it has come to my attention that this story is kinda stupid. But that's okay. i can have a little stupid, as a treat.

also periodic disclaimer that I have no knowledge in 1. Law enforcement or 2. anything medical beyond basic first aid

"911, please state your emergency."

"S-some men just came into my house and kidnapped my- my host."

"Okay, can you tell me your address? Are you safe at the moment?"

"I- yeah, I think they left… s###. Um, the address is… 1780 Mince Hill drive, Apartment #8."

"Alright. I'm dispatching law enforcement to your location now. Stay where you are. What's your name?"

"It's…"

"Sir? Are you still there?"

"Y-yeah, it's, um, Caden Petrovsky."

"Can you describe these men? You said they were gone?"

"N-no, I… was hiding. I'm still hiding. I just heard voices. I haven't heard anything in a while, so- oh s###."

"Caden?"

"I think they're, um, back. I'm gonna hang up."

"The police are on their way, try to stay hidden."

"I- y-yeah. Thanks."

Caden grunted as he hit the backseat of the van, glaring daggers at his captor before the door slammed shut.

"Caden?" Steven's voice was muffled by the bag over his head. Caden swallowed.

"Y-yeah." He huddled up against the back seat, watching as the masked man who'd grabbed him climbed into the front.

"Shouldn't we blind him too?" One of them asked.

"Did you bring another bag?" The driver asked

"No."

"Doesn't matter, there's no windows back there anyway." The driver turned back to the road, and Caden shifted, trying to wiggle out of the zip tie that pinned his wrists behind his back. It was far too tight, and he soon gave up, scooting closer to Steven instead.

"You okay?" He whispered hoarsely.

"I'm fine." Steven shifted. "You?"

"Y-yeah, fine." He wasn't fine, but he was unhurt, which was close enough he supposed. Of course he was terrified, he was being kidnapped and taken to God knows where for being a witness to his host being captured, presumably for his blood? Brine had said that he was valuable, right?

The van lurched forward, and Caden cast another glance up front. The three men were speaking in low tones, not paying attention to him.

"C-can I at least put my seatbelt on?" He stammered. One of the masked men glanced back at him.

"I don't care." Was his blunt response. So, Caden carefully twisted in his seat, looping his bound wrists underneath his feet and getting them in front of him. Once his hands were free, he fumbled for the seatbelt and pulled it across his lap. If his kidnappers noticed that he'd moved his hands they didn't say anything.

What would they do to him? Caden was trying to avoid considering the question, since… well, they didn't look like they intended to let him go, so maybe they'd kill him, or… ugh, he didn't want to think about it. He had a brief moment of bitterness where he wished he'd never met Steven or Brine, but rational thought took over a moment later, and he was forced to acknowledge that if he hadn't broken into Steven's house he'd probably be dead from exposure or starvation by now.

He glanced up at the front again, then at Steven. His former host was sitting stiffly in the far right seat, his hands zip-tied behind his back and a bag over his head. Every time the van took a turn he swayed dangerously, and Caden gave his captors one more look before reaching up and pulling the bag off.

Steven inhaled in surprise as the bag was removed, blinking in the dim light for a moment before his gaze alighted on Caden. Presumably wary of their captors, he said nothing, just shook his head to try to get his hair out of his face. There was a lump on the back of his head, Caden noticed with a wince.

Neither of them spoke for a little while. With his face uncovered, Steven seemed to be able to balance a little bit better, which meant he wasn't bumping into Caden quite so often. Caden kept his eyes glued to the windshield, what little of it he could see. He doubted he would be able to do anything with this information even if he did somehow escape, but it made him feel better to be doing… something.

Something wiggled in his hoodie, and Caden froze.

He barely breathed as Cinderella popped out of his hoodie pocket, stretching and sniffing the air, before he snatched her up and bundled her to his chest. The kitten let out an indignant squeak, and Caden hushed her quietly, terrified gaze flashing back up to the front seat. His captors hadn't seemed to notice, but he couldn't hide her forever. What would they do to a cat?

Steven had already noticed, and he looked just as alarmed, mouth pressed into a thin line. Shakily, Caden set to petting his kitten, and she eventually stilled again against his chest. Her gentle purrs did little to calm him, as he couldn't stop glancing nervously up front to see if they'd noticed her yet. So far so good, but…

Steven nudged him with his shoulder, and Caden glanced up.

"It's going to be okay." Steven mouthed at him. Caden pulled a face, but didn't argue. He couldn't imagine how this could possibly be okay, so this was probably just an empty attempt to be reassuring. At least he had someone to… care enough to try.

Caden focused on the road again, stroking Cinderella's tiny head with a thumb. Their only chance to make it out of this was Brine… and for all they knew, he hadn't even realized that they were gone.

Brine swung his leg up onto the roof, dragging himself over the edge and slumping onto the concrete. He lay there sprawled for a moment, panting, unfocused gaze pointed up at the stars. He could barely see them due to the light pollution, but there was one really bright one… Oh wait, that was a helicopter.

Peeling himself up off the ground, Brine ducked behind a roof-mounted air conditioning unit, counting on the cover to shelter him until he'd gotten his bearings. They had obviously recognized him - half the policemen in the city (if not all) were out looking for him. Maybe he should rethink his serial killer persona, he considered as he peered out at the city. He needed to get out into the countryside, somewhere that police cars would struggle to chase him down. There was a massive forest to the east- could he get to it without them catching him?

