Author note: I know it is hard to understand what's going on, but believe me – it's really hard to sit here and write a story like this. It's very difficult to type out in actual words what something means, and try to make sense of it. So, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

I explained to Stephen Erica, and Cadince about what happened this morning, not leaving anything out.

"So you learned nothing?" Erica asked.

"Not a thing," I sighed.

"Well, you said that he knew you were there…what do you think he'll do?" Cadince asked, worried.

"Who knows?" I shrugged. "He's a sick maniac."

"Yeah, but I can't help but worry about what he has planned for Erica," Stephen choked out.

Erica gave a crooked smile, "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," she assured us.

"For some reason I just can't help not believing that," I said.

"You don't believe that I can make it?" Erica asked with a frown.

"No," I answered honestly. "Well, not with what he's going to do that is."

"Have more faith," Stephen told me.

"No, Anomie's right," Cadince said. "Uncle Ned wants everyone dead. He wants to narrow down the students for some reason. He mostly wants Anomie to fail."

"I won't fail. Not while Daniel needs me," I said.

"But what is Ned planning?" Erica asked.

"He's planning on ridding of me," I told her. "But he wants me to be one of the students he has to narrow down. Then he can put me through real pain."

"By exposing you," Cadince said.

"Exactly, but why doesn't he do it now?" Stephen asked.

"That's what we don't know," Erica whispered.

I massaged my temples as everyone stared at me. We were having a small meeting in Cadince's room since she was still hurt.

"He's planning something," I said. "We've already concluded that much, but the real question is: what is it?"

"Maybe he needs you for something," Erica suggested.

"Maybe," I said. "But what would he need me for?"

"Well, maybe your father won't let him," Cadince said. "Not yet anyways. As long as you're still alive and enrolled here then your father makes millions."

"My father is afraid of Ned," I laughed. "He wouldn't be brave enough to make Ned do anything."

"True," Stephen said. "I think everyone is afraid of Ned."

"Except for me," I said darkly. "That man doesn't scare me, no matter what he does."

"He doesn't scare me either," Cadince said. "Not really anyways."

"Hey, he scares me to death!" Erica exclaimed.

Stephen chuckled and shook his head. "Erica, everything scares you."

"Not true," she said. "I'm not afraid of…um, well, a lot of things."

I closed my eyes and tuned everyone out. Ned was sneaky, and very intelligent at that, but there was always some kind of flaw in his plans. There's a flaw in everyone's plans. He wants to expose me, I know that, but why isn't he doing it?

I sighed in frustration and opened my eyes. "This is one puzzle that beats me by a long shot," I growled.

The four of us gave up on figuring out what Ned was up to and left the stuffy room. We walked around the hallways, just causing a lot of ruckus to get on everyone's nerve.

Ned called this a school, but we didn't learn anything other than how to survive. No classes or anything. Just wondering around, teaching ourselves. Not much of a school if you ask me.

There were people crowded around the hallways, moving out of the way when they saw their leader passing through.

Just as we passed a girl, I saw her give Cadince a dirty look from the corner of my eye, and heard her whisper: "That's her. That's his niece."

I had her pinned against the wall in a heartbeat, clutching her shoulders angrily.

"What was that?" I growled.

The girl – Emily Hendricks – gulped and shook her head. "N-nothing Anomie," she stuttered. "I'm sorry."

I let her go, staring at her fiercely. "Let this be a warning for all of you. The next time I see one of those looks then I'll break your nose," I hissed.

Everybody nodded and I walked past them calmly, like I never exploded with anger.

The day went by rapidly, and I felt my heart leap into my throat when a man came looking for Erica.

"Number 124?" the man said.

Erica gulped and stepped up. "That'd be me," she said hoarsely. The man nodded and took her away.

"She isn't safe," I said suddenly.

"Nobody is ever safe during these tests, Nomie," Stephen said.

"No, I mean, she isn't safe. If I don't find out what's going on…then she'll die. I can just feel it."

"Anomie, you have to trust her," Cadince said.

"I do trust her, I just don't trust Ned!" I snapped.

Stephen nodded in agreement, and my two friends followed me to Ned's office. Just the inside of his office made the rest of the school look trashed, but I pushed that thought away.

"What are you planning?" I asked as I barged through the doors.

"Well if it isn't our little troublemaker," Ned said, entwining his fingers together.

"Screw the small talk, Neeley, what are you planning on doing with Erica?" I boomed.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ned answered stupidly, as if he meant to.

I held in my boiling anger and said, "Oh quit pretending, Ned. You either tell me or I kill you right here, right now."

