Chapter 28: Rufus.

Ally browsed the shelf of the toy store she was looking for some presents for the children. Austin was standing right behind her, not wanting to let her out of his sight. She found a rattle and slipped it in the rucksack on Austin's back.

"Austin, I've got something for you," Ally said and she pulled the ring out of her back pocket. "I found this, now you get a ring too."

Austin smiled down at the ring in her hand. She beamed up at him and got on her tiptoes, planting a kiss on his lips. She pulled away and quickly slipped the gold band on his ring finger. She kissed him again, quickly. Then she heard someone cough.

They separated and saw Wayne, Dean and Ronny standing there. Wayne was smirking along with the others and Ally felt her face heat up.

"C'mon, it's time to head back," Wayne said, a smile on his lips.

"Okay," Austin grunted and Ally zipped up her backpack.

"They went in here!" A voice shouted and they reached for their weapons. Austin pushed Ally behind him and Wayne nodded towards the back of the shop. They all made their way out of the back and suddenly thundering footsteps came up behind them.

"Run!" Wayne yelled and they all took off. Ally felt her thigh pulsing in pain, it still hadn't fully recovered from the bullet wound and everywhere was dark. Austin's figure was soon fading and she was left alone in the darkness.

She caught sight of a door and she pushed it open and realized it was a stairwell. She hurried down it, ignoring the pain in her leg. She heard a door open from the top of the stairwell and her eyes widened. She flung open the door at the bottom and ran outside.

Ally realized she was at the back of the mall. She took off running, but her leg stopped her from getting any further and she fell forward. Ally's whole body was shaking and she looked over her shoulder to see a creeper was approaching her.

Her vision began to blur and she didn't understand what was going on. Maybe she'd hit her head from when she'd fallen last time. The creepers form turned fuzzy and she grabbed her knife. The blurry form of the creeper got closer and Ally's eyes fluttered closed. Her body fully collapsed to the ground.

Then, the next time she opened her eyes, the sky was dark and she felt something on her foot. She looked down and saw a creeper was chewing on the leather of her boot. She shot up and grabbed her knife, stabbing it into it's skull. She panted for air and she looked around.

"W-What?" She stammered.

Ally didn't understand what was going on. She must've passed out. She stared down at her foot, and she sighed in relief thankful that the creeper hadn't bitten her foot.

"Austin!" Ally called out. "Austin!"

"Well aren't you a pretty little thing," A voice slurred and she felt a prick on her skin. She looked at her arm and saw a tranquilizer dart sticking out of her skin. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she crumbled to the ground.

...

Ally's eyes fluttered open once more and she was being pulled down a dimly lit hallway. There were two men holding her body up and she was still out of it. The tranquilizer dart still had some effect on her. Her feet were curled underneath her and she suddenly got her sense of movement back and she began to thrash around.

"LET ME GO!" She screeched at the top of the lungs and the men held her tighter and continued to pull her down the hallway. "GET OFF ME!"

One of the men kicked open a door nearby and she was tossed inside like a piece of trash. She crashed to the floor and felt something crack in her side. The door slammed shut and she let out a cry, a shooting pain began to travel up her side.

She felt around her side and she felt one of her ribs move. She must've broken one. She grunted and struggled to get to her feet. Ally stumbled over towards the door and she yanked on the handle, but it wouldn't open.

"LET ME OUT!" She screamed pounding on the door.

Her mind flickered to Austin. She wondered where he was, if he was safe, if he was here where she was. She continued to bang on the door, until she heard heavy footsteps. She took a few steps back and then a man with black, grey hair stepped in. A smile was plastered on his face from ear to ear.

"You must be Allyson," He said.

"How'd you know my name?" She asked.

"I've got my sources," He smirked.

"Who are you?"

"The names Rufus," He replied.

"What do you want?"

"Well aren't you straight to the point," He chuckled.

"Yeah, well I've got a family to get back too," She retorted.

"Oh, you mean your uncle and husband?" He laughed.

"How the hell did you know that!" She snapped back and he continued to grin at her.

"And you've got your son...Nathan, I believe to get back too. Oh and let's not forget the other children, Jess, Nevil, Billy, Jasmine, Daniel, Lizzy and...George."

"WHAT DO YOU WANT!" Ally stomped her foot and kept her arm wrapped around her side.

