33

~ Ellie ~

The moon sets, and the sun rises. I woke up in an uncomfortable bed. I wanted to cry as I glanced around my cell. It felt like a dream yesterday. When I looked down, I noticed I was only in my undergarments. When did this happen? Screams were heard from outside my door.

“NOO, LET ME GO!”

Aria!! That was Aria!! I hopped out of bed but fell straight to the ground. My ankles were chained up. I dragged myself to the door and peeked out. Aria was lying on a metal bed in the middle of the room, with Brad sitting beside her with tools.

“Stay still; this will be over in a minute.”

I couldn’t see clearly. But I knew I had to do something. “DON’T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!!” I yelled out. My words caught his attention. My eyes blinked once, and he was standing at my cell door. His look had changed; his eyes were cloudy. It had a hint of red in them. He pushed the bars to shut me up.

“Surprised that you are awake. Not sore, Ells? I see why Kevin stays with you— your body feels so good. Being inside of you was worth the wait.” He began to laugh. Is that why I’m like this??

“What did you do to me?”

“Let’s just say you enjoyed it more than I imagined.” Brad walked back to the bed where Aria was. “Oh, your boyfriend was here last night. But I sent him away like a nice person. You may not see him again.”

I rushed to the door, making it shake. I called out Aria’s name. Confused, she didn’t recognize me at first until the second time. Brad slams the table out of frustration. He will cut my tongue off if I don’t stay quiet. The same way he did Bailey. Shivering in complete fear, I crawled back into my cell. Aria’s screams entered the room; Brad cut marks into her skin to remove the fat. I heard Minho gave her too much food while she was here. Everything had to be perfect in his eyes.

“You must be perfect, or I will throw you out like a broken doll.”

I covered my ears to drown out the horrifying screams. There was nothing I could do.

~ Evan ~

I woke up with pain in my back. I called in the nurse to ease it. While waiting for her, I asked Kaylee if she wanted the television on. I reached for the remote and switched it on with a simple yes. Finally, my nurse came in to help.

An Attack On Games? 5 workers are dead, and 20 workers are injured, including the CEO of Gaming World, Kaylee Waston. This happened yesterday afternoon as a mysterious man was seen at the scene. Multiple explosions set off in the building, sending chunks of concrete flying out. Police had to push people away to safety. This is one of the most significant attacks since the mass murder 40 years ago.

“Of course, it will be on the news.” Kaylee pouted.

“You want it off,” I asked her. She just lay back and stared at the ceiling like always. “You haven’t gotten up from the bed since we’ve been here. You need to stretch, at least.”

“Sitting for long periods is part of the job. It doesn’t affect me as much. You should know that.” She covered herself with the sheets. Then turn towards the door; I never saw Kaylee like this before. It’s depressing. She looks defeated and helpless. This was never Kaylee. As I got up, I went for another walk.

My stiff and sore muscles must get the stretch it needs, or they will lock up. I passed by one of Kevin’s officers in the hallway. He was on the phone with someone. “No, I haven’t talked to or seen Kevin recently. I haven’t talked to his partner either. What do you mean she’s gone? Didn’t our men watch her? If you don’t think... crap, send a search team to look for them. If he has them, then we are fuck.” the person walked away.

I sat there in shock after hearing the conversation. Quickly, I went back to my room and closed the door. “Kaylee!” I shouted. She pretended not to listen to me as she opened a pudding cup. I yelled louder, which may have spilled.

“Damn it, what??”

“I think Ellie and Kevin are in trouble. We should do something.”

Rolling her eyes, she grabs some napkins from the table. Then explain how? We are badly injured. “It’s not like we can get up and walk out of here.” She pointed out.

Annoyed, I wanted to see if my sister was safe. If Brad got his hands on her, it would be the last of our problems. I didn’t want to lose the only family member I got because I didn’t help. Kaylee’s eyes opened wide when I added Ryan’s name to this.

“What if he was in danger, huh? Would you say that now? He is your family member, someone who is important to you. Wouldn’t you go and save them? We both have people we care about. It’s time to do something. We can’t sit here anymore and hope the police will do their job. We have to take action!!”

Kaylee blankly stared at me like I was insane but knew I was right. If Ryan got kidnapped by him, she would immediately take action. “How are we going to do this?” she asked. I smiled. This isn’t the first time I snuck out of the hospital before.

Later that night, after our last medical check, we got out of bed. We took our clothes and got dressed. “All we have to do is not to be seen. Since visiting hours are over and there is less staff than usual, it should be a little easier.” I said.

“What if we get caught, or something happens to us in advance,” Kaylee questioned.

“I never saw this side of you, Kaylee. This panicking and scared side is something I don’t like. It’s not the Kaylee I know. The Kaylee, I know, would do anything in her power to get things done if something went wrong. No matter how afraid she gets. I know you will do anything to keep people safe. Don’t be like this now.”

Taking a deep breath, she nodded her head. “You are right. All I needed was a reality check. Thank you.” She gave him a big smile.

“That’s what friends are for. Now come on.”