you’ve never been a particularly superstitious person. you don’t panic at the sight of a black cat, you don’t worry about broken mirrors, and your only concern when opening an umbrella inside is that you might knock something off of its shelf. whatever rumors you’ve heard about these woods and what supposedly inhabits them were scoffed at, the warnings your grandmother gave paid no mind. there is no such thing as ghosts, after all, only tall-tales conjured to scare children, and keep drunken teenagers from trespassing.
still, you can admit that there’s something uncomfortably eerie about the absolute silence that overcomes the forest now. one moment, it’s filled with the cicadas’ cries and the birds’ croons, and then—nothing at all. everything stops, sans the rustling of the trees in the icy breeze and the crunch of rotting leaves under your boots. like the forest itself is holding its breath.
your first thought is coyotes, maybe some other predator, something you can’t see but the creatures that call this place home can. would a pack dare wonder so close to a human campsite? is it not known that they’re more afraid of you than you are of them? what does one do if they’re being stalked by a coyote, anyways? you cannot, for the life of you, remember.
the back of your neck prickles, your stomach churning, like someone, something, might be watching you. you’re being dramatic, you think. you’re tired, and hungry, and you spent the last three hours stuck in a car with a very chatty, excitable posse. you’ll feel better once the fire’s going and you’ve got a few drinks in you. you need to let loose, relax a little. that’s the whole point of this trip.
there’s no better way to take a load off than to separate yourself from the chaos of everyday life and enjoy the luxuries of nature — at least, that’s what sam, your friend and colleague, said when you tried to get out of it. you reckon he just wanted an excuse to get plastered and go skinny dipping, but didn’t want to do so alone. thus, your entire friend group was roped into it, you included.
somebody calls your name, and some of the tension bleeds from your shoulders. vanessa, likely wondering why you’re taking so long to find firewood. she must’ve followed you, as the shouting is closer than it’d be if she were still at camp. she’s always been the worrier of the crew.
“coming!” you don’t think twice about answering, not wanting to give the poor girl a heart-attack so early on in the vacation, turning around with your arms full of fallen branches, trying to ignore the silence that has yet to let up. vanessa doesn’t respond, but you swear that, for the briefest of moments, you can hear someone laughing in the distance. sam must’ve broken into the cooler in your absence, too impatient to wait.
you go back the way you came, cursing about the setting sun making it near impossible to see where you’re going. oddly enough, you don’t run into vanessa on the way—you thought she would have waited for you. maybe she got cold, or was simply intimidated by the forest. you can’t blame her.
the closer you get to your campsite, the more uneasy you grow. even now, it’s silent. the laughter’s ceased, there’s no chatter, no music on the radio, nothing.
and then a piercing scream, from your own throat, as you breach the tree line and find your friends dead in the dirt, eyes open and throats torn out. sam, vanessa, tatum, and ryan — all of whom were alive and well when you left them not ten minutes ago.
your findings tumble from your arms, knees buckling as you gawk at the horrific scene before you. not just dead, but mauled. how did you not hear them screaming? how did it happen so fast? you can’t make sense of it, any of it. your vision tunnels, and it’s all you can do not to hit the ground.
a twig snaps behind you, and you whirl around so quickly you almost give yourself whiplash.
a man, well over six foot and twice your size bodily, blond hair matted with blood, his chin slick with it, standing mere feet away from you in the same direction you just came from. his face is still as stone, sharp brown eyes boring into yours, bright with something like amusement.
you’ve never understood why deer freeze when caught in headlights until this moment. his presence renders you immobile, senseless, his gaze weighing you down like a tangible thing. it’s not until he moves, tilts his head ever-so-slightly, as if mocking you, that you find the will to run.
you bolt in the opposite direction, into the trees, not daring to glance back. the car’s no use to you, not with the keys still tucked in tatum’s pocket, and you lost service twenty miles before setting up camp. it’s only you out here. you, and him. you think so, at least.
until you hear it, the laughter, coming from either side of you, getting louder and louder the further you run. you try to escape it, dodge and weave with no real direction in mind, but it’s everywhere. in the awful shadows that blind you, the bushes that slice at your ankles, the trees towering over you. for a moment, it almost sounds like sam’s. then, it shifts, turns into something garbled and inhuman, something wicked.
something grabs at you, snags the back of your jacket and sends you sprawling across the unforgiving ground, forestry biting into the silky flesh of your palms. somebody coos, seemingly sympathetic, maybe even encouraging. you don’t look to see what, or who, it is. you force yourself back to your feet, and you keep running.
your lungs burn and your head spins, legs aching and throat sore with all the cold air you’ve been gulping. you can’t keep this up, and you’re sure that they, whatever they may be, know it. they’re toying with you now, waiting for you to tire.
just when you think you’ve reached your limit, that you can’t possibly play this game any longer, the trees part to reveal a dimly-lit cabin in a small clearing. hope blooms in your chest like the warmth from that fire you never got to light.
you barely make it to the front door, your legs giving out as you climb the front porch steps, pounding on the aging wood so violently that it splits your knuckles. you brave a glance over your shoulder, but find it pointless. there’s nothing there—the woods are quiet once more. that somehow makes it even worse.
a man opens the door, and you all but throw yourself at him. he’s big, burly, but soft around the middle, with dark hair, a thick beard, and a pair of eyes so blue that they’d be startling if it were not for whatever is waiting for you beyond the trees.
