The Seventh Family

Chapter Four

T/W I guess??--I wasn't sure if I should put this here, but then figured I'd better be safe than sorry. Death/sexual assault are very, very briefly mentioned in this chapter, mainly by Noelle while she's freaking out about being kidnapped by psychopaths.

(Audrey's POV)

My head felt like someone had stabbed my freaking brain.

I kept my eyes closed, even after I regained consciousness. I felt disoriented. And tired. And I really wanted to go back to sleep.

But then the memories came flooding back.

The school. The figures. Noelle collapsing.

We were kidnapped. The realization hit me. And I wanted to kick myself. How could I have been so stupid?

I took a deep breath, hesitating to open my eyes. Until I heard sounds coming from what seemed like only a few feet away. It sounded almost like crying. Noelle.

I opened my eyes, thankful that wherever we were was dark enough that it didn't worsen my headache. I carefully sat up, taking deep breaths in hopes of reorienting myself. I felt dizzy and nauseous, but I had to push through.

I looked to my right, seeing the silhouette of my best friend sitting only a few feet away from me. Her shoulders were shaking, and I could hear her crying quietly.

I slowly scooted myself closer to her and reached out to put a hand on her shoulder.

"Noelle," I whispered. My mouth and throat were ridiculously dry and scratchy. I really needed some water.

Noelle's head snapped up at my touch and she looked at me, fear glinting in her eyes. The light in the room was faint, but bright enough that I could see the tear stains on her face.

"Audrey—" She cried, throwing her arms around me. "Audrey, what are we going to do?"

I took a deep breath, hugging her and rubbing a comforting hand on her back. "It's okay. We're going to figure this out. It's going to be alright."

"But what if it's not?" Noelle released me, leaning back to look me in the eyes. "What if we don't make it out of here?"

I shook her shoulders. "Hey. You can't think like that. We're going to get out of here. I promise. Okay?"

Noelle took a deep breath, meeting my gaze and nodding. "Okay."

I nodded at her, then removed my hands from her shoulders and looked around the space we were in. We were in a small, dimly lit room, although I couldn't identify exactly what kind of room it was.

I took a deep breath, pushing myself up off of the floor, using the wall beside me to help me get to my feet. I closed my eyes for a minute, trying to fight off the dizziness.

Using the wall as a guide, I made my way towards what looked like the entrance of the small room. The door was cracked open, leading to a larger, brighter room beyond. I blinked in the brighter light, glancing around the room to try and get my bearings.

I realized that it was a bedroom. A large one. The small room Noelle and I were in was a large, empty walk-in closet. I struggled to come up with a reason for us being dumped in the closet instead of anywhere else in the room. But that was the last thing I had to be concerned about at the moment.

I carefully made my way over to the only exiting door I could find. I tried the handle and...of course. Locked. Next I made my way over to the blacked-out windows by the bed and in the adjoining bathroom, attempting to open them. Not surprisingly, they were sealed shut. Even though I was expecting exactly what I found, I gritted my teeth in frustration.