Chapter Ten

Ava winced when she opened her eyes, not from blinding lights but the throbbing headache. She tried to massage her temples when she realized her hands were chained.

Panic gripped her heart as she tried to remember what had brought her to this cold, dark room. She searched her memory and could only come up with the last thing she remembered.

She was kidnapped and no one has probably noticed her disappearance. She felt tears roll down her cheeks as she thought of various reasons why she could have been kidnapped.

Help! She tried to scream but no sound came out. That's when she realized that she was gagged. More tears welled up in her eyes as she felt bile rise in her throat.

The realization of her situation finally dawned on her when she found out that her legs were chained too.

A muffled scream escaped her throat as she felt herself choke on the gag.

Suddenly, the door was creaked open, and she saw a glimpse of light followed by pairs of footsteps.

"Looks like our queen is awake," one of the voices drawled and the rest cackled.

Help! She tried to speak again.

"Untie her and bring her to the lab," one of the male voices ordered.

Ava felt the chains being loosened and her gag was finally removed. They helped her to her feet and then—

"Hrk!"

She made it to the door only to be knocked down by one of the guys outside.

Damn! She groaned in her mind as she tried to stand up while massaging her temples where the butt of the gun had been used to knock her down.

"Bitch!" The unfortunate guy whom she had given a neat kick to his family jewels swore stomping towards her.

He swung at her, and she was barely able to roll off the ground before he came charging towards her again.

"Enough!"

Ava breathed a sigh of relief as the leader saved her from getting squashed. She was thankful for his timely intervention but that didn't stop her from scanning for the nearest exit.

"We still need her alive," the leader continued.

Dread washed over her at the thought of being dead. They still needed her alive for now which gave her ample time to try and escape.

"Don't even think about it," the leader spat his black beady eyes drilling holes into her.

"Think about what?" she asked innocently. If she was able to get him talking long enough, she might be able to find an escape route.

He took three steps towards her, and she took five steps backward, bumping into another guy who held her wrist.

"Don't play coy with me, girl. I will have you rolling on the ground in pain without lifting a finger towards you," he stated calmly.

Ava gulped as the beady-eyed man fixed a glare on her. She wasn't the kind of girl who was easily scared over empty threats, but she had a feeling this wasn't an empty threat.

"Do you understand me, girl?" He asked her with a sneer.

Ava nodded quickly.

"Good."

A muffled scream ripped from her throat when she was dragged away, a heavy hand clamped over her mouth.

Ava had no idea where they were taking her, and she didn't want to stick around to find out. But no matter how she kicked and thrashed in the man's hold, he didn't release her till they got to a dingy, creepy room.

"What is this?" She asked, her voice laced with fear.

"Take a wild guess, Princess," the man cackled.

Ava shook her head trying to dispel the images entering her mind as she stared at the different torture equipment in the room.

She was in a torture chamber!

"No, please!" She screamed when she was dragged to the chair in the center of the room.

"Sweet dreams, Princess."

Then she felt it. The first wave of pain hit her then the darkness followed.

***

Noah exhaled sharply when he got to the house in downtown Colorado. There was an eerie feeling hanging in the air and no matter how he tried to suppress the shudder he just couldn't help it.

"Are you alright?" Pedro asked him.

He nodded then glanced at Daniel.

"Where's your friend?"

Daniel shrugged and pulled out his phone tapping furiously.

Noah felt his blood boil in anger as he tried to imagine what Ava could be going through. Why did this have to happen just when he's sent her away? The reason for pushing her away so she wouldn't get hurt was in vain.

He saw the silhouette of a man then Daniel beamed.

"Guys, this is my friend, Julus."

Noah cast one look at Julus and frowned. He had the expression of a haunted person.

"What's the matter?" He asked worriedly.

"I think it's best if you come to see for yourself," Julus shuddered a bit.

Noah exchanged a wary glance with Daniel and Pedro. They both shrugged and followed him.

With dread still in his heart, he headed towards the house, and then the stench hit him so hard he almost gagged.

Blood!

He felt bile rise in his gut at the thought of seeing a dead body.

"Brace yourselves, gentlemen," Julus said.

"For what exactly?" Noah asked, unable to endure the suspense any longer.

"This," Julus replied, stepping aside.

Noah inhaled sharply then gasped at the sight before him. He was very much aware of the bloodied body lying on the cushion but what took his attention was the female body.

"It looks just like Ava. Thank God it isn't her," he exhaled.

A sharp intake of breath had all his thoughts flying out of the window.

It was Daniel.

He was cuddling the body and crying.

"But why?" Noah wondered, "That isn't Ava."

"Noah now isn't the best time to play blind," Pedro stated quietly.

Noah opened his mouth to protest again when he took a closer look at the disfigured body filled with bruises and cuts laying on the cold floor.

