Aaron. [Aaron Paul]

Eight.

When things started to seem too bland, things began happening.

Using my good arm, Aaron escorts me down hallways and hallways full of people that I didn't know were on this ship. They don't give so much as a side glance before scuffling ahead and disappearing into the crowd. What's wrong with them? Don't they see the desperation in my eyes? Looking at them timidly is all I can do, since I know Dylan (who is walking on my right side, not touching me) has a revolver tucked under his belt that Darren gave to him, though I know it's only supposed to scare me into not trying anything stupid.

"Hurry it up." Aaron scolds, tugging my arm

I look over at him with disgust on my face, but our eyes don't meet. He's set on staring forward. Instead, my eyes find his cheeks and scan over his scabs and bruises. They've healed somewhat, but still are gross to me, so I tear my curious eyes away and focus on not tripping over the slow-poke in front of me.

It would seem that everyone would be in a hurry to get off of this stupid boat since it's finally docked in some (unknown) place. But no; they decide to sleep-walk and let their feet drag.

I can't stand walking behind zombies, so purposely, I kick the ankle of the man in front of me. "Do we know how to walk?" 

Aaron grips my arm, and glares down at me, "Shut your mouth." 

I'm surprised he's acting so tough. Maybe he's scared somebody's watching him, possibly Darren, and would punish him if he had another slip-up.

"Let me ask you something," I say, ignoring Aaron's warning, "how come Darren only punished you when you were the one I was threatening to hurt? I mean, Dylan messed up just as much as you!"

I can feel Aaron tense up at the question, like he has the answer but is unprepared to confess. Now I need to know what his secret is.

I have to bribe him quickly. "I'll shut up if you tell me."

Aaron glances at me like he's surprised on how easily I anticipate to get my way. "Fine." he pauses, and I notice him do a swift observation of the small, bustling hallway. My guess is he's looking for any signs of Darren or any other member working for Xander (the Kind of Drugs, or whatever.) "It wasn't my first slip-up. Ya' see, once me and Dylan were told that Xander chose to take Robert's daughter -" he pauses, "Robert's your dad, right?"

I nod.

Aaron continues, "I had to get myself an opportunity to kidnap you..." I can tell the words taste bad coming out of his mouth. "Anyway, I guess I was only supposed to save you from the fire so you would get the impression I was cool. Voluntarily, I asked you out on a date, though. I wasn't supposed to. The idea didn't slide past Darren like I hoped it would."

I'm more than surprised. "So the date was all you?" 

Aaron produces a hesitant nod. "Now shut up."

I try to, but I have to ask one more question. "If you don't like the way Darren treats you then why are you working for him and Xander?"

"The money." Aaron answers. I should've guessed. "I'm going to tell you this, and I'm only going to say it once because I do feel bad for you and I know that you need to know about whats happening because it's a lot to take in; My mother has brain cancer, and yes, just like in the movies, the son got involved in some death-defying business to raise the money to pay for his bill. And even though he has enough money now, it's too late to drop out."

It takes me a while to process this through my small brain. I feel like a computer, sending an alert message "Over Capacity" to whoever owns me. There is way too many things going on up there I think it's unhealthy. My family thinks I'm dead, and my kidnapper feels deep sympathy for me. It's more than an overload.

Piercing through my large thoughts, an outdoor light up ahead makes everyone fall silent. Everyone walks faster now, excited to get out, just like me.

We finally exit the enormous ship, and it takes a moment to let my eyes adjust to the sudden sunlight. I squint through the heat as we all trail down a wooden plank that leads us to a large concrete field of something that looks like a parking lot with no marked parking spots.

"Uh, where are we, may I ask?" I ask Aaron, who looks around at the brown, filthy, old building around us. They're not very big, about as tall as a one-story house, but they're all either connected or inches apart.

"I have no idea." Aaron says, still looking around.

The crew all scatter out to their own lives, meeting up with friends and family that hold signs much like people looking for others at an airport. They hug and kiss, and speak in foreign languages, and then walk off on the road with no car of form of transportation. They just start walking away.

I look over both Dylan and Aaron's faces and they both seem just and puzzled as I am.

"So now what?" Dylan asks, watching the people laugh and stride away.

"I think we should get back on the ship and take me home to my family and forget this all happened. Just steal the money from my father or something. You know, I don't get why you all make this so difficult. Why couldn't you take all three of my family members. Then, I could be with my family, and you wouldn't have to worry about all the detective shiot that would go on back in my hometown." I'm desperate to be with my family. 

They ignore me, and then Dylan's face lights up. "Aye! Over there, mate." he nudges Aaron and points naturally over to a man in a tuxedo holding a paper that reads "Grace." I don't know how I didn't notice it before.

It scares me more than it should that so many people are involved in this whole thing, and they all rely on me. Some wimpy little girl, that's holding back tears of pain from her arm that's not even in a sling.

"Oh," Dylan says to me before we start walking over to him, "Yeah that's actually a good point. I'll have to ring that idea up with Darren."

I know I screwed up now, but only allow myself to focus on one thing at a time. First, I need a doctor to look at my arm and second, I need someone to tell me where the heck this ship just docked at.

We weave through the strange, non-American people until we reach the American man with sunglasses. He stands funny, and I finally realize it's because he has his legs shoulder-width apart and is standing stiffer than cardboard.

"Come with me." he says gruffly, tucking the sheet of paper into a pocket under the coat of his tux, and then leads us towards a shiny black Sedan. It's a bit dusty from the foreign roads, but I gasp inside my head.

Good God, this thing just got a whole lot more serious. I think, suddenly tensing once all three of us are piled into the back seat and the man locks the doors once he sits in the driver's seat.

"Buckle up." he says blandly, pushing the keys into the ignition. We all obey, and for some split second, I feel like I'm not alone. I feel like Aaron and Dylan have the same fear that I do; neither of them know where we are or where we're headed, and they're both only a year or two older than me. There's only so much a teenager can handle before it starts to get scary.

I wish that I could grip their shoulders and tell them that if we teamed up, we would get out of here and back to our families. Out of danger and fear, and out of all regret.

You're a Goddamn genius. I think, suddenly getting goosebumps as the car starts to roll forward.

(A/N: I know, I know, I can't leave you all with that. I'm probably going to start working on Chapter Nine right away, but I don't have a definite date that I'll update it. But I won't make you wait for as long as I have before..... Yay!!! Don't forget to comment, though! I love to hear what you guys thinkk!) ~writingslayer