AN: Warning… some graphic content as well as coarse language. Reader discretion is advised.

Diana awoke to the sound of screams and Freddie Mercury.

Who wants to live forever?

Who wants to live forever?

Who dares to love forever?

When love must die…

She was lying on a damp concrete floor with her clothes drenched in what she hoped was water. She discovered that her eyes were still closed and when she tried opening them, she flinched violently at the unbearably bright light that seemed to only blind her once more. By the time she managed to sit up, the song had changed into a song by David Bowie.

Time may change me,

But I can't trace time…

She quickly became aware of her surroundings. She was caged with nothing but a blanket and a tin bucket that she moved to the corner of the room as quickly as she could. She ached all over, but her head hurt the most. She touched the swelling bump on the side of her head and stifled a scream when her hand came away shiny with blood. Thankfully, they had not fractured her skull like they had done to the previous victim and the pain had been tolerable enough for her to think. Around her were many other women curled up in their separate cages. They were painfully obese and unclean, wallowing in their own waste. They were also very pale. It was most likely caused by their lack of exposure to sunlight. Diana realized that they might also have anemia having had developed iron deficiencies during their imprisonment. From their wet-sounding coughs and wheezing, she deduced that many suffered from bronchitis due to the constant cool and damp atmosphere they were forced to situate in. Her thoughts were interrupted when the woman next to her hacked out a large glob of phlegm that went flying in the air, barely missing her hand. She shifted over, trying not to show disgust on her face. Many of the women were also pregnant. She noticed their swollen breasts, the darkening of the nipples and areolas. Their veins were protruding from their skin like the thinnest of thorns, burying themselves into their muscles and then crawling their way across the mountains of skin. Although they were all quite obese, it was obvious that quite a few of them were in their third trimester. She shuddered at the thought of who the fathers were and wondered what the purpose was for having so many babies.

Suddenly the lights went out.

"I'm lonely… wanna die…"

The voice sang loudly and a fist began hitting the metal bars of the cage.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Girl, you know the reason why…"

Each time, the slamming of the bars sent vibrations coursing throughout the entire structure. From every direction, the sound rang loudly in her ears. She clutched her head and moaned. The noise did nothing to improve the condition of her headache. Then the singing and the pounding stopped. The cage door opened and a hand shot out from the darkness, grabbing a clump of her hair. It was the hair growing on the bump caused by the earlier trauma and the hand was pulling and pulling. Diana swore loudly and swung at the hand with her own fists, attempting to loosen its grip. Much to her dismay, the hand kept its clutch and gave one last tug. She felt an intense, searing pain in the head. It was as if someone had taken a white hot fire iron and twisted it slowly into her temple. It was excruciating and she collapsed on the ground, clutching her head weakly as tears streamed uncontrollably down her cheeks. She could feel a panic attack arising from the pit of her stomach and she fought the urge to vomit as she watched in horror as the hand disappeared into the darkness with locks of her brown hair.

Two men entered the cage and grabbed her by her arms. She was too weak to resist and dumbly moved her feet to avoid being dragged. She could barely think with the pounding in her ears and her pulsing veins. They led her down a dark corridor. She passed out again much to the annoyance of her captors.

When she regained consciousness, she found herself in another room filled with damp and foul-smelling straw. With a whimper, she lowered her head and threw up weakly. Her retching ceased with a kick to her kidney from her captor. She wiped her mouth and glared angrily at him.

"What the hell do you want?" She asked and grunted quietly when he abruptly slapped her across her face. She felt her bottom lip split and one of her molars dislodge slightly from her gums. She wiped the blood with the back of her hand and fell silent.

"Watch your mouth, you bitch." The man said, giving her another kick in the kidney.

"Why am I here?" She asked, more politely than the first time around.

He handed her a knife. It was a fairly small blade and she could tell it was very sharp. She gripped the handle tightly and glared at him menacingly. He gave a loud bark. The barking grew louder and louder until the grating sound filled the room. It took her some time to realize that he was laughing. It reminded her of the growls that one fierce Doberman would make whenever she passed by its kennel as a child. It was terrifying. As she attempted to get up, the man drew a semi-automatic on her. He pointed it straight at her forehead, released the safety and popped back the hammer. The muzzle was cool against her skin and awakened her senses that were dampened by the otherwise stifling atmosphere. She tried to calm herself down and knelt again, breaking into a cold sweat. The man wouldn't kill her just yet. After all, there was a reason why she was brought to this room and handed a knife.

"You're a doctor right?"

"Yes, I am." She said, her voice trembling slightly.

"It seems we could require your assistance in a serious matter of sorts."

"What do you want me to do?"

Her question was cut off by the opening and slamming of the door. She saw one of the men bringing in another woman. No, she wasn't a woman, she was just a girl. She seemed to be barely out of her teens but it was difficult to tell, given her abused and damaged body. Her face was covered in sweat. Her blonde hair was a raggedy and oily grey- the colour of cement. Most likely, her hair was coated in soot and clay since most of her body was. It was clear that she was struggling to breathe, gasping like a fish out of water. They ignored the sounds and dropped her harshly on to the straw. She was very pregnant and clutched at her abdomen with her eyes clenched up in pain. The man waved the gun in her direction and Diana understood the message. She crawled up to the girl and willed her expression to be as calm and serene as possible.

"What's the matter sweetie?" She asked and smiled gently at the girl.

"It hurts so much!" She screamed again. "The baby won't come out!"

Diana quickly examined her body.

"Have you had any labour contractions?" She asked the girl and the girl nodded.

"But they've gone away. It just really hurts instead."

Diana turned to the men watching her from behind. They were leaning against the wall, talking to each other, nonchalant as if this was something they had grown used to seeing.

"How long has she been like this?" They stared at her, startled by her outburst.

"More than a few hours," One of the men responded. "We've seen this kind of stuff happen before. You know what to do! Just cut her up and be done with it!"

