A/N: Hi. So I've had this idea for a long time, and it wouldn't leave me until I put it down on paper. I began writing this about 6 months ago, so I've gotten about half the story completed, but I'm slowly going back and editing it. This is my first fanfic, so please be nice. Constructive reviews are welcome. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 1- Isabella

She was running in slow motion in a forest. Isn't that how it always was in dreams? She had been having this same dream for the past year, but back then, she had been running aimlessly by herself. Slowly over time, things had begun to appear in her dreams…like sounds of men fighting, flashes of red, the loud beating of wings, the sounds of horses stampeding behind her. She wasn't sure who or what she was running from, but she was always terrified that it would catch her, because she could never run fast enough. She could never see the faces of anyone in her dream…only sounds and flashes of colors. But lately she noticed she had been running with someone. She could sense their hand holding hers, guiding her away from the threat. They were taking her towards the light…she desperately wanted to get to the light. She knew the light meant safety…home. But each night she could never reach the light. It was just beyond her reach.

But now…she had finally reached it! She stopped abruptly in front of it, as she realized the light was not a place, but a person. She couldn't see who it was, as the bright light emanating from their body made it difficult to see them, but she saw a hand reach out from the light, beckoning her forward. She looked back to the person holding her other hand…the one who had guided her there, but they were gone. She turned back to the comforting light and stretched out her hand. As soon as their skin made contact, her world went white.

Isabella gasped loudly, as she fell forward and grasped the edge of the vanity in her dressing room. It took a moment to catch her breath. Once she had collected herself, she looked wide-eyed in the mirror.

"What the hell was that?" she asked her reflection.

She had been having these strange dreams for a year now, but always in her sleep. At what point had she lost consciousness now? She had literally just had a vision in her waking hours.

"Thank God that didn't happen on stage," she said, holding her face in her hand.

Isabella sighed as she sat down. She remembered returning to her dressing room after the show, self-critiquing her performance of the night. It wasn't her best work, but it definitely wasn't her worst. She was sure she impressed at least a few of the scouts out there tonight. Most students at her prestigious (and very expensive) performing arts school went on to perform on Broadway and theaters around the world. She was only in her sophomore year of university, but she was one of only 3 girls in her year that were already performing on stage with the senior class.

Back in high school, Isabella was winning dance competitions all around the country and had been accepted into every performing arts school she had applied to. Through her dedication, she was able to make a name for herself. She wouldn't say she was necessarily cocky, but she was a little overconfident. She didn't get nervous in performances and had a grace that made even the graduating seniors jealous. That didn't stop her from over-analyzing every move after each performance was over, and she was sure she would spend the next week waking up at 4am to get in extra practice time to perfect her mistakes.

She sighed wearily as she changed into a short, pink cotton dress and slipped into some black furry boots. She let her hair out of her tight bun and used her fingers to fix her curls down her back. She really needed to see a doctor about these dreams she had been having. But they had always been dreams… while she slept…nothing to concern herself over. Except…except that every morning when she woke up, she had a strange sensation of déjà vu. Each night as she reached for the light, she felt like it would hold all the answers for her…like it would unlock this strange familiar memory running through her mind. But then she would wake up and feel like she was completely insane for thinking something like that.

But just now, she hadn't been sleeping. That had never happened before. And she had actually reached the light…but she didn't get the answers she had been searching for. She growled in frustration. She had been running to the light for a year, and now that she had finally reached it…nothing! It was all so…anticlimactic.

Shaking her head, she got up and collected her things.

Stop being so dramatic, Isa, she told herself, rolling her eyes.

As she made her way towards the backstage exit to head towards her dorm, she heard footsteps behind her. "Nice performance out there tonight," stated Jade, dripping with sarcasm.

Isabella took a deep breath and by sheer willpower held back the heavy sigh that wanted to escape her lips. Putting on a fake smile, she turned around and faced the girl. She was still dressed in her leotard and was leaning against the wall by Isabella's dressing room. Has she been waiting there for me this whole time? She held back an eyeroll. Jade hated Isabella because she was a natural at what she does. She practices hard, yes, but she seemed to excel in everything without having to try as hard…dancing, singing, academics, boys.

