>>All things must change von Bush + Together Right von Finger Eleven<<

3 hours later (Penny's POV)

I crept through the old warehouse, which lay dark and abandoned. It was run down, the windows were smashed, water was dripping from the ceiling in some places where it was no longer tight or where condensation was collecting due to lack of use. The steady dripping of water and the soft crunch of dirt and shards under my shoes were the only sounds in here. The hall was empty and showed nothing of what had once been here. Colorful graffiti decorated the walls and gave you something cheerful in this dreary loneliness.

I paused as I crossed the hall and listened. There was no sign that he was here and neither was Sam. Tears of anger and despair welled up in my eyes. Where else should I look for them? I looked around and spotted a door in the wall in front of me. I looked at it and saw that the dark green metal color was darker around the door handle. I went over to it and ran my finger across the middle of the door, only to remove a layer of dust, turning the dull green in that spot into a darker one. So this door had been used. More often than not.

My heart was in my throat as I carefully pushed down on the handle, praying that neither the handle nor the door would squeak or creak with age. The handle didn't do it and I breathed out the breath, I was unconsciously holding, in relief when it opened silently. I pushed it open as carefully as I could, just enough to slip through.

I looked around the narrow hallway beyond. Dim light burned inside from old, sooty light bulbs. Who could say how long these would last. At least I hoped they would let me have light until I got Sam out of here.

There was a bend in the passage to my left, but it was in the dark. To my right there was a staircase leading down, which was also lit. I decided to go downstairs. No matter how well Ridley hid himself, he certainly wouldn't be left in the dark. But first I texted Malcolm a quick message telling where I was. If Sam was really here, we would need help quickly. If he wasn't here, I would leave and keep searching before they got here and could stop me.

When I reached the bottom of the stairs, an old, underground and windowless storage room opened up to me. It smelled musty in here and the fact that there was a table with cups and a coffee machine and an old, tattered couch didn't make it any more homely. My breath caught in my throat when I saw Sam sitting tied to a chair against the opposite wall in the semi-darkness.

The sight of him shocked me so much that I no longer gave any thought to caution. I ran over to him, carelessly pushing aside the chair that was right in front of him and that Ridley had probably used for his interrogation to get anything out of Sam about where I was.

My breath hitched when I saw up close what Ridley had done to him. His right hand was bloody and his fingers were obviously broken. His clothes were torn, and dried blood could be seen in several places where Ridley must have cut him - not deep enough to be dangerous, but painful nonetheless. He had a gash on his forehead that didn't look good at all.

"Oh, Sam," I sighed quietly, tears of despair and guilt in my eyes, as I crouched down in front of him. "I'm so sorry," I whispered. Hesitantly, I reached out and gently placed my hand on his cheek. I was so afraid that he would feel cold because life had already left him under this ordeal. But he felt warm. Too warm. He needed urgently medical attention.

His face had sunk into his chest, but he stirred now, narrowing his eyes and lifting his head just high enough for me to see his split lip and two black eyes. It took my breath away and brought tears to my eyes.

"Pen?!" he groaned quietly and opened his eyes heavily. "You...have to...go. He wants...you..."

"I'm not leaving without you! I'm so sorry, Sam. It's all my fault," I said sadly and I looked at the shackles. His wrists were tied to the backs of the chair with cable ties. His ankles were right on the chair legs - and everything was so tight that it was almost a miracle that they didn't choke off his blood.

I reached for the knife in my pocket, pulled it out, and flipped it open. I placed it on his left ankle. He groaned in pain as I cut the cable tie and withdrew my hand in confusion. I had leaned a little on his knee and my palm was full of fresh blood. Only then did I see that Sam's thigh was tied off and a red soaked bandage was tied around it underneath. I carefully took it off and discovered the bullet wound. "What did he do to you?!" I gasped in shock as I took off my jacket and tore off the sleeve of my long-sleeved shirt to re-bandage the wound. It wasn't sterile, but it was the only and cleanest thing I had available.

"Go...Pen. He...will...you..."

"He's going to die for what he did to you," I replied bitterly as I applied the knife to the zip tie on his other leg.

"Oh, I'd like to see that!" I jumped when I heard that voice and turned to him with the knife in my hand. He leaned on the corner of the staircase with a smug grin and looked at me with amusement. How long had he been standing there watching us?

I gripped the knife's handle tighter, also because I felt my hands begin to shake. I had to keep myself under control. It was about Sam, after all. I no longer cared what happened to me, but Sam had to survive this. I had to get him out of here. I owed him that. He deserved to live and perhaps find happiness at some day.

