Fifty Four

CHAPTER 54

"They died in horrible ways. Hans was killed with silver metal in his chest and Julia died of poisoning."

"What now? Can't you go any faster, Nic?!" said Ace anxiously.

Meanwhile, Luke sat in the back seat holding on tightly to his seatbelt as Nicholas drove the car at high speed. Several times the detective ran red lights and overtook vehicles that were bigger than the car. Luke seemed to be frightened by it. "I could die if he does that, Ace," Luke said nervously.

"Alicia is in danger. We have to find her soon!" said Ace impatiently.

Before Nicholas could respond, Luke's cell phone broke the silence.

"Pick it up, Luke!" ordered Ace, still in a high-pitched voice.

Luke sighed rudely and pulled his harness tight, before reaching into his pants pocket to retrieve his cell phone. "Who's calling me at this crucial time, anyway? Just watch out if it's not important." That complaint suddenly vanished when Brittany's name appeared on the screen. She hurriedly picked up the call. "Hello, Britt?"

"Luke help me!" Brittany shouted from the other side.

"What, I can't hear you!" Luke raised his voice as the roar of the car through the window made Brittany's voice indistinct.

"Selena and Amanda must be up to something. They got me and Alicia separated," Brittany said breathlessly, like she was running. "I was running for help, but I think--AHH! Get out of the way! AHH!" Brittany's loud scream ended their conversation.

"Britt? Brittany?" Luke was still trying.

"What's wrong, Luke? Your face is so pale," Ace asked curiously.

Luke's earlier fear and trembling from Nicholas' speeding had changed. He suddenly focused on the road and gripped his cell phone tightly. "We have to save Brittany and Alicia," he said, as Nicholas' car came to a sudden stop.

Suddenly, the unprepared Ace and Luke were almost slammed into the front. Luke's head had even hit the front seat Ace was sitting on. "What's wrong with you, man?!" Luke exclaimed with pain in his temple.

But Nicholas just gave him a skeptical look and quickly unbuckled the seatbelt. "Let's get there and look forward!" and then ran out of the car towards Brittany who was lying in front of the hall.

Both of their eyes widened in shock and they hurriedly caught up with Nicholas. Luke and Nicholas were trying to carry Brittany's wounded body across the asphalt. "Britt? Britt? Wake up, Britt. I'm here, Britt," Luke said as he patted Brittany's cheek lightly.

And it worked. Brittany coughed and opened her eyes. Seeing Nicholas, Luke, and Ace still surrounding her, Brittany immediately got up and her eyes flashed wildly. "You guys are here! Oh my God! You have to save Alicia and the others," Brittany said in a panic. "Selena said Noel called Alicia, so she took me away and I left her with Amanda. But suddenly Selena hit me over the head and almost tied me up in the CEO's office, I-I ran away and I don't know where Alicia is." Brittany said all of that in short, rapid breaths.

"Luke, take Brittany to the car and medicate her," Nicholas said. "Ace and I will look for Alicia."

Luke nodded in understanding. Nicholas and Ace rushed into the main hallway and the first thing they did was to press the fire alarm for all students to leave Golden High immediately.

They then continued to run through the dormitory, calling out Alicia's name. Until suddenly, the black smoke coming out of the gap in the hall door caught both of their attention. "There's smoke inside!" exclaimed Ace.

Ace and Nicholas helped each other to break the hall door made of New York City's finest wood as hard as they could until the door opened and thick smoke billowed towards them. "Damn it, he set this dorm on fire!" Ace said and coughed. "Let's split up!"

Nicholas went right and Ace went left. Blocked by the thick smoke and flames that had started to consume most of the ornaments in the hall, they kept trying. From his limited view, Nicholas found Alicia lying in the corner of the room. But just as he was about to approach her, someone pulled her neck with a metal wire and she staggered backwards.

