Chapter One

The problem with being locked in a room with no windows is that eventually you lose track of time. It's impossible to tell if it's day or night. It's impossible to keep track of how much time you've spent there. The only light offered were the harsh florescent bulbs shining brightly above me. It was ironic, really. I'd always believed humans were made for the light, but at that moment, I would've given anything for even a minute in darkness. Just long enough to pull myself together; just long enough to rest my eyes...
The blaring sounded from the speakers hidden in the walls of the room, mimicking a siren, so loud that I jumped for what must've been the hundredth time - I'd lost count a long time ago. How long had I been here, again? The lights above flickered in time with the siren, promising that if sleep may come, it would only be restless.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to regain some composure; some clarity of mind. I blinked and tried to rub the soreness from my eyes, but to no avail. Surveying the room, I desperately hoped there was a way to escape, something I'd missed the last million times I'd looked before. Once again, I was disappointed. No window, one door, and a thin mat - which I was slouching on. The walls were stark white, the floors bright white tile. The light bounced off everything and made my eyes water. Every part of my body ached. I hadn't slept in what felt like days, I hadn't been given anything but small sips of water irregularly. I was so hungry I thought I could eat an entire restaurant out of business, and that was saying something.

The sirens cut off and the lights stopped flickering. I waited to see what would happen next. I just needed five minutes of silence. I just needed to be able to sleep; only for a minute. My eyes slowly slid shut and just as I began to drift away, the lights began to flicker and the siren began to wail. My eyes flew open, my heart pounding way too fast in my chest. Anger so extreme exploded through me, it was palpable. I could taste it, metallic on my tongue. I could smell it, like gas burning my nose. Tears ran down my face and I covered my ears.

"Stop it!" I screamed, "Stop it! Please, just stop it!"

As if anybody could hear me over the ear-splitting wail of the siren. Yet still I screamed. I screamed until my throat was raw; until I lost my voice. I screamed until colors blazed around me, intense pain erupting inside my head and finally, mercifully, the world around me went black. The last thing I felt before passing out was the coolness of the tile floor beneath my fevered cheek.

I opened my eyes to a darkness so black I almost thought my eyes were still closed. Pushing myself off the floor, I held my arms out wide, trying to feel for anything around me, but there was nothing, only the blackness.

"Hello?" I called out in a scratchy, pitiful voice.

"Sydney?" I whipped my head around, searching the darkness. "Sydney!" The voice called, sounding as if it came from a great distance away from me.

"Hello?" I said again, "Who's there?"

I squinted, straining my eyes, and finally saw something. A light so small I almost missed it appeared in front of me, growing larger as it drew nearer.

"Sydney?" Came the voice again, this time much closer. "Can you hear me?"

I knew that voice. It was the only voice that had ever made my heart flutter, and skip a beat.

"Adrian?" I whispered my voice cracking. My body shook with raw emotion as the light washed the darkness away and there in front of me was Adrian. I stared up at him, wondering if he'd ever looked so beautiful before. My eyes pooled and spilled over but I barely noticed.

"You're here." I breathed, "How are you here?"

I didn't need to find the strength to stand because he sank to his knees in front of me, staring at me with wide eyes. He raised a hand as if to touch me, but stopped half way, drawing back. His lip quivered and I could see moisture building in his eyes. He blinked it away, trying to remain manly, I supposed.

"What have they done to you, Sydney?" He whispered.

For the first time since waking up I remembered the situation I was in. No matter how bad it was for me, I never wanted Adrian to pity me; to blame himself. I really didn't want him to see me like this, for I'm sure if I looked half as bad as I felt, surely anyone who saw me would run away screaming. I looked down at my hands.

"It's not that bad." I lied. My voice cracked.

"Are you kidding?" He said, sounding astonished. He put his hand under my chin and gently forced me to look up at him. Shaking his head, he said, "Sydney would you like a mirror? You don't even look like yourself. You're paler than I am! You look like you haven't slept in ages; I can't decide if your eyes are more red or more black. There are bruises under them. Have they even been feeding you? What the fuck is going on there, Sydney?" A single tear slid down his cheek before he had a chance to stop it. "I know you haven't been sleeping. I haven't been able to get to you until now. It's been four days! What are they doing to you?"

I was so overwhelmed and so, so tired, and I just couldn't grasp hold of everything that he'd said. In my desperate attempt to come up with an acceptable answer that wouldn't make him worry more, I ended up forgetting everything he'd said instead. My emotions welled up and overflowed like a breaking dam, and I began to sob; desperate, heart-broken sobs.

"I'm sorry." I cried, "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." And I was. I was sorry he'd ever met me. I was sorry he'd ever gotten to know me; appreciate me. I was sorry he'd ever fallen in love with me. I hated to put him through this pain. I could only repeat how truly sorry I was. He wrapped me in his arms, rocking gently and whispering things into my hair that I couldn't quite hear and couldn't quite make sense of. And like the dam breaking in my chest let loose the flood behind my eyes, so too did the clouds break above us and with a thunderous sound, the rain came down, drenching me. Without warning, I was ripped from Adrian's arms, pulled back through the darkness and into the waking world. Back beneath those florescent lights.

Only this time, something was different. For one, I was tied to a chair. Two, I was soaking wet. And three, I was no longer alone.