Stay out of it

Mary was in shambles, having fallen to the ground she was sobbing, but reality had far from hit her yet. She was still in denial, hoping and praying that she would wake up from this horrible nightmare soon enough. But she would never wake up, for this was reality. The leader grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him as she continued to sob. Sure, she heard some of it, but it wouldn't be until later that she could begin to grasp the meaning behind those words.
The Kaine goon was laying on the ground, bleeding quite heavily as he looked up at Emily. This wasn't the worst he had endured, but his failure to keep her safe would cost him his life, he was sure of it. He knew who these assholes were, or at least he knew Daniel and his dog Marcus. They were deserters and traitors the lot. Being sent back alive was a rare treat, but he knew that it was because Daniel wanted to hand over a message.

If it hadnt been because of Marcus' otherwise delicate set of skills, it would have flown right past Daniel. He was a good business man but he was not quite as clever as Marcus, which was why they were such a bad combo for everyone else around them. As Daniel had said, words spread fast. And a scorned woman letting out some words of frustration at a bar she frequented about another girl stealing her rightful place? Such things stuck. Emily was shoved in a car, Marcus sitting next to her, watching her though she just looked down at her lap, at her hands that were shaking. "Dont worry, we'll take good care of you from now on." Daniel assured her in a calm yet cold tone, biting down on a cigarette that he smoked in the car. Sure, he would pay for this, but he wasnt out to be skinned alive and tortured. Yet he had to see if this girl could maybe be his means of survival.

The goon was sent back, but not without his complications. They wanted the message to be as clear as it could be. And words could be forgotten. So they had hung an envelope around his neck, smeared in blood. They were cruel but not barbaric, at least not beyond the usual. They had even cleaned him up a bit and removed the worst of the blood... and his tongue, since they didnt need him to say anything at all. A lock of Emily's hair was also nicely collected and put in the letter, just in case they wouldnt believe them.

Rhys was called in, and seeing the envelope with the lock of hair he frowned. Walking over her opened the letter, reading it through as he grit his teeth. Those fuckers had Emily. The goon that had been sent back got to feel his wrath first, having him gutted on the spot before he called for a team to be assembled. His father seemed impressed for once, and while the old man didn't like his son to be around a girl that could cause him distraction, he felt it was nice to see the boy take some initiative. Once the team was assembled he stood for a bit before he called for Jason to be released, having him meet him for a briefing in a smaller room. Rhys was standing behind his desk, the lock of Emily's hair between his fingers, the letter on the table.

Jason hadnt expected to be let out before a week or so had passed, mostly because of what he had done. Not only had he been interrupting, he had been downright disrespectful and rude to the wrong person. And yet he was pulled from the cage, a bottle of seraphim tears almost shoved down his throat, forcing him to drink. He coughed and complained before he was just pulled back to the room he had been knocked out in. Gritting his teeth and pulling his arm back he rubbed the spot where the goon had held him before looking towards Rhys. He could see that something was completely wrong. “What happened?” He asked with a frown, now worrying.

Rhys just handed him the letter, "your chance at redemption," he spoke rather seriously. Walking around the desk, he leaned against it, folding his arms in front of his chest. "I understand that you think I'm getting soft," he said, not really clear whether or not he had spoken to Nyx or not. "Do you want me to show you that I'm still the leader you swore loyalty to?" That was a rhetorical question. Of course Jason wanted that, but Rhys still felt betrayed by him.
"Help me get Emily back," he said in a calm tone, leaning away from the desk, "and I will consider not letting you rot with the dogs for the rest of your life." It wasn't really a choice that Jason had, but it was clear Rhys wanted this done in an orderly fashion.

His chance as redemption? He looked at the letter as it was handed to him, reading through it. He could already guess that the girl mentioned was Emily solely from the description of her. He remained quiet while Rhys spoke, lifting his eyes to look at him. The rhetorical question made him correct his posture a little, rolling his sore shoulders. It would be nice to be proven wrong.
The mention of Emily made him clench his jaw a little visibly but he didnt quite have a choice in the matter. Handing him back the letter, he looked at him for a bit in silence. The seraphim tears were working wonders, he felt almost energized. “Alright boss.” He said, nodding before he crossed his arms a little. “What’s the plan then? Do we know where they are yet? Or do we really have to wait for further instructions?” he recited from the letter in the end, frowning a little at the notion. Waiting was never good..

