The Vacant Years(Sequel to Along For The Ride)

Chapter 4

*Jack's POV*

"We have to get them back!" I say. "Jack, we don't know where they are." Tooth says. "They're with Pitch, isn't that obvious?" I say. "We don't know where Pitch is!" Bunny shouts at me. "Then find out!" I shout back. "Jack, you do not understand. We can not just walk into Pitch's lair and take August and Jess. It has been three years without hearing from him and now he is back. He will have bigger tricks up his sleeve. Tricks that could cost us everything." North says. I sigh. "Well, we have to do something. We can't just sit around hoping they'll come back." I say.

North walks over to his desk. He sits down and stares at the map. He starts messing around with a compass. I sigh again. This is gonna take awhile.

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*Jess' POV*

I only heard that one scream, and that was forty-five minutes ago. I'm worried. What if Pitch killed August? I wouldn't be able to forgive myself for letting that happen. Then, there's another scream, bringing me out of my thoughts. Relief washes through me as I recognize the scream as August. It's stupid to be glad that someone is being totured, but right now, that's what I'm hoping for. I need to know if August is alive. And now, I know that he is. The screaming stops and it's silent again. Then, the door opens a minute later and August stumbles into the room.

The door closes and locks just as August falls to the ground. I crawl over to him. I turn him over onto his back. He looks up at me. He has a black eye and a gash on his forehead. His clothes are torn and there's a few cuts on his arms and legs. There's a large cut across his chest. "Hey, Jess." August says barely audible. "A-are you okay?" I ask him. He nods then winces. "Just try not to move." I say. I sit next to him. He grabs my hand and I look up at him. "It's okay. We're gonna get through this." I say.

The others better be coming up with a plan to get us out of here. I sit with August for a few more minutes before I get up and walk around the room. I search for any type of exit. After a few minutes, I've found nothing. The only exit is the door, and the door is locked. I walk back over to August and sit next to him. I glance over at him and notice that he's completely still and his eyes are closed. This can't be happening. "August." I say. No response. I listen for a heartbeat, but there's nothing. "August." I say again, fear taking over me.

Tears come to my eyes. I shake him. "August." I say again. I stop shaking him and stare down at him. Then his eyes open and relief floods me. He looks at me. "Hey," He says. "You okay?" I nod. A tear streams down my cheek and I say, "I just wanna go home." He grabs my hand. "Don't worry. The others will find us, I know it." He says. I smile. He smiles back. "How touching." I turn around and see Pitch's daughter. "What do you want?" I ask, hostility in my voice. Alice takes a step forward. After three years, she doesn't look much different. Just older, that's it. She looks to be ten years old.

"Nothing." She says. Then black sand wraps around my wrists and I'm thrown against the wall. "Jess!" August says. I sink the floor. The black sand ties my hands behind my back and ties my feet together. I try to break free, but it's no use. I get up off the ground, which was complicated. Alice walks up to me and I notice a knife in her right hand. I take a step back, not realizing my feet are tied together. I trip and Alice grabs my arm, stopping me from falling. She shoves me against the wall. For a ten year old, she's pretty strong.

She brings the knife up  to my cheek and slowly traces a line down my jaw to my neck then all the way across my throat. Fear takes over me again. "Where to begin." She mumbles to herself. She takes a step back and looks me over. Then she stabs me in the left shoulder and starts to drag the knife down my arm. I scream out in pain. "Alice!" I hear Pitch shout. She stops, but the pain doesn't. She looks towards the door. I follow her gaze. Pitch stands there. "I told you not to come in here," He says. "But-" "Out, now." Pitch says sternly.

Alice pulls the knife out of my arm, which causes pain. The black sand binding my feet and hands disappears and I slump to the ground. Alice leaves the room. The door closes and I hear it lock. I carefully take off my cloak and sweater and glance at my arm. There's a cut at least four inches long. I'm not sure how deep it is, but that's not what I care about right now. I just want to go back home, to the Pole. "Jess." I hear August say. I look over at him. He has a worried expression on his face. I grab my stuff and crawl over to him. I try to ignore the pain as I do so. I sit next to him and he grabs my hand.

"I just want to go home." I whisper. "I know. I do too." He says. A few minutes later, we both fall asleep.

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*Jack's POV*

"North, hurry up! We haven't got all night!" Bunny shouts as he pounds on North's office door. He locked himself in there to get away from us pestering him. I sit on the banister. Tooth floats over to me and sits next to me on the banister. "It's okay, Jack," She says. "We'll find them, I promise." "What if they're already dead? What would we do then?" I ask. "Don't think like that, Jack. You know they're alive." She says. Then she turns to Sandy and Bunny. "We should go get dinner." Bunny nods in agreement. I hop off the banister and we all walk into the dining hall.

We take our seats and start eating. A few minutes later, the door bursts open and North walks in. "I know where they are." He tells us.