Hand of Blood

Kayla's point of view.

"Don't make me fuckin' slap you," I shouted over the music as I turned to some guy behind me, who had just grabbed hold of my hips for the fourth time in the space of one song. My new found stalker simply sent me a cocky grin in response making me scowl at him, not impressed in the slightest. The guys around these parts didn't seem to be able to control themselves, that was for sure. They weren't even hot, which made it worse. Not that Padge would approve of it either way, though I wouldn't mind so much if the guys weren't plain disgusting.

I turned away again, leaving the creep with one last glare before moving back in time to the music. Just as I started to enjoy myself once more, I felt the contact of some one's hands lightly settling on my waist. I stopped moving instantly, my frustration building at the hands being set on me that certainly didn't belong to my other half. In a split second I spun back round, quickly and painfully making my palm connect with the tall strangers face.

"Take a hint, will ya?!" I screamed at him, pleasantly suprised to find he stumbled backwards from the impact, pushing into another group of people who were enjoying themselves. They all turned instantly, sending their own glares in the direction of the man in question, making him look even more of a drunken idiot than he already was. He sent me a death stare as he regained his balance, before glancing around at the attention we had attracted from everyone in the direct area. Folding my arms across my chest, I huffed before storming my way through the dance floor packed full of people, not caring who I disturbed in the process. This night had just become boring, and being sober and lonely sure as hell didn't help.

Once I was out of the crowds, I breathed in the cooler air and calmed myself down. I really needed to find Padge, because I seriously needed saving from all the men around here. It was just ridiculous, honestly. My eyes searched the main area of the club, deciding one of the guys had to be around here somewhere, as they weren't on the dance floor and the certainly couldn't all be hiding in the bathroom. The bar was also a possibility, or probably more than a possibility, considering them. When did my boys ever pass up alcohol?

As a small group of people walked past me, my eyes managed to catch onto a familiar tall figure, wandering behind them. A grin instantly spread on my face as I ran after the lone man, propelling myself onto his back and wrapping my arms around his neck.

"Mattie!" I cooed, as his body lurched forward from the attack, just managing to keep us up. "Boy, I'm bored!" I giggled as I jumped down from his back, causing Matt to turn to me.

"Hi, Kay," he mumbled in response with a weak smile, appearing to not have registered my words. I watched him curiously as his eyes couldn't maintain contact with mine. They seemed to be searching the room above my head, and a frown was gradually deepening on his face.

My once bright smile faltered at his expression, and I tilted my head. "Matt? What you lost?" I asked, folding my arms across my chest as I watched my friend with concern. Something was definitely up.

His eyes finally fell back to mine, and he paused for a moment as if in thought. "I just... I can't find Brianne," he eventually sighed, with a hint of irritation in his tone. I frowned to myself instantly. I could tell that Matt must have already started to worry, because his concerns had always turned into anger since we were young. He was a sensitive soul, really.

I started chewing my lip ring in thought, glancing around us. "Well, is she with any of the other guys?" I asked lightly, trying to make some use of myself and ease his mind.

Matt shook his head firmly. "No, I've got them all helping me look at the moment," he explained, his own gaze scanning the room once more, along with mine.

"I'm sure shes not far," I said with a light smile, placing my hand on Matt's arm for reassurance and catching his attention again. He sighed and lowered his gaze to the ground. I could feel him getting more frustrated by the second.

"I'm just a bit worried," he admitted, though really not needing to. "None of the guys have seen her in about two hours," he added, his slightly panicked gaze looking back in mine.

I smiled as comfortingly as I could, lightly rubbing my friends arm. "How about I go check the toilets and have a quick look around. We'll meet back in a few minutes."

Matt nodded and returned my smile gratefully. "Sure, thanks Kay."

"Anytime, Honey," I said lightly, giving Matt one last glance before turning around and heading off around the dance floor, my thoughts suddenly lost after Brianne. She couldn't have gone too far, someone would have noticed, surely. I glanced back over my shoulder to find Matt had disappeared back into the crowd, searching for her again. I frowned to myself as I headed over the the bathrooms. Two hours was a long time for her to escape everyones radar. Where could she have got to?

+

Five minutes later, still without Brianne and starting to worry myself, I returned to the spot I had agreed to meet with Matt. I found he was already there, accompanied by the rest of the guys. I nervously walked up beside Padge, and as soon as he noticed me his arm wrapped around my waist protectively. I was thankful for the contact.

"No sign?" I asked timidly as I leaned into Padge for comfort, not really needing to ask. I received four solemn nods, causing me to furrow my brow. There was only so much searching we could do. I think it was really starting to sink in that something might possibly be wrong here.

