36

~ Evan ~

I coughed up a black mucus as I got back to my feet. “You girls okay?” I asked. They nodded and dusted themselves off. When everything cleared enough, we saw the stairs engulfed in flames. Panic mode began to corrupt me as I tried to devise a plan.

Jennie told me about a back door as he took Ellie and Aria through. She needs to lead the way then. Our lungs were filled with smoke; if we didn’t leave soon, we would die from inhalation. We moved objects out of our way. Once we found light, we rushed out.

The black smoke entered the skies, making them cloudy. Another explosion occurred, causing us to lose our balance. Metal and car parts went flying in the air. I covered the girls as they came down. I hope the others made it out in time.

“EVAN!!” Brandon ran to me with a hug. He cried in my arms as I hugged him back. John and Kaylee went to help the injured.

“Is everyone okay?” Kaylee asked.

We all shook our heads at the question. Kaylee searches around to see Ellie, and Aria is not there. We have yet to find out where they could be. They could be out of the county by now. But we don’t have time as these girls need medical attention. Giving up this is too much to handle.

“We can’t let him win. He can’t be that far because leaving town is impossible. His face is plastered everywhere, and a warrant is out for his arrest.” A voice said behind us. We turned around to see Kevin. Thank God.

“How can we find them??” I asked.

Brad’s face is everywhere. There is only a matter of time until he is found. I don’t believe that for some reason, but I need to trust Kevin’s words. The only thing we can do right now is to get these girls to a hospital. While getting treatment, my mind couldn’t stop thinking about my sister. How? Kaylee, Kevin, and I were discharged early due to quick recovery. What about the girls?? Well—

They were physically, mentally, and emotionally unstable. Bailey will have difficulty recovering as her tongue was cut off, Jennie was covered in bruises, and some other stuff we couldn’t describe, Eunha had minor tearing in her private area, and the other girl was scarred from head to toe. As for Brandon and John, they are going to need time with their family. Everyone who was with Brad has been brutally traumatized and will need severe therapy.

We sat in Kevin’s office, thinking about what to do. “Does anybody have any idea where he took them?” Kevin said as he leaned back in the chair.

We were clueless, just like him. Brad would only choose something obvious. So far, all the events have been happening around the neighborhood, so by chance, he is here. I tapped my chin to wake my mind, but my phone buzzed.

“What was that?” Kaylee asked.

“My phone. Just a reminder about an important meeting... my phone.... her phone! That’s it!” I stood up from my chair. I moved Kevin out of the way to get to his computer. I began to look up a site. The two pondered my actions. I typed away on the keyboard. “A tracker? When did you guys have a tracker on your phone?” My boss questioned me.

Almost every phone has a location finder. Ellie never turns her off because she forgets, so I know where she is at half the time. I hope everyone does it too. “I used your location to find her in the junkyard earlier. My mind has been so zoned out; lately, I didn’t think about this.”

We gathered around the screen to see a dot appear. Ellie. They were in town and pretty close out, too. Kevin immediately wrote down the information and told his men to get ready. We are coming in hot and heavy.

The team gears up with military equipment. We weren’t playing games anymore. Time ticked by as the sun fell in the sky. Kaylee and I went with him for extra backup. The place was a construction site which was standard for a guy like him. Now, where were they hiding?? Kevin ordered his officers to surround the area.

“Sketchy,” Kaylee said. I agreed. It’s like something out of a video game. We gradually go to find Ellie’s phone without Ellie. It rang.

“Why did I know you would come for me?? Ohh, that’s right, it was part of my plan. You must do exactly what I say, or somebody will get hurt.” Brad said. Examining the place with our eyes, we heard screams coming from above.

Kevin shouted on the radio that the girls had been spotted— but didn’t do anything rash. “HELP!!!” the girls screamed. They were dangling from ropes at the top of the crane. Brad was planning on killing them this time.

“What the hell are we going to do?” I was worried.

The phone rang again; Brad ordered us to drop all our weapons and place our armor down. Furious, we did what he said. Then he asked for our hands to go in the air and for me to step forward. You can hear the other officers talking through the radio, trying to stay calm.