Cody's POV

So the days went on. And they turned into weeks. After 2 weeks, my life became a routine. I was surprised no one ever came in my room other than Tanya, but you can never be to safe. I grew used to lying in the hard bed with my eyes shut, waiting for Tanya to come and tell me no one was home. Actually, I slept half of those times because we would stay up all night. I just didn't understand why no one paid attention to the 'unconscious' murder whiteness in Tanya's room. I'm sure they all thought that I was going to die. Maybe Lola just didn't want to let go.

I grew close to Tanya. She was so perfect, and just my age. 14 almost 15, except her birthday was 2 months before mine. I felt a bond with her…she had practically saved my life. I told her about my life before at the Tipton with Zack and Mom and everyone else there. The more the days passed by, the more I missed it. I grew tired of lying in bed all the time, and not having anyone to fight with. I probably would have preferred the life of being teased, left out, and second best at the social life I longed for to this one. Sometimes I would think about Zack, and if he missed me. Did he miss me at all? What was he doing right now?

I found myself remembering more of the good times we had had, and less of the bad. So when I could bring myself to think about home, I would remember moments like how good it felt to be dancing on stage with Max, cooking in the hotel kitchen, saving Tippy, or that day we skipped school. The punishments that those ended up in seemed minor, since I had now experienced real pain. I found humor in moments that I had before thought I would never get over. Like when Zack ruined my newspaper, loosing my dream to be a mime, or being dumped by Zack for a rich friend. And as funny as it sounds, I felt even more pride in small moments then I ever had like winning the spelling bee, or that wonderful bike ride I finally got Zack to let me have. And I missed it. I missed the adventures and our carefree lives.

Tanya told me about her life too, but it was nothing like mine. Every time she told me a new story, my heart would go out to her. It was so unfair that I had had such a good life and hers had been so terrible. She never did anything to deserve the things that happened to her. I know if I had had that type of life, I wouldn't be sweet and caring like she, but cold and hard. More then once, we both ended up in tears at the end of a story.

"I remember that we used to move around a lot. Mom was always working, and I never had a babysitter. We didn't have much money I guess; I don't remember a fancy life. I didn't really understand danger back then, so I would frequently go on walks by myself. Mom would always get mad when I came home, and scream a lot. One day I was out walking near the street and a car stopped. Inside was Andrew. He had a pretty car and asked if I was lost and tired. I said I knew where home was, but didn't feel like walking there. Then he said he would take me home. He picked me up and put me in the car, and never did take me home." Tanya looked wistfully out the window as if trying to wash away the horrible memories of the past. I reached for her hand and held it comfortingly.

"Then what happened?" I inquired.

"After that, I was sort of non-existent. I never went to school, and wasn't allowed out of the house for years. After the searches stopped, I guess, he let me out more often. I would visit the library all the time, and I taught myself to read. It never occurred to me that my lifestyle was strange until I started reading about normal life. Then I wanted to leave, because I knew I wasn't supposed to be here. I tried to leave the house one night, but got caught. He hurt me so bad that I never tried to leave again, because I was afraid. That was 2 years ago."

It was hard for me to comprehend a 12 year old just learning to read, and hardly remembering their parents. It just wasn't fair. Her life wasn't, and I wanted to give her more.

"When we get out of here, we'll find somewhere you can stay. Maybe somewhere in the Tipton! Then we'll be able to see each other and I'll be able to show you what my life is like."

"But what about my parents? I'm not too eager to find them, but they are my parents."

"If you want your parents, then we'll find them. I know someone that has enough money to hire a private investigation team."

"London?"

"Yeah"

"But I thought you said she only cared about herself," Tanya said, confused.

"She does, but a few thousand dollars wont make a difference to her. Once, she gave me a handful of hundred dollar bills because they were to crinkled."

Tanya laughed and reached out to hug me. I smiled and hugged her back. We pulled slightly apart, and I decided to take a chance. I pecked her softly on the cheek, and then pulled back blushing slightly, and grinning sheepishly.

"Cody?" she said grinning. What happened next was all kind of a blur. "Not like that, like this." She said softly. Then she pulled me closer and touched her lips to mine. I felt like I was sailing in the sky, as I kissed her back. She wrapped her arms around me and I hugged her waist with one arm. The other hung at my side in a makeshift sling. We stayed like that for a while until finally she pulled back. I smiled at her and took her hand in mine and gently patted it.