The girl paled at his words. Diana glared at the man and braced herself for the mass hysteria that the man had induced, but it didn't come. She appeared to have been temporarily stunned by the words. She stared at Diana with fright in her eyes, gripping her arms tightly.

"Alright sweetie, I've examined you and your cervix is not dilating at the expected rate." Diana blurted out.

"What?"

"You seem to be suffering from dystocia- that's also known as a prolonged and difficult labour. I think it was caused by cephalopelvic disproportion due to your narrow pelvic structure. It is nothing to be worried about, it is quite common."

It was a slight lie, but Diana knew that the girl didn't need to be frightened any more than she already was. The girl stared at her with a blank expression.

"What are you trying to say?" The girl frowned and winced in pain. "What do you have to do to get the baby out of me?"

Diana steadied herself and the girl. She had hidden the knife away from the girl's sight. She had hoped there could be another way of delivering the baby, but deep down inside, she knew the operation was inevitable. She took a deep breath and looked deep into her eyes. The fear in the girl's eyes matched her own.

"I'm going to perform a Caesarean Section in order to deliver the baby." Diana announced. "Do you know what that is?"

The girl nodded and looked away.

"Have you done one before?" She asked.

"Of course," Diana lied through her teeth. She had barely assisted in one either. She knew better than to lie another time, but she couldn't tell the girl that she hadn't performed such an operation.

"Will it hurt very much?" The girl asked. Diana could tell that she knew the answer to her own question already. After all, the answer was pretty obvious. It didn't take a rocket scientist to guess how excruciatingly painful it would be for someone to have their abdomen and uterus cut open with a pen knife in order to have a seven pound squirming mass of flesh retrieved from within them. Rather, it was one of those questions that were asked by someone in an effort to relieve their practically tangible anxiety. Diana stared at her, unable to answer. She couldn't lie again.

The girl spared Diana the worry of telling her the truth by giving a breathy chuckle. She licked her cracked and bleeding lips and looked as intently as she could at the ceiling.

"Ask a stupid question…" she mumbled miserably. "Get a stupid answer."

Diana shrugged, trying to give her a reassuring smile, but failing. Then the girl moaned again and gasped furiously for air.

"Please, you have to get her out of me." She said breathlessly.

"Her?" Diana inquired, slightly amused at the girl's confident use of the female possessive adjective.

"I know it's going to be a girl." The girl explained quietly. "Have you been with child before?"

"No, I haven't." Diana said. "I hope to have that experience… someday."

"I can feel it," The girl continued. "I can't really explain it logically. I don't assume anyone can. I just know these things. It's a mother's intuition, I suppose."

Diana took off her coat. She used the knife to cut off a small length of cloth. She folded it twice over and placed it gently into the girl's mouth.

"I'm going to try to be as quick and precise as possible. You have my word. But you have to promise me that you will try not to make any kind of movement." She told her. "I know it will be extremely difficult, but you have to try. Otherwise, it will be even more difficult for the both of us."

The girl closed her eyes tightly and nodded. The cloth was growing steadily damper by the second, absorbing her saliva.

Diana gritted her teeth.

Don't be a baby, Diana she told herself. You are going to successfully perform this C-Section and help this woman birth her baby if it is the last thing you ever do.

It might just be the last thing you ever do…Another voice in her head told her pessimistically. Brushing away the latter thought, she placed the blade against the girl's pelvic cavity. The girl shuddered at the coolness of the blade. Diana stroked her arm comfortingly.

"Remember what I said, you need to work with me."

Diana remembered she had read something about Caesarian Sections when she was an intern. She stilled her hand and applied pressure, making a small transverse cut just below her hip into her lower uterine area. A thicker and yellow layer of tissue greeted her. Ignoring the muffled screams coming from the girl, she peeled back the upper layer of skin and sliced through the subcutaneous tissue and into the uterus. The girl whimpered with every cut, but she did not flail as she did before. Diana reached into her uterus and as gently as she could, pulled out the baby. The girl let out a scream so loud that it rendered the placement of the cloth useless. Diana's hands and arms were drenched in blood and other bodily matter as she struggled to hold the baby. The small creature was howling and writhing and had the appearance of a bloodied and enlarged raisin. She was correct. The baby was a girl and a large one at that.

The mother had become delirious with pain and exhaustion. As a result, she settled into an unsteady unconsciousness when Diana clipped off the umbilical cord. She wrapped the baby in the remnants of her coat and placed her gently on the floor, covered in straw. She reached inside of the girl again and pulled out the squishy and slippery placenta, which quivered slightly like a circular mass of chocolate pudding when it was placed on the ground.

With the needle and thread she was handed earlier by the men, she meticulously moved the needle back and forth, back and forth, until the flaps of her skin were sewn back together again. Diana used the straw to rub the blood off her hands. The blood on her upper arms had encrusted itself on her skin, making it difficult to clean without water.

"I can't believe I just did that," She whispered to the unconscious girl, feeling the adrenaline coursing through her veins. "It went well. I think you're going to be okay. You're a mother now."

As she said those words, the baby began mewling. It wasn't exactly a cry, but more of a combination of a whimper and a gasp. Diana picked her up and cradled the child, lulling it into a restless sleep. The girl had stirred at the sound of her baby's cries. Her eyes opened slowly and she gave a small smile.

"You have a daughter." Diana spoke softly, placing the baby in her mother's arms. The baby began to cry again, still traumatized by the painful expulsion from her mother's womb. Noticing how weak the girl was, Diana helped her to unbutton her shirt and the baby began sucking hungrily almost immediately.

As the girl was nursing her child, Diana realized that she was, in fact, very tired. She just wanted to curl up on the ground, sleep, and wake up to find her current situation to be a nightmare she had in the warm comfort of her own bed. But she knew she had to look lively. She needed to find a way to escape and reunite with Martin and Lewis. Without thinking, she pocketed the small blade, as well as the needle and remaining thread. She hadn't planned a getaway, but she understood that there was a great chance those items would come in handy.

