Hated the ending? I liked the idea of Max not getting rescued and her own impulsiveness being her downfall. This is going to be her transition into her new life, as Kenny and Jimmy try to bring her and Ella home. The ending of the previous story, is not the ending here. There is always a twist.

This take on the story was a bit inspired by the first author writing that Max was glad that Deputy Lana Jacobs was killed in the line of duty, and I thought that showed real darkness in her character.

Killers Den: Day 2

"Good Morning, Maxine," He said, standing in the doorway and watching her scramble back in bed away from him. "Did you sleep well?"

She shook her head, pulling the blanket around her. Murderer, she thought, I killed someone last night. One day with him and I killed someone.

He looked at her still caked with dried blood and smiled slowly at her. "I hated to make you sleep in this condition, Maxine, but your work was sloppy, even for your first time. You let your fear control you."

Ella, she thought, as he sat on the bed and cupped her face in his hand. Shaking, as he studied her for a long moment, she couldn't speak or move, as his smile broadened.

"You're safe here. I'm not going to hurt you," he said. "I'm here to train and educate you. Yes, your work was sloppy and you cut blindly, but you had a firm grip on the knife and you didn't stop until I told you to. With the proper training, you'll reach your full potential.""

A serial killer, she thought, like him. Agree, work with him…then Ella and I can run. Kenny…he'll find us. He'll never give up on us.

He handed her a paper. "We have a full schedule today."

Train me, she thought, to kill. I couldn't stop last night. He's waiting for me to say something. She nodded, reading the schedule he had handed her. "I can shower now?"

He stood and unlocked her bathroom. "You need to keep the door open."

She nodded. "Okay."

"You don't need to be afraid," he said again, as she slowly climbed out of the bed, not taking her eyes off him. "You're home now."

Sheriff Station: Day 2

"She stabbed her in the heart first. She died in seconds," Carter said. "The other wounds were superficial, after she died. Do you really believe Max killed her?"

"Max knocked Kenny out and ran off with him," Jimmy said. "To save her daughter, I don't know what to believe. I think she would do anything to keep Ella safe."

"She isn't a killer."

"This guy plans on turning her into one," Jimmy said, looking at the body. "According to Kenny, that is what he wants from her."

"Sheriff?" Deputy Thompson said. "A video just came in."

Killers Den: Day 2

Surreal, Max thought, as they ate breakfast together at the table in the gourmet kitchen. No windows, she thought, where are we? Underground? When did he have time to cook all of this? Taking a sip of the fresh squeezed orange juice, she felt him studying her.

"It's all organic," he said. "We're going to ensure you have a healthy pregnancy. Your fitness is very important."

She swallowed her eggs. "Why are you doing all of this? If you just want to turn me into a serial killer why does the rest of this matter? Why am I sitting here, in this dress, eating eggs with you? Why aren't you just having me a stab a body again? Why are you concerned about by fitness and health? My baby? Where is my daughter?"

He reached across and squeezed her hand, taking in her pink long-sleeved swing dress, blown out hair, and fear. "I love you, Maxine, I have since I first saw you 10 years ago. Your happiness and health are very important to me."

"Seeing Ella would make me happier. Returning her to Kenny would make me ecstatic."

His grin broadened, interlocking their fingers. "You have much work to complete before you see Ella."

"What if I refuse?"

"You've already agreed. You've already killed," he said. "Ella will be well taken care of by me, as long as you take your training seriously. You will be reunited with her in good time. Finish your breakfast, and we'll get started."

Sheriff Station: Day 2

"You do this, or Ella will," he said, holding the screaming toddler, as Max looked at him in horror. "She will watch me strap you to that table, slice you open, and then I will began training her, as I plan on training you. Pick up the knife, Maxine."

"Please," she begged, as Ella continued to scream. "Let me calm her down her first."

"Pick up the knife."

Max turned and looked at the woman…Kill her? I can't…no, Ella. "Don't make her watch this. I'll do it, just take her. I'll do whatever you want if you just don't make her see this."

He smiled at her, smoothing down Ella's wild hair. "You'll let me train you?"

She nodded. "I'll do whatever you want. Train me."

He opened a sliding panel and put a screaming Ella in the soundproof room. "Do it."

