Kidnapped

Chapter 8

The blood drive seemed to be a typical blood donor event. Men and women of all ages patiently waited in dwindling lines to have their blood drawn, conversing in low tones as to not inconvenience the donors who were giving a bit more blood then they were used to and felt a bit lightheaded.

As Pepper followed Rhodey into the gymnasium, where the drive was being held, she was overcome with the realization of just how HUGE the building was. How exactly were they supposed to find one measly clue in the enormous room? The clue could be anything, ranging from a slip of paper to an electric guitar. Where to look in such a place? There were hundreds of places for something to be quite easily concealed.

Pepper winced, cupping her elbows in the palms of her hands as she forced herself to breathe evenly to avoid a panic attack. She knew Tony was in agony; she could FEEL it. And and she hated it. Knowing that somewhere, all alone and in extreme pain, Tony was being held and tortured.

Why him?

"Pepper," Rhodey whispered, nudging her slightly in the side with his elbow. Pepper rapidly blinked, bringing her eyes to focus on her friend. "It's going to be okay."

"I know, I just-"

Her voice caught in her throat, and she stopped, eyes burning and unable to continue. Rhodey nodded in understanding, grabbing her hand and giving it a slight squeeze.

"I know how you feel, but we've got to believe he's going to be okay. Otherwise, we're not doing him very much good."

"Yeah... I guess so..."

Rhodey managed to flash a quick half-hearted smile before he relinquished his grip in Pepper's hand and looked around the gymnasium. Pepper fiddled awkwardly, fingering the Pod with one hand and twisting the edges of the red shirt with the other. She gently waved the phone beside her ear, listening to the music softly playing from its speakers. She hadn't bothered to turn off the music, instead simply turning down the volume and letting it play through his playlists. It was almost easier to pretend he was right there beside her again, walking her home as they shared the earphones and listened to music, when she had the familiarity of the music to calm her racing heartbeat.

What wouldn't she give to have him by her side, safe and protected, again?

Pepper hadn't even noticed Rhodey timidly poking around the donation areas, most likely searching for clues. She wanted to help, so she pocketed Tony's phone and cautiously stepped towards one of the women in charge of instructing donors where to head.

"Miss-"

"I'm a bit busy, kid," the brunette snapped, lazily waving a clipboard in Pepper's direction as she held a cell phone to her ear.

"But it's really impor-"

"Beat it."

Pepper felt her insides boiling at the unfairness of this woman's actions, and she wanted nothing more than to scream obscenities at her, right there, at that moment. That woman, who couldn't even be two years older than Pepper, couldn't begin to understand the severity of the situation one of the most kind, considerate people on Earth was in, and she wouldn't even give a few seconds to help her!

Pepper thought for a second she was really going to lose it, but then Rhodey appeared at her side, comforting her quietly with soft words. The woman whistled at them irritably and snapped her fingers at them, a sign clearly telling them to get moving. Rhodey glared at her, then led Pepper away to a corner of the room.

"You okay?" he asked. "You're looking kinda pale."

Pepper was about to answer when suddenly the entire gym was thrown into pitch darkness. Cries of shock ran through the room as visibility was cut to zero, and in the darkness Pepper grappled for Rhodey's arm, finding it and latching onto it like a leech.

"What's going o- EEYAH! Rhodey!"

Pepper was yanked away from the teen by unseen hands, and she was roughly slammed against the wall. "Rhodey!"

"Pepper!"

She heard him shout her name and run towards her, but a moment later she heard a clunk of metal against skull and she heard a thud as he sank to the ground. Pepper shivered in fear, hearing shouts of, "Call nine-one-one!" ringing around the room. She felt rough hands jerk her arms at an odd angle behind her back, her face pressed roughly into the wall as her wrists were bound with cord.

"What are you doing with me?" Pepper asked, unable to hide the tremor in her voice. The man didn't respond, but his intentions were clear anyway.

She didn't see the metal rod before it crashed against her skull and her vision went black.