"I can't sit and do nothing, which is why I'm gathering a smaller team; That's where you come in," he said quite seriously as he nodded. He explained how he wanted Jason and some of the boys to go check out the area of the now burnt down shop. Gather intel, speak with as many witnesses as they could and then gather at a safehouse to reconvene with Rhys himself. "Daniel isn't going to fuck with us, thinking he can get away with it just because we have the Barley Brothers on our ass," he said quite seriously, shaking his head. He moved over to the window, looking out as he hummed to himself. "Besides, you and the boys know how to lay low, get the information you need and get out." He knew Jason was good at what he did. He was watching as Nyx got in a car, sighing to himself as he didn't want her to go either, despite him punishing her, he still cared for her. "But be careful; His guard dog Marcus has ears everywhere," he remarked, turning his head to look at Jason.

He hummed softly, figuring that he would be needed. Why else would he be here and not still in the cage? The task seemed simple. This was what Jason did best. His young age and appearance giving him a huge advantage if he dressed the right way. The mention of Daniel made him shake his head, it made sense that the rat would look for openings and now saw his cut to get something. He watched him look out the window, but his mind was already laying out a plan. Well, while the tears were still fixing him from the inside, he was thinking as much as he could in the mess. “I’m not worried about Marcus. Far as I know, there are no lakes to be drowned in on High Street” He muttered, though he knew the guard dog was not someone you messed with.
He didnt need further information. But he did wonder. “I do wonder how they found out.” He said out loud. He knew he couldnt just tell Rhys what to do. So instead he pointed out the obvious. Elaine. With that he just nodded and left to prepare.

Emily didnt even know where they were. It looked like some sort of apartment. But she also wasnt sure. She had eventually gotten over the shock but then there was the anger. The hurt. Replaying the scenario in the bits that her brain allowed her. It was like flashes. The sounds didnt belong to the flashes and the more she strained her head, the less she remembered. She looked at Marcus who was cleaning his gun. It looked old and fancy. “Where am I?” - “Dont you worry about that, luv.” Marcus brushed her off, eyeing her shortly though he didnt seem to be interested in talking to her. She looked down to see a cuff around her hand, keeping her chained to the table she sat at. She didnt like chains, the way they rattled. The metal felt cold.
A man came in to say something to Marcus, making him sigh. “Yeah? Is it ready?” He hummed, putting his gun down. “Time to move.” He told Emily, freeing her hand from the table yet to just secure her with a tight ziplock around her wrists. She whined a little at how constrained her hands felt. He pulled her up on her feet to follow.
She had been right to assume that they were still in town. But it seemed like they were moving away. “You know this part already.” He said as they stood by the car, him holding a bag. “No…” Emily whimpered, trying to pull away but he placed the bag over her head and pushed her in the car. She tried not to panic, but it was like old memories rolled in. Slowly but surely, all that she had pushed away, tried to move past was torn right open like an old wound. She didnt know for how long they drove but eventually they stopped. Marcus got out and shuffled around. She heard a scream and cowered a little, knowing this feeling of helplessness all too well.

Jake went to the safehouse where he was supposed to meet with Rhys. He looked a little disturbed if not confused. “They killed Mortimer. Let Mary go. Took Emily. Burned the place down.” He summarized rather quickly before he looked down. “Marcus was seen going South. Then towards Western. Then Northern. We dont have any updates on his location. Nor can we figure out where he’s heading.” He said. He was also holding back some information. Mostly because he didnt know how Rhys would react. “In Western, someone swore they saw him push over a girl on one of the bridges of the lakes leading to the harbor.”

