A/N: Trigger warning. And probably for the next few chapters as well. I'm tired of sticking them all over the place so I'll just put one in bold here.

…And I'm supposed to do a recovery piece. Shame on me. Ugh. Maybe I should just change the genre to horror. Should I?

Enough rambling from me. Enjoy your read.

Tori:

There was a throbbing pain at the back of my skull as the world slowly swam back into focus. Instinctively, I moved my arms to rub at the sore spot, but I quickly realized I couldn't move either of them.

Panic instantly coursed through me, as I immediately became alert. The surroundings are pitch black, and I couldn't see a thing. My hands felt as though they were tied up behind me, and I think I'm sitting on some sort of chair? I could not move my legs either, and they also seemed to be bound to something.

I tried to open my mouth to call for help, but I found that I was unable to do that as well.

Trying to calm the pounding in my chest, I attempted to recall what had happened before I ended up here. I was on the way to the flower shop, to get some flowers for Jade for our date. Then… something hit my head real hard?

Oh my god, have I been kidnapped? Are there no lights on or have I gone totally blind?

I struggled to rock the legs of the chair I was bound to, but the base was too sturdy to be pushed to one side.

After wrestling with the bindings for a while, I felt myself getting exhausted, my strength slowly ebbing away, and whatever that was holding me down were not getting any looser. I need to compose myself and save my energy. This is an abduction, right? That means some sort of ransom should be demanded from my family.

But why me? We're not rich by any means, even less so after recent events.

I fought to contain the rising panic in my sternum with each passing second in this darkness. This feels like déjà vu. The sense of overwhelming, complete helplessness was starting to swamp over and choke me. It's just like when I was strapped down to the creepy doctor's metal bed, unable to do a thing as he jabbed a needle into my arm, then waking up to him bringing a mirror to show me the bandages on my face and leg, and my removed eyeball on a tray.

It's getting harder to breathe.

No no no no no. This can't be happening again.

A bright overhead light was suddenly turned on, temporary blinding me. There were sounds of footsteps coming nearer, and a voice that sounded vaguely familiar spoke. "You're finally awake. Took you long enough."

I squinted, trying to make out the figure walking towards me. It took me some time before I was able to focus my vision on the silhouette.

…Ryder Daniels?

I tried to scream at him to let me go, but all that came out were muffled, unintelligible squeaks. He sat down on a chair on the opposite of me, a smug grin on his face. "I hope you enjoyed humiliating me on stage the other day, and causing me to get a D in the singing class. My scholarship has been terminated because of you."

Oh no. Not him. I need to get out of here fast.

I raised my brows in shock as he reached his gloved hands into a wooden crate beside him, pulling out my prosthetic leg. It was only then I looked down and realized that he had cut off a large section of my jeans and unscrewed my leg from the metal connector protruding from my stump. Both my lower limbs were duct taped to the legs of a chair, and there was also a thick layer of duct tape around my chest and stomach, tying me to the backrest of the seat.

Ryder continued grinning, playing with the fake leg in his hand. "You want this thing back? If you beg me on your knees, maybe I'll consider giving it back to you."

With renewed desperation, I tried to shake and wriggle my body as hard as I could to get the adhesives off. He looked on as I struggled, laughing, as he held a piece of paper close to my face.

"Let's make a deal, Tori. I'd like you to sign this letter for me. I'll push your chair to that stool and get you a pen, and you'll sign it. Then perhaps I'll let you go."

My eye widened as I scanned through the words on the form. It was a notice letter regarding my intentions to withdraw from Hollywood Arts to Principal Helen, already dated and just missing a signature.

I shook my head desperately. No! I don't want to withdraw from school! The school where Jade and André and Cat and Robbie are in! Where my favorite teacher Sikowitz is in!

Ryder had mock disappointment written all over his face. "No? Just as I expected. Well, you can choose between signing that letter or this," he smiled, pushing the lit screen of my phone close to my face.

Upon reading the message he had typed out on the phone, I felt my heart sink. How am I supposed to choose between these? Lowering my head, I closed my eyes, trying to weight the decision in my head.

He gripped me by my chin with one hand, forcing me to look at him, while stroking my cheek with his other hand. "I'm feeling generous today, since I am in a good mood. You have one hour to think about your choice, Tori. If you don't make a decision by then, I'll find a way to forge your signature onto this letter anyway and send this message out. But I will be very upset if I have to go through all that trouble."

The Cheshire cat grin still stuck on his face, he walked out of the room, turning off the lights as he left. "I'll be back. Don't miss me too much."