“please! please, they killed my friends! they’re chasing me!” you must sound mad. absolutely off your rocker. you’re practically dead weight as this stranger grabs you by the biceps, hauling you to your feet with little effort at all.
“shh-shh-shh, easy, you’re alright,” his voice is gentle, steady despite the way you’re sobbing, gasping, trembling in his arms. if you weren’t so distraught, you might have recognized that as suspicious. alas, the adrenaline drowns out any rationale.
a warm breath fans across the back of your neck, and you’d scream if you weren’t so out of breath. you whip around, and come face to face with the man from the campsite, close enough that you can smell the remnants of your friends on his breath. you choke, trying to scramble away, but those warm hands that helped you mere moments ago grip your shoulders so tightly you know they’ll bruise, his voice still so soft in your ear. “it’s okay, love, simon won’t hurt you,”
“no, no, no, no,” how could you be so stupid? they herded you, like a lamb to the slaughter, and you let them.
you crumple, though he doesn’t let you hit your knees again, as two more bodies emerge from the darkness. the first, with a windblown mohawk, and a smile that splits his face in two, laughs at you, teeth too sharp to be human. the other, a brown-skinned man with a face you might’ve once thought handsome, looks almost sorry when you catch his eye. almost.
“don’t mind them,” the man in the house soothes, petting your hair in a poor imitation of tenderness. “they can get a little overzealous. they mean well, though,”
the handsome one clicks his tongue, eyeing you with pity. “best get it inside before it collapses, cap’n. it looks sick.”
simon scoffs, lip curling in indignation. “if you two hadn’t insisted on chasing it through the fuckin’ woods…”
“god forbid we have some fun too,” mohawk butts in, his scowl doing nothing to dampen his glee.
you think you hear their captain scolding them, but it’s hard to tell, as your vision fades to black, and you go limp in his arms.
She finds herself in bushes and brambles of thorns that catch on her skin and clothes. It's a miracle they're mostly still intact.... not for long though, if this keeps up.
A gleam of dark red catches her eye, and she pauses to inspect the berries. The girl grimaces. She almost died the last time she ate those.... don't want to make that mistake again.
.... she's so hungry, though... and somehow, there hasn't been a town for so long that she doesn't remember. Days? Weeks? She's not sure.
Screw it, she thinks, grabbing the berries and popping them in her mouth. She almost gags as the bitter flavor engulfs her tongue, but a quick swallow leaves her mouth tasting sweet.
She carries on walking, counting down the minutes until that awful stomach ache starts to settle in again... last time it took about half a day.
And half a day, it takes indeed. Though it's probably shorter, due to the horrid heat pounding down on her back in endless waves. Her knit cardigan doesn't help either... but she refuses to take it off. It was from her brother.
From Simon.
Simon... I have to find Simon.... I have to get home.... she thinks, holding her stomach. Somehow, it keeps her going.
The shrubbery around her starts to look a bit more dead the next time she looks around to try and distract from the pain. Its almost too dark to see, only illuminated by the moon peeking through trees upon trees above. The sound of bugs and leaves crunching beneath her shoes is the only sound to try and ease her mind, though failing to fully pull her away from the stomach ache.
Her mind grows hazy, and vision starts to falter. Thoughts blur into nothing more than slurred, slow words as she falls, scraping her face and hands on the ground below.
The girl gags, crying out as a puddle of sick splatters next to her. Even in the dark, she notices it's red.... not orange-ish red like the berries before, though. No, this is more of a blood kind of hue... a silvery taste and more red in the saliva oozing down her cheek confirms it.
She tries to pull herself forward, as if Simon is right there, as if she could reach him and he'd help her if she went just a bit further.
The vision of someone standing in front of her starts to form through the black spots.... oh great, she's hallucinating.
... weird, she thinks.
Simon looks.... really, really small. Like a kid. Maybe I'm hallucinating.... his skin is really pale though, wow....
'Simon' kneels down, as a wordless voice drifts through the girl's ears. A confused, young, girly voice that definitely isn't Simon.
The last thing she remembers is the face of a child with piercing blue eyes, eyes that study her as all vision goes blank, and her body starts to succumb to the berries....
All of a sudden, she feels okay.
