My breathing stopped. He knew I was not his daughter? Why had he not killed me?
"Dr. Lynn convinced me to keep you alive. I agreed. I was curious to what you would bring to the table. What knowledge you had stored in that little brain of yours. So far since your awakening, the only things you seem to know how to do is royally piss me off."
Curling my hands into fists at my side, I turned and looked at the monster I feared the most. "You should have just killed me the moment I woke up."
Stephan smirked. "I was too curious. It's not often I meet someone like you. Plus, I could have been wrong and you could have still been Evelyn." Stephan's dark hair blew around his face from the strong gust of wind. He seemed unbothered by the cold. He was probably just as cold inside as this weather was outside.
"Why are you here?" I bit out.
Stephan nodded his head. "Finally, you ask. I need Seth. Lead me to him." Stephan shoved my forward with his shotgun.
I kept walking, hoping Adam would see me and help. "I am not sure where he is. We think the assassinator took him."
Stephan laid his big hands on my shoulder to force me to a complete stop. "What did you just say?"
My heart beat picked up at his tone. He was calm. Too calm. I looked over my shoulder at him. "We saw the assassinator last night. We think he took Seth. He is missing."
The last thing I saw was Stephan raise the barrel of his gun before everything went black and my body hit the floor.
Chapter Twenty Six
Groaning in pain, I lifted my head and looked around. I was seeing doubles and my vision was blurry. Blinking my eyes a few times, my vision cleared. Stephan was sitting in a chair right across from me. His hands were folded in his lap and he was in a suit- as usual. I looked down at my bound wrists and feet. De Ja Vu. My mouth was taped shut.
"Good morning, sunshine." He said in a bland voice. Stephan looked down at his watch, then back at me.
I stared at him. Why had he not just killed me? What game is he playing now?
"I have one question for you." He leaned forward and ripped the tape off of my mouth. By reflex, I attempted to lift my hands and rub the pain away.
Stephan watched me struggle for a few moments. Leaning forward, he gave me a serious look. "I need to know where Seth is."
"I told you. The assassinator took him!" I seethed. A nervous tick took over and my knees began to bounce.
Stephan blinked. "Now we both know that isn't true. The assassinator, as you like to call her, works for him. He created her."
This time, I was the one who blinked. Did he just say the assassinator works for Seth? And that he is a female?
"No." Stephan shook his head at me. "Do not play stupid. You knew he worked for both sides, yet you kept your mouth shut. That's what you're trying to do right now. Play innocent and keep your mouth shut. I do not have time for your games." Stephan walked over to the metal door and banged on it.
Two guards walked in with Rugter in the middle. My jaw dropped when I saw him. He was supposed to be gone. Away from all of this. Rugter looked up at me. I flinched when I saw his battered, bloody face.
He mouthed to me that it was going to be okay. I gave one sharp nod of my head. Stephan wouldn't do anything further than that to him. That was his son. His own flesh and blood.
Stephan snapped his fingers in front of my face to get me to look at him. "Tell me where Seth is. Now."
Tears filled my eyes and slid down my cheeks. "I do not know." My voice broke.
Stephan frowned. "Wrong answer."
Before I could even open my mouth to scream, a soldier pulled a pistol out of his holster and shot Rugter. His body thumped to the floor. I started screaming. It was like I was in a nightmare far away and I couldn't find my way back. My screams echoed off of the walls. I couldn't peel my eyes away from Rugter's unmoving body. That was my fault. All of this was my fault. I choked on my sobs.
The two soldiers quietly left the room and closed the door with an audible click. It was just Stephan, Rugter's dead body, and me.
"Quiet," Stephan commanded. He seemed unbothered that his dead son's body was three inches away from his boot. "I told you I was serious. If you had just been honest with me, Rugter would still be alive."
I slumped in my chair, defeated. Closing my eyes, I imagined sunshine. Joy. Happiness. Anything but this dark room I was imprisoned in.
"Tell me where he is."
I ignored him. The darkness was closing in on me. I could no longer see the light. The hope. Nothing would ever be okay again. There was no point to keep moving, to keep trying. I was tired. I couldn't do this anymore.
"I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice." I heard footsteps thin a small click. "Good afternoon everyone. This is Stephan speaking. As you all may know, I said there would be an important message over the radio this afternoon and I would like to thank you all for listening. I would like to direct this message to Seth." Stephan paused. "Seth you know who you are. I have Brianna here with me. Would you like to say hello Brianna?" I stayed silent. "Brianna can be a little radio shy." Stephan joked. I lifted my head a little bit. What was he doing? "Seth you have forty-eight hours to come here. If not, well, you can say goodbye to Brianna. Just in case you don't think I'm serious, I will leave the recorder on."
Stephan's footsteps stopped right in front of me. My eyes flashed open when he touched my hand. He had a tool in his hand. Before I could grasp what he was doing, he ripped one of my nails off. My scream pierced the air. I looked down to see blood oozing out of the spot that my nail used to be at. Leaning forward, I began to dry heave.
