Hunted

Kidnapped

*Aura's POV*

     When we pulled up to the hospital, Tyler immediately ran inside and got help. Two nurses in blue uniforms and a doctor rushed out, a gurney between them. I jumped out and ran over to Dimitri's car. "Stand back, give us some space." one of the nurses yelled. I ignored them, trying my best to get to Sam, but strong arms grabbed me from behind and held me back. "Let them help her, there's nothing else we can do." Chester whispered in my ear. It took all three of them to lift her out of the car and onto the gurney. Once she was secured, they rushed inside, leaving the rest of us to try and keep up.

"We've got a female, late teens, multiple stab wounds to the abdomen and chest. Pulse is weak, pupils equal and reactive. Our primary concern right now is to stop the bleeding. She's lost a lost of blood and will need a transfusion as soon as possible." I heard the doctor say as he examined her. They wheeled her through double doors marked No Admittance and I tried to follow. "Ma'am you cannot come in here. We need to work on your friend and get her stable. Please wait out here until someone can come and talk to you." a nurse said and ushered us to a small waiting room across the hall.

"Oliver, you need to get checked out too." Rose commented. "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." he replied. Dimitri stood up and walked down the hall towards the help desk. He returned a few later, a nurse beside him. "Let them at look at you Oliver. You don't wanna make things worse do you? You could have a concussion or something." Dimitri said. Sighing, Oliver got up and followed the nurse. I laid my head on Chester's shoulder, tears flowing down my face. "I can't lose Sam. I just can't.." I sobbed. "Shh..it's okay. She's gonna be okay." he replied while rubbing my arm. I hated not being in there with her. I felt helpless, and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it.

*Lacey's POV*

     It's been over three hours since they took Sam back and we still haven't heard anything. They released Oliver a few minutes ago with just a minor concussion. I can't sit still. I feel like this is all my fault. If I hadn't convinced everyone to come down here with me then none of this would have happened. I mean yeah, I probably would have been the one who got hurt but I can live with that. Being responsible for Sam getting hurt though is something I can't handle. A tired-looking doctor walked in and asked  "Are you guys here with Samantha Santiago?" We all stood up and nodded yes. "Your friend sustained some very severe injuries but we were able to stop the bleeding. She is gonna need surgery to fix her spleen which was ruptured during the attack. There's a high risk of infection and if that happens, we may not be able to do anything. The surgery itself is also highly dangerous since she has already lost so much blood. If she starts bleeding out while we're operating, she will most likely die. I know this is hard to hear but I promise we are doing everything we can to help your friend. We've already prepped her and are about to take her to the OR. Someone will come out as soon as we have more information for you but as of right now that's all." He left the room, leaving all of us in shock. "I..I need some air." I stuttered, and left the room. I ran outside and around the side of the building. I collapsed on the concrete, not caring who stopped to stare. Minutes passed, and I still couldn't find the strength to get off the ground. "Miss, are you okay?" I heard someone call from the darkness. I looked up and saw a man walking towards me, his long coat trailing behind him. I swiped my eyes, trying to stop the tears that blurred my vision. "No..I'm not.." I mumbled. He reached his hand out to me and I took it. He helped me to my feet and I thanked him. "You wanna talk about it?" he asked, his dark eyes full of concern. "One of my friends was attacked today. She's really hurt and I don't know if she's gonna make it." I cried. Normally I wouldn't just talk to strangers like this but there was something about him that was comforting. Almost like I had met him before. I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. "I'm so sorry to hear that. Anything I can do to help?" he asked. I shook my head no. "Thanks, but no. I'm just gonna go back inside and wait." I turned around and started walking back towards the front. "Miss.." I heard from behind me. I turned around to see what he wanted. From the corner of my eye I saw his fist coming towards my face. I had no time to duck and was hit full force. Pain exploded behind my eyes and my vision went blurry. I started falling, but he caught me right before I hit the ground and picked me up. "I didn't want to hurt you." I heard him whisper right before I passed out.

*Rose's POV*

     Lacey's been gone for a while so I decided to go look for her. "Aura you wanna come with me?" I asked but she shook her head no. Shrugging, I left the waiting room and headed in the direction Lacey went. The only thing before the doors leading outside was a small room with vending machines, which she wasn't in. I stepped outside, the cool night air whipping my hair into my eyes. I scanned the area, but she was nowhere in sight. "LACEY!!" I yelled, my shouts echoing through the night. I waited, hoping she would respond but she didn't. I ran around the side of the building, panic rising in my chest. I tripped over something and fell, scraping my knees and hands. "What the.." I said but stopped when I saw what made me fall. A shoe, a size 5 black converse with colorful hand-drawn stars on the top. The exact same shoes that Lacey was wearing. "LACEY...where are you?! LACEYYY..." I screamed, raw fear in my voice. I ran inside, stopping at the information desk and demanded, "Call  the police. My friend was kidnapped." The receptionist jumped up and grabbed the phone. My voice must have carried further than I thought because Dimitri came running. "Rose, what is it?" I turned around, tears springing to my eyes. "It's Lacey. She's gone. I found her shoe outside, but not her. I think someone took her." I cried. "Oh God.." he replied and pulled me towards him. "Come on, let's go outside and look for her." he added. I shrugged his arm off me and started walking towards the exit. I knew we weren't gonna find her but I didn't know what else to do. Within minutes, three police cars arrived, lights flashing and sirens blaring. "Officer, over here!" I yelled. "My friend Lacey was taken. I found her shoe in the parking lot and she was gone. We were all here because two of our other friends were attacked today. I think maybe it's the same person, but I don't really know." One of the officers escorted us inside while the rest spread out and began searching the area for evidence. They led us to a small conference room and shut the door. "Okay, start at the beginning and tell us what happened. Don't leave anything out, no matter how small." I proceeded to tell him everything I knew starting with the first initial break-in resulting in us buying security cameras and alarms. When I got to the events of today, I stopped. "I don't really know what happened today. I wasn't the one who found them." I stated. Tyler stepped up and took over. "I was the one who found them. I was down at the river, about a mile from the house. I went to clear my head. I accidentally fell asleep and woke up a few hours later. It was beginning to get dark so I started heading back. I was almost to the cabin when I heard a strange noise. I went to investigate and found both Samantha and Oliver unconscious. I ran for help and brought back Dimitri and Rose. I tried to wake Oliver but he didn't move and Rose was trying to stop Sam's bleeding. Dimitri ran back and got the rest of the guys. Oliver had woken up by the time they got back so he walked with us while we carried Sam to the car. We drove here and waited for them to come and talk to us. After they did, Lacey said she needed some air and ran off. That's all I know." The officer finished taking notes and then asked, "So you don't have any idea who could have done this? You can't think of anyone who would want to hurt any of you? No enemies? Anything like that?" I shook my head and replied, "No, we're not from around here. Well, except for Lacey. The cabin belongs to her family. This is our first time here." He jotted down some more notes then said "Okay, well that's all I need for now. I want you guys to sit tight for a bit while we look around and see what we can find. If you can think of anything else, please find either me or one of the other officers." He walked out, shutting the door behind him. I looked around the room at all my friends, each of us grieving in our own way. Aura was sitting on the floor, not moving. Chester tried to comfort her but she pulled away. I didn't really know what I was supposed to do so I just stood in the middle of the room. Tears stung my eyes but I refused to cry. I have to be the strong one, I thought as I walked over to Aura and sat down beside her. She laid her head on my shoulder and started crying, her pain evident in every sob. "Shh..it'll be okay." I whispered, trying to console her but not actually believing a word I said.