"Right this way! Stop fighting!" Thomas growled, yanking Emma's body up the mountain path. Emma dug her heels into the soft earth, trying to slow him down as much as possible. She grunted against the effort, her body weak. Thomas groaned, yanking on her arms until she stumbled forward.
"Why isn't your fat ass helping me with this?" he yelled back at Mr. Gates, who was following behind them Mr. Gates rolled his eyes, catching up. He grabbed Emma's left arm, lifting her body up. "Fine... up you get," he said, pulling her forward.
Thomas held onto her right arm, and they literally dragged her the rest of the way up the mountain.
Emma couldn't tell where she was, just that it was a wooded area high in the mountains. She was in too much pain to appreciate the scenery They finally made it to the top. She saw the silhouette of a man's back in the moonlight.
"Here we are, and here's your girl," Mr. Gates said, practically throwing her to the ground behind the man.
Emma huffed against the gag, rolling to her side to glare at him. "Oh, look out, Gates. If looks could kill, you'd be dead," Thomas laughed as the man turned around.
She looked up at Jason's smiling face. He was all dressed up in a crisp black suit with spotless white dress shoes.
"She's beautiful, isn't she? And she's finally all mine," he whispered, bending over to look down at her. His eyes scanned over her dress for a moment.
He stood back up, his smile suddenly falling. "But you did leave me... how dare you do that to me, you bitch!"
He brought back his foot, kicking her hard and repeatedly in the side. Her body was pushed around the ground, eyes watering as she coughed, fighting for air around the gag.
"How. Fucking. Dare. You." He ripped the gag off her mouth She spat out blood, burying her face into the wet grass.
He was about to kick her again when he noticed something on his white dress shoes. "What the hell is this?" he demanded, pointing to the blood on his shoes before walking past her crumbled body. He stood in front of Mr. Gates and Thomas, who were both avoiding his eyes.
Thomas was the first to speak up. "Heather stabbed her before we got here," he said with a shrug.
Jason glared at him before slapping him hard across the face. "Then don't you think you should have told me that before I went to town kicking her? I haven't even had my fun with her yet, you idiot."
Thomas licked his bloody lip and nodded, looking at the ground. Jason walked back over to Emma, bending down and grabbing her hair, forcing her to look up at him. "I'll put a bullet in her head just for you," he smiled, looking down at her.
She pressed her lips together, her mouth filling with blood. She spat it onto his face. "Even if you kill me, I'll never love someone like you... NEVER!"
He threw her face back against the dirt. He stood back up, pacing back and forth, wiping the blood from his face. "You think you're the first girl I killed? You're the sixth, and I'll get away with it like I've been doing for years, thanks to Mr. Gates." He pointed toward Mr. Gates, who smiled and crossed his arms.
He yanked Emma up by the arm. "We don't have much time until you bleed out. We'll be having a little fun at your favorite little hiding place," he whispered, nesting his face against hers. She cringed, fighting to get away. He pulled back, giving her another hard yank. "You two, stay up here. If you see anything, shoot first, ask questions later."
They nodded as he began dragging Emma down the mountain, her screams echoing in the darkness "We'll start down here, checking the base of the mountain and moving our way up," Harry said to Ms. Kit and Mr. Hatter, who nodded in agreement Blake looked left and right for any sign of Emma.
They turned on their flashlights and drew their guns just in case. Ms. Kit went to the left, looking toward the river. Mr. Hatter pushed through the trees, calling out Emma's name. Harry turned, looking back at Blake.
"Stay close to me, okay? This is a dangerous situation. We already know at least one of them has a gun and is a pretty good shot." Blake nodded, following closely behind him. They worked together, pushing trees out of the way, their voices calling out for Emma.
"Wait... wait, what's that?" Harry said, pulling the light from his uniform and holding it up. There were scuff marks on the ground, like someone had been dragged heading up the mountain.
Blake's eyes widened. Before Harry could tell him to stop, he ran up the hill, following the trail. "Blake, wait!" Harry yelled, but Blake kept running, not checking to see if Harry was keeping up.
Thomas heard him approaching. Blake stopped running when he saw him. "Where's Emma, you bastard?!" Blake yelled, running toward him and jumping on him. They fell to the ground near the cliff's edge, rolling around.
Blake sat on top of him, punching him repeatedly in the face before he was pulled off by Mr. Gates. "Get the hell off him, kid!" he said, holding Blake's hands tightly behind his back.
Blake looked back at him, surprised. Thomas stood up, smiling, his face bruised. "You're a sick bastard! You're supposed to help people! You're in on this, too, huh?! Where the fuck is Emma?"
Thomas walked closer, punching Blake hard in the chest before Mr. Gates threw him to the ground. Blake scrambled backward until he got to the edge of the mountain, looking up at them.
Thomas smiled menacingly, glaring at Blake. "You wanna know where your favorite girl is? Jason is having a little fun right now with her at your guys' favorite little spot. You'll never be seeing her again, Blake." He walked a little closer, kicking Blake in the side, making him curl up on the ground in pain.
Blake climbed back onto his knees, breathing heavily while glaring at them, which only made Thomas laugh.
He bent down, looking at Blake. "You can glare all you want, but it doesn't change the facts." He stood back up with a cocky smile. He took a few steps back. "Stand the fuck up. You've been a pain in my ass long enough." He grabbed the front of Blake's leather jacket, forcing him to stand.
He took a few more steps back, pulling out his gun and pointing the barrel at Blake's chest. "Any last words?"
Blake pushed his hair out of his eyes, glaring at him. "Burn in hell."
Mr. Gates laughed at Blake's attitude. Thomas tilted his head slightly with a grin. "No thanks."
Just as he was about to pull the trigger, Harry's voice was heard a few feet away. "Drop the gun... now!" He held up his own gun toward Thomas.
Mr. Gates looked between them before running away down the mountain. Thomas rolled his eyes, obviously not surprised by his cowardice. Harry didn't try to stop him because he knew Ms. Kit and Mr. Hatter were still down the mountain and would probably catch him.
Thomas looked back at Harry, who was slowly walking closer. "I promise you, if you shoot him, I'll shoot you, too. So, like I said, drop the gun." Blake swallowed hard, looking over at Harry.
Thomas shrugged, looking back at Blake. "Like I said earlier... no thanks." He shot the gun. The bullet flew into Blake's chest. Harry's eyes widened "NOOO!" he screamed, shooting his own gun seconds later. Thomas fell dead, bleeding out.
YOU ARE READING
It Started With Hello
Roman d'amour***** Emma Pear knew she wasn't the most popular girl in high school. Her nose was usually buried in a textbook, and her grades were as spotless as her reputation for always following the rules. "Nerd" was a label she'd long since embraced. Her pare...
