Chapter 2- A Dance With The Devil

I'm warning everyone now, this chapter contains intense, difficult torturing. Please do not read if this causes any triggers or unsettling thoughts. I do not condone any of this and apologize in advance if anyone is upset by the events of this chapter. This will be the only chapter with it so please skip over if it's too much to read. The next chapter will focus on the aftermath of this one. Another note, Burzek is alive and well in this story. Let's go through this tough one together.

Kim remembers waking up that morning with a sense, a feeling that something was wrong. She doesn't know what drew her to this premonition, perhaps a sixth sense or something. She checked around her place to find everything in order. She did her normal routine before heading in to work. Nothing was wrong with her commute or car. The greeting she received from Platt was the usual: short and snarky. She reached the top of Intelligence's steps to find her answer.

"Hey Jay, have you seen Adam? He's obnoxiously never late," Kim commented while nodding to Adam's empty desk. There were zero hints of him being there.

"Not since we all left last night. Figured he'd come in with you." Kim nodded and sat at her desk, picking up her phone to call Adam. Five rings later, nothing.

"He's not picking up. It just rings and then goes to voicemail." Now she had Jay and Atwater's attention. Both guys texted and called, getting the same response.

"When did you last see him, Kim," Atwater asked?

"Last night, we went out for drinks and he walked me home. We had a fight along the way but it was silly, nothing worth still being mad over. He was fine when I last saw him." Voight was standing in his doorway, listening to the situation unfold.

"So go check on his place." Kim and Jay quickly stood and headed for the car. The ride to Adam's place was dreadful. Jay was his usual quiet, but Kim was uneasy. She'd alternate between running her hands on her legs and tapping the passenger side door. She snapped out of it when Jay gave her a concerned look.

"Sorry, it's just…I woke up this morning with this weird feeling. I can't shake the idea that something happened to him." The light turned green and Jay slowly pressed the accelerator.

"Don't put those ideas in your head. He probably just slept through his alarm." Trying his best to hide it, Jay would admit to feeling uneasy about everything. This was so out of character for Adam. He hoped for the best, but readied himself for the worst as they pulled up to the building.

"Well, there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with the door or lock. Do you have a key," Jay asked? Kim fiddled through her jacket pocket to claim her prize. She ignored Jay's smug face.

"Adam? It's Kim. We're coming in." Nothing came on the other side of the door. She slipped the key into the lock and turned it clockwise, listening to the quiet thunk of the bolt. The two of them stood in the doorway before breaching the threshold.

"Well, his phone and keys are here. Adam!" Jay began walking towards the bedroom while Kim snooped around the kitchen and living room, searching for clues at this point rather than a person.

"Bedroom and bathroom are clear. There are some clothes on the floor but other than that, you'd never guess he was here. Bed is even made and the bathroom is dry." The two of them stared at each other for a moment, neither wanting to say what they were both thinking.

"We…um…we should.."

"-I'll call Voight." Jay reached for his phone while Kim sat on the couch, holding her head with both hands. Adam was gone, vanished from life. She could hear Jay talking but couldn't comprehend what he was saying. She was too consumed with the dark, dire thoughts running through her mind. Their final conversation kept replaying. They argued about some political point, both of them taking differing sides and neither backing down. It started simple but grew, becoming slightly heated. His final comment to her was, 'if you say so.' To which her rebuttal was, 'I do and you're so wrong.' Those were her final words: 'you're so wrong.' Wherever Adam was and whatever he was going through, that's what was repeating in his mind. She never felt so guilty in her life. She wiped away a couple of tears before standing up, trying to ready herself for this unwanted battle.

"Kim…Kim, hey!" Jay's calling jolted her back to reality. She quickly spun around to the voice calling her.

"Voight's got a BOLO out and is in the process of filing a mission person report. I'm going to go ask the neighbor's if they heard anything. The team's coming over here now to help look for evidence." Kim nodded before responding.

"I'll start in the kitchen." Jay gave her a reassuring smile before moving.

"Hey, don't think it. He knows. We're going to find him." A small, white paper hanging on the light in the kitchen caught her eye. Hands were shaking as she maneuvered a chair under the light. She read the note twice before calling Jay.

"I found this." Jay glanced at it before crumbling the paper up.

We've claimed your pawn. Your move.

