Cassie couldn't help it; a scream finally ripped from her. The brutality of it tore the inside of her throat apart; the length of it left her breathless and panting for air. She shook with the force of the scream, as she fought against shedding the tears filling her eyes. Sweat poured down her face as she strained to break free, her wrists and shoulders throbbed as she fought against the straps holding her down.

The hours had all blurred into one, she had no concept of time, or days. For all she knew, she had been here only a day, or it could have been a month. She had no thought for time anymore, she barely had thought for consciousness. More often than not, it was the pain that dragged her deep into the realm of unconsciousness until the pain woke her again.

A fresh bolt of electricity caused her body to arch off the table; her feet, wrist, and head restraints were the only things keeping her bound to it. She bit down on her mouth guard as she fought against the urge to scream again. She didn't intend for them to enjoy her torment, but she knew they were enjoying it no matter what. However, her screams would only enhance their pleasure.

She didn't know why they kept pumping her full of electricity, but after a number of jolts they would come back in, take her blood pressure, and pull more blood. She suspected they may be doing the same thing to Julian, but she hadn't seen him since she'd woken up on this table today, yesterday, or whenever it was.

She collapsed upon the table again, and her head lolled to the side. She could feel blood in her mouth from where she'd bit her tongue through the guard, but she couldn't bring herself to care. She watched through half open eyes as they came back into the room. One of them was the cold older man who had been with Joey the first day, the other she didn't know. They didn't speak as they produced more needles.

Cassie groaned she was unable to bear the thought of another needle being shoved into her arm. She held her breath, hating herself for the single tear that slipped down her face as the needle pierced her raw skin. She waited for the tugging feel of her blood being drawn against her will, but it didn't come. Instead, she felt a rush in her arm as something moved through her veins. They brought forth three more syringes and inserted all of their contents into her brutalized veins.

Terror coursed through her. This was new; they had never injected her with anything before. She waited breathlessly as she waited to see if they had just decided to put her out of her misery. She wasn't so sure she would mind anymore. Then she thought of Devon and drew his image vividly in her mind. His memory was the only thing keeping her going and remotely sane.

Sometimes she wondered if she was already dead, and this was Hell. But then she would think of Devon, and that small bit of Heaven would prove to her this couldn't be Hell. She was sure nothing in Hell would allow her to feel as good as the thoughts of him did.

"Release her."

Cassie groaned in relief as the agonizing bonds were removed from her. She tried to roll over, tried to stand, but she couldn't move. Hands seized hold of her and roughly lifted her up. Nausea swamped her, for a frightening instant she thought she was going to vomit everywhere. A groan escaped her as they hauled her forward, dragging her when her feet wouldn't move.

Her arm continued to burn as a fire crept through her veins. Her head spun, she tried to regain control of her body but her feet wouldn't cooperate as they simply drug limply behind. If she could regain control, then maybe she could fight them off, but there was no fight in her right now.

She listened as doors opened and closed. Lights bounced roughly off of the stark linoleum beneath her and she blinked against the harsh glare. Nausea rolled through her stomach again, but this time she couldn't hold it back.

Choking, gagging, she heaved the meager contents of her stomach upon the floor. The foul taste of bile made her retch. The men holding her made sounds of revulsion, but they didn't stop as they pulled her through the mess she'd left behind. Another door opened and she was shoved roughly forward. Stumbling, Cassie tripped and sprawled upon the solid ground of her tiny cell. She remained on her knees, unable to move as she wheezed for breath and fought the urge to vomit again. Her body shook, her muscles felt like pretzels, and though the burning in her arm hadn't intensified, it hadn't lessened either.

She tried to push herself to her feet, but her weak and trembling muscles wouldn't allow her to stand. She collapsed on the floor and curled into a ball as she fought against the violent shivers wracking her body. Clamping her teeth together, it took all she had not to scream again as she was hit with bone wrenching spasms. Sweat poured down her body, coated her skin and plastered her clothes to her.

At some point in time unconsciousness claimed her once more. She awoke again, still curled up in a ball, freezing cold and an aching mass. Her cramped muscles screamed in protest as she uncurled herself. She was unable to suppress the moan that escaped her as she crawled forward.

Reaching the bed, she somehow managed to drag herself onto it before passing out once more.

