Run

CARLY!

My heart is racing, filled with fear and excitement. I start knocking softly on the window to make sure she sees me. I can see happiness, yet slight worry in her eyes. I bend down and tug up on the window, trying to open it. It is stuck, I pull harder. Carly starts shaking her head, like she is telling me to stop. To leave her. Tears start to stream down her face, I stop pulling on the window and watch her with my hand pressed against the glass. I mouth "What?" even though I know she can not respond. If she thinks I am going to leave her now, she is wrong. I move out of the view of the window and begin to call Freddie.

"Sam?" He asks, his voice sounds frantic.

"Yeah, Freddie what's wrong?" I ask.

"I'm on my way back. I think I found another way around the gate, we can…."

"I climbed over it." I say interrupting him.

"You what? Sam, I told you to wait and how did you even…"

"Freddie please!… I have never listened to you before and I knew Carly was back here… and she is!" I say, my voice still at a whisper.

"What!" Freddie shouts.

"Look she is in this abandoned building, tied up and gagged. She has a little cut above her eyebrow, I tried to get in, but the window is stuck." I say.

"Okay. Okay… look Sam it is too dangerous to try and get in that room, I am going to call and inform the police." Freddie says.

"You mean you want me to do nothing!" I say as angrily as I could without being too loud.

"Sam please, you found her and now we can get the police to arrest the men and get Carly out without the chance of you or her getting hurt." Freddie says, almost begging. I just huff and hang up the phone. I peek back in the window, Carly is still sitting there. She looks so helpless. Urrrggghhh I need to get he out of there. I need to get her out of there right NOW! Stupid cops, stupid men, stupid Freddie. Everyone is just telling me to wait, but sometimes you don't have time to wait. I know Carly does not want to see me get hurt. I can see it in her eyes, she has been through enough. I walk back down the steps, heading towards the gate, so I can show the police where to go. I reach the ground and suddenly the doors to the building open. I freeze and hide against the side of the building.

"Okay time to go." someone says.

"We have been here long enough, people could catch on." Another says. I peek around the building, to get a good look at the men. No! You can't leave!

"Leo," the first man points to, "go pack up and then get the girl, we are leaving in ten." Carly!

"Hey Travis, what are we going to do with that girl anyway?" Leo asks.

"Yea true, it is not like we need her anymore." the third one says.

"Well, let's keep her until we get far enough away from Washington, then we can dump her." Travis says.

"Then no one will find her in time. She will probably die….. And I don't feel right about that man." the third one says.

"Stop worrying Jason. It will be fine, now go!" Travis orders. They are going to leave Carly out in the middle of nowhere! I can't let them get away, not this time. I run back up the stairs so quick, jumping three at a time, that I end up tripping and hitting my head against the edge of the metal step. I want to scream, but I know I can't. It takes every nerve in body to control me. I push myself back up. I touch my forehead, there is blood, a lot, and it is definitely going to bruise. It hurts so bad, but I push the pain aside and continue up the stairs. This is not about me, it is about Carly. I reach the window, Carly looks up, her expression drops. I know she is wondering what happened, my forehead must be worse than I thought. I grab the window and pull up, it does not budge. I try again and again, my arms are giving out. I'm getting frustrated now, I just want to break the glass. I glance at Carly, I know she knows that I am beginning to worry and that I am getting tired. I drop down to my knees, I place one hand on the frame of the window, the other on the glass, with all my strength I push up on the window. I start to hear cracking, like wood moving against wood. I push the window with every bit of strength I have left, it begins to open. I grab the bottom of the window and push it the rest of the way up. I let out a sigh of relief. I go through the window, the room is filled with boxes, not sure what is in them. I quickly walk across the room to Carly. She tries to talk, but it is all muffled. I untie the cloth that is gagging her. She takes in a deep breath.

"Sam? Oh my god, are you okay? Wha- what are you doing here? How?" She says asking questions at a million miles per hour.