"Your prison," He said, his smile fading from his face. His eyes turning dark.

"W-What," Ally stammered.

"It's a nice little set up, protection from the outside world. It's not fair if you get to keep it," He explained.

"I'm not the one you need to talk to about this...I'm not in charge."

"I know, I believe it's Wayne and Lucas who are in charge of your group, but I've already questioned Wayne, he didn't say a word...so I hatched a new plan. I'm not going to get an answer out of Wayne, so I moved on to your husband, Austin...now he's an angry fella' wouldn't say a word. Then I saw the ring on his finger and it suddenly came to me...to make him crack and say I can have the prison...something needs to happen to you."

"W-What do you mean," She stuttered.

"Handcuff her!" He ordered and two men came in and began to wrestle her to the ground. Ally thrashed around and tried to swing her arms at her, but they were both twice the size of her.

Her arms were pulled behind her back and the handcuffs were latched around her wrists within seconds. Ally gritted her teeth, the pain in her side getting worse. Rufus grinned at her and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Now, take off her shoes," He said.

"What?" Ally said in bewilderment. The men holding her suddenly tore her shoes from her feet.

They began to drag her out of the room and down the dimly lit hallway. Ally didn't understand what was going on. She squirmed against their holds, but they only held her tighter. Rufus was walking ahead of them and he opened the double doors up ahead.

That's when she saw Austin standing in the middle of the huge warehouse, but that's also when she saw all the shards of glass on the floor. Austin was standing in the middle, glass surrounding him. He to had no shoes on, but he was uncut and fine, standing in the small circle empty of glass.

The men stopped and Ally stood at the edge of the glass. Rufus smirked at her and he reached out and stroked her head. Austin glared at him and Ally knew he'd would've been across the room in a flash, but he couldn't because of the glass.

"Now...how about it, you fancy moving out of the prison and letting me and my group move in, saves me killing the people inside," Rufus explained and his hand fell from Ally's head.

"We're not giving you the prison," Austin grunted.

"I thought you'd say that," Rufus sent a look to the two men holding Ally and they nudged her closer to the glass and she thrashed against their hold, trying to get her feet away from the glass. Austin stepped closer to the glass, his eyes widening slightly.

"She's a pretty thing," Rufus mused. "She smells like strawberries," He stepped closer and inhaled her scent. "Eric was right when he said you were pretty."

"Eric," Ally whispered and she suddenly realized that Eric and Kira were apart of Rufus's group and must've told him everything. "That bitch!"

"You should be more careful about who you take in," He said. "Eric came straight back and told me everything. We want the prison, so are you going to hand it over."

Ally looked up and she saw shadows moving across the metal walkway above them. She saw Lucas's face appear and then disappear in the shadows and she soon saw Wayne do the same. Her eyes fell on Austin's and she looked out of the musky window and caught onto Derek's face, before he disappeared, going unnoticed by everyone else. A smile grew on Ally's face.

"What are you smiling at!" Rufus yelled.

"Nothing," Ally retorted.

"So are you going to give us the prison?"

"No," Austin grumbled.

"Fine," Rufus nodded at the two men holding Ally and before she could do anything they threw her onto the sea of glass. A shrill scream flying from Ally's mouth.

"NO!" Austin yelled and he ran out of the safety of the circle and across the glass.

Suddenly shots flew through the air and the room erupted into chaos. Austin ignored the glass piercing through his feet and he ran as fast as he could to Ally's side. Blood was everywhere and he saw hundreds of shard of glass sticking out of her lifeless body.

Rufus ran out of the room and the door on the other side of the room flung open and Derek and Dean came sprinting in. They were both wearing thick soled boots, so the glass didn't pierce into their feet. Derek crouched down and he pried Austin's hands off Ally.

"I've got her," He whispered and he carefully picked her up trying to make sure not to push the glass further into her skin.

Dean helped Austin to his feet and Dean kicked the shards of glass aside to make a safe path for Austin to got through. They soon made it outside and Austin looked around and saw Derek placing Ally into the back of the truck. She was placed on her front, because most of the glass was in her back.

Austin hobbled over and Dean tried to reach out to stop him, but he climbed into the truck, ignoring the pain the glass was causing him. Alice appeared and she climbed into the back with him. Wayne ran over and Alice ushered him away.

