Trading Heartbeats

Chapter 21:

Groaning loudly, Olivia's blue eyes flicker open. Looking down, she sees her wrists bound to the arms of an uncomfortable chair and can feel her ankles securely fastened to the legs. She gasped, closing her eyes tightly. It's just a dream. A nightmare. A royally fucked up nightmare.

She does her best to wake herself up. To ignore intense stinging burn in her left cheek, the ache throughout the rest of her body that makes her feel she was just thrown from a moving vehicle. She really tries.

Taking a deep breath, she hesitantly opened her eyes once more. She was in the abandoned barn she thought that wasn't far from town. Her heart sank as she took in her surroundings. She could feel her blood run cold as she looked to her right and seen the familiar figure of her best friend.

Alexis sat slumped over and unconscious in a matching chair bound in a similar fashion to Olivia. She quickly looked to her left and took a deep breath seeing Jamie, of course, bound and unconscious as well.

Olivia tried to steady her breathing and closed her eyes trying to figure out a way to get them out of here. Her mind tried to work out how she came to be here in the first place.

The last thing she can remember is sitting on her couch watching TV trying not to think about Dean. Not to call him. Then the next thing she can recall is Max. He was upset. Nearly hysterical. He had shown up at her apartment because he was upset over a fight with Jamie. Did he hurt Jamie too? She glanced over at Jamie and can't really see any inclination, other than the fact that she unconscious, that he harmed her, at least physically. She once overs Alexis and comes to the same conclusion.

She tried to run through the interaction with Max. Had she been seeing things? Did he call himself a...Werewolf? As she closed her eyes and can see the angry yellow eyes where his normally warm, brown ones were. Olivia's thoughts are cut short by the sound of two familiar voices, coming from elsewhere in the abandoned barn.

"What the fuck did you do?" One said, dripping with anger.

"I followed the plan, did my part, I got Jamie and Liv here." The other spat back.

"I don't recall fucking up Liv's face being part of the plan." The voice she now recognized as Brian, her ex-boyfriend, said sounding irritated.

"She tried to make a run for it and then tried to call that guy she's fucking who we think is a hunter." Max reasoned. "Once we turn her it will heal anyway, right?"

"That's-" Brian let out a deep sigh of agitation that Olivia was all too familiar with, "That's not the point. They're not going to want to join our pack if they're terrified...". Brian's voice trailed off with the sound of retreating feet.

Olivia couldn't wrap her mind around what was going on. So, she tried to focus on what she knew. She was kidnapped by one of her close friends along with her two other friends. Her ex-boyfriend was in on it. She was being held in an empty barn and they were planning on turning her.

She took a deep breath trying to make sense of what was going on. But, she can feel her vision blur and her breath becoming more shallow again as she slipped back into darkness.

***

"Mother Fu-" Olivia gasped, eyes snapping open at the feeling and sting of antiseptic and cloth pressed against her raw cheek. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw Brian smiling coldly down at her.

"I'm sorry about that, Livvie. Max wasn't supposed to hurt you. But he said you put up quite the fight. That's my girl." He smirked.

"I'm not your girl, you fucking psycho." Olivia's eyes closed briefly before taking a deep sigh as she tried to compose herself and reason with him. "Please, if you're doing to hurt me that's...fine. Just let Alexis and Jamie go. They have nothing to do with this." She pleaded, as her eyes darted to see her two, still unconscious, friends.

"They have just as much a part in this as you do. We need them to make the pack complete." Brian retorted, matter-of-factly as he ran a hand over Olivia's smooth cheek. She took in a deep breath through her nose to stop herself from retching at the gesture.

"Our pack? Brian, please, tell me what's going on." Olivia begged.

"Livvie, everything will be okay. I know this is crazy, I thought so too. But being a Werewolf is...indescribable. The power...the strength. You'll love it, I promise." Brian nodded tossing the rag in his hand in a small dish next to his foot.

"Brian, Werewolves aren't real..." Olivia countered, fear lacing her voice.

Brian stood up to his full height, taking a few steps back, and seemed to change, morph, in front of Olivia's eyes. His eyes became yellow. His muscles, more defined, and she gasped as she watched claws come out of his nail beds and his teeth become razor sharp and pointed.

"Yes, they are, and we could have done this sooner if you hadn't decided to become some random hunter's slut." Brian spat, narrowing his now yellow eyes. Anger flashing over his face.

"Hunter? What are you talking about?" Olivia furrowed her brow in confusion.

"That guy you've been fucking all weekend? Dan or something...Jesus, we don't have time for this." Brian sighed, before groaning softly and reverting back to his normal form. "Max and I will be back soon to start the process." He nodded and made his way out of the barn.

"Dean..." Olivia whispered into the stale air of her surroundings.

***

Once she could no longer hear Brian's, or anyone's footsteps or voices, Olivia looked over at Alexis as a tear rolled down her unharmed cheek. "Lex!? Alexis?" She called, hoping she could reach her friend before calling out Jamie's name as well.

She tugged at her restraints and let out a frustrated groan as she heard Alexis start coughing. Olivia's head snapped to her right and met Alexis' glazed over eyes.

"Alexis! Did Brian or Max hurt you? Are you okay? What happened?" She rambled the questions off to her best friend, nearly stumbling over her words. Alexis shook her head and cleared her throat.

"No, not...exactly. The last thing I remember was walking to my car after work, Brian was there. He...he said he wanted to talk to me about you. He said he was worried about you." Alexis said, weakly.

"How did he get you here?" Olivia asked, the panic growing in her voice.

"I-I don't know..." Alexis whispered.

Olivia sighed and closed her eyes. How were they supposed to make it out of here? She looked back over to Alexis and began to fill her in on what she knew. She told her about Max, Brian, and about seeing them both as Werewolves.

"That doesn't make sense, Liv. That stuff isn't real. I..." Alexis countered in disbelief as she shook her head.

"I've seen them both change. Brian said we were all going to form a pack once they've changed us." Olivia affirmed, her voice slightly trembling.

As Alexis opened her mouth, most likely to argue, Olivia's head snapped in the direction of the roaring purr of a familiar-sounding engine which she was almost certain belonged to a meticulously cared for 1967 Chevy Impala. Her eyes widened as they met Alexis' once more and she let out a sigh of relief.