"I'm saving you." I say simply. We don't have time to talk, we need to get out of here now. I try to untie the rope around her, but it is too tight.

"Sam, leave me. You need to get out of here." Carly says with much worry. I know she is scared. I stand up and begin searching the boxes for something to cut the rope. The first box is filled with old, died out flash lights and other scrap metal. The next is filled with old metal parts too, nothing sharp enough to cut the rope with.

"Sam, please. You have to get out of here." Carly says, she is crying now. My head is throbbing, making it hard to focus.

"No, I'm not leaving you here." I say quietly and continue searching through the boxes.

"Sam, please…."

"I am NOT leaving you here!" I say and look straight at her. "Get it through your head Carly, I'm not going anywhere without you." Carly gives a weak smile. I open another box. I start pushing away the dull metal, I have almost reached the bottom when I see something. I reach in the box, the other metal scratching my hand on the way, and pick up what seems to be an old pocket knife. I pull the blade out, it is all rusted and chipped. Man, this thing is ancient. I go back to Carly and begin to cut the rope. It is cutting slowly, but at least it is cutting. Come on.

"Sam it is taking to long, you have to hide or leave or something." Carly says moving around.

"Hold still." I say. Almost there. Got it! I unwind the rope from around her.

"Let's go." I say. Carly just stares and then she grabs me into a strong hug. I don't want to break the hug, but I know that I have to. I push Carly back slightly.

"Come on." I say. We rush back to the window, Carly exits first, then I do, closing the window behind me. We go quickly, yet quietly down the stairs. We reach the ground. We are so close….

"Which way?" Carly asks. I point to the left.

"Down there and a few more turns and we will reach a gate where Freddie is at." I say. Carly stops.

"Freddie is here too?" she says. Like she is surprised that anyone even came for her. I guess it does sound impossible. It actually is pretty impossible that we found her.

"Of course, now let's go." I say. We walk along the side of the building, praying we are not seen. I look around the corner, the men are not there. I can't let them leave. I know Carly is safe, but they can't get away with taking her. I get an idea. No no no…. that is too risky Sam, you can not do that! After debating it for like half a second, I know I have to do it.

"Carly I want you to run around that corner, behind the building and wait for me there." I say.

"Wait for you? What are you doing Sam?" Carly asks. She looks at me with her pleading eyes.

"Carly please." I say. She nods and runs cross the alley. I wait and then I turn to my right heading towards the car. God, I hate this car. I hate it so much, for all the problems it caused and the men. If they think that they are going to get away with everything they have put Carly, Spencer, Freddie and me through in these past 3 days, they are going to get a wake up call. I take the rusty knife out of my pocket, I reach the car, and bend down hiding out of view of the door, just incase. I take the knife and thrust it hard into the back tire. I feel the pressure burst out of the tire, but unfortunately the old knife ends up breaking with it. I wanted to get at least two of the tires, but this will hold them. I stand up and run to where Carly is hiding. I am close to the corner when I hear one of the men shout, "The girl is gone!" I hold my breath. Now running at full speed, I try to keep as quiet as possible. I'm so close. "There! Running over there!" I hear another man shout. Oh no! I turn the corner and grab a hold of Carly pulling her down the alley.

"Sam! What happened?" Carly says, trying to get a hold of her breath. We are running faster than I have ever known us to run before.

"They saw me!" I say. I glance behind me and see the men in the distance, chasing after us. We have to lose them.

"Carly at the next break I want you to turn to your left then make a short right and the gate where Freddie is at will be right in front of you." I say. I can distract them.

"No Sam!" Carly tries to argue.

"The police will be here any minute, I can hold them off. I need you to get to safety!" I say.

"Sam…." She says.

"Carly please!" I yell. Right at that moment Carly takes off left and I pause for a few seconds to make sure that the men see me, and I take off right. My head is killing me and I'm getting dizzy. It is hard to run straight. I hear the men behind me. "Stop!" one yells. Yeah, right. I reach the end of the alley and now I am in a shipping dock with giant crates all around. I take off and hide behind one.