Adam's morning began with a hard slap to the face. He finally fell asleep sometime late in the night and guessed he only had a couple of hours of rest. As the hand print seared into his face, the familiar blindfold was placed on his head and the restraints were released from their chain. Two strong bodies lifted him off the stable floor and dragged him out of the barn, across gravel, and then thrown somewhere deep. The falling sensation made his stomach turn like it does when you ride a rollercoaster. His fall was cushioned by something padded. A mattress he guessed. Doors were slammed shut above him. He figured he was below the ground; in a cellar perhaps. A smart place to torture your prey. Adam was thrown into a chair before feeling two sharps picks, one radiating from each arm. Adam winced at the pain. The hand touching his arms was soft, like a woman's hand. The blindfold was ripped off, revealing the place where he'd spend his final days. He was definitely in a cellar, the jars and musty smell gave that away. The room was dimly lit by a long light kit sitting directly above him. There weren't any windows and certainly no other exits. The placed smelled like a mixture of sewage and moth balls. Adam looked down to see two IV lines snaking to IV stands on opposite side of him. His captors were going to drug him in an effort to gain information. A sophisticated, effective method for breaking people. The drugs would either cause the worst pain of life or force him to slip in a semi-conscious state, making his mind an open book begging to be read. Adam guessed they'd eventually use a combo of the two. He silently swallowed the dread forming in his gut. The two guys that dragged him down here emerged with tables and various shiny, poking, pain inducing instruments. The car battery and jumper cables caused his heart rate to spike. It's hard to not fear pain, especially severe levels. The head of the operation revealed himself moments later.

"Good morning, Adam! Did you sleep well last night?" He patted Adam's shoulder before pulling a chair a few feet in front of Adam. He never lost his gaze of his precious person.

"I know this is a waste of time, but I'm going to ask it anyway, hoping all the propaganda around you has put some fear in that pretty head of yours. Tell me everything you know about me." The female hand that inserted the IVs showed the rest of her body, checking Adam's pulse and blood pressure while the mystery man spoke. The rage flowing through Adam's veins could've knocked them all out in a single blow.

"I know you can't sing to save your life. That was terrible last night" Adam replied. The female nodded, indicating all systems go. The demon pointed to the tray of syringes next to the woman. She grabbed the one farthest to the left and inserted it into one of the IVs. In seconds, Adam was experiencing the worst pain of his life. You could lightly poke and knock him unconscious. His sensations were on overdrive. Immediately causing a migraine and terrible muscle aches. It was like having the flu but a hundred times worse. Adam breathed deeply, slightly grunting at the increasing pain.

"Wrong answer. I'll help you out. You and your team have been rounding up my men for the last couple of weeks, celebrating the freedom of my girls. Does that help you out? So tell me, what do you know about me? What's my name?" The demon rose from the chair and punched Adam hard, blood spraying from the impact. Adam cried in pain while the demon laughed. He repeated the process three more times till Adam's head drooped, blood pouring out of his mouth.

"He's almost unconscious," the female voice spoke. Everything went still while Adam struggled to stay awake. The demon grabbed Adam's jaw minutes later, his breath reeking of garlic.

"What is my name! What do you know about me?" Adam remained silent. He kept his eyes closed, letting his mind escape to something happy. He heard metal instruments being shuffled, one of them being placed on his thumb. The first extreme pain moments away.

"You want to play the silent game? We can do that." Without warning, the demon yanked the instrument downward, taking Adam's nail with him. He screamed while looking at the bloody hole on his thumb, totally in disbelief. The demon applied the instrument on the other thumb before repeating the question.

"What is my name and what do you know about me?" The truth was, neither Adam nor the rest of Intelligence knew who this guy was. Adam knew the case he was referring to, but honestly didn't know about this guy's involvement. It was clear that this person was the head of the operation but the case hadn't gotten that far yet. The case involved sex trafficking. A C.I. tipped them off about a suspicious abandoned building that was rumored to be a dealer destination. Upon their breach, they discovered about a hundred people chained to posts, with large, intimidating guys overseeing them. From there, the case grew to several other locations with the same M.O. While they freed hundreds of people, they were never able to figure out who was running it all. They'd take out one location and three more would pop up. In fact, Adam's last day at work consisted to of staring at the case file, recovered evidence, and several databases, desperately trying to find a commonality. What scared him was that this guy was way ahead of them. He knew Adam's name and the team he worked for. Did he have someone inside the district? Were there watchers out there, stalking his every move? Despite Adam's determination to communicate the truth to the demon, there was no way he'd accept the fact that Intelligence had nothing on this guy. So the dilemma arose: lie and be interrogated or tell the truth and be interrogated.

