Twenty Six


Frank sighed in frustration as he pressed on the brakes, barely avoiding missing hitting the car in front of him. His car slid on the icy road and while every instinct was screaming at him to fight against the pull of the wheels, he simply let the vehicle continue its sideways momentum until it coasted to a stop.

He couldn't help but be amused by Mother Nature and her version of a sense of humor. All day, the snow had held back as the skies remained overcast. But the moment they pulled out of Becca's driveway and started towards Dyersville, the skies opened up with the gentle fall of snow flurries. And, of course, it couldn't stop there—what would a good snowstorm be without the howling of the wind?

Frank glanced at the clock, the green numbers illuminating in the darkness of the car as it showed it nearing six in the evening. They should have been to Dyersville by now. They should have already surrounded Wesley's home and had him under arrest. And most of all, Frank should have been already holding Nancy in his arms, refusing to let her go.

Instead, they were still about fifteen minutes out and driving at a snail's pace. Walking would have been a much better alternative at that moment. It took Frank everything he had not to throw open the car door and run out into the frigid night.

"Isn't there another way into town?" Frank grumbled as he stared out at the taillights in front of him. He'd already asked if they could just blow through the traffic with sirens blaring, but Craig had said it wasn't safe to do that. He wouldn't risk any of his fellow agents or police officers—a statement that he remained adamant about, no matter how many times Frank asked.

"As I've told you a few times already, there's just the one road. Dyersville isn't heavily populated," Craig said with a sigh. "In fact, it's barely even a blip on the map."

"Which is precisely why Wesley picked it."

"We've always known that he wasn't stupid."

Frank would never admit that Craig was right about Wesley Levine. With all the criminals he had come across in his storied career, Frank knew for a fact he'd never met any who was as smart and clever as the former FBI agent. There was a reason that Wesley hadn't been caught yet—he was simply that good. Part of Frank wondered if they were simply chasing another false lead.

He simply couldn't believe that Wesley would have slipped up.

He was never that lucky when it came to solving a case.

"Thank God," Frank muttered as traffic started to move once again. He gently pressed on the gas, being careful not to wrap his car around one of the many copses of trees lining either side of the road.

Craig only grunted his agreement as Frank continued to follow the convoy of vehicles ahead of him. He'd been quiet for the majority of the drive, only reiterating every few miles that Frank was to stay in the car when they arrived at their destination. The first few times, Frank had argued with him, but he quickly learned it was just better to pacify the grizzled agent.

Frank knew there was no way in hell he was going to stay behind in the car. He'd worry about repercussions later. None of that mattered as long as he found Nancy and got her away from the sadistic killer. He would gladly take any punishment doled out to him as long as at the end of the day, Nancy was safe at home where she belonged.

They drove for the next few minutes in silence, each man lost in their own thoughts. Frank was sure that Craig was coming up with different ways to ensure he stayed in the car as they executed their raid. He couldn't help but wish that Joe was tagging along with him, needing the support and humor that his younger brother offered in times of high stress. But his brother had problems of his own and he would never pull him away from Vanessa in her time of need. Just as he knew that Joe would give him the same courtesy if their roles were reversed.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice the pileup of cars ahead of him until he was practically on top of them. Jerking the wheel to the right, Frank tried to regain control of the swerving car as it twisted wildly on the icy road. Agent Craig's frantic yells barely registered in his brain as he concentrated on the task at hand, but he knew it was a losing battle.

Frank knew the worst thing he could do was brace himself for impact. Instead, he let his body go limp as it ran off into the ditch and collided with a stand of trees, his head bouncing off the steering wheel. His body jerked against the seat belt as the airbag deployed, the vehicle coming to a grinding halt.

He was momentarily knocked unconscious—whether it was a few seconds or a few minutes, he wasn't sure. When he slowly opened his eyes, he found that his left eye was covered by a red haze. Bringing his hand up, he wasn't surprised to discover blood. He must have hit his head a little harder than he thought. Glancing to his right, he saw that Agent Craig was still unconscious, blood trailing down his face to pool in the collar of his crisp white shirt. His left arm was bent at an awkward angle, no doubt broken.

