Hey guys, I have finally gotten another chapter out! I am sick today so I used this time to write. Sorry, for the long wait between updates, but hopefully as the year goes on I will write more. Anyway here it is...

"He explained to me with great insistence that every question possessed a power that did not lie in the answer."

― Elie Wiesel, Night

Then, before I even realized what was happening, she moved her hand to my leg. And stabbed me until the knife reached my bone. And, for the second time that day, I passed out from the burning pain.

Once I woke up, I saw that I was still on the metal table, the knife protruding from my leg. My whole body ached, and the sharp pain in my leg was a cruel reminder of what Maddie had done. The bright light that had been above me was turned off, no longer needed since Maddie was gone from the lab. All I wanted to do was fall asleep, to rest my aching muscles and to forget about the pain of the knife, but no matter how hard a tried, I couldn't sleep. With my arms and legs spread out by the chains holding me down, I couldn't get comfortable. So I lay there, trying not to think about how the chains dug into my wrists and ankles, and I failed miserably.

After what seemed like hours, I could hear footsteps coming down the stairs, and Maddie appeared with a water bottle in her hand. Remembering how thirsty I was, I looked longingly at the water bottle. I had almost forgotten she had to keep me alive. She walked over and set the water on the table, in sight, but I couldn't reach out to pick it up.

"Ready to talk yet Phantom," she asked. "Don't want to be left here in the dark again," she chuckled.

Fear was rising fast in my mind, but I knew I couldn't tell her how I died. Maybe I would just have to tell her something else.

"Phantom, I'm waiting," she continued impatiently.

What to tell her, what should I tell her I thought desperately. I tried to think fast, but my panic was making it hard. She reached for the button. "Wait, um… I died of…," I cut off, my mind warring with itself. Was I really afraid of electrocution more than of my mom finding out? Well what did I have to lose anymore? How long could I stand this torture? My body was weak from starvation and dehydration. I had been electrocuted numerous times. I was left alone to die. I knew the answer. "I died of electrocution," I whispered," But why is that so important to you?" It was silent for a minute while she thought.

"So I could see why you were turned into a ghost. It could give me a vital clue to why you are so different from other ghosts," she said, more to herself than to me.

"Now answer one more question before you get the water," she commanded," Where do you disappear to when you aren't fighting other ghosts?"

Crap, what was I going to do now, she has her lie detector. Well I guess I will give her half of the truth. "To visit my family and friends," I answered. She looked conflicted by my answer, but she didn't ask anything else. She then picked up the water bottle, threw it into my cell. She then released me from the chains and looked at me expectantly. I slowly sat up and swung my feet over the side. I reached down for the knife. I gripped the handle and closed my eyes, and without another thought I pulled away from me. The pain that had become a dull ache now throbbed painfully, and ectoplasm freely flowed from my leg. To my relief it started healing almost immediately. I jumped down from the table, my leg almost giving away as it came in contact with the floor. Almost. I slowly and painfully walked back to my cell, trying my hardest to keep standing, to keep walking forward. When I walked through the door, my legs gave out and I fell to the ground. I crawled over to the water, and shakily unscrewed the cap. I took one small sip, savoring the coolness of the liquid as it slipped down my parched throat. It took all my control to only drink a quarter of the water. I knew I would need it later. With a last look at me, Maddie left, the door closing with a resounding bang behind her. I reluctantly put the water down and closed my eyes, and it wasn't long before I finally succumbed to sleep.

I woke up to darkness. Maddie must have turned off the lights while I was sleeping. I started to panic. The walls felt like they were closing in on me, my throat felt swollen. I hugged my knees, trying to forget the black void that threatened to swallow my sanity. Wait, weren't jack and jazz home? If I was lucky enough for it to be night… then they may be able to hear me.

"JAZZ, JAZZ!" I screamed as loud as I could. My voice was weak from all the torture, but I was desperate to found. After a minute of screaming her name, the door to the lab opened, flooding the stairs in light. To my disappointment, Maddie walked down the stairs and quickly shut the door.

"What do you think you are doing," she hissed at me.

"Screaming for help what does it look like," I answered calmly, surprised she had just asked such an obvious question.

"You are going to wake somebody up!" she reprimanded me," And what are you calling Jazz for?"

"I know, that's the point," I countered, barely keeping a smile off my face," And as for Jazz, well I know she wouldn't approve of you keeping a poor, defenseless ghost down here, would she."

"You don't know anything about Jazz!" she screamed, but I could see the fear in her eyes as she thought of the possibility of the statement being true.

She headed toward the stairs, but suddenly switched directions and picked up a dirty rag, used to clean the specter speeder. She then picked up a pair up of plastic handcuffs from her desk that she got who knows where, and stepped into my cell. She put the handcuffs on me and stuffed the rag into my mouth, so that I couldn't scream, and walked up the stairs. Just as she closed the door, I could hear her talking. To Jazz. I was so close, damn it! She had been about to come down. I started screaming hoping I could make some noise to alert her. But it was no use; the oily rag muffled my screams till I lost voice. And then I was left in the dark to silently cry over my futile attempt at escape, cursing how weak I was, how hopeless this all was. It was a long, pitiful night.

In the morning, well I assumed it was morning from the sounds of footsteps and voices in the kitchen, the lights were still off. And all I could do was lie there with the rag filling my mouth with an oily tang, choking me with its strong scent as plastic dug into my wrists.

Maddie come down later in the day, when all activity above me had ceased. She took the rag out of my mouth and untied the cuffs, which had left bleeding cuts, dripping ectoplasm onto my jumpsuit. As if it didn't have enough on it.

"I will do that again if you attempt to scream," she threatened, "And it will be for a much longer time."

She went and sat at her desk, probably examining my anatomy or something. She glanced towards me occasionally, a calculating look on her face. She got up, a slight frown on her face, and opened my cell door. She pressed a button and a scale popped up from the floor. It was made from the same gray metal as the floor, with a clear box at the top.

"Step onto it now," she commanded.

I pushed myself up, and took a slow step towards it. My legs seemed steady, and I figured whatever this was, it couldn't hurt that bad. I stepped on, and immediately black numbers popped up in the clear box at the top. The bold numbers stated that I weighed thirty pounds. But that couldn't be right. My ghost form was around seventy pounds. To lose forty in what, two or three weeks, I shouldn't be alive. I mean I am half human, so I can probably still die in ghost form. I didn't realize how bad this had gotten. I had barely eat anything in weeks, and the only reason I was alive, was the IV Maddie had given my when I had fallen unconscious all those days ago. I am only alive because of her. But I am barely alive. So close to death. And that is where she will keep me. Barely alive.

I will try to have another chapter up soon, as I am starting the next one as some as I finish this A/N. And another thing, I have been trying to come up with something to use for the title picture, but I am not good at drawing. Does anyone have a idea for it, or is willing to draw one? Just wondering... So how was this chapter? Better than the last, worse? Please R&R! Well, until next time...see ya.