Safe Haven

Nineteen

I couldn't breathe as my eyes remained glued on Elarick's angular face. He was regarding me with those washed out green eyes of his; his lips pursed in mock concern and his thick brows furrowed.

"Let's get you out, love."

"No..." I whispered, then started screaming when he reached for me. "Aiden! Aiden!" I chanted, thrashing upside down in the totaled car. "Stop it!"

"Don't make this harder, love."

"DON'T TOUCH ME! DON'T YOU TOUCH ME!" I shrilled, flailing my head and slapping at his advancing arms, "AIDEN!"

"Stop that now" He hissed, fumbling around for my seat belt. I squirmed and scratched at his face, crying for someone to save me. Elarick warned me to shut up, and when I didn't he punched me in the side of the head; effectively disorientating and silencing me. My vision swam and all the sounds around me were dull and hollow. My body was released from its bindings and I landed clumsily on my head, flopping awkwardly on my side with a muffled grunt. Broken glass cut my exposed arms as he dragged me by my ankle from the wreckage.

Aiden. Where are you, Aiden?

I was lifted bridal style, the surge of nausea and the blood rushing back to the rest of my body had me feeling dizzy all over again. My head pounded and  my eyes still struggled to focus on my surroundings as he carried me away. 

"Find him." Elarick said, his voice reverberating in his chest. I heard scuffling and then a door open. My vision cleared just enough for me to see that he was going to dump me into a trunk.

"No..." I mumbled, twisting weakly in his arms. "Don't! Don't"

He ignored me, letting my body tumble out of his arms and into the pitch blackness of the trunk. Before I could even attempt to sit up, he slammed the top down, knocking me on the head and sending me into unconsciousness.

Aiden...

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Aiden's Point of View.

I winced, flexing my fingers in the dirt and gravel beneath me. My muscles ached, and it was a struggle to open my eyes against the bright light of dawn.

I remembered driving in that truck and talking with Shahana. She was offering to drive, but I wouldn't let her; I was supposed to take care of her. We drove for a while longer, and I think I fell asleep at the wheel--and the next thing I knew, we were flipping and I was thrown and then, nothing.

Shit. Shit. Shit!

I scrambled to sit up and groaned in pain. Tenderly probing at my side, I gathered that maybe 3 of my ribs were broken, and I probably had a concussion. I was in a corn field, and I'm pretty sure that I got catapulted from the car when I crashed. Lurching to my feet and keeping pressure on my injury, I followed the damaged stalks back to the road, and found the car a little over 30 feet away. It's a miracle I survived. 

Limping as fast as I could to the wreck, I worried about how much time had passed and hoped that Shahana was alright. If she was still stuck in the Toyota, hopefully she didn't have any broken bones or major cuts.

Or she was dead.

My anxiety clambered about in my chest as I finally made it to the passengers side of the truck. I fell to my knees and peered through the busted window, praying that she was okay.

She wasn't there.

I circled the truck to see if she was resting near by. I called her name. I dipped in and out of the corn field to make sure she didn't wonder of.

"Shahana!" I called, panic working it's way into my nerves, "Shanaha!" I crouched by the truck again in search of a body. The drivers side was crushed, and there was broken shards and surprisingly no gas leak. On closer inspection, there was some blood on the glass on Shahana's side and drag marks in the dirt. I stared and stared at the scene; trying to gather more clues and hints and called her name a few more times, trying not to accept what happened.

She was taken.

A shiver of dread dragged it's boney finger down my back. Price; Elarick, Seth and Rome must have been watching--following us somehow without me noticing. How'd they do it? Why did they take her? Where did they take her? I studied the ground for tire tracks, trying to center myself and focus on my training. It looked like they headed East, and estimating that it's only been a few hours,  they couldn't have gotten too far... and they had to have left clues for me to find them; they wouldn't let someone who betrayed them live, so this must be some kind of sick game.

I tried to salvage any supplies that I could, only finding the first aid kit and the pistol I taught Shahana to use. With a pang, I remembered how excited and alive her eyes were when she pulled the trigger and shot surprisingly well for a beginner. I remembered how she smiled at me, and how I felt like the luckiest guy in the world because she was looking at me. I remembered her touch when she hugged me, and I remembered how she felt in my arms; soft but firm in all the right places.

And now that sweet girl whom I've come to care about so much was gone.   

I squeezed the cool metal of the weapon in my hand, vowing that I'd find Shahana and that I'd finish this damned mission and send her home as soon as possible. Wrapping my ribs the best I could and ignoring the minor gashes I had on my body, I checked to see if I had a sufficient amount of bullets and focused on all my rage to dull the pain of my ribs. I didn't have time to worry about me, I had to find her. I had to bring her home, and I had to prove to Father that I could handle my mission.

Tucking the gun into the waistband of my jeans and Shahana in my heart, I began to walk.    

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Sorry this was short! I'm going to be jumping inbetween Aiden and Shahana now. Vote comment and follow me!! Hurray!