"I'm going to get you out of here Tanya. Don't worry, we're going to get out and I'll show you my world. It'll be a great happily ever after."

That had all been in the day, and for once Tanya and me slept through the night. At least for some time. I'm sure it was near 3:00 in the morning when the creaky door opening awakened me. The thumping of boots…men's boots sounded. I kept my eyes closed through instinct, as the sound of heavy boots pounding grew nearer.

"Tanya!" Came a very familiar drunken voice. I cringed at the sound of it and shut my eyes tighter. The footsteps came closer and their pattern was staggered. I could feel my heart boiling in anger towards the man that was approaching us...me in the bed, and Tanya on the floor.

"Oh my God, No!" came another voice also very familiar. But Tanya's voice didn't sound strong and confident like usual, but instead shaky and scared. And I couldn't hold her to comfort her. I could feel myself shaking as Andrew continued.

"Tanya dear its been to long" I could tell by his voice that he was grinning that crooked evil grin.

"Don't come any closer!" Tanya screamed. "Don't touch me!" That screamed pierced through my soul and stirred in my heart, causing the strong side of me to rise up. I couldn't sit what he might be about to do to her, no matter what. I forced my eyes open to see Andrew beginning to lift Tanya off the ground with a strong arm. She was screaming now, and I could see brown tears streaming down her face.

"Don't touch her!" I screamed.

Zack's POV

Fire was in every direction. The fire had a face, and was laughing evilly. But it wasn't around me; they were closing in on Cody who stood alone in an alleyway, curled in a ball whimpering. I called out to Cody, "Cody! I'll get you out! Just stand up! Don't be afraid!" I could feel fear pushing at my heart for my brother. I couldn't stand there and let him die. Then, a short figure in a baseball cap pulled over its head appeared and began blowing at the fire. The fire disappeared more with each breath but the figure seemed to get weaker, like it was killing itself saving Cody. With a final breath, the figure fell and the last of the fire devoured it. I looked at Cody who was standing with a strange girl I had never seen before in his arms. They both seemed happy, until they saw the baseball cap person. The baseball cap tumbled off. I could see a glimpse of it's face, enough to see that it was a woman, but I wanted to know who it was. I ran over to it and started to turn it over.

I awoke suddenly with sweat dribbling down my face. My body was shaking. I had the dream again. Why was it torturing me? This was the at least the 5th time it had haunted me, in the 2 weeks Cody had been missing. And I never did get to see who saved Cody. I wanted to see the face, but I always woke up before I did. What did the dream mean? I had seen more this time then before, and had determined the person to be a woman. But who?

I glimpsed over to look at the clock. 5 AM. I couldn't go back to sleep though, despite how tired I felt. I was too confused, and scared.

Life without Cody was horrible. I never got used to walking into the lobby alone, or saying good night to no one as I shut my eyes. I slept with Cody's blankie now, because it was the only thing I had to remind me about my brother. Each night I would creep into my bed and curl up, hugging Blankie closer to me and breathing in it's scent.

At first, I slacked even more in school. I didn't even pay attention to girls or my social life, much less the schoolwork. And everyone left me alone. The only one that I would talk to was Max. Max understood. We would walk together holding hands, sometimes she would lean her head on my shoulder, whimpering softly. We would call each other each day, and she would help me through my thoughts.

After a week like that, I started to think more clearly. I still missed Cody more then anything, but I had to think about what he would have wanted. So I tried as hard as I could to concentrate on my schoolwork. Actually school was the one thing that I used to hold on to Cody. At home, if I weren't talking to Max, I would have my head stuck in the books. Schoolwork helped keep my mind off of how much I missed Cody, yet still keep me close to him. I felt a sort of pride when I made my first "A" on a math test.

Mom continued singing, but more and more often her voice would crack on the stage and she would break into tears. Less people paid to come to her show, and Mr. Moseby would have fired her if he were less of a caring person. At night, we would still have those moments, where she would stroke my hair and cry while I sat there, trying to remember how much fun it was when Cody had been gone. Those two weeks were probably the slowest two weeks of my life.