Mac ran down the sewer tunnel until he came to a large grate at the end…a dead end. He had run out of room. He went to the right into another branch of the tunnels. He was starting to see things in the tunnel again. The walls looked like they were moving or breathing, closing in on him. He was running scared again, and finally, he came to another branch that led into a subway tunnel. Mac followed the tracks until he came to a terminal. He almost panicked when he saw that it wasn't an old one, it was a fully working one. He hid behind the wall. Did he dare go in there where all those people were? He had to if he wanted out of these tunnels so he could get to his apartment.

Mac walked out of the tunnel, trying to act like he belonged there. However, when people caught a whiff of him, he got a lot more attention than he wanted. He tried to keep his head down and just kept walking until he got outside. People were giving him strange looks as he walked down the street. He went into an alley. He would avoid people as much as he could until he got to his apartment.

Meanwhile, Stella, Lindsey and Don met back at the branches they had gone down. "Where's Danny?" Lindsey asked.

"He went down this way," Don said.

They went into the tunnel that Danny had taken. They didn't find Mac, of course, and they didn't find Danny, until he came stumbling out of the tunnel that he had turned into after Mac. "Danny!" Lindsey exclaimed. She ran to him. "What happened?"

"Mac," Danny said. He shook his head. "He's out of his mind."

"He did this to you?"

Danny nodded. Lindsey looked at his face. She couldn't believe Mac would do something like this. Stella and Don were shocked too. "I don't think we can help him by just talking," Danny said. "He may have to be restrained so we can help him."

"He would never do this if he was in his right mind," Lindsey said.

"I know."

Lindsey wanted to cry. She couldn't imagine what must be going through Mac's mind for him to do something like this. She looked at Stella. "What are we going to do?" she asked.

"I don't know," Stella said.

"I have men watching his apartment," Don said. "If he goes there, we'll know it. He may go there because he'll think he's safe there."

"Where else would he feel safe besides his own apartment?"

"I hate to trap him there."

"I'll go and wait for him."

"He might attack you," Danny said. "He doesn't know what he's doing. He thinks everybody is against him trying to take him back to that hospital."

"I have to try."

Mac kept running down the alley. He was still seeing things and felt like things were crawling on him again. His head was pounding with a headache, but he kept going. He ran until night started falling. He had to find a place to hide. There was a manhole here where he was now. He got down into the sewer and found a place to sleep. He would stay here for the night. He didn't want to be caught on the street at night. Tomorrow, he would make it home…

Stella was at Mac's apartment now. She had been hoping that he would make it home today, but it was very late. She didn't think he would make it until the next day. He had been pretty far from here the last encounter they had with him. She wiped tears off her face. She hoped he would be safe until they could find him again.

Mac was having nightmares. He dreamed that spiders were crawling all over him again. Then he dreamed that Quinn had found him and she was dragging him back to that room he had been in, and she was undressing him. He couldn't stop her.

Mac sat straight up. He realized he was dreaming. He looked around him. His hands were shaking. He remembered what she had done to him now. He covered his face. She had given him drugs and he had no resistance then. A prize? Mac stared at the wall. Did she think she would have his baby? Mac felt horrified by that thought. He would be humiliated even worse. He wanted to get to his apartment. He would travel through the night. He didn't want to dream anymore.

Mac got up and went back to the sewer entrance that he had come down from. "Hey!" someone yelled.

Mac jumped and looked around to see three guys staring at him. He was already in panic mode, and seeing them made it worse. "What you doing down here?" one of them asked. "This is our territory."

"I was just sleeping," Mac said.

"You have to pay for that."

"I don't have anything."

"Then you'll have to pay the hard way."

The three came toward him, and Mac ran. He could not outrun them all, however. They tackled him. Mac screamed and elbowed one of them in the face. The guy fell backward with a broken, bloody nose. The other two grabbed Mac's arms. "Let go of me!" Mac screamed. He struggled his hardest, but he could not outdo both.

"This guy is high," one of them said, as they turned Mac over on his back and looked at his eyes.

"Sure is," the other agreed. "Where'd you get those drugs? If you don't have any money, how'd you buy them?"

Mac was just staring at them with a look of horror. They looked like ghosts from his past. "Let go of me!" he screamed, as he tried to struggle again.

They shoved his head back down on the concrete. "Tell us where you got those drugs. Looks like they work real well."

"I don't think he's going to tell us," the other said.

"Well, we'll see if we can beat it out of him."

"I want in on it too," the one with the broken nose said. "He's going to pay for this."

"He sure does stink. He must have been over in the sludge tunnel."

"Man, you must be really messed up to go in there."

"Lets get this over with."

