***

Cassie started awake; she blinked rapidly against the drug induced sleep that tried to pull her back under. It took her a moment to figure out what had woken her, but when she did, confusion and fear took hold of her. An alarm was blaring somewhere, red lights flashed through the small window in her door. Her forehead furrowed as she tried to puzzle out what was going on, what all the commotion was about.

Shouts filled the air, feet slapped against the tiled floor. Cassie watched as two people raced by, their heads bowed as they sprinted past. Shoving herself up, she struggled against the drugged stupor clinging to her. She swayed slightly, the flashing lights doing nothing to help her disorientation and dizziness.

Moving slowly, she turned toward Julian’s room, but it was dark in there now and she couldn’t see him. More shouts rang out as a siren began to wail. Fear curdled through her as she rose slowly, stumbling slightly as she staggered toward the door. She fell into it. Standing on tiptoe she watched as another group raced by, heading in the opposite direction of the people she had seen earlier.

A pain filled scream rent the air. Cassie’s eyes widened, terror poured through her as that scream continued wretchedly on for a few more seconds before ending abruptly. She took a small step back from the door, a fierce shaking wracked through her as she wrapped her arms tightly around herself. She didn’t know what was going on out there, but she did know that it was not good.

Stepping back to the door, she rested her hands upon it as more shouts rang out, reverberating loudly through the concrete hall. She turned back to Julian’s room, but it remained dark and empty. The siren grew even louder, becoming nearly unbearable. She took another step back as fresh screams rent the air. She placed her hands over her ears in an attempt to block out the horrendous noise as she backed up a few more steps.

Panic filled her, confusion and horror swirled through her as another tortured scream rebounded through the halls. She bit down on her bottom lip, trying hard to stay calm. Maybe this was another form of torment that they had designed for her? Maybe they wanted to see if this would finally break her? Another scream echoed down the hall and she knew instantly that this was not some new form of torture, but very real. No one could scream like that, unless they were in very real, very agonizing pain.

She turned and fled over to Julian’s window, climbing onto the bed she began to pound against the glass. She needed Julian right now. Needed him to explain to her exactly what was going on. Needed him to wake up and help her figure out a way to get out of whatever disaster was occurring right outside their doors. She beat hard against the glass as she screamed his name, but he didn’t respond to her.

What if something had already happened to him?

True panic began to fill her as she turned swiftly back to the door. More people ran by, their feet squeaked on the floor, their footsteps echoed. She needed to get the hell out of here, and she needed to find Julian. She crept slowly back to the door, straining to see out the window again.

A face suddenly appeared before her. Cassie gasped, jumping back in surprise as it peered in at her. Its red eyes were filled with rage and insanity. Its face was twisted and disfigured, its lips pulled back from its teeth as it hissed at her. Long fangs cut into its lip causing blood to pour down its chin, but it seemed oblivious to that fact as it stared hungrily at her.

She recognized what it was instantly. She knew immediately that it was one of those things stuck in between, a monster with no soul and no rational thought. It was the same thing that lurked inside of her. Nausea and disgust twisted through her, and for the first time Cassie was truly grateful for the thick metal door that held her within this room.

It continued to watch her, drool slipping down its chin as it sniffed the air at the edges of the door. She remained unmoving, frozen in place without the strength to even pick up her feet and get away from it. It continued to sniff at her door, moving slowly over the window. Cassie’s breath froze in her lungs as the door handle rattled. She stiffened, waiting to see if it would get in. Waiting to see if it could break into the room she hadn’t been able to break out of.

The knob rattled harder, the thing began to jerk hard upon it. Excitement radiated from the creature, along with hunger and rage. Cassie braced herself for a fight, positive that this thing would get into her room. It was only a matter of time before it succeeded. The monstrosity ran on pure bloodlust and destruction, but she sure as hell was not going down without a fight. Its head suddenly snapped around. Cassie’s mouth dropped as a bolt of electricity shot down the hall, slamming into the creature and knocking it back.

Dani appeared before the door, her gold streaked eyes wide with fear and worry as she met Cassie’s terrified gaze. Dani’s head bent; the flashing red lights brought out the blood red streaks in her hair. She fumbled with something for a moment before the handle turned and the door was flung open.

Cassie gaped at her in shock. “We need to go!” Dani yelled at her when she remained immobile. “Now Cassie! We have to go now!”

Cassie could only stare at her for a moment longer, puzzled and confused by everything that was happening. Then, her survival instincts kicked in. At the moment it didn’t matter what Dani had done before, if there was a chance for her to escape this hellhole, she was going to take it. She stepped into the hall, her eyes widening as she took in the complicated twists and turns that convoluted the place.

“This way!” Dani seized hold of her arm, pulling her to the left.

“Wait! Wait!” Cassie dug her feet in, trying to pull away from her. “I need to find Julian, where is his cell?”

Dani stared at her in surprise; her eyes darted wildly over Cassie’s shoulder. “Cassie we don’t have time! We must go!”

Cassie’s jaw clenched tightly as she defiantly met Dani’s horrified gaze. “I’m not leaving here without him!” she yelled over the roaring alarm. Dani shook her head for a moment. Cassie grabbed hold of her shirt, dragging her forward she thrust her face into Dani’s. “You helped put me in here!” she hissed. “You will help me get him out of here!”

Dani’s eyes widened, fear flashed through them. “He’s a monster,” she gasped.

Cassie’s teeth clenched, anger tore through her. “No more then you! Take me to him Dani, or I will kill you.”

Dani’s mouth parted on a small gasp as she searched Cassie’s face. Cassie stared fiercely back at her, meaning every word she had just said. This girl was the cause of her misery, and she had no problem returning Dani’s betrayal with death. Hatred burned in Cassie’s stomach, racing through her veins as her grip on Dani’s shirt tightened. She knew she was on the verge of losing all control, but she didn’t care.

