“Sam, SAM!” Jolting up, blinking his eyes hard trying to focus on the brightness of his surroundings, Jason searches for her. Pressing his hand under him, Jason balls the sheets of the bed in his hand. He picks at his chest and plays with the hospital gown that draping his body. He’s confused. The last thing he remembers was the darkness, and the sound of the gun going off. Closing his eyes, seeing the bullet hit Sam’s body, hearing the thud that rang through the woods when Sam hit the ground, Jason fights the memories flooding his body. 

“Sam” Gripping the side of the bed with his left hand, and cradling his pounding head in his right hand, Jason’s eyes burn under the harsh, dull florescent lights. He ignores the weakness in his body, and rips the cords attached to his chest off; he peels the blanket off his legs, swinging them over the bed and placing his feet on the cold checkered tiled floor. A memory hits his body. Jason remembers the trees, the feel of his feet scraping the ground, the cold wind against his skin. A wave of goosebumps shower Jason’s body as the cold settles in him. Still ignoring the signs from his body, Jason struggles to move. He feels the bandages wrapped around him. He feels the dampness from his leaking wound. He can even hear Sam’s voice telling him to stay in bed. He knows that what he should do but he can’t stop moving. Something inside of him can not rest not knowing where Sam is. Something inside of him is pushing him forward. Something inside of him is telling him to find Sam. Focusing all his energy on his bag of clothes on the other side of the room, Jason places his right foot in front of him. Being deliberate in how he places his foot, grinding his teeth, and shifting some of his weight to be braced on the nightstand, Jason grunts through the pain.  

Using every object in his pathway to help him cross the short distance from the bed to the chair, Jason fights his body instincts to shut down. He blinks his eyes hard, bites his lips and focuses on the last time he saw Sam. Anything to keep him moving forward. 

“Hey, what are you doing out of bed?” A women’s voice comes echoing into Jason’s ears. 

“Sam? Where’s Sam?” Jason grunts through his teeth. Now holding onto his IV bag pole, Jason doesn’t want to turn his attention to Carly. He doesn’t want to put his weight on her. He doesn’t want Carly. “Is Sam here too?” Jason tries to blink the fuzziness from his eyes. “Let’s get you to the bed,” Carly whispers through tight lips. Shrugging away from Carly, gripping the pole hard, and blinking the sweat from his eyelashes, Jason does the one thing he had been avoiding since Carly’s voice came barreling into his sense; He turns his focus from his bag of clothes to Carly.

Bulging his eyes out of his sockets, “Tell me.” Pulling Carly down with him, Jason’s knees hit the ground as Carly’s silhouette burns the edges of his vision. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wrapping Sam into him, Jason uses every muscle in his body, to lift her. He feels the blood sliding down his side. He feels his life force draining, but his love for Sam and the warmth of her body won’t let him falter. Hoisting her up slightly, Jason falls to one knee. Sam’s dead weight and his fresh, seeping bullet wound, make him weak. His muscles shake uncontrollably. His entire left side is numb. 

The woods move around Jason again. 

Turning his body to face the noise, Jason sees an opening. He isn’t sure if the darkness is hiding Drew’s body or if he is gone. He doesn’t wait to find out. 

He bites his bottom lip, strains every muscle, Jason whips Sam over his shoulder while releasing a low, muffled groan. Jason wants to scream out, but Drew’s presence won’t let him. An unconscious, and hurt Sam won’t let him show weakness. Finally making it onto both feet, Jason fights the darkness obstructing his vision. He knows he doesn’t have much time, he knows he has to get as far as he can before it’s too late for him and for Sam. 

Filling his lungs with all the cold air they will allow, Jason stumbles a few feet. He slightly turns in the direction he thinks the cabin is and takes a few more steps into the darkness. He struggles a few more steps before the weight of everything comes crashing down on him. Jason falls to the ground losing Sam’s lifeless body in the process. She rolls away from him as his body crumbles the floor of the woods.

Reaching for Sam, Jason fights to get to her as the darkness takes hold of him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fighting the blankets wrapped around his body, “Sam, wake up!” Jason screams. 

Wrapping her hand into his, and pushing his body back onto the bed, “Jason, it okay. You’re okay.” Carly soothes him. 

Taking deep, long labor breathes, “They have her.” Jason lets the scenery of the small hospital room seep into him. He rests his head back onto the pillow and closes his eyes. 

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Strapped to a stand-up metal bed, Jason can smell the seawater. He can hear the waves crashing against the rocks. He can feel the tubes coming from his arms. He’s awake and he is not alone. A tall, slender, dark man stands in the corner hoovered over a computer. He’s new. The last doctor was an old Greek man, and the man before that was a black American. Jason notes every time he awakens there is a new player in the game for his life. Pushing against the straps around his body, Jason plans his escape. He has waited. He has waited, he doesn’t know how long but he knows this is his time. He can feel her. He knows this is the moment. This is his moment to be free again. 