"Let me see her!" Wayne snapped.

"We need to get her back to the prison," Alice replied softly.

Everyone else got into the truck and Austin refused to move. He stayed firmly by Ally's side, whilst Alice began to check her over. He reached down and began to pull the glass from his feet.

"Don't do that," Alice warned him.

"I don't care!" He shouted at her and the truck started to move. He pulled out the largest shard and threw it out of the truck. He didn't care about the other shards.

Ally groaned and she moved her face to the side and Austin rested his hand on the back of her head. She cried out in pain and her eyes fluttered open. She screamed, the pain from her back was excruciating.

"Everything's going to be okay," Austin whispered and she let out a sob.

"AHHH! FUCK!" Ally screeched, as Alice attempted to pull a shard from her back.

"STOP!" Austin screamed.

"I need to get the glass out of her back!" Alice snapped back.

"Please make the pain stop," Ally whimpered and Austin felt his heart shatter at the sound of her voice.

"I'm sorry Ally, I need to get the glass out," Alice spoke softly. "It's gonna' hurt."

...

They pulled up at the prison and Cal came running out and he was in the back of the truck in seconds. They needed to move her, but it was going to be hard. There was glass in her feet and there was some glass in her head.

"What happened?" Cal asked and Alice bit her lip and looked at Austin.

"This man called Rufus pushed her into a pile of glass," Austin explained.

"Okay, we're going to have to do this here," Cal said. "Ally do you have glass in your knee's?"

"N-No," She stammered.

"Okay, I need you to get on your knee's. Austin you support her," Cal ordered and Austin grabbed her arms and helped her to balance on her knee's. She stared up at him with teary eyes and he knelt down in front of her, placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Ally, we're going to start with your feet and work our way up. If the pain get's too much say something," Alice explained and Ally nodded her head.

"OH MY GOD!" Ally turned her head slowly and she saw Jess standing there, Nevil was right behind her, both of them were looking at her with teary eyes.

"C'mon you need to get inside," Lucas ordered and Ally's eyes landed on Wayne's. He walked over and lent over the truck to kiss her cheek.

"You'll be fine," He whispered and she flashed him a weak smile.

"Mommy," Jess ran past Lucas and peered up at her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine sweetie," Ally whispered. "You and Nevil go inside and get some rest."

"Are you going to be okay?" Nevil asked.

"She's going to be fine," Austin said. "Now, both of you get inside. Find Billy and stay in your cell. We'll be inside soon."

"Okay," Nevil whispered and he grabbed Jess's hand and returned inside.

Ally's nails dug into Austin's skin as Alice and Cal pulled shards of glass out of her. She rested her forehead against chest and she bit down hard on her lip.

"It's going to be okay," Austin whispered.

"I want Nathan," She whimpered.

"We'll go and see him once this is done," Austin said. "Just stay strong for me."

Cal looked at Alice's shaking hands as she tried to get a shard out of Ally's calf. He reached over and placed his hands over her's and he helped her pull it out. Ally yelped and Austin kissed her forehead and whispered soothing words in her ear.

Alice sniffled and she glanced at Cal. He nodded at her and a faint smile appeared on his face, then he returned to Ally's other leg. Ally looked up at Austin with frantic eyes, thoughts of Nathan filling her mind. Ally's fingernails pierced through his forearms and every part of her body was crying out in pain.

"W-Why would Kira do this, after everything we did for her. I actually thought she was sorry," Ally cried and Austin kissed her softly.

"I don't know why, but we're going back there. Your staying here and I'll go back-"

"NO! You can't," She growled, then hissed out in pain.

"Sorry," Alice squeaked and she continued to pull the glass out of Ally's back.

"Ally, look what he did to you!" Austin argued back forcefully and Ally shook her head.

"Yeah, look what he did to me...poor damaged Ally, always the damsel in distress," She mocked.

"Ally, that's not what I meant!" He snapped and she narrowed her teary eyes at him.

"Austin, look what he did to me...he'll do much worse to you," She whispered and then her face scrunched up, when she felt Cal pull a large shard from her thigh.

"You're doing great Ally," Cal assured her. "First fight as a married couple, how does that feel."

Ally stifled a laugh through the pain and she looked over her shoulder and at Alice who was wiping her forehead, blood smudging across her brow.

