly in her head.

1…he leaned further down…

2…he reached a hand out to her neck, checking her pulse…

3…she opened her eyes, lunging at his face with the key, clawing everything she could reach. She saw Rachel come from behind him, leaping on his back, trying to gouge his eyes.

The man roared and threw Rachel aside easily. She landed on the floor by the door and Tina saw her hesitate.

"Run!" Tina yelled. "GO!"

"I don't think so," the man growled, lunging for Rachel as her hand found the knob. She pulled the door open just as he grabbed her by the hair, yanking her back forcefully. She cried out in pain and he pulled harder, forcing her to her knees.

Tina watched, eyes wide, heart sinking. They had failed. And now he was very angry. But she couldn't help but feel somewhat satisfied as she took in the angry wounds on his face. She had gotten him on the nose, across the cheeks, under the ears. Rachel had gotten him under both eyes and the marks were very visible and probably would be for several days. Maybe someone would see them, Tina thought. Maybe someone would question where he got them. If he ever left them alone again…

"I told you to do what I said!" the man raged, shaking Rachel by the hair again. She whimpered but held her tongue. "You should have done what I said! Now I have to punish you!"

Tina watched in horror as the man withdrew the knife from his jacket pocket. "That wasn't very nice," he growled, tightening his grasp on Rachel's hair, running the tip of the knife along her neck. Silent tears rolled down her face, but she still did not speak. "Haven't I been nice to you? I gave you food and a place to live. Well, I'm not going to be so nice anymore." Without warning, the man plunged the knife deep into Rachel's left shoulder and she screamed in pain. Tina screamed with her. She covered her mouth with her hands, trying to contain herself as she watch Rachel's shirt darken with blood.

The man shook Rachel again before tossing her on the floor next to Tina. "This is your first and only warning," he said darkly. "Next time I won't be so gentle."

Tina cowered by Rachel's side as the man walked around the curtain to the bathroom. Moments later Tina heard the sink turn on, the sound of running water filling the room. She placed her hand over Rachel's wound, pressing hard. Rachel whimpered again and Tina shushed her. "Keep pressure on it," Tina whispered. "We have to keep pressure on it."

"He stabbed me," Rachel whimpered. "He stabbed me."

The man came back into the room, wiping the now clean knife off with a towel. "That little stunt cost you your dinner," he said coldly. "I hope you're happy." He glared darkly at them again before opening the door of the shack and leaving. The lock could be heard outside and then no more sounds were heard.

!

Their plan was almost doomed from the start, Rachel knew that, they both did. But they also both knew their options were limited right now and that the longer they stayed with this man, the worse their chances were.

They had underestimated him. The surprise of the attack was momentary and his strength was more than they had anticipated. Rachel hadn't even considered it. She realized as she was flying through the air, bucked from his back, that she should have. She had hit the floor hard, knocking the wind out of her. She locked eyes with Tina and the Asian girl had screamed at her to run, to get out. But the man was quicker than she was, reaching her just as she'd opened the door, so close to freedom. She felt the sharp pain in her head as he yanked her around by her hair.

She sat silently at his feet as he raged at them, shaking her by the hair. She gritted her teeth and tried not to cry out when he ran the knife along her neck. Please don't, she begged silently. Please don't. When she felt the intense burning pain in her arm, she looked down to see the red bloom spreading across her shirt and she didn't know what happened. He threw her again and she landed on the floor next to Tina, able to think of nothing but the burning pain in her arm. They huddled there together as he yelled some more, cleaning his knife in front of them. That's when she realized what had happened: he had stabbed her.

They sat huddled together in the corner for what felt like hours, afraid to move, afraid he would come back. Finally Tina gathered her courage and stood up. "Keep pressure on your arm," she told Rachel. "I'm going to find something to stop the bleeding." Rachel covered the wound with her right hand, not able to stand putting much pressure on it, and watched as Tina moved into the bathroom. She came back out with a towel.

She removed Rachel's hand gently. "Here, let me," she said softly. The wound was deep, she could tell, and was bleeding a lot. She pressed hard against it and Rachel hissed in pain. "We've got to get out of here," she said. "You need to get to a hospital."

"It hurts," Rachel whimpered. Her arm felt like it was on fire, burning from the inside out. She didn't dare move. Everything hurt, everything jostled her already painful shoulder.

Tina sat down beside her and pulled her down so her head was in her lap. She lay on her right side, one of Tina's hands pressing the towel against her shoulder, the other stroking her hair softly. She closed her eyes as the Asian girl started to song softly. "You with the sad eyes, don't be discouraged, oh I realize it's hard to take courage, in a world full of people, you can lose sight of it all and darkness inside you can make you feel so small..."