* past / present.

ask meme lost | unavailable;

 She  was  choking  on  her  own  blood.      It  was  only  10  or  so  hours  after  she  was  cornered  and  taken  against  her  will,    but  so  much  had  happened.      Alice  was  knocked  out  unconscious  and  transported  to  another  warehouse  a  few  hours  away.      When  she  came  to,    she  was  tied  up  and  the  men  she  had  been  spying  on  were  arguing  loudly  about  what  they  should  do  with  her.      Her  first  plan  had  backfired  and  she  hadn’t  been  able  to  escape  like  she  was  hoping  to.      Her  second  was  to  comply  and  lull  them  into  a  false  sense  of  security.

 That  plan  also  failed.

 Her  final  attempt  to  escape  was  made  when  she  overheard  them  talking  about  tarps.    That  was  enough  to  snap  her  back  to  reality.    SHE  WAS  GOING  TO  DIE  THERE  IF  SHE  DIDN’T  DO  ANYTHING.      So  Alice  fought  and  fought,    kicking  and  screaming  and  biting  until  they  finally  decided  to  retaliate.    She  was  unconscious  again  just  as  the  sirens  pierced  through  the  deafening  tone  ringing  in  her  ears  from  the  impact.

    his  jaw  tightened  with  conviction,  astonished  by  his  own  actions  yet  the  expression  remained  unchanged.    there  was  finality  to  the  sharp  tone  of  metal  enough  that  he  too  could  feel  the  pierced  edge  of  the  meaning  of  THIS.    a  precaution,  no,  protection  against  what  he  knew  would  come,  yes,  this  is  what  this  was.    it  had  to  be.    her  capability  was  not  the  trait  in  question  but  those  of  the  murderous  animals  that  were  feet  away  from  them  separated  only  by  concrete  walls.

    HE’S  SELFISH.   he  dreaded  the  thought  of  her  in  pain  yet  all  he  could  take  from  her  look  was  one  of  agonizing  betrayal,   and  it  killed  him.    the  feeling  clawed  from  the  nape  of  his  neck  to  the  top  of  his  head,  as  if  something  began  to  snap  within  him  until  muffled  static  startled  him.    they  were  looking  for  him  now,  their  tones  furious  yet  an  undertone  of  excitement  as  if  they  were  here  for  a  kill.      the  young  officer  had  shaken  his  head  with  a  step  back,  and  another,  then  another.     “ YOU’LL  BE  SAFE  HERE…    this  isn’t  meant  to  hurt  you  alice,  but,   please—— – - ”

 THE  WORDS  SPEWING  OUT  OF  SAMUEL’S  MOUTH  WERE  DEAFENED  BY  THE  SOUND  OF  HIS  FOOTSTEPS  RETREATING.      She  continued  to  stare  after  him,    a  look  of  incredulity  and  hurt  locked  into  the  features  of  her  face.      The  cold  metal  of  the  cuff  continued  to  burn  into  her  skin  and  it  wasn’t  until  Alice  completely  lost  sight  of  him  that  she  tugged  her  wrist  ––––  as  if  to  make  sure  that  the  cuff  was  actually  locked  around  her  wrist.      Anger  slowly  replaced  the  feelings  of  shock  and  while  most  would  have  just  sat  on  their  asses  thinking  that  they  were  done  for,    she  had  a  record  of  getting  out  of  sticky  situations  and  Sam  must  have  forgotten  she  kept  a  small  lock  pick  on  her  persons  at  all  times.      Nimble  fingers,    no  longer  shaking  from  the  onslaught  of  emotions  coursing  through  her  body,    picked  the  lock  and  she  was  FREE  again.      Ha!    Take  that  Samuel  Park!       Alice  gathered  her  things  and  ran  towards  the  back  of  the  building.      Her  bag  was  slung  over  her  shoulders,    DSLR  camera  safely  tucked  away,    before  she  leapt  into  the  air  and  grabbed  onto  the  bottom  rung  of  the  fire  escape.      A  few  tugs  with  her  entire  body  weight  brought  the  ladder  down,     but  she  wanted  to  avoid  making  too  much  noise.      So,    she  started  climbing  up  the  ladder  that  way,     hoping  she  wasn’t  too  heavy  to  unfold  the  contraption  before  she  could  get  onto  the  ledge.

 The  pads  of  her  leather  boots  hit  the  metal  hatching  of  the  fire  escape  and  she  let  out  a  heavy  sigh  of  relief.      Eyes  traveled  further  up  the  side  of  the  building  to  the  highest  window;    it  would  be  a  tight  fit,   but  she  was  an  exceptionally  tiny  woman.      Alice  walked  up  the  stairs  three  steps  at  a  time  until  she  was  face  to  face  with  a  dusty  window  that  she  could  barely  push  open  from  the  outside.     Once  it  was  open  about  a  foot  or  so,    she  shrugged  off  her  knapsack  and  placed  it  into  the  building  before  trying  to  wiggle  her  way  in  the  building  herself.      She  had  her  palms  placed  on  the  ground  to  support  her  weight  so  when  she  finally  did  manage  to  get  her  bottom  half  free,    she  could  simply  land  softly  on  the  balls  of  her  feet.      The  woman  huffed  slightly,    tucking  her  hair  behind  her  ears  once  she  finally  pulled  her  DSLR  free  from  its  case  and  started  using  it  as  makeshift  binoculars.

