Rachel felt fire move up her leg as he cut deeply into her lower calf. "Stop!" she sobbed.
Josh smiled at her. "Come out and play with me," he said. When Rachel didn't move, he turned the knife back towards her leg. Rachel pulled her leg back with as much strength as she could, surprising him. He let go of it long enough for her to move all the way back to the other side of the car. "Alright, bitch," he growled. "I'll just come in and get you."
As the boy climbed into the car, Rachel frantically kicked at him. She didn't faze him; he continued coming no matter how hard she kicked. Grabbing her legs, he pulled her from the car door and under him. "Remember this?" he asked her, grinding his hips into her.
Rachel screamed and slapped at him. Josh roughly grabbed her hands, holding them above her head. "Oh yeah," he said close to her ear. "You remember."
Finn heard everything the boy was saying. He could imagine Rachel lying pinned under the boy, screaming. The idea of that man's hands on her made him sick.
Rachel looked around the overturned car for any sort of weapon but couldn't find one. "Get off of me," she told him fiercely.
"Or what?" he asked, kissing her neck. "What are you going to do?" Rachel turned her face and closed her eyes. "Oh, I get it. You're just going to lie there like the last time, right?" Holding both of her hands with one of his, he used his free hand to squeeze her breast painfully. "Pretending like you don't want it when I know you do."
Rachel turned to glare at him. "Finn is coming," she told him. "You're going to be sorry."
Josh back handed her. "I owe that son of a bitch," he told her. "He got the jump on me the last time. My friends are here now."
"Your friends won't be able to stop him," Rachel told him, her eyes not wavering from his.
"I guess I better enjoy myself until he gets here then," Josh said. He rose a little bit, trying to unbuckle his pants with one hand.
Rachel closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Finn!" she screamed, startling the boy on top of her.
Finn almost drove off of the road. Rachel was screaming for him and he wasn't there. Again.
"What the-" Josh said, staring down at her.
Rachel took advantage of his surprise and got one of her hands loose. She clawed at his face, raking her nails down it. Josh let go of her other hand to cover his face. Rachel rose as much as she could, trying to scoot out from under him. Furious, Josh punched her as hard as he could. Rachel's head fell to the roof of the car, unconscious.
"Bitch," Josh said, holding her chin with his hand and pulling her head around so he could look at her face. She was out. His friends were calling to him from outside the car. "What?" he yelled. He heard the word "fire" and decided to see what was going on. Scooting out of the car, he grimaced when he cut his hand on a piece of glass. "What are you assholes yelling about?" he asked, getting out of the car.
"Tom's dumbass set the car on fire," his friend Michael told him.
Josh looked up to see flames coming from the top (bottom) of the car. "What the fuck, man?" he shouted to Tom. "I was in there!" Leaning back into the car, he grabbed Rachel's leg and pulled her out of the burning car.
"Just leave her in there," Zeke told him.
"Nah, I've got plans for this bitch," he told his friend. "When Hudson gets here, he's going to get to watch them."
"Whatever, man, let's get away from the car," Zeke said, watching the fire spread.
Josh picked Rachel up and threw her over his shoulder. She was tiny, so it wasn't a problem. "This shit is crazy, man," Zeke said.
"Hell yeah it is," Josh said, grinning. "I live for this shit."
Finn drove as fast as he could through the town; it had never taken him so long to get from one end to the other. "Finn, stop!" Blaine yelled from the back of the truck. Finn slammed on his brakes.
Blaine jumped out of the truck and ran towards a woman being attacked on the sidewalk. "Go!" he yelled to them. "I'll find another way there!" What's grand theft auto during a riot, right?
Finn nodded and began driving again. He couldn't hear Rachel anymore and he didn't know what was going on. His blood boiled when he thought of Josh and froze when he thought about what Rachel was going through. Kurt asked for his phone and Finn gave it to Burt to give to him.
Rolling into the factory parking lot, Finn saw the police car immediately. And it was on fire. Jumping out of the truck he ran for the car, getting down on his knees and looking into the car. "Rachel?" he yelled, coughing through the smoke. She wasn't in there.