Not that she had time for boys. She was very goal-driven, and boys were just a distraction. However, boys seemed to gravitate towards Isabella, whether she wanted them to or not. She had an olive complexion and dark curly hair, being of Spanish descent, even though she was raised in the States. She always stood out from the stereotypical blonde, fair-skinned dancers she was used to competing against. Let's be honest, most girls from her background and neighborhood could not afford to come to a school like this, or even afford the type of dance training that Isabella had received. She only made it this far due to her overly determined, strive-for-perfection attitude…well, that plus the ever-prestigious EMIRI scholarship that she had received for most of her dance career. It was only given to the best performers in the country, and she had been lucky to have received it at the age of 11! Dance schools in her city had fought to have her compete for them. Her scholarship allowing her to receive the best training, and when the time came, it paid her way to one of the best performing arts colleges in the country.

And unlike Jade, Isabella didn't have self-esteem issues. She wouldn't say she was stuck-up, exactly, but she had confidence in herself, and no amount of bullying got to her. She didn't give into their little games of riling her up. Their attitudes were childish and didn't bother her one bit.

"Thanks, you too." Isabella said sweetly. "You looked absolutely beautiful in your costume. The scouts must have been eating it up. I even saw that guy, Julian, checking you out in the front row."

Jade frowned and pursed her lips. "Yeah, well…" that was obviously not the reaction she was hoping for. She sighed, "Whatever" she mumbled as she pushed off the wall and walked in the opposite direction.

Once the other girl's back was turned, Isabella rolled her eyes and continued to walk towards the exit. After exiting, she noticed a man in a suit leaning against the wall across the alley. He looked to be about in his 30s and was rather good-looking. "Isabella?" he inquired.

"Yeesss?" she drew out the word suspiciously as she kept her distance. She didn't care how hot he looked…waiting out in an alley in the dark was definitely a red flag.

The man smiled kindly. "Sorry to startle you. My name is Simon Neuman. I'm with the Harmon Conservatory. I was watching you tonight. You are amazingly talented." He pulled out a business card and handed it to her.

She grinned and visibly relaxed at the talent scout. "Oh, thank you so much for noticing! All the girls did a great job tonight."

James pulled one side of his mouth up in an adorable smirk. "Yes, I guess they did. But I wanted to speak with you personally. We are opening up a new show in about 6 months, and your look would be perfect for the part."

Isabella suddenly felt lightheaded at being offered a chance to star in a show at Harmon Conservatory. Get it together Isa! Be confident and poised.

"That sounds like a great opportunity. I am honored that you would consider me. I'll give it some thought and speak to my professors on Monday and give you a call."

James smiled a heart-stopping grin with the most perfect teeth. "Excellent," he replied. "Perhaps you'd like a cup of coffee before you head back home, and I can go over some of the details of the show."

Isabella pondered it for a second. "Ok, that sounds great," she answered.

"Great, there's this new coffee shop I've been dying to try," he said as he walked towards a side street.

By now, the show had been over for more than an hour and everyone had gone home. Isabella and James were the only people on this particular street. As they were about half way down, she saw a shadow of a man come down the end of the street walking towards them. A flutter of nerves formed in her stomach, but she pushed it down. Stop being paranoid, she told herself. Besides, I have James with me.

The man stopped about 10 paces ahead of them, and they paused. She instinctively grabbed James' arm, making it obvious that they were together. The stranger looked from her to James and then back to her. A creepy smile slowly made its way across his face. James continued to walk and she followed, still clutching his arm. She could see cars and people walking in the distance, but no one turned their heads to look down the dark side street.

All of a sudden, James came to a stop in front of the man.

"Um…James?" she asked quietly, hoping he didn't notice the quiver in her voice.

The man looked at James. "Nice work," he said casually with a smile.

That's when she realized something was very wrong. She slowly let go of James' arm and took a tentative step backwards. The 2 men continued to talk as if she wasn't even there. Another step, and another. She suddenly hit something, but it was too soft to be a wall. She cautiously turned and saw another man…this one much bigger than the other 2. She was only 5'4, so most people were bigger than her, but this man was a beast. You could tell he hit the gym for several hours a day, and he could easily throw her across this alley with one arm (all 110 pounds of her). He leered at her body, and she felt like he was undressing her with his eyes. She mentally berated herself for not wearing jeans instead of the short dress she was currently wearing.

He bent down until he was almost at eye level. "Hello," he breathed on her. He reeked of alcohol. "Come to play with us?"

Isabella had grown up in a rough neighborhood, and as such had learned how to defend herself. She learned what she could from her childhood friends on the streets, but she also took it upon herself to take up karate as a hobby as she got older. If there was ever a time to put those skills to the test, it was now. But she wasn't an idiot. There were 3 grown men, one of which weighed at least 3 times as much as she did. She knew there was no way out of this…but she was not going to go down without a fight.