"What about the bar?" I asked, distinctively remembering Moose mention it was off on a separate room to the main club.

"Just checked it. It's completely empty," Jay mumbled, looking up at me. "I suppose everyone got drunk and fucked off."

I started chewing my ring again. "Well, have you tried calling her?"

"Her phones off," Matt mumbled distantly, his gaze resting on the floor. I frowned as my attention settled on him, and his empty, lost expression. I could tell he was silently panicking more with each second. I could literally see him trying to hold it together before everyone, trying to make sense of what was happening. He worried about that girl way too much, but with good reason, I suppose. She was still young, despite her usual cool and collected exterior. I think we all felt this need to protect her. At the moment, we were all failing.

"Maybe she got chucked out. They might have started checking ID or something," Moose supplied, looking around the group hopefully. "She could have headed back to the bus, and just not told anyone."

I nodded, glancing over at him. "Would they do that?" I asked, finding it a possibility. If Brianne had been chucked out, and her phone was dead, then that means she definitely wouldn't be able to tell anyone she had gone.

"You never know," Moose said with a less than convincing shrug, dissolving my confidence. I sighed lightly and rested my head on Padge's shoulder, my own concerns growing. If Moose, the person who apparently knew this club inside out, didn't think they'd check ID, then I doubted they would. I sighed inwardly as I tried to think of all the possible places she could have been, closing my eyes lightly as I heard Jay and Moose starting to argue. Jay starting on Moose, of course. The tension had obviously become to much for him to handle. Always a short fuse.

After a lengthy speech from Jay, Moose's elevated tone caught my attention. "Don't fuckin' start blaming me!" He shouted at his band mate, fueled by Jay's accusations as his own fuse snapped. I squeezed my eyes tighter as I really didn't want to deal with this right now, turning my forehead to bury my face into Padge's shoulder. When Moose lost it, he really lost it.

I heard Jay scoff before he started again, stubbornly. "Well if you hadn't suggested this in the first place-"

"And who's bright idea was it to leave Bridgend anyway?!" Moose roared back, interrupting Jay's words and not taking kindly to being branded the root of the problem. I couldn't blame him, either. If anything, I blamed myself the most for suggesting we go out for the night, not Jay for wanting to get us out of our little town.

I opened my eyes and scowled at them both, finally growing tired of their fighting. "Guys, come on! This isn't helping Bri, is it?!" I shouted at them over their own voices, glaring at them both accusingly. They were currently standing chest to chest, scowling into the others face, with Moose's fist clenched by his sides, ready to lash out at his opposition. I sighed in irritation and rubbed my forehead roughly, my attention turning to Matt who had stepped out of the circle.

I frowned lightly as I watched him listening intently to his phone. My gaze seemed to attract the attention of everyone else, who all gradually turned to look at Matt, slowly pacing back and forth.

"Matt?" I asked softly, causing him to stop, and his eyes steadily rise to meet with mine. We stayed like that for a moment, watching each other in our own odd silence as he listened to his mobile. Even Jay and Moose and stopped argueing.

"It's Brianne," Matt mumbled quietly, his gaze still not moving from mine. I searched his eyes, confused to what was happening. The expression looking back at me was scaring me, no mistake.

Then I saw it. I saw it all. In a split second Matt's expression dropped so suddenly, his eyes clearing and looking straight through me. I could see the mixture of confusion travelling through his thoughts, trying to work out what was going on, just as the rest of us continued to do, as his whole body remained immobile. I could feel that anger in him swelling and expanding with the fear. My heart dropped the moment his eyes connected back with mine, as all his feelings seemed to pour into me. The strain was literally starting to hurt me.

Without warning, Matt ripped his gaze away from me and started walking away, headed straight for the glass doors of the club. I instantly started after him, pulling myself from Padge's grasp as I started after my friend.

"Matt?" I called after him, desperately trying to get him back; to try make sense of what was happening and that look in his eyes. He paused almost immediately and turned back to me, his stern gaze meeting with mine again. He looked so lost. I'd never seen that look in his eyes before, not in all the years I had known him. I'd never seen him so defenceless.

He inclined his head to me, giving me a moments notice before throwing his phone in my direction. I caught it easily, instantly turning my attention to it and holding the receiver up to my ear.

"To repeat the message, key 1. To delete the message-" I heard, before I hit key one and returned the mobile to my ear, listening just as intently as Matt had been before. The silence between the beep and what came next nearly killed me, as I watched Matt's gaze turn away from me, pushing his way through the crowds and walking back out onto the street. I watched him disappear into the night, just before Brianne's weak and timid voice filled my ears, and stilled my breath.

