It was dark. And it was quiet, and I was scared. Could I do anything about it? No. I couldn't move, and I couldn't see. What I could do was sweat and cry in the hopes the Lord in all his goodness would save me from the danger I was being slowly gripped into. The barbed wire that held me in this prison cut deeply through my skin, tearing at the bones of my arms. The rope tied tightly around my mouth pulled at my jaw and caused complete and utter misery. I had to get out somehow. I just wish I knew how. I remembered very little of how I got here. I just sort of found myself here. One minute I was home, and suddenly there was a pound on my head. When I woke up, I was in a room with white walls, a well-lit ceiling, and one door. I had been transferred many times, from room to room, each one looking the same. I never saw the face of those who transferred me, I just felt hands grabbing my wrists, back before they were torn, and bringing me to another room. They didn't do much with me in any of them. Occasionally I was fed some moldy bread and water. It tasted awful, but at least I wasn't too hungry. Then, they transferred me to the dark room. I felt my wrists being bound by that horrible barbed wire, and the rope around my mouth being tied far too tight. They left me there; slipping in and out of consciousness.

I heard footsteps pounding on the ground, getting closer and closer. I didn't know what to do, and the terror inside my body devoured me to the point where anxiety was all I knew, all I was feeling. I couldn't think of anything else but Oh God, I am going to die. The footsteps drew closer, and I grew more terrified. It reminded me too much of when I was transferred day after day, and the thought of having to do it over again wasn't exactly relieving. A rough hand gripped my mouth, and suddenly I felt a knife cutting into the rope that held my mouth shut.

I was guided into a room. Let me rephrase that, I was shoved forward until I'd reached a room. They sat me down on a seat where I could see a plate with bread and cheese. It wasn't moldy or gross, it actually looked relatively appetizing. There was a glass of juice next to it. The man who had taken me to this room spoke.

"Please, eat; you need sustenance to go where you'll be going."

He cut the wires and I took the bread. As I began to chew, the muscles in my jaw started to burn. I stopped and massaged it a little, which caused my wrists to hurt. It was almost impossible to eat, but the hunger it my stomach continued, so I forced myself through the pain and managed to finish my food. I then downed the juice and looked at the man sitting across from me.

"Why am I here?" I asked him.

He laughed. "Heck, I don't know, I been here a long time and I still don't understand half the crap they shoving through my head."

It was at that point that I got even more afraid and concerned. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, you didn't know? Let me tell you, yawl's is stupid. Real stupid. They are testin' medical things on your brain. Things they just don't knows good yet. If they're good, they keep 'em. If they're not, you're screwed."

I immediately got up and ran out of the room. Medical testing? What did he mean? Had I been tested on? If so, maybe none of this was actually happening. I ran and ran and ran, hoping I could find an exit. But instead of an exit, I ran right into a man. A large, intimidating man. He grabbed my blood-crusted wrist and pulled me down to the floor.

"What are you doing in the halls?!" He screamed at me so loud I swear I thought my eardrums were just going to shatter. I tried pulling away, but he grabbed my wrist again and the pain surged through my body, causing me to fall to the ground with a cry of horror. The man's voice rose again.

"I asked you a question. Now answer it. What are you doing in the halls?!"

"I-I was, um, I was trying to find a bathroom."

He laughed. Then he pulled my face right up against his. I nearly choked, his breath smelled so foul. What did he want anyway? And what did it have to do with me?

"You don't really think we'd let you use one do you? Bathroom…" he chuckled to himself as he walked off, and I took the opportunity to have a look around. I walked down the hall and turned the corner. There was yet another long hallway, stretching out pretty far. That's when I noticed a door. It was one of many, but for some reason, it stuck out to me. I walked over to it and tried the handle. Locked. I tried another door. It was locked as well. After trying all the doors in the hall, I went back to the first one, took a deep breath, and knocked. I heard movement, but whoever was in there wasn't speaking. Someone was in there, I knew it. And if they were bound and gagged the same way I was, I needed to get them out.

"Hang on; I'll get you out of there." I looked around for cameras, and when I saw none, I pulled out a pin from my hair, or what was left of it. After a lot of struggling, the door gave way and I got in. A boy, I'd say about my age, was sitting there. Sweating and crying just like I was, and bound, just like I was, with barbed wire. He looked like he was in more pain than I was, so I immediately started to carefully unwrap the wire. I then untied the rope around his mouth and helped him up.

"What's your name?" I asked him.

He rubbed his eyes. "My name is Portin. Portin Locifer."

"Well it's nice to meet you. I'm Agraina Loftkin."

