By the end of our conversation with Phil, Lincoln was visibly distressed. His abrupt exit had Andrew ditching the icepack and chasing after him with me. In our rush I forced out a brief farewell to a very perplexed mechanic, hoping that would be enough for Phil not to come after us.

"Lincoln." I called out over the crunching of gravel. His long legs were giving him an advantage and causing Andrew and I to fall behind. "Where are you going?" Instead of moving back towards our checkpoint, that was Vikki, Lincoln marched on in the opposite direction. "Lincoln!"

Reading his mind Andrew intersected his best friend.

"You need to calm down." Andrew insisted, placing his hands on Lincoln's shoulders. "You going in there with no plan isn't going to go over well."

Infuriated with the interruption Lincoln swiped Andrew's hands off his t-shirt clad chest. "I know what I'm doing."

"And what's that?" Andrew challenged, mimicking Lincoln's sidestep.

"I'm going to go get my sister."

I heard Harper and Ella join us before I saw them.

Realizing Lincoln wasn't going to let up attempting to get past Andrew I piped in. "We don't even know if this is where he brought her."

"Then let me go up and find out." Squaring up against Andrew, Lincoln mustered the hardest glare I'd ever witnessed come out of him. "You know better than to try and keep me from my family."

"I'm not keeping you from anything," Andrew stared back, both boys being approximately the same height, "besides you doing something stupid. You don't think he planned on you coming after Sadie? You don't think he's expecting you to find him?"

Silently, Lincoln took in what his best friend was saying.

"I know how much you want to get Sadie back. If that were either of my brothers up there I'd be willing to go through Hell too. But I doubt you'd let me go in there, would you?"

"Not on your own." Lincoln muttered, still resenting his plan being foiled.

"Exactly," Andrew's serious features cracked into a full out grin. "I'm not letting you go up there alone — especially not without any fucking clue of what you're doing. So do us both a favour and calm the fuck down so we can go and get your sister back."

When Lincoln failed to respond Andrew turned his attention to Harper. "Now, what's the plan, little Miss Einstein."

Harper raised a brow. "And to think, for a moment I considered the possibility of you brainstorming something up on your own."

"Oh no, no, no. I'm the brawns of the group, baby." He stated with a flex of his arm.

"Well, you're definitely not the brains." Harper agreed under her breath, ignoring the improper term. Stepping closer to us all she questioned, "Do you want my honest opinion?"

In silence we all nodded.

"Call the authorities." Harper voiced, arms crossed. Instantly Lincoln was ready to protest. "We don't have to tell them anything about you, Sadie or your family." Harper interjected before he went on a tangent. "We have evidence of him trespassing, and destroying private property. That's enough to at least keep him away for a while, long enough for you and your mom to get Sadie out of that house."

"No." Lincoln protested with the shake of his head. He was getting desperate, I could hear it in his voice. "That's not long enough. No amount of jail time for something that minor will ever be long enough."

Without warning Lincoln maneuvered to face Andrew, only to force him to the floor. Before anyone else had the chance to do anything but call his name Lincoln was already racing off to the front. He was going to get Sadie back, do or die.

"Fucking guy, eh?" Andrew cussed, pushing himself off the ground in a hurry. Only a number of large, rushed steps were needed for him to reach a jumbled mess of scraps that were piled against the back wall of the shop. Seconds of digging later and a crowbar appeared in Andrew's sturdy grasp.

"Andrew!" Ella called when he took off as well. "Men... I swear too—"

The rest of what Ella said was cut off by Harper screaming after me, "Calista!"

Lincoln didn't realize it just yet but Harper's idea was the best chance we had to buy his family some time. And the irrational idiot was willing to get himself killed because of it. Barreling to the front of the building I had to catch myself a couple times from falling. Gravel was difficult to run on. What made it more difficult is when had a couple of idiots to stop.

Hoping and praying Lincoln and Andrew hadn't made it upstairs just yet I threw open the apartment door. It stood idly off to the left of the shop's main, double glass entrance.

A series of at least fifty steps greeted me. Being both nonathletic and lazy I groaned at the carpeted staircase. By the midway point I was already huffing and puffing but at least it was less slippery than the gravel yard.