They got Mac up and shoved him against the wall. "Your last chance," the leader said. "You gonna tell?"

"I guess not," the other said.

They beat Mac until he could not stand up and then just left him there for dead. Mac watched them leave through blurred vision. He passed out…

The next morning, Stella woke up on Mac's sofa. She had not heard anything during the night. No one had seen Mac anywhere. Stella wondered if he was down in the sewer again. She wanted to see him come through that door. Unfortunately, she would have to be hiding from him when he did. She just wanted to know that he was okay. He was very special to her.

Mac woke up in pain. He knew he was still in the sewer. He attempted to get up, but when he moved, it was pure torture. He moaned with pain. He forced himself to get up anyway. He made his way up the ladder with only his left hand. However, he could not move the manhole cover. He looked back down the ladder. He felt dizzy. He grabbed the ladder to keep from falling. There was no one to help him. He climbed back down the ladder and started walking. He could feel dried blood on his face. His nose was running, his eyes were swollen. He thought his whole face was swollen, and he thought his right arm was broken and some ribs.

Mac walked until he felt like he couldn't feel his body anymore. Then someone came around the corner. Mac jumped back and fell. "Please, don't hurt me," he said. "I don't have anything."

"Hey, I'm not going to hurt you," the woman said.

Mac stared at her in fear. "Just leave me alone."

"You look like you need help."

"NO. I don't want any help!"

The woman squatted in front of him. "Why not?"

"People always betray you."

"Not me. You can't stay down here like this. Come on with me."

"NO! Just go away and leave me alone!" I just want out of this sewer so I can get home."

"Okay. I'll help you get out. Where do you live?"

Mac stared at her. "Come on," the woman said. "Tell me where you live and I'll lead you there."

"Franklin."

"Come on. I'll take you to the nearest manhole. The address?"

"You just get me to that street and I'll get there."

The woman started to help him up, but Mac backed away from her. "No, don't touch me," he said.

"Okay, come on then."

She got up and waited for Mac to get to his feet. "Lets go," she said.

Mac followed her. They walked for thirty minutes before Mac collapsed. He felt so sick. The woman squatted beside him. "Come on," she said.

"I'm tired," Mac said.

"We'll be there in about an hour."

Mac thought that sounded impossible. "By the way," the woman said. "My name is Lisa. Can I know yours?"

Mac stared at her. "Mac."

"Nice to finally meet you, Mac. Are you getting up?" She offered him her hand.

Mac shook his head. "Don't touch me."

"Why not? Who did all this to you?"

Mac forced himself to get up, only to almost fall again. He leaned against the wall. "You ready?" Lisa asked.

Mac felt like he would pass out. "Yeah," he said.

Lisa led Mac through several tunnels. He still felt like everything was moving and he looked down to see spiders on his legs and hands. He tried to ignore it and keep walking. He was trembling all over though. Lisa looked at him. "You okay?" she asked.

"Just don't ask me anything," Mac said.

"What kind of drugs are you on?"

"I'm not on any drugs!"

Lisa laughed. "You have to be kidding. You're so high, you must think the walls are reaching out to get you."

Mac stared at her. "I didn't take any drugs."

"You got them somewhere."

"I don't want to talk." Mac couldn't believe he was still high. How long would this last? He considered that. If he was still high, was he doing the wrong thing by running away? He rubbed his face and hair. He didn't know what to do. He was so confused. He didn't know whom to believe.

After what seemed like forever, they reached the right place. Lisa helped Mac move the manhole cover and he climbed out. He looked at her. "Thank you," he said.

"You really should get to a doctor," Lisa said. "Take care of yourself."

"You too."

Mac looked around him to see where he was. He headed toward his apartment. By the time he got there, he was barely able to move his feet. Then he remembered that he did not have his key. It had been lost with his clothes. He went to his landlord's apartment and asked him to open the door. The landlord stared at him. "Mac, people are looking for you all over the city," he said.

"Please, just let me in my apartment," Mac begged. "Please."

"Sure, Mac."

The landlord went with Mac to the apartment. He already knew that Stella was inside. He had been informed not to say anything. He unlocked the door. Mac walked in and looked at him. "Thanks," he said, and closed the door.

Stella was in the kitchen peeping out. She covered her mouth to keep from gasping when she saw Mac. She wanted to run to him, but she knew that would be the wrong thing to do. He stumbled over to the sofa and collapsed on it, unable to make it any further. Stella knew he had passed out. She wiped tears off her face. She got her phone and called Don and told him that Mac had made it to his apartment.

"Thank God," Don said. "How is he?"

"He looks like he's been beat up," Stella said. "He passed out on his couch."

"What should we do?"

"Nothing right now. I'll call you when I want you to come."