When she awoke again, her body still ached, but every movement wasn't as excruciating as it had been before she passed out. There was a plate of food on the floor by the door. She stared at it, unable to decide if she should eat it, or if she wanted to tempt fate again by moving. Eventually the rumbling in her stomach won out.

Climbing gingerly off the mattress she made her way to the tray, using the wall for support. Creeping away from the wall, she grabbed hold of the tray and cautiously made her way back to the bed. She stared at the darkened mirror of Julian's room. A hollow feeling filled her at the thought of him being gone. Though he would probably still rip her throat out if given the chance, she thought of him as a strange sort of ally now. Both of them were here against their will, and both of them were enduring the same torment. Or at least she assumed Julian was going through the same torment she was.

Turning away, she sat on her bed as she poked through the contents of her tray. There was a bowl of soup, a large piece of French bread, and a tuna fish sandwich. She'd never been a big fan of soup or tuna, but her rumbling stomach didn't care what her taste buds craved. Picking up the sandwich she was about to take a bite when it occurred to her they had probably drugged her food too.

She paused with the sandwich halfway to her mouth. Dropping it back down, she tried to ignore the protesting rumble of her stomach. She couldn't recall the last time she'd had the opportunity to eat. She wanted to refuse the food, but she simply couldn't.

She was starving, and it was essential she have some kind of nutrients, if she was ever going to have a chance of escaping. Biting deep into the sandwich, she ignored the taste of it as she chewed and swallowed quickly. The soup was cold, but tolerable if she used the bread to sop it up first.

Her stomach was still rumbling after she finished, but she felt a little better. When she rose again, she didn't almost fall over. She dropped the tray by the door and turned toward the bathroom. She’d noticed a small shower stall in there the other day, and right now that sounded like a little bit of heaven to her.

The shower head and two knobs came out of the wall. It was set up like a shower on a boat with no curtain, or door; there was simply a drain beneath it. Cassie glanced at the small counter by the sink. There was a travel size bar of soap and shampoo set next to a towel, and a brush on the other side. There was also no mirror above the sink.

Cassie stripped out of her soiled clothes and turned the shower on as hot as she could stand it. The heat and pounding spray helped to soothe some of the tension in her knotted muscles. The water was turning cold before she abandoned it. Her body felt much better; her muscles were looser and not as twisted. Though she wasn't back to normal, she could now at least move without wincing with every step.

Beneath the towel she found a set of blue medical scrubs. She was loath to put anything on they’d given her. Glancing back at her soiled and stinking clothes she realized she couldn't put them back on. They reeked of vomit, BO, and sweat. Wrinkling her nose at them, she grabbed hold of the scrubs and quickly slipped them on.

She found a toothbrush and a small tube of toothpaste; at least her teeth wouldn't rot out while she was here. She brushed for a while, eager to get the lingering taste of bile and fish out of her mouth. She worked the tangles out of her hair, wishing they’d thought to leave her conditioner, but knowing she’d already received more than she could have hoped for. They had probably only given her these things because they had also grown tired of the stench of her.

Feeling almost human again, she made her way out of the bathroom and turned the switch off. She was surprised, and relieved, to find the light in Julian's room was on. She hurried toward her bed and knelt upon it as she eagerly peered into his room. By the door was a small bag of blood that made her feel somewhat ill again.

Glancing down, she found Julian lying upon his bed with his arm draped over his eyes. He was also freshly showered with a pair of blue scrubs on. Though he looked clean, and somewhat refreshed, there were tense lines around his mouth and his eyes were squinted shut. It was obvious he was battling the remnants of torture also.

Julian moved his arm and peered up at her with one eye. "You weren't here earlier," she said.

"No, I wasn't. You're looking better than yesterday."

Cassie started in surprise. "I was here yesterday?" she croaked.

Amusement flickered across his features. "You were here, but you were barely functioning."

Cassie slumped down on her bed. She didn't even remember being in this room yesterday, how bad had she been? What had they done to her that could possibly be worse than the unending volts of electricity she'd received today? "What did they do to me?" she whispered.

Julian was silent and then his head appeared over top of the window. "I don't know Princess, but it wasn't pretty. You were a slobbering, blubbering mess."

Cassie's eyes narrowed at his assessment of her condition. "Well, I don't remember it!" she retorted.

He grinned at her and the lines on his face eased a little. "Don't get so defensive; I'm just stating a truth."

