Jaiden closed his eyes, trying to calm his breathing and not vomit. He had felt disgusted and violated. He spit out a mixture of blood and saliva, hoping to remove the feeling of Christopher's thumb from his mouth.

Everything about Christopher made his skin crawl. He coughed again, suppressing the rising uncomfortable feeling in his chest.

He needed to get out of there. But that should be simple, right?

He just needed to break out of these ropes, go outside and run like hell... with an arm he could hardly move, a chest screaming every time he took a breath, a neck bruised to all hell, and a blinding migraine complemented with several head injuries that were starting to swell his eye shut. 

Yeah... simple.

He's going to look ridiculous running out of here.  He almost laughed at the mental image.  Shit. Nate really was bad for him.  At least he was still optimistic even after his mouth was finger fucked by a psychotic murderer.

So now he just needed to figure out how to escape.

Step one: get out of the goddamn chair.

But, there was no easy option here. There were no tools he could use. No luck he could tap into. No god he could pray to. What could possibly be the light at the end of the tunnel in this situation?

This wasn't a 'make lemonade' kind of situation. This was more of a 'clench your asshole and hoped you don't get fucked by life's special lemons' moment.  Carlos was right; life's a puta.

Fuck.

He tried to concentrate on his current situation. He needed to suppress all the traumatic bullshit he had just experienced and save it for his therapist. At this moment, he needed to figure out how to get out of here and survive.

Christopher knew how to break his victims mentally. He had been doing it to Jaiden for two years now, manipulating his emotions and toying with him. So if he allowed Christopher to strip away his power, he was done for. The moment he became weak would be the moment he died.

If he dies, Toni will be next. Toni would have to experience the hell he lived through for two years.  And then he would fall into this madness... this abominable game.

The only way to stop that is to survive. Live. Go home to him.

He knew how to get out, but the process would be hell.  Knowing the pain waiting for him made him falter for a second.  And every moment he would have to endure after that was terrifying enough that he broke out in a sweat.

If Carlos were here, he would ask him, "Do you run away or take a stand and run forward?" Jaiden knew the answer. He gave it to him years ago.

"What the hell. I'm a fighter through and through." He said quietly, his throat hoarse but filled with resolve.

He listened carefully to his surroundings and heard Christopher calling out for Sierra. At least he hadn't found her just yet, which gave him time.  He also seemed somewhat distant, so perhaps he wouldn't hear him.  He was grateful that Christopher didn't seem bothered that he left Jaiden alone. Maybe he had too much confidence in these ropes.

Jaiden pulled at the ropes wrapped around his arm and felt how they had become loose after Christopher kicked him.  He shifted a little and felt the chair wobble and creak. The wood was pretty fucked up, which was good for him. Still, he shuddered a little knowing what he had to do next.

"This is going to hurt like a motherfucker." He told himself. He leaned forward a little on his toes and swayed awkwardly. When he felt like he had enough weight shifted, he took a couple of deep breaths and threw himself backward with the chair.

He felt the air leave him as his back hit the cold concrete. The chair cracked and gave way, splitting and separating from the armrests and the legs. However, Jaiden was seeing white. Not only did the impact irritate his migraine, but he felt his injured arm electrify with pain. He prayed he didn't break it all the way.

"Fuck." He hissed. But he didn't have time to wallow in the pain. He forced himself to remain conscious and pulled the ropes off him with his good arm.

He tried standing, but he was too unstable and cursed inwardly when he practically crawled to the opposite door from where Christopher ran out. He remained kneeling and held himself against the wall under a window, listening intently for Christopher.

He raised himself a little when he could hear him still calling out. It seemed to be on the other side of the building, so he braved looking out the window. He could tell that a junkyard surrounded the building he was in. Many cars and parts were piled all around the property. He took a steady breath. At least he would have a place to hide.

The coast was clear, and he gently opened the heavy door and stepped outside. He was still hunched, and thankfully he was because when he stepped into the sun, the pain overwhelmed him again, making him sink to the ground.

The next time he was kidnapped, he would try to avoid a migraine because it made everything more difficult. Or maybe he should avoid being hit with a bottle. Better yet, he should avoid the whole 'being kidnapped' thing.

Jaiden stayed close to the walls of the building and scoped out the area. There wasn't much coverage for him until he was in the junkyard, so he had to run about 50 feet in the open before being able to hide again. The only things that could shield him were a dumpster to the side and the black van in the middle of the open space.

He moved towards the dumpster and kneeled beside it. He confirmed that he was in a rural part of Albuquerque, where there weren't many houses for miles around. A small dirt road led up to the building, but by the number of tumbleweeds lining it, he could tell that the road hadn't been used frequently. It was silent in this area besides random shouts from Christopher and the far-off sirens of emergency vehicles.

