Otalia fic - Heroes & Friends, 10/?
Yes, I know...I REALLY suck for not updating for a month. However, I spent that month writing Episode 3 of the Otalia Virtual Season, which will air Nov. 29th (yep, a not-so-subtle plug there!), so read that when it's out and tell me if the month delay was worth it.
Anyhoo, I'm back to H&F now.
Title: Heroes and Friends
Fandom: Otalia
Rating: Mostly PG-13, eventual NC-17 for sex and violence (Not between our girls though…the violence that is…promise. The other? Well…teehee).
Disclaimer: These wonderful ladies and the rest of the town belong to CBS, Telenext, and P&G. I’m just having some fun with them.
Spoilers: I don’t think so. This story picks up at the “no more waiting” gazebo scene and goes off canon.
Summary: Nat gets the shock of her life and it turns Liv’s world upside down.
Warning: Not beta’d so if it sucks, there’s only me to blame.
Links to previous chapters:
Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Josh turned to go back to the foyer and tell Frank to go in the other direction, but instead he nearly ran over Frank who was right on his heels. He pointed past Frank and over his shoulder, “Take the other hallway. Look for Natalia. I’ll deal with this, okay?”
Frank looked over his shoulder to the foyer and the long, dark hallway on the other side. He nodded as Josh disappeared into the inky blackness beyond before going back to pick up his flashlight and gun. Assuming now that Edmund knew they were there, there was no need to be quiet, so he took off down the hallway calling out Natalia’s name.
***************
As best he could, Josh held his flashlight in one hand and the heavy gun in the other. He didn’t want the light because it gave away his position, but in the utter darkness, there was little choice. Sure, he could have gotten the goggles but precious time was wasting and he couldn’t afford to go back for them.
Rounding a corner, he heard a crash from the end of the hallway and took off after it. Dirt, debris, and fallen pieces of ceiling tripped him up as she worked to get to the place where the noise had come from. Before he even made it all the way there, he could see movement ahead. The figure slowly rolled up from a crouched position, its shadow elongated across the littered floor under the jittery motion of Josh’s flashlight.
He raised the gun, preparing to pull the trigger if need be, “Hold it! Don’t move.”
“Don’t worry.” The familiar voice of his ex-wife sounded weary but laced with something else entirely. She rose to her full height and he saw, in the light, the shining reflection of the blood running down the side of her head.
“What happened?”
“What’s it look like, Josh? The sorry bastard hit me! Hard too.” She touched the wounded area gently with her fingers and drew a hiss in through her teeth at the deep cut along her hairline. “Damn it, I was so close!”
Josh reached for her head to pull it closer in the light he held, but she brushed his concern away, “It’s just a cut, Josh. It’ll be fine. Come on, he went that way. Let’s go get him!” She pointed behind her, further into the darkness.
******************
His heart was racing as he turned a corner in the semi-darkness. The last of the moonlit night was giving way to the first rays of morning. He was exhausted and unfocused, his eyes drooping in spite of the adrenaline rush he had been living on for the last twelve hours. He called out Natalia’s name again but only heard silence.
He sighed as he reached the end of a hallway. The only option forward was a long curving stairwell leading up to the next floor. Resting for a moment, he considered heading back the way he came and see if Josh and Olivia were having any better luck; however, he knew with how determined Olivia was at the moment that nothing would stop her from covering every inch of the castle. There was little doubt in his mind that they’d never head back to the foyer but only head deeper into the castle.
With a resigned grunt, he stood and began to take the stairwell two steps at a time. He reached the landing and a closed door. He turned the antique handle but nothing happened. He rammed his shoulder into the door and it barely budged. Giving it another hard shove, it gave way and he tumbled and rolled through the opening.
When he heard the shuffle of feet, he scrambled to his feet and turned just in time to see the maniacal smile of Edmund Winslow, grinning at him down the barrel of a gun.
