With Love, Elena

24

Charles couldn't sit and do nothing where Elena had deposited him. He had to find help or something and hopefully the people of Vaal City would be nice enough to him.

He got up and tried to take a ginger step but his hurt leg gave way and he fell. He pushed himself up again and the same thing happened. He yelled out in frustration.

The sound of footsteps reached his ears and as he looked up, he saw the last person he was expecting to see in these parts of the woods.

"You alright over there?"

"Ram?!"

"It is Browne Touré to you, Charles Francis."

Ram slung his gun over his shoulder and helped Charles up. "Let's get you out of here," he said, walking Charles slowly as the man leaned most of his weight against him.

"What are you doing here?" Charles asked. "How did you find us?"

"The men that were helping Elena...they found me and told me what happened so I decided to come here. But where is Elena? Be careful now..." They jumped over a small ditch. 

"Tommy went missing...she's in there looking for him with my father," Charles said as they emerged on the side of the road where a familiar car awaited them, it's windshield completely shattered. Charles stopped and stared. "What is my car doing here?!"

"Well, Thomas Francis was driving it when Elena attacked him and the car ended up in my possession. I have a driver inside who will immediately take you back to your home for medical attention. I'm going to look for Elena."

Charles looked inside and a wispy blonde haired man sat in the driver's seat, looking back at him.

"Hello," Charles said.

The man just stared with his creepy eyes at him.

Charles got into the car and the man drove away.

As the car passed another one on the road, in the split second it took for them to pass each other, Charles' eyes caught the brown ones of a ginger haired somebody.

"OSAM!!" he yelled without thinking.

Osam's car came to a halt and Charlie tried to get blondie to stop the car but the man only smiled at him, pressing the accelerator harder as Osam made a sharp u-turn in the middle of the road and gave a chase.

"STOP THE CAR!!" Charlie yelled.

"My instructions are to get you to the medical center and that is what I am going to do, sir."

The man continued driving, faster.

.

Tommy turned Elena to him, looking at her lovingly. "You should have been mine," he whispered, caressing her cheek as she rubbed her bruised neck. "You can still be mine."

"Over my dead body," she said, her voice hoarse. The knife had done her dirty, the blades refusing to emerge.

Tommy smiled. "You'll have it your way, eventually."

Elena looked at him. Blood had dried over his face, tracks of tears leaving clean skin behind when he had been crying. She couldn't understand how two very physically similar people could be so different. Where Charles was always trying to do good by others, Thomas was being selfish and greedy. His father had assaulted his wife for crying out loud but he was so greedy that he would rather side with someone that had caused him so much pain rather than someone that could help him start over. From the bottom.

Elena shook her head.

Someone suddenly came into the clearing, his gun aimed.

Elena smiled with relief. "Ram! Ram! They are trying to kill me!" she ran over to his side, glad that he brought a gun which was aimed at the smirking Tommy who raised his hands up.

"Blondie told me where to find you," Ram said, pulling Elena behind him and staring at the two Francis men.

"I'm fine," Elena said. She quickly took the blades out of the shell of the knife but kept the knife hidden. "Come on. Let's get out of here and away from these crazy people."

Ram did not move, still glaring at the Francises, his chest rising and falling as he breathed heavily.

Elena pulled his shirt. "We don't have time, Ram! Charles is hurt in the woods and we have to save him-"

"He'll be fine," he assured her. "We used the car and Blondie is driving him to the hospital-the medical center as we speak."

Elena stared at Ram. His body language was saying something but she did not understand.

"I'm sorry," he suddenly whispered before turning the gun on her.

She went wide eyed as Tommy and Mr. Francis walked over to her. Ram...her own blood...the one person she considered her brother...

"Why?" she whispered in defeat.

"They paid me really well," Ram said. The guilt on his face did not help matters. He looked very sorry for what he did and yet he was still doing it. "It's not personal."

Just then something loud crashed in the distance and everyone turned as the birds in the woods took flight, screeching loudly.

Elena bolted!

.

Charles stared at Blondie. He did not like this one bit. "Didn't your medical center burn down?" he asked.

"Oh! We're not taking you there for medical attention." Blondie laughed.  "Some people would like to have a word with you. People from the city."

Charles felt his blood run cold. "Who paid you-"

"Ram of course."

Charles frowned. "Ram does not like anyone from the city-"

"Unless they are paying him handsomely. Mr. Thomas Francis gave the instructions very clearly that if you were still alive by the time Ram got to the woods, he should take you to the medical center. And that is what I am doing."

Charles breathed in sharply. Elena had mentioned that Thomas had tried to kidnap her under the guise of being Charles. Ram had encouraged her to get into the car and Tommy, he had disappeared as part of the plan so that someone would go and find him.

Charles cursed out loudly.

This had been planned from the very beginning and even the minute details had been taken care of. Even if he could save himself now, Elena was dead wherever she was. This had not been about Charles dating a black woman! It had been about just Charles from the very beginning. About taking over everything that has belonged to him! And Elena had been caught in the cross hairs.

Charles calmly turned to blondie. "Who burned the hospital?"

Blondie shrugged.

"I have money..."Charles fumbled in the pocket of his shirt before bringing out a small roll of notes.

Blondie looked at it hungrily.

"I have more of this...just tell me who burned down the hospital."

Blondie looked at him then turned away. "Ram. It was Ram."

Charles' heart went into his throat. "Why?"

"Thomas Francis and Osam Wilde paid him to do it. A lot of money. And they instructed him to get call Elena and then get her into your car, which she would recognize. But things went differently."

"What are they planning?"

"That's enough information," Blondie said.

Charles gave him the money. "If Osam Wilde gave you instructions to burn the hospital, why are we not stopping for him."

Blondie smiled. "He defected."

"What?"

"He changed his mind. He's on your side now."

Charles laughed humorlessly. Then without warning, he used his good leg to step on Blondie's foot, hitting the pedal so hard the car screeched and went flying off the road into a tree, the shattering sound of glass and the sickening crunch of the tree as it snapped filling the entire inside of the car while Blondie screamed.

Charles immediately blacked out as his head hit the back of his seat hard.