Chapter 9- Decision Making

The intruder punched Daehyun. Daehyun punched back and it kept going back and forth. Laura tried to help but Daehyun kept yelling for her to run away.

Laura: I'm not leaving you!!

Daehyun was still fighting but kept yelling to Laura.

Daehyun: It's okay, JUST GO! I'll come find you, go now!

Then he got kicked and pushed back. Then the intruder pulled out a gun. He aimed it at Laura. 3...His finger on the trigger...2.....1!!

The bullet went straight forward....and hit Daehyun. He had ran in front of her. Laura was speechless and shocked. The trigger was pulled again. Another one went into his stomach. His body dropped to the floor.

Laura: AAHHH!! DAEHYUN, NO, NO, PLEASE. STAY WITH ME, WHY DID YOU DO THAT, PLEASE DON'T GO, STAY WITH ME!!

Laura cried and kept screaming. Her phone was dead so she couldn't call for help, no one was nearby. She was sobbing when Daehyun groaned. He said softly with all that he could.

Daehyun: Go...leave me...go now.

The intruder was coming towards Laura now. Laura's heart was beating.

Laura: NO PLEASE, I CAN'T LEAVE YOU HERE! DAEHYUN!

He was getting closer, Laura didn't want to leave him, she kept crying and pleading.

Daehyun: Go.

Laura cried but slowly got up and started running to wherever she could see. The intruder started running after Laura when Daehyun grabbed his ankle trying to slow him down.

Daehyun: You better not hurt her. If you do,...I'll kill you.

???: Sadly, I think you'll die way before anyone can get to me. But don't worry, I'll make sure Laura's grave is right next to yours.

Then he broke the tight grip and stepped harshly on Daehyun in the stomach where he had gotten shot twice.

Daehyun: AAAAHHH!!

Daehyun's face had tears streaming down and blood everywhere.

Laura heard his scream which made her feel more guilty. Her mind told her to go back but her body wouldn't cooperate and just kept running. The intruder had her in sight, he ran as fast as he could and so did she.

Laura: Someone help!!! Help!!

Finally the intruder caught up with her and grabbed her.

Laura: AAAHH-

Aria, Karina, Jax, and Matthew were waking through the tunnel still.

Aria: Oh my goodness, how long is this tunnel? Seriously.

Karina: I know right, where does this even lead to?

Jax and Matthew had no clue where they were going either. Unexpectedly, they walked into another room.

Karina: Finally!

Aria and Karina turned off their flashlights. Everyone walked forward and heard groaning.

Jax: Hello? Anyone there?

They walked forward a bit more and saw someone on the ground bleeding.

Aria: OH MY GOSH...

Karina: What happened??!

They all ran over to the person.

Aria: Are you alright?

They rolled him over onto his back and saw his face.

Matthew: DAEHYUN?!!

Jax: WHAT?! WHAT HA- NO, THERE'S NO TIME FOR THAT, EVERYONE HELP HIM UP AND SOMEONE CALL 911!

They carried him and called for an ambulance. They didn't know which way to go, but thankfully they found a door that led them outside, back to the front of the Haunted House. Daehyun was driven to the hospital. The girls were crying, while Jax and Matthew comforted them. The girls arms were wrapped around the boys back and had their faces tucked on the boys chest, crying softly hoping that Daehyun would be alright. The boys stroked the girls hair gently, remaining calm but saddened too.

Laura woke up in an unfamiliar scenery. Her head was dizzy and one of her hand was cuffed to a bed as she layed there. Laura blinked slowly trying to open her eyes and see where she is.

Laura: Wh...wha-...what's going...on?

The intruder wore a mask, so Laura was unable to identify who it was.

???: Ah, finally you're awake. I thought you would never wake up.

Laura's heart jumped when she heard the voice, she started getting up, sitting up on the bed.

???: Sorry, did I startle you? Sorry, I didn't mean to.

Laura noticed something, the person was wearing different clothes and shoes than the one at the Haunted House. She was wondering if he was a different person than the one who kidnapped her.

Laura kept staring, scared a bit but trying to look and keep brave.

???: Right, um, I haven't introduced myself yet. For now, you can just call me Mono. It's a weird name yeah, but it's my name. Sorry if I didn't seem nice earlier and if I scared you.

Laura didn't know how to reply. Why was he acting so nice? But he did have a different voice than the previous one so it's another person. Laura just answered blankly looking at the ground.

Laura: You apologize too much.

Mono: Oh sor- He chuckled at himself. Mono: Sorry, last time.

Laura: It's alright...Why...Why are you being nice to me?

The kind man sighed.

Mono: I know, it's unusual right? You got kidnapped by my boss and here I am talking with the prisoner.

Laura: You- your boss?...

Mono scratched his head and chuckled a little.

Mono: Yeah...We have a reason for why you're here, but he has some businesses to take care of first so you'll be here for while until he comes back. I'm a gentle person, even as a bad guy surprisingly. But, I have a lot of skills so don't even think about escaping.

Laura: Yeah whatever. But are you guys going to....

Mono: No! Well, it's difficult to explain, I wish I could say that you won't get hurt, but...Please don't think of me that way, I don't like violence very much, but I work for these people.

Laura was terrified now. She tried to relax but she didnt know how to feel or react. I mean she shouldn't even be talking with this guy!

Laura: Thanks for being nice, but you guys still kidnapped me. No matter how nice you are or what you say or do, it doesn't change the fact that you guys are bad. So I'm sorry, but just don't talk to me. I don't want anything to do with you guys.