Cassie looked at the door behind her and drew her knees up against her chest. She rested her chin on her knees as dread and horror filtered through her. "How long have I been in here?"

"I don't know," he admitted reluctantly. "Just as I don't know how long I've been here."

She turned her attention back to him. "What have they been doing to you?"

He frowned at her and shook back his still damp hair. "The same as they've probably been doing to you."

"I don't remember a lot of it," she admitted reluctantly.

"You're lucky then."

Cassie shuddered as she began to rock slightly back and forth. "If you call this lucky."

He issued a harsh bark of laughter. "No, I call this a bunch of bored men who have too much time on their hands, and some severe mommy and daddy issues. I call this insanity."

Cassie couldn't help but smile at him as she shook her head. "You're right. Aren't you going to eat?" she inquired as she nodded toward the bag by the door.

"No, I don't trust them not to have drugged it."

"Neither do I, but you have to keep up your strength. Besides, I ate the food and I'm still standing. If they are going to drug us all they have to do is pump it into our rooms. Eat Julian."

He hesitated before shaking his head. "Maybe later." Cassie sat back on the bed and rested her head against the glass. "You ok princess?"

"No, are you?"

He settled in next to her. "Better than before, apparently they've decided to leave us alone for a while."

Cassie snorted softly. "Probably so they can play with the copious amounts of blood they drained from me."

"Hmm," he muttered.

"Did they take blood from you?"

"Yes."

Cassie's hands fisted on her legs, a sting in her arm drew her attention back to it. Though it had stopped burning, it still felt strange and tingly. Releasing her legs, she pushed back the sleeve of her scrubs. Her arm was puckered and bruised with needle marks, but one mark was dark blue with streaks of purple winding out to emphasize her veins. She could see whatever they had put into her working its way through her bloodstream.

Her breath exploded from her as a strangled cry escaped. Julian's head turned toward her, but she couldn't stop the strange, animalistic noises escaping her. Bolting upright in bed, she clawed at her arm as she tried to rip the purple from it. When that didn't work, she began to squeeze it as she tried to push the poison, or whatever it was, back out of her body.

"Cassie! Cassie!"

She was dimly aware of Julian's shouts as she pushed harder and harder. Her arm began to bleed as she clawed at it. Cassie bolted off the bed and scrambled to get away. But there was no escape; she couldn't escape her own skin. She tripped over her own feet and fell to the floor. Her knees screamed in protest, but she barely felt it over the mind numbing revulsion consuming her.

The discoloration seemed to have stopped spreading but it wasn't receding from her veins. She was unaware of the tears spilling down her face until they plopped onto her arm to mix with her blood. The mewls and squeals coming from her weren't human, but the noises of a frightened, cornered animal, which was exactly what she felt like.

"Cassandra!" The loud bangs reverberating through the room finally pierced her panic stricken mind. "Cassandra!"

She choked back the sobs clogging her throat. The shaking racking through her left her muscles throbbing and her bones full of pain once more. She leaned over her arm as she clung to it and closed her eyes against the ugly discoloration.

"Cassie," Julian's voice was tinged with apprehension. "Cassie look at me."

She took a shuddery breath as she tried to regain her rapidly unraveling composure. Though she realized she was on the verge of losing her sanity, she couldn't bring herself to care. "Cassandra, look at me!" he ordered.

Ever so slowly, she lifted her head and focused her attention upon him. He was staring back at her with his hands resting above his head on the glass. His shoulders sagged in relief as she focused upon him. Tears continued to slide down her face.

"Come here," he commanded.

Closing her eyes, Cassie took a deep breath as she tried to gather her shaking muscles. She continued to cling to her arm as she stumbled to her feet and held it away from her as if it were a poisonous snake. Which at this point, to her, it was.

"Let me see," he ordered roughly when she was close enough.

Cassie bit her bottom lip, she was unable to look again as she held her arm out to him. She watched his face and saw his pupils dilate at the sight of her blood. Fangs extended briefly before he shook his head to clear away his hunger for her blood. "What does it feel like?" he demanded.

Cassie shuddered. "It burned when they put it in," she whispered, unable to keep the tremor from her voice.

His eyes rapidly scanned her face. "And how do you feel now?"

"I don't know. Freaked out, scared."

"How do you feel physically?"