An odd light greets her eyes, which open and focus to the sight of a slightly flickery light attatched to a slow-spinning ceiling fan, almost too slow for the girl to feel any breeze.
She rubs her face a bit.... the dirt and stinging scratches that once covered her nose and cheeks are now replaced with a tough fabric-y texture that she recognizes as a bandage.
.... what happened to me? Where am I? Did I die? She thinks. This isn't how she imagined the afterlife.
She sits up, a green blanket sliding off her. The room is small, worn down, and hastily cleaned. The smell of bleach greets her nose as she notes the peeling paint on the walls, and stains on the ground that clearly have been there for a while. The bed she's laying in is relatively comfortable at least... and the sheets, blanket, and single pillow aren't TOO badly stained, nor do they smell too bad.
Still, the girl wrinkles her nose in disgust.... whoever lives here sucks at maintaining a clean home.
Speaking of which... a flash of black over the foot of the bad catches her attention, and she leans forward a bit to get a better look. A familiar, childish face peers up at her from the dolls.
"Hello!" She chirps, standing up and leaning on the bed.
"Um.... hi there?" The girl replies, forcing a half smile. "Who are you...?"
"I'm Alicia! What's your name?"
Alicia...? That's a cute name.... she thinks. The girl pauses for a moment before speaking again.
"Alice."
"Hi Alice! How are you?"
Alicia crawls onto the bed, staring at Alice curiously. Her eyes are a vivid ocean color, to an almost fake-looking degree. Her hair is straight and a little frizzy, but it seems to be brushed and mostly clean.
".... confused. Where am I...? You didn't bring me here yourself, did you?" She asks, touching her own hair and expecting to feel her fingers constantly getting ensnared by knots.... surprisingly her fingers glide smoothly through the blonde locks.
Alicia shakes her head. "Uh-uh, Daddy did!"
Alice starts to feel uneasy.
"... who's your Daddy? What did he do...?"
"Well, I yelled for him, and he picked you up and brought you in here, then gave you something to get the berries out of your tummy. And then he told me to stay with you and get him once you wake up!"
Alicia stands up and hops off the bed, reaching underneath it.
"He also got you some clothes.... they might be big though, they're from Stella."
"Who's Stella?"
"Lucas's girlfriend. She's been sleeping here for a few months."
This is such a weird place.....
Alice nods a bit, as Alicia sets an uneven stack of clothes on the bed. Underclothing, a red hoodie with cigarette burns, jeans, and socks.... she tries to not grimace. Why does everything here have to be so worn down and dirty?
"Come out when you're done, then I'll show you to Daddy!" Alicia chirps, before walking out of the room. Alice takes her time debating whether she should change, and even longer to actually do so. Her mind is racing.
Where the hell am I...? Who saved me? What do they want from me? Are they gonna keep me here? I want to go home... I want Simon, I want Mr. Isaac, I want Mr. Edward, I want Elida.... I really, really want Simon.
She pauses before zipping the hoodie over her cardigan, wiping her eyes on the sleeves. It smells like smoke, cherries, and beer.... not Alice's favorite scent combo. At least she still has the cardigan Simon gave her. Alice looks down at herself. Other than the jeans sagging a bit, she's quite comfortable. Maybe just a bit too warm.
Stepping out of the room, the smell of alcohol brings her right back to reality. The hallway looks even worse, as if it really hasn't been cleaned in ages. Alicia's waiting outside the door, and beams as Alice walks out.... it's a bit disturbing how comfortable this girl is in such a wreck of a house.
"This way. And if you feel unsafe, you can hold my hand!"
Alicia offers her hand.... which Alice declines reluctantly. She's been through much worse than this, she can handle it.
The two walk down the hall and down some stairs, Alice pausing to glance at some of the pictures that bring a melancholy sense of life to the house. Almost all of them are mainly boys, with an older woman figure in a couple.... with a family that large, Alice is surprised at how empty the house truly is. It feels as if no one's lived here for quite some time.
They pass through another door, and the glaring sun and sound of sirens in the distance fills Alice's senses. Sharp stones poke at her feet through the socks as the two walk down a small path and along the sidewalk. Each house looks almost just as run down and old as the house they just left, although Alice sees a couple people through the windows. Most of which are drinking or smoking.... or staring at her.
She pulls the hoodie over her head to cover her face, despite already sweating from the blistering hear outside. What kind of place is this...?
After a few more turns that Alice forgets to keep track of, Alice stops in front of a medium-sized warehouse with almost all its windows boarded up. Inside, Alice swears she can hear some male voices.... she steps back at the anger of one of them.
Alicia tries pushing open the door.... locked. She puffs her cheeks, reaching into the pocket on her dress and pulling out two thin metal tools. Alice watches in confusion as she slides the tools into the keyhole and wiggles them around a bit.