Out of breath I slammed into the wooden door that resided at the top of the stairs. It was already ajar, the wood splintered where the lock was meant to be.

Lincoln.

Cursing his name I sped down the hall.

Please don't have done anything stupid. Please don't have done anything stupid.

The lengthy wall to my left was incrusted with a long line of windows. Four or five extended rectangles of glass showcased the side of the shop's yard. The chainlink fence outlined with the lush green of trees and bushes was the most this view had to offer. The hallway itself was painted a cool beige and carpeted with the same stiff bristled material that coated the steps.

There was only one other door in the hallway, besides the door to the stairwell. It was posted at the far end of the right wall — where Andrew and Lincoln were already stationed.

"We know you're in there! Open the fucking door!" Lincoln bellowed, hammering at the door with a white knuckled fist.

"Andrew! Lincoln!" I called, still out of breath from the stairs-of-doom. "Stop!"

"Maybe he isn't home." Andrew suggested by his side, completely ignoring my presence.

"Then I'm letting myself in."

"Lincoln sto—" Before I completed my sentence Lincoln had already reversed, prior to hurdling his entire bodyweight into the apartment. The door sprung open, flying back on it's hinges. Andrew was ready and waiting, crowbar erect in his hands.

"Are you guys insane?" I shrieked in a high pitched whisper. "This is breaking and entering." I scolded, hoping that knowledge in and of itself would change their minds. Obviously I was too much of an optimist.

"Drew, stay out here and keep watch. I don't think he's home." Lincoln assumed, allowing the rock he was holding to roll out of his finger tips.

Before he had the chance to make it through the threshold I took hold of Lincoln's arm. "It's not too late to call the police." I reminded him in a last attempt to get us out of there.

Mutely, Lincoln gently shrugged off my hand. Taking a cautionary first step into the front foyer he checked left and right. When he made it to the middle of the poorly furnished main room I felt the need to go in after him. Maybe if I helped, we could find whatever he was looking for faster and get the hell out of here.

The temperature dropped the second I stepped foot in the place. I didn't know if it was due to my anxiety or to a broken thermostat. Nevertheless, goosebumps raised on my covered arms. Some light trickled in from windows on the other side, just barely lighting up the open space. The sparse furniture and dirty surfaces didn't help with the ultimately creepy vibe I was getting. If I didn't know any better I would have thought this place to be abandoned.

Lincoln disappeared through an ajar door. It stood off to the right and held a sizeable bed from the looks of it. With Lincoln and Andrew near by my confidence grew. I traveled further, having a look at the car magazines and dated newspapers that dotted the coffee table. Coffee table was a nice way to put it. It was more of a low standing platform made out of a few bricks and a sheet of plywood.

A short stack of pot noodles sat on one of the magazines. I was afraid to touch them. I would much rather wash dishes at the daycare one last time. There was no telling how long the garage had been there. Moving away from the plastic lawn chairs and magazines I decided to venture onto the kitchen.

I tiptoed along the cracked tiles, following the countertop. Smudges and splatters of unknown substances plagued the surface. The sink was filled to the brim with dirty dishes and murky water. The vile odour resembled rotten hardboiled eggs and fish. I was ready to yak. I was petrified to breathe.

A sprinkling of white powder on the island was the only interesting tipoff I found during my search.

Lincoln was dissecting each of the three supposed-to-be bedrooms. But with each frustrated growl and crash I knew he wasn't finding anything useful.

I had just finished going through the fridge and cupboards when Lincoln exited from the last room on that side of the apartment.

"Anything?" Andrew called from the open front door.

"Nothing. Fucking nothing." Lincoln cursed, flipping over the plywood tabletop.

Understanding his frustration I moved away from the kitchen, back into the main room. "We'll find her Lincoln." I encouraged, watching as some of the leftover liquid from the pot noodles flew into the tv.

It was over our silence and exhaustion that the three of us picked up on the slightest of sounds.

"Did you hear that?" I questioned, furrowing my brows at Lincoln.

He didn't respond. Instead he listened, honing in on the soft cries.

"Sadie!" He called, the both of us rushing to the closed off room next to the kitchen. The white door was locked, refusing to budge no matter how much Lincoln wiggled the knob.

