(Author's Note: Yay, ff.net back up! It figures – I go away for a month, and soon as I get back, that's when the site goes down. lol. Anyway, I'm getting really close to the end of this story, and hopefully I'll wrap it up by the end of the month (not promising anything though. :-P). Okay, for those of you who commented:

Leopardess: I'm glad I 'damn near frightened you to death.' Hehe, that comment made me giggle. I was kinda wanting the dream sequence to be a little scary, but didn't figure it really would be. Especially because I did say it was a dream at the beginning. Maybe I should have left that out? Anyway, thanks for the compliment!

The Cat: I'm really going to try to update faster now. I want to get the story done. So I will try. But keep on threatening me if you want. lol. Maybe it works… *grin*

Laney: Here's more now. lol. As for Raina, yes, she is selfish, that's probably upbringing. Hopefully, you'll find out what her deal is fairly soon here. Unless she doesn't want to tell.. *wink*

Mandy: I do cliffhangers just because I know you love them so much. lol. And I'm glad that was what you got out of the whole dream sequence. That's what I was going for. Otherwise, it would be a pointless chapter. And if it's a little confusing, that's because dreams are confusing. Then again, if it was really too confusing, let me know and I'll try to fix it.

Dark Beauty: Um, I take it you liked it? *grin* Well, hopefully you like this chapter too. :-P

Baloo: I always love your reviews.. You get really specific, and I love that. Trust me, Michael is exactly as he seems to be; definitely not batting for the other side. Sorry to disappoint you. ;-) As for Damian, I'm sorry to say that I know for a fact that he will not reappear for at least a few chapters. He's gone into hiding to sulk or something. But when he comes back, I'll let him know you're looking for him. lol. And let me remind you: WRITE! ;-) hehe.

Redaura: I'm going to try to update faster, so maybe you'll get two chapters again. And I really have no excuse now that I'm graduated. If only it were that simple. *sigh* Hmm.. Seems everybody wants Michael to be a bad guy. What's up with that? lol. I personally have no problem with him. Then again, he is my creation. But still… He's a pretty good guy… Really. As for Hunter and Troy… Well, we can only hope they bite it… the dust, that is. *grin*

MysticalMirage: Glad you liked it! And don't be flattered for being included… Why wouldn't you be? : ) And as I said two paragraphs up, no Damian for a little while. I think you guys are getting too attached… He is a traitor after all, remember? ;-)

Orange: Thanks! Always love to hear what you think!

lilol'me: Yes, I just graduated from college. As for Damian's name… To be honest, that wasn't going to be his name originally… A friend and I thought of a really good name to use instead, because I didn't want to use Damian – too close to Damon… But, and this is actually kind of funny, when I started writing, for some reason I completely forgot that I'd renamed the character! And by the time my friend noticed and protested, we'd both forgotten what name we'd decided on. lol. So.. *shrug* Damian stayed Damian. *grin* As for Strange Fate, all I know is it's not written yet, and nobody know when, so just keep hanging on.

Thanks everybody for reviewing!! A lot that time! I feel so loved! lol.

*Chapter 28*

Instinctively, Jenny and Raina dropped into a fighting stance as the guards ran at them, their backs turned slightly away from each other. As the first guard reached her, Jenny kicked out at him. She caught him in the knee, and he knelt over, grabbing it. The taller guard behind him pushed him aside. He dodged Jenny's punches and grabbed her arm.

"No!" she cried, trying to yank her arm out of his hand. But he was too strong, and she was still too sluggish from sleep. She kicked out at him, and he caught her leg in his other hand. He yanked on her leg and she lost her balance, crashing to the floor on her back. She closed her eyes and moaned as pain raced up her spine like a snake. When she opened them again, the guard was kneeling over her, one foot on either side of her, and a sharp dagger was pressed to her throat.

"Shit," she breathed. So much for that pitiful attempt to escape. Over the guard's shoulder, she could see Raina being led out of the cell, her hands tied behind her back. To her credit, she was still struggling, and words flowed out of her mouth that would have made even a hard-ass blush.

"That's right, girly." The tall guard leaned over her, grinning. Sharp white teeth flashed in the light. "You're in it deep."