Laura said as she looked away. Mono looked a little sad.

Mono: Okay...I understand.

With that, he walked through the door and left, leaving Laura all by herself in the room. She rubbed her knee, where she remembered she had gotten injured while being kidnapped. Laura was lonely and terrified.

Laura: Please hurry up and find me guys. Mom, dad, I'm sorry we got into that argument before. I still love you guys, always. But in a way, I feel like this is my punishment for leaving you guys.....Why didn't you tell me you were sick?

Laura said to herself while crying.

Laura: If you had told me that, I would've stayed!

She sobbed upset. She fell back onto the bed, her hand still cuffed.

Laura: Aria, Karina, please find me. Please help me.

She whispered soflty. Then a voice came into thought. It was Daehyun's voice, he was reminding her that she's strong. Laura sat up, wiped her tears, and remembered something.

Laura: Wait, don't I have powers?! Yes! I do, I can use them to get out of here!!

She yelled hopefully. She tried to concentrate and think back to her training. Laura took deep breathes, and focused on the cuffed hand. For a split second, she hesitated.

Laura: No- No...I can't. One wrong move, and...I can hurt myself.

But no matter how scared she was, Laura wanted and needed to trust herself. She said in her head that she trusted herself and gave herself support and more confidence.

Laura: I can do this.

She summoned all of her power and strength, and flames grew from her hand. The flames were thrown at the cuff and burned it off. Her hand was now free, but also stung a bit. It accidently burned her hand also, but it was nothing Laura couldn't handle. Laura dashed to the door that Mono had walked through and tried to open it. Of course it was locked. She heard footsteps walking towards the door. She quickly hid behind the door. The bodyguard walked in and saw an empty bed. With no time for the bodyguard to react, Laura kicked the back of his leg and threw a fire ball at him. He got knocked out and Laura checked his pockets.

Laura: A phone, some Snickers wrappers, and a pocket knife. Really? That's all you have??

Without any hesitation Laura grabbed the phone and easily unlocked it.

Laura: No password? Wow, this guy needs to use his brain.

Laura quickly dialed and called Karina's number.

Karina was lying next to the bed with everyone else, Daehyun had gotten the help he needed and was fine, but for some reason, he still hasn't woken up. It was a miracle that he hadn't died though. Karina's phone was ringing, it was an unknown number. She decided to pick it up anyways.

Karina: Hello?

Laura: KARINA! I'M SO GLAD YOU PICKED UP!

Karina: LAURA?!

Everyone looked at Karina and started being curious.

Karina: Laura, where are you?? How come we haven't seen you for almost a day now??

Laura: I'VE BEEN KIDNAPPED!

Karina's jaw dropped.

Karina: K-kidnapped?! WHAT?! TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE NOW!

Laura: I don't know, I got kidnapped by someone in the Haunted House. Daehyun ended up getting hurt. I'm "using" someone's phone, but I don't know where I'm at.

Karina took deep breathes and calmed down.

Karina: Okay, first of all, Daehyun is okay, second, we'll call the police, and third, just tell me anything that might give us clues to find you. Stay on the phone with me.

Laura: Really!? Oh thank goodness he's alright. And, I'm in some prison or something. Like it seriously looks like a jail, but without the bars and there's concrete walls and floor. Um, there's bodyguards and there's a boss apparently. Oh! There was a guy named Mono who was nice, but I'm still confused as to how they know my name?

Karina: They knew your name?!

Laura: Yeah, the boss said it in the Haunted House.

Karina: Tell me what he was wearing.

Karina put the phone on speaker for everyone to hear.

Laura: He was wearing brown work boots, a dark blue T-shirt, and black jeans.

Aria: I can remember that. (Aria has really good memory and is good at memorizing)

Aria: Can you tell us anything else? Are you okay?

Laura: Yes, don't worry about me, I'm good. And, I can't think of anything else, but I'm going to try to escape. I'll try to get outside then I'll call back and see where I am.

Aria: No, Laura, you could get caught. You-

Aria stopped her own sentence. She didn't want Laura to risk it, but they won't know unless she tries. She needs to try to get out while she has a chance.

Aria bit her lip and put some hair behind her ear.

Aria: Okay, give it a shot. Call back as soon as possible and PLEASE be careful Laura.

Laura: I will. I'm hanging up now. Goodbye.

They ended the call and called the police and explained everything that was going on.

Laura hung up and put the phone in her pocket. She turned around and saw somone looking at her.

Laura: Mono...

Mono: Laura, what are you doing?

Laura: What does it look like? I'm obviously trying to study.

Mono: Laura...

Laura: I'm getting out of here, and you're not getting in the way.

Mono: Please Laura!

Mono yelled at her, kind of in a pleading way.

Mono: Please don't make me do this! I don't want to hurt you.

Laura: Then don't hurt me. You know you don't have to do this. Why don't you-

Mono yelled at her, cutting her off.

Mono: YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! Ah,...I'm sorry for yelling. But, you don't understand why I'm doing this. I don't want to hurt you, and I can't let you leave. I'm sorry, but please don't make this harder than it has to be.

Laura was shocked. She didn't know what to do or even say, but she was not staying for sure.

Laura: No, I'm sorry Mono, but I'm leaving.

Mono sighed and made his hand into a fist.

Laura started walking towards the door and stopped when she was a few inches away from Mono.

Laura: Tell me. Will I have to fight my way out?

Mono was frustrated. Unfortunately, he had to seperate his feelings from his job. Mono apologized to Laura once again. Then grabbed her hand and slammed her to the wall.