Breaking Hope (Finding Sky edit)

Chapter 30

I snapped my eyes open incuriously the second I felt myself gaining consciousness. That was another odd thing that had come out of this peculiar situation – I could start to feel when I was regaining consciousness. I guess when I was under the influence of both David and Antonio's gifts; I was forcibly unconscious, similar to that of being knocked out, rather than the unconscious when you fall asleep. I could only assume I was starting to be able to feel consciousness again because of the forcible situations pushed upon me by my dickhead of an "uncle" and his man-child.

I scanned the room around me, and found the room that I was sitting wasn't really a room at all. I was clearly in a storage bay for cargo crates. The high ceiling of the warehouse I sat spanned nearly fifty foot tall, with a corrugated metal roof that rattled as the rain fell heavily on it. Honestly, the sound was relaxing within this bit of madness. I was sat on a cheap wooden chair in the middle of the warehouse, with cargo tank holders of various colours, predominantly blue and red, lined the side with massive white letter and number codes indicating the sort code. A large pull-back door was about seventy foot in front of me, and the warehouse must have spanned back quite a bit as well, as I'm fairly confident even the faint sound of my shuddery breaths echoed within this huge room. I could see metal walkways running around the warehouse, a few floors above the house and I would hear people running along them, chatting about guns. I focused back slightly, as I felt someone tie my wrists together.

'Sorry, Hope, I'm sorry,' she whispered, and I realised Lucy was on the one who was tying me up.

'What are you doing?' I mumbled, but my head felt heavy, almost like putting a bowling ball on a blade of grass. It felt unreal for my weighty head to be on my shoulders for too long. I wanted a lie down – was that too much to ask? I could only assume I was sedated as well as the use of the gift on me.

'I have to tie you up, I'm sorry. Things went a bit pear shape after they knocked you out.' She asked, tying my hands behind my back, but only knotting it once. I could easily undo it, so I'm guessing it was just for show. 'All of our systems went down again, and loads of numbers for Indian takeaways came up – someone hacked Dad's bank account a few weeks ago and ordered the biggest Indian to the office. We don't know who it was but hopefully it's the police. They know about him and will one day arrest him. But because the systems went down we didn't know if the Williams had got our message or where they are right now. So Dad sent me, you, and two security lads to come down here. We don't know how long they'll be or if they're even coming. I'm hoping this all backfires, so I'm not tying you properly. You'll be able to escape. Hope, please don't leave me if this all collapses. Please –' Lucy explained, tying my legs to the flimsy chair legs.

'I won't.' I said, and she nodded, hugging me after a moment of hesitation.

'Thanks, cous.' She said, before pausing. 'You're okay with us being cousins, right?'

'Yeah, I guess. I can't remember my family so; you're the only biological family I have.' I told her, smiling as I was awkwardly tied up. I could hear footsteps of heavy steel-toe boots down the metal stairs from the suspended pathways. Whilst I wasn't focusing on their conversation, I could hear them say that "suspects were in range", so I assume that Oscar and Matt had risen to the bait dropped by David Reed, and had come to get me.

'You're the only family I have now, too.' Lucy said, 'I'll see you soon, hopefully,' she said, before sprinting off behind me. I could feel the presence of Lucy leave the room completely, as she went out one of the back doors. Instead, the guy who played Candy Crush Saga on his tablet device on the plane after I was kidnapped was standing behind me, triple checking the magazine in his hand gun, and then again on the gun he left by the chair for me. Slowly, I forced myself to look down at the gun on the floor.