Rhys grit his teeth, of course he had already surmised that it was Elaine, hence why he had sent out a couple of guys to track her down and drag her ass here. He dismissed Jason, having more things to sort out as they still had the Barley Brothers on their asses from the failed mission. However as he went to talk with his father he got angry, slamming his fists on the desk, "you fucking what!?" The old man folding his hands calmly in his lap, tilting his head to look at his son, the disgraced monster. He had never cared much for his son, only the fact that he had his DNA and would continue the Kaine legacy. "I bought you peace, so you could focus on this little heir maker of yours," it was clear Ellis Kaine was as hard as it got, but he was also a reasonable man. Rhys frowned, "come on, as if I would ever let you have kids with that crazed bitch you had before," shaking his head no. Rhys wasn't really sure what or how to feel. Relief because his father was telling him that he accepted Emily or fury because it meant sealing Nyx' fate. "So you shipped Daphne over to the Barley Brothers, because?" He needed to understand this correctly, alliance - we can't deny that they have grown bigger and stronger, and I'm not interested in being surrounded." The old man's words would've made sense if it wasn't because Rhys cared so much about Nyx. "Michael Barley is the youngest of the brothers, only five or six years older than Daphne - they make a perfectly sane match."
Rhys shook his head, leaving the office, slamming the door behind him as he headed over to the safehouse to meet with Jason. His mind was spiraling, but at least now he could put a pause on those damned brothers. He just knew he couldn't risk telling Jason about this before they had found Emily, or the jackass might leave him to fetch Nyx.

The safehouse they met at was relatively big, but it didn't house too many people, so it was a nice and safe place to discuss the intel that had been gathered. Listening to Jason he hummed. It was clear Marcus was trying to throw off anyone who followed - smart he would say, but the dog was a cunning trickster. "Have you tried the tracker I gave her?" He knew it was a long shot, but at least they would know of the last location where she had been. Then Jason said something that made him move back, sitting down in a chair as he thought that sentence through. However he shook his head in disbelief, "no, even for Daniel that would be a stupid move," he muttered.
He however did snap his fingers for a goon to get in, telling them to go search the lake and the harbor. It could be a waste, but if it was Emily, he would at least know who he would rip apart first. Returning his focus on Jason as the guys left he hummed, getting up, "if they know who she is to me, they wouldn't just kill her .. They would want her as a bargaining chip," even idiots like Daniel knew that much. He swallowed as a new guy entered their room after carefully knocking. He nodded at Rhys, a little scared to move too close as he declared they had found Elaine and placed her in the interrogation room. Rhys nodded, dismissing him with his hand. "Let's go talk with her," he said, getting up to head to the room.

Inside the room Elaine would've been handcuffed to a table in the middle and placed in a chair with a bag over her head. Rhys felt stupid that he had ever involved himself with her, but he got in to the room, removing the bag as he went around to sit down in front of her. She hadn't seen much of his work self, but what would meet her was a cold and stern face, his eyes searching her as if deciding how to cut her up after he had killed her. "It's funny, isn't it?" he scoffed, shaking his head as he looked to Jason, "to think that I've been betrayed more than once within a week means I must make an example." Turning his head back he looked at Elaine carefully. "How did you find out about the safehouse?"

“Tracker?” He repeated but then seemingly decided not to ask about that. He just nodded and hummed, noting it down in his mind. Then there was the fact of what Marcus had done and even Jason wasnt sure he believed it. But he also wouldnt put it past the dog; he was known to just to whatever he wanted when he felt like it. And if Emily had annoyed him, then he might have gotten rid of her. But Rhys was right. She was more worth to them alive than thrown off a bridge. Even Jason wanted to believe that. A guy entered and Jason looked to him, feeling a sinking feeling in his stomach. Sure, they were brutal around here, but beside Nyx who Jason would say he was too used to to count her in, females werent typically tortured. He followed Rhys and remained in the background as they got in the room.

Elaine had cried, and then gotten angry. She had a slight nosebleed hoing on, gasping as the bag was pulled off her head. Looking at Rhys, her eyes got that fearful look that maybe could be mistaken for adoration. He spoke and she frowned lightly, eyeing Jason as Rhys mentioned him too in a sense, Jason just looking at her. The question made her grit her teeth as she looked at him. “As if you could ever hide from me for long! I’ll always know where you are.” She said, sobbing all of a sudden but not a single tear would form in her eyes, even if she tried hard. “So this is it? You’re just going to replace me?” She asked, shaking her head, crying her dry cry. “What does she have that I dont? She isnt even that special! I gave you everything Rhys! Everything!”