"Sadie!" Pressing our ears to the door we waited for another response. Another muffled cry erupted from the undisclosed quarters.

Knowing of only one surefire way to quickly and efficiently gain entrance Lincoln took a step back. "Get out of the way." He ordered. "Sadie, get away from the door!"

Seconds later and Lincoln's foot collided with the hollow board. A toilet and custard tub were the first things that came into view. Along with a bound Sadie.

The poor girl was tied to the tub, her hands bond to the faucet. Her vision and speech were hindered — black cloth wrapped it's way over her eyes and mouth like a pair of inky tentacles.

"Oh my God, Sadie!" Racing into the bathroom with Lincoln at my side I concentrated on untying the black cloth. Lincoln was already well into freeing her hands from the yellow rope. I managed to get both ties off before Lincoln.

"Spit it out Sadie." I encouraged, taking the bunched up ankle sock from her mouth. Out of pure reflex she gagged once the fabric was removed. Tears falling freely now that the material was off of her face. The poor thing was a wreck.

The second Lincoln was done with the ties he scoped his sister up in his arms. He coddled her, soothing her back as he whispered in her ear that everything was okay now.

"Let's get her out of here."

Lincoln silently agreed, moving forward with Sadie still clutched to his chest. We managed to find Sadie before Claudio found us. A flood of relief washed over me but the adrenaline failed to cease. And I think I secretly knew it was because the whole situation just seemed too easy.

A thump sounded before we even had the chance to exit the cramped bathroom. But there, out in the main room, was a limp Andrew. Half of his body was outside in the hallway. His tousled nest of curls fell on the inner side of the apartment — a fresh head wound present.

The sight itself had Lincoln and I both halting in our tracks. The sound of something scrapping against the ground was the single sound I heard — and it was blood curdling.

Claudio DeLuca maneuvered over Andrew's body. He stepped over cautiously. Making a show of not wanting to step on the blood that was now seeping into the carpet.

"I'm going to have to clean that up later." He realized in distaste with the curl on his lip.

To much of Sadie's protesting Lincoln pasted the preschooler over to me. "Take her and run." He whispered his plea. "Get her down to the shop and go get Phil."

Claudio smiled wickedly as he silently listened to Lincoln's exchange.

"You know, I wasn't expecting you to find me so quickly. I still had a couple of things planned, but you went ahead and ruined them. That's not very nice." Claudio taunted, the crowbar dangling from his grip. A smudge of crimson coated the tip. The sight itself had me frozen in fear, but the hysteric wailing in my ear reminded me I had to go.

"Calista, get her out of here." Lincoln barked lowly.

Preparing to make a run for it I took a few speedy steps. Instead of making a clear get away Lincoln's father threw the crowbar, causing it to smash through the wall directly in front of me. Startled, I stumbled back, screaming in-sync with Sadie.

With four sturdy steps Claudio blocked my get away. Lincoln was obstructing my view, backing me up into the safety of the toxic kitchen. Painstakingly slow, Claudio removed the dull metal from the crumbling wall. Lifting the crowbar to his stubbled face he blew at the powdered drywall that was left on the surface. He was just toying with us now.

"You know," Claudio started, eyes still glued to the crowbar as he twisted it in his hands, "none of this had to happen." He stated, crimson and glossy eyes burning the steel red hot. "Everything was a-okay until your mother tried to trap me with that little blood-sucker." Gesturing to Sadie as he inched closer.

Lincoln guided us back around the island.

"Your mother was just being too sensitive. Nothing I did ever really hurt her." He spat. "I just wanted to drink, go out with the guys, make it rich! Isn't that something all men should be able to have? Huh? Isn't it!" He bellowed, crashing the crowbar into the countertop.

Lincoln stayed silent as he corralled the three of us back out of the kitchen.

"I didn't do anything wrong." Claudio stated. He had lowered his voice to a deadly calm. Deep down I knew there was more yelling to come. I was expecting it. With the slight slurring of his words and the facial expressions he was making, I knew he was on the influence of something. And this time I didn't think it was solely alcohol.

Claudio was back to blocking the door. He was forcing us to backtrack into one of the bedrooms. It would be harder for us to escape in the confined area. Thankfully, Lincoln wasn't stupid enough to fall for his father's trap.