Frank let out a groan as he unbuckled his seatbelt and pushed against the door, surprised to find it opened easily. Stepping out in the snow, he couldn't help but notice how quiet it was. Several cars were piled together, smoke emitting from their hoods, but there was little to no movement. He wasn't even sure if people were just hurt or maybe even dead. And while a part of him was concerned about the others, another part of him saw his opportunity to get to Nancy without anyone standing in his way.

He pulled out his cell phone and brought up the GPS program. He'd managed to snag Wesley's address when the agents weren't paying any attention, just in case he had a chance to break away from them. Glancing at the screen, he saw it was only five minutes away—by car. It would take a little more time on foot, but he couldn't simply just stay there and wait for everyone to wake up.

His mind made up, Frank reached back into his car and opened the glove compartment. He pulled out a flashlight and his gun, making sure the weapon was loaded before tucking it into the back waistband of his jeans. He gave Agent Craig one more look before taking off down the road, towards his destination.

Towards Nancy.


Nancy's face was void of emotion as Wesley climbed off of her, taking the tarantula off of her stomach to return it to its box. If there was one word she could use to describe herself it would be empty. She felt absolutely empty inside, a hollow shell of the person she used to be. If that was Wesley's plan all along, to make her feel completely lost inside, he succeeded. There was nothing left he could take, she had nothing left to give.

She stared at him blankly as he pulled on his jeans and smiled down at her. She finally had to resign herself to the fact that there was nothing she could do, that there was going to be no rescue coming for her anytime soon. How could she possibly expect to be found when she had no clue where she was herself? Wesley would continue to torment and torture her until she finally just gave in.

Maybe it would just be easier if she gave in to him.

As soon as that thought crossed her mind, Nancy hated herself. There was no way in hell she was going to give in to him. Just as she knew there was no way in hell she was going to let him rape her again. Though she had no control over her situation, she still had control over her body. And if she couldn't escape him, there was always another alternative. One she never entertained before, but one she couldn't possibly be blamed for if she chose that path.

Yes, it would hurt everyone she loved, especially her dad and Frank. But they would have to understand that she didn't have another choice. She knew without any doubt at all they wouldn't want her to suffer. And every second she stayed with Wesley, she was suffering.

Wesley picked up the knife from the table and cut away her gag before leaning in to kiss her softly. Nancy didn't react, mimicking a limp doll as his lips crushed against hers, his tongue dancing with hers. It didn't seem to bother him that she wasn't reciprocating—he continued to invade her mouth, groaning softly to himself. After a few more moments, he cut away the rest of her bonds and helped her to her feet.

"Why don't you get yourself cleaned up while I make us something to eat," he said as he gave her a gentle nudge towards the bathroom. "I'm sure you have to be starving. I know I am."

At first, Nancy was confused and a little shocked that he was letting her go into the bathroom by herself. Every other time, he'd accompanied her and watched her like a hawk. Maybe with her lack of reaction to him, he figured she wouldn't try anything.

If that was true, he had another thing coming.

As soon as she entered the bathroom, she closed the door behind her. She ignored the shower completely as she grabbed a terry robe hanging from a hook on the door and slipped it on, tying it tightly around her waist. She glanced up at the mirror, a sob escaping her throat at the person staring back at her. She didn't even recognize herself anymore—sure, the same blue eyes and face reflected back at her, but it wasn't the same person she used to be.

If anything, Nancy hated her reflection now.

She didn't even think as she let out an angry scream and slammed her fist into the mirror. The glass cracked where she hit it, several shards dropping into the sink. Her hand throbbed in pain, her knuckles torn and bloody. But it was only a momentary relief from her emotional torment. The same dead eyes stared back at her, almost mocking her with pity.

Nancy needed to focus on something else besides her eyes. Unfortunately, her eyes settled on the dark hair cascading down her back in tangled waves. She began opening drawers, searching through them frantically. It wasn't until she opened the third drawer that she found what she was looking for.

