Countdown

Chapter One: PRESENT

Samantha's P.O.V.

     FIVE MINUTES. She'll be dead in five minutes. How could I possibly save her if that meant hurting others. If I do what they want, more than just her will be put in this situation -- even killed.

     "This can't be all we can do," Tyler says, pacing back and forth across the floor. He's panicked, terrified. "Have you tried tracking them?"

     "Do you think I'm a moron? Of course I have -- " I answer, irritated at first but disappointment masks it when I see the hope in his eyes. Continuing, I say, "--but somehow they figured it out and shut down their network." I place my head in my hands as I remember what they did to her for it.

     Tyler plops down on my bed, devastated, and -- trying to convince himself -- he says, "There's nothing we can do. There's nothing but to sit here and wait until she's d-dea...dead." He stumbles with the last word, and seconds later, loud sobs erupt from him. His whole body shakes as the tears pour out of him.

     I have to tear my eyes away; the way he looks is just too much to handle. Even the sound of his cries, though, puts me on the verge. Each time he tries to take a breath but gets choked up, breaks my heart even more.

     Eventually, after what feels like hours, I look down at the clock:  four minutes. Glancing over to Tyler, I see he has calmed down slightly, but once in awhile I hear a whimper from him.

     Three minutes.

     When Ty wipes his eyes with his sleeves, I realize the tears on my own cheeks. Quickly, before he has the chance to see them, I wipe them away.

     He is now starring blankly at the picture of his girlfriend that he keeps in his wallet, his eyes red and puffy. I honestly think I can see a piece of his soul floating away.

     Two minutes.

     One minute.

     The once catchy chime -- now the only sound that terrifies me -- of a video call cuts through the silence like a knife, startling the both of us. I wave him to move off to the side then take a deep breath before answering.

     "Good evening, Miss Athens!" the masked man greets oh-so-cheerfully. "Well, I don't know about you, but my timer says fifty seconds left. And I don't believe you've completed the job you were assigned."

     Seeing her where she always is, tied up and blindfolded with cuts and bruises all over her, makes my voice crack as I plea, "Please, just don't hurt her. I'll do it."

     "See, Sammie, I don't think I can believe that," he replies. Leaning in close to the camera, he continues in a loud tone, "Because if you were going to, you would have already done it!"

     Tyler prods my leg with a hanger. Once he sees he has my attention, he mouths, "I know that place."

     I press mute and gesture him to go on, without making it obvious to the others. 

     "It's just outside of Glendale!" he answers with a smile full of hope.

     "Call the Glendale Police Department and give them the address. Go in the other room."

     Excitement courses through my veins as I un-mute the chat. It all goes away, though, when I watch what the masked man is doing. I think at that moment, my heart stopped for a few beats.

     His hands are steady as he puts each bullet into the gun. He's use to killing innocent people, nothing I say will stop him from killing Danielle right in front of me.

     I want to scream for him to freeze and demand he put his weapon down as I point mine at him, then handcuffing him in disgust. I can't. I can't because he's there, and I'm here.

     "You can trust me now," I assure him with a shaky voice. To show him I'm serious, I lean over and grab my jacket. Afraid he won't believe me, I put it on and dangle the keys in front of the camera, making sure I get his attention. "I'll leave now."

     The same catchy, terrifying chime goes off indicating the end of the time, the phone lights up in front of the camera that is setting on the table, and I can't breathe until he answers. He doesn't even acknowledge me as he walks over to the table and taps on the screen of the phone. Then, slowly walks back over to Danielle. 

     The only thing I can wish for right now, is that it was me sitting there and not her.

     Finally he says, "I'm sorry, but as you can see, your time is up." He lowers the gun to Dani's head, the barrel resting on her temple. "Say 'goodbye' to your little sister, Samantha."

ווווווווווווווו×
Hey, guys! How did you like this first chapter? I know it's short, but I promise they will be longer in the following chapters! This chapter and the next are the shortest chapters!

The characters from this chapter are as followed:
•Danielle Jayne Athens is played by Britt Robertson
•Tyler Michael Remington is played by Dylan O'Brien
•Samantha Lynn Athens is played by Amanda Seyfried