"I..I don't know anything about you, man. Honestly, we hadn't gotten that far yet." The yank from the instrument on his nail gave him his answer. The demon didn't believe the truth. They repeated this little charade till Adam was down an entire hand.

The human body is amazing. Adam began to adjust to the level of pain. Like a woman about to give birth, there's something inside of humans that mentally and physically prepares you for the worst pain of your life. Granted, the pain was severe, but it didn't knock Adam out. The yanking, punching, and injections went on for another hour till he began to slip in and out of consciousness. The female halted the session, stating Adam had reached his limit, nearing a state of shock. The demon flung the instruments on the table and stormed out, the henchmen following behind. A burning pain spread on the back of Adam's neck as he nodded off. Round one was complete. The demon refused to believe and Adam didn't cave. This was like a game of Russian Roulette, one of them wasn't going to make it out alive. Adam smiled at himself as he accepted the sedative nature of the latest drug in his system. He welcomed his challenger's next move.

They convened in Adam's living room. Amongst the police officers and CSI techs, there was Intelligence, lounging on Adam's couch, chairs, and some on the floor. The energy in the room was tense and slightly dire. Adam and his captors had hours of a head start on them, zero hints as to which direction.

"The note was just sent to the lab for handwriting analysis so hopefully we'll hear something soon," Antonio commented.

"I spoke to the neighbors and they remember seeing Adam come home around eleven thirty and they didn't hear anything after that. Also, I spoke with the superintendent and he's combing through security tapes and he'll let me know if he gets something," Jay informed everyone.

"So whoever took Adam has a twelve hour head start," Hailey stated. Nods and silence answered. Voight was the one to inject the next move.

"Whoever this is knows us. Start going to cases. Look for people that had the means and motivation to pull something like this off."

"Why Adam? Out of all of us, why grab him," Kim asked?

"I don't know. Who knows why people do this. Maybe they saw him as the easiest to break. Perhaps he was the quickest person to grab. Now is not the time to be asking those questions. We're twelve hours behind and probably have twelve to eighteen hours to go. Let's get up and get to work." They rose in unison and slowly strolled out of the apartment, leaving their dark, desperate thoughts behind. Adam was in trouble and needing their everything. Nothing on this planet was going to stop them from achieving their goal.

"Wake up, Adam!" The sinister, whispering voice jolted Adam out of a deep sleep. The pain in his hands and body an unwelcomed presence. Adam's whole body shook, partly from the morning's events, partly from the chilliness of the cellar, and partly from the fact that he hadn't eaten in half a day. He felt so weak and lethargic. He only looked up at the demon and glared, too exhausted to speak.

"So Adam, have you thought about my question? Did the rest clear your mind?" The female reentered the room and took her usual place next to Adam, grabbing another pain inducing syringe. The demon nodded and the next round began. Adam just closed his eyes as his pain level spiked, trying his best to mentally accept what was coming for him. Something sharp tore through his calf and he let out a shrieking cry.

"Now I have your attention," the demon smiled as Adam looked down at the blood seeping out of the puncture in his leg. He breathed heavily, trying his best to not pass out.

"What is my name and what do you know about me?" The demon held the sharp, spear-like instrument over Adam's left arm. Since the demon didn't believe the truth, praising was the remaining option.

"You're the head of the largest sex trafficking ring in the Midwest. You conduct a lot of business in Chicago…" The instrument was driven into his arm. Adam jerked away, writhing in pain. On top of the instrument going through flesh and muscle, the tip of it hit bone, the worst pain anyone can experience. Tears were trying to make their way out.

"I didn't ask what I do, what is my name? What do you know about me?" Adam was too consumed with the pain to really listen. The female said something about his pulse being to high. The demon pulled up his chair and put it a foot away from Adam. He pulled Adam's head up, forcing him to stare into his evil, green eyes again. How fitting for this real life villain.

