ELLA

 

I’m muffled in the back of a van and my hands are bound behind my back. It’s dark, but I can vaguely make out the dim city streetlights just outside the windows. The man who threw me in the back left as soon as he did so, and though I can’t discern when he’ll be coming back, I know that he will be coming back, so I resolve to try and free myself, no matter the cost, before he can return.

I push myself backwards against the metal walls of the van and begin to search through the dark space for something to help assist me in freeing myself from the ropes holding my hands behind my back.

For the most part, the back of the van seems to be void of any tools I could use to help me escape, but I don't let that stop me from trying. My hands search against the hard floor, searching in vain. And when I don’t find anything, I decide to use the van as my means to escape.

In the far corner, right beside the double doors in the back, I notice there’s a protruding dent in the wall of the van. I shuffle as quickly as I can across the floor and make my way to the protruding metal, and quarter myself so that I can rub the ropes against the sharp and jagged metal. I grit my teeth as I try to cut through the thick ropes, and though I can hear the metal seesawing through the binds, I don’t seem to be making much headway.

That is until the ropes snap unexpectedly, giving away.

I feel the relief of my hands being unbound, but I don’t take much time to celebrate my freedom. Because I know that I’m not free yet, not quite.

I won’t be free until this is over, so I resolve to end this once and for all. I put both hands against the back of the doors and try to push the door open, but it doesn't budge. It's either locked from the outside or something is jamming the door.

I creak my head over my shoulder and look at the front seats.

I lunge forward, throwing myself over and in between the two front seats. I scramble to the passenger door and pop it open. As soon as I do, my feet land against the asphalt and I am quickly take off running. I can feel the wind in my hair, blowing through the long black strands.

But then something catches my attention, something out of the corner of my eye. I come to an immediate halt and twist my head of my shoulder so I can see the scene behind me. There are two men, one with a black bike helmet held in his hand and the other man standing over an unconscious body.

And I immediately recognize it as being Luke, with his trademark jeans and T-shirt look. My heart begins to race and my mind races even faster, as I try and figure out how I can save him. The old me, Ella Stone, probably would have run away, but I’m not that same girl anymore.

I left that girl behind in order to become someone else. And I haven’t always liked the new version of me, but it certainly beats the girl I used to be. Ella Gold will not run away. She’s going to fight.

I duck beneath the side of the van and take another quick look at the scene before me. The man standing with his back to me, the same man standing over Luke’s unconscious body, holds a gun at Luke. He looks in either direction, I imagine to make sure the scene is clear before he makes his next move. And then he cranes his head over his shoulders and looks back at me.

I drop down to my knees.

I huff and puff, my heart beating against my chest. And I pray silently under my breath that he didn't see me, because if he did, I’ve lost the upper hand of surprise.

“Get him into the back of the van with the girl.” The tall man standing above Luke directs the other man. And I can’t quite pinpoint who it is that’s talking, but I know that I recognize the voice. I know that it’s a voice from my past, but I cannot for the life of me figure out whom it belongs to.

I hear a man grunt, presumably as he lifts Luke’s body to drag him along the asphalt and towards the van. The footsteps and the body being dragged come closer and closer until they’re right on the opposite side of the van.

I try to steady my breathing so they can’t hear me, and I’m only able to do so by closing my eyes and trying to focus on the task at hand. And in a situation like this, my anxiety definitely isn’t doing me any favors. I lean slightly to my right and cock my head towards the back of the van as the man opens the door.

"… Rick, I think we have a problem.”

That’s my ah-ha moment. The name Rick filters through my mind, and I have no doubt that I know who is behind everything now. It’s David's older brother, the older brother that I had dated after I had caught David cheating on me in high school. Rick and I were never good together, and in fact, the only reason I ever dated him at all was to get revenge on David.

I think back to when I first met Luke and he had been so sure that whoever was sending me the threatening letters was someone from my past. I blew his concern off because for the life of me I couldn't figure out why someone from my past would want to send me those letters. Or maybe it was more out of trying to push away reality. I’m not one who likes to face my past, I find myself always on the run from it so it was easier to pretend as if my past didn’t even exist.

I can no longer pretend.

“She's gone,” the unnamed man says to Rick, who drops Luke’s body against the hard asphalt.

“Where the hell is she?” Rick screams, as he bangs his gun against the back of the van, landing with a thud that echoes and clatters through my ears. I can even feel the metal of the van vibrating against my body. I know that they’re probably gonna spot me at any second, so I formulate a plan in my head and kick it into gear as fast as I can.

As quietly as I can, I crawl towards the back of the van, fully knowing that they could see me at any moment. However, it’s a risk I have to take because I'm running out of time. I steady my hands against the van and take a peek at Luke to see that he’s quickly recovering and coming to.

His eyes roll to meet mine just as the unnamed man does the same. He’s quick to drop his hand to the gun on his hip holster, but he’s not fast enough to dodge Luke’s grasp.

Luke reaches outwards, grabs the man by the ankle, and rips him to the ground. Rick twists around on his feet and locks his eyes with me. When he had taken me, he was wearing a mask so I couldn’t see him, but now we can both clearly see each other. Each of us are nothing more than a figure of the past to the other, and though I never thought we’d never cross paths again, I certainly never expected it to be under these circumstances.

His eyes continue to linger on mine for another second or so and chills run down my spine. Everything begins to click into place… that it’s Rick who’s been sending me the threatening letters in the mail.

Though I’ve never been the bravest woman in the world, I leap into action. I jump to my feet and thrust my body against Rick’s, pushing just hard enough so that I can throw him against the back of the van. I’m under no delusion that I’m capable of overpowering him, but I’m at least hoping I can serve as a distraction long enough for Luke to handle the other man.