Rhys scoffed, leaning back in his seat, not buying this act. Elaine was a master manipulator, and had he been high he might've tried to comfort her, do as she wanted him to. But he was stone cold sober and his patience was running out. While she perhaps thought herself smart, he saw through it, inspecting her carefully as she seemed to talk a lot of shit, but as it went from borderline threatening to hinging on pleading he just noted down everything in his head. "Who told you where to go? - Don't fool yourself, Elaine, you were never smart enough on your own, you must have some spies," he said in a calm and collected voice even if she started to act irrational.
One thing did make him scoff. Replace her? Did she really think he would never do that? "And what role has been taking from you?" he asked, tilting his head to the side as he wondered what delusion she had come up with this time. She knew she wasn't his girlfriend, he had made that very clear. He had never even told her that he loved her, because that would be a lie. "What you gave me was drugs and a warm hole to stick my cock into," he shrugged, putting it bluntly, and yet he needed her to understand. "What more have you given me besides headaches and addiction?" refusing to even answer the question about Emily.
Emily was special because she didn't demand stuff from him. She didn't want fancy gifts or constant attention. She wanted what he wanted; Security and someone to care for. Elaine was a selfish bitch, one he didn't believe could ever change. "I need names .. Names that could spare your life," if he knew who she got her information from, then it would be fairly simple to get rid of them.

He was asking good questions, but she wouldnt answer them. She had her own questions, mostly how it had come to this. In all the time they had spent together, he would never hurt her. And now it seemed so likely that he would. “You know what role!” She hissed, even if he had made it clear over and over that they were nothing. That she was just someone he needed when he was too high to care about anything. His blunt statement made her grit her teeth. “You dont mean that!” She yelled in frustration, refusing to believe it even if it was true. No, she thought they had something, something special. “I let you into my arms, my bed, my home, my comfort… made sure you had a place to be… To be in peace.” She muttered. In her eyes, she had only ever been kind to him. Helped him when he had needed it and only given rather than taken, but of course it was easy to paint yourself as a saint in your own story.
“Spare my life?” She scoffed, shaking her head. “Please Rhys. If you kill me, then you’ll be on your own once that bitch sees you for who you really are. Or do you think you’ll be sober all your life?” She turned the conversation, chuckling as she found it hard to believe. “Dont you feel that itch now? You always do when things are out of your control. Did something happen to her? I hope so.” She spoke fast and vile, even smiling a little now.

"Well," he scoffed, getting up he walked around the table, sitting down on the desk next to her as he looked at her. Without warning he smacked her with the back of his hand across her face, "you don't get to talk about her like that," he hissed, grabbing her by the back of her neck, slamming her face in to the desk before he got back on his feet again. Walking around behind her he hummed. Sure, he felt that itch. And perhaps it would never go away. But he had made a promise to keep Emily safe, and he wasn't going to abandon her now.
"I might not be sober the rest of my life," he shrugged, "and sure, she might come to see my dark side." He couldn't deny that he didn't worry about that, but he also had to be realistic about this. Him and Emily had a shot of being happy together, and now Elaine was trying to ruin that. "Is that why you told those guys about her?" he asked, his voice filled with venom as he leaned down to her ear, "you hoped that they would take her and harm her so I would come running back to you?" It was absurd. No, he shook his head, finding this awfully stupid for a girl like her.
"You've disrespected me .. Undermined me and underestimated my power," he spoke calmly, an eerie feeling spreading in the room as Rhys didn't try to dampen his aura right now. It would get her adrenaline pumping, perhaps even make her hallucinate from the fear. "I'm done with that .. Done with a spoiled little bitch who can't understand that I will never care for her."