Scissors.

Taking clumps of her hair, Nancy began chopping the locks away. She didn't care that it wasn't even and that it looked like a child had gotten a hold of her hair by the time she was finished. She didn't stop cutting at the disgusting locks until she reached her shoulders. Even then, it wasn't enough—she wanted to cut it all away until there was nothing left. The only thing that prevented her from continuing was her brain finally catching up to her, telling her what she now held in her hands.

A way out.

Nancy turned her arm over, revealing her wrist. The vein pounded fiercely underneath the delicate skin there in time with her pounding heart. It would be so easy to swipe the sharp blade across her skin, ending her suffering and misery. Just one swipe of the blade and she could finally be free.

She stared at the glinting blade in awe as she opened the scissors up. Running her finger lightly over the blade, she hissed as it cut into her finger. Blood instantly welled up, dripping onto the white marble counter with distinctive little drops.

The door opened before Nancy could do it, causing her to whirl around and face Wesley.

"I have some—" His blue eyes narrowed in anger when he spotted the blood and the scissors gripped tightly in her hand. His glare moved slowly up her body until they finally rested on her chopped hair."What are you doing?"

"N-nothing…"

Wesley chuckled, but it held no humor as he stepped further into the bathroom. "You weren't honestly contemplating killing yourself, were you, my love?"

Nancy said nothing as she backed away from him, the scissors still held tightly in her grip.

"Do you really think I'm about to let you do something so stupid?" He shook his head sadly. "I can see I'm going to have to make more drastic measures with you, Nancy. I wanted to give you some space and some freedom, but I can clearly see you need constant supervision." He came to a stop a few feet in front of her and held out his hand. "Give me the scissors."

She stared back at his hand, maintaining a death grip on the scissors. They were her only saving grace at the moment and she'd be damned if she was going to willingly hand them over. Her eyes darted up to Wesley's face and she could see he was slowly beginning to lose patience with her by the twitch of the muscle in his jaw. She knew without a doubt that he would take them from her by force.

Nancy wasn't about to stand there and wait for his attack. She didn't care that it was reckless. Desperation did wonders to a human being who was pushed to their limits and she had gone beyond hers.

Tonight, one of two things would happen: she would be killed or she would escape Wesley. There was simply no other outcome.

Wesley took a deliberate step towards her and she didn't hesitate as she lashed out with the scissors, aiming for his chest. As if he sensed what she was going to do before she struck, Wesley knocked her hand away, barely flinching as the scissors slashed his arm before they clattered to the floor and slid out of her reach.

Nancy was momentarily distracted by the stream of blood that ran down his arm and that instant of hesitation came back to bite her in the ass as Wesley lunged for her and shoved her against the wall. She bit back a cry as pain reverberated throughout her body. Wesley grabbed a handful of her hair and jerked her head back as his other hand wrapped around her throat.

"When are you going to learn to stop fighting me, Nancy?" he ground out with a savage jerk of her head. "Do you like it when I hurt you?" Spinning her around, he shoved her back against the wall so he could stare into her eyes. One hand remained on her throat as his other hand found its way beneath her robe. "If I had known you got off on pain, I would have done this from the beginning. It would have made it so much more enjoyable. Maybe we should have an encore performance…would you like that, my love?"

Nancy couldn't stop the scream from bubbling out of her throat as his hand worked its way up her body. She didn't think, or even hesitate, as she brought her leg up and kneed Wesley in his groin as hard as she could—not once, but twice. Wesley let out a roar of pain as he let go of her, clutching himself tightly between the legs. Nancy spotted the scissors lying harmlessly by the door and rushed over to pick them up, stabbing Wesley in the leg before he could make another grab for her.

Wesley let out another roar of pain as one hand remained at his groin and the other grabbed for the scissors sticking out of his leg.

Turning, Nancy bolted out of the bathroom. She only had a small window of escape and she couldn't afford to hesitate. Wesley wouldn't stay down for long—that she knew with absolute certainty. She had no idea where she was going to go, only that she needed to run. She would never make it to the garage in time, so she would do the only thing she could do—run and pray like hell that she could find someone to help her.

