Conflict of Interest

39: Switch Up

(A/N) ⚠️ WARNING ⚠️ This chapter contains situations that may be triggering to some individuals involving needles, death, guns, and shootings.

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We had been driving for hours and it was now afternoon with the sun directly overhead. The radio had been on low, the station oldies hits playing and giving me a headache as I tried to stop thinking about Parker for even just a second. We turned onto a dirt road and the landscape around us started to change, each side desolate empty fields.

"Where the hell are we?" I questioned looking over at him

He looked over "Almost there."

We kept going for about another thirty minutes, the fields turning to thick forests. We started to slow down and turned onto a small dirt driveway that was jolting from how uneven it was. I held onto the oh shit handle, my grip tight as I watched the driveway ahead of us. We drove slow for about five minutes before rolling up to a cabin where three other cars were already parked in the driveway. Once stopped we both got out and he waved for me to follow him up onto the porch. He knocked on the door and waited a second before two men opened it and pointed guns at each of us.

"Direct and Nav." The guard who I had rode with stated

The two men looked between one another and then dropped their guns, the shorter blonde one speaking "Come in."

They moved to the side allowing us to step inside to the small cabin that seemed just like any other ordinary run down uninhabitable place.

"Follow us." The one stated walking over to the bathroom and waving for us to step inside

I obliged and scrunched my nose as I looked at the rusty, dirty water filled toilet. The guard and I were crammed inside the small space and then the two men closed us in and I turned to the guard whose name I had still not asked.

"What the hell is happening?" I whispered

He shrugged and then we both jumped as the room shook slightly. Suddenly the light from the small window slowly was covered from the bottom up and it felt as though we were... descending into the ground?

We stood in the dark, the only sound being the screeching of the walls around us. Without warning we jolted to a stop and didn't move a muscle for the first few seconds.

"Should we open the door?" I whispered

He sighed and moved, opening the door so that a beam of light streamed in. Once the door was fully opened it took only a second to adjust to the bright white lighting of the room. The walls were pure white and there were tables and chairs scattered throughout the room. There were three doors, one in the middle of each wall looking around there were about ten people staring at us and my eyes settled on each for only a second before scanning the next. As I looked at the last person my heart sank: Parker wasn't here.

We both stepped out and the guard waved to one of the others who waved back "Hey Dave glad to see you were successful."

The guard next to me nodded to the man "Not sure how to take that Sean but thank you I think."

The door directly across from us opened and the last person I ever expected to see walk out did, Aurora.

"Ah Harper, glad to see you could make it." She smiled tilting her head slightly to the side "You look confused."

"What are you doing here?" I questioned looking to Dave who stared straight ahead and then back to her

She smiled and then laughed "You'll find out soon enough."

I felt a tight grip around each of my wrists holding my arms behind my back. I started to squirm trying to escape as Aurora and another man walked toward me. I looked down and saw a long needled syringe in his hand. He smiled and handed it over to Aurora who pointed up and pushed the bottom slightly causing a bit to spill out the top.

"Time to take a little nap." She stated and nodded to the man

He came over and held my head in place, his grip so firm it felt as though my neck could snap.

"Fuck you." I yelled out flailing around and trying to escape their grip "Let me go you mother fuckers!"

Aurora laughed and then moved in, inserting the needle into my neck causing a short burning sensation as she pushed the bottom of the syringe in. She removed it and then moved into my view smiling deviously at me as I felt myself getting groggy.

"Goodnight Harp." She smiled as my eyes started to flutter closed

"Fuck you..." I mumbled out before everything went black

~1 Year Ago~

The shots continued to ring out around me and as I finally came to my senses I turned to look at Talia who was now crouching on the ground.

I dropped off the stool and got low crawling over to her "We need to get out of here!"

She turned to look at me, a mysteriousness behind her gaze "You won't make it if you stick with me, you need to go."

"Are you crazy I'm not gonna leave you!" I stated causing her to let out a sigh

A shot hit a bottle above us and the glass shattered, spraying down from above. I felt a burning on my arm so I looked to find that a piece had left a shallow long cut.

"Fuck." I mumbled out

Talia looked over at my arm, reaching out and examining it closer, the heat of her touch a complete distraction from the pain.

"You'll be okay," she paused meeting my gaze "but not if you don't get out of here right now."

"Come with me." I stated

She shook her head "I can't Harper."

"I'm not leaving." I stated

She let out a sigh and then pulled me in, placing a short fiery kiss on my lips before pulling back and smiling weakly at me.

She stood up and I reached out trying to grab her "Talia no!"

She ran out hooting and hollering as she went. I felt my heart constricting as I quickly stood and hopped over the bar to the back where the bartender was laying flat, a dead weight against the white tiles that were stained red around her torso. I felt queasy, my stomach flipping and turning as I gagged and turned away looking at the cabinets around me. My mind was blank, the room spinning as I clumsily reached out and pulled open a cabinet. I crawled inside, packed tightly with a couple stray bottles as I closed myself into the darkness. I covered my ears, tucking my head into my knees rocking back and forth in a lame attempt to calm myself down. Shots continued to sound around me until eventually they stopped, until it seemed like everything went silent like the tears that streamed down my cheeks. Eventually the silence faded into sirens and the sirens into the screaming of orders that echoed through the room.

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