Chapter 11

CAMMIE, Age 22

9 hours after Spencer refuses to leave Cammie and Zach with the attackers from Starbucks…

I groaned loudly as my eyes blinked open for the first time in what felt like decades, momentarily breaking the strange silence. I found that I was lying on a cold hard floor probably made of concrete. On 3 sides of me were smooth walls, sealing me inside a dank prison-like space. The last side, the side that I was closest to, held thick metal bars and a small lock advanced by technology. There'd be no way for me to pick a lock as complicated-looking as it was, even if I wasn't feeling so disoriented.

My back felt stiff and sore from staying on the ground for so long, and I could barely see through my heavy eyelids, which were refusing to stay open for more than a second. All I wanted in that moment was to fall back asleep, to escape the reality that I was in, but I forced my eyes open wider, trying to focus more on my surroundings than on anything else. I didn't understand what happened or what was going on then, but I knew that I needed to find out.

A single light bulb hung right above me from the ceiling, casting the room with its dim light. But there was no air vent on the ceiling that I could climb through to escape. Besides that, it was hard for me to make out many other details.

I gave up the attempt to study the room that I was in and tried to sit up an inch. Agony shot through my body with the effort of getting up, and I immediately panicked, quickly settling back on the ground. My fingernails dug into the palms of my hands, and my teeth clenched together as I waited for the shooting pain to go away. It burned like an intensifying fire.

But I wouldn't let a single word escape my lips. No matter how much it hurt. I wouldn't. Whoever imprisoned me in this cell wasn't going to get the satisfaction of seeing me in agony. They wouldn't.

So I continued to burn.

Hours must've ticked by as I laid there, desperately hoping for the disappearance of the sweltering agony, though I doubted that my timekeeping was very reliable. All I could focus on, all I could even think of, was the constantly blazing pain centered on my spine. I wanted out, sooner rather than later.

I couldn't remember anything of what happened earlier, of what brought me here to this nightmare. No matter how hard I sifted through my jumbled up memory, nothing of the previous events came to me. The unbelievably hot pain didn't help my thought process either.

After a while, the pain faded to nothingness, and I sighed in relief. I decided not to try sitting up again, at least not right away. Instead, I worked to make sense of my situation.

From the gaps between the thick metal bars, I could barely make out a row of other cells across from mine. They were all empty of people, as far as I could tell without sticking my nose between the bars and taking a look up closer. Not even guards stood outside my cell.

I took a deep breath, calming my frenzied nerves. Fear and confusion dominated my mind, almost sending me into another panic. I'd never felt more lonely or helpless in my entire life. It was petrifying.

I probed my memories again, hoping for better results the second time. My search came up blank. I still had no idea how I got taken captive or who was holding me captive, and those facts alone terrified me. Did I even want to know the answers?

My frantic breathing kicked up a notch as I heard the sound of footsteps approaching. They were the first sounds besides the soft beat of my heart that I'd heard since waking up. They got louder and louder with each second that ticked by, and I had no idea what to expect when they finally stopped in front of my cell.

A startlingly familiar face peeked through the metal bars of my prison. A face I thought I knew well. A face I thought I recognized from the Gallagher Academy. A face I thought I'd never see again. But I was wrong. Standing behind my only exit was none other than a triumphant-looking Tina Walters.

Tina's face twisted into a devilish grin at the sight of my crumpled body, something I thought I'd never witness around the once talkative gossip girl from my childhood. It was clear that Tina was all business now. No more jokes. No more rumors. "Well, I haven't seen you in a while, Cammie. How's your day been?" She laughed at that remark.

I wracked my brain for what I remembered about Tina Walters. It wasn't easy. I tried to block out memories related to the Gallagher Academy as best as I could because they were too painful to revisit. Not painful like the fire from before, but still painful. Then, like a raging river, the events of the day before I ran away came flooding back almost all at once. I remembered the day like it was yesterday.

On that day, I'd unexpectedly run into Tina in the halls of the prestigious Gallagher Academy at the end of the first day of school. I was just beginning my spy training. It had been a great day until I met with my mom in her office and received some… unpleasant news. It was about my dad. Dejected, I headed toward a secret passageway to be alone for a few hours, but before I made it very far, guess who I ran into?

Tina was absolutely thrilled to have found me wandering the halls, while I was a little less than eager to encounter her. Any other time would've been okay, but at the time she caught up with me, all I'd wanted to do was be by myself. Of course, Tina had a very different idea on how I should use that time.

I remembered the words that I'd used to greet her were something along the lines of, "How has your day been?" Basically what Tina just said to me.

I tilted my head toward her and jutted my chin out in an attempt to look brave, but it was hard considering the fact that I was lying on the floor of a prison room. "Thanks for asking, Tina. I'm doing just great," I said sarcastically. "Care to explain what's going on now?"

Shaking her head, Tina let out another laugh. I resisted the sudden urge to slap that smug smile off her face. "You just don't get it, do you? We've already beat you. No one knows that you're here besides your pathetic friends, and they can't even help you. We've got all of them locked up in another section of the place. So you're in no position to be questioning me right now," she said, staring me in the eyes.

I stared back, refusing to be the first one to look away. A million questions filled my mind about what Tina just told me, but I ignored them. Tina obviously wasn't going to be the one to answer them for me.

After a minute of not blinking at each other, the corner of Tina's mouth tilted up. "This is childish. I think that it's time we move on to the adult matters at hand, don't you agree?" Tina looked off to her right and waved people that I couldn't see over. I squinted through the metal bars trapping me inside, trying to glimpse the other people with Tina. I had no such luck until they swung open my cell door.