He grabbed her shoulders and yanked her roughly to her feet. The guard she had kicked in the knee hobbled over and pulled her arms behind her – more like ripped her arms behind her. Jenny got the feeling he was bitter.

The injured guard pushed her toward the door, the other guard at her side. As they headed up the tunnel leading from the prison room, Jenny could see Raina up ahead, no longer struggling, but with a determined set to her body. At the top of the tunnel, Jenny passed Raina, whose guards had stopped her next to a column in the next room.

As Jenny walked by, Raina leaned toward her and managed to hiss "Remember what I said!" before the guards pulled her back. Jenny nodded, attempting a small smile for reassurance.

The guards led her to an entrance on her left, not the one she had originally come down three days before. This one didn't lead up or down. Rather, it led straight out into darkness. The injured guard pulled a torch from the wall next to the opening.

"Where are you taking me?" Jenny finally asked as they walked deeper into the darkness.

The tall guard only smiled, as if enjoying a joke at her expense. He probably is, she thought.

"I'm going to die, aren't I?" she persisted. The injured guard snorted, and she leveled her gaze on him. "Well, if I'm going to die, you're going down with me." She could feel hatred boiling up inside of her, and she put every bit of it behind her gaze. The guard smiled at first, but as she stared at him, the smile wavered. Finally, he looked away.

"Right," he muttered.

She walked on in silence. She obviously wasn't going to get any information out of these two. Instead, she needed to be thinking of a plan. She wriggled her hands around behind her back, but the ropes were too tight. They gave no leeway at all.

Okay, think, Jenny. She bit her lip, concentrating. They would have to untie her, wouldn't they? Hunter had said she'd have a sporting chance, and wouldn't ropes be unsporting? Then again, how could she trust anything Hunter said. After all, he was pretty much the head of the Night World, if not in title. He could do whatever he wanted.

Well, if she didn't get untied, she was screwed. Oh, way to think, she scowled at herself. It's just a minor inconvenience.

Jenny slowed slightly to let the guards get a little ahead of her. Just as she was about to plant a foot in the tall one's back, they slowed too. Damn. Escaping was always so much easier when the guards were stupid.

The tall one gave her a look of warning, clearly telling her he knew what she'd been thinking.

She sighed.

"So, do you guys have any hobbies?" she asked cheerfully. They ignored her. "Yeah, you guys are real conversationalists."

The injured guard whirled on her, grabbing her shirt in his sweaty fist.

"Hey, watch it!" she cried.

"You wouldn't be so talkative if you knew what we had in store for you," he hissed. "If I were you, I'd be praying for forgiveness from your maker."

Something in his voice chilled her, and her mouth dried up. God, she did not want to be here.

They walked the rest of the way through the tunnel in silence. The only sound was the steady drip of water falling from the ceiling. Finally, the tunnel opened into a small room with bars on either side. Guards stood posted around the room, each sporting a long, wooden sword.

Even worse, Jenny realized… There were people in the dark behind those bars, lots of people, on both sides. Her mouth fell open with surprise, and her breath caught.

"Oh my God," she breathed.

The guards pushed her to the left. Another guard unlocked a barred door, and Jenny found herself being tossed in, the door closing behind her with a solid clank.

She turned and faced the group of people behind her. There had to have been at least two dozen of them. Some stood and some sat, but all huddled against each other in the shadows, looking scared. Most of them watched her curiously.

One small boy, looking not more than a day over 13, stepped forward. "Welcome to Hell," he said grimly.

Panic flashed through her, and her heart suddenly seemed dragged down by hopelessness. She was definitely going to die. All of these people were going to die. And there wasn't a damn thing anybody could do about it.

She pressed her fingertips against closed eyelids until bright lights flashed against her vision. No. This couldn't be happening. She didn't want to die. She'd said it before, but at the moment, it seemed like she didn't have a choice… and she was scared. If there were this many people in here together and they hadn't managed to get away, then it really was hopeless. She might as well just give up now and not waste the energy.

On the other side of the flashing lights, someone walked up to her. She could hear the footsteps stop in front of her. Finally, a small voice said, "Jenny?"