"Where did I grow up, how did I rise to the top of the organization. What is my name?" Adam spit in his face, smiling as the demon wiped blood and spit off of his face.

"I already told you the truth. It's up to you to decide which of the few words I've spoken are true." Adam knew the incoming retaliation was going to be extreme, but he didn't care. It was time to play defense, turn the questioning on its' head. His suspicions were correct. The demon violently punched Adam's left cheek and inserted the pointed instrument twice more, once in his other calf and in his other arm. Adam again closed his eyes, utilizing whatever power he had left to stay conscious. Lord only knew what this guy would do to him when he became an unresistant body. The demon and his apprentice stormed out of the room, leaving Adam to spit out a tooth. He loudly breathed for a few minutes before the dark, comforting sleep welcomed him. Whatever drugs they were using, Adam seemed to enjoy the last one.

"Hey guys, the superintendent sent me footage." Atwater pulled up the file while everyone gathered around his desk. The footage revealed three dark clothed men dragging a limp Adam out the front door and into a dark van.

"They walked right out the front door!"

"Where was the superintendent during all this," Hailey asked?

"Um, he said a tenant had called him about a faulty heater, he was gone for fifteen minutes and didn't see any of this."

"These guys are smart. I bet it was them who called the guy, creating a smooth exit for them." Jay was seriously studying the video. While the others speculated, he kept his eyes glued to the screen.

"Wait, pause that," he interjected.

"That's a plate. It's blurry and it's a partial, but it should get us something." They were able to collect two letters and a number. A search in the database revealed the van to be a rental, paid in cash by a place near the lake.

"Hit it," Voight commanded.

The ride to the rental location was, expectedly, silent. Both Atwater and Kim too consumed with the internal clock loudly ticking off. With every passing hour, Adam was that much closer to dying. In typical abduction cases, victims were kept alive for a day, sometime thirty-six hours. The fact there wasn't a ransom call was extra unsettling. Whatever they took Adam for, their endgame isn't to return him. Not to mention the fact he was a police officer. Whoever took him pretty much wrote their death sentence last night. There was no way they'd just turn him over. That left one thing: they wanted information and then they'd dispose of him. Kim rubbed her temple after that one.

"Kim, Adam's tough. He'll get through this. We're going to find him." Kevin wasn't sure if he was reassuring Kim or himself at that moment. Regardless, someone needed to speak hope into this situation. Kim nodded and went back to gazing out the window. They pulled into a parking spot and quickly climbed out of the vehicle.

"I'll take the lead on this," Kim said as they walked towards the door. Kevin nodded and opened the door for her. The man behind the counter was a middle aged, balding man named Stuart. He smiled at the two detectives and waved them over to the counter.

"I'm officer Burgess and this is officer Atwater," the two of them flashed their badges.

"We need you help. We have evidence that someone who rented a van from you kidnapped a police officer last night and were wondering if you could help us identify the person."

"Absolutely, what kind of vehicle was it?"

"A dark colored Ford van with a partial plate number FG8." The computer revealed the obvious.

"Yes, that van was rented yesterday morning and it was paid for with cash. I do remember when he came in. Most places don't accept cash anymore and even then, it's rare for someone to pay that way."

"Can you describe the person?"

"Tall, white, built, just looked like any other person. But, there was something off about him. He didn't say anything wrong, but I just got this sense that something was off. Like there was an ulterior motive."

"Would you be able to describe him to a sketch artist?"

"I can certainly try."

"Thank you Stuart, we really appreciate it. Oh, can we have copy of his lease agreement?" The copy was printing as Atwater's phone rang, the two excused themselves.

"What's up," Atwater asked as they got back in the car.

"We got something back on the note. You need to get back here."

"10-4, we also have a copy of the rental agreement for comparison," Kim stated as Atwater turned the key in the ignition.

The report on the note was not hopeful. The techs were able to match it to one Victor Diaz, a convicted criminal who spent time in prison for robbery and manslaughter. While he used an alias to rent the van, the techs were able to confirm it was him who rented the vehicle yesterday morning. The first piece to their puzzle. However, it was when they investigated his background that things took a dark turn. The computer revealed a name and everyone gasped. Kim excused herself to go relieve her stomach in the bathroom. The rest stood in total shock, wide eyed with hands over their mouths.

"Raymond Bataglio? The Vanisher? I thought he was a myth," Antonio commented.

