Sorry that took so long. I was finishing my novel. And now it's finished. Yay! It has 27 chapters, just so you know.

Chapter 11

Forse Alcuni Riposte

"A picture's worth a thousand words."

Kate shifted slightly, watching the hallway. No one was out there, none of the people that ran the place at least. Sighing, she glanced at Jack, then looked away again. "Think we'll ever know why we're here?" she asked him, curiously.

Jack opened his eyes, looking at her. "I don't know." he said, shifting slightly. "I'd be happy to just get out of this cell and be able to walk around." he told her, standing up to stretch.

Kate nodded slightly, looking up at him. She hated being locked up. This place was like prison, which she'd been running from, only worse. Sighing, she turned slightly, holding onto one of the bars on the door. "As long as they're not taking us to kill us, you'd rather walk around." she corrected him.

Jack sighed and nodded. "Yeah." he said. "As long as they're not taking us to kill us." He walked up behind her, staring out into the hallway. He put his hands on two of the bars and glanced down at her.

Kate sighed deeply and looked at the ground. She was bored out of her mind, but she'd much rather be in this cell than have the man hurting her. It reminded her of Wayne when she was little. She shuddered a bit at the thought and looked up again.

Jack noticed her shudder and frowned. "You alright?" he asked, worried about her like she always was.

Kate looked at him and nodded, not being able to help but smile. It was nice to have him always worry about her. Sure, sometimes it got on her nerves, but he had good intentions. "I'm fine." she assured him.

Jack nodded his head. "Okay." he said. He went back to staring silently at the floor, looking up when another man stopped in front of their cell.

"Get up." The man said, looking down at Kate. "And neither of you better argue. I have a gun and I will use it."

Kate glanced at the gun in his hand, then slowly pushed herself up. She looked at Jack and slowly moved backwards as he did.

The man unlocked the cell door and it swung open. He took a step in and grabbed Kate by the arm. "Listen and no one gets hurt." he said, pulling her outside of the cell, smirking as he realized how hard she was trying not to fight against him. He continued to pull her away, until the cell was out of view.

"What do you want?" Kate asked coldly, crossing her arms tightly across her chest.

"Calm down, Katie." The man replied. "I only want to give you something." he informed her.

Kate narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't call me that." she said. "Never call me that."

The man rolled his eyes. "Just because your little friend called you it before he died doesn't mean I'm not allowed." he replied. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper.

Kate frowned and looked down, not wanting to argue with him while he had a gun. "Can you just give me what you wanted to give me and let me go back with Jack?" she asked quietly.

"I'm getting' there, I'm getting' there." the man replied. He shook his head and handed her the piece of paper.

She looked at it. "M-A-S-T-F?" she asked, raising her eyebrows at it.

The man sighed. "Turn it over." he said, rolling her eyes.

Kate turned it over, the look on her face softening a bit. "That's my dad." she said quietly. She looked at the picture of Sam Austen. "Why are you giving me this?"

"Because he asked me to." The man replied, giving her a shrug. "Get back to your cell now."

Kate looked up at him. "He asked you to?" she asked. "He talked to you? He's here? You have him here as a prisoner too?" She frowned, shaking her head.

"He's not a prisoner." The man said. "Now get back to your cell before I make you get back to your cell."

"But wait." Kate said. "Is he here? Can I talk to him?" She looked at him hopefully, only to have his hand come across her face.

"Get. Back. To. Your. Cell." The man said slowly. He narrowed his eyes at her to show he wasn't messing around. "Now."

Kate slowly brought her hand up to her cheek, closing her eyes. She turned and hung her head, heading back towards her cell. She got about a step before the man smirked and shoved her forward. She landed on her hands and knees, a bit shocked. His foot kicked her side and she fell over sideways, staring up at him with eyes filled with horror. "Stop it!" she told him in a high pitched voice. "I was going back!"

"And now you're trying to tell me what to do." The man said. He kicked her again, smirking. "This place will teach you to behave yourself, Katie. You'll learn to mind your own business, do what people tell you, not argue, and keep your mouth shut. Now shut up and get up."

Kate clutched her eyes, closing her eyes. Get up? Did he really expect her to get up after he'd just kicked her twice? "I…I can't." she told him, hoping he would listen to her.

"I said get up!" The man yelled, kicking her over and over again.

Kate rolled over, trying to get away from him. She shoved herself up, but everything span and she landed back on the floor again. Curling up into a ball, she tried to keep him from hurting her.

The man looked down at her, shaking his head. "You're pitiful." he said. "For a cold-blooded murderer criminal, you're absolutely pathetic."

Kate didn't reply, not even listening to him. She held back her tears, wanting to be with Jack right now. She'd been kicked around enough when she was little. She didn't want to have to deal with it again. "Leave me go." she pleaded timidly.