"We can come back later, Alicia, if the door's locked then we shouldn't bo-"
"Nuh-uh, Daddy told me to get him when you were awake!"
She hesitates before looking up at Alice.
"It might be bloody. We have a guest."
Before the older can respond, the lock clicks and Alicia pushes the heavy doors open with a grunt. They screech and scrape against the gravel below them, echoing through the whole wearhouse.
The first thing Alice really notices is the man leaning over something. Tall, muscular, wearing all black.... and very long, straight, greasy black hair. He looks back at them, eyes wide and twitching.... Alice steps back a good deal, fear flooding her system. Something about him feels terribly off.
Alicia doesn't show any fear, rather running in as giggles erupt from her mouth. The man's demeanor softens, and he immediately kneels down and turns to her with a surprised smile, embracing Alicia as she jumps into his arms. Alice notices a dirty man tied to a chair a little beyond the two, staring with irritation and confusion.
"Heyyy, sweetheart, what are you doing here...? Did you pick the lock again?" he asks. His voice is even more gravely than Alice would have expected, as if he desperately needs to cough.
"Mhm, because you said I could if I ever really needed you!"
"Li, sweetie, that's for emergencies, I'm a little busy right now...."
Alicia points to Alice, who freezes as the man's eyes slowly move up to her. They make eye contact... Alice can feel his eyes scanning her entire face, and shivers once again... they look like those of a corpse.
Oh, that's why I'm so off put, Alice thinks. This man looks like a living corpse. I didn't even think people who looked that dead still had a pulse, much less could have kids...
".... Stella. Care to watch over our guest, please?" he asks.
It's at this point that Alice notices a second figure step through the shadows... a girl, older than Alice by a few years maybe, with curly light-caramel hair pulled up into a bun and brown eyes that look almost as dead as the mans. Alice notes that she's incredibly thin... also comparable to a corpse. Does every adult here look this dull and lifeless?
Stella puts her hands in the pockets of her oversized hoodie, nodding slightly at Alice before looking at the man tied in a chair.... somehow, despite looking the healthiest, he also scares Alice the most.
"What's your name, miss?" The man asks, motioning for her to come inside. Alice narrows her eyes.
"I don't have to sa-"
"Her name's Alice."
A wave of dread pools down Alice's back... of course the kid would give it away.
"Alice then. Come in, you're gonna boil out there."
"I don't have to go anywhere with you."
The man stares at her before sighing. "Fine. I'll come out to you then."
And that's exactly what he does, Alicia following along. Stepping outside, Alice can see the uneven stubble over his face and many odd scars... part of his ear is missing, too. Not exactly the type of person she'd usually go to for this.
"Adam. I see you've already met my daughter, too." He sticks out his hand.... Alice doesn't shake it, rather folding her arms. She knows that, despite her best efforts, the fear is very evident on her face.
"Where am I? What is this place?"
"You're in Blackwell County, Arizona. Not the most charming, fancy place in the world, I know."
Alice goes pale. Arizona? How the hell did she get all the way over here?! That's so far from the northeast, how far was she taken?!
She feels her breath quicken. She has to get home NOW, Simon needs her, there's no way he'd even THINK to check Ari-
"Alice."
She looks up at Adam.
"I dunno what you've been through, but panicking like this isn't gonna help. Take a breath. I swear, you're safe. Just breathe."
"I have no reason to trust you."
"You're right. You don't. That choice is up to you.... but I'll say it now. No one's gonna hurt you. No one's gonna get you. Until we find a place for you to go, or how to get you home, you're safe here. Seriously."
Alicia nods, wanting to contribute but not knowing how.
Alice looks back and forth between the two. She doesn't know what to believe. She doesn't want to be making these choices.
"It's hard to trust a guy who has a man tied up like you do in your warehouse... that's the kind of stuff kidnappers or torturers do," she hisses.
Adam's eyes darken a bit.
"He was the kidnapper first."
Alice pauses, wondering what that could mean, but ultimately she decides not to ask. God knows what he could be talking about in this rundown, fucked up place.
"I'm guessing you're a missing child then... not from around here, given your outfit when we found you.... fourteen-fifteen-ish maybe. Do you know your parents number?" Adam pulls out his phone.
Alice feels a pang of annoyance bubble in her throat as she shakes her head.... not like they'd care about her, anyways. They never did.
"Do you know any numbers we could call..? You could put it in yourself even. As long as it's not 911."
Alice immediately thinks of Simon... maybe, if this man is telling the truth, she could get ahold of him. He could come down and get her. It could really be that easy.
With a trembling hand, Alice takes the phone and dials Simon's phone number, mumbling each digit under her breath. She's both confused and grateful that this man doesn't seem to have bad intentions, but she's still horribly offput by him. Adam watches over her shoulder as she puts the phone up to her ear.
