AN: Well. While we're all waiting to see if our accounts survive the purge, I figured that I was planning to post this chapter this morning, so that's what I'm doing. Hopefully this angst distracts us from all of our stress about what is potentially happening as well as any stress you might have had this week (and I know I had lots of stress this week)

Jack didn't think there was anything that could make him love Katherine more than what had just happened. Not only was she going to get him out of there, something he'd thought was impossible, but she was aiming to get this whole place shut down. He sat by the window long after she had gone, now yearning to be on the other side of the window more than ever.

Unfortunately, Snyder seemed to think that he looked more content than he should, and decided to take it upon himself to fix that.

"Kelly."

"Spider."

"I thought I had finally brought you to your breaking point."

"Yeah, and why do you say that?" Jack stared at the man who ran both his life and his nightmares, and he was terrified. But he couldn't back down. Even if he was closer to his breaking point than he'd ever been, he couldn't show it. Not now."

"You hardly eat anything you're given - "

"You hardly give us anything to eat."

"You should consider yourself lucky that I care enough to give you my table scraps, you ungrateful boy."

Jack was being pushed. Not to a breaking point, but to the point that his anger was in danger of spilling over. "Ungrateful?  I'm ungrateful?"

"One of the most ungrateful creatures I have ever seen."

At that, Jack did something stupid. He rammed into the man's chest and pinned him to the wall, looking straight into his eyes as Snyder simply stood there, probably waiting for Jack to finish so that he could dole out yet another punishment.

"Y'know what, Spider? I ain't ungrateful. I am grateful for your table scraps. I'm grateful that I got a roof over my head, and that I got a mattress under my bloody back. And I'm grateful that I've got first hand experience when it comes to what type of person you are. 'Cause it's just gonna feel that much better when I get outta here and get to see you rot in prison for the rest of your life."

Snyder stared him right in the face, and the next thing Jack knew, he was doubled over and reeling from a hard blow to his temple.

"I don't know where you found the nerve to speak to me like that, Kelly, but I know that if you ever try something like that again, I can and will make you regret the day you were born."

Jack braced his hand against the wall, trying to catch his breath. "You've already done that. But I'm still here, and you can't change that."

"Oh, I assure you, I can. I'm not afraid of having a few accidents here and there."

"You ain't gonna kill me." Jack breathed, though he didn't like the look  in Snyder's eyes. "But even if you do, I'm still gonna be here. These kids here know me, they look up to me. They's gonna talk about me no matter what you do. You ain't gonna silence them, so you ain't gonna silence me."

The boy grunted as Snyder aimed a swift yet painful kick to his leg, causing his knees to buckle. "You're too cocky. I don't like boys who think too much of themselves. You're right, Kelly. I might not kill you. But only so that I can keep you around, and watch you break, bit by bit, until you finally submit to me."

"Never..." Jack spoke through his pain, knowing he couldn't give Snyder the satisfaction of being incapable to fight back. "I will never submit to you."

The man grinned, creating a sight that Jack had found to be one of the most sickening things he'd ever seen. "Ah, well we'll just see about that, won't we?"