Stephan kept up with his torture. He was relentless. He would not stop, no matter how much I begged and screamed. Eventually, I slumped in my chair and passed out from the pain. I was floating. Far, far away. All the pain, sorrow, and emptiness seeped away from my soul.
I could see myself. Not in the chair passed out from pain but in a car. Laughing and dancing around in my car listening to music. My face was beaming with joy. My blue eyes were bright with life. My lips were turned up in a never ending smile. I looked at the tattoos covering my arms. I forgot I had had full sleeves. When I tossed my head back and laughed, I saw something glint in my mouth. A tongue piercing. A woman was sitting with me, laughing while I danced in my seat. She had fiery red hair. Tears streamed down her face in joy as she watched me. Something clicked. I remembered her. She was my co-worker, Amanda. She and I were just beginning to be friends. I liked her. She was a sweet girl. She had a lot of love to give.
When the light turned green, I stopped my dancing and smiled as I began to drive. Just as I was crossing the intersection, a car coming from the left of me ran a red light and slammed into my car. I watched my car spin in circles before flipping upside down.
Everything seemed to stop. All the cars froze in place. All the people stopped moving. There was no sound. No smell. I walked over to my car. Getting on my knees, I looked inside. There I was. Dead. I was dead.
My dead body moved and looked at me. "Wake up," It said.
I gasped for breath and sat up. Stephan was standing in front of me with an empty bucket in his hands. "Good. You are awake."
My teeth began to chatter. He had thrown ice cold water on me. I was dead. I died. I saw myself die, yet here I was. Alive. Breathing. I had to have been in hell. I looked around me. At the stone floors covered with blood. At the dead body on the ground. Then finally, my eyes landed on the devil. There was no way this could not be hell.
"Kill me." I croaked. Send me back to the life I lost.
Stephan tilted my head back and placed a cloth over my face.
"Never," he responded, dumping more water onto my face.
I coughed as my lungs filled with water. My throat began to burn. Where was Seth when I needed him? Would he come and save me? Or would he leave me here to die? On and on it went. He would torture me until I passed out, wake me up, and do it all over again.
When I could no
longer fight back, he untied me. Without the chair, he could do more of what he wanted. He chained my wrists above my head and ruined my body. The pain was everywhere. I could no longer hold my head up. All I could do was sway back and forth.
"He will come for you. I know it." Stephan informed me before walking out of the room.
I openly cried but had to stop when it hurt my body. What did I do to deserve this? I couldn't feel my hands. I stared down at my bloody, ripped pants. I had one shoe on and one shoe off. I tried as hard as I could to fall asleep, but my brain wouldn't let me. Where was David? My dad? Surely he had to have heard me over the radio. Stephan was broadcasting it all over the country.
Where was Chantel? Where was Adam? A pang shot through my heart at Adam's name. He told me not to follow him. Why couldn't I have just listened to him? I wanted to be in the comfort of his warm embrace.
Everything that I had bottled up inside of me burst. I started screaming as loud as I could. My screams were filled with pain, anger, remorse, sorrow, and hatred. Everything I was feeling was escaping my body and coming out of my mouth.
After I lost my voice, I just hung there. Lifting my head, I looked at Rugter’s unmoving body. He was the lucky one. Would anyone save me or would they all leave me here to die? Was this the end of my life? Would I not get to view the sunrise tomorrow? Funny how we don't appreciate the things we have until something threatens to snatch it away. Do I give up or do I die trying?
My eyes landed on the chair a few feet away from me. Keys. Stephan left the keys on the chair. I looked at the door, then back to the keys. Should I try? What happens if I try and I fail? He will make it worse. Everything will get worse.
Without knowing I made a decision, I swung forward and knocked the chair over with my feet. My entire body shot up in flames. I groaned in pain. I had to die trying. Using my toes, I gripped onto the keys and dragged it closer. How do I get it up to my hands? Without letting my raw fear of failure overcome me, I used my toes to toss the keys upward. Catching it with my mouth, I breathed a sigh of relief. What were the chances of that? I cringed in pain as I pulled my body up. Tilting my head back, I grabbed the keys from my mouth.
I didn't need a prince charming to come save me. I could save myself. Unlocking my wrists from the handcuffs, I dropped to the floor. My legs gave out and I fell to the floor. I crawled to Rugter's body and checked for a pulse. There was none.
"I'm sorry," I whispered.
Using what little strength I had left, I forced myself to stand. I could do this. I made it this far. I could not give up now. Walking to the door on wobbly legs, I opened it. I was in a hallway. I couldn't hear any noises. It smelt like spring flowers in here. Breathing in heavily, I began to walk. When I passed a little table with a notepad and pen on it, I snagged the pen.
"If Stephan really wants to make some noise, he should let me have my way with her." A voice laughed.
I stopped walking.
"We both know I can make her scream louder." Another voice bantered.
I spun on my heels and walked in the other direction. I didn't want to find out who could make me scream the loudest. Blood trickled down my arms and splattered onto the hardwood floor. I needed to find a way out. I stopped when I reached a corner. Footsteps were coming down the hall.