The man kicked her again. "Tell me what to do one more time and I'll kick you even harder." he informed her. He grabbed her by her arms and yanked her onto her feet. "Now stay up." he said, shoving her.

This time she fell backwards, hitting her head off the wall. "Jack!" she cried out, then clapped her hands over her mouth, knowing she should have kept it shut.

The man grabbed her and pulled her up again. He ripped the picture out of her hand and tore it up, dropping the pieces on the floor. "Pick it up." he told her, shoving her back down.

Kate fell to her hands and knees and obeyed. She picked up all the pieces, and offered them to him, only to have them knocked out of her hand again. She picked them back up and held them this time, waiting for him to say something.

"Get up you pathetic, worthless little person." The man told her, grabbing her and pulling her up yet again. He dragged her back to the cell and opened it, throwing her hair. "You'll learn." he informed her.

The picture pieces scattered as Kate's as opened as she hit the floor. She quickly picked them up, then crawled over to Jack, wrapping her arms tightly around him, trying to ignore the pain in her side.

Jack wrapped an arm around her, shooting the man a glare. "Kate, what did he do to you?" he asked.

"My side." Kate gasped. "My side…" She buried her face in his shirt, leaving go of him and holding her side.

Jack sighed and pried her hands away from the bruise. He looked at it and shook his head. It was bad, but in time it would heal. It would be painful for awhile, but at least it would eventually go away. "You're gonna be fine." he told her. He gently took the picture pieces from her hand. He glanced them over, then put them in her pocket for her so she wouldn't lose them. He'd let them hurt her again and he felt horrible for it. "I'm so sorry, Kate." he whispered.

Kate shook her head. It hadn't been his fault. The man had had a gun. He has saved their lives by not doing anything. She wrapped her arms around him again, staying close to him. Hopefully the man didn't come back. But how had he gotten a picture of her dad? Was Sam really there? Or was it just something old they had picked up? It looked like a pretty recent picture. There were plenty of ways to get pictures though in the outside world. Maybe they'd just found one and used her. If her dad was there and wasn't a prisoner, he'd be letting her out of here, right? She cried softly, not sure if it was out of pain, confusion, or what. Everything was happening so fast she wasn't sure how much longer she could take it.

Jack looked down at her and shook his head a bit. He gently rubbed her back, staying silent for a moment. "Why'd he hurt you?" he asked finally. "Why'd he bruise your side?"

"Because…Because I was talking." Kate told him. "And telling him what to do…and I yelled for you."

Jack nodded slightly. He had heard her yell for him. "Just…Just try and do what he tells you to, Kate." he said. "Maybe then we'll get out of here faster."

"I was trying…It just didn't work." Kate replied ,sniffling. She rested her head against his shoulder, looking around. She wasn't tired anymore, but she just felt like relaxing right where she was. She hoped Jack didn't mind.

Jack didn't mind at all that she was so close to him. He'd much rather have her close to him. He gently rubbed her back, occasionally running his hand through her hair. "We'll get out of here eventually." he said. "And then things will get better." He nodded and glanced at her.

Kate looked up at him, not sure whether to believe that or not. They might just end up stuck in the place forever. Or things might just end up horrible forever. "I hope you're right." she told him quietly with an inaudible sigh.

Jack looked down at her. "We'll get out of here, Kate." he told her. "I'll make sure of it. I'll even start thinking of a plan. All four of us will get out of here."

Kate nodded her head again, then looked down. She sighed and shut her eyes. Maybe she should start thinking of a plan too. There had to be some way to trick these people to let them out of this place. There just had to be. She hoped everyone else was thinking of plans too. Someone had to come up with something eventually. So far she had nothing though. They couldn't use pain, being sick, or anything like that. These people seemed to enjoy their suffering from what Kate saw.

Jack stared at the wall, trying to think of something, anything. His mind was also blank though. Maybe he should sleep on it. He shifted slightly and let go of Kate, lying down. Kate may not have been tired, but he sure was. He patted the spot beside him incase she wanted to lie down.

Kate lied down next to him, closing her eyes. She put one of her hands on her side, flinching slightly.

"Don't touch it." Jack told her. "That'll only make it hurt more."

Kate frowned and crossed her arms, then scooted closer to him. "You don't have any pain medicine?" she asked, hoping he did, but forgot to mention it.

Jack shook his head. "Sorry, Kate…I don't have anything…" he said, opening his eyes to look at her.

Kate sighed. She shrugged her shoulders. "Alright then." She moved so she was right up against him, her head resting on his arm. "It's not that bad anyway." It was bad, but at least it was bearable. She didn't need the medicine, but it would have been nice to have it.

"The pain should go away soon." Jack told her. He shifted slightly and yawned.