Chapter 29: Chapter 29

The first thing I remember feeling is pain. Immense pain flaring through my head, making it difficult to move. I groan loudly, my entire body screaming for some sort of relief. I burrow my eyebrows together, feeling a wet sticky substance cover the side of my face. I groan again, struggling to open my eyes.

"Tobias, she's coming around."

"Fuck, she's hurt badly. Ruby? Ruby, wake up!"

I hear Uncle Tobias yell. I attempt to lift my hands up to my face but they appear to be glued down to my side. I yank at them again, confused as to why I can't move.

"I have no arms," I breathe out in panic, struggling wildly to lift them. My breathing is erratic as the panic inside of me increases.

What was the last thing I remember?

"Ruby, you have arms. You're tied up, come on. Wake up." Uncle Tobias says firmly. I sigh in relief but the panic doesn't subside as pain continues to flare through my head.

"It hurts to move." I wince, trying to open my eyes. I manage to squint in the darkness, blinking to adjust my vision. For a while, I don't see anything but black.

"Describe your pain." Uncle Tobias says from somewhere around me. I can't see him but from the sound of his voice, I know he's near.

"There's blood dripping down half of my face and the pain is directly at the right side of my head." I tell him, my voice sounding weak. I blind rapidly again, squinting in the darkness to make sense of my surroundings.

"When you lost consciousness, you fell and banged your head." Woody says from in front of me. He moves in the darkness and I can see the outline of his shadow.

"A head injury is bad Tobias, especially if she's bleeding." Woody says desperately. I glance down at myself and realise my arms are tied up to a long plank of wood, the hard material jabbing into my back painfully.

My hands are secured tightly around it with thick rope and no matter how hard I yank, they don't budge. Woody is in the exact same position in front of me with Uncle Tobias several feet away from us. We're all lying on the floor, tied up to heavy pieces of construction.

"What the fuck is happening?" I mutter, hanging my head low. The throbbing intensifies and I groan, my head spinning wildly. I expect Uncle Tobias to tell me off for my language but it seems like he has worse things to deal with.

"I think we found the person who took your parents. The trouble is, I have no idea who it is. We need to get out of here." Tobias says, his voice low and lined with a hint of fear. Hearing him sound scared makes me panic further but the pulsing inside my head makes it difficult to express any emotion.

"I don't feel good. . . " I mutter, my eyes fluttering shut. I feel Woody shuffle on the floor in front of me but struggle to make him out through the blurred spots in my vision.

"Ruby, stay with us. You have to stay awake." He tells me firmly. His voice to me is like a muted sound in the distance and I mutter a response, my head drooping forward to my chest.

"Ruby!" Uncle Tobias begins to yell. I can faintly hear him struggling, attempting to pull himself free. In front of me, Woody shuffles down as much as he can, placing his foot against my ankle. He hits it gently, urging me to stay awake.

"Come on Melvin, stay awake." Woody says firmly, panic in his voice. I picture my parents inside my mind and they're both smiling at me, urging me to keep going. I remember who all of this is for and force myself to stay awake, keeping my mind alert.

"Talk to me." I mutter to Woody, struggling to hold my head up high. He inhales deeply, sounding relieved to hear a reply from me.

"Like, talk dirty to you? Sure, I can do that." He says uncertainly. I snigger in response, wincing as pain flares up the side of my head for the millionth time due to the movement.

"Don't even think about it." Uncle Tobias mutters under his breath. Woody rests his foot against mine, gently tapping it every few seconds to keep me awake.

"You're all the way over there, what are you going to do about it?" I grin through the pain at Uncle Tobias. Despite not being able to see well, I know he's glaring at me hard. In front of me, Woody chuckles under his breath at my response.

"No but in all seriousness. Once we get out of here and find your parents, I'll take you out on a proper date." Woody says quietly to me, his foot continuing to tap against mine. I breathe heavily, focusing on fighting against the urge to close my eyes.

"A proper date? Wow Cowboy, you're pulling out all the stops." I mutter, feeling blood continue to trickle down my face. It enters the side of my mouth and I turn my head, spitting to relieve myself from the taste.

"You're worth it though." Woody responds quietly. Even through the pain, I manage to muster up a smile. I know Uncle Tobias is probably wanting to murder Woody right now but can't because one, he's keeping me alert and two, he's tied up and can't move even if he wanted to.

"Tobias is going to kill you when he's free." I chuckle quietly, speaking my thoughts. I rest my foot against his, grateful to feel a small amount of his body against mine. It's comforting especially when our fate lies uncertain. The person who kidnapped my parents may as well have set a trap to capture us too. . .

Who knows what will happen to us?

"Only if he can catch me." Woody responds, sounding like he's grinning. I smirk in the darkness, grateful for Woody to keep my mind off the dark thoughts and fears inside my mind. Only we could sit here and joke around when we've been gassed, tied up and held hostage.

"You can't out run me." Tobias pipes up, sounding unhappy. I turn my head around slowly and squint to make him out. He's lying backwards against the metal pipe he's tied up to, his shoulders slumped in defeat. When he notices me looking at him, he leans as forward as he can before his restraints pull him back.

"You okay sweetheart?" He asks me, concerned. I try to nod my head but the movement hurts too much so instead I mutter a response. My throat feels like sandpaper and an overwhelming surge of pain curses through my body. I groan, squirming in discomfort. Both Woody and Tobias begin yanking on their restraints, desperately trying to free themselves to help me. Despite wanting to stay awake for them and my parents, my body won't allow me to.

I feel myself drifting away, my eyelids growing heavier by the second. The worrying thought slips into my mind due to the fragile state I'm in . . .

If I give in and close my eyes, will I wake back up?

"I don't feel good," I mutter again, my head slumping forward. I resist the urge to fight it and allow it to happen, too weak to protest.

"Tobias, she needs help!" Woody yells out, his panic setting in. I faintly hear Tobias yelling my name, begging me to stay awake but his voice eventually fades out into nothing. The thumping inside my head increases until it's all I can hear. My breathing shallows out and blood continues to trail down my face.

One thought consumes me the entire time I feel myself falling . . .

I hope my parents know I tried.