Baby Just Say Yes

"Are you guys in there?" Brian heard Matt's out-of-breath voice almost forty-five minutes later. Rayleigh had fallen asleep from the exhaustion, and Brian looked up alertly.

"Matt?" Brian asked quietly.

"No shit." Matt replied sarcastically, crawling into the tiny cave. "There's an ambulance at your house. Uh, I don't know what else is going on, but--" He said, trying to explain. He was cut off by a blow to the head. Brian looked outside for whoever had hit his friend in the head, but saw nothing through the darkness of the cave.

"You thought you could hide? From me?" A dark, sinister voice asked with a hint of sarcasm. Brian had never heard this voice, but he knew that whoever it was had to be seriously sick.

"You're not going to touch her." Brian spat, moving Ray behind him. She stirred, and her eyes opened.

"What's going on?" She muttered sleepily. Then she came to her senses. "Oh my God, Brian! We have to go see if--"

"Nobody's going anywhere." The dark voice said again. She looked to the opening of the small cave, but saw nothing but darkness. "Now I'm going to give the two of you a few alternatives."

"Who says we'll listen to you?" Rayleigh spat venomously. Brian kept his arm around her to keep her from lunging at the man, whoever it may be. "You're probably just one of my father's stupid friends who thinks its so--"

"Yes, a friend of your father's I am. But I am not a stupid friend. I'm the best hitman in the area." The voice said, almost with an heir of pride. Brian had to force himself not to lose whatever food he'd had the night before as he heard this. So this was Ripper. The man who her dad had tried to hire before.

"I don't care who the hell you are. You're not going to just kill me like I'm some fucking rag doll." Rayleigh told him, again, trying to lunge at Ripper, who laughed sardonically.

"Well, that's where the alternatives come in play, Rayleigh. You see, I have your friend out here. What was his name...Oh yes, that's right. Matt."

"You're lying." Rayleigh told him. She hadn't been awake when Matt had come to the opening of the cave.
"You're really willing to bet on that?" Ripper asked. Something in his voice made Rayleigh realize that he wasn't bluffing. He really did have Matt out there. But wasn't he supposed to be the strong one of the group? After all, he had all the muscles, plus the brain to go along with it. Surely he wouldn't let himself be put into that position. Right?

"Don't hurt him." Rayleigh hissed angrily. Ripper laughed.

"Now here's alternative one. You could sit inside that cave like a little coward, and I'll shoot you, your boyfriend, and I'll also kill your friend Matt." Ripper said, sounding like he really would prefer that option.

"No!" Rayleigh screamed, trying to escape from the grip Brian had on her shoulders.

"Or," Ripper said, his excitement level going down a bit as he said this one word. "You can come out here and let me do my job. After all, I was only paid to kill you. I'll get a bonus if Brian dies too, so I'd like it if the both of you would come out here. And if you do, I'll let your friend Matt just walk away."

"DON'T DO IT!" Matt screamed. Rayleigh heard a sickening thunk, and knew that Matt wasn't okay. All of a sudden, there was light in the small cave. Ripper had pulled a lighter out, and was illuminating Matt's body. He had a gun pointed directly at Matt.

"I'm getting bored, and you're running out of time. I'll make the decision a little easier for you. So you know I'm not bluffing." Ripper said, pointing the gun at Matt's leg. Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger, earning a deafening scream of pain from Matt. "Now, get your asses out here so I can go home."

Brian's arm went limp. His best friend had just been shot. "Rayleigh, no!" He said when Rayleigh took the opportunity to escape from his grip and exit the cave. Brian felt nothing but complete rage when he saw Ripper grab onto Rayleigh's long hair and yank it so her head was forced unnaturally up. And when he saw Ripper's eyes go from bored to excited in less than thirty seconds, he wanted to tear the man apart.

"If you pull that trigger, I'll kill you. I swear to God." Brian threatened darkly. Ripper laughed.

"You got a couple years to go before you'll become a killer, kid." He said boredly, pointing the gun into the cave.

"No! I'm the one you're supposed to kill! Not him!" She screamed, writhing around and trying to get her hair loose of the evil man, who laughed as she screamed and tried to pull herself loose from his grip.

"I'm going to enjoy this more than usual." He said, more to himself, while looking Rayleigh directly in the eye. He pointed the gun at Brian, and again, without hesitation, pulled the trigger. As the realization of what had just happened hit Rayleigh, she went limp. Her boyfriend, her best friend, had just been shot. He was probably dead, and it was all a direct result of her.

"You fucker!" Rayleigh screamed, though she didn't try to get out of his grip any more. She knew it was futile, and that he wouldn't let her go. She almost threw up when he started laughing.

"Your dad never said how hot you are." He mused, again, mostly to himself. "It's such a shame that I have to kill you. Though he never said I couldn't have my fun beforehand."
Just then, Rayleigh saw movement in the cave. Brian wasn't dead, she realized. He was letting her know not to give up. Not letting Ripper understand that she was not going to just give up, she looked for an opportunity to get out of his grip. When she saw that he was not protecting his crotch, she almost smiled.

"What?" Ripper asked suddenly, pulling Rayleigh out of her little plan. She looked at him and shrugged.

"Nothing. I was just wondering what you looked like without that mask." Rayleigh said quietly, trying to distract him. He saw Matt, who had not been killed either, pulling a gun from his pocket. Ripper laughed.

"That's typical of most female victims." He told her, yanking her hair again. She grimaced, knowing that her acting was vital if all of them were going to get out of this alive.

"What do you mean?" She asked as Matt raised the gun and pointed it at Ripper. Matt made eye contact with her, and she realized she had to get out of the way.

"Women are such sluts these days. They think I won't kill them if they offer me a quick fuck." Ripper laughed, making it seem to Ray that it was an inside joke.

"I agree there are many sluts, but most? That's a little bit of categorization." She said.

"That may be so, however--AHHH!" He screamed suddenly in pain. Matt had shot him in the leg, and he fell to the ground, letting Rayleigh go as he fell. As she tried to get away, however, he pulled her leg and grabbed her, and pulled her to the ground as well.

"Oh, you're going to pay for that, you fucking bitch!" He said venomously, pointing the gun directly at her forehead. She smiled, knowing that he would never get a chance to pull the trigger. She shoved the gun away, and Matt shot him again, this time in the back. Ripper's hand fell, and the gun went off, hitting a nearby tree. Rayleigh pulled his limp hand off of her leg, and ran to the cave, where Brian lay with his eyes closed, his shirt bloody.

"Brian? You can't be dead! No!" Rayleigh sobbed, hugging him to her body.

"Ray?" He asked quietly. She looked at him, and smiled, then hugged him.

"Matt, call an ambluance!" She called frantically to Matt.

"We're already here." A formal, yet gentle, voice said, crawling into the cave. She looked up to see a blonde woman with a kind smile on her face. "We need to get them to the hospital. Matt's injury is much less dangerous than the one Brian has recieved. We need to get them medical help."

Rayleigh nodded, moving out of the way so the woman could get Brian out of the cave. The second he was on the stretcher, she was by his side again.

"Don't worry, Ms. Coslov. We'll make sure he gets the help he needs." The woman told her as they loaded him into the ambulance. Rayleigh climbed in the back as well.

"I'm going with him." She said stubbornly. The EMT nodded.

"Alright."