I wasn't sure if that was my actual name, really. I just thought that maybe it sounded a bit like the one I had back home. I turned and looked at this boy called Portin, and then motioned for him to follow me. We walked out and I looked around to be sure it was safe. It was. For now, of course. We walked on and looked for a door out. The place wasn't very secure, and only the doors containing people were locked. This made it very easy for us to get around. We looked for an open door, trying many to find one. Finally, we came across a door that led outside. When I opened it, I was nearly blinded by the light that it let in, as the building we were in was very dark. We stepped outside, and my hand slipped into Portin's. I didn't want to lose the only person next to me, even if he was a stranger. It was weird, though, almost like I had known him from somewhere else. I knew it couldn't be possible, because where ever I was, it couldn't be close to where I lived. When we got outside, I realized it was just a courtyard. But I didn't want to leave. So, with Portin following me, I walked out onto the path, and looked around at the trees and the plants and all of their beauty.

It was so nice to be outside, because, to be honest, I have no idea how long I'd been in that room. Maybe years, they'd come in daily to give me the leftovers from what they had been eating, which had usually gone bad by then. I was starved, bleeding and alone for a long time. And now, I don't even remember what life was like before this dreadful thing happened to me. Looking at these trees reminded me. And I realized that regardless of how I tried, it may never be the same, and I may never escape.

"Look over there!" Portin had found a door that may lead out. I ran to it and tried to open it.

"It's locked," I said sadly. I had been hoping and praying it would lead us to safety. We tried every door in the room, and they were all locked.

"Wait a minute," I said, starting to panic. "The door we came out through. It's locked as well. We're trapped out here!"

"What?!" Portin cried out, he was very scared for being a 15-year-old boy. We ran into the middle of the garden and hid, because we could hear one of the doors unlocking. We hid inside a bush, trying to make ourselves hidden. We covered each other's mouths to ensure we didn't make any noise, and then hoped for the best.

The person who unlocked the door spoke. "Come out; come out, wherever you are!" The footsteps got closer and closer, and I got scared again, if it weren't for Portin covering my mouth, I would have screamed. The man looked around, looked up in a few trees, and after searching through a couple of outside bushes, he started to move inward. Then, he finally decided to go back inside. I released a sigh of pure relief. We climbed out of the bushes and I picked the lock on the door we tried first. Just as I opened it, I caught a glimpse of a bright stage light. The doors lead into a large arena. There were people fighting, beating each other up. The arena was small, so we kept hidden. As I watched the brawlers, I saw the same blood marks on their wrists. "Oh my gosh," I whispered to myself. "They're from the cells. We'd be doing this same exact thing!"

"No," Portin replied. "I would. I've done this before. It's only the boys who fight. The girls get abused."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You know what I mean."

"No," I started crying. Not for me, but for Portin. How could he have fought these fist fights and survived? I wasn't the strongest, but I was pretty sure I was stronger than him. How he could have lasted this long baffled me. He had looked more damaged than me when I found him, but still, he must have been far more damaged than that. I was starting to lose my sanity, and it wasn't going to well. Just as I was calming down, I saw one of the boys pick up a chair leg and twist it into the other's skull. Blood spilled everywhere. I started bawling, but thankfully by now we were under the bleachers, and there was so much cheering above us that they couldn't hear me. Portin wrapped his bony little arms around me.

"You're going to be ok," he whispered gently. "Soon we'll be out of here. Come on, let's go."

He led me through the door we came in through, and we looked around a bit more. We tried a couple more doors, but all of them were to no avail. Except for when we opened a closet. It was dark , and it was full of weapons. Bows, pistols, machine guns, knives, and grenades. I pulled a few of the pistols out, and Portin grabbed a bow and a quiver of arrows.

"I'm real good at shooting with a bow," He explained. I was never any good. I could never keep the arrow in the bow and I didn't understand how it fired. But I was good with guns, I always was. I could blow a man's head off from a mile away if I wanted to. I pulled some ammo from a shelf and grabbed Portin. We then opened the door that lead inside and marched through. I wasn't afraid anymore. It was as if any fear I had before had been lifted, and I could shoot down whoever threatened me. A man approached us, wire in hand, and I shot both his feet. He screamed in pain as I walked on. Little did I know there was an alarm set up in the building. The man who I'd shot got up, using the side rail to pull himself up, and pushed the button that caused it to sound. It was at that point that men came pouring in from everywhere. I saw Portin trying his best to defend himself. But before I knew it, he was being beaten and thrown down to the ground. I remember screaming his name, hoping he'd break through. I turned around and punched the men behind me as hard as I could, but they got me down too, and before I knew it, I was unconscious.