His voice was harsher than it had been; his eyes more intense. Cassie stared at him, surprised by his forcefulness. "Like crap, but I suppose that’s what happens when you've been blasted with electricity for hours on end." He relaxed somewhat, but she could sense a current of tension running through him. "Do you know what caused this?"

His eyes were distant as they met hers. "No."

Cassie couldn't shake the unsettling feeling he was lying to her. Taking a deep breath, she sat back on the bed and dropped her arm to her side. She refused to look at it again, terrified by what she might see there. "Did they give you anything like this?"

He tilted his head to the side. "No, they didn't give me anything like that."

"But they took your blood too?" she inquired.

He nodded as he ran his hand through his platinum hair. "Yes, they did."

Cassie folded her hands in her lap, careful not to look at her arm again as she curled up on the bed once more. "I think I'm going to lose my mind," she admitted.

"You can't do that."

"And why not?"

"Cause I can't be stuck in this shithole by myself."

She chuckled, but a single tear slid down her face as she rested her head on the glass again. "If it weren't for this glass you would rip out my throat."

He laughed. "I'm not so sure I could take you princess, and like I said before, I do enjoy my existence."

"But you would give it a try?"

His eyebrow cocked in amusement. "I do love a challenge, but no, probably not."

She turned her head to look at him, surprised to find him curled up next to her again, his head resting above hers, and his shoulders pressed against the glass by hers. Once again she was struck with the realization that if the glass wasn't between them, they would be touching. She found the thought didn't make her stomach turn as much as it once had.

He was not such a bad guy, for a cold blooded killer, she amended.

"Then why did you come after me the night of the homecoming dance? You'd touched me before that night, you'd almost killed me before then.

His grin broadened as his eyes twinkled. "Yeah, that was a good night," he replied wistfully. Cassie shot him a fierce look, his smile only grew. "Oh, come on Princess, we had fun that night."

"Yeah it was a blast," she muttered.

"It was," he agreed as he remembered the night with a lot more fondness than she did. Then again, he hadn't almost bled to death. "I didn't get much of an impression off of you the first time we met. If you do recall, I barely got my hands on you."

"Just enough to slit my throat open, and don't tell me that was fun," she charged.

"Not as much fun as our fight at your homecoming dance. That was a blast." He only grinned at her as she scowled at him. "That was when I really discovered what you were capable of, and if you do recall, I tended to stay away afterward."

"Yes, you did," she whispered. "Do you think Devon is close to finding us?"

Julian snorted weakly. "He's not looking for me, Princess, at least not here anyway. But no, I don't believe so."

"Are you always so pessimistic?" she inquired.

"Just pragmatic. We don't know where we are, how could he possibly find us?" He shook his head as his eyes closed briefly. "Would be a miracle."

Cassie tried not to let her doubt and fear swamp her. "I believe in miracles."

"No, you believe in Devon."

Cassie looked at him in surprise. "Excuse me?"

"You don't believe in miracles, you believe in Devon."

She contemplated his words. She did believe in Devon, she did have faith he would find her. "Yes, yes I do. He will find us. He won't give up until he does."

"No, he won't." He agreed with her, but she could tell Julian didn't put much faith in her words. "But the likelihood of him finding us is small; we have to come up with a plan. It's essential we get ourselves out of this."

"How?" she whispered as her gaze flitted toward the dark mirror opposite her. She was frightened they were listening, that though she couldn't see them, they could still hear her.

"You." Cassie no longer cared if they were listening as she turned back to him. "When I touched you Cassie, it was a shock of power unlike any I've ever felt before. If we're going to get out of this, you are going to have to find that power..."

"I can't control it, and they have me drugged," she interrupted.

"You can break through it, I know you can."

Cassie met his fevered gaze. "You don't want me to"

"Yes, I do. We need to get out of here Princess, before they kill us, or turn us into something...."

Cassie frowned as his voice trailed off, her heart turned over at his words. "Turn us into something?"

His eyes were remorseless as they met hers briefly before nodding toward her arm. "What do you think they gave you?"

She refused to look at her arm again; she would vomit if she did. "I don't know. I don't want to know." The band of white in his eyes momentarily flashed red. "Should I be worried, Julian?"