"Thank you," The girl croaked-her voice very hoarse. With Diana's help, she propped herself against the wall so that she was in a sitting position. She leaned forward and kissed Diana on the forehead. Diana smiled at the girl.

"You're very brave." She said. "You're the bravest person I know."

The girl smiled, her blue eyes sparkling for once. She caressed her child lovingly, her expression was dreamingly blissful. She laughed when the baby's hand grabbed her finger, latching on tightly and refusing to let go. She crooned when the baby's large and grey eyes met her own, establishing the mother-child bond almost instantly. Her laughter sounded like the peal of wind chimes, blown together softly by a spring breeze. The last traces of her innocence left with the twinkling sound of laughter.

The girl touched her baby's hair. It was both fine and fair, reminding her of the fresh corn silk her mother had used to brew a special kind of tea when she was a child herself.

"She's so beautiful, so lovely. I'll dress her in the prettiest of satin gowns and tie her hair in colourful ribbons. She'll have little leather shoes for her little feet. How tiny her feet are- smaller than the palm of my hand! And so are her hands! Her fingernails are the size of rice grains! Look how little she is! I don't think I've ever seen anyone as small as she is."

The girl sighed, a tear escaping her eye and slowly trickling down the side of her face until it dripped and merged into the concrete floor. Her baby had fallen asleep again.

"But she'll grow up." She concluded, contently. "And when she does, my daughter will be the most beautiful woman in the whole world."

All of a sudden, Diana had the urge to break down and weep for the girl and the sorrowful course of events she had been unfairly handed. Somehow, it was at that moment she realized the girl was going to die that day. It did not matter how well she performed the surgery. She was going to die. She was destined to die at their hands and there was nothing that Diana could do about it. Try as she might, she could not stop fate from running its course. The girl turned to her, as if sensing her discouraging thoughts. She touched Diana's hand consolingly while bringing her child closer to her chest.

"It's not your fault, so don't grieve anymore." She said to Diana and perhaps to herself as well. "I don't want my daughter living here in the same way I lived here, being forced into the same situations as I was forced into. I don't want her to have to suffer in the same way I did. I wouldn't be able to bear it if I had to watch her become like me. No, that can't happen. I don't want to live like this anymore."

The girl's eyes widened when she heard footsteps echoing down the corridor. They were quick-paced and daunting. Nonetheless, she handed the baby to Diana and continued her speech.

"Please… get my daughter out of here. Make sure she never hears about me, make sure she forgets all about this life, no matter what happens."

Diana nodded. The baby began whimpering again, sensing that she was separated from her mother. The girl shushed it tenderly, stroking her cheek soothingly until she fell asleep.

The door slammed open and men stormed into the room. One of them wrenched the baby from Diana and marched away immediately, ignoring the girl's pleas and the baby's loud cries. The rest of the men carried the girl away. She was struggling against them, her wound reopening with her strenuous resistance. Diana looked away as she was removed from the room. The crying and screaming of both mother and child echoed loudly throughout the space, the volume refusing to diminish. She closed her eyes and refused to open them until the screams had stopped.

And all of a sudden, they did.

Diana stared at the ground, and tried to ignore the disfigured placenta that was smeared all over the stony ground. One of the men had stepped on it in the struggle, breaking it apart and dirtying the grounds with the last reminder of childbirth. The umbilical cord was kicked into one of the corners of the room, torn apart by boots that refused to cease their abuse. It was in the corner closest to the door. The door… that remained open with all the excitement.

Diana gnashed her teeth together. She had a promise to keep. With her knife in hand, she snuck out of the room. Thankfully, there was no one in sight. She crept down the hallway, turned a corner and found a staircase leading up to the outside world. She could see the night sky alit with starlight. There were no electrical sources of light distracting the eye from the natural beauty. She deduced that she was being kept in the cellar that was behind the large barn and knew there would be people on patrol. Hence, ultimate stealth was mandatory. She looked around and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw no moving shadows or figures in the dark. She heard no footsteps either. She would return for the baby. She had to…for the girl. But her top priority was to find her partners. She needed to know if they were alright. She didn't know what she would do if Martin…

She hastily ran up the stairs, trying to make her footsteps as light as possible. She was on the second last stair when suddenly she felt a hand grabbing her by the ankle, and dragging her down into the cellar again. Caught off guard, she went tumbling down the staircase and rolled stiffly onto the floor. She suppressed a scream as she felt hands at her throat.

"Trying to escape eh?" A deep voice said, his hands blocking her airway. She grabbed at his arms, fighting like a wild animal trapped by its predator. It was terribly painful and black spots were starting to float around her vision, staining her sight. "I wouldn't try it, you fucking bitch."

She realized it was the same man who was singing British rock music as he had torn out strands of her hair when she was trapped in the cage. The one who held her at gunpoint- the same one who snatched the baby from her arms… and now he was on her trying to smother her.

"You are all the same… ever so riley," The man grinned, his spit dribbling down his chin and landed on her face. His eyes dilated and he gave a bark of laughter. She froze in fear when one of his hands darted up her shirt and under her bra. Then the hand move slowly downwards. "Well, we'll have to do something about that, now won't we?"

Unbeknownst to her attacker, Diana quickly slid the knife out from her sleeve and flipped the blade. With all of her remaining strength, she stuck the point of the blade up between the man's legs and straight into one of his testicles, twisting it as hard as she could. The man let out a blood-curdling scream and broke his hold at her neck. Diana angrily twisted the blade out and swept it across, cleanly severing the man's reproductive organs. The man dropped to the ground, clutching himself and writhing in agony. She got up and searched the man, stopping when she found the firearm that Lewis had lent her. She wanted nothing more than to pop a few slugs into his skull, but she was aware at the attention the noise would attract. So she bent down and held the blade up to the man's neck, nicking it slightly with the point that had proven its sharpness on many accounts that evening.

