"What the fuck was that all about?" Daniel asks as he slides the phone back into his back pocket and reaches down to pick the rope back up. The muscles in my hands tighten up almost out of my own control as he brings the rope up off the floor and reaches for one of my arms. I pull it away from him and scoot back, until I manage to fall off the chair and slam good arm first against the tile floor below. I yelp in pain as I roll over onto my stomach and try to push myself up off the floor with a bad hand and a hurting arm. It works for a few seconds, before the pain proves itself too much and both arms simultaneously give out, causing me to collapse onto the floor once again. This time however, I end up kissing the dirty floor.

Daniel laughs as he makes his way around the chair; rope still in hand, handle of his gun sticking up out of his waistband. I push my knees into the floor and whip myself backwards, which ends with my landing on my ass only a few inches away from where I was sprawled moments prior. I figured my heart had had its share of heavy pounding for a lifetime, but as he steps closer, I start to feel it pounding in my chest once again.


It increases in both speed and intensity with each step he takes closer to me. Once he's in range, I kick wildly at his shins and connect, causing him to wince and step away for a second to shake out whatever pain I inflicted on him. My heart calms just a tad, either because the threat is further, or because I actually did something to stand up for myself for the first time since arriving here against my will. I gnash my teeth like a snarling animal and try to push myself up to my feet again; which works just a little bit better than last time. I don't make it back to my feet, but instead manage to hold myself up long enough to get on my knees.

Daniel drops the rope and pulls the gun back out, pointing it right between my eyes.

"Don't you fuckin' move or I will shoot. I don't give a shit who you're related to."

I let out a sigh, and slowly raise my arms into the air because it just seems right. My heart feels like it's going to explode with how fast it beats. Every single of the (what feels like) 300 beats per minute feels like a series of fists colliding with my ribs and a knot swells up in the very back of my throat. I want to scream, but all my attempts are stifled by a choking feeling. My breaths reach the same rapid pace as my heartbeat to circumvent my rapidly contracting throat. He keeps walking to me, not lowering the gun for a second as I keep as still as a statue. Or at least, as close to a statue as I can be while a gun's being pointed at my face.


"Get up."

"B-but you just said--" My voice comes out cracking and weak.

"I said get up."

I do. I push myself off the ground with the full strength of both wounded arms and make it to my feet, wobbling and almost falling over on account of my quivering knees, but to my feet nonetheless. He starts to lower the gun ever so slightly and continues walking closer to me. I want nothing more than to get away from him, but an unwillingness to move on my legs' part and the knowledge that he'll shoot if I do keeps me stationary. He comes over and slings his arm around the back of my neck and starts to laugh. My entire body tenses up once again as his grip tightens.

"I thought we had a deal, Kendall. What happened to that?"

"I thought you weren't going to tie me up again." I burst into a coughing fit as my chest feels like it's contracting rapidly. The air I force out of my lungs doesn't return on the subsequent inhale and I'm stuck forcing more and more air out of myself as he grabs me by my hair.

"Now, when did I ever say I was gonna do that?"

I don't respond. I can't. It's getting harder and harder to breathe, even without having his humid, putrid breath wafting past my nostrils.

I collapse. I drop to my knees and silently scream for someone to stop it all. A chunk of my hair stays in hand, I could hear it ripping out of my skull hair by hair but couldn't feel it.


Except for the searing pain in my chest and my throat closing in. He tries to pull me up by my shirt but as I look up at him, he contorts. His face, his body, everything shifts into a demonic, nightmarish illusion staring back at me. His forehead elongates, as does his jaw, leaving him looking more and more like a doll or a ventriloquist's puppet than a human being and his fingers develop long, sharp claws that poke my clothes and stab into the first few layers of skin. The other hand still holds the gun, but that's not the same either. No, it was a handgun, but now it's a shotgun and it's placed against my stomach as he yanks me back up to my feet.

"Huh?"

He stares into my eyes with his wooden, lifeless counterparts as his mouth utters something distorted and unintelligible at me. Without thinking about it any further, I throw a punch with my bad hand that catches him in the top of his freakishly stretched out jaw, which knocks him back a few inches. I should be reeling. My hand should be hurting like a son of a bitch but instead nothing. I feel nothing except a relentless fear for my life and the same striking pain in my chest. I grab it with my good hand as I try to back away from the monstrosity that used to be Daniel.

However, he's right on the case and lurches forward at me, shoving me back against the wall and shoving the gun once more into my stomach. I try to scream but once more nothing comes out but a shocked gasp. He shoves one of his clawed hands into my lips and utters something that sounds like "shh".

I start to hear low pitched, squealing sirens, which force him to take his eyes off me for a second. Stupid me doesn't think to take advantage and soon he looks back at me.

"This is for your own good."