Jaiden stood again, confirming that Christopher was still a ways away, and glanced into the dumpster. He frowned because it was filled with tires, old bottles of oil, and starting fluid. He had half considered hiding in the dumpster, knowing it wouldn't be the first time he had to jump into one. But the place was a damn fire hazard.

He froze and held in a laugh as the thought hit him... fire hazard? And sirens? Maybe he was usually shit out of luck, but perhaps he could tap into some of that excellent luck Toni had always boasted about. He fumbled around and found his cigarettes and lighter in his pocket. When Christopher and Sierra searched him, they were more worried about him having the means to contact someone.  They never bothered to empty his pockets. 

He lit a couple of cigarettes, took a deep drag, and tossed them in the dumpster. He knew it would take a lot of heat for some oils and the tires to burn, but he would have a pretty intense and smoky fire if he were successful.

He had threatened to burn the world down to find Toni. He may technically be the one lost right now, but that was just schematics. He only hoped Toni wouldn't have to arrest him once he found him.

A whoosh sound erupted, and an intense heat rushed towards Jaiden. He cursed and hoped that nothing exploded while he was next to the dumpster. He hobbled over to the van, hoping that luck was still on his side and would find it empty with keys.  He positioned himself towards the back of the van and peeked into the window. "Fuck," he whispered when he saw Billy sitting in the driver's seat while looking down at something.

He would typically be confident to overpower Billy and steal the van, but he could hardly stand in his current condition. Instead, he braced himself and limped towards the junkyard, disappearing through in the mess of broken-down vehicles. He tried to move quietly, watching each step to avoid clatter or noise. At the same time, he stayed low and hopefully out of sight.

When he felt to be at a safe distance, he looked back and smirked when he saw the thick plume of black smoke rising from the dumpster. The tires finally caught on fire, and it would be nearly impossible for Christopher to extinguish it. Thank god some careless people didn't care about adequately disposing of chemicals in the trash.

But his relief was short-lived, and Jaiden flinched when he heard a woman yelling, followed by a gunshot echoing through the junkyard. He wasn't too close to the confrontation, but it was still close enough to make him feel uncomfortable. He hissed with anger. Sierra didn't escape, which meant that his chances were also slim.

The gunshot must have startled Billy because he jumped out of the van. But he yelped when he saw the growing flame. He started to scream and call out to Christopher. "Chris! Come here!"

He was floundering and trying to find something to put out the flame, but he had nothing to stop the inevitable. Christopher emerged from the junkyard from around the corner, and he paused when he saw the fire.

"What the hell, Billy?" He yelled.

Jaiden shuddered because he finally saw Christopher step over that threshold.  His anger was tangible. Everything he had seen Christopher display seemed monotone and hollow, but this was his true face, and it was sinister. This was the face of a man who killed seven people—wait; he set up Terrance, Sierra, and Carlos. Also, he didn't hesitate when Jaiden mentioned the church fire, so he probably killed little Mary.

Christopher's kill count was at least at eleven right now.

Fuck. He felt like a shit cop. He couldn't save Carlos along with the string of other victims.

Jaiden reminded himself how to breathe and started to move back further in the junkyard, trying to put more distance between them. He was still moving slowly, overly cautious of each step. But this was a scenario where if he fucked up, he was dead.

He continued to watch the situation between Billy and Christopher from between the gaps and spaces of the cars. Christopher was yelling at Billy, calling him a careless motherfucker. Billy was flailing, trying to defend himself.  But it meant nothing to Christopher, especially when he pulled the gun out on Billy. Jaiden clasped his hand over his mouth.

Bang.

Billy collapsed to the ground.

Fuck. Twelve.

Jaiden hated the helplessness he felt right now.  Christopher just mocked him about being incapable of protecting or serving, calling him the greatest hypocrite. Part of him now agreed with Christopher.  He was so worried about preserving his own life that he neglected the other possible victims. However, this was not the time to fall into an existential crisis, because in the back of his mind, he knew that this was the path that Billy chose.  This was the bloody consequence of befriending a serial killer.

He needed to keep moving.  He saw Christopher storming back inside the building and felt the need to try and move faster.  He flinched when he heard Christopher letting loose a guttural yell.  The door crashed open again, and Christopher stepped outside.  "Jaiden! I know you're still here!"

Jaiden hated that Christopher was right.  And what was worse; he wasn't that far away.

His eyes gravitated towards the billowing smoke.  The sirens seemed to be closer than before, but he didn't know if he was imagining it at this point. He was hoping for the best, hoping that everything fell into place; the phone call, the fire, Toni. If it did, he could hang on. He could play this deadly game of hide and seek.  He could last.

As long as he could stay conscious... but even that was proving to be difficult. The smell of burning tires did not agree with his migraine and the pain was hitting him like crashing waves.

He continued to cross through the junkyard, watching and listening carefully. He was aware of Christopher's movements, and heard him calling out to him.

He had to keep going, because everything inside of him told him that Toni was on his way.