Page 67 of Past

"Good." Harley nods, stopping the car.

In the pouring rain, I can just make out an old wooden bridge with big, open gaps on one side. There are outlines of people on the bridge. Two white vans and my father’s car are parked on one side. This must be the right place, but my heart drops as I look at the very fast-moving river. It looks as angry and scared as I feel. It’s almost the perfect place, I’m sure my dad thought of that. He knows Tristan isn’t a good swimmer.

"You ready?" Harley asks me, his eyes watching the water with me.

"No, but I don't have a choice. They both mean too much for me not to try to save them. I would die for either of them,"I tell him. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for Elliot or Tris.

"Be nice, remember? We can't fight him here, not like this," Harley says with his face more tense than I've ever seen him.

"Good luck," Luke says darkly, stroking my arm for comfort.

I pull on my natural face as I get out of the car and pull the hood of my coat up.

"Hello, Dad," I say, walking up the dirt path to the bridge my dad is standing on. Rain pours down my cheeks, and the river current shakes the very bridge he stand on.

Harley is stopped by a huge, bald guy with a gun, who grins at me, making me shiver. I don’t feel the cold rain as I look around. I see Elliot on his knees, staring at me as I walk up to my dad. I can't look at him because I feel like I'm going to break. The worst sight is a dark-skinned, huge man holding my brother, who is barely awake, over the bridge.

"Stop there," Dad says as my feet hit the bridge.

"Get the fuck out of here," Elliot growls behind me.

"Ignore the boy, Alexandria. This is your punishment." He waves a hand at Tris. The man holding him tilts him further over the edge. The running noise of the water fills my ears as I watch in horror.

"Why? He is your son," I scream at him.

"No need to get overly emotional, my little girl. I will let Elliot live, as long as you come away with me. I have to show you all the places I own, what true power is. You can take over, eventually, but only if you do what I ask. You are lucky I have a need for someone like you,” he tells me.

“I will let Tristan live if you do everything I ask from now on," he also adds like an afterthought. Like Tristan doesn’t mean anything to him.I guess he never really has, he was always obsessed with me. It was me who looked after Tristan.

"No, Allie, don't," Tris moans in a cracked voice.

"How can I trust you?" I ask my dad.

"You can’t, my silly, little girl, but I will teach you who to trust and how to make deals. I will teach you how to run my business. All you have to do is forget your past. I did it once, you can too, Daughter." Dad smiles.

I panic, having no idea what to do; and my face falls in horror as Tris kicks back at the man holding him and throws himself over the bridge. I see his eyes lock onto mine, showing me so much love and sadness. I scream, knowing there's no point, but I'm moving before I know what I'm doing. I saw where his arms were tied, and he can't swim like that. I look over at Elliot just before I jump over the gap. The man who was holding Tris doesn’t have time to stop me as I push him out of the way.

"I love you, Elliot; only ever you," I shout, and his face falls when he realises what I'm going to do.

"No!" I hear both Elliot and my dad scream as I jump after my brother into the dark, cold water.

Chapter 28

Elliot

"Allie," I scream as her blond hair disappears over the bridge.

Everything stops around me, even the rain slows as my heart beats strongly against my chest. I hear shouting, but I'm in a daze when my ropes are being cut. My brother shouting in my ear snaps me back to the present.

"Go!" Luke shouts as my hands fall free, and I hear Harley’s grunts as he fights the man holding him. With a run, I take off to the bridge, a little surprised when Arthur moves out of the way for me so I can jump.

I forgot about my ribs and cuts until my body hits the freezing water. I’ve heard people can do incredible things when they need to, and that’s the only reason I somehow block out all the pain. I swim up to the top of the water until I can take a deep breath. I swing my head around, looking in the dim light for Allie or Tristan. The current pulls me down the river. Thankfully, it's not as strong as it looks.It’s just very deep. My feet catch on large, sharp rocks. The rain is getting heavier, and I see the sky light up with lightning. The extra light helps me see ahead.

Panic attacks my body as I swim hard down the river, desperately looking for them and then I see a smudge of blond in the water ahead.

"Allie," I shout loud enough for her to, hopefully, hear me.

I swim as fast as I can, frantic to get to her, and I grab her arm when I get close enough. I pull her to my chest, keeping us both above water.

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