The metallic taste of blood was on my tongue when I woke up again. Didn't think I would ever wake up like this again. I opened my eyes slowly and let them adjust to my surroundings. Where am I? I tried to take a look around but the moment I started to move my head, nausea overwhelmed me and I started to cough. Some liquid came out as well but I'm pretty sure I knew what it was even in the dark. Blood.

I tried moving another body part. No response. What!? I looked towards my arms and saw that they were chained to the wall. I couldn't move them at all and I couldn't feel my fingers either. I frowned and looked at my legs.

I was sitting on the floor and my legs were chained to the wall at the ankles as well. I tried moving them again but they only twitched. They're numb. I should be able to get some feeling back in them soon. But the question still is, where am I? At their hideout? I tried bending forward but I couldn't move at all. So I can't move any part of my body.

I paused. Where's Hugh? My eyes scanned as much of the room as I could in the dark. He's obviously not here. Is he okay? How long was I out for?

A loud thud came from the wall to my right, followed by a long, loud, grinding noise. Someone's coming in. Without warning, the room flooded with a blinding white light and I instinctively shut my eyes as tight as I could. Who is it? Forcing my eyes open, flinching at the sudden brightness, I blinked and looked around the room, getting used to the light.

A sudden searing pain exploded from my right shoulder. I bit down on my lip to stop my screaming and squeezed my eyes shut. I banged my head against the wall behind me to try to equalize the pain so it wouldn't hurt as much. Tears watered my eyes and I sat there panting. I tiled my head and tried to see what it was. I saw the handle of a knife.

"So you're finally awake."

My eyes darted towards the source of the voice. Dillon. I tried moving my other arm. Come on, move!

"Don't bother." He said as he tossed another knife in his hand. My face twisted when I realized he was holding four more in his other hand. He noticed me staring and added, "They're all laced with a toxin that inhibits your neurotransmitters. You won't be able to move for a long time."

With that, he threw the knife at me which lodged itself in my other shoulder. Pain exploded and I jolted forwards, mouth open in a silent scream. Crimson blood poured out of me, my mind racing as I watched it drip from the wound, down my arm and pooling onto the floor. Adrenaline pulsed through me and all the colours became vivid in my eyes.

"But of course," he sneered, "that doesn't mean you won't feel pain." I gritted my teeth, throwing a glare at him.

Another knife. If I had blinked, I would have missed it but I didn't dare close my eyes even for a second. This one whizzed past me, slicing my cheek slightly before wedging itself in the wall behind me. I lost feeling in my cheek. This is pointless. I can't do anything against him. I tried moving my legs again and one of them moved slightly. A glimmer of hope started in me but it was soon destroyed by the feeling of small needles digging into my ankles and another knife getting lodged right beneath my knee.

I sat there, squeezing my eyes shut and biting down on my lip to stop myself from screaming. The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. As soon as I feel the pain subside slightly, two more came. One on my other leg and the other at my waist. I inhaled a deep breath and steeled myself for more to come. When nothing else came to stab me, I slowly opened my eyes.

I felt his foot stepping on my chest, squashing me against the wall. "Oi, oi, what's with that boring response?" He released the pressure on my chest but delivered a kick to my stomach. Then a kick to my head. I'm seeing stars and I felt my head lulling forwards.

It was pushed back up against the wall by Dillon's foot against my throat, slightly choking me. "You know, this brings back memories." He said as he raised his foot before ramming it back onto my throat. I let out a croak.

"Don't you miss it?" He asked in a taunting manner as he increased the pressure against my throat and twisted his foot along with my skin.

"Haven't you ever wondered why no teacher has ever punished me or ever come to your aid?" He took his foot off my throat but dislodged the knife next to my ear and inspected it.

Dillon gave a proud smirk, "Money." Huh? I stared at him.

"Money is the answer to everything. I just paid some money to the teachers in the school to make sure they don't mess with my play time."

A sudden kick was delivered to the side of my head, knocking me over sideways. The knives that were already lodged in my were pushed even further in. "Well isn't this nostalgic?" He asked as he approached me.

I felt the cold blade of the knife against the base of my neck. "Remember now?" I broke out in cold sweat. No! The knife dug further into my neck before Dillon dragged it over my back in a zigzagging pattern. I wanted to thrash around. Throw him away. But I couldn't move. Tears of frustration found its way to my eyes but I bit down on my tongue harshly to stop them from flowing out.

"And that ends play time for today." Dillon said as he removed the knife on my back and threw it into my hand. "I'll be back soon. Someone will come by and fix you up so you don't bleed to death."

He got up to leave. I tried to speak, "Why... why won't you just kill me?" It came out as a mere whisper but he heard it.

"Your disappearance is enough to stir up some concern and disturbance in the Syndicate management team. If we killed the two of you, they'll find out we did it sooner or later. So why not pretend that we didn't do anything? And once we've risen up to claim the number one spot again, we'll say we miraculously found you! We'll be claimed as heroes! If they still remember about you guys by then that is." I growled at his retreated back.

"And besides, we already orchestrated the event that killed off your beloved leader. We may have lost one person from our side but you guys lost two. That stupid girl. Killing herself just because her little boy toy got killed."

I froze up. They did it. He did it. Anger, resentment, and adrenaline flowed through me and I tried to force my body to move. Move, damn it, move! I'm going to kill him! Murderous thoughts filled my head. It's his fault! He did this! My arm twitched slightly before slowly obeying my orders.

"Whoops, I revealed a little too much. Looks like I'll be adding an extra event before I end play time for today." Dillon said nonchalantly as he pulled out a remote control. I glared daggers at him. "So Amelia, ever been electrocuted before?"

Before his words registered in my brain, he flipped something on the switch and I felt jolts of electricity flowing through my body. My heart rate increased exponentially and I felt my muscles contract rapidly. I opened my mouth to scream but no sound came out.

After what seemed like forever, the electricity subsided and I collapsed back onto the ground. I caught Dillon giving another sadistic smirk before I blacked out again.