"Finn, get away from that car!" Burt yelled.
"Rachel was in here," Finn told him.
"She's not anymore," Burt told him, pulling Finn away from it. "The car's on fire. We don't need to be around it."
"Where is she?" Finn asked desperately.
Burt handed him a bat. "Let's check the factory."
Carol opened the truck door and got out. "Mom, you need to stay with Kurt," Finn told her.
"I'm going to," Carol said, still crying. She kissed Burt, then grabbed Finn in a hug. "I'm so proud of you," she told him. "Go get our girl."
Finn nodded. He and Burt ran for the factory, passing several more burning cars. Burt leaned down to check on a man who was lying on the ground. Finding him alive, he began running again.
At the front of the factory a mob had formed. People were trying to get in, people were trying to get out; everyone was screaming. Finn grabbed a man who looked vaguely familiar. "What's going on?"
The man pulled back, gesturing to the factory. "They've got my brother in here," he told the boy. "Bastards."
"I'm looking for my girlfriend," Finn told him. "She's tiny, brown hair, brown eyes. Have you seen her?"
The man shook his head. "I haven't."
"I saw a boy carrying a girl over his shoulder into the factory," a woman next to them said. "She was unconscious."
Finn closed his eyes, clenching his fists. "Which way did they go in?" Burt asked the woman.
The woman gestured to the mob in front of them. "Carried her right through there, pretty as you please."
Finn fought his way through the crowd, getting to the front of the mob. "Let me in," he demanded, pushing the man blocking his way.
"Fuck you," the man said, throwing a punch. It connected, but Finn didn't even feel it.
Raising his bat, Finn looked at him. "I swear to God I will crack your head open," he told the man. "Let me in."
The man smirked at Finn, pulling a pistol out of the back of his pants. "Try me, kid."
Without hesitation, Finn swung the bat. The man, unprepared for an actual attack, didn't make a move to defend himself. Finn's bat connected with his head with less force than he'd intended because Burt had anticipated the move and tried to intervene, but it connected nonetheless. The man fell on his knees, pulling his hand away from his head and finding blood. "You little son of a bitch!" the man yelled, bending over to pick up the gun he'd dropped. Someone in the crowd grabbed it before he could and shot him.
Finn blinked. The man in front of him looked down at the wound in his chest, then up at Finn, incredulous. Finn rushed to catch him, lowering him onto the ground. He'd hit the man with a baseball bat just moments ago, but now as the man lay dying in his arms he couldn't wrap his mind around what was happening. Around them, people screamed and ran in all directions, many forcing their way into the factory.
Finn watched as the man's eyes closed, his chest moving in one last breath. "Finn," Burt told him, pulling him back. "He's gone, Finn. Let's find Rachel."
Finn shook his head, still staring at the man. He'd just watched a man die. He moved his hands and found that he had the man's blood on them. They were shaking, like the rest of his body. Another gun shot rang out beside them, and Burt was finally able to pull Finn up. "Come on!" Burt yelled.
Finn ran after his step father, looking back at the man lying on the ground. "Please let me find Rachel," he whispered in fervent prayer.
They ran into the front part of the factory. All of the glass in the office windows and doors had been busted out. "Where would they be?" Burt wondered out loud.
Finn shook his head, listening. "There's more noise that way," he said, pointing towards the factory floor.
"Do you know who it is that has her?" Burt asked Finn as they ran towards the voices. If they knew who they were looking for it would be easier to find them.
"It's Josh," Finn told him.
Burt shook his head. "That boy will never learn."
"He'll learn," Finn said lowly.
"I wish their dads had left them in jail," Burt muttered.
Rounding the corner, Finn and Burt found more chaos. A large brawl was going on in the middle of the factory floor. Finn didn't know who was fighting who or why; all he cared about was that none of them had Rachel. "She's not here," he told Burt.
In his pocket, Burt's cell phone rang. "Yeah?" he said into it, running in the direction Finn took off in. Carol told him that Mike and Sam had arrived and asked him where they should go. "How did they know?" He broke off. "Kurt." Carol agreed. "Tell them we're running up the stairs inside the factory. And tell them…" he lowered his voice so Finn wouldn't hear him. "Tell them there's a body at the entrance."
