Ch. 2: Hostage

Third person's point of view

Sariel's heart began to pound in her chest as fear poured through her bloodstream.

“Sariel.” Maddox’s powerful voice rings across the car.

“Do you know that my parents are as cold as icebergs right now? It’s all because of you and your uncle, hmm?” Sariel tried to regain her composure and take another deep breath, but all she could see is pure red as she closed her eyes tightly.

“I- didn’t… That’s what my uncle’s all idea, I had nothing to do with what happened,” Sariel’s murmurs under her breathing.

“The hell you’re talking? You’re with him inside the car, you could have stopped him but you didn't!” Maddox’s thunderous voice swirls again. He doesn't care if the girl he's yelling at right now is the same person he once cherished. Their parents died because of this woman.

“For the fact that I don’t have to make any freaking choice! He actually held captive my mother,” Sariel spats, her nostrils flaring.

Maddox’s nose wrinkled, and he chewed on his bottom lip. “Hah! do you think I will believe what you say?”

“Please, believe me, Maddy. I don’t have a freaking choice, all I could think is to save my mother in his hands,” Sariel’s murmurs.

"Don't, Maddy, me! No one is going to believe you, from now on, you are going to be our hostage too,” Maddox quips, his voice breaking at the end.

“Dude, calm the freaking down, Finn’s out of the sights, he’s so fast at hiding ha,” Marlowe says through clenched teeth.

"Stop the car!" Maddox suddenly shouted at Lowe.

"what?" Lowe asked confused.

"You heard me, I will drive and chase him.stop.the.car." Lowe didn't hesitate much further and stopped the vehicle from the side. Lowe came into the passenger seat, but Sariel remained in the back, tears running down her cheeks.

"What are you going to do?" Lowe ask.

"Let me freaking maneuver this," Maddox says with his clenched jaw. And he had already accelerated the car to chase Finn's car, even though it was far away from their sight. Lowe is now clutching his seatbelt tightly, while Sariel grasps her seat, considering that she was not wearing a seatbelt.

“Just a moment, please...I need to find Mommy before Uncle does something to her,” Sariel’s plead, her soft voice merely a whisper.

"Shut the hell up! No! No one is leaving, and as far as I know, your mother is fine at your home."

"No... Uncle has several cooperating parties. The fact that his plan for you ended up falling undone. Please... I need to see my mom."

"Well, if we catch up to him, we are going to see your mom. So, shut the hell up! I'm annoyed by you.."

"You don't understand!" Sariel shrieks back at him. She went forward in the middle of where they were sitting and grabbed Maddox's arm while he was still driving.

“Let go,” he hisses at her through clenched teeth.

"Please... Because you don't understand!" Sariel cried out.

"I do! Finn’s running away his sins, so you’re going to pay for it,” Maddox’s snaps, his rusty voice sending shivers down Sariel’s spine.

Maddox comes to an abrupt stop at the center of the road. If Lowe hadn't taken action right away, Sariel would have fallen in between both of them.

"Sh*t!" Maddox runs a hand over his entire face and pinches the bridge of his nose out of frustration.

"What happened?" Lowe asks.

"The car happened," Maddox quips. He abruptly got off, and Lowe followed to see what had happened to their vehicle.

Given that the tires of their vehicles are flattened, they fear they won't be able to follow Finn's car.

On the other hand, Sariel's eyes filled with tears, she immediately wiped it off. Sariel knew she deserved Maddox's anger for her, yet it still hurts her deeply. Due to Finn's incident with Maddox's parents' car, they also caused a powerful impact, so Sariel felt dizzy with blood still running from her forehead. She would just close her eyes since she has to endure physical pain all over her body, not realizing that she had fallen asleep.

AN HOUR LATER, Sariel woke up in a room, staring at the ceiling. She tried to recall everything that exactly happened. Started with her uncle ordering something, the flash drive, an accident, Maddy's parents dying, and his abducting her—'abducting me what?! ' That was Sariel screaming inside her head.

She looked around the asylum-like but aesthetic room. "Damn. Do I look like a criminally insane person? But it's better than putting me in the dungeon." Sariel mumbles to herself.

She rose up, but she held her temple when it suddenly throbbed. She also felt that she had a bandage on her head, but when she glanced at her filthy clothes, she noticed that they were still covered in blood.

A floral-patterned lettuce-trimmed PJ set on a nearby chair caught her gaze. Despite her dizziness, she headed toward it. She need to change since her clothes are sticky from tears, sweat, and blood that she caused herself. Her eyes searched the bathroom, when she saw it, she began to cursed herself inside.

"Why is it seemingly so far away from me? I am still feeling dizzy. Aissh," she grunts.

When she arrived at the bathroom, she could finally take off her moist garments. She just slowly wiped her body, given that there were so many shades of purple from the car incident.

When she's relaxed with herself, she promptly go out of the bathroom. Perhaps her jaw dropped when she saw Maddox holding onto a ball python. A fvcking 6-foot ball python.

“Don't you dare get near me with such an animal as that!” She screamed at Maddox before backing away slowly.

Maddox solely cracked a laugh at her. "Why? Isn't she better than you? I truly want to leave her here and sleep close to you. Do you want that?"

Sariel puckered her lips and glanced at Maddox in discomfort. "You knows it makes me anxious about snakes, and you're going to leave me with it? Are you crazy?"

Maddox shoots her a scowl. "Nahh, this is your first punishment for betraying me."

Sariel's breath hitched with what Maddox meant to say to her. "I told you that was really Uncle's plan, and I had no choice but to comply."

"Well, too late to explain. The damage has done. You can kiss my baby for me, come on."