Hope Is What We Crave (#Wattys2016)

Chapter Eight- The Struggle

A/N- Hey, just to let you know, I am going to skip one month, since I have no ideas for what to do between that. Thanks for reading!!

Unknown POV
I flipped through the file, looking at each picture. We'd been quiet for too long. Time to come back out. We still had three of them, and the other.....Joel, was it? He was still in a coma. Maybe.....maybe I could have a little fun with the younger girl. Lily? No, Lucy. Last time had been priceless. But besides that, who next? Her, maybe? Him? Eh, why not both? Both sick, both a bit weaker, and scare everyone. Get them to the point where they're frantic. It'll be easy, especially with the fact that he finally decided to come back. Time to get to work.

Courtney's POV
I turned off the computer, yawning. It had been a month. Joel was still in a coma, and Moriah, Rachel, and Lucy were still missing. Lucy. I miss her so much. Police were starting to worry that they were dead. All day, every day, I was praying that they'd be found, and be found alive. That was an important distinction. Strangely enough, no one else had been taken. Maybe this was it? I hoped so. I headed upstairs, making sure both boys were asleep, and headed to my room, and climbed into bed. Luke and Libby were at the hospital, sitting with Joel right now, and David and Helen would be switching off with them in about twenty minutes. As I tried to sleep, I thought about what the last month had been like. Luke and I had done some smaller For King and Country shows that were closer to Nashville. I picked up my book and turned my lamp on, giving up on sleep. Libby had told me I should start reading When God Doesn't Fix It. It was written by Laura Story, and I'd only read two chapters, but it was pretty amazing so far. As I waited, I kept reading. About an hour later, the phone rang. I picked it up, not sure who would be calling at midnight.

"Hello?" I heard sirens on the other line, and my heart dropped.
"Hi, this is Officer Judy Hobbs, am I speaking with Courtney Smallbone?" I shook. A car accident?
"Yes. May I ask why you're calling?" She took a deep breath.
"Ma'am, I am calling because about thirty minutes ago, your husband, Luke was abducted, right out on the street." My heart dropped right into my feet, and I couldn't breathe.
"Ok. Th-thank you for calling. Please call again if you find anything." I could hear sympathy in her voice as she answered.
"I'll call myself. I truly am sorry, ma'am." I hung up, dropping to my knees by my bed and sobbing.
"God, why?! Why?!?! First my daughter and niece, then my sister-in-law, and now my husband! God, please! Please bring them home." I looked up.
"Please."

Libby's POV
This was it. I was done! Luke had been taken?! No. No more. Time to change things up. I was now the only one with enough free time to sit at the hospital, so I agreed to do that about 24/7. I'd also found a nurse who was trustworthy enough, so when I told her my plan, she agreed. Now, we just had to wait.

Moriah's POV
Still here. Still stuck, and with no idea what day it was. Just then, we heard a crash, and grunting, like there was a fight going on. Lucy was asleep near the door, so when it swung open suddenly, it cracked her on the skull. She sat up, looking dazed.

"Lucy, you okay?" She looked at me, confused.
"I-I think so. Who are you?" One of the men grabbed her arm, hauling her up and cursing.
"Leave him! Let's just drop her off. We can't deal with someone who 'as amnesia." The other man dropped whoever it was he was struggling with, slammed the door, and apparently helped the other man with Lucy.

"I hope she's faking it." Rachel whispered, crawling over to untie the man's wrists. I sighed.
"I don't think she was." We got him untied, and pulled the pillowcase off his head.
"Uncle Luke!" Rachel shrieked, and he looked up, startled, and then hugged her. He hugged me as well, as if he was never going to let go. Maybe with him here, we finally had a chance of getting out of here.

Author's note- Hello! Stay tuned! There's a game-changer coming up next chapter. A nasty one..😈 What did ye think? Tell me in the comments! Also, just a song that I really love. Love ya guys! -Craver_Priceless