It Was Supposed to Blossom

CHAPTER SIX

Ryan POV

My mind still couldn't make sense of everything that had happened. When I awoke, I was in this room, gagged and tied to a chair. All I could remember was walking down the street...thinking about Lilly...and then someone hit me really hard on the head. Who was it? I glanced around and saw one man who I recognized as the person who kidnapped me. What was I going to do?

I tried so hard to wriggle free, but they had bound me really tightly to the chair and my efforts were futile. "Forget it, boy," laughed one of them. "You'll never escape. We'll just wait for your precious Lilly to come with the money."

Lilly! My eyes flew open. No! She couldn't come here! I didn't want to endanger her because of me...let alone give these jerks the ransom. "No! Don't harm her!" I tried to scream, but my words were muffled by the masking tape over my lips. They just laughed and taunted me, and I felt so weak and helpless. If only I could call for help...

"Hey!" A voice shouted boldly. I looked across to see LILLY run into the room, her hair flying out like a cloak. "Let him go!"

As the men circled her, I knew I would never see her alive again...

Lilly POV

My heart was pounding furiously as I ran into the room. I almost fainted when the three jerks surrounded me.

"You Lilly?" One of them said gruffly in a thick accent I couldn't place. My fists trembled with anger and fear as I took a step back and nodded slowly.

"Where's the money?" Another shoved forward and demanded. He was the person who I spoke to on the phone. "If you don't have it, the boy dies." His eyes fell on the envelope. "Is that the cash?"

"No!" I backed away instinctively. "You can't have it." I knew that the two million inside was the key to saving Ryan, but...but the look in Ryan's eyes told me to keep the money.

A man laughed, walked over to Ryan, and ripped off the masking tape. "Well, then. Any last words?" Ryan flicked his tongue over his cracked lips. "Lilly! Please...go now...NOW!" He screamed wildly, as loud as he could.

"Enough, boy," The man pressed a knife against his throat and I caught my breath. I would have been lying if I didn't say it had been incredibly scary. While circling Ryan, keeping the blade on his neck, he said, "So, this is your end. And all you have to blame, is that mindless girlie who refused to pay up. Even with your life at stake, she's a cheapskate. Who knew you YouTubers were so stingy even after earning millions..." He shook his head and laughed. "Say goodbye, boy..."

I knew I had to act fast. Quickly, I threw a punch at the nearest guy. Clearly not expecting it, he reeled away in shock. The other approached, ready to knock my lights out. I ran as fast as I could, gripped his arm and jammed my knee up between his legs, causing him to double over in pain. When I saw the first man recovering, I swung my leg at him, kicking him directly in the chest. However, he was really quick and managed to unleash a punch onto my jaw. I rubbed it, wincing.

When I saw his companion lunging at me, I braced myself. I made a running start, leapt up and slammed his head against the concrete wall with a resounding crack. He slumped down, unconscious. "Hey, you there!" shouted the third guy who was next to Ryan, and dashed towards me at lightning-speed. I gulped internally. He was twice as big and far, far more muscular than me. How could I stand a chance?

I backed up and found myself against the wall. My mind was racing. How could I defeat the monster? Luckily, I darted to one side, just in time to avoid his deadly punch as it slammed into the solid wall. Grimacing in pain, he shook the stinging out of his fist. I quickly retreated, to put some distance between me and him. My heart was slamming itself against my ribcage, I was so terrified that I couldn't make it, I couldn't save Ryan.

The man threw an impressive combo of punches, but I managed to duck my way out of them. This caused him to fly into a rage and run straight into me, but I locked my elbow so he couldn't hurt me, and raised my fist.

It happened in slow motion. Slowly, my knuckles met his jaw, and the impact was so strong he slid to the ground, writhing in pain. Swiftly, I ran to Ryan. He was in a corner, groaning in pain. Someone must have knocked him from the chair. I dug through my purse and found an unopened bottle of water. Unscrewing the cap, I raised it to his lips, spilling a little water in the process. I suddenly felt so exhausted from fighting all those men.

"What's this?" Someone drawled from behind me. I whipped round to see the first man, having recovered, picking up the envelope. I must have dropped it while attacking the kidnappers. He opened it, counting the dollars. "Wow! Thanks for the windfall, girl!" He chuckled to himself.

"You can't!" I screamed and ran towards him. I tried to swing a roundhouse kick, but he was able to force me onto the ground. "You can't run now. After you're dead, I finish the boy off." I saw the knife at his side and tried to shout, but he jammed a fist into my windpipe, cutting me off. As his blade was raised to open the first cut on my lip, I knew I would never make it.