What have I done? I take the sheet and wipe over myself, screaming as I try to get the feel of Three off me. I can feel him all over me, inside of me. Acid eats away at my throat and I vomit on the bed. My head pounds and throbs, my heart races, and my mind—it's a jumbled heap of thoughts and nothingness all at the same time. I stare down at the sheets. I came for him. I came for him...

I jump from the bed, and across the room until my bare back hits the cold wall. I move into the corner and slide down the wall, crying.

I hear voices outside the room, but soon enough, the voices change into carnival music and I grab at my head as I pull my knees to my chest. The room whirls by in a blaze of color like I'm on a fairground ride. Closing my eyes, I will everything to stop spinning. What's happening to me? My skin pricks with the feel of crawling insects. When I look down at my arms, they start to morph. My skin melts like wax, rippling and shifting. Screaming, I grab at my forearm, trying to hold it in place.

And then the colors swirling around me slowly morph until they take shape. The forms of monsters creep from the shadows, their faces twisted and grotesque, snarling and spitting and baying for my blood.

I scramble across the floor and grab the knife, clutching it so hard my fingers ache. I slash wildly at one of the monsters and it screeches, falling to the floor. I dive on it, plunging the blade into its body over and over. Warmth blood sprays across my face. One of the other creatures grabs at me, its claws sinking into my melting arms. Adrenaline courses through me and I fight for my life. I slash and cut, screaming as I fight off grabbing hands and snapping teeth. I slash and I cut, stab and slice until they're dead. They're all dead. I drop back into the corner, clutching the knife and waiting for more monsters to creep from the shadows. Tears streak down my face and over my lips, washing the metallic tang of blood inside my mouth.

The door to the room opens and I glance up at that blue and gold mask, the colors shimmering hypnotically. Tobias....but wait, it's not Tobias. Three. It's three…

"Ella..." he says.

"Stay away from me!" I point the bloodied knife at him and he stops midstride.

He holds up his hands and tilts his head to the side. "Little lamb..."

"Stop it! Go away. Leave me alone." I gasp for breath as my heart hammers against my ribs. "Just..." I glance down at my naked body covered in blood. Dropping the knife, I hold my hands out, and they're dripping, stained red. Thick blood bubbles over my skin like tar. I frantically wipe my hands down the front of my body, over my stomach and my breasts, trying to get it off.

"Ella." The voice snaps my attention away from my hands and I scramble for the knife again, holding it out in front of me with both hands.

"No. I hate you, Three. I will kill you, and then I'll win. I'll win!" Three backs away from me and slowly removes the mask. Tobias' deep green eyes stare at me. He looks so beautiful, like a shimmering mirage in a desert of death and disease. Too perfect. Too pretty. "Not real. Not real," I mumble to myself.

"Sweet Ella," Preston whispers, stepping out from behind the mirage of Tobias. "It's not Three, it's Tobias." He walks over to me with his hands held in front of him. "Can I come to you?" he asks.

I thump my head back against the wall and squeeze my eyes shut. My hand shakes as I grip the hilt of the knife to my chest. The point scratches over my skin. Three's touch is still on me, and I want to peel my own skin away. I stare down at my arm and then at the knife before I press the blade to my skin. Just like a potato. It'll be just like peeling a potato. And then he'll be gone. "Gone, gone, gone. All gone," I murmur.

Without warning, Tobias grabs my arm and yanks the knife from my grip. I scream and reach for it, clawing at him as he holds me back. My fingers wrap around the hilt and I lunge for him. Tobias, Three, they are one and the same. They did this to me. They want to ruin me. I am ruined. I'm bleeding and melting. My skin is dirty and wrong, and it's trying to fall off because they touched me. They touched me. I hold the knife to his throat and he grabs my wrist to stop me. Preston snatches the knife from my grasp before he wraps his arm around my waist and drags me across the room.

"No! They have to die."

"Shh, sweet Ella. Shh," Preston’s calming voice whispers by my ear. I glance over my shoulder and his blond hair glows like a halo of light as he smiles softly at me. He strokes my face and warmth seeps into my cold skin. His familiar scent wraps around me. He's safe. Preston is always the safe one. Safe. I choke on a sob and he pulls me close, wrapping his arms around me. He feels like a cage that will keep all the monsters locked out. "It's okay."

"Ella," Tobias whispers, stepping closer. I flinch away from him.

"It's Tobias. You know Tobias," Preston says. I bury my cheek against his chest, peeking away from his embrace just enough to see Tobias staring at me.

"No. Three," I say, one word that has tears streaking down my face. I don't know who is who anymore, what is what. My world is warped and folding in on itself.

Tobias' jaw clenches and he closes his eyes, blowing out a breath. "This has gone too far..."

"You knew it would," Preston says. "Tobias, you had to have known it would."

"No one's ever made it this far." His eyes open in a flash of stormy green. "No one's ever been like her." I want to believe there's some hidden meaning behind that. That I'm special, but I'm just tainted. "Little lamb." Tobias moves closer to me and before I can try to escape, Preston thrusts me into his arms.

I tense and then relax. He smells like Tobias. He feels like Tobias. His warm breath blows across my face, the scent of expensive whisky trickling over my senses. I suddenly feel hot and itchy. I wrap my arms tightly around myself, raking my nails over my arms. Tobias' hands cover mine gently. "Stop."

"So dirty. Filthy and dirty," I snarl.

"Ella..." He grabs my face and stares deep into my eyes. I want Three's touch taken away. I want Preston and Tobias to brand my soul.

I grab at his dress pants, tearing the fly. "Take it away," I scream. "Make it go away. Take him away!"

Preston grabs me and closes his arms around my chest, pinning my arms to my side. He's going to kill me. I kick and I scream, I scratch to get him off. "Sweet, Ella," he says. "You must calm down now. You have to calm down."

"What did he give her?" I hear Tobias mumble.

Preston goes quiet. "Judging by the massacre and the hysteria, I’d say some kind of hallucinogenic."

"Fuck," Tobias shouts, his voice feeling as though it's slicing through my skin. "Get her clothes." He paces and drags his hands through his hair, and while he does, the dark strands turn to serpents, hissing and snapping. Screaming, I cover my eyes and then I feel the slightest pinch in my neck. A warm heat floods my veins and everything fades to a peaceful, tranquil black...