When the person turned the corner, I struck and stabbed him in the neck with the pen. When he fell to the floor, I snatched the gun from his holster and shot him in the head.
"Hey!" Someone shouted from behind me.
Turning around I shot both of the figures running at me. I was going to die trying my best to survive. Pumped with adrenaline, I ran down the hallway and out a door. It led to the outside world. For a few seconds, the sun blinded me. I aimlessly ran out into the driveway. Running up to the military SUV, I swung the door open and jumped inside. Gun shots rang out into the air and hit the car.
I looked at the ignition to see the keys were inside. In a world like this, who left their keys in the ignition? Starting the car, I sped out of there as fast as I could. I drove down the driveway, then onto a dirty road.
Looking in the review mirror, I sighed in relief when I saw no cars following me. Had I taken their only car? I drove until the road turned onto a freeway. Where did I go now? What did I do now? With the adrenaline wearing off, I could feel all the aches and pains in my body.
Turning the radio on, I jumped when I heard Stephan’s voice.
"She's dead now Seth. You were too late."
I instantly shut the radio off. I was not dead. I was alive. Now everyone would think I was dead. I slowed the car down and came to a stop. Was that such a bad idea? I wouldn't have people hunting me down anymore. I had the opportunity to leave all this pain behind. Adam's smiling face crossed my mind. Could I hurt him like that?
I tried to imagine living the rest of my life in this world without him by my side and couldn't. He was the only light I could see in the darkness. He was my light. I had to find him. He was coming for me. I could feel it. Turning the car around, I drove back down the freeway. Turning onto the road that I came from, I drove the car off of the road. It was too big and made too much noise. Getting out of the vehicle, I walked closer to the entrance of the long road. If he were to come, he would come this way.
I crouched behind bushes and waited. And waited. Eventually, the sun set and the animals came out. There was no movement. No cars. No nothing. Maybe he was going to come from another way. Maybe he wasn't even going to come for me. Maybe he didn't even know where I was.
When I heard the gravel crunch, I lifted my head and looked. There was nobody there. Next, I did something really stupid. Something you would see in a bad horror movie stupid.
"Hello?" I called out into the darkness.
Nothing. Nobody was there. I sighed in relief and stood up to stretch my muscles out. My body protested with every movement I made. I put my handgun in the back of my pants and walked out into the road. The moonlight casted a soft glow on the world, giving it a beautiful glow. I titled my head back to the moonlight and took a deep breath. I almost felt at peace.
"You're alive." An all too familiar voice breathed from behind me.
I didn't think about my actions. I just acted on impulse. I sprinted into Adam's arms and burst into tears. He held my fragile body as I openly cried. I was back in the safety of his arms. I knew I could trust him to keep me safe. To save me from myself. His warm, musky scent enveloped me. Heat radiated from his body and warmed me up.
Adam began to walk, forcing me to walk backwards. He was leading us off of the road. "Shh." He murmured, holding me a little tighter. I looked up into his green eye that shined in the dark.
"He killed Rugter." I choked out.
Adam squeezed his eyes shut, pain flashing across his face, then reopened them. "I heard your screams." He whispered, shaking his head back and forth like that could erase the memory.
Guilt consumed me. "I'm sorry."
Adam brushed the tears away from my eyes. "Don't be." He paused. "How are you alive?" He pushed my hair out of my eyes and frowned when he got a good look at my face.
"I managed to escape. I waited over here because I knew you would come for me." I gave him a faint smile. I was right. He was going to come for me. I buried my head in his chest, not caring about my over display of emotions. Adam attempted to let go, but I moved closer.
He put his hands on my shoulders and pried me off of him. "Look. I am not the only one who came to save you." Turning me around, he showed me the long line of people I had missed. I was so caught up in Adam, I missed the huge crowd of people behind him. Rebels. All of them wore rebellion attire. I could see Chantel slightly smiling. Maybe one day she and I could be friends. I was surprised when I saw Bret, Adam's and Seth's brother mixed in with the group of people.
I looked back at Adam. "What are they all doing here?"
Adam gave me a heavy look. "When I heard you over the radio and the message Stephan left for Seth, I knew where you would be.
I rounded them all up. We are here to overtake Stephan's land and to kill him once and for all. The Unit has separated us and divided us until they had the upper hand. It's time we kill their leader and do the same for them. Without a leader, there will be chaos. They will be unorganized. We will bring our organization back and win this war once and for all."
I looked at all the people ready to go into battle. To fight for what they believed in. All those faces filled with hope and fear.
"Where is Seth?" I asked.
Adam placed his hand on the small of my back and led me to the group. "He left me a letter. He went on a mission and did not elaborate. He will be back. Eventually."
I felt like there was more to the letter, but I didn't push. It could wait. Right now we had a battle to fight and win. I could feel the hope blossoming in my heart and mind. I looked at Adam thankful for him. Once again when I was surrounded by darkness, he showed me the light.
Revolutionary Love (The Revolution Series Book 1) Page 26