*****************
Natalia jumped at the sudden noise, cradling her pounding head in her arms, willing the drumbeat to go away. She tried to look up at the sounds coming from the doorway, but the bright light now coming in made her head throb worse. She knew she was in bad shape and it wasn’t just her head. The steady diet of mediocre meals she had been receiving had ceased long ago, and she was now drenched in a cold sweat, her hands shaking uncontrollably. There was little she could do but pray. Every minute that passed made her situation more dire. She knew this and she was ready to accept her fate. The only regret she held was not taking more of a chance and sooner with Olivia. If she had the chance and if the Lord saw fit for her to live, she’d never waste another moment with the woman she loved.
The thought of the green eyed woman who had captured her heart and soul renewed her. Between bouts of prayer, she imagined the life it looked like she’d never know with Olivia. Images of long walks by the lake, holding hands over a candlelit dinner, and dancing slowly in front of the fireplace at the farmhouse passed through her mind and thoughts of slow kisses and Olivia’s passionate touch warmed her chilled body.
The thought of never knowing Olivia this way was more than she could handle so she mumbled the soft and steady prayer since she had ended up in this nightmare, “Lord, help me survive this.”
A low moan answered her back and she jerked her head up, “Who is that?”
Movement and another moan came from the corner. She wasn’t alone, “Hello? Who’s there?” When there was no answer, she scooted closer, feeling her way in the darkness. She felt an arm and shook it, “Hey, who are you?” No answer. She shook a little harder, trying to rouse the person now sharing her cell. When nothing happened, she slid her hand over the torso and could tell it was a man. Her hand slid further up his chest, searching for his face, when her hand ran over something wet and sticky. Feeling closer, her fingers found the indentation of a wound, causing the poor soul to groan and thrash in pain.
“Oh my God! I’m sorry…I’m so sorry.” She reached for where she expected his hand to be and held it tightly. “It’s going to be okay. I think you’ve been shot, but you’re going to be okay, you hear me? I’ll make sure of it.”
******************
The loud bang startled Josh and Olivia. They took cover thinking it was intended for them, but it quickly registered that it came from the other side of the castle. In the next instant, Olivia reached for Josh’s arm, “Oh my God, Josh.” The terrified look in her eyes said it all. Without thinking, they took off down the dark corridors and raced up stairs, weaving their way through debris determined to trip them up.
Throwing open a set of heavy wooden double doors, Olivia ran into the room and immediately slipped on the floor. She landed with a hard thump on her back and felt the thick substance all around her. Josh came in behind her but was able to barely miss tripping over her. She rolled over a little and realized what she was laying in at the same moment Josh came to stand over her.
She jumped up and nearly fell back down, but Josh grabbed her arm and steadied her, helping her step away from the pool of blood now spread out on the floor.
A now bloody hand came to her mouth and she stopped just in time before she covered herself in it, “Dear God…Frank.” Tears came to her eyes as fear and guilt overwhelmed her. Everyone she cared about was getting hurt in this and she feared if any of them would get out alive.
Josh brought her out of her thoughts, “Look.”
Leading away from them was a streak of blood that looked like a body had been dragged and bloody footprints. They lead through a closed doorway.
Without another word, she followed the trail. Josh grabbed her arm, “Olivia, we need to be careful.”
“We need to find them.”
“We will but we still need to get out of this alive, okay? If we can get them, great, but…”
She jerked her arm away, “There’s no option here, Josh. We’re all getting out of here. All of us.”
*****************
Natalia leaned back against the cold wall, cradling the head of the injured man in her lap as she silently prayed over him. She wondered how he had come to be here and how many others there may be. Did this have anything to do with her and her kidnapping or was she just one of many pawns in a madman’s game? So many thoughts raced through her mind. So many possibilities. The situation was not only bizarre but overwhelming. Why in the world were they here and what was the point of it all? There had to be a reason. There was always a reason.
When the door opened again, Natalia didn’t flinch. She wanted and needed to know who held them captive, but the figure that took up the doorway got all of her attention.