"Keep us posted."

Stella put her phone away. She walked slowly from the kitchen and crept over to the couch. Mac was completely unconscious. Stella rolled him over on his back, which made him groan. Stella touched his face. She wished she could take his pain away. She pulled his shirt up and saw all the bruises on his body and the dark one around his ribs on the right side. She touched the bruise, and Mac moaned. She knew he had some broken ribs in there.

Stella went to Mac's bathroom and looked for his first aid kit. She found it in the cabinet under the sink. She got a bathcloth and a bowl of water. Then she went back to Mac. She wet the rag and cleaned the blood off his face. He had a few cuts on his face and his lip was busted, his nose was bloody. Stella knew he had been beaten. He must not have been able to escape.

Stella put a bandage over the cut on Mac's forehead. She thought it might need stitches, but for now, the bandage would be better than nothing. She noticed the smell on him. She knew he had been in that sludge tunnel. She leaned over him. "Mac," she said, gently. "Mac."

Mac moved his head. He thought he heard someone saying his name. "Leave me alone," he said.
"Mac, it's me, Stella."

"Stella." Mac tried to place that name in his confused mind. He remembered seeing her smile. She had curly hair. He also remembered her standing in front of him with a big gun, and she wasn't looking at all happy.

Stella saw Mac flinch. She thought he must be struggling with something. "Mac, we're friends," she whispered. "We have been for a long time."

Mac shook his head. "I don't have any friends," he mumbled. "Turned against me."

"No, Mac. We're trying to help you."

Mac shook his head. "You want to take me back there."

Stella didn't know what to say. "Take you back where?" she asked.

"Hospital."

"They were trying to help you."

"No."

Stella thought Mac was about to wake up. She moved away from him and got her phone. She called Don and told him to come on and bring an ambulance. "Make sure Sheldon comes too," she said.

"Sure thing," Don replied.

Just as Stella put her phone away, Mac opened his eyes. He sat up and stared at her. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "How did you get in here?"

"I'm your friend, Mac," Stella said. "I want to help you."

Mac grimaced with the pain in his side. "No, you want to take me back there," he said.

Stella walked slowly over to him. "Mac, no one is going to hurt you."

Mac stared at her. Somehow, he knew he should trust her. "I don't know who I am anymore," he said.

"They can help you, if you'll let them."

"You won't let them take me to that hospital?"

Stella hated to lie to him. "No," she said, and swallowed her guilt. "They're going to help you."

Stella moved over to the couch. She rung the rag out and wiped some blood away that had ran from Mac's nose. He flinched, but he let her do it. Stella wanted to cry. He thought he could trust her and she had lied to him. "Don is coming, and we're going to help you," she said. "Sheldon will be here too."

"Sheldon." Mac swallowed. "He let them put an IV in my arm. He betrayed me."

Stella felt even more nervous now. What would he think when he found out she had lied to him?

Soon, Don arrived. He and Sheldon came in first. "I don't want him here!" Mac said, pointing to Sheldon. "He wants to take me back to that hospital!"

Sheldon held up his hands. "Okay, I'll wait out here," he said.

Don swallowed. He had never seen Mac in such a shape. His face was swollen and his eyes looked wild. "Can you tell me who did this to you?" he asked, as he slowly walked over to the couch.

Mac stared at him a moment. "I don't know," he said. Mac folded his arms and shivered as though he were cold.

Don looked at Stella. He had told the paramedics to give him a few minutes and then come in. Stella was afraid Mac would panic and try to get away. Just then, someone knocked on the door, making Mac jump. "Just relax," Don said.

"Who's out there?" Mac asked.

Stella thought he looked like a caged animal. He stared at them as though he was ready to run any moment. Don went to the door and let the paramedics in. Mac jumped up when he saw them. He looked at Stella. "You betrayed me!" he said. He tried to run for the kitchen, but Don and Stella grabbed his arms. "Let me go!"

"Mac, you can't run!" Don said.

They finally got Mac down and one of the paramedics gave him a sedative. Mac relaxed and stared at the ceiling. Then he looked at Stella. "You betrayed me," he said.

Stella was crying. "Mac, we're trying to help you," she said.

Mac closed his eyes. Stella cried even more. She couldn't stand that hurt look in his eyes. "He doesn't know what he's saying, Stella," Don said. "When they get all those drugs out of him, he'll be okay."

"Are you sure?"

"I've seen it. He'll be okay."

Stella watched as they put an oxygen mask on Mac and carried him out. She rode in the ambulance with him. Don was standing beside Sheldon. "Now, all he needs is time," Sheldon said.

"Will he ever forgive us?" Don asked.

"When he gets his right mind back, he'll thank you."

"I hope so."