Ridley pushed himself off the wall and came towards me. I braced myself for his attack, but it didn't come. Instead, he stopped right in front of the tip of my knife, which was pointed at the center of his chest. It would be so easy, over so quickly. He knew, as did I, that I couldn't do it. "Nice to see you again, Julie."

"I can't say that back."

He laughed quietly. "I actually believe you. What reminded you most of me all these years? Nightmares? Missions in which you had to see blood? Or the fact that you were someone else for 10 years and you had to hide in this nest?"

"More likely the scars you left me. Still, you didn't dictate my life."

"No? But I followed your life while I was in prison. The great Penny Morris. Team leader at Pontypandy Fire Station with numerous trainings and accolades. Your colleagues know your name in the whole country. They speak of you with admiration, thanks to your background", he explained to me with exuberant enthusiasm as he tried to walk around me. I stopped on the spot, right in front of Sam, to protect him, but chased him with the knife. "Educated at Newtown Academy as soon as you finished school, which you only did a year later than your classmates. The long healing time really set you back, didn't it?" He laughed quietly and anger bubbled up inside me. I took a deep breath to remind myself to calm down. He wanted to tease me so I would become careless."You never held your own as a firefighter in Newtown, but after you moved to Pontypandy 5 years ago, something changed. What was that, Julie? What gave you so much self-confidence, to become so ambitious?"

"The desire to help other people as best I can. To prevent children from losing their parents or having to witness their death," I answered him shortly. It was only half the story. The other half was that Sam had been there to always support and encourage me.

"You know, I expected anything when I found out you survived. I even expected you to join the police, become a lawyer, something like that. That or you'd die because of your past and commit suicide. But no. You've taken a completely different path. You've surprised me. It's too bad that your path in life has come to an end here," he murmured, suddenly serious again, his voice almost just a growl.

"Stop talking. I'm here. Let Sam go now!" I demanded with more courage in my voice than I really had.

"Pen...No!" Sam groaned behind me.

"Oh Julie, come on. Did you really think I could let him go now that he knows everything?" he replied sarcastically.

"It wasn't agreed upon. You..." He reached over the knife in my hand and grabbed my forearm so quickly that I gasped as he pulled me towards him, stretching my arm into the air. He took a step to the side and before I could react, he had grabbed my other hand too. He pressed his thumb against the tendons and nerves on the underside of my wrist with such force that I was unable to hold the knife for long. He looked at me with a grin while I held his gaze and tried not to show any emotion. The knife clattered to the floor and he spun me around, wrapping his arms around me from behind to pin me to him in front. It all happened so quickly that, despite my well-trained reflexes, I had nothing to counter him.

"You should know that my word cannot be relied upon much, except when it comes to fulfilling a promise that I will kill someone." He easily wrapped one hand around both of my wrists and held them tightly while I tried unsuccessfully to free myself from his grasp. His free hand trailed down my shoulder and I froze as it ran over the side of my chest down to my hip. An ice-cold shiver ran down my spine. I felt his breath like fire across my neck as he pressed me against him. "You've become an attractive woman. How could I miss that?" His voice had changed and I felt why. My stomach churned at the thought of what he could do to me before he killed Sam and me.

"Leave...her...alone...bastard," Sam gasped, labored but still full of anger. He must be worse off than he already seemed.

It still only made Ridley laugh.

"What else? What do you want to do, cripple? Would you like to watch me have the last dance with your loved one?"

"Go...to...hell," Sam growled.

Ridley laughed again and I took advantage of the moment. There was a table right in front of me. Now he would see how fast my reflexes were. I lifted one leg and pushed myself off the table to catapult myself backwards with him. As I had hoped, he didn't expect it and staggered back. He was panting heavily as he hit the wall, but he still didn't let go of me. On impulse, I threw my head back with all my might and heard a sickening crack, followed by his scream as he finally let go of me to hold his nose, which I had apparently broken.

I took the second he needed to collect himself from the pain and rushed forward. I grabbed my knife and ran over to Sam.

He groaned as I cut the cable tie at the wrist of his shattered hand. I was just putting it on the cable tie that tied his other hand to the armrest of the chair when he warned me: "Pen...!"

I pulled the knife back and turned around, held it protectively in front of me and stabbed. I caught him right in the chest just as he hit me in the face with full force and I fell to the ground.

To be continued...

Sorry guys. The last chapter got so long that I had to split it up. The big finale comes tomorrow.