All of a sudden, the house was plunged into complete and utter darkness. Nancy wasn't sure if Wesley had done it or it had something to do with the raging snowstorm outside. The only sound she could discern besides the frantic pounding of her own heart was the howling of the wind. Still, she wasn't about to let that stop her as she made a beeline for the door.

Her hand was just brushing against the doorknob, just millimeters from freedom when she was tackled from the side and brought down with a heavy crash. The only thing that prevented her from being hurt any worse was the fact that there was carpet to cushion her fall. Before she could even think about getting to her feet once more, Wesley was on top of her, straddling her. Nancy didn't hesitate as she beat against his chest before clawing at his face, leaving behind deep gashes with her fingernails.

Wesley only laughed at her attempts to dislodge him, which only made Nancy even angrier. Her eyes locked onto his as she remembered the wound on his leg. She struck out at him, digging her fingers into the wound, ignoring the feel of warm blood as it coated her fingers. It made her feel good to see him in so much pain and for her to know that she was the one who was causing it.

With a brutal backhand across her face, Wesley grabbed her hands and brought them above her head, pinning them in place. It was the second time he had hit her in the course of a few hours and it only brought even more incredible pain to her face, dislodging her loose tooth completely. Nancy spit it out with a groan before she could choke on it. She tried moving her legs so she could get them between their bodies, but Wesley only leaned down further, pressing his muscular weight against hers.

Keeping his eyes locked with hers, he reached between their bodies and slowly unknotted the tie holding her robe in place.

"No!" Nancy screamed as she thrashed wildly underneath him. "Get off of me! Get off of me!"

Wesley ignored her as he pulled the sash away, leaving her open and exposed. Keeping his grip tight on her wrists, he brought the sash up and started to loop it around her wrists just as the front door burst open, cold wind barreling into the house before revealing the dark outline of a man standing in the doorway, holding a gun.

Nancy didn't need the lights to tell her who it was. There was no doubt in her mind who was standing in the open doorway.

"Frank…" she uttered, letting out a choked sob.

Frank growled deeply, stepping into the faint glow of moonlight shining in through the windows. She couldn't remember a time he had looked so angry and terrifying as he stared back at Wesley. Frank's eyes shifted to hers and just for the briefest of moments, his expression softened slightly before turning to stone once more.

Wesley chuckled as he tightly cinched the knot. "Look who decided to join us, my love."

"Get off of her," Frank said, his voice surprisingly calm. Nancy wasn't sure how he was managing to keep his anger in check because it was clear by the hard set of his jaw that he was pissed.

"You're just in time for an encore, Frank," Wesley said as he glanced down at Nancy with a leering smile. "We've never done it in front of an audience. It could be fun."

Nancy let out a terrified gasp as his hand cupped her right breast, giving it a firm squeeze.

Without warning, a gunshot rang out and Wesley dropped away from her, clutching his shoulder in pain. Nancy quickly scrambled away from him, pushing back with her feet as she tried to put as much distance between them as possible. She almost couldn't believe what she was seeing—Frank had actually shot him. She turned her wide eyes on Frank, his gaze unflinching as he stared back at Wesley, almost daring him to make another move towards her.

"Move away from him, Nancy," Frank said, his voice soft. It was more terrifying to her than if he had yelled it out. The fact that he remained eerily calm scared her more than anything. There was no telling what he was capable of at the moment, and she knew it had everything to do with her. Frank was usually the rational one, but when someone he loved was threatened, all bets were off.

As soon as she was near him, Frank easily lifted her to her feet and positioned himself in front of her.

Wesley let out a pain filled laugh as he rose to his knees, still clutching his right shoulder. Blood oozed between his fingers, dripping down his hand to soak the white carpet. His cold blue eyes locked onto Nancy's, which she thought either made him really brave or really stupid for taking his eyes off of Frank.

Nancy was going with the latter.

