Team Edge: Kidnapped

Prologue

*Matt's P.O.V.*

"Matt, what's going on?! Why is he doing this?!" Woods screamed, panic in his voice as both of us running as fast as we could.

I couldn't talk, my breathing solely focused on running. I didn't answer him, but he didn't seem to mind. We both knew what was happening.

Our friend, or someone we thought was our friend was chasing after us with a knife. He tricked us into thinking he wasn't part of the kidnapping and then betrayed us all by killing one of our friends and wants to kill us all.

I had to stop running to catch my breath, and Woods kept on running, saw that I wasn't running, and sprinted back to where I was, grabbed my arm and pushed me to keep on running.

"I know you're tired Matt. I'm tired too, but we've got to keep on running. He could be behind us right now."

He tried to pull me along, but I grabbed his arm and flung it away from mine.

Still breathing heavily, I sat down in the grassy forest, the crunch of leaves and wood beneath me, and I put my hand over my eyes, shaking violently.

Woods, looking at me with concern, sat down next to me, still wary of everything around him. I couldn't blame him. I was cautious of every sound next to me.

Woods lay his hand on my shoulder, and I put my hand on my lap, then looked into his dark brown eyes.

"I-I just don't know what to do anymore, Woods. I mean, it was me who hired him, Woods! It was me who should've seen the signs that something was wrong with him! But I didn't!" I paused for a second, then continued, just barely a whisper. "If I didn't hire him, none of this would've happened." 

We sat in silence for a while, just listening to the birds chirping above us, the wind rushing past us, and a waterfall gushing. Of course, also listening to any noise that suggested that he had found us.

Then, Woods sighed and looked down at a rock, then back at me. "Matt, it wasn't your fault and you know it. He acted like everything was normal, Matt. He pretended like he was our friend. Sure, you hired him, but who wouldn't? He didn't seem like this when he was at the job interview, right?"

I stayed silent, but took a deep breath, trembling. "No."

"See? Of course he didn't. You didn't know, Matt! None of us did! It's not your fault! It's nobody's fault. Now come on, we've got to go before he finds us".

Woods stood up, then reached for my hand. I grabbed his hand and I got up with a groan. I shook off the dirt and wood that had gotten on me but then I saw him behind Woods. He had a black pistol pointed at Woods. He cocked the gun loudly and chuckled quietly.

 I looked at Woods, whose eyes were wide open.

"It's a little too late for that, don't you think?"

Woods took a shaky breath in, and I could see his hands shaking violently with fear.

"Okay look, we're sorry. We'll go back, okay? Just don't hurt him."

He laughed , shaking his head, jamming the gun into the back of Woods, making him stumble forwards.

"Aww, how sweet of you Matt. I didn't know you two were such close friends!"

I stared at him, flabbergasted. He never acted this weird on Battle Universe or Team Edge. 

"What's wrong with you?  Why are you acting like this? You're not making any sense!"

My answer was yet another jab in the back to Woods, who grunted in pain as he quickly walked forward.

"Okay, okay! Calm down!" I sighed, then walked with Woods as he shoved the gun into Woods' back. 

"Matt, I'm quite surprised you and Woods escaped. I didn't think you had it in you. I thought you were too stupid!" He laughed, throwing his head back. "How did you do it, huh?"

I knew he was just trying to get a rise out of me, so I didn't answer.

His answer was to raise the gun to Woods head and push it against his temple. Woods' shut his eyes in fear, and my heart raced.

"If you ignore me ONE MORE TIME, I swear I'll shoot Woods in the face and make you watch as his brains splatter across the ground. Now ANSWER MY QUESTION!"

My breathing heavy, I raised my hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Okay, I'll answer you." I paused for a second, wondering if I told him what really happened, if he'd get mad. "One of the guys who work for you left the door open, so then I got out of my handcuffs, unlocked Woods', and then we ran out here. Is that good enough for you?"

He lowered the gun and looked towards where we had come, the warehouse where all our friends were. His face warped into a angry gaze, a violent one. A look of murder. Both me and Woods had seen it before. He looked towards Woods and I, said, "I'll be back. Don't leave," then stormed off towards the warehouse.

I looked at Woods, then put my hand on my forehead. What had I done? I probably just sentenced one of those guys to death. Not that I should feel bad. I mean, they helped kidnap me and my friends. But I do. I do feel bad. Because all I can think about is this: What if one of those guys was Atticus? What if he went off in a bad direction and then he got killed? Maybe through no fault of his own, but because he was traumatized and didn't know what else to do. Because he didn't know where to go.

Woods shook my shoulder, shaking me out of my stupor. 

"You okay?" Woods asked, taking a deep breath, which was shaky.

I nodded, though I chuckled inside my head. Am I okay? I should be asking if you're okay. I mean, you got a gun held up to your head. If I were him, I'd be crying right now and just sitting here. But he wasn't. Woods started sprinting away, further from the place where he was just heading, and I sprinted up to catch up with him. And while we both were running to get away from the scariest person I've ever met, my mind kept on racing back to how this all began.