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"Ember," Scarlett wheezes. "I can't breathe." Her breaths come out in heavy pants as she starts to hyperventilate.
"Listen to me, Scarlett. Slow your breathing down."
"I can't," she rasps, "breathe."
"Yes, you can. Now concentrate on my voice. Slow, steady breaths. In through your nose and out your mouth. Come on. Again." We do this several more times together before I hear her breathing even back out. "That's good, Scarlett. You're going to be okay."
"Do…do you really believe that?" Her question comes out shakily.
I want desperately to keep reassuring my sister everything will be okay, but the truth is, I'm not so sure. I believe in Blake and the club and in them finding us. I'm about to tell my sister when heavy footsteps are followed by a scraping sound. "Look at what we have here, boys."
I begin to thrash from side to side and try again to free my wrists.
"We have a wildcat on our hands," someone chuckles.
Suddenly, the covering over my head rips off, and I'm blinded by a bright light, causing my eyes to water. Once my vision adjusts, I ignore the three men standing before me and seek out Scarlett. She's about ten feet away, tied to a metal chair like I am, with a black hood over her head. Even from where I sit, I can see her body tremble with fear and her chest's rapid rise and fall. One of the guys jerks his chin and orders his friend to remove the hood over her head. She cries out as the light blinds her. I wait for her to find me, and when she does, her eyes widen. "Ember!"
"It's okay, Scar."
My sister starts to cry even harder. "Let us go! Please!" She tries to wiggle free from the rope bound at her wrists.
"Don't worry. We're going to let you go." I watch a large man with a greasy ponytail tied at the nape of his neck stalk toward Scarlett. "Not before we have a little fun first." Then, without warning, he backhands her across the face.
"Leave her alone, you piece of shit!"I scream. Bile rises in my throat when blood trickles from the cut on her lip. My sister has never been hit before, and here she is, having this vile man put his hands on her. "You're dead," I seethe.
My threat has the three men roaring with laughter. "Yeah, what are you going to do? It looks like you're in no position to be makin' threats."
"Fuck you, asshole."
I don't see the first strike coming; I only feel immense pain radiating across my cheek. Before I can recover, another blow strikes my face. This time, my vision blurs around the edges. Large hands wrap around my throat, constricting my windpipe. Pressure builds behind my eyes as I thrash, fighting to breathe. Just before I black out, I'm gasping, sucking air into my lungs. Laughter, mixed with sobs, fills the space around me. "Scarlett." I take another shuddered breath and lift my head to look at her. Unfortunately, another round of brutality begins before I can make eye contact.
I hear someone calling my name, but it's muffled, with a slight echo like I'm in a tunnel. It takes all my strength to force my eyes open, and my vision is blurry as I try to make out the figure leaning over me.
"Oh god, Ember. You have to wake up. Please wake up."
"Scarlett?" I groan.
"Yes, Em, it's me. We have to get out of here before they come back."
"Before who…" I begin to ask when, like a freight train, my memory comes flooding back. Scarlett and me shopping. The lady with the stroller. Being taken. That man hitting Scarlett. Then that same man beating me. "Scarlett!" I shoot straight up and immediately regret it when I'm suddenly overcome with extreme nausea. Vomit rises in my throat, and without warning, I lean over and release the entire contents of my stomach onto the dirty concrete floor.
Beside me, my sister is sobbing. "Ember, what do I do? We need to get you to the hospital."
Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I ignore the pounding inside my head and how every inch of my body screams in pain. "How long was I out? And when did they leave?"
"I don't know. Maybe thirty minutes." Scarlett sniffles. "Can you stand?"
"I think so. I need you to help me up." I grab Scarlett's hand. Taking a deep breath, I fight nausea and dizziness to get my feet underneath me. My sister bears as much weight as she can to help me stand, and I grit my teeth against the pain in my ribs. "How did you get loose?" I ask.
"One of those assholes cut my hands free before they left. I worked my legs free, then helped you. Oh, God, Em, I thought you were dead," she sobs. "They were hurting you so bad. They just kept on hitting. I didn't think they'd ever stop." She wraps her arms around me.
"I'm so sorry I got you into this," I tell her. "But don't worry. We're going to get out of here." I look around the empty warehouse. "Let's go." Scarlett and I make our way outside. The parking lot is vacant, and I don't recognize the area. It's pitch black, aside from the blurry streetlight in the distance.
"Where are we?" my sister asks.
"I don't know." Another bout of dizziness washes over me. "Let's head in that direction." I point toward the light. If we can reach the main road, we can flag down some help.
"What if those guys show up?"