She watched him get up and move, looking at him as he now sat next to her. The smack made her whimper, her hair covering her face but she could taste blood and that meant that her lip had taken the worst of the blow. He grabbed her by the neck and slammed her down, at first she barely emoted, her mind getting all cloudy, before she then cried and whimper in pain. But even if he hurt her, she was stubborn.
She was quiet now, just staring ahead, blood slowly trickling down her chin, her expression angry and hurt. All she could do was listen anyway. She didnt answer his question but the answer was obvious as it was. She wanted Emily gone. “I’ve only ever loved you Rhys.” She muttered quietly, feeling her body warm up as the fear began spreading. Jason was shuffling uncomfortably in the other end of the room. “I hope they kill her. I heard that it’s the drowner who has her. I hope they drown her and leave her to fucking rot!” She raised her voice by tenfolds at the last sentence, her voice hysterical and sharp like a loud squeak.

Rhys had lost his patience. He still needed the names, but perhaps a trip to the kennel would make her speak easy. "Good news, Jason," he said, ignoring what Elaine muttered, even as she was screaming he didn't care. His eyes looked to the guy still in the room, smiling a little sinisterly at him. "She'll take your place in the cage until she decides to speak," he walked away from her, stopping as he was halfway to the door, "but perhaps she needs a muzzle as well." Knocking on the door two goons stepped in, one going to grab and gag Elaine before placing the bag over her head once more. Rhys didn't even care to watch her be taken away. He instead looked at Jason with serious eyes, "I want you to find the snitch .. Gut him and leave him to bleed out wherever he is," it was a cruel order, but Rhys was done trying to be gentle. The more time that Emily was away, the greater risk at something bad happening was.
He left the room, drying his hand off in his shirt as he headed outside to grab a smoke. Smoking was always the first sign of his relapse, but for now he could hold it at just this. Feeling the nicotine calm his body, he looked up at the sky, knowing that they would have to hear from Daniel and Marcus soon enough. Closing his eyes he swore under his breath, snuffing out the rest of his cigarette against the wall before he went back in. He needed someone on that tracker, and entering the tech room he knew that most of them would be shaking. He was angry, and anger increased the fear he could project. "Any luck with that tracker yet?"

Jason looked up as he was spoken to, frowning lightly as he wasnt sure there were any good news at all. She wasnt saying anything useful! He didnt really care for this girl, but Rhys wasnt definitely not soft on her. Hurting her so carelessly, Jason wasnt even sure he was capable of doing that. He watched the goons handle Elaine, while Rhys made his order. “I’ll do you proud.” He said, looking at him seriously before he left. Jason remained to look at Elaine who was shaking and crying. Did he feel pity for her? Maybe a little.

She wasnt really comfortable in the car but she imagined that whoever she had heard screaming before was having a worse time than her. She remembered the tracker, but had no way of actually reaching it to press the button. And when Marcus realized that she was trying, he moved over and grabbed her to search her pockets, fishing out the little tracker, he grit his teeth. “You really are one of them.” He said before he pressed the button and rolled down the window. Throwing it out, he just chuckled and shoved her back in place. “Just a few more hours.”

The men in the tech room were nervous. Even more then Rhys came in to check on them. “Not yet.” They admitted, working their hardest. A message was sent to Rhys, containing the pictures of the girl they had found from the bridge. It was a collection of pictures that needed to be loaded before they could be accessed. With Rhys’ aura growing, it seemed to dull the effectiveness of the tech team, making them fumble and mess up. He would just have to wait for them to come to him with answers. Jason returned at some point too, a bit of blood on his sleeve. “She wouldnt talk but the bar she had gone to knew the snitch.” He said, before he frowned a little. It would be odd to ask how he was, as it was obvious that he wouldnt be fine… and yet Jason wondered how this was really affecting him.

The car stopped and Emily was dragged out. Hearing bugs and nature, her mind started to race. “Where are we?” She asked, only to have the hood removed. Was it already getting dark? She couldnt really see the sky through the trees. She was pushed on ahead, though she stopped. “I cant.” She mumbled, shaking her head. “What’s wrong? Scared of a little bit of woodland are we?” Marcus mocked her with a scoff, shaking his head. “Walk on ahead silly girl, or I’ll make you.”

A tech guy eventually came running with some coordinates. “We’ve found this. There are five known cabins in the area, they might keep her there.”