"Look at me, you fucking son of a bitch. I'm a doctor, remember?" She whispered harshly at the man, looking straight into his eyes. "I know of all the nerves and pain receptors in your body. It was some of the only stuff I studied in school for ten fucking years, so I consider myself to be quite the professional. I know of techniques and areas in your measly little body where I need only apply the faintest pressure with my bare hands for you to be in an unbelievable amount of utter pain. Best of all, I know some great ways to revive you so that you can experience that hurt all over again like fucking Prometheus."

The man continued moaning so Diana continued talking.

"You'd be surprised at the amount of organs that can be taken out of you that can still keep your heart pumping. Well at least enough to keep you alive. It doesn't just stop at kidneys and you'd better believe it. Try to touch me again- try to touch any woman again and I will personally bring that pain onto you. Comprenez-vous?"

She finished by furiously impaling the man's feet with her knife, ignoring his cries of anguish. Surprised at what she had done, she hurriedly rushed up the stairs in search of her brother and her fellow agent before her adrenaline rush faded. Before she did any searching however, she checked the magazine of her gun and locked the cellar door. After that, she found a large stick and stuck it between the handles of the door. She quietly slipped into the barn. She had never used a gun before but she knew it would be a great time to learn.

It was pitch black when Martin regained consciousness. Although he was terribly groggy at first, he felt his heart begin to race-getting gradually faster and faster when he realized he couldn't see anything. The back of his head, just above the nape of neck, throbbed wildly. In the stillness of his surroundings, he could feel his nerves sending quick fire impulses to his brain, producing cataclysmic waves of pain with every jolt. He figured with the headache and growing nausea, he was suffering the aftereffects of a concussion.

It's probably due to that big-ass baseball bat the guy slammed you in the cranium with. He bemusedly told himself.

He tried wiggling, but his limbs would not budge from their current position. Each arm was wrenched behind his back and tightly bound to the other while his feet were flat on the ground, tied to the legs of the chair. It was a strong hemp rope, whose scratchy fibres chafed his skin and cut off his circulation. The rope was also secured around his torso, trapping him in the chair.

He heard a quiet moaning from behind. It was Lewis's voice. It seemed that he had just woken up as well. Then, Martin felt something bump into the back of his head. He hissed at the sudden burst of pain that coursed through his whole body. Who was it? Could it be Lewis? He heard the moan again. It was louder this time and the voice was recognizable. It was indeed Lewis.

Martin had been on enough cases and had seen enough action movies to know that they had been tied back to back, bounded by the same rope.

"Lewis, is that you?" He whispered, "Can you hear me?"

"Is that you Martin?" The hushed voice asked slowly. The voice had intonated the words in a strange fashion, resembling a somewhat drunken stupor. Martin reflexively nodded, forgetting it was dark and that they were facing opposite directions.

"Are you okay?" He asked. "How's your head?"

"It hurts like a bitch, but I think I'll live." Lewis said. "Do you know where Diana is?"

"No, I don't think she's in the same room as us." Martin said. "I think they took her elsewhere. If she were here, I'd usually hear her complaining by now."

"We need to get out of here and find her."

Martin agreed wholeheartedly. His sister had disappeared. Or rather, she had been kidnapped by those scumbags. His thoughts began verging on paranoia. He thought about all the situations she could have been in, all the things they could be doing to her. He was more than positive that his sister was a strong woman who could defend herself against attackers. He did not doubt her ability to effectively fight back. That being said, she would be facing five or six abnormally burly farmers. He knew that if she was in the same state as he was in, she wouldn't be able to stand a chance against them.

He banished these thoughts immediately. There was no point in conjuring up 'what-if' circumstances if he was still tied up. He prodded Lewis in the back with his shoulder.

"You don't have your gun on you, do you?"

"I don't think so." Lewis said. "I think they would be smart enough to frisk us first before tying us up."

"Do you still have your U-Watch then?" He asked. He felt Lewis shrug.

"Perhaps- I can't feel it though." He said. "Then again, with all this rope fastened around my wrists, I can't really feel anything in the first place."

Martin fumbled wildly with his fingertips, stretching as far as the ropes would let him until he felt the smooth and soft texture of skin. He trailed his fingers around what he believed were his wrists. He strained for a moment and then he felt the texture change into a leathery consistency. He couldn't suppress the grin when his fingers grazed over the coolness of metal.

"Those bastards didn't confiscate your U-Watch. We've got our way out." He announced excitingly. "Move your hands closer to mine and I'll select the I-Cutter."

"You know, in any other situation, all this rope and chair business and finger groping would be really kinky." Lewis murmured. "This could be some hardcore bondage if I do say so myself."

Martin rolled his eyes and huffed loudly. Lewis chose to ignore the blatant expulsion of air.

"If you're into that kind of stuff, I know a guy who can set up some great-"

"I'm going to stop you there."

"I could make it work…"

"I am going to pretend this conversation never happened."

"Fine by me," Lewis said nonchalantly.

Martin turned down the volume of the U-Watch before attempting to select any equipment from it. He didn't want to attract any unnecessary attention from their captors whenever he made an error.

"U-Watch activated. Legendex selected." The pre-recorded feminine voice proclaimed. Although, he had tried to set it to the lowest volume, it was still obnoxiously noticeable in the otherwise silent room. Martin quickly cancelled the selection and tried again.

"U-Watch activated. Alpha Goggles selected." The overly-cheerful voice said. Martin swore under his breath and cancelled the selection. Suddenly, he stopped and tilted his head to the right where he could hear the faint din of laughter and exchanging of words. He felt his stomach churn with uneasiness.

"Not to rush you there, Jason Bourne, but you might want to hurry up." Lewis said. "My psychopathic cannibal detectors are tingling again. They'll be here any minute."