Jenny's eyes flew open. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed, a smile forcing itself on her. "Mari! You're alive!"

She threw herself at the smaller girl, and they hugged each other tight.

Jenny laughed. "I'm so glad to see you!" Mari looked pale and disheveled, but very much alive.

"Tell me about it!" Mari grinned, pushing dark hair out of her face. "I feel like I've been in here forever!" Her face sobered. "But I'm not happy that they got you, Jenny. I thought for sure you'd be able to escape them."

Jenny sighed, her elation fading quickly. "I had to come find you guys. I didn't know what happened."

Nodding, Mari took Jenny's hand and squeezed it. "I was hoping you'd be smarter than that, but I didn't figure you would be." She smiled ruefully. "I saw Michael and Carl on the other side of the room. And Ashton too."

Just then, a figure stepped up behind Mari, dwarfing her. "Gunther!" Jenny gasped, and rushed at him. She'd never been that close to Gunther, but at the moment she was so happy to see him that a hug seemed totally appropriate.

He patted her back clumsily. "Nice to see you're still alive and kicking, Jenny."

Jenny stepped back and looked around at the room full of people. "Does anybody know what the hell is going on?"

Silence. A few people shook their heads, but most just stared at her.

"Yeah, I had a feeling that would be the answer."

***********

A few more people were put in the cell over the next hour, but nobody left, and nobody had any idea what to do next. They sat in a semicircle, staring at each other.

"I say when they come to get us, we all rush them," one girl said, her eyes looking hollow.

"That will never work," another girl said. "As soon as we did that, they'd shut the door on us."

A boy in the corner spoke up. "Well, what about when they take us out? How about then?"

"That would be great," Mari said, "but I doubt they'd be that stupid. They'll take us out a few at a time, I'm sure."

"But on our own, we'll never get out of here!"

"I just want to go home!"

"We're all going to die!"

Everybody started speaking at once, and Jenny leaned against the wall and closed her eyes tight, as if not seeing them would make the noise stop.

A small girl with tangled blond hair stepped into the middle of the group. "There's nothing we can do," she said quietly. "I say we just wait and see what happens. See if an opportunity opens to us." As soon as she stopped talking, she dropped her eyes to the floor and backed away.

"What?" one boy exclaimed. "We just let them do whatever to us? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"No," Jenny said, standing. "No, she's right. If we try anything here, we die anyway. If we wait… we might get a better opportunity."

Mari stepped forward. "They'll be expecting us to try something now. If we wait… We might catch them by surprise."

The boy standing next to Jenny grinned. "Yeah. And then I'll rip those damn vampires' throats out!"

"Hey!" a voice protested. "I'm one of those damn vampires."

"Me too."

"And me."

Jenny's eyes widened as four girls and two boys stood. "Wait a minute… Are there any other Night people in here?"

The girl with the tangled blond hair spoke up. "I'm a 'shifter," she said softly. "And he is too." She pointed to the boy sitting next to her. He nodded.

A girl at the back tentatively raised her hand. "Me too."

"This is odd," Jenny breathed. Why were they all here? What did the Night World want with both humans and its own people? "Why do they want you guys?" she asked aloud.

"I'm in Circle Daybreak," the blonde said thoughtfully. The others nodded in agreement.

"Well, that explains it," Mari said, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against Gunther, who sat next to her. "Apparently they want to get rid of all of us, because we get in their way."

Jenny noticed the boy next to her narrowing his eyes at the girl who'd said she was one of the damn vampires. His mouth tugged down in a scowl, and she didn't like the look of it. She put a hand on his shoulder, and he turned to her, startled.

"Now's not the time," she warned him, then turned to the crowd. Not to sound bossy, but somebody had to say it. "Now's not the time for any of us to be taking out old grudges on each other. I don't care if you're a vampire or a shapeshifter or a vampire hunter. I don't care if you go after each other when we get out of here. But if we don't put our differences aside, we're not going to make it out of here, that much can be assured."

The boy frowned, but unclenched his fists. The others looked around at each other, nodding in agreement.

"So what do we do now?" Jenny asked, since they were all looking at her.

"We wait."