A Blessing in Disguise 5 | COMPLETED

Been a Minute

Hailey didn't know how long she had been driving from one end of the city to another while she did the tasks that the man texted her. It didn't matter how tedious or senseless they were; she did them all with one person in mind. The only human she has come to know as the sister she never had. Up to this day, Hailey would have never thought Vanessa would become someone irreplaceable in her life.   Getting back from her previous task, Hailey hopped in the driver seat and slammed the door shut. Her eyes shifted to the seat beside her that was filled with all sorts of materials. 'What's he gonna do with all these?' the blonde began to ponder but, not long after, shook her head. She didn't have the luxury to waste time thinking about this since her priority right now is saving Vanessa.

After waiting for a while, the burner phone she picked up a while ago buzzed on her dashboard. Hailey immediately grabbed it and answered the call. "Deliver the things to the address that will be sent to you. Park your car four blocks away and walk to the address. No games. I'm watching you," the man said with a harsh tone, then a ruffling sound could be heard at the other end of the line. "Hailey, I'm alright," Vanessa's trembling voice rang through Hailey's ear as proof that she was alive showed again, then the call ended. The phone's screen lit up with the notification indicating that the text with the address had just arrived.  She did not waste another second as she turned her ignition on and drove to the address.

As Hailey arrived at the address, the warning light in the dashboard began to blink. She swore underneath her breath. She hurriedly grabbed the materials from her front seat and got out of the car. The address was located in a residential area. It was a quiet place, with mostly empty houses around. She cautiously looks at every house she passes by, trying to see if there were any movements inside. Around ten minutes has passed before Hailey arrives in front of an abandoned house. The grass around the front yard was just starting to wither, while the paint on the exterior walls were slowly peeled off due to aging.  Hailey carefully started to make her way up the front steps . Each step made a creaking sound as she put her weight onto it. Once she arrived on the patio, a note stuck on the front door greeted her. The piece of paper read ''Come in, Miss Upton'' written using a black marker. Hailey took a deep breath and reminded herself that Vanessa was just on the other side of that door. She opened the front door and was immediately brushed by a gust of wind. She took a few steps in while still keeping a good eye out for trouble. As Hailey stepped further and further away from the entrance, she got the feeling that someone was watching her but she didn't know from where.

Suddenly, the front door slammed shut. Just when Hailey was about to turn around, she felt a hand cover her mouth and a prick by the side of her neck. Her body started to feel numb and everything slowly faded to a blur. A loud crash echoed through the empty house as the things Hailey was carrying fell to the ground. "Nighty night, Miss Upton," a familiar voice of a man whispered into Hailey's ear as everything went black. What seemed like a second for Hailey was actually a few hours later. Her eyelids were still heavy and it was a struggle for Hailey to open them. She felt something tightly wrapped around her wrists and she tried moving it, only to hear loud rattles of something metallic.

After a few minutes, she was able to see bits of her surroundings, but the memory of how she got there was still a blurry one. The walls around her damp as droplets of water trickled on them, forming small puddles on the floor. She immediately notices the chains around her wrists were attached to a pipe. Her subconscious went into an alarmed state. Her head wildly shifted from one point to another as she tried to see what she could do in her current predicament. In the midst of her observation, she comes across a hazy figure of a human chained to a pipe too. Squinting her eyes, her jaw drops when she recognizes who that was.  After several blinks, the woman's black hair and adorable baby face became clearer.  "Vanessa?" Hailey says in her groggy voice. A weak smile immediately appears on Vanessa's face as she says, "Hey, Hailey. It's been a minute."