Double Crossed

Chapter 23~Drake

"Aria!" I shout her name desperately as I see her hit her head after Rick throws her to the ground. I admit it. Aria's guts were impressive. Rick is a freaking giant next to her, yet Aria decided to attack the guy. She did a pretty good job too until he recovered quite quickly.

I stare wide eyed at Aria's still figure on the ground. Her eyes are closed and there's a trail of blood trickling from underneath her hair. I want nothing more than to hold her in my arms and keep her safe but I'm strapped to this blasted chair.

Sanchez just looks down at Aria like her being unconscious is just a minor inconvenience, not a cause for concern.

"I am going to kill you," I threaten menacingly. Sanchez just laughs, not taking me seriously since he sort of has complete control over me.

"Take her back," Sanchez tells Rick who throws Aria over his shoulder and walks out of the room.

"Your girl is going to pay for you not talking," Sanchez says as he leans close to me. All of the shallow humor is gone from his eyes. "I'll be back later."

He leaves shortly after Rick. When the door closes I let my head fall tiredly. I've been here for days. Sanchez has been constantly asking me where those files were but I honestly have no idea. I was sure they would have found it right away considering they were just in my backpack. So when Sanchez came in asking where they were I thought he was joking.

That was the worst part. I had no idea, but he didn't believe me. Every interrogation would leave me more beat up than before. Sometimes Sanchez would stop before I got knocked out but not often. I just wished I would die already. I had nothing more to live for. But life isn't fair. When I want to die my body just keeps on fighting.

I didn't care if he beat me to death until Sanchez decided I needed a little more motivation. I guess he saw I had no care for my life anymore. He smiled sinisterly at me and what he said made my blood turn cold. "Maybe little Aria can get you talking."

This is why I didn't want to bring her into my life in the first place. I wasn't there to protect her either. Aria had no idea what was coming. Days passed since Sanchez threatened me with Aria and I began to hope that maybe she was smart enough to get away in time. That hope quickly dissipated when I heard her utter my name earlier today.

The look Aria gave me was like the ones she used to give. Ones full of nothing but care and concern. I didn't understand why considering how we left things. Plus seeing her in front of me only made me feel like I truly lost everything. I couldn't do anything as they hurt her, only scream her name desperately.

Aria was so strong though. Even through the pain she was comforting me. She mustered a smile and told me she knew everything. The only way she could've was if Megan and Martin told her. Gratitude filled me. They kept her safe over the past few days but it still wasn't enough. Then Aria told me to hold myself together and gave me a meaningful look. For the first time since I was brought here I began to feel hopeful. Were Megan and Martin really coming here to our rescue? It makes sense. They wouldn't let Aria go without having some plan to get her back. Still I can't believe they risked Aria even if it was to get me back.

Now that Sanchez is gone again all I have for company are my thoughts. They're thinking about Aria and desperately hoping for a miracle. Right now that's the only thing that could save me. I'm so exhausted that despite the situation, I doze off to sleep. However I'm jarred awake by the most terrible sound that I could never forget. I don't know if it's been minutes or hours later, but I can hardly think over the sound of her screaming.

"Please!" she shouts. I can't see her but I can hear her voice through the concrete walls. I can hear the pain in it as clearly as if she was right in front of me.

"Drake didn't talk. He doesn't care if we hurt him but I think he cares if we hurt you," I hear Sanchez say.

Then Aria yells a scream of agony. It distorts her voice so that I almost don't recognize it. I'm shouting her name again but she doesn't respond. She never says anything to me but inhuman yells. My mind goes blank as it struggles to block out the terrible sound. But no matter what I can't. My eyes are shut tight and my body is hunched over tensely.

I hear the door click open and footsteps walk in, but I don't look up. I'm still in the same position as I was before. I hear Sanchez call my name. I force my eyes open and slowly raise my head. All of the fight has left me.

"How are you doing?" Sanchez asks with a smirk.

I just continue to stare lifelessly at him. I don't even have enough energy to be mad. I used all of my energy blocking out Aria. "What did you do to her?" I whisper.

Sanchez shrugs as he pulls a chair and sits down across from me. "Not much. She might have a couple cuts, burns, maybe a broken leg."

My head falls. This is all my fault. Aria got hurt because of me. I couldn't protect her.

"You want to talk now?" Sanchez asks.

I look up at him again. "I sent the files ahead of time," I lie. I've told different lies in an attempt to satisfy Sanchez but he was able to refute each one. This time he looks at me carefully, trying to detect the lie.

"Where did you send it?" Sanchez asks.

"To a P.O. box that belongs to Martin Robinson," I reply. I'm hoping that by the time they look into it, Megan and Martin will be here by now. I'm all out of ideas.

Sanchez nods once and leaves. I fall asleep again half hoping that I won't wake up. I wish I just died the night my parents were murdered. I always wonder why those people didn't just kill me. If they did I wouldn't be ruining people's lives like this.

I can't escape the sound of Aria's screaming even when I'm asleep. It only makes it worse because it's magnified by a thousand, and in my dream I have the chance to save her but I can't. I see Sanchez standing over Aria who is kneeling on the ground. Blood is running down the side of her face. The only clear spots are where tears ran down through the grime.

"Kill me," she begs. "Please."

Suddenly I see a gun in my hand that I didn't have earlier. Sanchez is just standing there waiting to see what I will do. Aria is looking at me imploringly. I raise my arm hesitatingly. I'm selfish. Killing Aria would be an act of mercy but I don't want her to leave me.

I hear people calling my name behind me. It's Megan and Martin. They're running towards us. We're saved. But my arm is rising on it's on accord and won't stop. It stops aimed directly at the middle of Aria's forehead. Megan and Martin are yelling not to shoot. Someone grabs my arm but it's too late. I pulled the trigger. Aria falls over to the side, a bullet in her head and eyes staring but seeing nothing.

"You killed her," Megan says in shock. The disgust is clear on her face.

My arm begins to rise again without my knowledge. This time it's aimed at the side of my head. I don't try to stop it though. I want to die. I've never wanted anything so much before. I close my eyes as the gun fires.

My eyes fly open. A gun didn't go off. I'm not dead. Aria is nowhere to be seen. It was only the door slamming against the wall. Sanchez is standing there looking furious but I'm not paying attention to him. There's a slight commotion outside. People are walking briskly down the halls and shouting things at each other.

"Check the west end!" I hear someone yell before the door closes.

Sanchez stalks closer and backhands me. My head whips to the side and my cheek begins to sting. I can feel warm blood trickling down. "Who's here?" he growls in my ear.

That must be Megan and Martin. They made it after all. Aria was right. I close my eyes and shake my head. "How am I supposed to know? I'm inside here. Not out there."

That earns me another hit but the pain isn't new. Sanchez doesn't say anything. He just takes a bandana out of his back pocket, stuffs it into my mouth, and wraps another one before tying it securely in the back of my head.

Then he stands by the door and waits with his gun. We both stay there waiting for the inevitable, and I can't do anything about it.