On My Knees

Chapter 92: Trapped in Hell

"Alex, can you hear me?" He was snapped out of his daze like trance hearing Nina calling to him from the end of the room.

"W-what happened?" The man asked trying to sit up from his laid down position only to find his effort futile.

"Don't bother trying. We're strapped down good. You'll just hurt yourself like I did." Lauren warned as Alex finally took a minute to look down at his own predicament. Similar to Lauren, the man found his clothes missing and only a white and blue spotted hospital gown was on his person. Laying on a gurney too with his limbs strapped securely in place by the same metal cuffs as Lauren, Alex didn't know how he ended up here.

"What's going on?!" He panicked feeling more awake than before. The adrenaline pumping into his body numbed the waves of pain he was experiencing.

"We were kinda hoping you could tell us." Nina exhaled sharply. By the sound of her voice, she and Lauren must have been awake for quite some time left in confusion. "What's the last thing you remember?" She asked him.

"I...I don't remember much. I mean I remember leaving you guys to get the access card and then I got it. But when I went back to the stairs everything just went haywire." He summed up in a monotoned fashion. He was too busy taking the entire situation in to fully delve into the specifics of what had just occurred.

"The stairs huh? Sounds like our story." Lauren said catching Alex's attention. "We were waiting for you in the stairwell...but then someone else showed up."

"What?! Who?! What'd they do?" He asked looking at Lauren as he leaned his head off the gurney so that his chin was pressed down into his chest.

"That's the thing. Neither of us can remember. We don't even remember seeing anybody. One second we're waiting for you, the next we're waking up trapped in here." Nina informed.

"Speaking of trapped, why are you in there? Why aren't you trapped like us?" Alex asked confused why she wasn't strapped down to a gurney or even at all. Nina had free range of all of her limbs within the confines of the cell walls.

"I wish I knew."

"That's what we were trying to figure out while we waited for you to wake up." Lauren said.

"How long was I out for?"

"Quite some time. We woke up maybe an hour or two ago. There's no telling how long all three of us were left unconscious before that." Lauren said from besides him.

"Please tell me that during that time you guys have figured out some way to get us out of this?" Alex practically begged.

"Do you really think if we found a way to escape we'd still be trapped here?!" Lauren rhetorically asked back. "I've been trying to break out of these damn shackles but it hasn't done any good...we're stuck." She said defeated as she laid her head back against the cold gurney she was on top.

"Don't say that, come on there's got to be something. Right Nina?" Alex turned back towards his friend locked in the cell but Nina only pressed her forehead against the metal bars looking down at her feet. "You seriously can't be giving up too?!"

"There's nothing we can do. We've tried. Do you see anything in here that can help us?" Nina asked sending Alex to look around the room for anything useful. But between the cold stationary tabletops him and Lauren were laying on, there wasn't even a dust bunny out of place. "We can't pick the locks, and I don't know if you've noticed, but even if we did manage to escape them we wouldn't be able to leave this room."

"What do you mean?" Alex asked.

"Take a look for yourself." Nina suggested motioning for the man to lean back.

As he pressed his head down firmly against the gurney, Alex could just about make out the tip of a doorway behind him. "What kind of door is that? I can barely see it."

"Don't worry you're lucky." Nina said looking up coldly at the locked steel door. By the lack of a door handle and small ID reader next to it instead, she knew they wouldn't be able to escape without the proper identification.

"So that's it?" Alex asked pushing his chin back into his chest as he looked insulted by his friends quick to give up attitudes. "After everything we've accomplished you're both just going to give up now?"

"Please if you have any solutions I'm all ears." Lauren said as she was paying her friend no attention. Just staring up at the ceiling as she spoke, Lauren couldn't bring herself to see the disappointment in Alex's eyes. She was already disappointed in herself. She didn't need to see the judgement coming from him too.

Meanwhile, as she stared up at the tile covered ceiling, Alex remained silent. He had no further suggestions. Based off everything his friends told him and everything he had observed, there really was no way out of this trap. They were stuck. Left at the mercy of the mastermind behind their capture, whoever that was.

"Exactly what I mean. You've got nothing. So shut it. There's no point in giving us a lecture about giving up when you're just as easily discouraged. We're screwed and that's just a matter of fact." Both Nina and Alex were surprised to hear Lauren's voice crack. "We're screwed...We're going to d-die here and there's not going to be anything we can do about it." She sniffled at the truth.

There were no words that followed. The truth was a hard one to face. Nobody knew quite how to handle the situation. More sniffling and silent tears fell as the trio of friends began their countdowns.

"I hope you both know how g-grateful I am to be able to call you my friends." Nina suddenly said as her face was streaked with tears.

"So we're really saying our goodbyes then, huh?" Lauren lightly said with a sad chuckle before a parade of tears fell.

"Better to say them than to not." Nina pointed out as her breathing grew heavier. Wiping her face with her sleeve, she didn't care about whether her makeup got mixed into her salty tears or not. "I'd rather clear my conscious while I have the chance than die knowing I never got to say goodbye."

"Then I'll go." Alex sniffled as he inhaled sharply. Looking longingly at his friends the man licked his busted lips nervously. "I...I just want to say thank you. Thanks for being some of the best friends a guy could ask for. I don't know where I would be without you both...It's because of our friendship that I met the love of my life and even though we never got to...got to-" Alex had to stop as his sobs made it too hard to finish. Luckily he didn't have to. His friends understood everything he wanted to say. They understood his remorse and his ambition.

"I...I guess it's my turn then." Lauren sniffled as her eyes already began welling up. She began blinking rapidly in an attempt to stop her tears from shedding. Lauren knew if she started crying now she wouldn't be able to get through with what she needed to say. "I-I know that I can be bitchy at times," she caught a glimpse of Nina smirking as she let out a small chuckle, "okay most of the time, but you both have never let that come between us. You love me for me and for that I...I have always been thankful. I've never had to be anything other than myself in order to be enough." Before Lauren could go on her tears had completely take over. She could hardly breathe in between her sobs.

"I love you both so much." Nina began before her tears completely engulfed her. "There was no reason for either of you to put everything on the line by joining me on this journey, but you both chose to anyways. You were willing to risk your own lives even if it meant leaving the ones we love behind. You both have inspired me...I wish there were a way I could save you both. Neither of you deserve to be here. You deserve to be home with your families...I'm so...so s-sorry." Nina hung her head. "This is all my fault...I've dragged you down with me." Falling to her knees as she dropped her face into her hands, Nina's cries rung louder than the others.

Unbeknownst to her, Alex and Lauren both looked at one another without even the slightest look of regret on their faces. They wouldn't change this night for anything. There was no way they were going to just let Nina handle tonight on her own.

"I'd do anything to get you both out of here." Nina wished behind her sobs.

"Is that so?" The group was surprised to hear a fourth voice say as the steel door suddenly swung opened.
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Let me know what you think. Thanks Lexx signing off