First ring.... nothing.
Second ring.... nothing.
Third ring... nothing. Alice mutters under her throat, begging for him to pick up.
Fourth ring.... nothing. Adam purses his lips and looks away.
Fifth ring.... nothing.
Suddenly, Alice hears a familiar voice. Her face lights up.
"SIMON?!"
"Hi, you've reached the number of Simon Mallory."
Her heart drops as the message plays.
"I'm afraid I can't come to the phone right now, most likely because I'm trying to find my sister Alice. If this is about her, leave a message at the tone. If not, don't bother. I won't listen to it anyways."
There's a small beep, drowned out by rushing in Alice's ears. It's so good to hear Simon's voice again... but she feels like sobbing knowing it was automated.
The message is still recording. Say something.
".... Simon- it's me, Alice. I'm in Arizona. I'm okay. I'm safe. Please pick up. I want to go home. I'm with a man named Adam, we're in this place called Blackwell County. Please come get me, I miss you, I want to go home, please call this number back... I miss you. Please."
She reluctantly hangs up and hands the phone back to Adam, cursing herself for not remembering Mr. Isaac's name either before slumping to the ground, sobbing. Adam stares at the "Call Ended" screen on his phone before sitting down next to Alice. Alicia sits on the other side of her.
"He- he was supposed to pick up, he always picks up!!! Did something happen to him?! He didn't give up, right?!" She yells, burying her face in her knees.
"... I don't know," Adam whispers. She even hugs her knees like him.
"I want to go home! I don't want to be here, I want to fucking go home! I've been lost and captured for way too long, I don't want to be here!!! I'm going home!!!"
Alice stands up and attempts to run, before tripping on a stray stone. She yells out in frustration and pain, clutching her ankle and falling as Alicia chases after her.
"It'll be okay," the kid whispers. "You're oka-"
"NO!!! NO, I'M NOT OKAY!!!!" Alice screams, causing Alicia to startle and jump back.
"IM ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STATES FROM MY HOME, I'VE BEEN KIDNAPPED BY SOME FREAK FOR GOD KNOWS HOW LONG, AND THE NEXT THING I KNOW IM IN THE MIDDLE OF SOME SHITTY TOWN IN ARIZONA WITH A DAMN CRIMINAL OR SOMETHING!
"I SHOULDN'T EVEN BE HERE, I SHOULD BE HOME, WITH MY BROTHER AND FRIENDS, BUT I'M STUCK HERE, AND I..... I....."
Her screams falter into sobs as she buries her head in her knees, still holding her ankle.
"I want to go home. I don't know what happened to me but I want to go home. This isn't home. I don't want to be here. I just wanna go home."
Alice doesn't hear anything except her own sobbing for a while. She eventually lifts her head as a shadow overtakes her..... Adam. He's kneeling in front of her with an almost tearful look. The amount of emotion in his otherwise lifeless gaze makes her freeze.
"I know," he chokes out. "I'm so sorry. I know you don't want to be here. I know it's probably making things worse and... you want to go home... to your family...."
Adam looks down, knuckles turning white as he balls his fists.
Confusion overtakes Alice's mind, diminishing her sobs. She can't understabd why he seems so affected by this.
"..... why do you care....? What kind of trick is this, don't play with me, sir... why do you even care?" Alice hisses, backing away slightly.
Adam continues to stare down. Alicia pats his arm as he turns his face, eyes hidden by his long black hair.
"Daddy...?" She whispers. "Is this about Uncle Lucas...?"
Adam tenses visibly. Alice hesitates... Alicia's mentioned that name a few times at this point. She hasn't thought about what it could mean.
The young girl looks at her.
"We're trying to find Lucas. Like your family is trying to find you."
A chill runs down Alice's spine.
".... what's that supposed to mean? Adam?"
He doesn't respond.
"..... sir, who is Lucas...? Why does she keep bringing him up?" she asks, forcing her tone to soften.
"He's..... a brother. The youngest of us all. He's been missing for a few months now."
Adam spits out the words as if they're blades in his mouth. Alice's anger grows more and more muted as they talk, a new emotion replacing it.... sympathy.
"How old is he...?"
"18. Barely. He disappeared a couple days after his birthday. He wasn't even really an adult yet.... still just a kid."
"Have you told the police...?"
"We have. The police in these parts are the worst you'll ever meet, though, and... with a family like ours, they kind of slid it under the pile."
"That's horrible, though!!!" Alice jumps up, ignoring a throb in her ankle. "He's basically still a kid, why aren't they doing any more to try and find him?! Clearly you all care a lot and actually want him back, so why aren't they doing anything...?"
Adam shrugs, face towards the ground. "There's too much crime in this area. They gotta focus on the urgent stuff.... which leads us to take matters into our own hands."