 In  the  distance,    she  could  hear  two  men  talking  ––––  no,    arguing  –––  about  how  the  situation  should  have  been  handled.      Alice  could  barely  make  out  what  they  were  saying..    something  about  how  they  needed  to  ease  up  on  the  body  count.      YIKES.      She  felt  her  heart  soar  when  her  camera  finally  focused  on  the  two  criminals  and  she  winced  when  she  pressed  the  shutter  button  out  of  habit  and  a  click  echoed  through  the  building.

❝   I DIDN’T SAY YOU DIDN’T HAVE ANY. JUST THAT YOU PROBABLY DON’T OWN ANYTHING GOOD ENOUGH.   ❞   To him, there was a vast difference, but it was a derogatory statement not worth mentioning no matter what ( boy with the unhinged tongue! PRATTLING off whatever he pleased! ). He knew nothing of sensitivity, but he became outright VILE towards women ———— awful fucking things they were, all of them, especially nosy busybodies like her. The DISDAIN he wore was evident across taunt features, truly not in the mood to pretend more than he already had to.

Stuffing his keys in his pocket & slinking on his suit jacket, he situated himself in the mirror ( not allowing Alice to come anywhere near him ), making sure he appeared perfect as always.    ❝   Are you ready to go? We can stop at a store nearby before arriving at the party.   ❞ It would be his one DECENT ACT for the month, to buy this woman a glamorous dress, that she would later sell for some blurry, low quality BIGFOOT footage. Already low amount of patience was dwindling,   ❝   Yeah. Do whatever you want. Just… don’t get into any trouble or it’s my ass on the line.   ❞    With his head in hands, as if prophesying an oncoming headache, he muttered,   ❝   EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING COULD GO WRONG.   ❞

 Alice  huffed  and  rolled  her  eyes  at  his  comment,    finding  that  it  was  better  for  the  both  of  them  if  she  held  her  tongue.      Moonsik  was  abrasive  ––––  always  had  been  from  the  moment  they  met.       His  insults  were  almost  second  nature  to  him  and  she  was  just  going  to  have  to  get  used  to  that  if  she  wanted  to  get  into  that  social  event.      Their  relationship  was  hardly  a  relationship  at  all  ––  barely  an  acquaintanceship  too.      They  interacted  only  because  it  was  mutually  beneficially,    not  because  they  liked  each  other  in  any  manner.

       his  chest  ached  with  each  word,  each  a  painful  resonator  that  scratched  at  the  insides  of  his  body  as  his  his  jaw  tightened,  unable  to  speak.   ‘ you’ve  hurt  her,  you’ve  hurt  her,  you’ve  hurt  her. ‘  no,  no,  despite  his  brief  life  aged  in  indifference  &  selfishness  he  had  never  been  so  sure  how  much  he  LOVED  her.    how  far  he  would  go  to  keep  her  from  fates  only  the  gods  could  preside  over &  how  much  he  trusted  in  her  being.    she  did  not  seem  to  feel  the  same  for  him.  .  .     did  she  not  trust  in  him ?  and  how  long  had  she  felt  this  way ?  these  thoughts  muddled  already  troubled  mind  as  he  pushed  forward,  jaw  still  tight  &  expression  hardened  the  metal  of  the  cuffs  cold  at  his  touch.    like  a  watch  metal  adjusted &  ticked  until  a  cold  click  sounded,  cuff locked  onto  her  wrist  as the  other  end  quickly  secured  onto  rusted  railing  of  a  fire  -  escape.    she  was  capable,  fuck,  more  than  capable  than  most  &  given  how  much  they  had  both  fought  through      doubting  in  her  was  one  of  the  last  thoughts  in  his  mind.    but  he  doubted  in  himself,  unable  to  help  her  here  if  she  needed  it,  doubted  in  the  sympathy  of  the  men  inside  ( killers,  that  was  all  they  were ),  everyone  but  her,  but  this  was  still  more  than  just  a  matter  of  capability.   “ hate  me.     .   .    hate  me  for  this  but  i  won’t  let  them  hurt  you. ” 

                  The  sound  of  metal  clicking  should  have  gone  unnoticed;    it  was  such  a  subtle  noise  ––––  just  offering  the  slightest  disruption  in  the  silence  that  had  fallen  between  them.       And  she  WOULDN’T  have  noticed  it  had  she  not  felt  the  frigid  sliver  of  metal  around  her  wrist.      It  forced  her  to  turn,     as  if  questioning  her  own  assumptions  as  to  what  that  thin  cuff  actually  was,    and  the  confirmation  was  like  a  slap  to  the  face.       Hazel  eyes  looked  to  Sam  in  a  mixture  of  shock,     confusion,    and  disbelief.      It  took  a  second  for  everything  to  CLICK.

                  He  had  handcuffed  her  to  the  fire  escape..      He  had  handcuffed  her  to  the  fire  escape..     HE  HAD  HANDCUFFED  HER  TO  THE  FIRE  ESCAPE.

her:  ?¿?