Rhys left the techs to do their job. He needed to blow off some steam, and when Jason found him he was punching a bag. His knuckles bloody, sweat on his forehead he seemed more collected when he looked up, hearing the info he hummed. Touching Jason's bloody sleeve he nodded, "someone we won't miss, I'm taking it," he just said. At least that snitch was gone now. However the more time passed the more anxious he got. "The girl .. In the lake," he said, straightening his back out a bit, drying off his bloody knuckles, "she was just a decoy .. Looked the part though." Rhys was upset about this whole ordeal. If he had stayed with her, then this would've never happened. If he had just convinced himself to stay in the bed with her, then none of this would've happened.
The tech guy came in, and Rhys hummed, looking over the coordinates as he nodded, "alright, I need six teams of four, one for each coordination and another to search the woods," he said. This was truly where he showed head leader skills. He was a quick thinker, and was good at making up a plan. Though he wished Nyx was here. She could've been very useful. He nodded for Jason to follow him, heading down some stairs until they reached a garage. From the walls he grabbed a gun, handing it to Jason with a serious look in his eyes. "I need you to be my second in command," it wasn't something he had asked of him before. That role usually went to someone more experienced, but it was clear that Rhys valued him, "and I need to bring Emily back safely." It was an order, but it was also Rhys wanting Jason to understand the severity of the whole ordeal. That Emily wasn't just some girl. She was the girl for him.

He didnt know why he was relieved to hear that the girl thrown off the bridge had just been a decoy. Because he wondered where that left Emily. Rhys had been angry to see her being scratched up by Elaine, what if this was something far more serious? He did dare think about what Rhys would be like if he lost Emily now. The coordinates came through and Jason wouldnt have known what to do. Which only made him look up tp Rhys who seemed to.
He followed him down to the garage, looking at the gun that was handed to him. The request made him frown a little. “Boss…” he said but seeing how serious Rhys looked, he decided to swallow his objection. “Okay. We’ll find her.” He said, putting the gun in the hem of his pants around his back. The teams were assembled and showed up at the meeting spot for the briefing. An expert told them what to look out for and soon everyone knew the task at hand.

“No.” Emily just objected once more as they had gotten further into the woods. It was too familiar. Uncanny. She remembered the last time she had been dragged like this. She had never imagined she would ever be walking into a similar feeling. This time she was alone. No crying friends or pleading strangers as the hooded figures made them walk. “Fine. By force then.” Marcus said, grabbing her hard by the neck to pull her with. But she shook free after a bit and started running for it. Daniel who wasnt far, watched her run. “Let her go. These woods are merciless. This will be our only chance to get away.” He said, not bothering with chasing after some girl. Marcus thought differently. “I’ll be quick.”

The last thing Rhys needed right now was for Jason to back out. He needed him to prove his worth and carry his weight. Otherwise things could go wrong and very fast at that. After the meeting, they were spread out and to not garner too much attention they went in different modes of transportation. Some were vampyres, so they would simply run, some were lycans and shifted in to their lycan form to blend in with the environments. Rhys took a car with his group, arriving at the other end of the woods. Everyone had been told to enter it on different fronts to make it more manageable. It was a large area to cover, and they could run the risk of simply running in circles.

One of the goons that were with Daniel stopped, clutching his gun as he swore he heard a branch break between the trees. "Boss?" he said, walking up next to Daniel as he clearly wasn't too hooked on getting hurt. "Is this girl even worth it? I mean she looks so pale and disgusting," he muttered, gripping around his gun a little harder as his head turned to where he heard another bush rustle.

Jason made sure to stay close to Rhys but he wasnt too sure what to even expect. She had to be in one of the cabins, not out here, right? Unless something had gone wrong. He heard shuffling but it was in either direction of them. “I’ll check over here.” He mumbled quietly, heading over to where one of the sounds had come from. He stopped for a bit and listened. Looking ahead, he could hear the water stream. A quiet little lake that was pretty in the day. Now it more looked like monsters were swimming around at the bottom. He saw something on a tree, moving over to inspect it. “Boss!” He yelled, pulling off a piece of fabric off a sharp broken off branch. It was a piece of Emily’s work vest.

