*Blank stares at an open plea, who else can save you and me?*

She runs like fire, flickering and jagged, unable to stop even as her lungs cry out for forgiveness. Nothing is held back. Each street is a memory, lost and jagged and tearing at her. Their fight, so long ago, kills her.

"Alise! I need-I need-I need your help."

Her eyes sqeeze it away, but not before another pops up.

"Shh! Gosh, you'll wake up the neighborhood! You're lucky Dad's at Grandma's, and Mom's on the other side of the house and a heavy sleeper."

She hates thinking of it, of everything. The entire thing was selfish, rude, and neither of them were giving the other a fair shot. Yet, they both let it effect everything. Then, all she wanted was for Tyler to stand up for herself. Now...she just wants her alive.

"Sometimes I want to be like you, Tyler. Then I see you like this, and I'm not sure who I want to be. Or even who I could be." There was more to it, but she can't remember all the details. Only the bigger ones stand out, fighting for control.

"But do you know what it's like to love and hate someone at the same time? To never want to leave because you're so stuck in soemething, that leaving is near impossible." Alise still doesn't know why she didn't realize it before; both her and Tyler love who they hate.

What Tyler had said next nearly killed her, "So we're only friends because of my brother." They continued to fight, using words to kill the very person they wanted to help. "My entire life has been put together by him."

Even now, it hasn't really changed.

"Because, I mean, it's not like I care for you, Tyler! Oh yes, why would I care? God, Tyler, have you ever heard yourself?"

Alise stops just before she enters the place, catching her breath as she leans against the side of the door. "Please don't let that be what she remembers," Alise prays quietly, holding her hands close together like she used to when she was younger. Everything teeters, the world slowly slipping around her, before she snaps it into clarity. "Let me save her."

Without a second thought she enters the building with the big blue and red sign reading "Police" on it.

"My friend is in trouble."

***

Seconds are days are years. A moan falls from her lips, so quiet it's hardly there. She can't feel anything any longer. Her body doesn't exist, none of the pain matters. Only the cold numbness that slowly seeps through her does.

People touch her on the arm, the leg, moving her around, measuring her. Fingers taste the skin of her neck, holding her there, heartbeat slicing through her skull.

She wants to giggle, to scream, to cry and to breathe, yet she can't do any of that. Her body is thrown back onto the floor, useless.

Words play in her head. Whether or not they're real, she doesn't know, but they're clear and concise.

"We're leaving, now. Move her into the truck." Male, sturdy pitch, and definitely mad.

"The boy?" Also male, hesitant, almost cautious.

Small pause. "Leave him to rot."

Someone leaves the room, opening a door but never closing it. For some reason that bothers her, but in her confused state she can't remember why. Everything just plays out as if she's not even real.

Someone lifts her, carrying her outside as well. The air is cool against her skin.

"Quick, they'll be here any second."

A car door opens, and she's flung into it. It closes after her. The engine starts, leaving her to feel the ground pull away from them. They drive for hours, but it could have been seconds. Everything is so weird to her, sounds not making sense. There are people talking, no, singing. Singing in another language, the radio turned on so low it's hard to hear. Whoever's driving is silent. She doesn't know if there's anyone else in there.

The singing drifts into talking, two hosts laughing and carrying a conversation in a language so strange, she's not even sure if it's human. Just as she's starting to wonder if she's been abducted by a strange creature, the vehicle makes a sharp left turn. Her stomach lurches, a burning sensation freezing its way up her abdomen.

The radio clicks off.

"Damn it," a voice mutters, "damn it all. Can't ever work like it's supposed to. No, no, of course not. Of course not."

She knows that voice, she does, but their name escape her. Everything is so cold. Something wet is falling into her fingers, which are tingling with numbness. In fact, her entire side is wet. A drizzle flicks through her head, attacking the muscle, pulling underneath her scalp. Her eyes clinch together, suddenly aware of all the pain around her.

The vehicle stops.

Time seems to dive in and out.

One second she's in the car, the next she's on the floor of it. Then she's back in the car, being pulled out. Jump, jump. She's out in the open. In a doorway. On the floor. Slam, something heavy falls over. Bang, a wooden chair hits up against something. Split, the sounds of cracking material cut through the air.

"Work, work, work!" The guy lets out an animistic cry. "Why won't anything fucking work?"

Something hard bangs on wood. A knocker at the door, insisting that it's opened immediately.

***

They knock on the door several times, the policemen tense. Alise watches from a car on the side of the road, her heart in her chest. Marcus is on the crew, his face held so stoic it hurts her inside. He's holding up well, but she knows how awful this has to be for him. Everything hangs on what they find inside.