“Now Dani!” she barked.

Dani licked her lips nervously as she managed a small nod. “Yes, ok, come on.” Cassie hesitated for a moment, loathe to put her faith in the girl again, but knowing that she had no other choice. Dani grabbed hold of her hand, squeezing it briefly. “You can trust me Cassie.”

Cassie quirked her eyebrow, a small snarl curved her upper lip. “I doubt it.”

She released Dani, pushing her slightly back. They stared at each other for a moment before Dani turned and headed in the opposite direction of the way she had been trying to lead Cassie. Cassie followed silently behind, her attention riveted on the hallways. Though the only sound now was the blaring of the siren, she knew that there was evil out there, hunting them. Dani broke into a slow jog, Cassie stayed right on her heels, terrified that Dani was going to deceive her again. Terrified that she would not get to Julian in time, and that they would all die in here.

Dani skidded around a corner, coming to an abrupt halt in front of a door. Her hands fumbled with the keys, nearly dropping them on the ground as she struggled to pull out the right one. Finally, she slid a key in and turned it. The door swung open to reveal a darkened room. Cassie pushed Dani forward, not trusting her enough to leave her in the hall alone.

The red lights flashed over the room, pulsating as they lit it in disconcerting flashes. Her heightened sight picked out Julian’s prone form lying upon his bed. “Give me a hand,” she ordered briskly.

“Cassie…”

“Now!” she snapped.

Dani jumped slightly but nodded briskly. Cassie hurried toward the bed and grabbed hold of Julian’s arm. It was a surprise to actually touch him after all the nights they had spent with a piece of glass between them. His skin was soft and firm beneath her palm; the fine hairs covering it were slightly bristly.

He was cooler to the touch, and radiated power like Devon. But unlike when she touched Devon, she did not feel a rushing sense of rightness by grasping hold of Julian. She did however feel a rushing sense of relief that nearly choked her. Touching Julian did not make her feel whole like Devon did, but it did give her a sense of comfort that helped soothe the hurt and loneliness that had encompassed her in here. Touching him helped to ease all of the hurt and fear she had been living with for so very long.

He groaned softly as Cassie pulled him up, keeping a tight hold on his limp form. Readjusting him, she draped his arm over her shoulder, using all of her strength to lift him to his feet. “Help me,” she growled to Dani.

Dani hesitated for a moment; her terrified eyes darted to the door. Taking a deep breath, her shoulders slumped as she hurried to Julian’s other side and draped his arm around her. “We need to hurry!” she said urgently. “They’re coming!”

Cassie tried hard to hear anything above the roaring siren, but it drowned out all other sound. She thought of that monster outside of her room and knew that they needed to get out of here, now. There was not much time left for them. Dragging Julian forward, she hurried from the room as swiftly as his dead weight would allow her to. She let Dani lead them through the maze of halls, winding swiftly through the twists and turns with an ease that only infuriated Cassie more. The girl was very comfortable in this hideous place, very at home.

Julian’s hand twitched in hers, but he showed little signs of rousing. The alarm cut off suddenly, the blaring sound ended as abruptly as it had begun. Cassie froze; the sudden quiet was even more unnerving then the loud blaring had been. Dani glanced at her, her mouth parted slightly on a small gasp of surprise. “How much further?” Cassie asked quietly, hating how loud her voice sounded amidst the sudden quiet.

“Not much,” Dani whispered back, licking her lips nervously. “Come.”

Cassie winced as Julian’s feet squeaked across the floor; the sound seemed as loud as a gunshot in the unending quiet. Another scream rent the air; it was blood curdling in its intensity. The hair on Cassie’s neck stood on end as she glanced behind her. The scream broke off, and then a series of shorter ones began to reverberate through the hall.

Julian twitched again, his head lolled slightly. Cassie glanced worriedly at him, wondering how many drugs they had pumped into him to keep him knocked out through all of this, and just how much the UV light had hurt him. Although she could only see a few darker burns still marring the skin along his hairline, and his eyes were no longer swollen, she was certain there were still more marks on him. Cassie’s attention was ripped away from him as Dani started down another hallway, briefly pulling Julian along behind her. Cassie found her feet again, fear spurring her forward even faster.

Julian’s hand tightened briefly on hers again. “What’s going on?” he inquired his voice slurred and thick.

“We’re getting the hell out of here,” Cassie answered softly.

His head lolled toward her, his blue eyes widened upon her. “Cassie?” he blurted in surprise.

“Shh, we have to be quiet Julian.”

He continued to stare at her in wide eyed amazement for a moment, and then he shook his head. “No, this isn’t real. I must be dreaming, or they’ve figured out some new experiment.”

Cassie’s heart clenched, pain for him filled her. She stopped abruptly, jerking Dani to a halt. Grasping hold of his chin, she turned his head forcefully toward her. “This is very real Julian,” she whispered fervently, squeezing his chin hard to reinforce her words. “I am real. And I need your help. You need to start walking otherwise we are not going to get out of this alive!”

He stared at her for a moment, his dazed gaze finally focused on her completely. “This is real?”

“Very much so, and we need to get out.”

He blinked again and his shoulders straightened. He seemed to realize that someone else was holding him as he turned slowly away from her. His body stiffened in shock, his grip tightened painfully on her hand as a feral hiss escaped him. Dani’s eyes widened in terror, her gaze flew wildly toward Cassie. For a brief moment Cassie contemplated letting Julian do whatever he wanted to Dani. But no matter how much she didn’t like or trust the girl, she couldn’t allow that to happen. They needed Dani to get out of here, and no matter how much she hated the girl, her conscience would not let Julian kill Dani in cold blood.