He shook his head as his eyes became normal again. "No Princess, you're fine, but they will give you more. Maybe even something else. We can't stay here and be their guinea pigs." Cassie bowed her head to her knees. "I know you believe in Devon, but you have to accept that he may not be able to find us. Between the two of us, we can get out of here."

"Or I could turn on you," she replied miserably.

A muscle ticked in his cheek. "I can take care of myself, Princess."

"Yeah, that's why you're here," she retorted, tired of being called Princess.

His eyebrows lifted sharply before he burst into loud laughter. Cassie's mouth parted in surprise, his laugh was actually pleasant. It was warm, and easy, and had a surprising amount of humor in it. She found herself watching him in fascination, unable to stop herself from smiling along with him.

"Very true, but let's not focus on me in this; let's focus on getting our asses out of here."

Cassie continued to grin at him. "You know, you're not so bad when you're in here, and you have a nice laugh."

He chuckled as he rested his forehead on the glass and stared down at her. "I don't remember the last time I laughed," he admitted. "And you had better be careful, it almost sounds like you're flirting with me, Princess."

Her mouth parted in surprise, and then a burst of laughter escaped her. "Hardly," she retorted.

"Come on, admit it, you find me a little appealing."

Cassie shook her head at him, unable to stop herself from laughing again. She did find him a little appealing and was actually beginning to like him a little. Even if she didn't trust him not to drain her dry the second he got the chance. "Well, you're not as repulsive as these people at least."

He flashed all of his perfect white teeth. "That's good to know, at least I'm moving up on your list."

"You are."

She rested her head against the glass again. She wished Devon was with her, to comfort her, to take her away from here. Closing her eyes, she pictured his face in vivid detail. She could clearly recall the smell of him, the feel of him. She could almost taste him again, and feel his lips against hers. For a brief moment it was as if he were there, as if she could actually touch him.

Then it was gone, and she was left alone in her small cell with no one to comfort or touch her. Cassie fought back the tears burning her eyes. "Don't fall apart on me, you're tougher than that."

Cassie fought to suppress the sobs threatening to shake her. Tears rolled down her face as her breath hitched out of her. "Hey," Julian said harshly. "Look at me."

She turned toward him and blinked rapidly against the tears streaming down her face. His hand was pressed against the glass, his face intense. "Put your hand on mine."

She stared blankly at him before lifting her hand and pressing it to the glass. Though they weren't touching, the gesture still helped to sooth the ragged desolation inside of her. She missed being touched with kindness, missed the simple beauty of knowing she had her friends, and Devon, to rely on. She missed Chris, if he was still alive, but that was something she couldn't allow herself to think about, otherwise she would lose complete control of her emotions, and Melissa and Luther. She missed their comfort, support, and unwavering love. She had none of that here. She had nothing here.

Except for Julian.

His vivid eyes glowed with a strange sort of luminosity. "Now listen to me. We are going to get through this. We are going to get out of here, but you have got to keep it together. If you break down in here, they win. You don't want that, do you?" Cassie shook her head. "Good, so stay calm and we will get through this."

Cassie swallowed heavily. "Yes."

"All right then. Why don't you tell me a little about yourself?"

She frowned at him as she settled back on her bed; it seemed like such an odd request coming from him. She kept her hand pressed against his on the glass, she was unable to break the small connection to someone else it gave her. "I thought you knew it all already," she murmured. "You have touched me, and you have given me a good beat down before."

He grinned at her. "You gave as well as you got," he reminded her. "I know a lot about you, but I'd rather hear it coming from you."

She studied him as she tried to assimilate this man with the monster she'd known, with the killer who had hunted her town, and killed so many innocents. Confusion twisted through her as she shook her head. Where was the monster that had tried to destroy her? This person was completely different, this person was someone she didn't know, but was beginning to trust and like.

Cassie was shaken by the odd realization, her hand tightened on the glass as she stared into his beautiful, compassionate eyes. She was fascinated by him, captivated by this stranger who was becoming her friend. Julian was the only person she had to count on right now, and she wouldn't survive this without him.

"What would you like to know?" she asked.

He grinned at her. "Why don't you tell me about your tree house?"

He leaned against the glass with his hand still pressed against hers. She could almost feel the warmth of his hand against hers, the comfort of his touch. Leisurely, fondly, she told him about the tree house she and Chris had spent weeks building when they were ten years old. Only to have it fall apart on them a day after they finished it.