Surrender The Night (Frerard)

Sometime between Daniel's cigarette break and the second round of beatings, Frank had passed out and when he woke again he was back in the trunk of the car. This time though, his hands weren't tied and he was able to wipe at the trickle of blood on his forehead before it dropped into his eyes. His face was stained with dry tears and blood and some other substance that Frank didn't want to think about, and he felt disgusting. He was somewhat relieved to be able to use his hands, but compared to the all encompassing terror that engulfed him whenever he thought about what might happen to him, it didn't seem like such a good thing after all.

He tried pushing at the door but it wasn't budging and Frank gave up almost instantaneously. He was exhausted; he must have had at least two broken ribs and his nose was throbbing painfully— he was too weak to be pushing himself like this.

He figured his only hope was to wait until the car stopped again and then attack Daniel when the man opened the door, kick him maybe or jump at him and try to strangle him… but then of course Frank's mind decided to fill his head with all sorts of horrible ideas. What if Daniel never stopped the car? What if he decided to do something crazy like drive off the edge of a cliff or smash them into another car at top speed? Or, even worse, what if he just parked somewhere remote where no one would think to look, and left? What if he left Frank all alone, locked in the boot of his car, and never came back. Frank would die of starvation or dehydration or not having enough oxygen or something.

They were driving for a long time, and Frank's theory about being dumped somewhere and left for dead was starting to look more likely, before the car shuddered to a stop. The boy's heart was thumping in his chest, adrenaline running through his veins as he shuffled in his position.

He managed to move so that his feet were pointing towards the door and, hopefully, Daniel when the man went to open it. His back and neck were twisted in a horribly painful position but it would be worth it if he could get free of this terrible situation.

All of Frank's senses were heightened when he heard the driver's door open and slam closed. He was hit with a horrible sense of deja vu, remembering earlier when he'd heard the exact same thing and had then been dragged out of the car and beaten so badly he could barely stand. He couldn't let that happen again… he wouldn't.

As soon as the door was open wide enough, Frank launched himself feet first into the man that stood outside. Daniel, responded with a pained cry as the boy's feet connected with his face, creating a sickening crunching sound. Frank gasped as pain tore through his chest from the sudden movement but couldn't allow himself to think about it for too long. This would all be over if he could just escape, fun far enough away that Daniel wouldn't be able to get him again, and he couldn't let himself be slowed down by pain.

Scrambling out of the car as quickly as he could, Frank sucked in a breath and looked around. It was just starting to get light which told him that it was rapidly approaching dawn. That meant he must have been stuck in the cramped boot of the car for over four hours. He shuddered in horror at the thought.

Suddenly, Daniel's hand reached out and grabbed Frank's ankle, startling him and then pulling hard enough to knock him over. He was winded and couldn't stop a scream from passing his lips; he could practically hear his broken ribs cracking even further.

Daniel growled and crawled over to him, his face slowly covering with blood that must have come from his nose when Frank kicked him. His eyes were wide and crazed and his hair was falling into his face in a way that almost made him seem inhuman.

"You're— fucking— crazy!" Frank yelled, holding his hands in front of his face as Daniel attempted to punch him with both hands. Making a split second decision, the boy let his hands fall to the ground and brought his head up so suddenly that it smacked into his attacker's face before he could see it coming.

Daniel didn't make a noise when he fell to the floor, gasping and covering his nose with both hands. Frank wanted to exalt in this moment, laugh in Daniel's fucking face and ask how he liked it, but he was in too much pain himself. He almost passed out from how much he hurt, and if his nose wasn't broken before it definitely was now.

Aiming one last kick to Daniel's stomach - and watching in satisfaction as the man grunted and rolled over to protect himself - Frank turned and ran. It was almost dawn now, people would definitely be about, and all Frank needed to do was alert one of them. If he could get someone to call an ambulance or the police then he would just have to wait until he arrived. Then he would be safe… then he would be…

He passed out on the side of the road before he could complete the thought.

***

Linda was at work when she got the call. Whilst her boss had granted her yesterday off due to the initial shock of her son being fucking kidnapped, the woman wasn't nice enough to let her have today off too and so she stood behind the counter of a run down 7/11 store shaking with nerves. It had just gone six in the morning - almost the end of her shift - when her phone began to ring, and she almost threw up when she didn't recognise the number.

Who would be calling her now? Would it be Frank's kidnappers, demanding a ransom for her son? Would it be the police telling her they'd given up looking for Frank and wanted to let her know? Would it be the city morgue saying they'd found a boy dead in a ditch somewhere that matched her missing son's description? Her mind whirled with all the horrifying suppositions.

"Hello?" She whispered after clicking to accept the call. Her voice would break if she spoke at a normal volume, she knew,and she was afraid. So, so afraid.

"Mrs Iero?" The voice on the other end asked, butchering her last name. She was panicking too much to correct them. Instead she choked out an affirmation and waited for them to continue.

"This is the Beaver Medical Center of Pennsylvania. Your son was found about an hour ago and brought here for treatment; are you able to come here any time soon?"

For a moment, the world was suspended. Nothing moved, there was no sound, time stopped moving and Linda's heart stopped. Then all the breath in her body rushed back and she was moving out from behind the counter, out of the shop, out onto the street and straight for her car.

"Yes!" She cried, dizzy with relief. "Yes, I'll be there as soon as I can!"

Notes

So sorry it took such a long time! I'm thinking only a few more chapters of this left to wrap everything up in and then this fic will be over.
Enjoy! <3