Chapter 12

Savage Garden Dungeon

Kristin had struggled all the way to the dungeons, but it was no use. The two men pushed her roughly into a cell and locked the door behind her. Kristin was trapped. Although she had a room to herself, it certainly wasn't built for comfort. The room was merely the size of a large closet, with only a small window with bars on it in the top of the door. She couldn't see any of the other prisoners; even if she could, there was little light. A small light bulb hung in the middle of the room, but it kept flickering on and off. There was a small bed, but no blankets and a toilet in the corner of the room. And, it was freezing.

"Maybe I'll freeze to death," Kristin thought miserably as she sat down on the bed and began to cry. She had thrown everything away, and now look where she was. She knew that freezing to death would be better than the fate that she was about to meet.

As she sobbed, she heard footsteps stop in front of her door. "Hello, Kristin," she heard a familiar male voice say. "Tsk-tsk. Don't cry."

"Who are you?" she asked, trying to peer through the small window, but not being able to see the person very well in the dark hallway.

The voice laughed slightly. "Oh, you know me; you know me very well," the voice said in a sinister manner.

Kristin was still confused. She knew she'd heard the voice before, but she just couldn't place it. "Would you mind stepping into the light? I can't see you."

"Soon," he said. "Tell me, why are you crying?"

"Because I've thrown everything away to come here, and now I've been...nominated," she said with a slight quiver in her voice.

"Yes, I know. It's all part of the game, unfortunately."

"W-what did you say?" Kristin asked in fear as she was now starting to realize whose voice it was.

"Hehehe," the figure laughed cruelly now. "What's the matter, my Dear? Don't you like this game?"

Kristin moved away from the window and pressed her back against the door. Her head was spinning. She couldn't believe who she was speaking to. This had to be a dream.

"You can't run, my Dear."

"I-I thought you were in prison," Kristin said.

"I was, but someone helped me to escape, someone who wanted my help-Dr. Blood."

"Well, what does that have to do with me exactly?" Kristin asked, her voice trembling as her fear continued to heighten.

"Revenge. You see, since I saw you last...well, you know what happened. But, I certainly couldn't leave the game at that. I couldn't let you win, could I?"

Kristin said nothing as he continued.

"I suppose I ought to tell you that everything you've learned in the past few days has been an illusion. Antonio, Gabrielle, Sonja, and Danielle were never in need of seaQuest's assistance. They're residents of Savage Garden and have been for years."

"You're lying," Kristin said, nearly in tears.

"That's what I expected you to say, but I can assure you I'm not. It's only because we made you believe it. You see, you were nominated months ago. This was all part of the plot to lure you here."

"No," Kristin said through her tears, willing him to stop.

"I'm sorry, but you really need to hear this," he said, "at least before you die. Oh, but don't worry; you'll be alive for at least a week. It takes that long for my serum to take it's full effect.. Plus, you didn't think I'd let you go through this alone, did you? I have other pawns in my game-like your beloved captain. We can't leave him out, can we?" he said.

"You leave him alone," Kristin said through clenched teeth, tears running down her face.

"Oh, I can't, I just can't wait to see his face when he sees you up on that stage, begging to be a victim to Antonio."

Kristin covered her ears. "Please stop."

"Why? Because you can't believe Antonio doesn't really love you? That it was all an act? Well, I'm sorry, but it was all part of the game."

Kristin began pounding on the wall as she screamed through her tears. "You're lying! You're lying! You're lying!" she screamed over and over again..

"You need to calm down," he said. "Or I'll have to come in there. You don't want that, do you?"

Kristin did will herself to stop screaming, but only because she didn't want that mad man in the same room with her.

"Good girl," he said. "And, I'm really sorry for nominating you," he added.

"You?" Kristin asked.

"Yes, well, when Dr. Blood first brought me to Savage Garden, of course he wanted me for my biochemical talents. Up until then, victims for the facility were harder to come by. But, not anymore. So, once my serum was devoloped, I couldn't get you out of my mind. I just had to see you again. And, I wanted to see you die...just like your brother."

"Nathan will never let you get away with this," Kristin said, her voice barely above a whisper now since she was crying once again.

"That's exactly what I am hoping for; that would fall perfectly into my plan, you see. It's all part of my game, and you played right along. You were such an easy target; I knew you'd feel sorry for them as soon as you met them. Little did you know that you were the one in need of help. And, Antonio seducing you was the icing on the cake." He laughed menacingly. "That was his idea, you know?"

Kristin cried a bit harder in response, unable to speak.

"Oh, there, there," he said. "Don't cry; it will all be over soon. Well, I really should be going now. I have a phone call to make. Don't worry; I'll tell the captain you said hello."

Through her tears, Kristin managed to choke out the words, "Go to hell, Zellar."

"Hehehe," he laughed. "You really are a frisky one, aren't you? I can't wait to see Antonio drink you dry." With that, Zellar walked away, his footsteps echoing as he did.