He saw the way her dark hair that had shone so brightly before was now looking dirty and tattered. Her fierce lavender-green eyes were wide open with shock.

He shook his head trying to make the image go away.

No, he had to be hallucinating. This wasn't real, he kept chanting in his mind.

The shrill ringing tone of his phone startled him from his chants and his eyes landed on the prone figure of Ava.

"Motherfucker!" He snarled the moment he picked the call.

"Ah, I see you've received my gift then," the voice cackled.

"When I get my hands on you, I'm gonna rip you apart!" He swore.

He felt the phone being pried out of his hands by a furious Daniel.

"Why?" Daniel asked softly.

"Oh, poor Daniel. It's just collateral damage. This has nothing to do with your sister," the voice replied with mock sympathy.

"I will hunt you down and kill you!" Daniel threatened, eyes blazing with fury.

"Careful now," the voice warned, "or you might be next." Then the line went dead.

"What do you know about this bastard?" Daniel asked him.

Noah shook his head feeling helpless for the first time in a long time.

"Nothing," he mumbled.

Daniel glared at him. "You sent my sister away when you knew nothing about your enemy?"

"I thought I was doing her a favor," Noah protested.

"Of course, you did her a great favor," Daniel said bitterly.

Noah kept quiet averting his eyes from the body. He refused to believe that Ava was dead.

"I'll call the cops," Julus said quietly.

"Noah, I think this man Is bluffing," Pedro stated suddenly.

Daniel glared at him. "For all you know it could be a woman."

"Whoever it is, the person likes playing around before executing the mission," Pedro continued.

Noah jerked his head up. "What do you mean?"

"Remember the bomb. It was a fake one we received before the real one blew up," Pedro replied.

"But it still blew up," Noah gritted out.

"It did. The point is it took time before it did," Pedro finished.

"So, you're trying to say that this isn't Ava?" Noah asked.

"It may be or maybe not. I'm just encouraging us to think like the person especially after the first impression," Pedro shrugged.

"So, you're saying this vivid woman here exactly like Ava is a hoax?" Julus asked.

Pedro shrugged.

Julus sighed massaging his temples. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Ava is dead!"

Daniel shook his head. "Not till I get my confirmation."

"What other proof do you need?" Julus asked.

"I think Pedro's got a point and if he does let's find her before it's too late," Noah said.

"It's already too late. She's dead!" Julus snapped, "You're going on a wild goose chase."

"We've got nothing better to do," Daniel shrugged.

"Uh, of course, you do. Like, explain to the cops, send them to catch the bad guys and mourn your sister!" Julus groaned.

"Get an autopsy done on the body. I'll be back soon," Daniel said as they left.

***

Ava woke up with a start. Her head was throbbing painfully, and she felt like the world was spinning. She cracked her eyes open for a bit and blinked several times before her eyes got adjusted to the darkness around her.

She was in a kind of cave and there was a faint light coming from up ahead. She wobbled up and her legs gave out.

She had been bound for so long that her legs felt numb. She settled for crawling and headed in the direction of the light.

Then she saw it. She was indeed in a cave and there was her only chance at escaping—there was an opening near a huge boulder—but it was also not an option seeing as three armed men stood in front of it.

"Finally, the princess awakes," someone announced.

Ava slumped to the ground. Her throat was parched as she tried to form words.

"H-help…" she trailed off. Never In her life had she ever felt talking was so stressful.

The goons jeered at her and cackled at her misery.

"You're safe for now darling," one of them smirked.

"That is until the sand clock begins running and you start gasping for air," another one deadpanned.

Ava's heart lurched and she felt the bile rising in her throat. She was going to die a slow and painful death.

"P-please!" She stumbled on her words as tears rolled down her cheeks.

She knew she looked pathetic kneeling on the ground and hoping the same people who wanted to kill her would release her.

"Aww, shucks!" One of them grumbled, "She looks so sexy on her knees. Reminds me of a good fuck."

"We can do it," one of them suggested.

"Do what? Boss didn't order us to," another said.

The third goon shrugged. "He doesn't have to. She's gonna die anyway."

"Yeah. And her people are probably too sad to realize that the body ain't hers. They are probably mourning her right now and not searching for her," the first goon added.

"When you put it like that, well I guess it'd be a shame to let a perfectly good ass go," the second goon agreed.

Ava shook her head, tears spilling down her cheeks as the three men surrounded her.

"Please!" She croaked out in fear.

"Be a good fuck and we'll keep you," the goons promised.

Ava shook her head. This couldn't be real, it wasn't happening.

The ripping of her clothes startled her back to reality and she let out a blood-curdling scream at the painful intrusion she felt.

At that moment, she vowed none of the men would leave the cave alive.