“Rafe?” She sat shocked to see her son standing there, but his eyes were closed and he wasn’t alone. Behind him, she could see the outline of their captor - tall with graying hair and a slightly elongated face. In another time, he would have been considered handsome, even dashing, but his menacing smile ruined the façade. She recognized him from the newspaper the day Olivia had come home from San Francisco. Obviously, Edmund Winslow wasn’t dead.
“You. Why?” Edmund narrowed his eyes at her, the emptiness in them chilling her.
He stepped a little further in with Rafe and set him on the other side of Natalia. It was an oddly gentle gesture considering the situation, and it wasn’t lost on her.
“You weren’t supposed to be there. Wrong time and place, my dear Natalia.”
She reached a hand to her son, feeling for his pulse and a wave of relief came over her when she found it. It was weak but there, and as long as that was the case, there was hope.
She shook her head, “You were hiding out in my barn the whole time. I don’t understand. Why? Why were you pretending to be dead?”
He leaned nonchalantly against the door, “I told you. Revenge. The ones I love were taken from me without regard or concern. I had to make those involved pay. I’m truly sorry you got caught in the crossfire, but now I have to see this through. You’re a parent. You’d understand.”
“There’s no excuse for hurting another human being. None.”
He looked pointedly at the men on either side of her, “You mean to tell me that you don’t want to hurt me even a little right now?”
For the first time, she realized that she hadn’t looked at the face of the man she held in her lap and when she looked down, she broke down into tears. The bile rose in her throat at the gaping wound just below Frank’s chest, and she fought the images in her mind of hurting the man taunting her from the doorway. She knew she had little chance against him even if she managed to get up off the floor and get her hands on him, but the mere thought that she wanted to, that she wanted to hit him and hurt him, caused a rush of nausea to rise up.
“You do, don’t you?”
She shook her head, “No.”
He smirked at her, “If Olivia is the next one tossed in here with you, I bet you would.”
“Olivia? She’s here.”
He laughed evilly, “Or maybe Emma. I could make it happen. A child for a child.”
Whatever force had held her back vanished as she jumped to her feet and rushed him. She may not have been able to see that well or have that much strength, but she would be damned if she let him get his hands on Emma without a fight. He’d have to kill her first to make that happen.
She managed to get her hands on him, pulling at his hair, scratching and clawing at any part of him she could reach. He simply laughed and taunted her attempts. It was like one of those bad dreams you have where no matter how hard you fight, you feel like you’re moving in slow motion and powerless to make an impact. Natalia cried in her frustration, wailing at her captor, and begging God for the strength to make him pay.
What felt like an eternity passed in a matter of seconds as he gripped her painfully by the arms, lifted her off her feet, and tossed her against the wall. Then he bent over her, picked her up again, and slapped her viciously across the face as her world once again went black.
**************
Olivia heard the scream and knew instantly it was Natalia. She ran harder, dodging piles of rubble on the floor and plaster hanging from the ceiling, seeking out the location of the sound. She lost the track of blood and could only hope that she was on the right path.
Light was coming through openings in the structure and in the windows making it easier to see where they were going and hopefully seeing any dangers ahead. She was so intently focused on finding Natalia that she didn’t notice the small cuts and scrapes she was receiving in her frantic pursuit.
She wanted to call out to her to try and fix her location again or at least let her know they were coming to get her, but she knew any sound would put her and Josh at risk. Enough had been hurt already, and she didn’t want to add her ex-husband to the body count.
At the end of another corridor, she stopped and peeked around a corner. She really didn’t expect to see him there, but when she did, she knew Natalia had to be close by. A surge of anger and hatred rose up in her so fast she didn’t even notice the shift. All she knew was that the object of this nightmare was unaware of her rapid approach as she raced over the piles of broken furniture and concrete, gaining ground on him.
“Eddmmmuuunnndddd!” He turned in time to see Olivia launching herself across the open space in front of him and Josh a few feet behind, a look of terror on his face, as Edmund reached behind him to pull his gun and fire off a quick shot.
“Ollliivvviiiaaa!”