Shadows In Durango

*****Sofia's POV*****

The basement door slammed shut behind me with a deafening thud, and for a split second, I felt a surge of relief.

Ashton's yells were muffled now, his voice echoing from the depths below as my body heaved for more air.

My hands shook as I fumbled with the keys, trying desperately to lock him in there, to trap him down there where he couldn't get to me ever again. But my hands, they just wouldn't stop trembling!

"Shit!" I curse, suddenly growing desperate, before the keys slipped from my fingers, clattering loudly against the floor and disappearing under a nearby cabinet.

"No! I don't have the time for this!" I hissed to myself, dropping to my knees, my heartbeat pounding in my ears as I glanced back and forth between the basement door and the darkness underneath the cabinet. My fingers scrambled over the cold tiles, searching, but the sound of Ashton's furious, incoherent shouts grew louder and I knew I had to make a move soon... He was climbing the stairs to find me!

I couldn't wait any longer or risk being dragged back down there again knowing that his strength undoubtedly overpowered my own...

Panic seized up in my chest, and I instinctively abandoned the keys and sprinted for the front door deciding to put some distance between us instead.

My breath came in ragged gasps as I threw myself against it, twisting the handle wildly, praying and half expecting that it would just be open.

But of course it wasn't.

It was locked.

Another thing Ashton had carefully considered incase this was to happen!

"No, no, no!" I cried, pulling even harder, banging my fists against the thick wood in frustration. There was no key in sight, nothing to unlock it with and I didn't even know where to start looking.

I screamed out loudly, now petrified that there was no way out.

"I'LL FUCKING END YOU FOR THIS SOFIA!" His insanity filled bellow in the distance is enough to send my feet flying on their own accord up the nearest staircase, my feet barely touching the steps as I raced up them. My chest tightened, suffocating under the weight of the fear I was experiencing. I didn't doubt for one second that he would kill me.

Right now, this was most definitely a life or death scenario... he wouldn't forgive me after this...

My body felt like it was moving on pure desperation now, survival instincts overriding everything else.

The upstairs hallway was dim, the light from the afternoon sun barely filtering in through the small windows, casting long, eerie shadows across the walls.

What day was it? How long had I been stuck here? I didn't know... anywhere between a few hours, days or even weeks?! I had passed out on I don't know how many instances that I had lost all sense of time.

I glanced around wildly, searching for somewhere to hide - anywhere where I could buy myself some more time just to think of a new escape.

A door was slightly ajar at the end of the hallway, and without hesitation, I rushed toward it, shoving it open before slamming it closed behind me.

Inside, the air felt thick and stale, the curtains drawn over tight as my eyes grew wider at the sight before me.

The room was dominated by an old bed, where Ashton's grandmother lay still under a faded quilt.

Relief began to surge through me for a second seeing her kind face- maybe she could help, maybe she could get me out of here or talk some sense in to her grandson!

"Excuse me! I need your help! P-Please can you help me?!" I whispered urgently, rushing to her side and grabbing her frail arm, finding her to be ice cold to touch.

"P-Please wake up, I need some help. He's coming to get me - A-Ashton - he's" My words trip out over each other in a panic, but when she doesn't even stir, dread begins to sink in instead.

"H-Hello?" I shook her harder, but her body remained limp, her breathing seeming non existent. My eyes flicked to the bedside table where a bottle of pills lay tipped over, the contents spilled across the bedspread. Oh no... is she dead? Maybe just unconscious? It was hard to say...

A wave of nausea hits me as the reality set in- she wasn't waking up any time soon.

Whether it was the pills or something else, she was completely out of it.

I was on my own with this...

Behind me, I heard Ashton's voice calling from downstairs, his footsteps now on the ground floor. "Sofiaaa... where are you?!" He mocks, his tone groggy and hinting that he was still in pain from the attack. Terror twisted itself in to my gut, and I instinctively backed away from the bed, scanning the room for another way out.

My eyes landed on a heavy lamp on the bedside table and without thinking, I grabbed it and yanked it out from the wall socket.

I moved swiftly to the window, my fingers shaking as I pulled back the curtain.

The sight of the outside world — a glimpse of freedom-made my heart lurch, but it also felt impossibly far away.

I was trapped on the second floor, but I didn't care. I'd rather jump down on to the concrete below than be caught and dragged back by Ashton again.

With a trembling breath, I raised the lamp and smashed it against the window.

Glass shattered everywhere, the sound ringing through the room as shards flew in all directions - instantly cutting my bare legs and feet.

