Ace Of Spades (Complete Raw First Draft, Unedited)

Thirty- Nine: Heroine

"Bonnie..."

I shook her once more, but still, she didn't respond, and I angrily dashed away the tear that rolled down my cheek, sitting helplessly beside Bonnie.

The bruises were already forming around her upper arms around the tiny pinpricks on the insides of her elbow where they'd forcefully injected her with who knew what.

My guess was heroine, something Lucas dealt in and regularly provided us with, but it had knocked Bonnie out and I was desperately trying to shake her out of her comatosed state before one of those animals came back in and found her defenseless, unable to fight them off.

I'd rolled her on her side in case she vomited and tried to calm my breathing.  She might be out for hours, or, she might be out all night.  I could feel myself panicking as the sound of the bar was dragged through the handles of the door once again, bracing myself for what I knew was coming.

At least she's unconcious, I thought to myself, not that it was any consolation.  Maybe, she wouldn't even know what's happening to her.

Two men entered, glancing at Bonnie's unmoving body.

"She dead?"  The man with the scar on his face who was in here before asked, but I shook my head.

The second man, who had the most intense blue eyes I'd ever seen produced a set of keys from his pocket and unlocked the padlock on Bonnie's chains, hoisting her up and tossing her over his shoulder.

"Where are you taking her?"  I demanded, climbing to my feet, but he just sneered at me and left with her.

I screamed Bonnie's name in the hope that she might come to and fight him off, maybe even escape, but I knew it was wishful thinking as Scar Face unlocked my chains as well and dragged me from the room by the cuffs around my wrists.

I scrambled for purchase on the ground, but could find none, my wrist burning with the pain of the cruel metal around them as I was dragged through another door, into a huge room, with several shipping containers along the far wall.

I saw the man who'd taken Bonnie emerge from one, glancing toward me, then ducked his head and disappeared again.

More men entered through a door in the side, the only other way out of the huge room.  Behind them, was Lucas.

One man dragged a chair across the floor and set it down in front of me, and Scar Face pushed me down into it, fastening my hands to it with the cuffs.

"Amelia," Lucas said, smiling sadly, and I grimaced as he brushed my hair out of my face, reminding me of the gentle way Ace used to.  Only, there wasn't a trace of the tenderness that Ace used, and I recoiled from his touch, glaring up at him from the chair.

"There's that defiance I missed so much," he chuckled, then his smile fell, and he just looked terrifying once more.  "Amelia, you know what happens to girls who try to run away, don't you?"

Oh, I knew only too well.  I had to scars to show for all the times I'd tried, years and years ago until I just finally gave up, accepting my fate, back before I learnt how to seperate my mind from my body.

I said nothing, staring up at Lucas, chanelling every ounce of loathing and hatred I had for him into that glare.

"You boys know I like to keep them pretty, so, just don't mess up her face," Lucas said to them before turning and striding away, making his way toward the exit.  "Other than that, she's all yours."

***

Slowly, I let myself feel again, though I wished I hadn't. I tested each of my limbs, trying to make sure there were no breaks.  They were intact, at least, but my side burned with each shallow breath I managed to somehow draw, and I was sure my ribs had to be broken.

My shirt was torn, hanging off me in rags, my jeans disposed to the side, and painfully, I got to my knees, biting back the gasp of pain as it tore through me.

There was a noise coming from close by, like gun shots, and I pulled myself to my feet, stumbling painfully toward the shipping container I'd seen that man take Bonnie.

The end was open, and I peered inside, seeing five people, the girls Lucas owned, all chained, as we had been in that other room, to the side of the container, down the other end.  They saw me as well, and started begging me to help them.

"I can't," I told them.  "I can't help you.  I don't have the keys."

There was a sixth person there, too, collapsed on the ground in the darkness, and I huried as quickly as my broken body would take me toward her.

Bonnie was still breathing, and I slumped beside her, trying to catch my breath without breathing at all, the pain in my side tearing through my entire body.

I heared the echo of one of the doors opening, and being slammed shut, more gunshots, then the rapid beating of footsteps, and, suddenly, Lucas appeared in the entrance of the container that I was in with Bonnie.

He came barreling toward me, dragging me up by the handcuffs still around my wrists, holding me in front of him like a shield, and pushed me toward the exit, pressing a gun into my temple.

"Your boyfriend is here," he hissed into my ear.  "Come and say goodbye before I kill him."

He slammed shut the door in the shipping container, and locked it, muffling the screams of the girls still inside, then Lucas dragged me toward the empty one next to it, pushing me through the door, into the darkness.  He pinned me against the wall, clamping his hand over my mouth, waiting against the side, listening.

We were there for some time, his hand still over my mouth, making it even more difficult for me to breath.  I could hear voices echoinb around the room, recognising Ace and Clyde, and my heart gave a great leap, feeling the tiniest spark of hope.

I was contemplating screaming, to let them know where I was, but Lucas pushed me out from our hiding place, into the huge room once more.

"I have Amelia," he yelled, across the room, just by my ear, making me jump with how loud it sounded.

His breath was warm on the back of my neck as he dragged me away, toward the exit, and I cringed back when I saw a man standing there, his gun pointed at us.  Then I recognised Ace, standing alone in the room, and a loud sob tore it's way from my mouth.

"Let her go," he growled, taking a menacing step toward us, but Lucas dragged me away with him, another few steps, wrapping a hand around my throat.

"Don't come any closer," he warned, squeezing so hard that he cut off my air, pressing the gun even harder into the side of my head.  "I swear to fucking god, I'll kill her."

Ace hesitated as Lucas backed us toward the exit, and black dots began to appear in my vision.

"Let her go," Ace said slowly,"and we'll let you walk free.

I tried to shake my head, begging him not to let Lucas go, but Lucas' fingers only tightened, preventing me from moving at all, squeezing so painfully, I thought I would pass out right there.

"Lucas," Ace called across, "we've got the place surrounded.  If you try to leave, they'll fucking mow you down."

Lucas ignored Ace, his heart hammering against my back, and, at last, to my despair, he reached the door, fumbling behind him, refusing to turn his back on Ace, then wrenched it open, dragging me with him.