Lowering his eyes, Jason concentrates. 

Two ways out, he thinks. The main door ahead of him, or the side door the doctor keeps coming from. The doctor has entered and exited twice through that door without realizing Jason was awake. Jason notes the doctors focus on his task and only his task. Fixating his focus on the front door, Jason feels like it’s his only way out. He watches it, stalks it with his eyes as he slowly applies force to his restraints. He learned the last time he was awake, that the bolts connecting the bed to the straps were weak, and loosen at the source. He knew it was only a matter of time before they would pop. 

So, he slowly rocks, being patience for the moment he is free. He thinks about it, plans it out. He knows where he needs the doctor to be before he attacks. He knows what he will use to take the doctor out. The room was filled with weapons but he knows there’s a 9mm in the desk by the window. He saw it the last two times he was awake. Finally taking his eyes off the front door, Jason looks to the desk as the door swing opens and she swings through his peripheral view. 

Feeling the beat of his heart, and the tremble in his hand, Jason fights the full-body restraints, “Sam?” Jason screams her name. “That was Sam. Why is she here? What are you doing to her? Sam!” 

“Why is he up here? And most importantly why is he awake?” Slamming the down behind him, Henrick screams at a doctor. 

Jason’s heart drops into his stomach, as his focus shifts from escape to rescue. 

“I didn’t know he was awake” The doctor looks from Henrick to Jason. “And the power outage ruined his sample. We have to get another one if you want your sick plan against your father to work.” The doctor moves over to a clear cabinet and opens it with the key from his pocket. 

“Now is not the time.” Henrick moves over to the desk, grabs the gun and tucks it into his backside. 

No one ever takes the gun from the drawer. They check it, maybe take it out the drawer and put it on top of the desk but they never take it away from the desk. A change in plans, Jason thinks. Take out Henrick, then the doctor. Or hit him with the chair, or cut him with the scalpel. Jason’s mind races with different scenarios. 

“This is the only time. It is now or never.” The doctor plunges a needle into Jason’s arm. “Bring the girl now. We do it and we’re done. I owe you nothing after this.”

Pacing the room, “What now? Too many people. Control. Can’t be seen. You’re in control. Valentine is here. Nikolas is, his mother. Too many.” Henrick talks to himself. 

“Does Drew know we have her?” Henrick stops pacing, spins around and questions the doctor. 

“He was the one that knocked her out. He stayed with the others. Your plan is working. Now decide! He will be ready for extraction and the twin ensured me the girl is primed and ready.” The doctor plunges another needle into Jason’s arms. 

Fighting the needle this time, Jason knows what that needle is for. He knows he only has seconds before the darkness takes hold. Blinking long and slow, trying to keep his head up and alert, Jason fights to remember everything. He fights to hear everything they are saying. 

“We can’t bring her in until he is out. Everything is about control.” Henrick’s words enter Jason’s mind as darkness falls upon him. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fighting the restraints, Jason feels his freedom. He swings his arm up and around, ripping the needle out of his arm and he opens his eyes. “Where is Sam?” He grabs the male nurse by neck and squeezes. “Where is she? She was just here. A man was carrying her.” Jason shakes the scared nurse. 

The nurse claws at Jason’s arms as his feet barely scrap the hospital floor. The nurse fights for life while Jason’s grip tightens. His eyes bulge, drool slips from his mouth and sweat from his body threatens to loosen Jason’s grip. 

I’ve been moved, Jason thinks. Noting the hospital gown and all the monitors in the room Jason knows he’s never been here. They are somewhere new, and this is a new development. He thinks is Sam here? And how much time has passed since he last saw that glimpse of her? Trying to move, Jason uses the hand not wrapped around the man’s neck to lift them both up but his newly stitched side has different plans. Feeling a pain that wasn’t there when he initially woke up, Jason glides his hand over his wound. 

Winching, “What did you do to me?” Jason visualizes all the complications this development presents.  Jason throws the lifeless man to the ground, swing his feet off the bed and stand up. He grabs his side and concentrates on the hospital door. He doesn’t know how long he has been out this time, he never knows when he wakes up. All he cares to know about is the freedom that lies on the other side of that door. Sam is on the other side of that door. He thinks.

Bracing himself against the bed, every step Jason takes drains him but he fights. 

Jason reaches the end of the bed when the door flies open. 

Jason can’t see who it is, his vision blurs with every step he takes but he can see them looking at the man on the ground and he can hear the screams for help that are coming from his mouth. 

Now or never Jason thinks as he charges the man. He stumbles a few steps and crashes into someone’s arms. 

“Tell me where she is?” Jason whisper before passing out.