There were three of them total, all giant men with muscles. Some of them looked vaguely familiar for some reason, but I wasn't sure where I'd seen them before. I glared at them as they reached for my limbs and hefted me up like I weighed nothing. Then I braced myself for the fiery pain surely awaiting me.

When the agony didn't hit, I began squirming uncontrollably in their grasps. Tina barked orders at them as I tried to break free. I managed to kick one in the nose and punch another in the eye before they contained me again. I couldn't get out of their iron grips.

Furious, I turned my fierce glare on Tina. I wasn't going to take no for an answer. "Tell me what you want with me."

Tina shook her head. "Didn't you hear me? I said no asking questions."

"That wasn't a question," I stated. "It was a demand."

She laughed coldly. "Look at you! In the heart of the Circle's headquarters, where the best security in the entire place is located, you're making demands. How dare you‒"

"And you're giving away information that she doesn't need to know," someone calmly cut in as they walked toward us. Tina and I both whipped our heads around to face the speaker. She was a woman with dark red hair and even darker eyes. A cunning demeanor seemed to envelope her, making me instantly dislike her. Plus, she was working with Tina. That made her even more unattractive in my eyes.

Tina stared at her, looking suddenly horrified. The muscle men did, too, without loosening their strong holds on me.

"I… I was just‒I mean, I was saying that‒" Tina stopped her stuttering when the woman raised her hand to silence her. I had to admit that I was impressed with her. It takes a lot of effort to shut Tina up when she's in the middle of talking.

Then the woman turned to me, assessing me carefully with her dark eyes while I was trapped by six bulky arms. Her unwavering stare made me uncomfortable. I had to resist the urge to cringe away from her gaze.

I felt like if she stared hard enough at me, she could peer into my soul. It was unsettling.

"So, you're finally awake," she said casually, her eyes not leaving mine. "I was wondering when you'd get up. We've all been waiting on you."

"I'm sorry I made you so anxious," I commented sarcastically. "Next time, I'll make sure to set my alarm clock."

There was no hint of humor in the woman's eyes when she replied, "That's not a bad idea. Maybe we should get you an alarm clock. Though I'm sure the alarm clock you've envisioned is much different from mine."

I was going to make another retort when I realized that this was getting us nowhere. She wasn't going to just help me out of here. Thinking better, I asked the most obvious questions, "Who are you? What do you want from me?"

Smirking, the woman said, "I'm Catherine Goode, your interrogator for now. I just want you to give me some answers. Well, just one in particular."

I waited for her to elaborate, but she went silent. "Aren't you going to start questioning me now?"

Catherine laughed at my question. Well, more like cackled. "Not in here, Cammie, dear. We're going to move you to a room specifically designed for interrogations first, and then you're going to cooperate."

"What makes you think I'll cooperate with you?" I asked angrily. I hated that she knew my name‒no, my nickname. Only people that I cared about were allowed to call me that. Catherine Goode didn't fall in that category.

"Because," Catherine went on calmly. "I can do this."

Holding up a seemingly ordinary watch on her wrist, Catherine punched in a few controls that I couldn't understand. From my vantage point, I watched the digital watch display flashes of words and numbers, but I couldn't make out any of what they meant. They disappeared too fast for me to read them.

When Catherine hit a certain control, she put her arm back down to her side and watched me intently. The scorching pain from earlier suddenly erupted along my back much hotter than before. I bit down on my lip so hard it started to bleed. My fingernails made small cuts in the palms of my hands as the fire traveled through my body. But at least I wasn't screaming. That would've been humiliating.

Looking disappointed, Catherine pushed another control on her watch that abruptly ended the pain. I was left panting heavily from its effects.

"You're a strong girl, aren't you?" Catherine said, analyzing me again. There was an evil glint in her eyes that told me that she didn't have good intentions.

I shrugged as nonchalantly as I could while being held by big bulky men. "I have a high pain tolerance."

She nodded thoughtfully. "Maybe we'll test how high that pain tolerance of yours is someday, but definitely not today. We've got a lot of work to be done." With that, she turned on her heel and began heading in the opposite direction‒away from my prison. Not that I minded. Tina was quick to follow.

Her words sent a shiver down my spine that was immediately swallowed by the thick muscles caging me. They didn't sound like a possibility. They sounded like a promise.

I was carried all the way to the interrogation room, right behind Catherine and Tina. I didn't try to fight. I was completely drained of energy after the second stroke of blazing agony. But I wanted to‒so, so badly. The idea kept popping up, but I knew that it was a bad idea. I'd only hurt myself worse. Then where would I stand?

I drank in the sight of the Circle headquarters around me as workers buzzed from place to place. It was huge, with doors and hallways lying at every possible corner. It looked surprisingly modern for an ancient terrorist organization command center. If I didn't know better, I'd think that I was in any old office building during work hours. But from the exhausted looks of some workers' faces, there weren't designated work hours.

Never would I have predicted that I'd be brought here for a special interrogation by an evil psychopath. Not in a million years.

I'm so sorry, everyone! I hope you guys aren't mad at me for posting this chapter so late. I haven't had any time to update because of these standardized tests given by my state. But I've finished all of them! Today was my last one! Now, I've just got to tackle finals.

I don't want to spoil, but you're onto something, awesomegirlxx. I hope that answers your question. Aw, thank you, Alex! That's one of the nicest things anyone's ever told me on FanFiction! I truly do love Zammie-who doesn't? They're adorable!

Continue reviewing for me please! Your reviews bring me motivation to write more.

-Sky