< Read Part 1 | Next > | Rainwater and Gasoline Masterlist
Tags: kidnapping, captivity whump, carewhumper, restraints, manipulation | Words: 977
The moment the trunk popped open, Noah gasped.
Reid was curled insideālimp and silent.
āNo. No fucking way. You killed him? You killedā!ā
Ezra was on him in an instant, one hand slapping over Noahās mouth, the other fisting in his hair.
āShut the fuck up. What is wrong with you.āĀ Ezraās voice was a hiss. Controlled. Terrifying.Ā
āAnd no. Heās not dead, by the way. So calm the fuck down.ā
Through his panicked breathing, Noah noticed the way Reidās body was positioned. Hands behind his back. Ankles zip-tied. Why would Ezra need to tie up a corpse?
He slowly tried to calm his breathing. Heās not dead. Heās not dead.
āIām gonna let you go now,ā Ezra hissed. āBut you better fucking stay quiet.ā
Noah squeaked and nodded around the hand.
Ezra released him. Noah braced himself against the edge of the car, dizzy with fearāand whatever this was. Something beyond fear. Something slipping beneath his skin and burrowing deep.
Ezra gestured to the trunk. āGrab his feet.ā
For a second too long, he just stared at themāReidās legs, zip-tied at the ankles.Ā
Alive, Ezra had said. He was alive.
Noah reached forward, his fingers brushing cold fabric.Ā Ā
Yes. Solid legs. Human legs.Ā Ā
Not a corpse. Not a corpse.Ā
But they werenāt Ezraās hands on Reidās body. They were his.Ā
He was a part of this now.
He cast a quick glance around the lot.Ā Ā
No one. Just the wet gleam of concrete under the streetlight. The rain made everything blurry. Thank god. He didnāt see any cameras. No red blinks. No reflective domes overhead.
He did. Ezra took the shoulders.Ā Ā
Together, they hauled Reid out of the trunk and into the dark.
The lock clunked, echoing in the rain-soaked silence.
A heavy metal door creaked open.
How Ezra managed to haul Reidās upper body with one arm while unlocking the door with the other wasnāt something Noah had room to think about.
He was too busy squeezing limp legs through quickly soaking denim.
Too busy praying this wasnāt a corpse.
Too busy not thinking about murder trials. Or prison time. Or whatever kind of sentence theyād give for something like this.
The warehouse swallowed him with the kind of cold that made Noah's skin feel like it didnāt belong to him anymore. The air smelled like old chemicals and damp concrete. Ezra didnāt turn on the lightsājust flicked on the flashlight from their phone, sweeping it over the floor.
āShort-term rental,ā they muttered, like that explained anything.
The main room was massive, wide-open, and gutted. Paint peeled from the walls. Graffiti from someone elseās bad night bled through the drywall like bruises. The floor was littered with the leftovers of somethingāmaybe a party. Maybe squatters. A cracked folding chair lay on its side. An empty beer can. A lone sneaker.
In one corner, Noah swore he saw what looked like dried blood spattered low on the wall, just above a pile of discarded zip ties. Or maybe it was rust. Or maybe his brain was starting to rewrite what he saw into something worse.
Ezra said nothing. Just kept walking.
They dragged Reid through the open space, his body heavy between them. Ezra led the way to one wall of the room, flashlight beam bobbing across the floor.
Somewhere overhead, a motion-activated light buzzed to life. A single fluorescent bulb cast shadows across the concrete, flickering like it couldnāt decide if this place deserved to be seen.
āThis way,ā Ezra muttered. āBring him over here.ā
Noah said nothing. He was too focused on not throwing up.
They reached the far wall. Ezra dropped Reid without warning, letting him slump sideways to the floor like a discarded doll. Noah let go slower, more hesitantly, like if he were gentle enough it might undo what was already happening.
Ezra crouched low, scanning the base of the wall. Thatās when Noah saw it: A bolt embedded in the concrete. A heavy length of chain, coiled loosely beside it. A discarded Master Lock, still half-closed around one link.
Ezra picked up the chain with quiet purposeālike it was exactly where they expected it to be.
āCut these,ā they said, nodding at Reidās bound wrists.
Ezra held up a pocket knife. āSo we can get him upright. Iām not keeping him folded like a suitcase.ā
Noah didnāt move, so Ezra turned Reid over and cut the zip tie themselves, the plastic snapping loud in the echo chamber of the warehouse.
Then Ezra stood. Held up the chain. āHold him up.ā
āJust fucking do it.ā
Noah braced Reidās upper body up against the wall, feeling how limp he still was. Glad he was at least still warm.
Ezra slipped one wrist into a pair of metal handcuffsāthick, clunky, police-gradeāand with practiced ease, snapped the other side through the chain loop and locked it tight.
Reidās arms were raised awkwardly above his head, suspended from the bolt like heād been hung there for display.
Noah took two shaky steps back.
He stared at the cuffs. The chain. His own hands. Heād helped. Heād helped Ezra do this.
His stomach churned. He wiped his palms on his jeans, but it didnāt help.
Ezra straightened. They looked pleased.
āYou did well,ā they said.
āI mean it.ā Ezra stepped closer, their voice low, gentle now.
āIām proud of you.ā
Their hand brushed Noahās back, like this had been a team win.
Behind them, Reid groaned.
I already have plans for part 3⦠weāre gonna learn a bit about their shared past but i would LOVE to hear any theories <33
Rainwater and Gasoline Taglist:
@whumpsday @unorganisedalienrubbish