"Where did she go?" one asks.

"She as to be here somewhere…. Split up. Find the girl or the new blonde one, I don't care which. We can't let them get away." another says. I stand still trying to catch my breath, my legs are giving out. I start sneaking around the crates, trying to find a way to get out safely. Come on Sam, stay strong, you got this. I try to think positive and not focus on how much pain I am in. I make my way down the dock, hoping that I'm far enough away. I saw two of the men go in the opposite direction, but I still don't know where the third one is. I hear a sound behind me, I whip around and begin walking backwards carefully. I am stopped when I feel something press into my back, along with the sound of a click.

"Where do you think you are going?" I turn around to see Travis, who at this point I have known as the leader. His gun is facing me and he has a twisted smile on his face, it makes me cringe.

"Where's the brown haired one?" He asks. I do not answer and I put on my best tough face.

"Not telling, huh?" He mocks. He is to cocky for his own good because just then he pointed his gun away from me and it was my only opportunity. I picked up my leg and kicked the gun from his hand. It went skidding down the dock. I think I pulled a hamstring. Oh man, it hurts. I turn to run, but he is too quick. He grabs my arm and slams me against one of the metal crates. Pain erupts throughout my body. I begin kicking wildly and snarling at Travis. He really gets me mad.

"Awwww…. What's the matter Princess? Can't get away?" He jokes. This guy is sick and right at that moment I get a direct kick into his stomach. He keels over and loosens his grip, with all my might I push him back just enough for me to break away. I begin to run towards the gun, knowing that it will give the other person the upper hand. Well duh. I don't get very far before I am tackled to the ground. I start kicking, punching, and screaming wildly. He has me pinned to the ground. I'm struggling now.

"Get off me!" I yell. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a knife. He brings the knife to my neck.

"Where's the brunette?" He yells at me. My breathing becomes more rapid. What now?

"Where?" He shouts and applies more pressure to the knife. I'm afraid if I more one mussel it will cut me. I just stare at him with so much hate. I don't even realize how scared I am because I am so angry.

"Last chance. Where. Is. She?" He asks, enunciating each word, like I am deaf or something. I am not going to tell him. He snarls and punches me in the gut.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" I yell out. I want to curl up in and ball and wait for the pain to pass, but he keeps me pinned to the ground. Lying there in pain, fighting not to pass out from exhaustion. I want to cry, it hurts so bad, but I'm not giving him the satisfaction. He would think I'm giving up, that he had won. There has to be away out of this mess.

"Is she worth this? Is she?" Travis asks, "Just tell me where she is!" I stay silent for a few seconds.

"Yes." I say, he now seems more confused than angry.

"Yes?" He says.

"Yes, she is worth it." I say loud and clear.

"Why you!" He yells and punches me full force in the stomach. It feels like the wind has been knocked out of me. It is hard to catch my breath, as I begin to whimper. I start wildly kicking again, like a little kid having a fit. He starts to laugh. I am close to giving up. He has won. He has the knife, I'm pinned down, and I don't even know where the gun is anymore.

"You should have stayed home little girl." He says. I close my eyes, just when I think that this is the end, I hear something click. It is probably just my imagination, but then I hear a voice.

"Get off her." the voice says. I know this person has the gun. I try to open my eyes to see who it is, but I'm too worn out. I feel Travis take the knife off my neck and stand up.

"Kid, you don't know what you are doing." Travis says.

"You'd be surprised. Drop the knife." the voice demands. I hear the knife fall to the ground. I'm trying to stay conscious. Everything hurts.

"Sam? Sam wake up!" I hear the voice shout. I know who it is.

"Freddie?" I mumble. I slowly open my eyes, squinting to adjust to the light and everything is coming into focus. I see Freddie with the gun, pointing it at Travis. Freddie is shaking. Well I bet he has never held a gun before, he looks nervous and scared. I start to hear faint sirens down the dock. The police! Geeezzzz it is about time.