"No, I thought they captured him like ten years ago and put in a maximum security facility."

"Well clearly, he's not," Voight commented. Bataglio was rumored to be a criminal mastermind, a mob lord, or both. His organization was said to dabble in many things: sex trafficking, drugs, gun running, anything with a high price tag, he was involved. His nickname came from the evidence he left behind: nothing. People would mysteriously disappear from their lives and never be found. No note, no biological evidence, not even a corpse. It was as if the person had never existed. Legend had it that he would kidnap people for his personal gain and then murder them in a vat of acid, leaving them alive long enough to experience the most excruciating pain in their final moments. How they awoke this mystery monster was unknown. If this was the guy that had Adam, a miraculous intervening would be the only way to see their friend and colleague again, dead or alive. Voight instructed the team to expand their missing person report to every state in the country. Furthermore, they got Bataglio's face on every news network, airport terminal, train station, and bus depot. Would it create mass panic? Perhaps. It didn't matter, this guy needed to be public enemy number one.

The loud opera music awoke Adam from his shivering sleep. Still dressed in his jeans and long sleeved shirt, he spent the next several hours shivering, sleeping, and awakening from the swelling pain all over his body. The sessions grew progressively worse. From the stabbing, he was electrocuted by the car battery, seared with a hot blade, and continuously punched; not to mention the drug induced pain. His body was speckled with various shades of blue, blood, and he had a twinge of burnt smell on him. It got to a point where Bataglio was able to know where Adam's limits were and would push till just below that point, causing him to be alert the entire time. Adam was amazed he was still alive and functioning at this point. Normal people didn't survive this kind of thing. It was something you saw in movies but never imagined occurring in real life. The music above him made him instantly tremble. He'd never be able to hear the music again without his skin crawling. The cellar door flew open and heavy footsteps began clunking down the steps. Adam readied himself for the next round.

Bataglio sat in front of Adam with a steaming bowl of spaghetti. Let's remember that Adam hasn't eaten in over a day. He practically drooled at the sight of the plate. It was dripping in sauce and the meatballs were massive. His body was quaking at the smell and his heart rate picked up. Externally, he just glared at Batalgio. His stubborn self still refusing to give in. It was a mind game now. His captor spun a fork in the bowl and held it above Adam's face. Ignoring all the screaming sirens in his mind, Adam didn't move or blink, just fixing his eyes on the person in front of him.

"I'll let you eat all of this and then you can leave, if you answer my question." Getting zero feedback, Bataglio turned the fork towards himself and swallowed the forkful, exaggerating the goodness of the food. He could see a hint of tears forming in his prey's eye.

"When was the last time you had something to eat? Surely, you're starving by now." As he devoured the plate of food, he examined his handiwork of the day. The kid was so close to breaking, just a few more digs into his mind before he spilled.

"Your team is impressive. Jay Halstead, a former Army Ranger. Antonio Dawson, a great detective. What made him come back to Intelligence? Hank Voight, a crooked cop turned good, and Hailey Upton, a well known detective in the force. And there's you, Kevin Atwater, and Kim Burgess, three great cops looking to reach detective status soon. Well, correction, only two of you will probably reach that goal." Bataglio smiled at Adam, hoping to stir up some emotion. Nothing.

"I have to hand it to you, Adam, you've surpassed my expectations. I was convinced you'd have cracked after the car battery. Your training has done you well." A silent, zoned out Adam was all he got. Bataglio stood and headed for the door, hesitating before pulling on the handle.

"How's Kim doing these days? Are you two officially a couple again?" Adam cracked. He tugged at his restraints and wiggled in the chair, screaming profanity at him. In that moment, Adam forwent any training tactics, not caring if the guy finally found his weak spot. Bataglio laughed and instructed the strong arms to drag Adam back to his stall. Adam fought for a moment before the familiar stinging pain landed on the back on his neck. His unconscious body was pulled up the stairs and dragged across the gravel drive, the rocks cutting up his skin along the way. He remembers awakening shortly after the stable door was bolted shut. He grabbed for the horse blanket and sobbed, fully expecting this to be his final night on earth and unable to warn the others of the incoming trouble. He didn't care if they heard him or if they used it against him. This was it, and he was sincerely frightened.

