Burnt Lies

Shut Up For A Second

Alara

One hour earlier...

I tried to steady myself against the sink clutching at the ceramic basin in a last ditch attempt at grounding myself in reality. It didn't work as I felt bile rise to my throat as more gun shots sounded. 

I needed to get out of here but I could barely move, my legs felt numb as though I would collapse under my own weight any moment now, I tried to even my breathing but I felt panic fill me. My vision became blurry as hot tears ran down my face.

"Shit," I hissed, losing all sensation in my body. I felt myself rest against the wall, attempting to stay standing, I couldn't collapse here. I would be vulnerable to any and all attacks if I was rendered unconscious. 

"Come on Alara," I needed to move, even if it was just a few feet away to one of the stalls, hiding in one of them would be my best bet as of now. 

I tried to lift myself to the closest stall but ended up tripping, I tried to balance myself against the wall once more as the realisation settled in me that I couldn't even make it to the stall, the tears began streaming down my face. 

That is when I heard the unmistakable click of the door opening, I was so done for. I expected an attacker with a gun raised to come barrelling towards me, and I was only half right. 

There was man with a gun but they didn't charge at me. And they were the last person I expected to see. With their lean frame and sallow pinched face. The ghost like man who had held me captive along side Dane Laurier. 

"Cole, what the hell are you doing here," I tried to act as though I was completely fine, "This is the ladies room,"

He remained tight lipped and just edged closer to me, the black of his eyes and endless abyss, his high cheekbones adding to the ghostly appearance. 

"I know you've heard the gun shots," he said simply.

"Is this Dane's doing," I bit out painfully aware of the gun clutched in his hand. At least it wasn't pointed at me, not yet anyway. 

"For once no, but it does have everything to do with you and the blood diamond,"

"I know nothing about this stupid blood diamond," I hissed feeling a wave of nausea and fighting against every ember of my body to stay awake. 

"You've been drugged Alara," he explained walking ever closer to me. 

"Yeah no shit," I quipped happy that I still had my snarky comments even if my body was shutting down. 

"Why are you here Cole?" I tried to reach beneath my dress to grab my pistol. I wasn't stupid enough not to bring a weapon to a gang conglomeration, it would have been remiss of me to not expect danger, but I hadn't expected to be drugged out of my mind that reaching the weapon would be a struggle. 

"I need to get you out of here," he said his voice anything but reassuring, more a command than a request. 

"Why the hell would I go with you, do I need to remind you that you almost shot me a few days ago,"

He partially sneered at me before stopping himself realising that doing so would not help his case of getting me to trust him, "You were being insufferable,"

"It's what I'm best at," I manged to get out before I keeled over in pain. 

"Shit, it's working faster than I thought it would," I tried to stand from my hunched over position.

"You're the one who drugged me!" my voice was hoarse as my eyes began to flutter shut. 

"No, it wasn't me, not directly anyway," he tried to reason with me.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" I was halfway on the floor at this point, every nerve in my body on fire and numb at the same time. 

"We're running out of time, I need to get you out of here,"

"Get me Cameron, if I really need to get out of here he can,"

"No he can't, that's the first place they'll look, they'll expect you to be with him. But with me? No one in their right mind would believe that you went with me. The Bloodhounds are sworn enemies of the Vipers why would I help you?"

"Exactly why would you," his frowned even more his face looking even more hollow from the action. 

"There's no time," I rushed over to me, pulling me from the floor. 

"Do you have anything to write with," I shook my head. What on earth was going on, and why would I have something to write with at a ball of all places. 

He stared at my lips for a second and I was about to push him away thinking that he was intending something wholly different than what he actually wanted to do, "Give me your lipstick,"

"What?" 

"Just do it," his voice was harsh just as it had been when I stuck in that cell. He was clearly not someone to mess with. 

I fished my lipstick from my purse and handed it to him, watching as my hand shook, I was becoming weaker by the minute, I was surprised I was still conscious. 

He pulled the lipstick open and began to write on the walls, ruining my favourite lipstick but I had no energy to yell at him. 

In big capital letters he wrote out on the wall behind me, "Don't Worry, I've got her,"

He turned back to me, bracing me as I began to fall, "There, I've let a message for Cameron he'll know your safe."

"He won't know its from you, and how do I even know this isn't some plot to kidnap me again,"

"Alara can you just listen to me for a moment, you won't understand this now but I'm not here to hurt you, there are bigger things that are happening that you are unaware of and no matter how insufferable you are, I need you alive."

"So this is for some sort of selfish reason you don't actually care, that makes sense, you should've just gone with that I would have believed you far more easily,"

He groaned and ran a hand down his face in annoyance before grabbing my arm and dragging me to the other side of the room, "I don't have time for this," his hissed under his breath still man handling me. 

"Hey that hurts," he didn't respond, he just pulled me to the final stall. 

"What the heck are we going to do in there?"  again he remained silent kicking open the door. On the outside it looked like a normal toiled but then he began to pry at on of the tiles behind the toilet. It pulled free and then he began to pull at the ones adjacent to it before a tunnel formed just big enough for us to walk through. 

"Shit you had this all figured out didn't you," he once again ignored my comment though I did hear him murmur:

"I can't wait till you fall asleep,"

"That's the grumpy Cole I know," I snapped back.

I heard him visibly sigh, "Could you just shut up for one second,"

I did shut up but not because he told me to, but because it felt I was running out of breath. I felt myself hyperventilating trying to drag in as much air as I could. 

I could see the exit of the tunnel, the soft beams of moonlight filtering through a grate. We reached it soon enough and Cole pried it open effortlessly, the moment I stepped out I felt my body sway and become more fatigued. 

Inexplicably, I grabbed onto Cole's dress shirt, "Cole I-"

Before I could finish my sentence I felt myself succumb to the darkness as everything turned black.