Cold air rushed in, hitting my face and filling my lungs.

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I didn't hesitate despite the fresh blood and the pain. I climbed through the broken window, ignoring the added stings of glass against my palms, as I made my way out onto the roof, sucking in through my teeth.

The tiles were slick beneath my feet, the slant of the roof making it hard to keep my balance. The wind whipped my knotted hair around my face as I crouched low, trying to steady myself.

And then - as I blinked a few times to view my surroundings - I saw him.

Across the street with a phone held up to his ear, standing on the porch of one of the neighbor's houses with his back turned: Daryl.

I would recognise his oversized black baseball jacket with his initials on the back anywhere.

It was as though my mind struggled to catch up with what I was seeing - was this real? Was I maybe hallucinating from fear and exhaustion?

But time eventually caught up to me, as the sight before me remained the same for longer - it was definitely him!

He was real!

"DARYL!" I screamed out at the top of my lungs, my voice cracking as I waved frantically at him with one hand, waiting for him to turn and find me. "DARYL HELP ME, P-PLEASE! IM STUCK UP HERE!"

I watch as he quickly jolts around as soon as he hears me, his head snapping up in surprise to spot me on the roof.

His eyes widened and nearly fell out of his head as they locked onto my own.

For a slight moment, he just stared, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"D-DARYL, HE'S GOING TO KILL ME!" I shouted, my voice breaking with sudden desperation. "P-PLEASE!" I screamed again, now beginning to sob hysterically.

Daryl seemed to shoot in to action next, scrambling off of the neighbours porch as he sprinted across the road towards me, his face a mixture of shock and confusion.

As he got closer, he called up to me. "Sofia? What the fuck-"

"There's no time, he's still inside!" I interrupted, my voice rising in a panic as I turn to look back at the smashed window in fear that Ashton would appear behind me at any moment.

Daryl's expression shifted from confusion to urgency. He was almost at the front door now, his hand reaching for the handle but finding it to be locked like I had done earlier.

"No!" I screamed again, realising what he was about to do. "The door's locked, you can't—"

Before I could finish, there was a loud smash from below, indicating that another window had been broken, as my breathing ran out of control.

Daryl was coming up to get me...

But could he take on Ashton in his crazed state?

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Unsure of what to do next, I tried to steady my breathing, attempting to stop myself from sobbing in order to focus.

I looked around for any other people who could rush to our aid - perhaps even to call the cops or just for someone to come and help?!

But as hope ran low, a car suddenly came screeching in to the street, driving at an incredibly high speed down the road before pulling right up and on to the grass lawn before me.

I know that car anywhere...

"VINCENT!" I yell down loudly to him, seeing him rush out of the car with Reid closely at his back, them both looking up and around at the scene.

But before I could utter another word, the deafening sound of a gun shot is heard banging out from inside of the house behind me followed by a loud yell, causing me to flinch and almost slip down off of the roof as I scream and clutch on to a nearby pipe to remain stable...

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" I scream out loudly in a cry, as only now a couple of other neighbours begin to emerge out on to their porches to see what was going on.

I look down, finding no sign of Vincent anywhere, with Reid now crouched by the side of the car - eyes scanning the surroundings for danger.

"R-Reid?" I sob, with my voice cracking as I feel my hands slipping on the pipe due to the build up of sweat.

Seeming to come back to reality, Reid instantly moves out to stand beneath me, before another gun shot is heard which causes me to scream out again and for him to flinch. He has a fucking gun! This is getting even more insane!

"Sofia listen to me, just jump and I'll catch you! It's not as high as it seems!" Reid states loudly, as the watching neighbours all rush back indoors at the sound of the second shot fired.

Surely one of them will phone the damn cops at least?!

"I- I can't!" I cry out, terrified and feeling paralysed with fear.

"YOU HAVE TO JUMP! LET ME HELP GET YOU TO SAFETY!" Reid pushes on, his tone growing more desperate as new yells and commotion is heard coming from inside.

"ON THE COUNT OF THREE... LET GO... OK? ONE, TWO... THREE!" Reid calls up to me, and with squeezing my eyes tightly closed, I release the pole and allow myself to fall down - screaming before landing on top of Reid with a heavy thud. We both fall backwards on to the floor, but Reid is quick to regain his composure by dragging me up with him and towards the car.

"GET IN AND LOCK THE DOOR UNTIL WE GET BACK!" He yells, shoving me inside as I am met with Emma's tear stained face.

Oh am I glad to see her right now!

I'm going to be ok... everything will be ok... I'm safe now!