"So there I was, holding my ripped jeans making sure my underwear wasn't showing ", I finish.

Red X leans back and laughs. "Oh god! That was hilarious!"

"Oh you should have seen my face", I say. "Especially in front of my eighth grade crush!" I let out a giggle.

"You sure embarrassed yourself through school", he tells me.

I shrug. "Hey, it's not even my fault sometimes." I adjust my wrists against the handcuffs. "One time I came to school with dog poop on my shoe. That's how I got the name stinky Anders."

"Highschool can be tough", he tells me. "That's why I dropped out." He looks at me and considers. "Well, that's a small part why I dropped out. The other part is having a psycho father."

"You really do have it tough", I tell him. Makes me thank X'hal for having such great parents. I sure miss them.

He gives me a nod and places his head down against the back of the chair.

"What is your name?", I ask him.

He looks up at me. "I already told you that I can't tell you."

"Why not?", I ask. "If he's going to kill me, why does it matter?"

Red X sighs and places his fingers at the tip of his mask. "Only for a quick second. This doesn't leave the room."

I eagerly nod, wanting so badly to know who hides behind the mask. He lifts off the mask. For a young boy he really look s older. He has dirty blonde hair, curly , and reaches below his ears. He has blue eyes. Dark blue. Not crystal blue like Richard. He has light skin but he ha s a red scar across his cheek. He's actually kind of cute in his own way. By just one look, you can tell the boy went through a lot in his life.

"Grant Wilson", he says.

He snaps me back to reality and I look at him. "Pardon?"

"My name is Grant", he tells me.

"Oh", I say.

"Oh?", he chuckles. "I was hoping for a different reaction."

"What kind of reaction should I give?", I ask him.

He shrugs. "I don't know. Something on t he lines of 'oh X you're a really hot guy!"

I glare at him. "I don't think so. I have a boyfriend."

"Wasn't asking for you to be my girlfriend, no offense", he says. He plays with his mask. "Just because you have a boyfriend doesn't mean you're not allowed to look."

"I still look", I tell him. "But when I do, it reminds me that I have a perfect guy at home, I could look at him up close as much as I want." I look down at the thought of Richard. He's coming for me . I know so. Oh I miss you.

"What's wrong?", asks Grant.

I shrug. "I miss my boyfriend."

He looks down and away from me. "Sorry."

"It's not your fault", I tell him. "You weren't asked to be born into a family like yours."

"Part of it is my fault", he tells me.

I look at him. "Hey wanna watch a movie on the television?"

Grant looks back at the television and t hen back at me. He gives me a smile. "As long as it's a comedy."

I giggle and nod. "That can do."

"Okay", he says handing me the remote. He places his mask back on. "Pick one an d I'll go make us some food."

When Red X returned he handed me the popcorn and sat at the end of the bed. He looks over at me.

"You didn't pick a movie?", he asks.

I nod and shake the hand cuffs. "I canno t really move."

"Oh yea", he says. He places his finger on his chin. "Um...I'll readjust you but -

"It'll be our little secret?", I suggest .

He nods. "Promise you won't try to run or hit me?"

"I promise", I tell him. He starts to untie the rope around my feet. "It's not like I'll get far anyways."

"Probably not", he says moving to unlock my handcuffs.

He helps me sit up and grabs my right arm. He cuffs my wrist to the bed.

"Trust issues", he tells me.

I roll my eyes and wiggle my toes. I hear my ankles crack as I rotate them. "I am so sore." I sniff myself. I'm still we aring my prom dress. He could at least have provided a change of clothes.

"Dumb and Dumber or Horrible Bosses?", he asks.

"I haven't seen Horrible Bosses", I tell him.

He turns up the volume on the t.v. "Horrible Bosses it is then."

He takes a seat right next to me and I watch as he takes his mask off. He takes his gloves off as well and takes a handful of popcorn. I look down at the popcorn and take a handful for myself. I'm so hungry. I haven't eaten since yesterday. It's not really food but I'll take it.

The movie is pretty funny. I especially like the part where Dale is singing in the car. I don't really remember the last time I laughed like that. Oh yea when I was with Richard.

I reach to grab some popcorn at the same time Grant did. Our hands touched and I quickly pull it away. I look at him. "Sorry."

"No problem", he tells me. He motions for the bowl. "Ladies first."

I give him a smile and grab some popcorn . I look up at the t.v. screen not daring to look at Grant. The movie was almost done when my eyes slowly started to close. I could feel myself drifting to sleep and slowly fall to my side. I was in a full deep sleep. Dreaming of escaping. Dreaming of returning home. Dreaming of Richard, accepting me with open arms .

"You little shit!"

My eyes snap open and I see Slade grabbing Grant by the neck. He throws Gran the bed and across the room.

"You stupid little piece of shit!", yells Slade at Grant. "You've got some nerves kid!"