"U-Watch activated, I-Cutter selected."

Martin gave a sigh of relief. He adjusted the blade and cut through the rope that bound his hands and feet. He sliced off the remaining rope. Free at last, he repeated the procedure for Lewis, who leapt out of his chair the moment he could move his limbs.

"Third time's the charm." Lewis muttered to himself, massaging his smarting arms. "Who doesn't love the sting of rope burn in the morning?"

Ignoring the comment, Martin slipped on a pair of Alpha Goggles and began exploring the shadowy containment room. Anyone who hadn't done some previous snooping would have reasoned that it was a warehouse. However, he knew that it was the barn on the south side of the town. It was larger than he thought it would be. It was relatively empty as well. Apart from the two wooden chairs in the middle of the room that had held them captive until just recently, there was a large crate pushed up against the wall to his left and a curtain in the opposite corner.

He went up to the crate and opened it. It was actually an icebox containing various pieces of raw flesh. Most of the masses of flesh were organs. Martin could identify a liver, a few kidneys, and to his horror, a heart. As far as he could discern, they once belonged to a human. Feeling queasy, he adjusted the cover of the container so that it was safely sealed. He was considerate in placing it in the exact same fashion that he had found it in. He knew that none would be the wiser.

"Martin?" Lewis whispered. "You might want to check this out."

His voice came from the other side of the room, behind the curtained area that he had found. Martin figured that Lewis decided to do some exploring of his own. He darted over to the drapery and peered behind it. He felt his eyes widen and jaw drop at the sight before him.

Behind the curtain, there was a rack suspended between the walls. Hanging from the bracket were several meat hooks. Hanging from those meat hooks were bodies. The three of them were dangling from the hooks by their mouth and cheeks much like a fish caught fresh out of the water. Except that these bodies were anything but fresh. With a strange mold like substance emerging from sores and open wounds, they were the main attraction for blowflies and maggots.

Their backs were to the agents and when Martin turned one around, he discovered that their upper bodies had been hacked open and their organs missing. The markings on the bodies including the strange tattoo matched the ones on the body of Cassidy Richards and the other identified victims. Martin had a sick feeling that the missing persons had finally been discovered. Unfortunately, it was not in the manner he had hoped for. One was a woman and the other two were men. All of them had horrified expressions on their faces, their eyes forever agape in terror and their mouths forced open by the merciless meat hooks.

The agents stepped back to evaluate the somber situation. Martin closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. He willed his emotions away into the hidden crevices of his mind. Once expelling the pain and gloomy thoughts, he concentrated on creating a solution for the mission.

"C'mon, let's go." Lewis said. Martin nodded, giving a quick nod to the bodies in respect.

But as they turned to leave, they heard a clicking sound. It was subtle noise but very intimidating all the same. Martin looked up to find himself face to face with the muzzle of a rifle.

His eyes traced over the snout and then he extended his vision to the butt of the gun where it was held by grubby, paw-like hands. A pair of beady eyes met his own, sparkling coldly with an unrecognizable level of indifference. These eyes were not the eyes of just any killer. Martin was sure that most killers would have displayed the slight amount of emotion, whether that be terror or anger, when committing the heinous deed. These eyes belonged to a skilled and ruthless hunter. Much like the owner of a slaughterhouse, the individual handling the gun did not show any emotion to his victims because it was all business for him. Martin finally understood that the townspeople believed that they did not simply slaughter for enjoyment, but also as a necessity for survival. It was part of their culture. Moreover, it was traditional and in their eyes, nothing could alter tradition.

"Thinking of leaving eh?" The man snarled at them, lowering the gun to meet with Martin's chest. "You think that you could get away that easily?"

"Sir, we are both highly trained in physical combat. Drop your rifle right now. We don't want any trouble." Martin said, pointing the I- Cutter at him.

The man laughed loudly.

"You're a big boy aren't you?" He taunted. "You've got all your fancy gadgets and karate chops."

"Sir, drop the weapon right now!"

"We'll see how powerful you are with your head blown to bits."

Before Martin had a chance to react, the man pulled the trigger. Martin involuntarily flinched and closed his eyes. Luckily, Lewis had been ready for some time. Lunging himself forward, he tackled the man with full-force at the moment he positioned himself to shoot.

As they fell to the ground, they heard the ear-splitting crack of the firearm going off. Martin gasped loudly, his hand moving to grip his torso. Time seemed to stop, accelerating to speeds unknown, then losing control and spinning wildly until it came to a screeching halt. Lewis watched in absolute horror as Martin fell to the ground, clutching his side with a look of hurt on his face. His eyes remained shut. His lips were tightly clamped together to prevent groans from escaping his mouth. Then he stopped moving altogether.

Time seemed to restart itself as Lewis felt a hot bubbling pit of anger rising to the surface. Pinning the man down with his legs, Lewis grabbed the rifle out of his hands and slammed the blunt end of the gun straight into the side of the man's head, knocking him out cold. He got up and rushed over to Martin.

"Are you alright?" Lewis asked, slapping Martin a couple of times in the face to get his attention. "Can you hear me? Wake up!"

Martin opened his eyes and blinked a few times. The pain from the gunshot wound in his side was easily being overshadowed by the pain caused by the tremendously powerful slaps his cheeks were enduring.

"Ow! Stop hitting me!" Martin growled, knocking his hand away. "I'm fine."

"You're ALIVE!" Lewis shouted, the slaps finally ceasing as he raised his arms in exaltation.

"It barely grazed me. That's all." He said. "It's just a superficial wound. I'll be okay."

"Gee, I thought for a moment that he killed you." Lewis said softly, his voice trembling. "I wouldn't have liked that."

"That makes the two of us." Martin admitted with a smirk. "Now, help me up. Let's leave before more of them come."

