Here's to the second chapter! I hope that you all are enjoying this so far, as much as I am that is. Please review and leave a comment!

Hungry Eyes by Eric Carmen (from Dirty Dancing)

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"H-Hello?" My voice echoed in the vast tunnel and I felt a shiver go down my spine, this wasn't a place that I wanted to be my gut told me. There was no way back and I looked at the platforms leading deeper into the tunnel, just wooden rafts rotting away on the water.

There was a faint splash in the distance and I took a step back, almost hitting my head on a broken pipe from the ceiling which made me curse softly. I turned to leave when the heavy iron gate slammed down, trapping me in this opening to a maze of tunnels. Gripping the bars I pulled at it the rust digging into my palms as I tried a different approach.

"Open up, please, open—" Pulling the gate upwards it began to move but seemed to have a mechanism that locked it in place. "Shit!"

Leaning my head against the bars I felt hot tears of frustration in my eyes that I quickly rubbed away. Here my tears would do me little use as I turned to look back at the water and the platforms floating there. Go deeper into that maze of tunnels?

I don't think so.

"What crawls into my domain?" It was a deep, raspy voice echoing through the tunnels towards me and I swallowed the lump in my throat.

A monster.

There was a monster living down here.

"I smell fresh blood….mmm," My heart was pounding as I put my back to the gate and I tried to recall what I had done. I was a monster too. Why should I be scared?

Because you're a coward.

"Been a while since I smelt a woman…" The laugh following it was bone shaking as the water began to ripple and what rose out of the water, pulling itself up onto the concrete and stretching to its full eight feet. It was a man, by loose description, covered in heavy jade scales and in ragged inmate pants. The head was angular with a strong jaw and brow, blade like teeth making up half the face and when bile yellow eyes met mine they widened.

"Holy shiiit." Waylon Jones tilted his head and he looked genuinely confused by what he saw. I was hyperventilating as Killer Croc took a step toward me, cautiously as I flattened myself up against the wall. "You're…"

My fingers were digging holes into the concrete wall and I stammered out a reply. "I don't mean no trespass, sir, Mr. Croc, I was tossed down here—"

"Shut the fuck up." He snapped and instantly was a half step away from me making me stiffen up. So that was the musky smell I had noticed earlier, no doubt it was his personal scent like all humans had. I'm sure even I had one too. His slitted eyes were looking me over from my clawed feet to my finger tips as I closed my eyes as he leaned in close. "Are you afraid of me, sweetheart?"

I peeked up at him and I answered him honestly. "I…I'm afraid of everything, sir."

"Isn't that cute…" He moved his head so I was forced to look him in the eye we were almost nose to nose. "What do you see?"

I blinked frowning at his question but I had to answer. "I see you." He growled and I quickly elaborated. "I see me…if I were a man…"

Snorting he cupped my face in a large hand leaning back before letting go. "I ain't much on hospitality, girl, but I won't treat you like those meat sacks will."

Fuck. I was crying again as I dropped my chin and once more he seemed at loss for words. "I can't go back…."'

"There is no goin' back." He turned and began to walk towards the water to which I followed a few tentative steps only to stop at the waters edge.

"I don't know how to—to swim, sir."

His bellowing laugh was enough to make me jump and he motioned to the platforms, grabbing the cow carcass he dove into the water. That was my cue to follow the ripples on the platforms, each step making my own ripples as I looked around into the maze.

How did he know where he was going?

Maybe I shouldn't question it as I hopped over a metal gate and I stopped once the ripples stopped. After a moment he resurfaced and climbed onto the platform next to me mine, grabbing my wrist in one gargantuan hand.

"Hold yer breath, sweetheart,"

I barely got a lungful of air when he pulled me into the brakish water, I couldn't see much of anything at first but I could see a tunnel under the water that he was pulling me through. When we surfaced I gasped for air and floundered in the water, instinctively grabbing the closest thing for support. Which happened to be him.

He didn't seem to care as he hauled us up onto a concrete alcove that was filled with two old weathered mattresses and the bones of what looked like cow and hopefully pig. The smell told me it wasn't though.

I coughed up some water and pushed my wet hair out of my eyes, on one of the crates was a radio and it seemed he used it to listen to the guards and tap into the outside radio channels. He was crouching by the carcass of beef and was pulling chunks off, gulping it down as I tip toed closer, kneeling down to pull a piece of meat off.

My first meal in days.

I tried to eat slow but the taste, while water logged, wasn't half bad for someone who had only known raw meat their entire life.

"You got a name?"

I looked up instantly and nodded quickly, wiping my mouth. "Kale…just Kale…"

Snickering he spoke through a mouthful. "Like the vegetable?"

"Yes…." I met his gaze and saw he wasn't looking at me, rather at my soaked shirt that now clung to my breasts and I quickly wrapped my arms around my chest for some sort of modesty. He huffed in amusement as he sat back and leaned on one arm, staring up at the ceiling as he chewed.

"Fuckin' thought you was the Bat…or some idiot quack." He murmured softly and I perked up in interest, I had only had heard stories about the Bat. Not that he would be saving someone like me.

"Why do they keep you down here?" I asked softly, pulling apart a piece of meat into sizable chunks.

"Cause I'm dangerous." His chuckled brought chills through my spine and I looked away when he said that. I could taste blood in my mouth when he said that.