Grant stands up and runs to tackle Slade . Slade grabs his arm and twists him around in pain.

"Stop!", I yell. "Don't hurt him!"

Slade turns to me and throws Grant across the room again. Grant knocked down the t.v. and fell to the ground.

"You little whore", Slade tells me. "I'll show you a real man."

My eyes widen as I see him remove his belt. He walks towards me and tries to spread my legs apart.

"No stop!", I yell. I kick him in the gut. "Don't touch me! Please don't touch me!"

"Stupid bitch", he groans. He grabs my legs and pries them apart.

Before he could do anything, Grant grabs Slade and pushes him back. Grant punches Slade in the face, twice. Slade is pretty strong. He grabs Grants fist and I hear a crunch. Slade punches Grant in the face and knocks him to the ground once more.

Slade turns to me angrily. I see him gripping his belt.

"No!", I yell knowing what's coming.

Slade grabs my arms and whips me once. I scream out in pain. Another time. Another time. Another time. And once more.

"Please", I croak out. "No more."

"More?", he asks angrily. He whips me again and again. Once satisfied he throws the belt to the side and breathes heavily. "Make sure you rest tonight. I have much planned for you tomorrow." With that he left.

My face is wet from tears. My back is th robbing in pain. I'm bleeding. I could feel the blood soaking up my back and the wetness trailing down. If there is a god, then they will take my life away right now. I'd rather be dead than feel the pain I'm in right now.

"Kori?", I hear someone whisper.

I move my face from under my arm and peek at Grant. He's crawling up the bed, holding his ribs.

"Are you okay?", he asks me.

I don't say anything. I could feel his arm touching my arm. He sits up on than bed and turns me over towards him. I crawl in to his chest and allow him to wrap his arms around me. He allows me to weep.

"I'm sorry", he tells me. "I'm so sorry. "

"Richard", I cry.

He rocks me back and forth. "Sh...don't cry. Please don't cry." He reaches into his pocket and unlocks my handcuffs.

I place my now free arm around him. "Help me."

He pulls me away and has me lay on my stomach. I wince as I feel his fingers touch the marks on my backs.

"I'll be back", he whispers. "I'm just going to get the first aid kit."

I silently curse as he leaves the room. So many things flooding my mind. I just want to be home. In my bed. Nice and warm and cozy.

"Stay down", he tells me. I could hear rustling as he opens the kit. "This might sting okay?"

"Alright", I tell him, hiding my face in the covers of the bed.

I wince and silently cry when he starts to clean up my marks. Oh it hurts so much.

"Shit", he tells me. "You're gonna have to pull the top of your dress down."

"Why?", I ask.

"The marks reach around your ribs and I can't clean them with your dress on", he tells me.

I nod and sit up. "Very well. Can you unzip my dress?" As I feel him unzip my dress, I could feel the heaviness of the blood on my back. I lay back down covering my chest. Worst time to not wear a bra. I move to my side, still covering myself, so that he could clean my ribs .

Once he was done cleaning me up, Grant wrapped some bandages around me. I have to admit, I do feel a little better. He helps me unzip my dress back up and I turn to him.

I place my knees up and wrap my arms around my legs. "I thank you."

He gives me a side smile. "No problem."

I notice a cut on his lip and blood dripping. "Let me help you."

"It's nothing", he tells me, touching his lip.

I reach out for the first aid kit. "Please, you helped me."

He says nothing and allows for me to clean him up. When finished, I place a bandaid across the bottom of his lip.

Grant looks into my eyes and I look into his. He clasps my hand and squeezes it.

"We're getting out of here", he tells me .

I give him a confused look. "But how?"

He shrugs and runs his fingers through his hair. "I don't know but I'll figure something out."

"He will kill us", I tell him.

He gives out a sarcastic laugh. "Of course he is going to kill us. That's why we have to dot his quick and tonight."

I look down nervous. "What if he catches us."

"Trust me", says Grant. "I'll get you out of here."

"I do trust you", I tell him. "But I wish for you to leave as well."

Grant looks around the room and rubs his chin. "He has cameras around here. He can't hear us but he can see us. Get some rest. I'll wake you in two hours."

I grab his upper arm. "Don't go."

He gives me a kiss on the temple. "I'll be close, I promise you."

Grant kept his promise. He woke me up two hours later with a start. He had to place his hand over my mouth so I wouldn't scream. We didn't say much. He just motioned with his hands and by instinct, I knew what he was saying.

I look up at the camera in the room, a wire attached to it. Grant holds my hand as he leads me to the door. He pokes his head out and looks left and right. He leads me forward and silently we walk down the halls. It's a small place. The hallways are very narrow. We're underground. I could tell somehow. He leads me into the bathroom.

"You okay?", he asks me.

I sigh. "What are we doing?"

He moves around and takes out something from under his shirt. A gun. "Take this."

I shake my head. "I have something against violence."

