Chapter 2: A Way Out

"What are you trying to hide from me?" an eerie voice echoed through the desolate room. The question was asked to a rigid body, sprawled across the wood floor. The body was breathing heavily and still from tension.

"N-nothing," the body stammered back.

"Now, Draco," the wizard said condescendingly, "You know that I could tear through your thoughts if I put even an ounce of effort into doing so. That poor and pathetic shield you've put up to stop me would be ripped apart if I tried."

"My Lord," Draco muttered from the floor as he gave a effort to get up, "I swear to you, I –"

"Crucio!" Voldemort said effortlessly, his wand pointed straight at Draco. Draco sank back to the floor, his body convulsing in pain, a pain so unbearable and unlike anything else he had ever experienced. The curse struck his very core, shocking him with bolts of agony over and over again.

"Do not lie to me!" Voldemort warned, impatience audible in his voice. "I was giving you a chance to be honest with me, Draco, but you've left me no choice."

He sighed, somewhat dramatically, and then the pain was gone. In it's place, a new, different sensation. The excruciating pain had left Draco's body after what felt like an eternity, but the new feeling was just as bad. It felt like there was a slippery bug, squeezing its way through his head, leaving a slimy and hazy trail in its wake. In a split second, the wormy bug was gone, and Draco was left dazed with his head pounding.

"So that's it?" Voldemort asked somewhat disappointed. "You have doubts of your Lord and of what I'm doing. You worry about your father and your mother, and you think of them constantly. You're regretting your decision in joining me, though you know you had no other choice. And you are trying to think of some way to escape myself and my followers, trying to look for a way out."

Draco cringed, still lying on the ground. This could not be good.

"What to do, what to do," Voldemort contemplated, twirling his wand in deep thought.

"My Lord," Draco stammered, trying to think of an excuse, an explanation…anything, "I did not mean to…I couldn't help –"

This time Voldemort only flicked his wand, and the stabbing and tearing pain returned to Draco. He shook and withered on the floor for what felt like hours. Finally, the pain left, and he laid panting and aching in a small ball.

"Lies, Draco," Voldemort spat, "Nothing but lies." He paced about the room in long, lengthy strides, speaking in an even and rigid voice. "I will not pretend that I am not grateful for your help concerning the downfall of Dumbledore, even though you didn't actually complete your orders. Doesn't matter though, the deed is done, and you have played your part well."

Draco tried to lie as still as he possibly could. This is all a dream, Draco, he told himself. You're going to wake up and realize there's no war, no Voldemort, no terror, and no death. It's all a dream, it's all a dream, it's all a dream…Draco chanted in his mind.

Voldemort smirked at the crumpled form on the ground.

If only, Draco…if only. The words cut across Draco's mind like ice, and he shuddered involuntarily.

"There is only one way," Voldemort said aloud, stopping to stand and hover of Draco's form. "Since I am a merciful Lord and since you have completed the nearly impossible task that I gave you, I will spare your life."

"My Lord!" Draco said with fake enthusiasm. Death, he thought, wouldn't be such a bad way out. "Thank you so much, my Lord!"

"But," Voldemort said icily, causing a chill to flood through Draco, "You will need to learn your lesson. Such thoughts that occupy your puny, little mind must be vanquished. And the only way this can be accomplished," he said softly, as he bent down to look at Draco, his wand ready and pointed at the blonde, "is with pain."

Draco screamed as the pain hit him tenfold. If he thought that he was in agony before, it was nothing compared to what he was experiencing now. His body screamed and screeched in misery. Every part of him felt like it was twisting up and tearing itself a part, like a knife was stabbing at him, shredding his skin to pieces. It was horrible…a nightmare.

The pain went on for hours and hours. Every second was worse than the last, and every second Draco silently begged and pleaded for death. It seemed much more welcoming than the constant pain.

In the midst of his torture, Draco felt his body being dragged away from his position on the hard wood floor. But he neither cared nor wanted to know where he was being taken. He could feel himself being hauled through many winding and twisting hallways and down many staircases. Finally, he slowed and then stopped. His body was thrown mercilessly into a room that was almost pitch black. The pain vanished, though Draco couldn't remember when it had stopped, but he could care less. The incessant pain was finally gone, a dull throbbing left in its place. Draco melted against the floor, welcoming the cool and comforting silence of sleep.

When Draco awoke, it took him a second to realize where he was. It felt like everything he went through was one long nightmare, for his dreams were haunted with the happenings of the day before. In his sleep, he could feel the pain being shoved at him, tearing a part his body and mind. Draco moved slightly from his position on the floor, trying to lift his head up. The room was still dark, but it was definitely lighter than he remembered it. Looking up, Draco saw a small window high above him. The room was small, but it was at least two stories high, and at the highest part of the room, a tiny window was placed to let in a bare amount of light.