That doesn't at all sound reassuring.
"What's that supposed to mean...?" Alice whispers, sitting back down.
"I don't think you want to know."
"Now I really do."
The man sighs, pushing some hair out of his face.
"Remember the man in the warehouse? The one you accused me of kidnapping?"
"Was that not what it was?"
"We consider the right term to be.... interrogation. Things happened that night, his family and our brother. We're trying to pry it out of him."
The words "He was the kidnapper first" suddenly make a lot more sense to Alice.
"... by.... tying him up? Possibly even torturing him...?"
"Who said we were torturing him?"
Alice shrugs. "Kinda looked that way."
Adam shakes his head. "No. Not yet. I didn't need him just yelling any random shit in order to get the pain to stop. I wanted the clear, conscious truth of what the hell he did to my brother. I wanted to know exactly where he was. Torture sometimes doesn't get you anywhere but jail."
Adam stares ahead, eyes twitching. His soulless gaze towards the warehouse is filled with a deep, growing rage.
"The police don't do shit. They don't care about a random missing boy, especially one that doesn't have any status. But that just leaves it to us... and then we can actually put care into finding our family. We can handle leads right. Track the families and gangs. Make deals. Anything to bring him home.
".... it's just a matter of when that'll happen."
Alice doesn't respond.
"Your family is probably also doing anything they can to bring you home t-"
"No."
He raises an eyebrow and turns her, caught off guard by her face stained with tears.
"They're not. My parents don't care about me. I don't think they've even tried to search for me. They don't care."
She looks down.
"Only my brother cares. Only my brother and his friends are trying to find me. He didn't even pick up, though."
She buries her head in her knees... is this jealousy? Sympathy? Bitterness? A mix of all? She can't quite tell.
Adam shrugs, putting a hand on Alicia's shoulder as she leans against him. "Guess that's something that never changes."
"What?"
"Brotherly love. Brotherly protection. Even if the parents are gone, even if the parents are shitty... there isn't anything a brother won't do for his siblings."
He looks up at the sky. "He's looking for you right now, I bet. Doing anything he can to find you and bring you home. He's out right now looking for you, he and his friends.... he sounds like a good caregiver."
Alice slowly nods, trying to swallow the lump in her throat.
"... He really is."
"Yeah. One person is still one person who's going to go to the ends of the universe for you... and respectfully, fuck your parents. If they aren't looking for you in the same way your brother is, then they don't count. That's not family."
Alice doesn't respond... she looks back at Adam. Alicia has crawled into his lap, hugging him tight with a sad frown. Although he has a hand on her back, Adam hardly acknowledges her, staring off into nothingness. Maybe he's trying to imagine something in front of him. His brother.
.... maybe that's why he looks so dead, Alice thinks. Maybe I shouldn't have judged him like that.
The lump in her throat forms again as she imagines Simon standing in front of her. Is he working to find her as much as Adam is now? Does he have the same lifeless gaze in his eye because she's gone?
"... hey. Alice. How about this."
She looks up at him, confused.
"The closest airport here... isn't exactly the best. Neither are the routes for getting out of here. But maybe one of our brothers, maybe Devon or Jules, can drive you up to the airport sometime soon. Get you a flight and get you home. It'd just take a month or two to scrape together the money."
"A month or two...?"
Adam shrugs. "Jobs and money are hard to come by here, and I'm tryna raise a family and a handful here.... if everyone pitches in without doing anything TOO fucked up, we could get you a plane ticket on one of the better airlines up north, plus money for a motel, food, a taxi, y'know. The basics."
"Wh- you don't have to do that!!!" Alice exclaims.
"You want to go home, don't you?"
"Well, of course I want to go home, but I don't want you to sacrifice a ton of money for me like that! Like you said, you have a family to raise."
"Sometimes going home is expensive. And I'll be damned if I let you just try walking through the wilderness to get back, who knows what could happen to you."
Alice opens her mouth to argue, but nothing comes out. She can't argue with that... and she really doesn't want to get taken again.
"... you don't have to work even harder for me, really. I don't want any of you guys to do anything like that, especially since you seem to have a pretty huge family as it is..."
"Yeah. 6 other brothers, a couple of them have partners, and Alicia and Lucas's girlfriend Stella. So... yeah. A lot."
Alice winces. Jeez.
She thinks a bit, trying to come up with a better solution.
"..... my family is pretty well off.... maybe when my brother responds, he could help pay for the plane ticket and to pick me up. And... until then.... I could help you out here?"
Adam raises an eyebrow.
".... you want to help out here."
"I mean... I don't really have much else to do. I'm guessing I'll be around here for a while regardless, might as well try and be productive."
"Alice, I can't ask that of you. You don't even know what we do."
"Well I know one thing I can do, and that's clean up the house I woke up in. 'Cause no offense, but it's kind of filthy."