"Matt... " The word was barely whispered before the sound of the phone hitting the pavement seemed to shatter my ear. She was crying.

I felt my jaw drop slightly as a hand rested on my shoulder, snapping me back to reality. Back to the warm, humid club room and away from the harsh street where Brianne was, crying and in pain. Alone. I inhaled deeply as adrenaline shot through me, before taking hold of the hand on my shoulder, recognising who it was easily. I started to drag Padge with me as I stormed through the club, the rest of the guys quickly following my lead. We had to find her, now.

"Kayla, what's going on?" Padge asked frantically as we stepped into the freezing air. I stopped abruptly, looking around for Matt instead of answering. My eyes quickly found him, struggling with which direction to go to as he looked over the different streets. I called his name to get his attention, and his head snapped round to me. I took a few steps closer to him, to close the large gap between us, before throwing the phone back to its owner. As Matt caught it he nodded in thanks, before taking off on his own. I wasn't about to stop him. It was something he had to do. It was something we all had to do.

"Kay?!" Jay shouted, as the guys all circled me, their confused eyes pleading with me as I painfully ran through it all in my head. I had to keep this calm. We had to be organised. If only I could really believe that. If only I was that person who could remain in control.

"We have to find Brianne. She's out here somewhere and s-she's fucking crying!" I announced to the group quickly, trying to stop my own eyes from stinging as I became more worried for Brianne. Saying it out loud seemed to make it all that much more real. Brianne was missing, and in serious trouble. We'd really messed up this time. Really messed up.

All the guys were staring at me with shock on their faces, absorbing the information I had just displayed to them. I looked round at all of them, scowling at them in disappointment and anger. This wasn't going anywhere.

"Are you stupid?! Move!" I screeched at them, pushing them all away as they snapped out of their thoughts. Everyone quickly scattered as I instructed them to, moving further away from the club entrance and going down different streets as they all started the search for the youngest member of our group.

After making sure every other area had been covered, I quickly joined the search, taking a road straight to my right that had been missed by the rest of the guys. I ignored the wolf whistles I was getting from the intoxicated men standing around the club entrance, as I started my walk down the dark, unoccupied street.

I walked at an even pace as I barely breathed, listening out for any signs of life. The street was practically dead, and the street lights were few and far between, making it difficult to see. I sighed inwardly as my thoughts spun off in a million different directions; where Brianne could be, what could be happening, how she had go there to start with. I couldn't help but think if I had kept a closer eye on her this wouldn't have happened. What kind of person completely loses track of their friend for hours on end, anyway? She hadn't been herself all night, either, I had noticed. Maybe I should have done something about it rather than just accepting it as 'just Bri'. There was something different about her tonight, and I'm sure it wasn't just because of Matt. It couldn't have been. Although, I still felt Brianne was someone who you could never fully judge. She hid a lot of secrets, but that was okay. We don't need to know her full story. She's just one of us. She just fits.

I paused as a sound caught my ears, causing my feet to cease movement. I silenced my own breathing, taking slow, relaxed breaths as I focused. I could have sworn I had heard something. I looked around to find the street was still empty. No one was there, so where had it come from? Had I imagined it?

I timidly took a few steps forward, becoming even more aware of my surroundings as I focused in on every little sound and movement. There was definitely something. My whole body froze as I heard it again, clearer this time. Scuffling of feet on pavement; struggling, muffled cries, silence. My heart rate suddenly doubled as I started walking forward at a faster pace, my senses piecing together a mental image of my surroundings. Not too far away, a few street lamps up, next turning.

My feet carried me faster as a broke into a run, as a pained cry seemed to echo to my ears, piercing the silence before drowning out once more. I couldn't mistake the voice. I couldn't mistake the tone.

"Bri," I breathed as I kept running towards the source of the sound, my speed fueled with anger. A moment later I came to an abrupt stop as I approached the street lamp, heavily casting shadows onto the small turning that was hiding everything from me. I swallowed hard and gathered every piece of courage I had as I stepped up to the edge of the narrow alleyway.

My eyes instantly settled on two figures further back in the darkness. My heart fell as my emotions sky rocketed in contrast, my fists clenching beside me as I tried to calm my flaring rage. I didn't need to look twice to realise who half of the two were, as my presence still remained unidentified. I didn't need to look twice to come to the swift conclusion that someone was almost certain to die tonight; and it definitely wasn't going to be any member of my family.