Kidnapped {Becknessa}

Chapter Sixteen

Vanessa continued to run down the dark stairway. Her heart was pounding. Her adrenaline was pumping. The stairway was growing darker, so it became difficult to see where she was stepping. Not knowing that the end of the stairs were approaching, Vanessa fell fowards, twisting her previously injured ankle. She winced as pain shot up her leg. But at this point, Vanessa didn't care about her ankle. All she wanted to do was get out of there. Using all her strength, Vanessa pushed herself up into a standing position and slowly started to walk. She eventually began to pick up her pace, to start jogging.

The tunnel began to feel endless. Vanessa furiously wiped a stray tear sliding down her cheek. Eventually, the light from the end of the tunnel became visible. Vanessa frantically began to run for the light. She sprinted through the exit and began to make her way through the dense forest outside.

Vanessa was free, for now. She continued to run deeper into the woods. Her ankle was throbbing immensely.

Thud!

Vanessa tumbled to the ground. She tripped on a root of a tree, as her ankle gave out. The pain was unbearable. Vanessa groaned and writhed in pain. She began to feel dizzy. Vanessa eyes began to roll back, and her vision blurred out.

———

"Over here! The footprints go this way!" an officer called back. A group of police officers and Beckett ran through the woods, searching for Vanessa. Earlier while investigating, an officer found footprints appearing to come out of a tunnel. The officers continued to follow the trail that the footprints had left.

"Wait! Somebody call an ambulance!" an officer at the front of the group yelled. The group skidded to a halt. It became clear to Beckett why they had stopped. His heart dropped when he saw Vanessa's limp body sprawled out on the ground. He immediately ran to her side.

"Vanessa? Vanessa? Can you hear me?" Beckett said gently, his voice tortured with worry. A stray tear fell down his cheek. Beckett grabbed Vanessa's limp hand and squeezed it. Minutes later, an ambulance arrived.

"Mr. Bradstreet? The paramedics are here." the officer said, quietly. Beckett didn't respond. His only focus was Vanessa. The officer gently pulled him away from her. Beckett fought to stay by Vanessa's side.

"No! Please! I need to be with her! I need to–"

"Don't worry, we'll be right behind the ambulance. Let the paramedics do their jobs." the officer calmly said. Beckett stepped back. The paramedics quickly hooked Vanessa up to different machines, and whisked her away into the ambulance. The other officers stayed to investigate, while Beckett and the police officer ran to their car.

"She has to be okay. She has to." Beckett thought to himself.