Once Martin had steadied himself, Lewis grabbed the rifle and the two agents snuck out of the barn and into the outdoors. It was the evening time when they managed to escape. The sun was setting, the rolling hills and shadowy woods swallowing all rays of light, erasing the familiar reds and oranges they had enjoyed in the morning.

Armed with an I-Cutter and a century-old Brown Bess, they tip-toed as quickly as they could, down the side of the open road, camouflaging themselves in the darkness. Most of the houses were completely dark as well as the convenience store in the heart of the town. Martin noticed one house in the far distance with the lights on. Martin adjusted the display on the Goggles, zooming in to get a better look. The lights were ominously dim, appearing to be produced by a kerosene lamp or an old-fashioned lantern as opposed to an electrical source. However, the lamp must have been brought close to the curtains because the illumination was strong enough to cast shadows of objects that stood in front of it onto the cloth-including the silhouettes of two identical person-like figures. The figures stood side by side, motionless and pressed themselves against the window. Martin felt a line of cool sweat trickle down his neck when the shadows shifted their places as if to watch them as they moved farther and farther away. Martin also recognized the figures.

"Lewis, the Shining girls have spotted us." He whispered to his partner, nudging to the house. Lewis nonchalantly looked over for a brief moment before turning his attention elsewhere.

"I think I just lost all my paternal instincts." Lewis murmured. "As well as the ability to ever sit through the Omen without shitting my pants…"

"Where could Diana possibly be?" Martin asked. "Where could they have taken her?"

"Remember that boarded-up cellar behind the barn?" Lewis explained. "They have probably kept her underground with all the other living victims. We need to call for back-up now. The guy has most likely woken up by now and contacted his buddies. I don't think we can take on a group of fifty with a gun and a knife alone. We need other agents to come."

Martin nodded as they approached the Center SUV parked near the town entrance. Much to their dismay, all four wheels had been punctured and all the air let out of them. They weren't going anywhere.

"Let's go inside anyway," Lewis said. "These things can deflect missiles and are coated with countless layers of fire retardant paint. I'm sure they're definitely pitchfork proof as well. Then, we'll call the Center and have it send some agents over."

Martin shook his head.

"That's a one man job," He told Lewis. "You do that, and also get some equipment from the back seats. I need to find Diana. We can't do anything until I know she's safe."

"Martin, we don't need you endangering your life as well." Lewis sighed. "I know you care very much for your sister, but you would be risking your own life as well as hers."

"I have to take that risk." Martin said seriously. "I was the one who offered this case and practically begged her to come on this mission with me. She would be in the hospital working late hours with old ladies complaining of back pain if it weren't for me. It'll be my fault if she gets hurt. It'll be my fault if she d-"

"Diana is strong." Lewis cut him off, unable to let him finish the sentence. "She knows the car is here waiting for her. She will come. You're being an idiot if you decide to leave."

But Martin had already begun turning around to walk in the same direction from whence they came.

"Knowing she's out there with dozens of crazy people-eaters is driving me crazy. I have to find her." He said. "Call the Center immediately. Tell them it's a Code Red and to get their butts over here as soon as possible."

"Be safe." Lewis said, throwing the rifle at him which Martin expertly caught. "Don't be afraid to use this if you need to. Watch the recoil on it as well. Old guns can be pretty dangerous if you're not used to them."

Martin started down the road after Lewis safety entered the car. He made his way back to the barn, noticing that all lights were turned off, including the lamps belonging to the devil twins. Without any lampposts, it was horribly black. He couldn't see anything, even with his Alpha Goggles set to the highest display and lighting. It was also completely silent. The only sounds he could hear were the soft pats his feet made when they treaded on the hard dirt road. That sound…and the thud of a rock skidding across the grass.

Then he stopped walking. Someone else was there. Then he felt an eerie gust of wind on the back of his neck. He continued walking until he felt it again. It was warmer and fainter this time. He stopped again; his eyes enlarged, double their usual size when he realized it was not the wind, but the breath of another human being. Someone was behind him, following him with the stealth of a ghost.

He slowly turned around and came face to face with a disfigured being. Its face was scarred with little knots in its cheeks and forehead and its hair wildly strewn to the sides of his head. Its arms were covered in scratch marks, deep set lesions in the skin that were heavily infected. It wore a horrific, maledicted grin, its teeth missing or rotten. It leapt at him like a savage animal and grabbed him by the head, dragging him down.

To his surprise, Martin did not scream or flinch, but he reacted like an animal as well, attacking it head-on. From what Martin could tell, this beast did not possess any weapons. It was also very scrawny and undisciplined, attacking randomly, so he quickly managed to fight back and win. But he couldn't bear to shoot such a miserable creature. Even when it was pinned down, it licked its lips, saliva dripping down its chin, attempting to bite at his hands. Similar to what Lewis had done before, he lifted it up and knocked it unconscious with the butt of the rifle. The little beast sank to its knees and collapsed with a whimper onto the ground.

"Oh god," Martin whispered to himself, beginning to feel scared.

"Do you see what happens when we don't get our feed?" A voice came from behind him. Martin spun around to see a group of heavily built townspeople approach him, their eyes shining with hunger. He got himself up and pointed the rifle at them. Their leader, the fat man whom they had helped earlier in the day spoke slowly and clearly. "We tried to be good. We tried to stop feasting on our own kind. But then this happened. We couldn't hurt our people. We can't stop. You can't stop us."

"Stop right there." He commanded but they did not obey him. He stepped back, his eyes never leaving the pack of killers.

"Do you know who that was?" The fat man asked him calmly, his pace quickening. "Do you know who that sickly creature was?"

The question confused him at first, but then it dawned on him. Martin couldn't help but display a look of pity for the unconscious little mongrel lying on the road.

"That's your mother." He said, continuing backwards. "That's the woman who had the heart failure. That's the woman we tried to help."

"Ten points for Gryffindor." The man said sarcastically.

"I thought an ambulance had picked her up and taken her to the hospital?"

