1The sound of dripping water woke me from an unpleasant sleep. Actually I'd probably been more unconscious then I was asleep. The first thing that hit me was how cold I was. Jeans and tank top didn't make for a very warm pair, especially when they were wet. My right hand moved to brush the hair off my face but it didn't get very far. I couldn't see what was binding me to the chair I sat in but gut feeling told me it wasn't something I could get out of easily. Both of my wrists as well as my ankles were bound tightly enough that I couldn't struggle against them. The pain on my forehead indicated some sort of injury, probably inflicted for the purpose of knocking me out. Other then that, the only thing I could feel injured was my pride. This was exactly the situation I'd trained for years to keep myself out of and yet, here I was. My head had bent down in my unconsciousness and my neck cracked painfully several times as I rose it back up to glance at my surroundings. The room was pitch black and I couldn't tell if my eyes were even open or closed. Besides my own breathing, there wasn't a single sound in the room and I was getting a bit nervous. Suddenly I heard something else coming out of the darkness to accompany my breathing. It was the last thing I wanted to hear, footsteps. Without warning an overhead light flicked on and my eyes were to slow adjusting to its' brightness. As quickly as I could I shut my eyes and snapped my neck away in an attempt to save my vision. A cold hand lifted my cheek back towards the light and I was careful to keep my closed.

"Ms. Bristow, welcome to the my home."

The voice was tinted with chinese so I could assume that the man who spoke to me was foreign. His english was flawless though so I stole a look at him, catching sight of tanned skin.

"It's quite cozy"

He laughed at my comment and sat on a stool next to me. By now my eyes had adjusted to the sudden light and I could look fully at him. I had been right, the man was chinese. He looked young, though the light could have distorted his appearance. Reaching back out of my sight I heard a loud rattle as a tray was wheeled over beside his stool. Though there was no way of knowing for sure, I though I could feel the color drain from my face. The tray held only two contents; a large syringe and a bottle of light green fluid, Rambaldi fluid no doubt. I'd seen what that fluid had done to people before, it was horrible to watch. Something in that green fluid triggered a chemical reaction in the body that caused severe anger and cannibalism. The man only laughed again as he watched my face.

"As we speak Ms. Bristow, hundreds of people in the town of Sovogda are drinking this in their water supply."

I knew how serious this situation was and my face fell into a deep frown. That mean that anyone who drank the water would become intoxicated with that disease. What I realized was even worse, was that my father, sister, and several other APO members were in the air on their way to Sovogda. They'd be in serious danger and not know it until they hit the ground. My head dropped back down as I realized that my family was going to get attacked by cannibals. The man's hand found my chin and moved to lift it but I shoved my head to the side to avoid his contact.

"Sloane..."

The name shot from my lips like a bullet as I spoke it. It was all that man's fault really, him and his stupid obsession with Rambaldi. The chinese man laughed again and nodded his head as if he were agreeing with me.

"Yes I must admit Arvin had a large part in the plan. He's quite a dedicated man you know."

As he said this, I looked back up, anger written across my face. I wasted no time in tossing back my own opinion of the man.

"He's a bastard."

It was the truth as plain and simple I as could get it. This time though the man didn't agree with me, though his expression remained sickening confident.

"It won't matter what you think of him, because in a few minutes you'll think of everyone that way. You see Abby, surely you must be familiar with his little vial and what it does. You must also know how a needle can be used to place this liquid inside the body. And when these two things come together, we both know the consequences."

I knew what he was threatening to do and it worried me but I didn't let it show. My father hadn't taught me nothing in the year or so I'd spent with him. Keeping a cool face was key in any bad situation. It was all a part of that damn manuscript that only the most desperate of people believed in. Drawn on one of the pages was a picture of my sister and written in latin around it was a prediction of the future. It read the pictures woman had been chosen to fulfill a prophecy. When it was completed, this "chosen one" must be gotten rid of for a new world to emerge. Everyone, whether they believed it or not, couldn't deny that Sydney was pictured. No one knew how a 15th century prophet could possibly have drawn my sister but you couldn't deny the resemblance. We always figured that the people who actually believed in this would try to kill Sydney on one of her missions. As hard as we'd worked to protect her, they'd come dangerously close to succeeding a few times. What no one knew though, was what, or rather who, was meant to kill her. My thoughts were interrupted by the man's voice.

"Thank to Arvin, we've discovered a vital part of the prophecy that is unknown to your APO team. The identity of Sydney Bristow's killer has finally been revealed."

As he finished, he just smiled at me in a way that could be taken in one way. Screw my father's teachings, my face dropped in horror. It was me. I was meant to kill my own sister! I shook my head firmly, there was no way I was going to believe that.

"Were you pleased with your results?"

He nodded in response, that same smile still on his face.

"Very much so. And now you know why you're here then."

They were going to turn me into a cannibal so I would be forced to kill Sydney. I struggled to comprehend this and keep my breathing even. This time when the man laughed, another voice joined him and I recognized it. My fists clenched and I glared at the dark space where more laughter was coming from. As the face appeared in the light, I frowned deeply at it as it spoke.

"I hope you understand that we're doing this to protect everyone Abby."