The door swung open and I was escorted into the atrium. It was dark, only lit by candlelight and the main candelabra on top wasn't lit. The men and women, dressed mainly in black (how cliché) stood around me, eyeing me up and down. I felt so out of place. Me in my worn down sneakers, ripped jeans, Misfits shirt with holes, and worn grey hoody; them in their posh attire. Too bad it got worse.

One man with a scar over his throat (he must be the man with the gruff voice) looked down at my muddy shoes.

"Take them off."

I acquiesced to his request. No point in fighting now, not on their turf. I'm not a coward, just not a fool. I lowered the hood of my grey top, but kept my eyes lowered. I couldn't stand the condescension on their faces.

"Follow me."

The gruff man led me forward, while the rest of the group formed a line behind me. There was a door to the left, one to the right, and an ornate wooden one in front. This is the one we stepped through.

Inside was a grand sitting room. Though there were chairs and couches for them to sit on, everyone was standing. They were also clad mainly in black, some in red, and highly formal. They must have been expecting me.

I was led to the center of the room, where I stood in the middle of a circle they formed. The gruff man took his place next to a silver-hair (yet still young looking man) and a tall blonde, both adorned in silver jewelry.

"Welcome, Giselle" said the silver-haired man.

I merely raised my eyes off the ground, made eye contact with him, and looked back down.

"I'm sure you know why you've been brought forth."

I shook my head 'yes', but kept it lowered.

"Look at me."

I didn't.

Then his voice roared "Look at me!"

Slowly, not scared, I looked up. Our eyes caught, my brown his azure, just like Leo's.

A sudden flashback and I had to shake the memory away. Everyone stared at me in confusion, except for the silver haired and the blonde.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, but I knew everyone could hear it.

"No need to be sorry…yet," said the blonde.

"Will you do it," asked the silver-haired man.

I looked him dead in the eye; with all the courage and seriousness I could muster. "No."

"Are you sure?" she said.

My toes grasped the red carpet beneath me for dear life.

"Yes."

"Very well then," she replied.

The circle caved in on me and the pain was unbearable…

---

I had never felt anything like it. My lungs were on fire, heat ran through my veins. I thought I'd go deaf from the beating of my own heart. Everything was foggy from the tears. I could feel my body slamming against the metal slab, over and over again. Dead David was right, I was next.

I looked up and saw the eyes of the goons, their mouths covered up.

"Not again," one of them said.

"No, I won't allow another failure. Give her another one."

"But.."

"I don't care!"

I felt another needle jammed in my neck with unknown material. The burning just got worse after that. I tried to breathe, but couldn't. My heart started beating faster and faster…and then slower and slower. Slow to the point of no return. I was hyperventilating but knew I was dying. No longer could I feel the burning, though my body was still shaking. All I paid attention to was my heartbeat as ever so softly stopped.

---

I woke up, in what appeared to be a dungeon. Stone walls, no windows, just bars on a little hole in the door. Obviously I was part of some peep show. I was also chained by the wrists. I felt weary, probably from the blood loss. Trying to break the chains, I noticed I could barely move my arms. They must have drained me to the point near death. I wonder what made them stop.

The dungeon door opened up and in walked the silver-haired man. I saw the blonde close the door.

"Evening, Giselle."

I moaned in reply, doubted I could speak at this point.

The man kneeled down a mere foot away from my face, took his pale and hand and scraped a long fingernail against my cheek.

"You look worse, if I dare say that's possible. I thought when we found you, your appearance was at its deepest depths, but I have been proven wrong."

A wiseguy, eh. Just great.

"Are you hungry."

I hadn't noticed it till he mentioned it, but I was hungry. Starving, in fact. Had been for a few days.

---

The hunger was getting to me. My body was shaking, going into cold sweats. I thought the experiment was bad, but the result was way worse. There was a little voice in my head that just kept yelling "Feed, feed" and I couldn't shut it off.

I didn't know how many days had gone by since I woke up back in the cage, and I didn't care. It had to have been at least a week. I could see my ribs protruding from my body, my elbows sticking out. I was wearing down into a skeleton. My voice was gone, my sight damaged, all I wanted to do was die…again.

"Is she ready?" The sound of the voice echoed in my head.

"Oh yeah, she's ready."

Ready? Ready for what? I wasn't in any condition to do anything. Then they opened the cell door.

---

The door opened and the blonde brought in a cat. I had hated cats. How did they know, or was it just a lucky guess.

"Now I've heard of your self-imposed dietary restrictions, so I brought something for you that might satisfy your hunger."

The man held the cat up to my face, and the cat scratched me. I couldn't help but let out a low growl and the cat hissed right back.

"I'll just leave you two alone."

He set the cat on the ground and left the room. Immediately when the door was closed the cat raised its back and hissed, and took several steps back. Great, I was going to have to work for this meal.