Hunted - A Pentatonix / Avi Kaplan Fanfiction

Chapter 16 - Basement

Avi's POV

I shiver and whimper as my dad shoves me roughly into the back of a windowless van. He slams the doors shut, leaving me alone in the dark.

A small sob escapes my throat as I crawl into a corner, curling up into a tight ball like a child trying to make everything go away. I feel the van's engine spring to life, and soon after the van jolts into motion.

I suddenly realise that I should probably write down the turns that the van takes, in case if I somehow get a chance to communicate with someone. I hastily search my pockets, and I breathe a slight sigh of relief when I find a pen. I don't have any paper, so I just write on my arm.

Focussing on the turns helps to take my mind off the situation slightly, which I'm extremely grateful for.

Left, left, right, left, right, right...

With each turn I write either an L or an R on my arm, and I end up with a long sequence of Ls and Rs running up my forearm.

It takes what must be about half an hour until the van finally shudders to a stop. I flinch and blink as the doors open, causing sunlight to flood in. I look up to see my dad entering the back of the van, a smirk on his face.

"Your friends aren't here to look after you anymore," He grins, "It's just you and me now."

I shudder slightly, absolutely terrified.

"Get up." He barks aggressively, grabbing my wrist and yanking me upright.

I stumble slightly, and steady myself against the side of the van.

"Now, we are going to go into my house. You are not going to make a scene, you're going to follow me quietly. Understand?" He says.

I give a small nod, staring at the ground to avoid eye contact.

"Look at me!" He growls, lifting his hand like he's about to hit me.

I quickly raise my head, flinching in fear.

"That's better." He smirks, before gesturing for me to follow him out of the van.

I look around and see that we are in an extremely run-down place, with dirty grey houses lining the dusty street. He leads me towards the door of one of the houses, and I hesitate for only a second before following him. There's no point in trying to run; it'll just anger him.

He unlock the door, and as soon as we are inside, he becomes much more aggressive now that nobody else is around to see. He immediately grabs me by the arm and pulls me down a set of stairs leading down to a basement.

I instinctively try to resist against him. Bad idea.

He turns around angrily and shoves me down the rest of the stairs, causing me to trip and land painfully on the hard stone floor of the basement.

"Get up." He snarls, towering above me.

I try to get to my feet, but the fall has made me feel so dizzy that I can't manage to get up.

"I said, GET UP!" He says, raising his voice. The next thing I know, he takes aim and kicks me hard in the stomach.

I groan and curl up on the floor, clutching my abdomen in agony. My dad gives a growl of anger, and he pulls me to my feet, shoving me roughly against the wall. He raises his fist, and I try to flinch away, but I'm just a little too late. His fist flies into my face, and I feel blood begin to trickle out of my nose.

A quiet whimper of fear escapes me as he lets go of me. I sink to the floor, tears of pain and terror falling from my eyes.

"I'll let your friends know that you arrived safely." My dad smirks, pulling out his phone to take a picture of me.

I quickly raise my arm slightly, hoping that the Ls and Rs that I had written on them earlier will be on the picture. The others might see and realise what it means.

After taking a photo, my dad leaves the basement, slamming the door behind him, leaving me alone in the darkness.