A hint of offense flickers across Adam's face. "We haven't really had time to clean since Lucas's disappearance. Plus, what do you expect of a family of mainly guys?"
"Wowwwww," Alice retorts, unamused. "So because you're guys, the place is a mess? Doesn't Alicia live there too? That environment can't be healthy for her."
Adam starts to speak, but decides to let Alice finish.
"Look. I can't just stay in bed all day waiting for my brother to call me back, I don't want to just be locked away.... so I don't mind cleaning if it's on my terms. Plus, if I can't help with whatever you guys are doing, maybe I can help in other ways that need attention. Kinda so I'm not lazing around and just another person for you to take care of."
Adam is silent for a long, long time.
"... are you sure."
"As long as I'm able to clean on my terms, otherwise I'm not going to want to do it."
Another period of silence, before Adam sticks his hand out.
"Deal."
Alice stares at it for a moment before hesitantly reaching out, shaking his hand. She's shocked at how rough yet soft his hands are, and only now notices the sparkly pink nail polish over his fingers. She tries to not laugh.
"Daddy?" Alicia perks up. "Is Alice gonna stay then?"
"For a little, yeah. Just until we're able to get in touch with her family and get her home safe."
"YAY!!! Can I show her my dolls then?"
Both Adam and Alice laugh at her bubbliness.
"If she wants to see them, yeah. I think it'd be best to get her some lighter clothes first, though.... she looks like she's going to sweat herself dry," he replies. That's not wrong; Alice didn't even notice how much her clothes are sticking to her due to sweat until now.
"As long as I can keep my cardigan on... it's from my brother."
"Yeah, 'course you can. Nothing stopping you. I'll ask Stella to bring you shopping for a couple outfits of your own... she's a bit picky about her clothes. Plus, you need something that'll actually fit."
A sudden yell rings out from the warehouse, causing Alice to flinch.
"... speaking of which. I need to make sure she doesn't kill our guest." Adam stands up. "Li, why don't you bring Alice back to the house and show her your dolls?"
Alicia jumps up. "'Kay-kay!!!" She turns to Alice, once again sticking her hand out. "Lets go! Daddy will handle Stella and our guest, I wanna introduce you to Gigi and Blossom and Missy."
Alice stares at Alicia's hand for a moment before taking it and standing with a small smile, ankle throbbing lighter than before. The child's eyes light up excitedly and squeezes her hand... Alice notes that it's a little tougher than she'd expect a child's hands to be, though the sparkly nail polish that matches Adam's is both expected and adorable.
"I'll come back and check on you two in a bit, once I get things situated.... stay with Alicia, people know not to mess with her and anyone around her. Things can get rough around here... we're gonna keep you safe though, if you trust us."
Alice nods.
"I trust you."
For the first time, Adam smiles at her. It brings a hint of life back to his face, a hint that's barely detectable and gone almost as soon as Alice sees it... it comforts her a little, though. She feels a little safer, knowing this man isn't going to hurt her.
"Come on, come on, come on!!! I have lollipops in my room!" Alicia exclaims, tugging Alice along. Alice laughs, letting the girl pull her along.
"Take care girls, see you soon." Adam waves them off with the shadow of a grin.
"You too, Adam."
Okay, Alice thinks as she turns and walks. This could be worse. But at least I'm safe here... I doubt a man with a daughter like Alicia has any ill intent towards me. I can probably actually stay until Simon gets back to us.... I hope he does soon. I don't want to stay longer than I have to.
Alice smiles as Alicia pulls her along, back to the house from before. She feels the eyes of people in other houses clinging to her, wondering about her, but she doesn't care as much this time. Nothing's going to hurt her anymore.
All she wishes now is to make sure Simon knows that, too... wherever he is.
"STELLA, STAND DOWN."
Stella looks back at Adam, knife pressed on the outside of the man's chest. Her dull eyes are full of anger and tears.
"HE KNOWS, ADAM!!!!" She yells. "HE KNOWS WHAT HAPPENED TO LUCAS AND I'M GOING TO PRY IT OUT OF HIM IF IT'S THE LAST THING I FUCKING DO!!!"
"GET HER THE FUCK OFF ME, SHRIEK!!!" The man in the chair screams. Adam runs in and curls his hand around the blade, gripping and throwing it across the warehouse. The handle crashes into some boards lined up against the wall, speckles of blood shadowing the path it took through the air.
Stella stumbles back from the force, despite barely being pushed by Adam. The hostage falls on his side, head hitting the hard concrete with a painful thunk.
Adam stands still, blood dripping from his palm. Any hint of kindness from his talk with Alice is gone, as his head and fingers twitch erratically.
"I thought my instructions were clear, Stella. Watch over him. Not kill him."
"I wasn't going to kill him," Stella hisses. "I was going to carve the fucking answer out."