He drummed his fingers against the concrete, deep in thought. He had never been in a situation quite like this one before. Usually he was quite adept at slipping under the radar, getting in and out of danger before the authorities could be called. Last time he had been caught it had been due to injury. Now, he was perfectly healthy, but it seemed he had lingered just too long at Steven's apartment.

Brine ground his teeth, casting a glance up at the helicopter again. He didn't have time for this. Every minute he was running and hiding was another that Steven and Caden were being taken further and further away. Unfortunately, he doubted that the cops would be sympathetic if he tried to tell them - more than likely they would assume he was at fault.

"Hang in there, guys." Brine muttered to himself. Then he ran towards the edge of the roof and vaulted over the edge.

The van shut off, and Steven lifted his head, blinking around blearily. It was light outside. How long had they been driving for-? It felt like hours, but maybe he had just drifted off.

The van door slid open, and Steven was momentarily blinded by fluorescent lights.

"Out." A gruff voice ordered as he winced and lowered his face. Stiffly, he obeyed, stumbling out of the van and into… a warehouse? The massive room was mostly empty, though by the far wall there were some plywood dividers set up. There were maybe ten or twelve other people scattered around in small groups. So this wasn't a huge operation.

"You too, kid." The man went on, and Steven turned around as Caden climbed out of the van. Cinderella was concealed in his hoodie again, and he had his arms pressed to his chest to try and conceal her. Steven could feel the anxiety radiating off of him, he seemed more worried about the cat than he had been himself.

The man pulled off his ski mask, and Steven got his first good look at him - dark hair, stubbly beard, green eyes. Unfortunately, he assumed that meant they didn't plan on letting him go… ever. Same for Caden, who was nervously glancing around the warehouse.

"Who's that?" A new voice called over, and Steven followed the sound to a tall man with light hair who was on his way over.

"Kid was in the apartment too." Their captor nodded to Caden. "He was callin' the cops, so we picked him up." The newcomer folded his arms, scrutinizing him.

"Could've just left him." He said at last. "But we can probably find a use for him. C'mon." The man beckoned for them to follow, and Steven obeyed as he began to walk away.

He and Caden were led across the warehouse towards the plywood walls, flanked by the now-unmasked man from the van. They had only made it about halfway across, however, when a shout interrupted them.

"Hey!" A dark-haired man stormed across the warehouse towards them, and Caden went deathly still. "What's- where on earth'd you find him?"

"You know him?" The blond man nodded to Caden.

"That-" The dark-haired man glared daggers at Caden. "-is my son. Ran away weeks ago." Steven's heart picked up speed as Caden was given a few more curious looks.

"I didn't know you had a kid." The blond man said. Caden's dad pushed closer, reaching out for him, only for the man from the truck to shove him away.

"He's not your problem, Petrovsky." The man blocked his path. "Get back to your work."

"That's my son!"

"Don't care." Was his blunt response. "Go." Caden's dad glowered, but turned, reluctantly slinking away. Caden was still frozen, and Steven wished he could at least wrap an arm around him. "Go on," the man urged them, unfazed by Caden's father's appearance. Numbly, Steven obeyed.

They were herded into one of the makeshift plywood 'rooms', which contained what looked like a hastily-cobbled together donation chair. For now, though, Steven and Caden were just instructed to sit against the wall and stay quiet. Steven wondered idly if they intended to keep him long-term, or drain as much of his blood as they could get and move on.

"Stay and watch them," The blond man told the one from the van. The latter nodded, and he took up a position by the 'doorway' as the blond man- who seemed to be in charge - walked away.

Steven shifted into a more comfortable position, which was hard with his arms bound behind his back, their guard wasn't actively threatening them, but the gun in full view on his belt was threatening enough. All Steven could do was try to remind himself that Brine was very good at his job, he would find them.

Caden jolted suddenly, and Steven's eyes flickered over as Cinderella popped out of his shirt with an indignant meow. This immediately caught the guard's attention, and his narrowed gaze fell on the cat even as Caden tried to hide her.

"What's that?"

"'S m-my cat," Caden stammered, his voice halting. "She was… sleeping i-in my shirt." Quite bored with this, Cinderella attempted to wiggle free of Caden's grip, eager to explore her new surroundings. "C-Cinderella, no-"

"'S alright." The guard cut him off. "I won't let her wander off." He sank down to the floor, sitting cross-legged in the doorway to act as a human barrier. Caden hesitated, then, given no other option, he finally obeyed.

True to his word, all the guard did was redirect Cinderella when she tried to scamper out of the room. The anxious tension eventually faded from Caden's hunched shoulders, and he ended up slumped against Steven as he watched his cat run around with half-lidded eyes. Neither of them had slept in nearly a full day, Steven noted.

Eventually, Caden drifted off, and Cinderella wore herself out and sprawled out to sleep in a corner. The guard fetched her and set her back in Caden's lap, where she curled up and zonked out for the foreseeable future. Steven was uncomfortable, but he was also exhausted, and after about an hour he managed to nod off against the plywood wall.