Carol gasped and related this information to the boys. "The radio says that the governor has declared Lima to be in a state of emergency. Help is coming in from all surrounding counties and they're talking about the National Guard being called in." She was quiet for a moment, listening to Burt's breathing. "I don't know how all of this happened, but I know that we're going to make it."
"We will, babe," Burt told her. "I love you." He hung up and looked at Finn in front of him. "You mom said that help's coming," he told the boy.
"Good," Finn said absently. They'd reached the top of the stairs and Finn didn't know which way to go…or even if they were in the right part of the factory.
"I'll go this way, you go that way," Burt told the boy.
"Should we split up?" Finn asked. He was worried about Burt; his heart attack hadn't been that long ago.
Burt smiled at him. "I'm fine," he told the boy. In truth, he felt like he was going to pass out at any minute, but that was just because he avoided running like the plague.
Finn nodded. "If I don't find anything, I'll head back this way. Yell if you find her." Burt ran off to the right and Finn turned to the left hallway. The first door he came to was locked and he used the bat to break it down. For a moment, he felt a strong sense of déjà vu; this reminded him of searching for Rachel the first day of school. He hoped he found her again before it was too late.
The first room was clear. The second door was open, but no one was in there. He heard someone running behind him and turned to find Sam. "Hey," Finn said, surprised.
"Hey," Sam said. "Kurt called us."
"Us?"
"Mike ran the other way."
"Good," Finn told him. "Burt's down there." He motioned for the doors. "Let's see if Rachel is in any of these."
The boys worked on opposite sides of the hallway, opening each door they came to. Finn had to use his bat several times; Sam had a long piece of wood he'd picked up downstairs and used it. Neither of them found anything.
"Son of a bitch," Finn moaned when they'd looked in the last door. He ran down the hallway towards Burt's side. "Did you find her?" he asked the older man.
"We haven't found anything," Mike answered for him.
"Shit," Finn said. "Where would they be?"
The group ran back down the steps, noticing that the fight on the main floor had grown even larger. Several people were lying on the floor, unconscious. "What the hell is going on?" Mike asked, shaking his head.
Burt's phone rang and he answered it. "We're coming," he said into it.
"They've got Rachel in the parking lot," he told Finn.
Finn ran to the exit, passing the body on the ground without a glance. Pushing people out of the way, he finally made it to the parking lot. He saw his mother struggling with a group of people, then watched her fall to the ground. "Mom!" he yelled, running faster.
Kurt knelt beside Carol, screaming at the people in the truck. The driver of the truck gunned it, squealing tires. In the back of the truck he could see Rachel. "Finn!" she screamed, struggling to get away from the arms holding her. Josh Stevens turned to look at Finn, smiling.
"Looks like I win this time!" the boy yelled to Finn.
Finn reached his mother, who was now sitting up. "Go get them, Finn," Carol told him, holding her head. "I'll be fine. Go get them."
Burt looked at the boy. "I'll stay with your mom. You go get Rachel."
Finn nodded and stood up, running for his truck. Mike, Sam and Kurt followed him. Mike and Sam jumped in the back, Kurt in the cab. "How's you head?" Finn asked him.
"I've felt better," Kurt said, holding on to the door as Finn sped out of the parking lot. He looked at his brother. "How are you holding up?"
Finn just shook his head, going faster. The other truck had a head start on them, but Finn hoped that they'd catch up. Reaching the square, Finn realized that he had no idea where they'd gone. "Fuck!" he yelled, hitting the dashboard. "Do you guys see them?"
"No," Mike and Sam called from the back of the truck.
Finn drove around the square, watching people run in and out of the road. Several buildings that had been fine when he'd gone through were already burned to the ground. He looked at Kurt. "Anything?"
Kurt shook his head, searching out the window for a sign of the truck that took Rachel. "I think we lost them," he told his brother.
"No!" Finn yelled, panicking. "We have to find her!"
Sam brought his head in close to the cab. "What are we going to do?" he asked.
"I don't know," Finn said, putting his face in his hands. "I don't know."