Toni walked the neighbourhood at the fastest pace she could manage, feet pounding concrete and just beginning to ache. She wished had a better memory, because she couldn't for the life of her remember where he lived.  'If only he would answer my messages,' she thought, checking her phone for what felt like the hundredth time. The problem was, all the streets in this part of the town looked the same. They wound together like a cluster of snakes, cutting off into cul-de-sacs, disused warehouses, or allotments. "This town sucks," she huffed under her breath.  A dog walker passed, looking up to flash her a friendly smile. "Hi," Toni cried. Gravel sprayed as she spun on her heels, turning to chase the man. "Do you know how to get to Parkside Road?" she asked. The man turned to face her, frowning. "Err, you mean Parkside Row?" &

The only light came from the bulb above, making it impossible to tell the time. Dailey assumed it was around seven am, only because her inner body clock would wake her up a few minutes before her alarm each morning.  Dailey watched Aaron for a few minutes before deciding to try and wake him up. She placed a hand on his shoulder and shook gently at first, becoming more vigorous and shouting his name when he didn't respond. "Arrgh!" he cried, raising both fists and almost punching her in the face. Luckily, Dailey was fast enough to dodge his hand. She raised hers defensively, backing away from him as much as the chains would allow. "It's okay, it's okay," Dailey assured him.  This was a blatant lie. Nothing about this situation was okay. Aaron scanned his surroundings and pulled at his restraints for just a second before giving up. He pulled his knees

Dailey froze in fear for just a second as Drake descended the staircase, tutting and shaking his head. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Aaron cower, huddling himself back against the wall. He was muttering to himself, but Dailey couldn't make out the words. Toni did the opposite, taking a rigid and inexperienced looking fight stance with the axe poised in shaky hands. She held the thing with her hands a few inches apart and cocked it to the side as if it were a samurai sword. The chains slipped from Dailey's wrists as she stood, noisily forming a pile at her feet. "Drake," she said in the most calming voice she could muster. "Nobody has been seriously hurt yet. We could all just walk away and pretend like this never happened." She saw the look Toni flashed her. A look that asked, 'We can?' Dailey did her best to communicate with the girl non-verbally, staring in