Blood and Snow

Chapter Two

Belle felt her heart stop, and there was a chunk of ice in her stomach, 'I've been kidnapped by a murderer?! You have got to be kidding me!' The Puppet Master smiled cruelly, "Judging by your facial expression and the fact that your skin has turned paler, I'm going to say that you're not entirely taking this well?"

"What do you think?" She said in an anxious voice, "My head feels like it got hit by a brick, someone has already tried to 'demonstrate' how I'm expendable, and now I learn that I'm being held by a-!" She stopped suddenly, blood running cold. 'I'm dead I'm dead I'm dead I am so dead-!'

A light chuckle snapped her out of her panicked thoughts, and she looked up. The Devil was laughing. Laughing! Once he stopped, he looked at her again, "You are-... eh?"

He stopped and narrowed his eyes, then called out, "Flynn! Tyreke! Get over here!"

The others that were in the room instantly shrunk back, Happy no longer looked joyful. Flynn casually walked over, or tried to, but he couldn't hide the way his eye was wide with panic. There was the sound of running, then Tyreke burst through the door and was beside Flynn in two heartbeats. "Y-Yes, boss?" Tyreke asked nervously. "I was just talking with this one, as Flynn was here to see, when I couldn't help but see something that I hadn't noticed before."

The Puppet Master then grabbed Belle's face harshly and twisted it so that the two could see the right side of her face. It was quick and painful, but she didn't dare attempt to escape his grasp. He spoke again, his voice menacing, "What. Is. That?" He jabbed a finger at something on her temple that ran down the side of her head.

Flynn looked a little bit calmer, while Tyreke looked like he was about to fall to his knees and beg for mercy. "That be where I got 'er with me bat." the redhead stated. "It showed up after she fell unconscious!" Tryeke blurted in a panic, "I swear that Flynn didn't mean to hit her that hard, it was supposed to be the back of her head, b-but she turned around as he swung it at her!"

"A bruise as black as that is not acceptable!"

'A bruise?' Belle thought, feeling lightheaded again, 'Is that why my head hurts?'

"You could have given her a concussion, or blunt-force trauma! Have you checked for the signs?!" He exploded, his grip tightened on her face, "I told you that we needed her! I expected her to be fully conscious and aware of what's happening!"

Flynn didn't answer, and Tyreke looked sick as he stuttered over his words, "Y-You s-see... I-I-I-, We-, She-, T-They-!"

Happy jumped in with a concerned tone of voice, "She just recently woke up, Sir... Tyreke was checking her, then something happened and he and Baron left the room..."

The Devil narrowed his eyes, then looked at her, releasing his grip on her face, "Are they telling the truth, or is Happy trying to cover for them?"

Belle rubbed her face for a moment, trying to remember what happened only a few minutes ago, "... She's telling the truth. I remember— Baron, right?— he scared me."

Happy fidgeted, "It was a bit more than a fright, but—."

"That's it, I've heard enough." He interrupted, startling Happy. "Sir?" she questioned. "I'm now aware of what happened." He explained. He turned to Tyreke and said, "You may continue to make sure that she won't die, we need her alive, understood?"

Tyreke bowed his head, "Understood, Sir. Thank you, Sir, for your mercy."

Without another word, the Devil left the room, the billowing of his trench coat adding a dramatic effect to his exit. Flynn growled, then his voice softened, "BB, ye' want ta' go explorin'?"

The small boy looked excited, "Yay! Where are we going this time?"

"What ye' think about the west side?"

"That sounds great!" Bradley's joyful voice faded away as he and Flynn left. Belle watched after them, confused on the man's sudden behavior. "Flynn takes care of Bradley." Happy said out of the blue. Belle turned to face her, "I'm sorry?"

Happy continued with a smile on her face, "Bradley lost his parents when he was three, and his aunt treated him terribly. One night, Flynn and Baron were sent to kill someone in his neighborhood— don't ask— and Bradley's aunt was collateral damage."

"Oh..."

"Yeah," Happy said in a gloomy tone that soon returned to glee, "When Flynn found Bradley, he felt that he owed it to the kid that he finds someone to take care of him, and brought him back here. He was only supposed to be here for a few weeks at most, but most of us grew attached to him and he's been here since. Though, he never told us about his aunt until last year."

"Really?... That was nice..." Belle responded, surprised, "Is Flynn like a brother to Bradley?"

"More like best friend, I believe."

"I'm sorry to interrupt you girls," said Tyreke, carrying a gym bag with... tools? Instruments? Belle couldn't tell, "But I need to check... uhm..."

"Belle"

"Thank you. I need to check Miss Belle here for any signs of a concussion or trauma, now that you're awake and responsive."

"Okay! Bye, Belle!" Happy said, then left. Belle waved goodbye and looked around the room, only Fredrick, Tyreke, and Baron were there. 'When did Baron get back?' Belle wondered. Baron's stare bore into her own, and she unconsciously moved back from his direction. Fredrick noticed and said to Baron, "Calm down, you're scaring the poor woman."

"And I care why?" Came his response, irritation in his tone. "Because," interrupted Tyreke from beside her, "If you're scaring her, it's going to be difficult to get her to respond to me if she's focused on you. So stop brooding like a storm cloud over there and do something helpful, or stop intimidating her."

Baron huffed and looked away from Belle, muttering a "fuck you both" under his breath. Tyreke shook his head, then looked Belle in the eyes, "Alright! Let's get this over with, shall we?"