Day two began identical to day one: a hard slap to the face and a blindfold thrown over his head. Unlike yesterday, Adam didn't react much to their wake up call. It was another miserable, sleepless night for Adam. Thoughts and fears ran wild for most of the night, with the cold temperatures keeping him at a consistent shivering. The few hours of sleep he did manage seemed to make everything worse. Every fiber of his being screamed with pain. Blinking was a chore. Breathing was made him wince with every inhale. As he was dragged across the gravel ground, he honestly thought dying would be easier on his body. He was now two days without food or drink. His body stopped telling him about his hunger and was now surviving off of stored fat and muscle, resulting in a massive headache and virtually no drive to move anything. He was thrown down the cellar steps and repositioned on his chair from yesterday. The same IVs were put back in his arm and the same female stood by his side. Bataglio emerged from the cellar steps and walked past Adam silently. No greeting today, just an angry glare as he picked up the long instrument on the table: a six inch knife. Adam couldn't help but feel this was the end of his testing.

"You know, I'm really getting tired of your little antics. So, we're kicking things up a notch." Bataglio drove the blade through Adam's upper thigh, far enough up to make him flinch. The white hot level of pain erupted through his body. Despite everything from yesterday, this pain level reached a new high. Tears streamed down Adam's face as Bataglio removed the blade and poked the tip into the middle of his stomach. Adam wanted to curse this guy into another universe, but everything in him was too concerned with the blood seeping out from his leg. He wasn't sure if an artery was nicked or severed, but the amount of blood escaping was troubling.

"WHAT IS MY NAME!" During his entire stay, Bataglio had never reached this level of fury. It all clicked in Adam's mind. He got into the demon's head. Something happened overnight that caused him to snap. The journey was hellish, but it was worth it. Adam had won the war.

"I don't know," he half whispered, preparing himself for what was about to happen next. It only took a second, but it was the worst one of his life. Adam blinked and had an object sticking out of his body. Looking back, Adam doesn't know what inspired his next actions. In the far corner of his mind, some little voice told him it was time. It whispered truth into the situation. If Adam didn't break for it now, he would not make it out of this alive. Simultaneously, his body found another gear. Amongst all the pain, aches, and weakness, his body was giving him the green light, readying the boosters for liftoff. Let's ride.

Adam smiled at Bataglio before head butting the woman behind him, causing her to double over in pain. His newfound strength broke him free from the plastic zip ties and grabbed the blade out from his stomach, turning it towards his attacker and into his gut. Bataglio stumbled for a moment before going down, unconscious in seconds. Adam ripped the restraints off his legs and readied himself for the two strong arms coming towards him. He reached for the knife in Bataglio and met one of the thug's neck with the blade, putting him next to his boss. A syringe was placed into the arm of the remaining thug, leaving him too consumed with his pain to notice Adam sprinting for the cellar door. The whole thing took forty seconds. Forty seconds decided living and dying. Adam had the door slightly ajar when a voice from below spoke.

"What are you doing standing there? Get him!" Adam ignored the warning sirens beeping in his mind and bolted. There were footsteps slowly marching up the stairs and his lead was shrinking. He stood on the gravel driveway for a moment before choosing his direction. This was the first time he saw where he'd been for the last two days. It was a cold, cloudy, dreary day. The farm was exactly how you'd picture it. The farmhouse was at the apex of a large rounded driveway with paths leading to the endless corn fields, barns, and pastures. As he suspected, there wasn't a single road or phone pole out here. The driveway seemed to span into eternity. Everything was silent. Only the swaying of tree limbs and the occasional snort from an animal interrupted the world's stillness. There was a single tree in the middle of the cow pasture. It was large and sturdy with its' leaves a vibrant red hue. Beyond the pasture was a wooded section, Adam instinctively chose that as his way out, rolling under the fence and full out sprinting for the wooded path. He could hear screaming from one of the thugs but kept running. There was no way he'd lose a race with that guy. Adam heard a shotgun being loaded and the familiar boom of its' release. Adam didn't care if he got hit. He just kept running towards his imaginary finish line.