He sighed to himself, trying to figure a way out. There was no door, and he wondered if he might have been thrown in from the window. Getting up slowly, Draco studied the damage he had sustained. His whole body ached with a raking pain that he doubted would ever go away. His shoulder felt dislocated, maybe from when he had been dragged about? His ribs hurt, but he doubted they were broken.

Draco sat and waited. He had realized that there was only one way he would be able to escape. There was no way he could reach that window, not without a wand anyway. But, if by chance, someone came in to check up on him, he would have a chance at a getaway.

What do you mean "a chance at a getaway"? a tiny voice in his head asked him. Draco froze, his body slightly trembling. Of course, what had he been thinking? He couldn't escape. He couldn't try to leave Voldemort. He just couldn't.

Draco knew he wouldn't survive a week even if he were able to get out of his prison hold. Voldemort was ruthless when tracking down his faithful followers who had gone astray, and Draco was no exception. Especially after his father had failed Voldemort, the dark wizard would be more than ready to punish him by killing his son.

He leaned hopelessly against the cold, stone wall. In a minute, the wall across from him started to shimmer at its side. Draco sat up a bit straighter, watching as a small rectangle shape was beginning to glow against the gray backdrop of stone. He flew to floor, not even thinking, and closed his eyes, faking deep slumber.

"He's still out," a husky voice said, stepping from the glowing rectangle.

"He's been out the whole night," another higher voice answered. Draco could feel the two men standing over him, peering down at his body.

"Don't blame him, though, you know?" the husky voice pointed out. "After what our Lord did to him, I think I'd be out for a week, having to go through the torture the Dark Lord gave him."

"Yeah, I know," the other man answered. "Wonder what he did to get such a beating? You don't think it was just punishment for what Lucius did, do you?"

"Don't really know," the husky voice answered softly, "poor kid."

"Poor kid?" the other man answered, and Draco snuck a peak up at the two. The man who was currently speaking had black hair and beady, black eyes. His features were sharp and his face was set. The other seemed like the exact opposite. He had soft brown hair, and warm hazel eyes. His face was plump and he was bigger than the man with black hair.

"Yeah, poor kid!" the brunette answered his companion. "He's barely eighteen, and he's already being dragged into all this business!"

"He should be proud," the other man said shrilly. "He has the opportunity of a life time!"

"He's still a kid, Baker!" the plump man argued.

"Doesn't matter though, does it?" Baker asked with a smirk. "The Dark Lord's going to kill him anyway, whether he's a kid or not."

"I know," the man agreed sadly, his eyes staying on Draco's rigid form. Draco had stopped breathing when Baker had so happily stated that Draco was going to be killed.

"Let's get out of here," Baker said hastily. "He's not going to kill him yet. A couple more weeks of torture for the kid and then death. I hear the Dark Lord is going to torture him personally!"

Draco could see Baker grinning evilly as he walked back to the shimmering door. Draco watched Baker step through the shimmering door, and the other man turned back to look at Draco. Their eyes locked for a second, a second that seemed to last eternity. Draco could see the utter sadness in this man's face, the truth spilling from his round, hazel eyes. He blinked, and then the man was gone. The shimmering door was gone and so was Draco. His mind dissolved into empty darkness, the reality of his situation finally sinking in.

He collapsed on the ground, letting sleep take over him again, though he wasn't the least bit tired.

"Come on," a voice said gruffly right next to Draco's ear. Draco sat up abruptly, taking in his surroundings. He was in the same bare room, though it was much darker, almost pitch black, but he could see a darker shadow perched on the ground next to him.

"Wha –?" Draco asked sleepily, but getting himself up quickly despite the sleep that was slowly trying to overtake him.

"Get up!" the voice said urgently, but Draco didn't budge.

"Who are you?" he asked, his senses flying back to him, his sleepiness ebbing away. "Where are you taking me?"

"Doesn't matter," the husky voice answered, yanking Draco to his feet.

"Tell me where you're taking me, or –" Draco demanded, planting his feet firmly on the ground.

"Out!" the man shouted in a hushed voice, and Draco allowed the man to drag him across the room.

"Out?" Draco stammered.

"Yes!" the man said, stopping at the opposite wall. Draco looked at him, the slight light from the moon shining on his face. The man had soft features and round, hazel eyes.

"You…you came in here earlier," Draco stammered, the realization of who the man was dawning on him.

"Yes," he said quickly as the shimmering door appeared in front of them, "Now come on!"