Please let her be alive.

Eyes wide, she watches them open the door, moving in with guns held at chest level. One moves back to the door a second after entering, speaking into his shirt rapidly. They've found her!

No one carries Tyler out, no one moves from their spots. "What are you waiting for?" She speaks to herself in barely a whisper.

Everyone waits on an ambulance. More help. Something.

Come on, come on! Tight pressed against the glass, Alise closes her eyes, hating that it took her so long to finally accept help. Since the beginning she's wanted to fix everything herself. Now, she realizes what a grave mistake it was. Alise can only hope her friend is still alive in there. God, let her be okay. It hasn't been too long...

The longer they wait, the more her throat begins to close. Oh God...

Finally, the ambulance arrives. People rush about, carrying out two bodies on stretchers. Time freezes as she recognizes the figures, both unconscious.

Suzy and the boy who had tried to help them.

The police don't bring out a third.

***

"The problem with people nowadays is that no one listens," someone says. "No matter who you ask, who promises to do what they said they would, no one gives a shit!"

Another bang.

Another voice speaks, this one male as well. "We're secure here. No one can find us. They won't even know to come looking."

Ice clinks against glass. "What a bunch of asses. This world is a filthy fucking place, know that? You can't trust no one anymore. All I asked was for one simple thing, one! Take care of my girls. What happens? One fucking escapes and goes to nark, the other is good as gone! All my time invested, gone to waste."

The other guy coughs, "At least you've got those new girls."

"New girls?" The glass is set down roughly, "Those girls are worthless to me now. One way or another they're going to find me, and all of this is going to shreds. Every fucking thing I worked on, gone!"

"You don't know that."

He laughs, "I don't know that! I don't, do I not?"

Rusting. A chair scrapes up against wood loudly. She hears someone gasping, then something heavy dropping to the floor. A startled gasp. The other guy calls out weakly, "I-I didn't mean that!"

"You didn't mean that?"

She flinches at the sound of skin hitting skin, knowing that the other guy is going down. Don, she remembers, Don is beating on the guy. He's taking him down, just like he's always done to those who defy him.

A shiver travels up her spine.

Eyelids fluttering, she tries her hardest to keep them shut. Opening them right now could be deadly. Her ears are her eyes, painting a vivid picture of a bloody mess. Don's lost it, his fists flying, face purple, hair and clothes disheveled. The other guy takes the hits, knocked out. Again and again, gray and black fluttering around her vision, the one beating on another until nothing can be left.

God...end this.

***

Marcus stands by Alise, fists clinched but face composed. She looks at him long and hard, trying to adopt the way he is, how he's keeping himself together. I have to stay calm. His voice is low and tight, "She wasn't inside, but there was a lot of blood. A trail led to the door. A witness said they saw them drive off, we're getting a route now."

She nods, biting the inside of her cheek. "You guys are going to find her, right?"

He doesn't answer.

"She's not dead, Marcus. I know she's not. We both know Don's too smart to let her die," Alise says. Her words are flat, as if she can't even convince herself to believe them. "Did that boy tell you guys anything?"

Marcus shakes his head, standing up from his chair. "I can't disclose any information about that at this time. We'll save her, one way or another."

Alise nods, standing up as well. Her purse is clutched so tightly in her hands that her fingers start to turn white. "Thank you."

He nods back, giving her the grimmest of smiles. "I'll call if we find anything, I promise."

She walks away, her head bobbing and her heart sore. The station is filled with cops, some taking on phones, others typing away like there's no tomorrow. She wonders how many are finding out where Don is, how much they know about what's happening.

I should have told sooner. Kicking herself mentally for being such a crappy friend, Alise leaves the building and climbs into her car. Neither of us did anything. I screamed at her for not having the courage to leave...yet I never once actually told the police. She sits for a moment, taking a deep breath in and out. Then, she puts key to ignition and drives. In with a flower, out with a birthday candle, she breathes, keeping herself from crying again. Too many tears have been lost over the stupidest of things, this not excluded.

All night she's been up with them, and now she's finally going back, not only to catch some rest-eye but also so she can see Kitty again. Kitty. Pain rises in her chest at the thought of Kitty, and Alise finds herself driving a little bit faster, getting back to the apartments faster than normal.

By the time she's at the door, Alise has lost the nerve she'd found. Her hand falters just before the wood, eyes wide and heart skipping a few beats. Come on, Alise, she imagines Tyler whispering in her ear. You've got this. Fighting away tears, she knocks.

"Alise," Jake asks, opening the door. His hair is messed up, shirt crinkled, and on his right arm he wears a hospital band. "You're...I thought..." he stammers, "where's Tyler?"