It was when he stepped on a branch for the first time that he recognized his lack of shoes. His feet matched the rest of his body: bruised, bloody, and in dire pain. His slowed his gate to a steady walk, being cautious to avoid the prickly nature of the wooded floor. The next several hours were a slow, methodical march. The adrenaline gradually died down and the realization of his injuries kicked in. His breaks between walking grew closer together. He'd just sit on the ground and loudly groan, pushing himself to keep going. Dying in the woods wasn't an option, despite its' temptation. He had a life to fight for, people who needed him to get out of this. The man who did this to him had to be held accountable and he was the only person that could make that happen. He'd mumble random things to himself, verbally telling his body to shut up and move. It was an out of body experience and one he certainly didn't want to reenact. He was thankful for the times that Jay or Antonio would push him to do more. While their goal was to make him accomplish something great, the side effect of that was establishing a stubborn, determined mentality in him. If he ever saw them again, he'd make sure to thank them for not letting him quit. One of his earlier stops included shredding his shirt and wrapping sections around his waist and leg. The bleeding was making him drowsy and colder than usual. He knew this wasn't a smart move, but given the choice between freezing and bleeding out, he chose living. This was the reminder of his day: walking silently, stumbling into a sitting position, and then forcing himself upright and repeating the process again.

The world's light was dipping into the ground when he heard the victorious sound of friction on something hard: tires hitting pavement at a high rate of speed. The sound was sweet music to his ears. For awhile there, he expected to spend the night under a tree. He picked up the pace and ran for freedom. Tears streamed down his face as he witnessed the beautiful sight in front of him. Cars were steadily moving on the road, headlights dancing against the wet glow of the road. As Adam ran to the asphalt's edge, he imagined he looked like a zombie emerging from the dead. A shirtless, shivering zombie, but he didn't care. Someone would stop for the world's scariest site, he hoped. Stepping into the middle of a lane, he placed his hands in the air and began waving. His arms were beyond weak and the motioning made them scream. He didn't care if he got hit or assistance. Any option was better then his current predicament. He fell to his knees and closed his eyes as headlights grew closer, readying himself for anything. Tires screeched just ahead and a car horn sounded right in his face. Opening his eyes, the car in question was about a foot in front of him. He slowly rose to and steadied himself against the vehicle. The heat from the car hood burned against his cold hand, but he didn't care. His ticket to life arrived. The woman in the car was shell shocked. She held her hands in the air and screamed. Adam slowly walked to the driver's window and motioned for her to put the window down. By now, a line of traffic was forming behind her but they all seemed to not care about their travels. They were too consumed with the sight in front of them. With a shaking hand, the woman in the car obeyed the frightening person's request at her window.

"I'm…I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt you. I need to use your phone. Please." Adam was breathless at this point, the roughness of his throat made speaking next to impossible. The women took a moment to process before handing him her cell phone. Adam actually cried as he dialed.

"911, what's your emergency?" Adam smiled, wiping away tears before responding.

"My name is Adam Ruzek and I'm…a police officer for the Chicago Police Department. I need you to tell Hank Voight I'm alive and let them know where I am." The woman in the car stared at Adam dumbfounded, her mouth gaping open. He rubbed his free hand over his forehead, still struck by the realization that this was all happening.

"You're the person from the news. Everyone is looking for you." Adam quizzically looked at her while she pulled over to the shoulder and unlocked the doors, motioning for Adam to get in. He willingly obliged. Adam was shaking, almost convulsing, as he waited for the operator to pick up his location. The woman offered him a bottle of water from her cup holder. There wasn't much left, but Adam didn't care. It was the best, and first, thing he'd had in days.

"We have your location and have alerted your boss." Adam thanked the operator before handing the phone back to the woman in the car. She just took in his battered, ghastly looking body, clearly still in shock.

"Thank you, thank you. I don't know what else to say.."

"-You're welcome." Adam took a quick scan of his new environment.

"Where are we?"

"Parkington, Michigan. You need a hospital," she finally admitted. Adam laughed while nodding. The woman put her car in drive and floored it, occasionally looking at the man now unconscious on her passenger seat. He made it. His mission was complete. Adam Ruzek accomplished something no one thought possible. It took everything ounce of strength in him to claw and dig his way out, but here he was. While there was still a shroud of fear knowing Bataglio was still out there, he didn't care. He survived the worst scenario possible. Bataglio no longer had control over his' fate. Now Adam just had to deal with the aftermath of it all.

So, a lot happened. We also may have stretched the limitations of the human body here. Thank you for reading this! Please let me know what you think.