Ned knew I'd do it, and his face told me he did. He calmly sat down in the chair behind his big brown desk and leaned back.

"Anomie, your friend is about to experience what our own creator did at one point," he spoke up.

"What're you talking about?" I asked impatiently.

"Miss Cassidy is a very religious person, no?"

"Yeah, she is, but what does this have to do with the test?" I asked.

"Think, Anomie," Ned said coolly. "Think real hard."

I stared at Ned for a few moments. "Wait, you're torturing her because she's religious?" I screamed.

"Oh no, Miss. Parker, we aren't torturing her," Ned said. "We are helping her."

I read Ned's gaze, and nearly went ballistic inside. "Tell me what's going on!" I demanded.

"Your friend is located in the dungeons, but not even you can save her. Nobody was able to save Christ…"

My eyes suddenly grew as wide as apples, and my heartbeat quickened. "Oh my God," I whispered.

I twirled around instantly and ran out of the office. Stephen and Cadince were waiting for me on the outside, and once they saw me speed by them, they ran after me.

I didn't even have to say anything for them to know that Erica was in danger, we just ran.

Everything I had felt earlier was washed away with worry as we raced down endless stairs to get to the dungeons. The only things I heard were my rapid breathing, my rapidly beating heart, and the pit-pat of my shoes on the ground.

Once we reached the dungeons I ran through, and looked around like a mad woman. The last door was closed, and I could see shadows of feet from the bottom crack.

Cadince and Stephen made a move to run for it, but I held out my arm and stared at the door, waiting. I licked at my lips, and clenched my fists in anger when I heard it.

From the other side of the door came the pleading screams of Erica, crying uncontrollably. Her screams echoed off the walls, and made my blood run cold.

I suddenly lost it. All my common sense just vanished and I ran to the door, pulling at the knob. Locked- it was locked! I then began banging on the door hard.

"Let her go!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "Let her go!"

Stephen and Cadince were soon at my sides, also banging on the door to stop Erica from feeling anymore pain.

"Erica!" Stephen screamed. "Hold on Erica!"

I rammed my body into the door over and over again, but it didn't budge.

"Help me!" Erica screamed loudly. "Oh my God please help me!"

It was hard to understand what she was screaming through her crying and the thickness of the door, but I heard her. She screamed loudly in pain, and I banged harder on the door.

"Damn it!" I shouted. "Goddamn it all to hell!" I kicked the door, and punched it as if it'd help, but it only added to my anger.

"You can't get through," a familiar, sick voice said from behind us.

I turned around. "You sick fuck!" I screamed. I ran at him at top speed, but Stephen and Cadince grabbed my arms.

"Stop it Anomie!" Cadince yelled over Erica's screams of pain. "He can only make it worse."

"I don't give a fuck, damn it! I'm going to kill you! Let her go!" I yelled, trying to get out of my friend's grasp. My mind was too cloudy to ever realize that I was much stronger than my friends.

"Calm down, Miss Parker," Ned said. I barely heard him as Erica's screams increased.

"I'm going to kill you! I'm going to kill you just like I killed him!" I said through clenched teeth.

This time I didn't miss the small streak of fear in his eyes, but he soon hid it.

"But then you'll go to jail," Ned said with a chuckle, "and I don't think you want that."

"The only damn thing I want is you dead! Do you hear me, Ned? I want you dead!" I shouted.

"I know you do," Ned said casually. "So let's make a trade."

I stopped struggling against my friends and listened.

"I'll let your friend go if you do me a favor," he said.

"What favor?" I asked.

"Time is wasting, Anomie," Ned said. "Yes or no?"

"Yes!" I shouted with no hesitation. "I'll do anything, just let her go!"

"Very well," Ned said.

He walked by us gradually and unlocked the door, only opening it a crack. He said something, and I heard people grunting in anger.

I listened carefully as a body fell to the ground, and Erica crying loudly.

Suddenly, she burst through the door and I caught her before she fell.

"My hands!" she cried in agony. "They nailed my hands!"

I looked down at the palms of her hands where two big bloody holes stood out, nothing but blood covering almost all of her arms.

"Oh my – Erica," I whispered as I hugged her tightly. She held her hands out away from her as she cried on my shoulder.

Ned went too far this time, and now I just vowed to do him a favor, and I don't even know what it is. For all I know…it could be exposing myself in front of all of Brooklyn…

Next Chapter: Anomie must do Ned a favor, one that could wreck her life for good.

Author note: So, I hope you understood this chapter. I'm not giving off info yet, so just keep waiting. I know you're dying to see who it is that Eve killed years ago, and I'll tell you…soon. But for now, just wait.