Alise just stares at him, trying to figure out if he's serious or not. Where's Tyler? Where's Tyler, Jake?

"She's okay, right?"

Alise shakes her head, an ugly look crossing her face. "Where's Tyler? Where do you think?" Hands balling up, she takes a step closer to him, one finger wagging at his chest, "You sold her out! Who the hell do you think you are? Why are you here, you piece of dirt?"

He steps back some. "Where is she?" Everything about his words scream guilty. She doesn't care.

"Why'd you do it? Well? What'd he offer you?" Alise won't stop to answer any questions, instead she hits him in the chest, going red in the face. "Well? Answer me, scum! You sold out my best friend and she might be dead now! Do you hear that? Dead!" She beats on his chest again, starting to cry as she does so. The tears fall down her face uselessly, reminders that Tyler's out there and everyone else has to deal with it.

He stops moving, stops talking, stops everything. She watches him, unable to bring herself to hit him again as she realizes that he's crying. Real, actual tears. Jake crumples to a ball the second she drops her hands from him, holding his head in his hands and shaking it violently. "No, no...no, she can't be!"

A toilet flushes, water turns on then off, followed by a door opening. Kitty walks out, blinking rapidly at the scene before her. Kitty...As she notices Alise she blushes, looking down at the ground and refusing to meet her eyes. Voice is a low murmur, she moves toward the table. "Alise...I thought you were...with him."

Shaking her head, Alise takes a few steps towards her, hands reaching out. The lump in her throat is near impossible to swallow, "I was. I'm so, so sorry, Kitten. I shouldn't have said any of that." I love you, she adds silently.

Kitty nods, licking her lips slightly. "I'm sorry too."

Behind them, Jake is still freaking out, but neither see him. All the see is each other. They reach for one another, kissing violently, one like they've never had before. Then, Alise pulls away, leaving her arms wrapped around her girlfriend. "We've got bigger issues than this, though. Tyler...Don took her again. She might be dead." The acid rises again, her words almost cracking. It takes every ounce of her strength not to break down right here and now.

"What? She's at her grandmothers!" Kitty looks to Jake for affirmation, balking when she receives none. "But...but...this can't be happening. Where is she?"

"No one knows."

"Where did you last see her? I thought she left the hospital with her Gram..."

Jake lets out a strangled noise, "I gave her to him." Both girls are silent to that, especially Alise, who watches him now with pity. Jake shakes his head, whispering, "My sister, Rachel. Don's had her kept in a coma. He let her go free...he said he wouldn't kill her, if I...if I just..."

"Gave him Tyler," Kitty finishes for him. "God, he's been playing all of us."

"And now she's gone."

Jake stands, regaining his composure a bit. "We've got to get help. We can't just leave here there. I won't just leave her there."

Sighing, Alise sits down in a chair, motioning them to do the same. Her voice is low and rushed as she explains to them everything that happened, leaving out some of the minor details like the clothes and Don's possessiveness over her. That part, she decides, will just be between Tyler and I.

Jake starts them a pot of coffee once she's finished, body tight and rigid as he moves. Wiping at her face, Kitty accepts some gladly, her shoulders still shaking a bit.

"She should've been in the house. She should've been, and she wasn't. There's no other leads right now. Someone saw a car heading west, but they're sketchy about it themselves. All night we've ran into nothing."

Outside clouds move over the sun, casting shadows and removing more than half the light from the room. Even though it's only nine in the morning, it's gray enough outside to look like seven pm, even eight. A chill runs through Alise at the thought of Tyler, still alone out there, wherever she is. They sit at the table, taking turns sipping at their coffee, all seemingly lost in their own thoughts. The weather is back to normal today, unlike the warmer temperature it's been. It's gotten up to eighty-five, hasn't it? The thought is random, and Alise hates herself for being so...normal at a time like this.

A sick, sick thought peeps into her head. Maybe she's better dead than being alive, with Don...

Jake's head shoots up so fast she jumps, wondering if she spoke aloud or something. But no, he only shakes his head before slapping it. "There's a warehouse on the West side of town."

"Okay..." Kitty sighs, "Jake, your useless trivia isn't exactly helping anything."

"No, no, it's a drug resting stop. Dealers...dealers will drop off their loads, others will pick them up later. I've been there a few times," he admits, "and I know the route pretty well. It's possible he could have gone there, or someone there might know where he went. Steve normally goes there, and he's still talking to Tyler, right?"

Alise shrugs, "I don't know, but it's a good shot as any."

.

Hey! Sorry for all the jumping around here, tell me if anything looked off or was bad! This is an early update and there will be one tomorrow as well! :)