always. [riarkle one shots]

Kidnapped

Line Of Dialogue Series

In which they finally learn the meaning of too little too late.

Rating T; cursing and death, ANGST

Words: 1495

"Look at me - just breathe, okay?"

They were trapped. Farkle and Riley were several feet under the earth with nothing but a tank of oxygen and two masks. The rectangular box they had been placed in allowed almost no movement. It had been hours since they'd been snatched off the street on their way home from the movies. Sure they had put up a fight but they'd been easily overpowered. His father had pissed off the wrong people and now they were paying for it.

oOo

Farkle had pleaded the entire car ride for them to let Riley go. This was between the Minkus' and the Blake's. But they wouldn't listen to him, and when they'd threatened to hurt Riley he'd immediately shut up. Choosing instead to focus on remembering as many details as possible. They wouldn't even tell them where they were going but the lack of car horns and ambient light was enough for him to know that they were no longer in the city.

The ransom call had been placed long ago, they hadn't needed to gag them for that. The ugly henchman had just placed the gun to Riley's temple, the silent promise to pull the trigger if he made a sound hanging in the musty air. His father immediately matched their request, not once hesitating or threatening to call the police. He could hear his mother wailing in the background, a sound that would haunt him for the rest of his life. Farkle's eyes darted to Riley. Her parents didn't even know she was missing, what would the Matthews' reaction be?

The leader followed his eyes, a sadistic smile forming on his face.

"Change of plans, 5 million dollars for both the boy and the girl. Leave the money where we told you and you'll find the rest of your instructions. And remember," He'd said coldly, "Time is of the essence."

The last thing he heard was Stuart Minkus shout Riley's name as realization dawned on him.

The real horror began when they'd come to a stop in front of an abandoned house far away from the highway. They'd unceremoniously shoved them out of the van and led them to the front of a deep pit. The ugly henchman had picked up a red metal box, barely big enough for one person let alone two, and dropped it into the shallow grave that had already been dug. They were nothing if not prepared.

"Ladies first," The ugly gorilla said, giving Riley a shove that sent her sprawling on the ground.

"No," Farkle had yelled, "I'll go first."

Without thinking he lowered himself into the box, and tried to situate himself into a comfortable position. The jerks above gave him almost no time to recover before tossing down an oxygen tank and two masks. Rubbing his sore head Farkle calculated that they could probably get three hours out of tank, four and a half if they were lucky.

Shifting aside their lifeline he immediately scrambled to his feet, he didn't want to leave Riley up there with those fucking pervs, he saw the way one of them leered at her, and he wasn't up there to defend her. Not that he could do much but it's not like he wouldn't have tried. Just like he had tried to stop them from taking them.

"Riley. It's going to be okay. I'm right here."

Riley shuffled closer to where he stood, weary of the people around them. Farkle lay back down and patted the spot next to him hoping to make it look more appealing.

He tried not to let the pain show when she stepped right on his ribs. Gingerly she lay herself on top of him. Farkle moved to the side a little so all her weight wouldn't settle on his diaphragm. He had to make sure they could both breathe without any restrictions if they were going to make their oxygen supply last.