You never got to send the text you wanted to; only moments later you found yourself on back road heading into the depth of a forest and service disappeared. You were alone, with Leo unconscious in your lap. You shoved the phone in your pocket. There was no way you would be found.

You tried to think back to the time ages ago when Leo had fallen unconscious, had for the first time showed you his mechanical nature. You had read the entire manual then, spent hours trying to learn everything about him. Most had been technical jargon you didn't remember. But now you were wracking your brain to see if you knew anything that could help Leo.

The car pulled to a sudden stop; how much time had passed, where were you? You scrambled for your phone and looked out the window, trying to figure out what was around you in the darkness. The man in the front turned around just as the phone and lit up your face.

"Give me that--" he growled, reaching back a ripping it from you grip.

You felt your last lifeline snap as he took it away. He had all the power again, that damned man, and now both of you were wherever he wanted you. Belatedly you realized that you should have acted sooner, kept it from reaching this point. You could have tried to choke him, crash the car, something, anything-- but now it was too late. Your hands trembled as you gripped tighter to Leo.

The man shut off the car, got out, and opened your door. Cautiously you moved Leo to the side and stepped out, glancing around before before turning back and attending to bring Leo with you. The man watched with a sneer as you dropped his limp arms around your shoulders and pulled him to his feet, struggling not to drop him. He weighed as much as you would expect, and shaking knees like yours didn't welcome extra weight. He slouched against you, and you swallowed the prickle of tears.

"Hurry up," the man finally spoke, bored of you now. You gathered Leo in your arms and followed as he headed into the darkness. You could never outrun him with Leo if you tried to escape, and you refused to leave him. The car and it's still open door remained behind.

You walked for another few minutes until a small light appeared in the distance through the trees. The small larger you approached from was paved, for which you were thankful, and the light quickly grew brighter. The sight filled you with dread nearly as much as the man in front of you. He had gotten his weapons out again, a silent threat to you and Leo when you were moving too slow.

"We'll be fine," you murmured to Leo, though you knew it was useless. How could you tell if a man without a heartbeat was alive? "We'll be just fine."

You avoided looking to the light, trying not to see what it was there to show. Through the layer of sweat and ragged breaths it was an easy thing to ignore-- until you were stopped again, bathed in its light.

"Welcome," the man said; you forced yourself to look up. "To Soul Products."

You couldn't muster the energy to respond to his harsh, mocking tone. Before you stood a building of massive proportions, the letters of "Soul Products" written in gray and each larger than you were. Your breath hitched with sudden familiarity at the name; this was the company from which you had ordered Leo.

The man didn't give you any time; he pulled open the metal door. "In."

You had so many opportunities to run. But you couldn't leave Leo. So instead you shifted his weight-- he was slipping again-- and walked slowly inside.

The door slammed behind you, hardly before you were all the way in, and a lock clicked loudly immediately. You spin back on your heels to watch your escape route close on itself.
Your strength was gone, completely abandoned you. You slid to the ground with Leo at your side, always at your side, even in this. You shrugged your cardigan off and bundled it up to place under his head. He probably didn't need it, but it made you feel better.

You nestled him in a corner as best you could before the lights suddenly came on, bright and sharp and piercing. You put your hand up to block it so you could see, shifting closer to Leo unconsciously.

“Welcome to my humble abode.”

The singsong, sickened voice came from a shadow in the farthest part of the room, but you couldn't see clearly as you struggled with the lights.

“Why did you bring us here?” You asked, praying that your voiced didn't shake as much as you felt like it did. You needed the information immediately, tried of waiting in darkness and fear. As your vision returned you searched out the figure on the far side of the hollow place.

“Lonely saps like you are what keep me in business. How was that elevator ride, by the way? Ran back to 037, eh?”

Your heart plummeted in terror. That... that was on purpose? It was an intentional attack to you? If this man could do that apparently for fun and had no moral issues with kidnapping, how likely was it that he would feel remorseful if he shot you?

He wouldn't, you realized. Not at all. A shiver ran down your spine. And then, finally, you saw him.

It took you a minute to identify him. But you did, most assuredly. A face you had seen so often lately, which could be so annoying at times. A face that didn't belong in a place like this while your boyfriend was lying on the floor behind you, apparently because of him. Your head swam. Why was he here?