Max gripped the knife, her ankle shackle preventing her from stabbing him, and brought it down into the women's heart.

Jimmy sat back, as he watched his deputy break down in hysterics as her captor pulled her to her feet and demanded she cut again. Looking at Carter and Thompson. "This was last night."

Carter looked at his blood drenched friend on the screen. "He forced her by threatening Ella. You saw her expression, she was terrified."

Jimmy nodded. Train her? She agreed…We need to find her now. "It's examine room. This was last night and they still had time to dump the body. I want a list of every abandoned building in a 100-mile radius. Get Kenny in here."

Killers Den: Day 2

"Don't look away. Don't flinch," he said, pausing the video. "Do you need a moment, Maxine?"

He filmed himself, she thought, dissecting a live victim. Using it show me…I've seen autopsies. I can do this. I need to be what he wants right now. "I'm pregnant, I get nausea. I'll be fine."

He rewound a bit, as he handed her the flat ginger ale. "Sip it. I need you to focus. Do you have questions so far?"

She looked down at her notebook, where she was using the pen to mark the same cuts along the diagram. "Does this look, right?"

He looked at her detailed notes, a squeezed her shoulder. "You are paying attention. Very nice, My Love."

A killing chart, she thought, what to cut to prolong suffering, and he's proud of me? How could I draw this so calmly? Go, be what he wants right now. "I wasn't sure I got the major veins right. Can we watch that part again?"

He sat back down next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "You can watch whatever parts you want."

Max forced herself not to pull away at his touch. Do it. Be who he wants. Make him trust me. She scooted closer to him, as he laid his other hand on her still flat stomach. "I'm really going to be able to do all of that? That's what you're training me to do?"

He smiled at her, as she laid her hand on top of his on her stomach. "To be, Maxine, not to do. This is a basic anatomy training. I gave you the syllabus. I'm going to leave you here, I want you to review the videos and books. I'll be back in four hours, and I want you to have a written plan and diagram for Number two. Do you understand?"

"You want me to design a plan to murder someone."

"You know where to cut now. It doesn't have to be elaborate. Don't disappoint me. I'm going to check in on Ella now," he said, pressing his lips to her forehead. "Lunch is on the table."

Sheriff's Station: Day 2

"She's my wife. Ella is my daughter. You're not keeping me out of this," Kenny said, pacing Jimmy's office. "Look what he made her do! He's going to kill both of them!"

"He's not going to kill her," Jimmy said. "He made her kill someone. She said it to you, he wants to make her into a serial killer. He said it in the video, he plans on training her. If she does what he wants, he'll keep her alive. She'll buy us as much time as she can."

"While he turns her into a serial killer? She isn't, she won't, she can't," Kenny said. "We need to get her back. Now. She's pregnant, god, she's pregnant. She killed someone…Max…she'll do whatever she wants if he uses Ella as leverage. The guilt of killing that woman will…she'll think she deserves this. She already did."

"We'll get her back, Kenny. She needs to hold on until we do."

Killers Den: Day 2

"You really are quite lovely," he said, looking at her curled up on the couch with the anatomy book and a mug of tea.

"I didn't hear you come back," she said, watching as he locked the door behind him. "I was reading and…How is Ella? Is she okay?"

"Did you enjoy your lunch?" he asked, checking her ankle shackle. "I'm hoping soon I can trust you enough not to use these.

What is he doing, she thought, showing me gore, giving me a three-foot radius to move, teaching me how to slice people open, making me write this disgusting kill plan…then makes me gourmet meals? "Yes. How is Ella?"

He settled down next to her, looking at the pages she was studying. "Your daughter is just fine. You don't need to worry about her, if you continue with your training. You can see her when you've completed it."

When I'm a serial killer, she thought numbly, whatever it takes to get her out of here and home to Kenny. Looking back at the book she had been so engrossed in, I just spent hours studying how to dissect veins…and planning on how to kill someone. "When will that be? How long will you be training me? How will you know when I'm complete?"

"So many questions," he teased. "We've barely started. The length of your training depends on you, Maxine, and how long it takes you to embrace the real you. Show me your Kill Plan and then I made us baked chicken for dinner."