"What do you want?!" Alex cried in frustration.

"I'm just checking up on you."

"It's only been seven minutes. I'm almost to the place."

"Good. Don't try to cross me, alright, Alex?"

"Why would I?"

"Because I just injected your girlfriend with the virus."

"What?! You bitch! Why?!"

"I had to make sure that you wouldn't cross me. There's an antidote. If the trade goes through smoothly, I'll give Camryn the antidote."

"And we just walk?"

"Yes."

"I don't believe you."

"Why not?"

Alex slapped the phone shut. He had never been so furious in his life. Soon enough, he came upon an old, rundown house. He knocked on the door.

A dirty, scrawny man opened the door and let him in. Three guns clicked around him.

"Speak."

"Um…I'm Alex. Sabina sent me for a trade. I really don't know what I'm doing. This is the first-"

"That's enough. Sit down."

Alex moved cautiously to a chair and sat down. He was nervous, but his rage kept him from showing his fear. He knew that the second he was done with this trade, he was going to save Camryn and kill Sabina.

"Um…what's going on?"

"Voice recognition," the man answered gruffly. "Now just shut up."

The man took a laptop and went to the next room. Alex tried to be patient. He waited and waited and waited, but the man didn't come back. God, what was taking so long?! Alex took out his phone and looked at the time. A little less than half an hour had already passed by. Then the phone rang. It was Sabina again.

"What?" Alex demanded.

"The virus is already in effect. Camryn is in terrible pain. You'd better get this deal through, and you'd better do it right. I'm putting you on speaker."

A second later, Alex could hear Camryn's screams of pain. It was disturbing. Alex wanted to cry.

"Cam! Camryn! Can you hear me?!" Alex cried.

Camryn's screams disappeared and Sabina's voice came back. "She can't hear you. She's in too much pain."

"Why are you doing this?!"

"Like I said, I had to make sure that you wouldn't go back on your word."

The line went dead. The scrawny man came back. "The voice recognition is a match."

Suddenly, Alex realized this was planned. It had taken about half an hour for the virus to attack Camryn's body. Sabina wanted Alex to hear Camryn suffering.

"Where's my morphine?" the man demanded.

Alex handed him the backpack. The man took the backpack into the next room. Alex sighed and put his head in his hands. That man was going to take a long time again.

"Can I go now?" Alex asked.

Another guy standing in the corner with a gun spoke up. "No. You have to stay until the deal is confirmed."

Alex slumped in his seat. "I'm really in a hurry."

"Why?"

"I've got a busy schedule."

"Too bad."

About fifteen minutes later, Alex's phone rang again – Sabina again.

"Let me talk to Camryn," Alex demanded.

"I would, but she can't talk right now. She can't even breathe."

"What are you doing to her?!" Alex shouted. "Stop it! You're such a bitch! I swear to God, I'm gonna-"

"Like I said, I'll give her the antidote once the deal is confirmed." Sabina hung up.

The man came out again and gave Alex a small envelope. "This will confirm the deal. Take this back to Sabina."

Alex took the envelope and quickly left the house. He looked around. There was no way he could catch a cab. He was so far away from the lab. Alex swore, but then an old, beat up bicycle caught his eye. He ran to it and inspected it. It was a piece of crap, but it would serve its purpose. Alex mounted the bicycle and began pedaling away. Within fifteen minutes, he reached a place where he could catch a cab. He flagged down a cab and headed back to the lab.

Once Alex entered the building, three armed guards ambushed him. They dragged him into an elevator and rode up to the seventh floor. Alex was thrown into a cell and locked in. In a rage, he screamed every profane word he knew. Alex had blindly walked into Sabina's trap. The phone rang again.

"Alex, she's dying," Sabina said.

"Damnit! I know that!"

"Do you have the confirmation?"

"Yes. I have it with me. Now if you let me out of this cell, I can give it to you."

"Hm…maybe later. I want to see Camryn suffer a little more."

Alex heard Camryn scream again. This time, her fits of pain sounded worse than the last one.

"Camryn!" Alex screamed into the phone. "Sabina! Stop this! Stop it now!"

The line went dead again. Alex began sobbing uncontrollably. He knew from the beginning that this would be a disaster, but he never expected it to be this catastrophic. His life was falling apart. The girl he loved was dying a horrible, painful, torturous death, and there wasn't a damn thing he could do. It was like an infection eating away at his heart.

At this rate, Camryn would probably die before Alex could get to her. The worst part was that Sabina had it all planned out.