And Draco was pulled through the door. They were running down the halls, turning here and there, going up stairs and then down. The whole thing was a gigantic maze, and Draco knew he would never have been able to find the way out on his own.

What do you think you're doing? An icy voice asked rather calmly inside of his head. Draco's captor froze, and he turned to face Draco.

"He knows," the man gulped, turning his head this way and that. "We can't make it."

"Keep going," Draco ordered, and the man reluctantly kept going. The man knew he was going to die because he tried to help the kid escape, so he might as well try to survive.

You aren't going to make it. Voldemort's voice pointed out savagely in his head. Why even try? I can make your death painless if you stop running now.

But Draco knew this was a lie. If he was going to be tortured before, then it was going to be ten times worse now that he was trying to escape, whether he gave up easily or not. They kept on going, their speed picking up every time they rounded a corner. Voldemort's voice was consistent in Draco's head, and he guessed the same thing was going on with his rescuer. A couple of times the man in front of Draco would freeze, his face going paler every second. Draco would have to push him back into motion to get him going again. In some distant, unconnected part of his brain, Draco wondered what Voldemort was saying to the man.

Behind him, Draco could hear footsteps gaining on them. Crap,he thought, as he increased his pace. His rescuer, however, was slowing with every step he took. Draco didn't know whether it was from magic or the man's size, but the wizard he was following was slowing down.

"Come on!" Draco shouted to the wizard as his jog turned into a walk, but the man was slowing even more.

Soon the man started to walk, and Draco could hear the footsteps behind him coming ever closer. He could feel death creeping over his shoulder, closing in on the little hope he had left.

Just give up, Draco, Voldemort ordered, and the demand floated calmly through Draco's head. Draco stopped too, and the two of them stayed there standing still, letting the footsteps close in on them.

That's a good boy, Voldemort said evenly in his head, and Draco could feel the traces of magic, slipping over his words. He shook his head fiercely, trying to rid himself of the bit of magic that Voldemort had left in his head. Draco looked to the other man, but there was no hope for him. Draco may have been able to free himself from the mind lock Voldemort had put on him, but his rescuer was already trapped by the magic.

Draco turned and ran, only concentrating on the sound of feet hitting stone behind him. He was sorry to have left the man who had saved him, but he wasn't about to die with him for his bravery…or stupidity. Draco kept on running, a cramp developing in his side.

Stop, Draco, Voldemort ordered, but Draco kept running. The footfalls behind him had left for a minute, but now they were back, echoing off the stone walls. Draco picked up his pace even more, sprinting down the twisting hallways. Every time he came to a fork in to road, he chose one way, without hesitating. Draco knew he didn't have the time to contemplate which way he should go. Even if he did have the time to think about it, he wouldn't have the slightest idea which way was which.

Finally, Draco's passage ended, a staircase left and the end of the tunnel. He hesitated for only half a second, and then climbed the spiraling stairs, taking them two by two. Every second that passed, Draco could hear the people behind him gaining, but he shook that realization from his head, allowing his adrenaline to take over.

Draco kept running, the steps behind him getting louder and louder, and when he turned around, he could see shadows creeping forward from the darkness. At the exact moment when Draco though he was done for, he saw light protruding from the darkness ahead of him. His hope re-ignited, Draco sped up (if it was even possible), focusing only on the growing light. Soon, flashes of light were flying over his shoulders and narrowly missing his body. The spells and curses came flying at him, just barely missing him.

You're going to die, Draco, Voldemort said evilly, breaking the silence of Draco's mind. But Draco didn't really believe him. His hope and adrenaline were overcoming his body and mind, and right when he was about to reach the light, a spell hit him square in the back.

Draco doubled over in pain, and the burn crept through his body. It moved from limb to limb, scorching his muscles, leaving him immobile. The other wizards following him were on him in no time. Blows came from every direction, both by force and by magic. Each hit sent a wave of pain through his body. Draco felt bones break here and there, but he could barely think anymore. A foggy darkness was creeping across his thoughts. It blacked out his vision, slowed and then stopped his thinking.

He lay on the ground, pain overtaking his body. There was nothing left but the pain. Finally, Draco could feel himself slipping away. His mind was already gone, and his body was dying as every second passed. His breathing stopped, and the slowed beating of his heart echoed in his ears. The last thing he heard was an icy laugh that flooded through him.

A/N: I'm done! Sorry it took me forever to get it up, but I promise Chapter 3 by the end of the week! I love you all! Please keep reading and reviewing!

Thanks: missMANNEQUINx, Ange de l'eau, and Boh! Thanks a bunch for my first three comments! I'd still appreciate more though!