"She must have broken out of the car," The man shrugged with an apathetic look on his face. "After feeding on the ambulance crew I'm sure. Then she came back. The poor woman went insane by the end, claiming what we do isn't good and all. She tried to stop our ways, but you just can't. You can't leave this town. Once you've started our ways, there's no going back."

He walked away from the crowd, up to his immobile mother, and fiercely crushed her skull with the heel of his boot. Her skull smashed easily, and her brains leaked out onto the road. Her eyeballs turned to mush on the concrete. A couple of people ran up to lick up the insides of the lady, including the mother with the pram and the fat man's wife. Martin shivered and fought back the urge to vomit.

"Don't give me that look- she was as bad as we are. Don't show us your pity. After all, I'm sure you agree that she deserved to die." He said with a cackle. "As do all of you on this farm."

"I'm sure you can understand," The man said as they advanced forward again. Martin stepped back at a faster pace. As he was unable to take his eyes off the murderous group, he did not notice the stone behind him and painfully tripped over it. He fell back, landing on his back with a heavy thud. Ignoring his throbbing wound, he scrambled back on his feet, fixing the goggles upon his face. The rifle tumbled out of his hands and he struggled to pick it up. But he was not quick enough, for the man easily disarmed him by kicking the rifle far out of his immediate reach.

"Back away," Martin barked, having a difficult time controlling the pain in his side that had returned with a vengeance. The pain and the rising panic he felt did nothing to help him defend himself. "Get away from me!"

"After all," The man finished with a cruel smile. "Who doesn't love a good pot roast?"

Suddenly he threw himself at Martin with a growl. The others followed suit, violently grabbing at his shirt and his hair, trying to claw at his eyes to blind him. A couple were biting at his ankles like mad dogs and even growling a few times for emphasis.

Martin tried as hard as he could to fend them off, kicking and punching his way through the pack, trying to find the gun. But it was difficult with his injury and the townsfolk had lost all control and reason.

Then, a hand shot out from the crowd, socking him in the solar plexus and then directly at his gunshot wound. Martin recognized the man. He was the one who caught them trying to escape the barn, the one Lewis forcefully knocked senseless. He had a large gash on the side of his head and murder in his eyes. Martin felt his breathe escape his system as he collapsed involuntarily with a gasp.

The same man began choking him, his fingers digging deep into his skin, nearly crushing his windpipe. He sealed off all pathways for air to enter his lungs. As tears of pain rolled down his cheeks, he felt his vision grow dim and his strength leaving his body.

"I will personally skewer your body like a shish kebab and roast you on a spit until you're golden brown and dripping with your own fat." The man whispered into his ear, his hands somehow further tightening around his neck. Martin couldn't even scream. All he could do was stare at the man, feeling as if his eyeballs would pop out of their sockets at any moment. "Then, I'm going to carve you like a Christmas turkey and I will enjoy every, single moment of it."

I'm going to die, Martin thought darkly as he waited to die. I'm actually going to get strangled and then eaten by a bunch of cannibalistic fruit loops. That is one fucked up way to go…

All of a sudden, he heard a gunshot. The smile on the man's face vanished and was replaced by a look of astonishment. His grip lessened and he dropped like a sack of flour on top of Martin, practically crushing him. Martin knew at once that the man was dead.

Gasping for air and coughing like a madman, Martin pushed the body off of him. His neck and lungs were on fire, spreading the pain throughout his whole body. He got up, ready to defend himself from his attackers when he realized that they weren't paying attention to him anymore, but at something else. Or someone else. Someone with a gun raised high up in the air. Martin stopped short when he saw who it was.

Wielding a gun in each hand and shooting at his attackers was his sister! With her hair mussed and sticking out in every direction, and her clothes torn and dirty, she looked worn out and heavily maltreated. She had a black eye and a swollen bottom lip, as well as multiple cuts on her neck and arms. However, her eyes shone brightly with a rage he had never seen before and her mouth curled up in a fierce snarl.

"Everyone, will you please lock your fingers, put your hands behind your heads and slowly get on your knees." She yelled at them. "I've got more than enough bullets for all of you and let me tell you, I've had some great experience with these bad boys-" She gave a quick wave with the guns. "I assure you that I will not miss. I'm also getting really peeved with this eating-people bullshit. So much as move a finger and heaven help me, I will pop a shell into your head."

The group stared at her, their mouths agape.

"Do it!" She said, pointing the gun at the fat man, her finger resting on the trigger.

The fat man, who was practically unarmed, did as he was told. The others listened to her as well.

Martin moved to stand beside his sister.

"Are you alright?" He asked-his voice full of concern. Then he added quietly, "Did they harm you in any serious way?"

Diana shook her head, knowing what he had meant by that.

"I'm fine, Martin." She said gently, her expression softening slightly but never taking her eyes off the group. "Where's Lewis?"

"Calling for back up," He whispered. "They should be arriving at any moment."

Diana nodded. They stood there for a few more minutes. While Diana kept guard of the group, Martin found the rifle the man had knocked out of his hands. He held it carefully against his chest.

They noticed headlights in the distance. It was an old pickup truck they did not recognize, but as it drew nearer they realized that the driver was Lewis.

"Diana!" Lewis said, rolling down the window. "You're okay!"

He noticed her shabby appearance, the guns in her hands, and the people kneeling before her.

"What the hell happened to you?" He asked. Diana smiled sheepishly.

"I got captured, thrown in the cellar, had part of my hair torn from my scalp, and listened to British rock. I was forced by gun-wielding men to perform an emergency Caesarean Section on a teenage girl with a pen knife and no anesthesia. Then I escaped by castrating a dude." She explained, ignoring Martin's expression of disbelief.

"And apparently you're also Rambo," he quipped.

Diana rolled her eyes.

"Ha! Very funny." She muttered.

"Where did you get that car?" Martin asked, frowning at the dilapidated machine. "What happened to the SUV?"