"Alice, you've got blood on your forehead," Ally whispered with a sweet smile and Alice rubbed at her forehead.

"Come here," Cal muttered and he grabbed one of the wet cloths and he grabbed her chin, rubbing the blood from her face. Ally saw the faint blush appear on Alice's cheek, which seemed to go completely unnoticed by Cal, who immediately returned to work.

Ally slowly turned away and she looked back up at Austin's hard stare. She leaned forward and rested her forehead against his solid chest. Austin exhaled the breath he was holding in and he kissed her head.

"Please don't go back...at least not without me, please," Ally whimpered.

"Okay, I promise."

...

Austin helped Ally onto their bunk. She had to lie on her stomach, because of her back. Cal and Alice had managed to get the glass shards out and stitch up the deep cuts and gashes. Austin watched her closely as she kept moving her head from left to right, to try and get comfortable, but she couldn't.

"Just take a deep breath and relax," Austin said.

"I hate being on my front," She mumbled. "I can't even sit up without my ass hurting," Austin laughed in response and she grumbled some more and Austin got up from the chair and sat on the edge of the bed.

"I just spoke to Ronny.." Austin whispered. "He thought you were dead."

"Why?" Ally asked, turning her head to the left so she could see him.

"Apparently he saw a creeper chewing on your leg," Austin explained. "Came back raising hell saying you were gone."

"He was right," Ally responded.

"What?"

"There was a creeper chewing on me, on my boot in fact. I woke up and it was chewing into the leather of my boots, don't know how long, but it didn't get me," She explained and Austin took in a sharp in take of breath. "I'm fine."

Austin lent over and kissed her cheek. He brushed down some of her hair, being careful of the stitches in her head.

"Mommy!" Jess exclaimed and she, Nevil and Billy appeared at Ally's bedside. Jess climbed into Austin's lap and she stared over at her with teary eyes.

"Are you okay?" Billy asked.

"I'm doing just fine," Ally whispered.

"Did the bad men do this to you?" Nevil asked, his hand hovering over his machete knife.

"Yeah, but don't worry," Ally replied and she reached out her arm and Nevil took her hand, giving it a squeeze.

"I missed you," Jess whimpered and her tiny hands curled around Austin's shirt.

"We missed you too," Austin replied and Jess hugged him tight.

"Can we have our party?" Billy asked. "Our party for becoming a family...just because my daddy's with Roxana now, doesn't mean your still not my mommy."

"Sure we can," Ally said. "When I'm better."

"Okay," Billy replied.

"There's someone who really wants to see you," Julie appeared at the cell's entrance with Nathan in her arms. Ally turned her head awkwardly and a smile grew on her face.

"Lie on your side," Austin said and Ally struggled onto her right side. Julie walked over and placed Nathan down on the mattress next to Ally.

Ally reached out and she stroked her fingers against Nathan's cheek. Nathan stopped blubbering and Ally kissed his soft forehead. Nevil sat down by her bed and he reached out and grabbed Nathan's waving hand.

"I think Ally could use some rest," Julie said. "C'mon lets go," Ally kissed Nathan once more and Julie took him away, Jess, Nevil and Billy following her.

Ally sighed and Austin lay down next to her. Ally rested her head on his chest and draped her arm over his chest. Ally listened to his fast heartbeat and she got lost in her own world. Her body was still in pain and she was still angry at Kira. She just wanted for them to all be safe.

"You're so beautiful," Austin's voice pulled her from her thoughts and she looked up at him.

"I love you," Ally whispered.

"I love you too," He responded and he moved his face closer to her's his lips slowly edging closer to her plump ones. Their lips were getting closer and closer, but they were pulled away from their loving trance.

The sound of a gunshot filled their ears and a scream followed after.

AN: Cliffhanger :) I hope you enjoyed this chapter, but I'm kind of worried that I'm not pleasing you guys much with this story, I usually get a good response, but for the last chapter I didn't get that many reviews (Thank you to those of you who did :) ) I don't mind if you just tell me to update, I just want to know that you guys are still interested I know the updates are a bit slow, but schools hectic, I've got my GCSE'S this year and I need to get my head down to revise and I need to know that me taking time away from revising to write a chapter is worth it...

Anyway I hope I put your worries at ease about Ally...see she's not dead! Next chapter we'll find out about the gunshot situation...hehe :)

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