I wanted to apologize for the wait of this story - I had many thoughts about it, but I came to the conclusion that I was going to either delete the story, or leave it as completed because I do happen to like what I've written so far. However, checking my emails, I came across a review from Nia253 which had me reading my story over and actually becoming interested in it again. Thank you! I will try to continue from where I left off, unfortunately the plans and details of the story have escaped my mind so I hope you still enjoy it as I try and remember where exactly I was taking this story.


The sound of shuffling stirred me awake. My head throbbed as my lids fluttered open to a blurry view. I blinked a few times to clear my vision, only succeeding a little. I could feel my eyes drooping with fatigue as I tried to get up, only to be pulled back by the strong tape around my wrists. My arms were hung above my head, tied to the post of the bed.

Memory of looking at Richard and Seth's faces plastered on the walls filled my mind.

"Hey, asshole!" I yelled to the man at the far end of the room. He was grabbing things and packing them quickly.

"You should have let me buy you that drink. None of this would have happened," he said, picking dirty clothes from the floor and throwing them in a duffle bag.

"That man who came up to you is wanted and whoever finds him or his brother gets a nice reward," he explained with a crazy hunger on his face. "But you know him, don't you? Sure sounded like you did. That changes the game."

"How so?" I asked, still trying to get my hands free.

"Just because he's a criminal doesn't mean he has no one to care for-"

"You're wrong in many way. He doesn't care about me, you're sorely mistaken. Whatever plan you have-"

"Shut up!" a sting formed across my face as his hand collided with my cheek.

"You're just a fucking psycho, now aren't you?" I spat, now tugging at my wrists, just hoping they'd come undone. I smiled, "say he does care about me. Say he finds you. It ain't gonna be pretty for you, sir."

"It ain't gonna be pretty for you, sweetheart," he pulled a retractable blade from his pocket, letting it open and brought it to my neck. It dug in enough to hurt, but not enough to cut. As soon as it touched my skin I could see a woman's body, beaten and bruised.

"I guess they aren't the only criminals who checked in, huh?" the man looked confused, a layer of sweat forming on his skin, "wh-what?"

"The woman. The one you beat half to death-"

"No," he pulled the blade harshly, leaving a small slice in the skin.

"Who was it, your girlfriend? Your wife? The woman you cheated on your wife with?" I looked at his left hand, seeing the wedding band. His face just grew red with anger.

"Maybe your wife knew and was going to leave you. Oh, but so was the woman you were cheating with. Bummer."

"Shut the fuck up!" he threw a punch to my face and grabbed onto my neck tightly. I gasped for air until I began to choke for it. I panicked as he squeezed tighter. I couldn't even scream, or get words out. Eventually everything faded.


Everything was black. A woman's voice mumbled, the words slowly becoming clear. The same sentence repeated.

"Don't be afraid. Don't hold it back. Let it envelope you. Let it be."

"Don't be afraid. Don't hold it back. Let it envelope you. Let it be."

I woke up to silence, immediately reacting to the pain in my neck. I instinctively put my hand on it.

"What the-" my hands were free. I lifted myself up and looked at the tape that once held me. It was melted and black, like someone used fire or high heat to break me free. I looked to my wrists which were perfectly fine. Not a burn, not a scratch, nothing.

The room was dim and empty, no one in sight. I stood up, nearly falling over. I used the bed to get balanced before I walked to the door. It was closed.

I reached for the knob slowly, trying not to make any noise. I turned it, my heart racing with each creek it made until it unhooked from inside and I was able to open it. I pushed it slowly, creeping my head out to look around.

There he was. Sleeping on the couch.

I crept out as quietly as possible, walking towards the entrance of his suite. I kept my eyes on him, not looking at what was in front of me. My hip hit into the edge of a small table, making a loud noise that shook everything on it.

He got up and freaked out when he saw me, grabbing for his blade and getting up. I ran to the door, unlocking it as quickly as I could. I got it open and I felt a shooting pain through the back of my shoulder. I let out a scream, and looked at it. His knife stuck out of the skin.

"Fuck!" I had no time to take it out and ran in the direction of my room. He was close behind, but I was just a little faster than he was. I made it to the door, but I didn't have the key to get in. I banged my palm on it, "Seth! Richard!" I yelled. The adrenaline numbed the pain in my shoulder, although I probably looked crazy with a blade sticking out of me.

The door opened and it was Kate. The man grabbed me before I could get in, covering my mouth. I tried with all of my power to get out of his grip. I bit his hand and he yelled, loosening his grip enough that I could rip away, "get in there, Kate!" I pushed her in and slammed the door, locking it. He banged to get in, slamming his body on the door.

"Where the fuck is everyone?" I asked her, holding my good shoulder to the door.

"I-I don't know, Seth said he was looking for Richie again. Scott and my dad went to the pool!"

My head began to hurt, blurring my vision.

"No, not right now," I fell to the ground and shook, unable to focus on anything else but the burning inside of my head.

"Sage!" kate came over to me.

"Stay back!" I pushed back, not letting it take me over. The pain subsided, and I laid my head to the ground, breathing heavily.

Everything seemed to have calmed down. There wasn't any banging on the door.

The knob wiggled and I forced myself to stand. It unlocked and the door opened. I was ready to punch when Seth walked in, "what the Hell happened?" Seth asked in disbelief. I was silent, not sure what to say. The door opened fully and Richard was looking at a body on the ground. It was the man's.

"Sage? Where have you been? Are you alright?" he questioned again. I couldn't focus, looking at the man faced down. How is it possible when he was just banging on the door seconds before.

Richard pushed him over, "he looks like he walked through an oven." Everyone looked.

"That guy was trying to get Sage! How is he dead?" Kate panicked.

I felt weak suddenly, unable to keep balance. I fell to the ground, holding my head. I swallowed hard, feeling confused.

"Sage?"

"Sage?"