The next morning, Alex gently shook me awake. "Cam, wake up."

I struggled against him a little until I was fully awake. I was breathing hard and sweating. I could smell blood in the air. My arms and legs were aching. My muscles were stiff. I sat up and examined myself. I had blood under my fingernails. I had scrapes and scratches all over me. The scratches on my arms bled.

"What happened to me?" I asked, shocked, scared, and confused.

"I think you were having a night terror. You were thrashing around and screaming."

I couldn't remember what I was dreaming about. The last thing I remembered was my conversation with Alex before I went to sleep. I'd never had night terrors before. What was happening to me? Sensing my fear, Alex put his arms around my shoulders.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"A bit after five."

I leaned my head on Alex's shoulder. I was cold and shivering, but Alex's embrace made me feel a bit warmer. For the time that Alex held me, I felt like everything was okay again. Then he released me, and I was harshly plunged back into reality.

"Why don't you go take a shower," Alex suggested. "It'll make you feel better."

I agreed and went to the bathroom with a change of clothes. My wounds stung as I stood under the hot water. Once I finished showering, I dried off and bandaged the wounds on my arms. I put on a pair of faded jeans and a lavender camisole. I walked out of the bathroom to find Alex sitting the edge of the bed. I held up my shirt I wore last night and examined it. I had managed to tear through the sleeves with my fingernails. The night terror had to have been exceptionally horrid. Alex stared wide-eyed in disbelief at my torn shirt. I wadded it up and threw it in the trashcan. I sat down next to Alex on the bed.

"Alex, what's happening to me?"

"I don't know, Cam."

I sighed. "I don't know if I'm up to seeing Rothman today. There's something not right about her."

"We don't have to go."

"Yes we do. This may be our only chance to get into Scorpia."

A couple hours later, Alex and I headed out to Rothman's mansion. I had put on a gray long sleeve shirt to hide my wounded arms. Once we reached the mansion, a butler escorted us inside and up to Rothman's office where she was waiting for us.

"Take a seat," Rothman said.

Alex and I obeyed.

"As the leader of this organization, I have decided to let both of you take the test to become official members of Scorpia. Next week, a boat will take you to the island of Malagosto. You and six other recruits will compete to join Scorpia."

"What is the test exactly?" Alex asked.

Rothman grinned. "I'm so glad you asked. You will have to kill all the other competitors." Then seeing the worried look on Alex's face, Rothman asked, "You want to enter as a team, don't you?"

Alex nodded. He reached over and held my hand.

"If you survive a preliminary test, I'll let you enter as a team."

"What preliminary test?" I asked.

"You'll find out soon. You may go. I'll meet you in a week at the same time."

With that, Alex and I left.

"That was short," Alex muttered as we walked back to the suite.

Suddenly, I had the strange feeling that Alex and I were being watched and followed. The second I was about to warn Alex, my world went dark. I tried to scream but couldn't. A strong pair of arms hauled me off my feet. I tried to fight, but it was useless. I could hear Alex struggling hopelessly. I felt myself being carried, and then, I was roughly thrown down on something hard. I heard Alex land beside me. I heard metal doors close. A car engine roared to life. We were probably in the back of a van. All I could think was, Holy crap, I'm being kidnapped! My captors bound my wrists and ankles. I was helpless. All I could do was lie there, bound up like the prisoner I was, and wait for something to happen. No one spoke. The only sound I heard was the vehicle's engine. After what seemed like ages, the vehicle stopped. I was picked up again. The next think I knew, I was sitting on what felt like rock. The sack over my head was removed, and the Venetian morning sunlight filled my vision. It took me a while to realize that I was sitting on the edge of a cliff. I looked down and a shrill scream of terror escaped my throat. Alex sat beside me, just as terrified. There were four men in black masks standing around us. Two of them hauled Alex to his feet and began swinging him over the edge.

"Stop! Don't do it!" I screamed. I struggled to my bound feet. I clumsily lunged at one of the men holding Alex. He sidestepped me, and I landed hard on the rocks. The other two men picked me up and pushed me to the edge of the cliff. One captor forced my head down, so I could see the horrible death I'd be falling to. Waves violently crashed against the side of the cliff. Sharp rocks jutted out of the angry water. I saw my death. I would be impaled on the rocks, then my dead body would be thrown against the cliffs by waves until there was nothing left of me. I began to cry. I didn't want to die like this.

Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alex being swung to his cruel death. Then his captors released him. Alex screamed as he fell to a watery hell.

"Alex!!" I screamed after him. SPLASH. He was gone. I cried uncontrollably. Next, I was thrown to my horrible death. I plunged headfirst down to the sharp rocks and crashing waves. My heart pounded like mad. Adrenaline rushed fiercely through my veins. Suddenly, determination overcame my fear. I couldn't die like this. I used all the strength I had to turn myself right side up. At the last second, my feet landed in the water first. I was plunged into the cold, ruthless sea. A sharp, agonizing pain shot through my back. I had scraped my back on a rock. I thrashed around, desperate to get to the surface. As I did so, I found that my wrists had been cut free when I hit the rock. I began using my arms to swim. All was dark, and I didn't know where I was going. Was I going up? To the front? To the bottom? I couldn't tell. I was desperate so I just swam blindly. Then I thought that since I fell from such a great height, I had to be pretty deep down. I pulled at the water, trying to swim. I had an uneasy feeling in my lungs. Then the uneasiness soon turned into pain. My arms ached. My lungs were on fire. I was still surrounded by darkness. I wasn't going to make it. I was going to drown. But I kept swimming anyway. Just as my lungs were about to explode, my head broke surface. I gulped in air, letting it rush into my aching lungs. I grabbed onto a rock and held on for life. I pulled my legs up and untied the rope around my ankles. Then slowly, I moved from rock to rock, trying to find a way up. I found a section of the cliff that was about thirty to forty feet high. It looked like a good rock to climb with plenty of handholds. I grabbed the rock and began to scale the side of the cliff. I was tired. My muscles were screaming bloody murder. I made it this far. I couldn't give up. After a grueling climb with a few slips, I finally heaved myself over the edge of the cliff. I rolled onto my back, taking in gulps of air. I stared up at the clear blue sky. There was nothing more beautiful. Once my muscles had rested enough, I stood up. I made my way over the spot I had fallen from. Once in a while, I'd peer over the edge, searching for a sign of Alex.

Suddenly, there was a metallic scrape beneath my foot. When I looked down, I found my cell phone under my shoe. It must have fallen out of my pocket when I fell. I picked it up and flipped it open. It still worked. I dialed Alex's cell phone number and waited. There was no ringing. The call couldn't connect. Alex's phone had to be down in the depths of the sea. Was Alex down there too? I frantically punched in the number of the suite. The phone rang for a few minutes. No answer. I sank to my knees in horror and disbelief. Alex was gone. I kneeled there on that cliff crying. I cried for hours. It was late in the afternoon by the time I finally collected myself. My hair was dry, but my clothes were still a bit damp. I stood up and started walking back to the suite. I knew what I had to do – pack up my things and go back to MI6.

As I reached the suite, I heard a voice that I swear came from my suite. But that couldn't be. I put my hand on the doorknob. Then I heard a voice inside. I was right! I pressed my ear to the door.

"Smithers, I need a new phone."

There was no sound sweeter than Alex Rider's voice.