"You know how the wheels had the air let out of them," Lewis explained. "Well, I figured that after the back up arrived; we might need a mode of transportation. So, after I called the Center for extra help and grabbed some more equipment from the trunk of the SUV, I hotwired this truck and drove over to find you guys."

Martin nodded slowly, giving him an odd lock.

"That couldn't possibly be illegal…" Diana said sarcastically.

"People in glass houses, Diana," Lewis shot back and Diana conceded with a shrug.

Then they were surrounded by people in white. They came out of blue portals and were armed with hand lasers and other advanced pieces of technology. The townsfolk attempted to run, but the agents scurried around them with high-tech handcuffs, taking away all the town members in large pod-like paddy wagons.

At last the mission was over. They had completed the case and stopped the bad guys. They just weren't the kind they were used to. It was sad in that sense that for once the Center had to arrest creatures of the species that most of them were- human. Then again, the agents weren't sure if they really were the same species. They surely possessed the same biological and chemical makeup as Homo sapiens, but there was something that couldn't be looked over and Diana couldn't put her finger on it. She wanted to say it was their mental state, but it wasn't. At least, not completely. These people displayed the qualities of creatures she had never seen in any terrestrial or extraterrestrial species. Diana decided she would never understand, not matter how long she thought about it and that she didn't really want to try.

The final person they collected was the fat man. Lewis edgily approached him. He easily dodged a glop of spit that the man had sent in his direction.

"Look at me," Lewis said, physically budging the man's face with his hand so that their eyes met. "I want to know why you would continue doing this-eating people. I need to know why. You have to tell me."

The man gave a loud laugh, his eyes full of amusement. Leaning closer to Lewis, he spoke softly into his ear so that only he could hear what the man was saying.

"Wasn't that sandwich the best thing you've ever eaten?" The man murmured with a look of ecstasy. "That rich taste, those meaty, salty juices, it's something you just can't quit… If you hadn't found out that it was from a species closer to home, you would have asked for another sandwich. Then you would have had another one, and then another one, and then another one. Then, you would have stayed here with us. You would have joined us. I'm sure of it."

When Lewis did not respond, the man continued his explanation.

"You only hate us because you think we're committing some ethical crime. But what are ethics? I think that anyone could live our kind of lifestyle with just one taste of the stuff, you'll see. In fact, I'm willing to bet that every person in this world is like us already. It awakes the primal instincts in us that have been buried away so long ago by this new world of ours, Like undiscovered fossils, it hides in the shadows, waiting to be found and it gives us euphoria like you've never experienced. Forget a high, forget an orgasm, this is the real deal. Hot-blooded young men, sniffing out the good stuff, when in actuality, it has been right in front of their very noses. It always has been. It's been teaching them math and washing their cars. All they have to do is open their eyes. Open their minds and we could have a lot of fun. Then we wouldn't be the outcasts. We'd be the normal ones. And you would enjoy it every bit as much as we do…"

Lewis said nothing. He turned around sharply and walked away, leaving the other agents wondering what the man had said to him.

Martin, Lewis and Diana, as well as the other agents went back to the barn, where they freed the victims. It was both a heartbreaking and a heartwarming sight to see the young men and women finally released from their bonds. Many had to be led away into another car, where psychologists and other specialists were waiting for them. Most of the victims had trouble talking and tried to escape the counseling out of the sheer terror with all the people. The pregnant women were rushed to obstetricians and gynecologists to receive examinations and treatment. In yet another hidden room in the cellar, they found a bed crowded with newborn infants. The infants were quickly inspected, and it pained the agents to discover that most of them were dead.

Diana was especially traumatized when she saw the corpse of the girl whom she operated on. The girl's eyes were open and she lay sprawled on the floor of the room, marinating in her own blood and intestines. Her abdomen appeared to have been brutally sliced open, but she had managed to crawl close enough to the bed to see her baby for the last time. Her mouth was curled into a satisfied smile.

"I'm sorry I was late." She whispered to the girl, closing her eyes gently.

The baby was on the bed. Her eyes were closed and she did not move. Diana picked her up, embracing her in her arms. Martin and Lewis looked at each other and then they left the room to give her some privacy.

The baby was so small. Her lips were puckered up as if she had swallowed a sour candy. Yet, she did not move. She lay still in Diana's arms, cold. Diana felt excitement and anger drain out of her as fatigue and sorrow filled their places. She was too tired and emotionally exhausted to cry, so she sat on the stiff mattress and cradled the little girl, making sure to support her head and back. Finally, she let out a sigh and placed her gently on the mattress. She would call a couple of agents to arrange a body bag and take her away as she could not bear to do it herself. She got up and turned to walk away.

To her surprise, the baby began quietly crying. The cries were weak but they were cries all the same. She was malnourished but alive! Diana gave a squeal of happiness as she held the baby closer to her. Martin and Lewis entered the room again, confused by the sudden change of tone. Diana, still holding the baby, left the house and entered the pick-up truck with a huff. Martin and Lewis followed quickly behind. Starting the engine, they drove away, never looking back at the small town again.

"Let's go home, guys." She murmured to her partners and they nodded, agreeing entirely. "I think that's enough for one day."

Words: 10,300+

AN: Holy snickerdoodle. There you have it folks, the penultimate chapter to this story. This took me a while to write and I hope you enjoy it! I'll be posting up the epilogue next week since I have exams. By the way, the first song in the story is "Who wants to live forever?" by Queen. The second song is "Changes" by David Bowie and one of the lines said in the earlier parts is from the song "Yer Blues" by the Beatles. I highly recommend listening to these songs… Also I am thinking of watching Highlander, so if anyone has seen the movie/TV series, please feel free to provide your feelings about it.

Other than that my internet buddies, feel free to favourite, follow, review or whatever. Any questions can go straight to my PM box and I will make sure to answer them as quickly as possible.

Cheers,

BOZ1310- July 26th, 2013