Dead End >> c.h au

Chapter Six

        Ashton was falling. He could hear the wind rushing past his ears. All he could think about was Sally and how he was taken from her. He needed to know she was okay. He didn’t know how long he had been falling when he landed heavily and painfully in a room he couldn’t see.

“Scooter?” Ashton immediately called out into the void. He couldn’t see anything. The darkness around him was denser than any other he had ever experienced. The air was thick and hot and hard to breathe. “Scooter?” Ashton called again, louder this time. The hard ground beneath him was damp and cold. He wanted to know where he was. He wanted to know where Sally was.

                “Ashton?” a frantic voice called. “Ash it’s Michael.”

                “Holy shit, Mikey,” Ash breathed out. He sounded relieved but he hadn’t calmed down in the slightest. He whipped his head around trying to find Michael, but to no avail. The harder he tried to see, the darker the room seemed to get.

                “What the hell is going on? What happened to Luke, he’s gone!” Michael’s voice cracked. His words were raw, like he had been crying. Ashton wanted to cry, too.

                Ashton couldn’t find any words to say. He didn’t have the answer. He was looking for it himself. “We should have listened to Calum,” he muttered. It was all he could manage. “We should have listened to him.”

                “Ashton!”

                Ashton’s head whipped around to the sound of his name. It was Sally’s voice. “Scooter!” he called out. She needed his help.

                “Ashton, help me!” Sally cried. She sounded like she was in pain. She shrieked incredibly loud and Ashton immediately tried to leap to his feet, but he was chained to the ground.

                “Scooter, where are you?” Ashton yelled again.

                “Ash, Sally’s not here,” Michael told him.

                Ashton ignored him. “Scooter! Follow my voice.”

                Sally kept screaming. She was sobbing and Ashton could hear the sickening sound of skin against skin. Someone was beating her. He needed to get to her, he needed to save her. She was his best friend, his sister. He needed her.

                “Ashton, she’s not here.”

                “Yes she is!” Ashton yelled. “I can hear her, she’s calling me. Scooter!”

                Ashton heard movement to his left and assumed it was Michael trying to get to him. “Ashton, no one’s calling anyone. The only one talking is you.” Michael crawled along the floor, feeling his way with his hands. He followed Ashton’s voice. Ashton cried out for Sally and Michael’s heart broke. He had never heard him so desperate.

                “Stop! Stop hurting her, you bastard! Scooter, come on!” Ashton bellowed. His voice echoed and bounced off the walls and Michael guessed they were in a basement. The room felt massive. He felt another tear slide down his cheek.

                “Ashton, no one’s hurting her,” Michael said, and he wished he was right. For all he knew someone was hurting her, badly. He had no idea where she was. He thought of Luke and prayed she hadn’t ended up like him.

                Something flickered in the corner of the room and illuminated the space for a fraction of a second. A pale, blue, eerie light shone on Michael and he turned around sharply to see it. However, whatever it was had left before he saw it. He squinted, trying to see through the darkness. The flickering happened again, behind him. Michael quickly turned around, but he missed it again.