Rick flashes a cocky grin as his body lands with a thud against the back of the van, and then he snickers. He’s not afraid of me, and he has no reason to be, but I’m not the one he should be afraid of; that’s Luke.

I throw my arm against his neck to try to put him in a choke of sorts, but he throws my efforts off him with ease. He breaks forward, nudging my body with his until I trip backwards over a body, crashing down onto the hard asphalt with a crack. My eyes shift to the body in front of me, it’s Rick’s buddy knocked out, unconscious.

Rick’s eyes drop down and it’s like he freezes, his eyes narrowing in on the scene before him. By the time he realizes that Luke’s escaped, it’s too late. Luke comes from the side, diving against Rick who’s taken by surprise.

Rick is thrown to the ground and Luke lands on top of him with a barrage of blows against his head. As Luke continues to assault the man I used to know, I scoot back against the hard ground until I climb to my feet and watch on, helpless. Luke seems to have control of the situation, but I know, in these circumstances, things can change in a heartbeat.

Rick throws his hand upwards to try and grasp at Luke’s throat, but his hand is knocked away, but as my eyes search the scene before me, I quickly realize that it’s all a ruse. Rick wasn’t intending on choking Luke. He was merely distracting him, and though Rick’s face is bloodied and it would appear he’s losing the fight, I know that things are about to take a turn.

“Luke,” I scream out to warn him, but my yelling only serves to distract him. He cocks his head over to me, letting Rick out of his sight for just a split second. “Watch out!”

Luke spins his head back around just in time for Rick to retrieve a switchblade from his jeans. He thrusts upwards into Luke’s gut and cries out in pain before rolling sideways off of Rick and clutching at the wound in his stomach.

Rick cackles and sits up first before climbing to his feet, and while Luke is writhing beside him, Rick’s eyes zero in on me. I’m defenseless, left with only me, myself, and I. And he’s anything but. He’s stronger than he used to be, by the looks of it anyways, and he’s deadlier too. And now, he’s coming right at me and I’m defenseless. My gut instinct—the instinct that’s always telling me to run—tells me that I should run now, too. But though I know I stand no chance in subduing Rick and winning this battle, there’s something else telling me that I need to stick around.

There’s a pounding in my heart and a screaming in my soul, screaming and chanting that I can’t leave Luke here. I can’t leave him here like this. And even if I decide to run, I know there’s no guarantee I’ll be able to get away from him and he’ll probably just find me again anyways. I make the choice to fight, first by readying my fist and then squaring my shoulders as if I’m aiming a gun directly at him.

He just laughs though, seeing right through me. He sees that I’m not much of a threat, but I’m hoping that he’s wrong. I’m hoping that I can muster enough strength to take him down and end this once and for all. He approaches me slowly, step by step without missing a beat.

“What exactly do you think you’re going to do, Ella?” He comes to a stop, eyes me up and down, and runs his thumb against his lip. “You’re all alone and though this isn’t the way things were supposed to go down, it’s the way it’s going down now.”

“Yeah?” I decide to play his game, all the while trying to make sure he keeps enough distance from me so that my options remain open. My eyes shift to Luke bleeding out on the ground and then to the gun rested in his holster. I think back to my training with Luke and think that while that lesson was cut short, it’s my only chance of saving both Luke and myself. “And what was the plan Rick?”

“It’s simple,” he sneers, takes a measured step towards me. “Honestly? It was all supposed to be a prank.”

“A prank?” I scoff and shake my head in disbelief. “Scaring someone with a fake snake is a prank. Kidnapping someone is illegal.”

“For sure.” He nods. “But nobody was supposed to get hurt. It was to be an elaborate prank to scare you and nothing more.”

I just can’t wrap my head around the motive here. He’s either insane or he’s bullshitting me, and I don’t care which it is because it doesn’t change anything.

My eyes drop back to Luke and then travel to meet Rick’s. I swallow a nervous lump in my throat and it’s like I’m swallowing a block of ice. My heart races faster, pounds harder, and threatens to break right out of my chest. I’m not ready, I’ll never be ready, but it’s time I make my move.

Without thinking about it for a second longer, I race forward and right past Rick, not giving him enough time to react. From behind me, I can feel his shadow twisting in place as he turns to me. I dive down onto the ground and scoop the gun out of Luke’s holster. His eyes roll sideways as he grunts out in pain. I try and force a smile and be strong for him, but the truth is that I don’t know how this is going to pan out.

As fast as I can, I jump back to my feet and twist around to see that Rick is right in front of me. He’s so close that the barrel of the gun is pressed against his chest. I’d expect him to be scared for his life, but instead, he just offers me the same cocky grin as before.

“What the hell are you smiling about?” I grind out. “There’s nothing funny about this.”

“Maybe.” He shrugs, stepping closer to me and chewing into his bottom lip. “But I always like to look at the positive side of things.”

“The only thing you’re looking at is the barrel end of a gun, and unless you get the hell out of my way, it’s going to be the last thing you ever see.”

“Don’t you think you’re getting a little carried away?” he questions with a soft chuckle, as he begins to raise his hands over his head. “This really only was supposed to be a prank.”

“Yeah…” I take a few steps back from him so that I can gain some enough distance so that he won’t be able to knock the gun out of my hand or something. If he tries to do anything, I know that I’ll need to shoot him. I just don’t know if I’m ready to take a human life, no matter the circumstances…

But as he takes another step towards me to equal the space I’ve put between us, I’m realizing I might not have a lot of options…