Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly nor do I own True Jackson. Darn…

Chapter 8

Rays of sunshine seeped through the barred window and into Carly's eyes. Her eyelashes fluttered open. Glancing around she let out a quiet yawn. True and Lulu were still asleep. Very carefully she stood up and stretched. Walking over to the window she grabbed the bars and pressed her face into the sunlight. It felt good feel the sun. It was almost reassuring and calming. So much had happened. The fashion show offer, the fight with her friends, and not to mention getting kidnapped. The fight with Sam and Freddie seemed like a talk over tea compared to what she was going through now.

The basement the girls were being kept in was rather large. Carly took the time to glance around. There wasn't much stuff lying around. A few closed crates, an old table, and some broken furniture. They useless odds and ends made her think of her brother. Spencer would go crazy with a broken chair. He would turn anything into the most amazing sculpture. A frown appeared across her face, tears joined it. Spencer. She wanted nothing more right then, then her loving brother. She wondered what he was feeling right now.

Carly jumped when she heard a small sound behind her. Turning around she let herself relax when she saw that it was Lulu waking from her long night of sleep. She gave her a weak smile.

Lulu glanced over at True. Deciding she didn't want to wake her best friend, she quietly crossed the room to where Carly Shay was standing. Shyly she stood next to her.

"How'd you sleep?" Carly asked.

Lulu shrugged. "It could have been better…"

Carly studied her blood shot eyes. Was it from loss of sleep or all the crying the girl had done before? She then glanced down at her lips. Dry blood stained her chin. "I'm sorry…"

Lulu nodded. "I'm… I'm Lulu by the way. If you didn't know…"

"Carly…" Carly replied.

"I know. You do the web show iCarly. I'm a huge fan." Lulu commented.

Carly gave her another weak smile.

Lulu glanced over at the basement stairs. "Has anyone been down this morning?"

Carly shook her head. "No… How's your lip?"

Lulu shrugged again. "It's the least of my worries. I just… I just…" She bit down on her lip to hold back her tears. She didn't want to cry again. She wanted to be brave. If Carly and True could be brave through this, so could she.

"Me too…" Carly whispered.

Lulu looked at her.

Carly held her gaze for a long second and then gently leaned in and hugged her. "We just have to be brave." She felt tears filling her own eyes.

True, who had just awoken, glanced around. Carly was no longer sleeping next to her and Lulu wasn't on her other side. She then looked across the room. "Is everything okay?" She asked.

"True, you're awake!" Lulu said glancing over at her friend.

Carly gave True a comforting smile. "Everything's fine…"

True nodded and stood up. She then let out a yawn. "How long have you two been up?"

"Not long…" Lulu answered.

"Any idea what the time is?" Carly then asked.

True shook her head. "Sorry…"

At the sound of a doorknob turning, all three girls looked up to the top of the stairs. The door creaked open and a relatively large man appeared.

True grabbed both Carly's and Lulu's hands and gave them a tight squeeze.

Lulu bit down on her lip, trying like hell to keep a brave face on.

The man started down the stairs, The Boss directly behind him. Both men walked carefully. There was a certain elegance about the way they walked. An evil, disgusting elegance. When they both got to the bottom of the stairs, the larger man stepped to the side and The Boss looked at all three girls.

"Good morning Children," He said in his raspy voice.

True, Carly, and Lulu remained silent.

"I hope you slept well," He let out a sinister laugh. "I just thought I'd come down and let you know that you're the city celebrities as of last night."

Carly cocked her head to the side in confusion. "What… What do you mean?" She bravely asked.

The Boss chuckled. "Well, young Carly, it seems as though an Amber Alert was sent out. Four teenagers kidnapped. Missing without a trace. All that was left at the scene was a small pool of blood, matching the DNA of one of the young girls." He quoted the news.

All the hope Carly had desperately been waiting for came thrusting into her heart. Spencer, Sam and Freddie went to the police. People were looking for her! Tears started to fill her eyes again.

"What's going to happen….to us?" True choked out.

Again, The Boss laughed. "I haven't yet decided your fate, young True. I could kill you, you know? I could kill every single one of you. True, Lulu, Carly… and yes the young Ryan as well…"

"Where is he?" Lulu bravely interrupted, breaking away from True's hand and taking a step forward.

The Boss stared at her. "Very brave… Very brave indeed Miss Lulu. You see, not many people cross Manny Stevenson and get away with it. No, that doesn't happen at all. You're very lucky I seem to find myself in a pleasurable mood."

His gaze alone could have killed Lulu right there. Her knees began to shake, and she felt light headed. True grabbed hold of her friend, keeping her steady.

Manny paced back and forth in front of the three girls. "You ask about your friend. Ryan is his name. Am I right?"

True swallowed hard. "Yes sir…"

He chuckled. "Ryan… that foolish, foolish boy."

"What'd you do to him?!?!?!" Lulu screamed, tears flooding from her face.

Manny stared at her, his face turning red. "If you don't control yourself miss Lulu, I will see to it that Ryan meets his end!" he shouted.

"Lulu, just clam down." True softly said, hugging her friend tightly.

Carly gently rubbed Lulu's back, letting out a faint sob.

"Release her! Get your hands off of her right this instance!" Manny yelled at Carly and True.

True shook her head. "Please sir don't hurt her…"

"I said to fucking let go of her!" He furiously shouted.

Carly and True fearfully, and slowly released Lulu from their grip.

Lulu, shaking stared at him.

Manny grabbed her by the hair. "You are most lucky that I don't kill you right now! I have no tolerance for this bullshit! Now if you ever want to see your friend again, you'll never, and I mean ever interrupt me again! If you do, I'll be the one to kill that little bastard myself. And you'll watch!"

"O….o…k" Lulu cried.

Manny released her and shoved her to the floor.

True knelt down and grabbed her friends hand.

"Now like I was saying…" Manny said and cleared his throat. "Your friend Ryan thought he was clever enough to outsmart us. He thought he could get away, that he could actually outrun two grown men." He then laughed. "We taught him a lesson though. That boy got what he deserved."

True and Lulu continued to sob. Carly couldn't help but let out cries too. She felt so bad, so scared for what unknowingly happened to him.

"We didn't kill the boy. Oh no we didn't do that. Instead we gave him a little beating." Manny then turned to the big man. "Bring the boy."

The large man headed up the stairs.

Carly gently helped Lulu and True to their feet. The three of them hugged before glancing back at the stairs.

Manny just stood there laughing. His sinister, evil laugh.

Soon the Large man came through the door. Lulu broke into tears as she saw Ryan being drug in behind him. His entire right side of his face was bruised. His clothes ripped in several places, and it looked as if he fell and scraped the bottom of the left side of his face.

The man gave Ryan a huge shove and he came tumbling down the stairs.

"Ryan!" True and Lulu cried out at the same time. Both of them then rushed over to his aid.

Lulu knelt down to the floor and lifted Ryan's head up into her lap. Cradling it she continued to cry. "Oh God… Ryan… No…"

True gripped his hand. "Ryan, I'm so sorry… so sorry…"

"True… Lulu…" Ryan said with a weak smile. "You're okay…" He closed his eyes and just let himself sink into relief. He had been so worried about his two friends. Lulu's soft lap felt so good underneath his head. He couldn't ask for anything more that moment.

A/N: I'm sorry for the long wait for an update! I got caught up in work and I'm writing more than one story at a time. Feel free to R&R. Will update more often now!