Falling Asleep on a Stranger

The front door was painted teal, but it was beaten in, like more than a few people had tried to break into the building. The dimly lit hallway in front of Tony and me gave me the creeps. It was quiet here, as if the place had been abandoned years ago, and I could see cobwebs hanging from the ceiling and doorways.

"Okay, let's go then," Tony interrupted, his voice surprisingly shaky. I didn't take him to be someone who could scare easily, but I guess it made sense. Jaime didn't sound like the most forgiving person, and having your best man turn against you was usually a good reason for some vengeance.

We carefully stepped forward, taking in the surroundings and listening for something, anything that told me this was the right place. I could see ahead another door, open and leading to a staircase.

A shrieking noise made me jump, and I realized how scared I was. If that was Vic right then, I don't know how helpful I'd be to Tony.

But I had to be strong, for Vic and Tony both. I couldn't let them down.

Another noise faded into the hall, coming from below us this time. Tony started jogging and I did too, trying to keep up with him. We got to the stairs and we kept going, not even taking a minute to catch our footing at the bottom.

"Help!" Vic's voice screamed to my right, and I couldn't see in the dark, but I started running. I heard Tony dart off behind me, but I kept going. I couldn't find Vic fast enough.

"Mike!" Tony hissed from behind me and I slid to a stop on my feet. He was pointing somewhere, in the opposite direction we came, and I saw a dim, yellow light over there.

"Is that where he is?" I whispered back. Tony nodded and sped off.

We stopped at a doorway that led to a brightly lit room. Tony and I each stole a glance inside, and at the back wall it looked like a person was chained up there. It was too far away for me to see any details, but this was the only place Vic could be. Jaime wasn't anywhere in sight either.

"On three, we run, okay?" Tony whispered and I nodded. "Ready, one... Two... Three!" we sped off to that wall, and sure enough, it was Vic. I could see him breathing and my hopes rose instantly. We got to him and Tony tapped his shoulder, shaking a little.

"Vic, hey," he said and Vic lifted his head.

"Tony? What are you doing here?" he croaked. He looked so worn out, there were bruises on his face and chest, and his clothes were torn, I almost felt sick.

"Hey, it'd gonna be okay, we'll get you out of here." Tony reassured, and Vic nodded slowly.

"We?" he said, puzzled, and turned slightly in my direction. His eyes went wide and a little smile cracked his lips. "Mike!" he said and I grinned at him while Tony looked for something to get the shackles off his wrists. I searched my pockets for something like a paper clip, but there wasn't anything.

"Fuck!" I mumbled and went over to Vic, putting my arm around his waist and trying to support him better. He looked like he was about to fall over, and he didn't look like he'd eaten either. I was scared of what Jaime could do to Tony and me if we got Vic out of here alive.

"Well," I heard a voice sneer, and I knew we were caught. "I see you've found your brother, Mike."

I looked up at Jaime, his eyed crazed and the smirk on his lips plain as day. He just looked purely evil right now, and I let go of Vic and took a step towards him.

"Now, now," he stopped me, "What good would come of that? You don't know how to get Vic out of those chains, and I do. What would attacking me do? Make your ego a little better? Impress Tony that you could beat someone up?"

"Shut the fuck up about Tony. I'm here for one thing; my brother." I growled at him.

"You want your brother? Fine," he said sweetly and walked over to Vic. He pulled out a pair of metal scissors and grabbed a lock of Vic's hair.

"Not his hair, you imbecile," I mumbled under my breath. Jaime looked at me blankly, and then strode over, his face in mine.

"You think i'd just hand him over?" he spat and raised his hand. I flinched, but he slapped my face hard and I cried out. From the back of the room, I saw Tony running as quietly as possible with a shiny metal object in his hands. A key, I hoped.

"Jaime, why do you do this?" I asked, trying to keep him occupied. He chuckled darkly and shook his head.

"No, Michael, i'm not going to fall for that. Most villains will tell you their plan, drone on and on for ages, giving you the allotted time to get away safely. No, i'm not going to do that. Come with me." he said and grabbed my arm tightly, walking away from Vic and Tony. I shrugged out of his hold and elbowed him in the middle of his back, making him yell and fall to the ground.

"You incompetent little-" he began, but I backhanded him and he shut up. He snarled and grabbed me around the waist.

"N-no, no no, please," I mumbled, trying to shake out of his grip. I couldn't even see Tony or Vic, I didn't know if they knew, but I kicked and screamed until Jaime dropped me on the ground. I wasted no time as I threw him back onto the ground and pinned him down, giving me the chance to look up and see Tony with Vic, free of his restrictions and laid over Tony's shoulder.

"Get off me, idiot!" Jaime struggled as I pushed his arms further into the stone ground. Tony waved frantically for us to leave and run, and he sprinted out soon after.

1... 2... 3! I stood and darted out, away from Jaime, up the stairs and outside to the car, which Tony had already started and was waiting for me. I jumped in and Tony drove away from this wretched place as soon as possible.

"Vic?" I asked and turned around, seeing him curled up in the backseat, shaking.

"Go back there," Tony whispered. I climbed over the seat to Vic and wrapped my arms around him, holding him tight as he cried.