"Asshole!" Nicholas held the wire desperately so that it would not pierce his veins. Meanwhile, blood began to flow from his fingers that were rubbed by the metal.

"You shouldn't have believed me when I told you the silver hairpin was missing, detective," Amanda whispered.

Unable to take it anymore, Nicholas took a deep breath and pulled the wire that had almost pierced his neck away, and then slammed Amanda's body to the floor.

"And you shouldn't play games with me, bitch!" retorted Nicholas coldly. He glanced over to where Alicia was and found Ace there.

Ace had managed to find Alicia.

"Why, detective?" Amanda slowly got up. "Are you hurt by that sight? Isn't it ironic that the girl you love prefers someone else to you," Amanda said trying to provoke, while her hand quietly took out a silver hairpin from her other jacket pocket.

Nicholas snorted rudely. "You think I'm going to be swayed by you?"

And Amanda's expression changed instantly. Her eyes stared at Nicholas wide while her hand clenched the weapon-the silver hairpin-strongly. "Then let's get this over with!"

***

"Alicia, say something!" Ace tried to pat the cheek of Alicia who was now sitting beside him, while his eyes were focused on the road.

Ace immediately took Alicia to the hospital after telling Luke that Nicholas was still inside. Alicia's body was already covered in blood due to the large hole in her abdomen. The girl's face was already deathly pale and she had lost consciousness completely.

Once at the hospital, Alicia was immediately taken to the emergency room for immediate treatment.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Ace vented his emotions by kicking the waiting chair in front of the emergency room at that moment.

"Ace!" someone called out and Ace immediately turned to the source of the voice.

"Brittany?"

In front of him now were Brittany, Luke and Nicholas--with their bodies covered in wounds. They stared worriedly at Ace and occasionally glanced at Alicia through the glass. "What about her?" asked Brittany worriedly.

Ace shook his head weakly. "I'm still waiting." He turned to Nicholas. "Hey, Britt, you should take her. I think she needs to be treated too," he suggested.

Nicholas took a deep breath and let it out heavily. "Thanks, Ace. Luke came at the right time." Ace just smiled slightly and nodded.

"Never mind, heal your neck first. I'll be here, don't worry."

Nicholas glanced at Brittany and Luke before finally agreeing to Ace's suggestion.  He went with Brittany to another room for treatment, while Luke chose to stay behind to keep Ace company.

"Sit down, Ace. You need some rest too," Luke said sensibly.

But after a few seconds, the doctor left the room. Immediately, Ace and Luke rushed over to the doctor. "How is he, doc?" Ace asked worriedly.

"She's lost a lot of blood and is severely traumatized. The worst possibility is that she'll have partial amnesia, it seems to happen every time she experiences something so distressing," explained the doctor. "You can see her, but it's best not to talk to her too much yet. Make sure she remembers everything." The doctor left after patting Ace lightly on the shoulder.

Ace went straight into the room followed by Luke behind him.

"Alicia, are you okay--" Ace's words hung in the air as Alicia looked at him flatly. As if nothing had happened to her. Ace leaned closer and stared intently at the blue bead in front of him. "Alicia, do you remember me?" he asked hesitantly.

"I don't think so. Do I recognize you?" she replied shortly.

Ace's eyes rounded in disbelief then turned sad. He looked at Luke and then back at Alicia. "So, you really don't remember me?"

Alicia tried to wake up from her sleep and looked at the two men in turn. She grabbed the hand of Ace who was standing at the side of the bed and held it tightly. "I don't remember you as part of a bad story. So, let's start again from the beginning. No gray-haired Alicia and no Ace the player. What do you think?"

Alicia's smile, which broke out for the first time, touched Ace's heart and made him smile too. Quickly, Ace grabbed Alicia's lips and kissed her deeply. He crushed them intimately, as if he was really afraid of losing Alicia in his life.

"Oh, should I see this? Really?" interrupted Luke exasperatedly, which only made both Ace and Alicia laugh in their place.