5 Seconds of Suicide.

fourteen| the prodigal daughter

(a/n: SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE! We extended this chapter, so we hope it makes up for it (: )

Everyone else had been told, the night before, that from then on every morning they would be woken with a loud alarm at 8am. Well she naturally woke up at six so, she had some time to spare. She knew that everyone else was asleep and so were the 5cide boys because it was obvious - they were lazy. She quietly grabbed a pair of boots and laced them up, before tip-toeing out of the door. She sneaked down the corridor and just made it out of the accommodation halls. 

She shivered, being in only a t-shirt and joggers, and rubbed her arms together to create some kind of warmth. At first, she never thought of the idea of leaving but as soon as she came across it, there was no turning back. She had no plan other than to go into the woods and run. Looking from left to right, she dashed all the way to the entrance of the forest, trying not to smack her head right onto a tree.

She had been running for a few minutes now and she knew that she was quite far away from the basement and accommodation halls, where everyone was sleeping. She stopped and held her hands on her knees, breathing in and out.

"Tired?" a voice asked.

She jumped up, her eyes filling with tears as soon as she saw who it was. "Dad."

Her dad put his arms around her and engulfed her into a long hug. They let go and Keira breathed in. "Where's mum?"

"Right here."

She looked up at her mother, immediately hugging her. "I thought I'd never see you again," Keira said.

"Listen, those-those 5cide boys are trying to kill us," her father said and pointed.

"Kill you, how?" 

"They were planning to do it much earlier but we escaped and well, we live on a boat now."

Keira couldn't believe it. Even Michael knew about this. If she hadn't found out sooner, her parents would have been gone. He played her, so it distracted her. She felt heartbroken, knowing that she trusted someone like him.

"Can I stay with you?" she asked.

"Why are you asking? Of course, you're staying," her mother said.

"Not so fast," a voice spoke.

A policeman stood nearby, two handcuffs dangerously dangling from his belt. He waved the gun infront of the Mrs.Maxwell's face and the Mr.Maxwell's, and repeated the sequence.

"We just...wanted to see her," Keira's father spoke quietly, both him and his wife raising their hands up and kneeling slowly. Keira had then realised that the police were in on this too.

Keira panicked and jumped in front of the policeman. "Please, don't hurt them," Keira pleaded, her voice shaking. "I will go back now." 

The policeman laughed heartily. "You think this is about you?" He continued, "It's them we want."

Before Keira could negotiate further, the sound of a bullet was heard. Her father fell to the ground.

"Daddy!" Keira managed to scream, before rushing to him. She was gasping and her head was spinning wildly, and knelt by her father, hot tears brimming her eyes.

"I'm okay honey, just a flesh-wound," Keira's father said, his throat almost dry. He then told her quietly, "Listen. Go back there to the basement. I'll come find you a long time from now, so as to not raise suspicions. You be there and you be a good girl, okay?"

She nodded her head, her silent sobs almost turning into a bawl. She took one of his hands and brought it to her face, taking in the smell of fish and cologne. "Dad, I'm so scared."

"Don't be!" He tried to waver a smile. "Mummy and I will be back in the blink of an eye. Until then..." He leaned in to whisper in her ear. "Survive."

The policeman seemed to grow angrier by the minute, but other than that, felt extremely guilty.

Keira nodded, still overwhelmed. She went to give her mother a hug, and after an exchange of encouraging words, Keira left for the basement.

When she arrived, Jill ran to her in exasperation. "Keira! There you are! They had ordered a search squad to look for you. Jordan started to spread the rumour that you had died. God, I hate him." She gave Keira a hug, and Keira wondered what she was thinking this morning when she had planned to escape alone. She made a quiet vow that, when her parents came for her, she'd bring Jill and her friends out of this place too.

She heard someone clapping, and turned around to see Jordan. "The prodigal daughter has returned."

She ignored him and, together with Jill, went on inside.

Michael came up to her and embraced her, but checked around for security cameras first. She pulled out of the hug immediately, and walked away with her teeth clenched. If she stayed longer she would've killed him.

Later that evening, since no one was allowed to leave the building (even more so after Keira's disappearance), the 5cide boys declared an indoor party. Keira had already made up her mind to not go, but Calum added that it was compulsory.

When Keira had gone into the room, there was a knock on the door. It was Jill, holding a black leather dress.

"This, my friend," Jill began. "Is the ultimate man-stealer. Who knows? A certain 5cide boy might even look your way..."

Keira knew instantly who she was talking about, and almost gagged. But Jill was so insistent, she took the dress anyway. She still felt guilty about wanting to run away without Jill earlier.

In Michael's room, there was a lot of preparation going on. He did up his hair nicely, in a way that Ashton said would 'gather all the single ladies, and ladies who wished they were single'. He checked his face in the mirror five times, secretly concealing any visible zits.

"You're overdoing it, mate," Calum said, shaking his head while he leaned against the door frame. "Remember, rules have changed." Michael ignored him and moved on to the hair gel.

Keira got changed and exited her room. The basement had been done up to look like a club, and they had even hired a DJ (although the songs were all by the 5cide boys). There were already people dancing, but the FCES had assigned ten people to make sure they weren't in close contact. Keira noticed that the couple, Landon and Jamie, were nowhere near each other. Jill emerged from the mob, her face sullen.

"This new system sucks," she said, pouting. "You know Hensen? He offered me a drink and the faeces people didn't even allow us to touch the same glass!"

Keira laughed, and heard a familiar voice behind her say, "Hey." She whisked around and saw that it was Michael.

Michael was looking unusually good-looking today. His hair was dyed black now, and he was wearing a buttoned-up black shirt. He wore ripped black jeans and, not surprisingly, a pair of black boots. But Keira successfully managed to shove all these details from her mind.

Seeing Keira in the black dress- Michael could hardly breathe. He stared at her for a good 2 minutes and then finally managed to complement her. "You look...amazing." Michael wasn't stuck-up, but part of him expected her to say something like, "You do too." She didn't. She held her noise high and walked away, leaving him to do nothing but gawp at her once more. Jill was equally confused, but shrugged and walked back to the dancefloor.

While the party was going on...

The telephone rang and Luke snatched it. "I told you. I'll only give you your damn paycheck once their dead."

Luke slammed down the phone, and decided to see the party downstairs. He was secretly happy with the system, because he knew that it would stop Michael from getting distracted. Their love affair was never meant to happen, and Luke honestly regretted having a love-stricken boy on their team.

Calum handed Luke a drink when he entered. "Hey, bro, where were you?"

Luke smiled. "Just out and about I guess. Spoke to a bunch of FCES people. But who cares now? Let's party!"

Later that night, at around 12 a.m.

The telephone rang, and an angry Luke picked it up. "What is it?" Luke barked into the phone.

An exhausted voice answered. "I want my money."