"You aren't gonna shoot me," Travis says, smirking. He sure is cocky. Freddie glances at me, he is close to tears. He looks extremely worried, so I must not look good.

"You kidnapped my friend, made us chase you down, now you were about to kill Sam. You have no idea how much you put us through." Freddie says with hate dripping on every word. I have never heard Freddie so angry. I can hear the police sirens clearly now.

"Freddie don't!" I say. Before I never would have thought that Freddie could even consider pulling that trigger, but I have never seen him like this.

"Yeah Freddie don't" Travis mocks. This guy is so stupid, but he is not worth it.

"Freddie no. He- he is not worth it." I say, my voice only at a whisper. I close my eyes again and touch my forehead, it is all numb now. I don't hear anything besides the heavy breathing of Freddie and Travis. I bet the police can't see us behind these crates. Suddenly I hear movement, the sound of metal striking against something and the someone, I'm hoping Travis, fall to the ground. I open my eyes, I see Freddie throw the gun to the side and Travis on the ground unconscious. I try to push myself back up, but I don't have the strength. Freddie rushes over to me and leads out his hand. I grab it and he carefully pulls me up. Right when I stand up, my knees give out, Freddie puts his arm around my waist, catching me. I just stare at him, speechless. He pushes my hair out of my face and touches the cut on my forehead. It stings, I inhale deeply trying to lessen the pain. He sighs and glances at me. He places his hand on the back of my head, stroking my hair again, and pulls me into a hug. I place my hands on his chest and rest my head on his shoulder. I feel safe, overwhelmed with joy. We did it, everything is okay.

"Thanks." I whisper, "You did good for a nerd." I smile at him. He chuckles.

"And you didn't do too bad yourself for an obnoxious, ham-loving bully." He says. I blush.

"I mean it. You are a true soldier, Sam Puckett." He smiles, oh god is he trying to embarrass me. I just nod my head, knowing he knows that I mean thank you. I hear tires screech behind us.

"Freeze!" I turn around to see two cop cars with officers pointing their guns at us. I think I have had enough guns in my life by now. I recognize one of the men. Detective Burke, the man from the Hotel, the one interrogating Freddie.

"Lower your weapons!" Burke shouts at the men. He walks towards us, while the cops go over to Travis. Oh no, hear it comes. I know we are in a lot of trouble. Burke just looks at us.

"I'm sorry." He says. Wait… what?

"I should have believed you." He says looking at Freddie. "You two got guts that's for sure." I look over at Travis, the cops are placing handcuffs on him. I wonder when he will ever regain consciousness.

"What about the other two men?" I ask.

"We have them. They are being taken to the station as we speak." Burke responds. Just then two more cars and an ambulance pull up. Before one of the cars even completely stop, the back door opens, and Carly runs out. I stop leaning on Freddie and slowly walk towards Carly. My muscles tightening with every step and now everything is going blurry. My head is spinning again.

"Sam!" Carly yells and throws her arms around me, keeping me in a tight bear hug. It feels so great to have my best friend in my arms again.

"Are you okay?" I ask her. All she does is smile.

"I'm fine, much better now." She says.

"Me too." I say.

"You found me." Carly says, "you are the best friend anyone can wish for." I start to tear up.

"I missed you, best friend." I say.

"Let's get you in the ambulance." She says. I put my arm around her shoulder and we begin walking towards the ambulance. I think I'm putting too much weight on Carly because she is leaning far, but I can't help it. Then I feel someone grab my arm and put it around their shoulder. Freddie. Everything is back the way it was before, well not exactly but you know what I mean. I have Freddie on one side and Carly on the other. My two best friends. Everything is the way it should be.

Well, I hope you liked it! This is the end, but I'm thinking about making a sequel, where you find out stuff that happened when Sam wasn't there, like Carly's version, and when Freddie was alone.

~ J