"Your mother was a bitch for trying to use that little snot-muncher to stop me from living!"

"You fucking raped her." Lincoln shot back, chilling me to the core. He brought us to an abrupt stop just outside of the detached room. "Do you really think, in your right mind, that she would bring another child intro the Hell hole you called a home? Of course fucking not. You don't have a right mind, you're an abusive drunk!"

A fierce battle cry ripped through Lincoln's throat. His warn Nike's drug into the dark carpeting as he launched himself at his father. The two collided, like a comet smacking into a solitary planet. The force was enough to knock the both of them off balance and go toppling over the broken plywood coffee table. To my horror Claudio managed a couple of solid whacks at his son's back with the strip of metal.

Afraid to move I stayed in the corner of the room until I felt it was clear. Lincoln had managed to disarm his father. Now they were wrestling, tossing and turning on the floor for the upper hand. The cussing and sounds of flesh hitting flesh were wreaking havoc on the little girl in my arms.

"Calista! Go!" Lincoln grunted while on top of his father. The sight and sounds of blood were making me feel faint. "Go!"

Snapping out of my daze I unlocked my wobbly legs. I took one step, then two, then quickened the pace, but I still wasn't fast enough.

"You're not taking that little bitch anywhere!" Claudio was cutting off my escape to freedom. With that sickly grin he stood before me, huffing, and shaking — with laughter. "I should have taken care of her when I first had the chance. She ruined my life. Both of you fucking mistakes ruined my life!"

Stumbling back I tripped over one of the fallen yard chairs. Sadie landed securely on my chest, in the same position I've been holding her for the last five or so minutes. It mustn't have been that long but it felt like eternity. Eternity of being trapped by this monster. I could only imagine what it felt like for Amelia and Lincoln.

As he hobbled closer I kicked myself away from the plastic seat. Sliding back I returned to the corner, cradling Sadie protectively. The crowbar was back in his grasp and I awaited the impact. But it never came. Lincoln intersected his father before tackling the middle aged man into one of the empty rooms.

"Cali, go!" Lincoln ordered again, holding the door shut.

I didn't even have time to raise from the ground before the crowbar came crashing through the door. Lincoln, being in the line of fire, received a dizzying hit to the head. My breath hitched as I watched him go down.

The bedroom door creaked open. Claudio stood menacingly over his son.

"I don't know why you fight so hard to play the hero, son. We both know you're going to end up like me anyways." Claudio taunted, crouching to the floor. "You're half me. Fifty percent of my DNA. Stop fighting it."

"Like hell I'll ever be like you." Lincoln spat, his knee shot up delivering a crippling blow. Claudio cussed and groaned, holding his pride as he fell back. The crowbar thudded to the ground while both men returned back to trying to get an upper hand on the ground.

I couldn't take it anymore. Something inside me just snapped. I was no longer panicked, or weak with fear. I was angry. I was so enraged at the man before me. The man who was hell bent on destroying innocent lives. Unlatching Sadie's grip from around my neck I crawled across the floor. With the cold metal in between my fingers I discovered the courage to stand.

This ends now.

At the first opportunity of getting a clear shot I swung at Claudio's head like I was aiming for a golf ball. A dinging noise vibrated up the shaft of the crowbar, letting me know I had hit my target. And I got him good.

If that wasn't proof enough Claudio fell collapsed, his eyes rolling to the back of his head. Not even comprehending what I had just done I dropped the crowbar to the ground. It thudded against the carpet in slow motion. For a moment I thought I might have killed him.

Lincoln didn't give me an opportunity to process what was erupting in my mind. His hands were on me, pushing a crying Sadie back into my arms and urging me towards the door.

"Go!" I mildly heard. "Go!"

Within seconds we were back in the safety of the hallway. Refusing to leave his friend behind, Lincoln bent down to collect Andrew. By this point the curly haired teen was awakening, without a clue of what was going on. Lincoln tossed Andrew's arm around his neck, dragging him along with us. He encouraged me forward, out of breath from the events that had just occurred. The pace at which they were moving caused anxiety to bubble in my stomach. He was going to get a hold of use before we got out of here.