Daniel scoffed at the mutter, looking at the goon. “I think you may be right. We should go. Marcus will be able to get out unnoticed.” He said, nodding for the goon to follow. It was up to Marcus to finish what he set out to do. At least Daniel didnt feel like dying today.

Running with her hands locked tight by the wrists by a ziptie, definitely wasnt a help. She stumbled over and had to get back on her feet and she could hear the branches that cracked under his feet grow louder. She felt her breath hitch, feeling the dirty soil in her hair, on her arms, on her face. She was done running. She gave up. Marcus caught up to her, grabbing onto her arm and getting her up. “You are such a bother.” He hissed before grabbing her by the hair, needing to be quick. He pulled her closer to the lake and she started to panic. “No… please no, please no no no.” She begged, struggling to fight the tight grip on her hair. “I’ve had it with your struggling.” Marcus spat before grabbing a firmer hold of her, moving out on a little walkway out to the water. Emily was panicking, crying and struggling but he didnt care. He spotted a couple of shadows in the distance and decided to be quick about it, hurling Emily out in the middle of the lake where it would be deep. Emily couldnt even scream before the water began surrounding her, sending her into a sheer panic as she fought the zipties like her life was depending on it.

Moving past some trees, the terrain opened up and Jason frowned. It was awfully quiet around here, compared to the sounds he had picked up to go this way. Were they not close enough? He looked out on the lake, unable to see much, beside a few rings and how the wind blew over the surface. “I swear I heard sounds this way..” he mumbled, moving along the lake. He looked out on the water, narrowing his eyes till he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head followed by what he would describe as a loud bang, at least inside his skull. Lifting a hand to touch, he felt the blood, turning to see a rather big stone at his feet. He fell down to sit, just frowning as he zoned out, from shock or pain or both. “Rhys Kaine.” Marcus chuckled, revealing himself as he stepped out. “You look tense. Relationship trouble?” He asked with a big grin on his face.

The piece of cloth he inspected, nodding as he was sure it was hers. The colors matched the vest she always wore to work, and so they hurried deeper into the woods. Jason picked up on some sounds, and the hybrid heard them two, both of them darting off in that direction. That was until they reached a clearing, the area too quiet for what they had just heard. "Emily?" he called out, just as he heard the hollow sound of a skull being hit. Turning around he saw Jason slump to his knees, the blood trickling down his face as the chilling chuckle of Marcus broke the silence. His body twitched a bit, gritting his teeth to stay in control.
"Where is she?" he asked. He didn't have time for games, nor did he want to be toyed around with. One thing was kidnapping the girl he was with, another was using her as bait. However Marcus was not known for speaking out right away, he had been trained well. Rhys lounged at him, managing to grab on to his shirt and tumbling to the ground as a fist fight broke loose.

“Oh come on.” Marcus scoffed, cracking his neck from side to side. Rhys had to know him better than that. And it seemed that he did because Marcus was ready for him to lounge at him. Being a pure blooded daemon had it’s perks, it at least made the fight fair. Jason was just staring at them, though he wasnt really seeing them. Everything felt so blurry and weird and yet he could think. He thought he heard some bubbles behind him but wasnt too sure. Marcus swung hard and quick. Some people didnt dare to throw their hands at someone else harder than to knock them out. But with Marcus it was like his goal was somewhere past Rhys when he hit him. Grabbing onto his collar he knocked their heads hard together, chuckling rather than being in pain. Oh how he had missed this. Fighting. A real thrill.

Jason swore that he kept hearing something behind him, though when he moved, his body was slower than usual. He could think of what he wanted to do and then have a whole five seconds before he did it. But he slipped into the water, feeling the cold surround him as he began floating out. He however didnt get far before he began sinking. He couldnt even let out a warning before his head was under and he sank as well.

Marcus kicked Rhys away before he got up, wiping some blood off his chin, looking at it and smiling. “It’s almost like the old days.” He remarked, though back then it hadnt been as violent as now.