The man tied up starts laughing... it's a foolish, deranged, I-know-something-you-don't-know kind of laugh. Stella and Adam both tune it out, as to avoid grabbing the knife and finishing what she tried to start.
"We know that won't work."
"How. How do we know. How do we know that, Adam?!"
"Because it never has in the past. Not on me, not on any other smart person, not on anyone unless they're fucking morons."
He turns to face their hostage, whose maniacal laughter has increased.
"And if he's hidden Lucas for this long like this, then he's not stupid enough to give us the truth."
"Ohhhhh, well, ain'tcha a smart one, Shriek!!!" The man cackles. "I gotsta say, I was kinda hoping Lucas's little doll here was gon' finish the job... then it woulda been all her fault that y'all never find him again! Your only lead would be gone!!"
Adam roughly yanks the man upright, grabbing his throat with bloodstained, spasming hands. Those dead eyes are livened only by barely-contained fury, nails digging deep into the skin and forcing out a cry of pain among the laughter.
"You listen right now, Steve Hazer, you're not our only lead, and even if I kill you now, then I still have all the rest of your family who knows what happened, and I can use your head as an example of what will happen to them if y'all don't fucking give us Lucas back RIGHT NOW."
Hazer's laughter doesn't cease. "I don't know if we can do that, Shriek," he giggles.
"What the fuck do you mean by that?" Stella asks, pulling out a lighter. At the sound of the cap flicking open, Adam holds his hand up to stop her.
Hazer leans close, inches from Adam's face. His blemished pale skin and dirty blonde hair is even more disgusting up close, light green eyes almost less than human.
"I mean, maybe we could. But I don't think you'll like what you find."
"HAZER-"
"AH, BUT YOU WON'T ACCEPT THAT, WILL YOU, SHRIEK?! YOU WON'T LISTEN, YOU NEVER WILL LISTEN!!!"
"Oh, I'm listening. I'm listening to a bunch of bullshit meant to piss us off while my brother rots in whatever basement you're keeping him."
Adam tightens his grip, reaching into his pocket as the blood from his palm trickles down down the man's tank top.
"Like it or not, Hazer, he won that fight. It's not our fault that you lost one of your own because he challenged us first. He knew the rules. And now, just because you're unhappy, you've decided to keep playing dirty."
"Isn't that what your fights are all about? Playing dirty?"
"Yeah. And that's why we're playing dirty to find him. That's why you're here now. Because it was your family's choice to choose dirty fights in the first place."
The maniacal laughter dies down only for a moment, devolving into a hideous sneer and barely contained giggles.
"Good luck with that. And good luck with what you find... because wouldn't it be a damn shame if something happened to your precious, innocent, 'loving', idiotic, uncommitted, ARROGANT, VIOLENT, UNTAMED, SLOB OF A BROTHER WITH NO PARENTS TO RAISE HIM RIGHT!!!"
*WHAM!!!!*
Hazer falls to the ground, out cold. Adam stares with heavy breathing as new blood stains his brass knuckles before slipping them back into his pocket and kneeling down. He grabs his own head, trying to keep it from spasming and twitching with rage as Stella clicks her tongue and puts her lighter away.
"No point burning him if he's not awake to feel it..." she mumbles before pausing.
"... hey... Adam... you alright?"
"He has to be okay," Adam quietly sobs. "He has to be. He's my boy. My baby brother. He has to be safe. He has to be." His sobs echo through the now quiet warehouse.
After a moment, he sees a flash of tan through his fingers and opens them to see Stella holding some gauze and a roll of bandages out to him.
"I know.... I want him back, too," she whispers, tears glistening in the little light that there is. "But he's okay. Knowing Lucas, he's fighting like hell to get back here. He's a fighter. He won't leave us for anything, they're gonna have to drag him to hell and chain him there themselves if they want him dead. That's what you always say, right?"
Adam shakily sighs, wiping his eyes and blinking away the blood from his hands. "Yeah... you're right. They're bluffing. They didn't do anything to him. He's not out of reach yet.. the Hazers are cruel like that. Bet he wishes he was dead due to whatever those sickos put him through.."
His grief slowly starts to harden back into a familiar rage. "That's why we have to keep fighting to get him back. Let's get this Hazer to the back and leave him there.... I'll have a 'chat' with his dad tomorrow," he mutters.
Stella nods, walking over and trying to pull Hazer to a room. It's difficult due to how little muscle she has, but she manages. Once he's locked away again, she leans against the door and locks it. There's no more energy left for more interrogation.
Adam sits down and wraps his hand, the sticky blood uncomfortable between his fingers. He'll just have to wash it later. His mind never strays away from the fear for Lucas... even though it hasn't for the past few months.
Come on, Luc. We know you're out there, he internally pleads.