"I thought you said you beat up some girl at your school?", he asks me.

"I did but I didn't use a gun", I tell him. "I used my fist."

"Look you don't have to use this", he tells me. He places the gun in my hand. "Unless you have to. Just pull the trigger."

"You make it sound so easy", I say.

"It's not", he tells me. "But sometimes you make do."

I consider him. "Have you ever shot someone?"

He pokes his head out the door. "Once. Look we need to move fast. I've tampered with the cameras to freeze them but they won't last long."

"Okay let's go", I tell him.

He grabs my hand and leads me down the hall again. No sign of Slade anywhere. Grant stops me at a door. He turns the handle and it creeks. We both cringe and stare back.

"Grant!"

My eyes widen. Grant pulls me toward him and through the door. He slams the door behind him and locks it.

"C'mon!", he yells.

We run up some stairs and through another door. I could hear Slade's footsteps. My heart is pounding and it feels like I'm slowly dying. My feet are tired but my legs just keep running. I think I broke Forrest Gump's record.

"Crawl through", Grant orders.

I get on my knees and crawl through a tunnel he pushes me in. I crawl through and look back to see Grant behind me. He needs to get out of here as much as I do.

"Grant!"

I stop and look back to see Grant being pulled at. I grab Grant's arm and pull him towards me.

"Let him go!", I frantically yell. I've never been so scared before. "Grant do something!"

I hear a crunch sound. Grant pushes me down the tunnel and yells for me to crawl faster. I crawl as fast as my knees could take me. I see a light.

"We're getting closer!", I yell back.

Grant's hand is on the small of my back. Keeping me close. "C'mon Kori, I need you to go faster!"

I eventually stop at the end of the tunnel. A barred door is blocking me. I could see a lock on the barred door.

"It's locked", I tell Grant.

"Lay down", he orders.

I lay on my stomach and I feel him crawl over me.

"Cover your ears!", he yells.

I cover my ears and I hear a pop. I look up to see him kick the door open. Grant crawls over me and steps outside. He grabs my hand and helps me out. I feel someone grabbing at my leg.

"Your mine!"

I look back to see Slade. His mask is cracked.

"Ah!", I scream. "Grant help me!"

Grant grabs my arms and pulls me away from Slade. He pushes me back and holds his gun out as Slade crawls out.

"Do it!", Slade yells. "Be a man and do it!"

Grant readjusts his grip on the gun.

"You pussy!", Slade yells.

Pop. It hit Slade in the middle of his mask.

Grant walks over to Slade's unconscious body. Or dead?

"Grant?", I whisper. "Stay back."

Grant breathes heavily and kneels down in front of his father. He takes his father's mask off and spits on him.

"Go to hell", he says.

Grant stands up and looks back at me. Before I knew it, I hear another pop and Grant is on the ground.

"No!", I screech.

Grant limps away from Slade and grabs his leg. He yells out in pain. "My leg!"

"You should have finished me", said Slade getting up. "I thought I taught you better."

He kicks Grant in the leg he shot him in. Grant yells out in pain once more. My hands are trembling, covering my mouth. I need to do something. X'hal dammit Kori! Move!

"I should have gotten rid of you the day your mother left!", yells Slade kicking him in the gut. "She left because of you!"

"She left because of you!", yells Grant back at him.

Slade holds out a gun and points it at Grant. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me", spat Grant. "She left because of you. I was there the night you two fought. I was in the closet. She told you that she hated you and wanted to leave you. She told you that she was cheating on you. And to call me a pussy. You're nothing but a low life bum!"

Pop. Grant moves to the side dodging the bullet. Pop. He moves to the side once more.

"This time I won't miss", says Slade.

He points it at Grant and places his finger on the trigger. "Say your goodbyes son."

"Go to hell!", yells Grant.

"Ah!"

I look down at Slade as he falls to his knees. "Do not touch him!"

"You stupid bitch!", yells Slade. He touches his head I struck with a rock. "I knew I should have killed you when I got the chance."

He points the gun at me. I throw the other rock at him, knocking over his gun and landing on his forehead. He tackles me. I fall back to the ground and pry at the soil. My hands are clawing my way free from him. I could feel his hands around my waist, trying to pull me towards him. I kick him in the face. My feet are working as fast as they could. Not fast enough. He grabs my ankle and spins me around. He crawls over me and holds my arms over my head. I knee him in the groin and he grunts back. I kick him once more in the groin and we switch position. I place the tip of the gun on his forehead.

He laughs. "You won't do it."

"I will", I say confidently.

"You would have done it by now", he tells me.

"Do not test me!", I yell.

I hear something. Helicopter? I look up in the sky and see a helicopter flying. A light shown on me and Grant.

Slade moves around. "You know Kornelia. I really do like you in this position. It suits you. I can see why your boyfriend likes you."

Pop.

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Well this is the last chapter. Epilogue is next.