Derailed

06

"Leave her alone." I say shakily.

"Well, you see Patrick, I have given you many many chances to do what I say and you continue to act like this is a game."

"Please, don't hurt her." I tell him. Sandra gets up and walks toward me with a concerned look on her face.

"Pat, what is it? Is Ellen okay?" Sandra whispers. I put my finger up to my lips to hush her.

"I'm sorry, did you say don't hurt her?" he asks. I hear some rustling on the other end of the line and suddenly, Ellen's scream fills my ear.

"Stop! Please! I'll do whatever you say. Please stop." I beg.

"Bring the money to your little whore's house. We'll be waiting." he says, hanging up the phone. I shove it back in my pocket and begin to quickly gather my coat and keys.

"Patrick what's going on? Was that Ellen? Is she alright? Answer me!" Sandra says, following me around the trailer.

"The man that raped her has been blackmailing me, demanding money. He has Ellen right now so i'm going to go give him all of the money." I tell her, grabbing the duffel bag that is full of money.

Sandra grabs the other end of the bag and refuses to let me leave. I yank it towards me and she ya is it back.
"What are you doing? We have to go save Ellen!" I tell her.

"Call the police. You can't go in alone. He'll kill you both." she says seriously.

"The police can't do anything. They can't help me." I tell her, yanking the bag away from her and walking outside.

"Then I'm coming." she says, running toward me.

"What? No. You need to stay here. I'll call you when it's over."

I get into my car and begin to back out.

"But I can help. Just let me come with." Sandra shouts through the glass window. I ignore her and continue to drive away toward El's house.

I pull into her driveway and sprint inside with the bag. I open the door without knocking and find Ellen on the couch with her hands and feet tied, duct tape covering her mouth. Her eyes widen when she sees me and she begins to try to say something to me.

The man appears in front of me and smiles. He grabs the money from my hand and tosses it back to a large, black man that is standing beside Ellen with a gun pointed at her. He catches the bag and begins to open it.

"Should we count it, or just trust him?" The black man says.

"Trust him. He's a nice guy. He would never lie to us. Would you Patrick?" he asks me.

"We've done everything you asked. Please, just leave us alone." I plead. The dark man grabs Ellen by the hair and begins to drag her toward the door.

"Thank you for your cooperation Patrick. But i'm afraid it just wasn't enough. We have come to like this one a lot and we think she could be of great use to us." he says. I step in front of the dark man.

"No. You can't take her." I tell them, becoming angry. The dark man throws Ellen at the wall and she crumples to the ground.

My blood boils and my vision turns red. I grab the gun with my right hand and forcefully hit the wrist that is holding the gun with my left hand. His grip loosens and I take full control of the weapon.

The man begins to charge at me. I put my finger on the trigger of the gun and aim. At the last second, I change my tactic and shove the butt of the gun into his nose, smashing it. I punch him in the face a few more times to ensure that he is completely knocked out.

A slow clap begins to sound and I look up to see the original criminal. He is holding Ellen under his arm.

"Very impressive. I must say, that took a lot of skill. Unfortunately, you forgot about Ellen. While you were killing my partner, I got your friend. And I have a gun too. So..I think I have the upper hand here, wouldn't you agree?" he asks. I sigh and lower my gun.

"Just let us go. I won't tell the police."

"You're right. You won't. Because you'll be dead." he says, cocking the gun. Ellen begins to cry and plead.

"Fine. Kill me. But let Ellen go." I say, raising the gun again. "Promise me you'll let her go."

"It's a deal." he says. "Toss the gun toward me and I will let her go."

I take the gun and unload it before tossing it toward him. It lands on the floor at his feet. He drops Ellen and she falls to the ground. She looks up at me with tears running down her face.

"I'm sorry, Ellen." I tell her. I squeeze my eyes shut, preparing myself. Ellen attempts to scream but it is muffled by the tape.

The sound is louder than I imagined, vibrating throughout my entire body. I feel it in my bones. My knees give out and I feel my entire body collide with the ground. The silence that follows is even more deafening.