Rhys got up, his nose bleeding profusely and probably broken from the headbutt. Spitting blood on the soft dirt beside him he grit his teeth, "and like old days it'll end with you crying for your mother," he said in a cold tone. He was busy fighting Marcus until something felt wrong. He stopped, meaning he took a pretty hard hit to his jaw, ripping it from it's socket and he grunted at the pain. With a slight tremor to his hands he managed to pop it back, his eyes feeling disoriented, but he knew Marcus couldn't keep going at this rate either. They were a pretty good match strength wise, but he was running out of time.
That was when he noticed that Jason was gone, and that out in the lake bubbles were rising from two spots. It was always drowning with Marcus, like he had some obsession with water. Gunshots were heard, one of Rhys' men aiming for Marcus, and while the pureblooded daemon was distracted, Rhys plunged himself in to the water. A few of the men noticed, some joining and they eventually managed to retrieve Jason, pulling him up on the dirt. A few guys were trying to stall Marcus, perhaps shoot him in the leg, the arm - anywhere that would make him easy to manage.
Rhys swam deeper and deeper in to the lake. He could barely see anything this deep under water, but he wasn't going to give up. His lungs felt like they were burning, and his body almost wanted to panic and breathe in water. However he managed to get a hold of someone. He wrapped his arms around the small frame, and started to ascend. He wasn't sure he would have enough air in his lungs to make it, but he wanted her to get up and have a chance. A simple chance was all he prayed for. The men at the shore was standing anxiously by, watching the still water as they wondered how much time had passed.
Jason was pulled in to a car and driven back to a safehouse to have his wounds looked at. Eventually Rhys would make it to the surface, gasping for air as his lungs were burning. Emily was lifeless in his arms, but he managed to strain himself, reaching the shore where he got her up on land. With shaky hands he broke the zip ties around her wrists, turning her head towards him. He tried giving her CPR, but it seemed that she would not respond. His hands were shaking, his eyes fogging over with darkness in his rage, the aura surrounding him growing stronger and dark like a looming shadow. If someone was stupid enough to try and get to him he would hurt whatever he could grab on to.

She could remember this feeling. When she couldnt hold her breath, she breathed in the water. And when all the air seemed to be out her body, her eyes felt heavy. Not that she could see anything. Or hear anything. She felt like she could sleep, maybe forever, maybe until her body magically ended up on the side of the lake and she could breathe again. She passed out from the lack of air, but she knew she could never die. The way she had found out? The worst possible. She thought she had died the day her throat was cut. Or maybe she was. But when they dumped her body in the river, having packed her in linen and whatnot to constrain and cover her, she woke up. Unable to move, just surrounded by water. She felt arms around her but her body wouldnt respond to her at all.
Before she knew it, she was pulled up on land. She felt his hands press on her chest, but she knew that wouldnt work. The men around were scared and Marcus had seen his cut to run when everyone saw Rhys coming up from the lake with the girl. This hadnt been what Rhys had ordered. He had wanted her alive. “Boss…” one guy tried to approach, hoping that it wouldnt be his demise.

"Don't fucking touch her," his voice a warning as the guy stepped closer. Rhys was too stunned to cry, touching her face delicately, removing some of the hair that stuck to her forehead. She looked almost like she was sleeping, but he knew she wasn't. He was furious, inconsolable, and yet he felt so empty. Not taking his eyes away from Emily, he spoke louder for his men to hear, "bring me Daniel's head .. But Marcus alive," he ordered. He wanted revenge, but now he couldn't leave her side. He wrapped his arms around her, lifting her into his embrace as he got up, being mindful of her head. He ordered a car be brought to him.
Getting in, he held Emily in his arms as if he was trying to keep her warm. Some of the men speculated whether or not he had finally lost his mind. Back at the safehouse a room was prepared for her body, Rhys hissing whenever someone got too close, but he eventually trusted one of the female nurses to handle Emily. He wanted to give her only the best, so the nurse went to prepare her body, dry it off and putting her in to dry clothing as well.
Rhys however couldn't watch, so he left. He went to his room, flipping through all his old containers until he found a secret stash. He felt disgusted with himself. But he couldn't handle the pain in his chest. And so, one line took the other, until he forgot about the pain. Only he couldn't forget about Elaine. In the dead of night he went to go see that bitch, finding her in the kennel where the dogs started to bark. His pupils were dilated, his muscles tense. Elaine had seen him high like this before.