She was not going to let these men see how terrified she was. She took a deep breath and channeled her inner warrior. She brought her knee up as hard as she could between his legs, causing him to curse loudly and fall back against the alley wall. She turned and tried to run.

"Oh no you don't," she heard James say, as he grabbed her from behind. She let out a scream, but the cars on the street up ahead were causing too much noise for anyone to hear her.

"Shut her up!" the "Beast" man groaned, starting to lift himself off the wall and walking towards her. James covered her mouth with his hand. The "Beast" got into her face again, all humor gone. She felt some satisfaction seeing his watery eyes and knowing that she had done some damage. I hope it's permanent. "I'm going to make you pay for that," he growled at her.

At that, she began to tremble, and a small whimpering sound escaped her. So much for not showing my fear…bye bye inner warrior.

The other man who had been standing by quietly smirked at her whimper. "Get her inside," he ordered.

No, no, no, no, no, no. If they get me inside, I'm done. I'll never make it out. She tried to scream again, but it came out muffled behind James' hand. She started thrashing, kicking, punching.

She heard James grunt as her boot connected with his shin. "Help me with her, will ya? She's stronger than she looks," he said through clenched teeth. The other man grabbed her feet, but she continued to thrash in their arms. "Beast" opened the door he had been standing in front of and they pulled her inside. She heard the door click, and the lights switched on. They dumped her on the floor, and she gasped as she landed on her arm. That was definitely going to bruise.

"James?" she whimpered pathetically from the floor.

"Ha!" he barked out a laugh. "Are you serious? You think because a man wears a suit and hands you a business card, you should just go for stroll down a dark street with him? You're so naïve. My name's not even James."

Her eyes began to water. No! Don't give them the satisfaction of seeing you cry! "What do you want with me?" she asked pathetically. They looked at each other and smirked. "Beast" stomped up to her and leaned over her. He quirked his head to the side, as if examining her. "You really are innocent, aren't you?" Then he sneered, "I'm going to enjoy breaking you."

James walked up to "Beast" and shoved his shoulder. "Hey, I brought her here. I get first dibs." He looked over at her and winked. "She's reeeaally flexible. You should have seen her performance tonight. I have some interesting ideas of what I'd like to do with her." The way he was leering at her made her skin crawl, and she shivered involuntarily.

The other man joined them and looked down at her. "Pity I missed the show, but I'm sure she can give us a private performance." He bent down to yank her to her feet and pulled her roughly against his body.

She put her chin in the air and gave him her most fierce glare. "You will not make me do anything," she growled through gritted teeth, pushing herself out of his grasp. "Do what you want and be done with it."

They looked at each other, seeming to find her little outburst entertaining, and she held her breath. Suddenly "James" (or whatever his real name is) backhanded her and she fell back to the floor. She saw stars and she knew she would have a black eye. He was a lot stronger than he looked.

She started pleading to any deity who would listen. Please let me get out of here alive. I don't want to die here. This can't be how my life ends. I wish someone, anyone would save me. Her head began to throb unexpectedly. She attempted to sit up, but her vision began to swim.

"Hold her down," he growled, and she felt her curls being yanked back by "Beast," and her head slammed on the ground. The throbbing in her head intensified. She reached up to try to free her hair from the death grip, and simultaneously began kicking as hard as she could to get "James" off her. "And her legs too," he ordered, sounding annoyed, as if she were a child throwing a tantrum. The other man dug his nails into her legs to try to keep them down, and she could feel his nails cutting into her skin. She let out a scream.

The pain in her head was becoming unbearable, and she was beginning to have trouble breathing. She was actually getting more concerned about dying from asphyxiation and the pain in her head than from being violated. Maybe this is a better way to go? Who knows what plans they have for me, or how long they will keep torturing me. Better to die quick. But then the pain in her head became too much. She let out an unearthly shriek, and that made the men pause.

"What the hell is wrong with her?" the other man asked, releasing her legs and beginning to sound nervous.

"What's up with her eyes?" the "Beast" asked, letting go of her hair.

She held her head and screamed, her body began writhing on the floor. She had no idea what they were talking about. She could barely see them now. All she could make out was a yellow haze in her vision.

She vaguely heard a door slam, and someone letting out a curse. Then there was a grunt and a thudding sound, like someone falling over. But by then she couldn't register anything else. Her head was about to explode and all she could do was scream.

"Isa?" she vaguely heard a concerned voice calling for her before everything went black.