"Do you honestly think he's still going to love you after what you've done with me, Nancy?" Wesley mocked. "Do you really think he still wants to be anywhere near you, knowing that I've touched you where he's touched you?"

"Stop…" Nancy whispered, her eyes darting up to Frank's. "I swear to God, I didn't do anything, Frank. You know I would never…"

"She's a little wildcat in bed, Frank," Wesley said, his smile growing before Frank could say anything. "It's amazing you can keep any control over her. Tell me, do you find yourself having to tie her down as well?"

"You son of a bitch…" Frank said through gritted teeth. His aim remained true on Wesley's chest, never wavering as he took a deliberate step forward. "There isn't one single reason why I shouldn't kill you now."

Wesley ignored him as he looked at Nancy once more. "You can deny it all you want, my love, but you know you enjoyed it just as much as I did—if not more."

All reason vacated the premises as Nancy pushed herself away from Frank and launched herself at Wesley. She wouldn't let him do this to her or to Frank. She wouldn't let him turn Frank against her, not when she needed him now more than ever. Her fingers closed around a crystal candlestick holder and before Frank could stop her, she swung at Wesley's head, hearing a sickening thud as it collided with his skull.

Wesley barely made a sound as he went down, clearly knocked unconscious, but Nancy didn't stop there. Letting out a gut-wrenching scream, she kicked at him repeatedly, ignoring the pain of her bare feet colliding with the hard muscle of his body. She was single-minded in her relentless series of blows—she wanted Wesley dead. She wanted to know she was responsible for him taking in his last breath.

"Nancy!" Strong arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her away from Wesley's body. Nancy struggled fiercely against the hold, desperate to finish what she started. "Nancy, stop!"

"Let me go!" Nancy screamed. "He needs to die! I want him to die!"

"This isn't you, Nan." Frank tightened his hold on her, pressing her firmly against his body. "Please, don't let me lose you when I just found you. If you do this, you're no better than he is. Please…"

It was as if someone had pulled the plug on her as Frank's words sank in. She didn't want to be like Wesley. Frank was right—if she killed him, she was no better than he was. She sagged in Frank's arms, the fight leaving her body as quickly as it had entered. Once the first sob escaped her lips, she couldn't stop the rest as she sank down to her knees, bringing Frank down with her.

Through it all, Frank retained his strong grip on her, rocking her back and forth as he whispered soothing words in her ear. "It's okay, Nancy. I have you. Everything's going to be okay now."

If only it was that easy for her to believe. Nothing would ever be the same again.


Sorry that it took me so long for an update. If you only knew how much I wrestled with this chapter. It wasn't that I was stuck—I just kept going back and forth with how I wanted it to end. In the end, I am very happy with how this chapter turned out and I hope you are, too.

I want to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter: max2013 (I know what I did to Wesley wasn't nearly enough pain for you, but I hope what I did to him made you happy!), Cupcake (Wesley did go down…and I left him alive so you can take your own shots at him!), Caranath (Thank you so much for your kind words—to have that kind of an impact on a reader just flatters me…), Jabba1 (I'm glad you understood my reasoning for Wesley doing that to Nancy again…I was so nervous about that!), SC15 (I couldn't very well leave a spider out of it…even if it scares the hell out of me), misslady92 (Frank definitely does not know how to stay still, especially when it involved either Nancy or Joe), catlover1033 (Calculus and Physics are just plain evil…just sayin'), MinecraftDanny (Thank you so much—I'm sorry that it has to come to an end!), Michelle Gallichio (Anything I can do to make you flee from spiders is a win in my book…they're evil!), AngelvieS (Thank you so much!), q (Glad you like it!), FreshKicks (I couldn't forget about the spiders…anything to creep you guys out!), Miss Pretty Face (I am so happy that you like it! And I am a Frank/Nancy shipper myself), hardydrewsgirl (I try to stay as realistic as I can, so there will be no brushing anything aside…), and VerityD (Thank you so much! I don't mean to drive you crazy with the suspense…).

Sadly, there is only one more chapter to go…

I apologize for any mistakes and let me know what you think!