This chapter takes place in between Chris' release and Alex being put in a cage. Next chapter will be up when I can be bothered to write again. (it's not happened for about 3 weeks, honestly... it's getting ridiculous.)

Chapter 2:

She wanted a bath. A long, luxurious bath with plenty of bubbles and hot water. And then she'd get out and snuggle in her warmest pyjamas with a cup of tea infused with vodka. Alex nearly groaned. God, that sounded fantastic. Of course she'd take anything, even a plunge in the river, just to get away from the man who thought himself her master.

She was trying not to give up hope, but it was becoming more difficult with each torture. How would Gene possibly find her? Chris was supposed to help out, but she hadn't heard anything about any of CID since the man had gotten rid of him.

Not that the man said much to her anyway. And if he did, it was on the topic of her being an animal. A horrible, disgusting animal that whored itself out to anyone that wanted it.

By now, she had his speech memorised. He always spouted the same thing to her over and over again. He was helping her. She needed to see the light. He pitied her animal ways. If only she would trust him…

Alex had tried to tune him out, but he had learned when she wasn't listening. No matter how attentive she tried to look, he caught her every time her attention wandered. And when her attention wandered, she received a beating.

Pain had become almost second nature to her now. The ache of sleeping on the floor combined with the throbs of her bruises into one all over dull pain. The stiffness of her neck from the collar never faded, but she didn't care about that. If her neck was stiff, her collar was on. If her collar was on, she was safe.

She wondered what would happen if she ever got out of this mess. Would she still need something around her neck? Or would she just return back to life as it was before? The question was now, could she return to a normal life?

Alex was certain she'd be able to adjust back to life fairly quickly. She was a psychologist after all. She could deal with these things far better than most other people could.

She heard his feet stomping up the stairs. Alex quickly lay down on the floor and closed her eyes, trying to even her breathing out. He had knocked her out the last time he visited and so she was going to try to feign unconsciousness for the duration of his next visit. She knew after that it would be too long, but even one visit without having to see his balaclava-covered face would delight her to no end.

The door crashed open, but Alex didn't move, concentrating on keeping her breathing even and staying as limp as possible. She heard his footsteps approach her. The floorboards creaked as he knelt down next to her. She hoped he wouldn't brush the hair away from her face. Right now it was covering her eyes, and if he uncovered them, he would know she was faking.

Alex stopped herself from tensing as she felt his thumb stroke her face. She always wanted to run from his touch, no matter if it was gentle or not. It was wrong for him to touch her. He only touched her to torture. His hand slipped from her cheek down to the back of her neck, where the chain met the collar. She heard the clink as he touched the chain.

"My animal," he said quietly, thoughtfully. "You fight so much. You long to return back to your old ways. I can feel it, animal. I know that you are suffering. And it hurts me to see that."

Alex wanted to laugh in his face. But she couldn't. if she laughed, he would know she was faking. And then she would be in for a punishment. Alex visualized the blood on the walls of the room. Her blood, slowly painting the wall in scarlet patches, staining the floor in dark crimson splotches. She wondered how long it would take until the only thing that coloured this room was the vermilion of the life that flowed through her veins. She wondered how much of the room would need to be stained before she would finally die, or be let go. Alex still hoped for the latter, but the former was becoming more and more of a possibility. No matter how much he said he wanted to help, she had a feeling that she would end up dead before she could truly be 'saved.'

"You will lose the fight you have inside you one day. I know it. I can feel it. All animals eventually get trained. It's a slow process with you, but I can see it happening. I can see you transforming every day."

Alex wanted to shout. No, he wasn't training her! But deep inside she knew that he was. By torturing her the way he was, he was making her obedient. She hardly talked anymore because he had punished her so much for making noise. She didn't touch the collar on her neck because he didn't want her to. She was slowly becoming the woman he wanted her to be. And she couldn't do anything to stop it.

Alex stopped herself from stiffening as his hand moved back to her face, starting to play with her hair. She knew that eventually, the bit that was covering her eyes would be moved by him and he would find out she was faking. So she did the only thing she could. She sighed a little before twitching her fingers and giving a light moan. Alex frowned as she turned her head a little bit, keeping her eyes closed. She felt him move away from her as she moved her arm a little bit, up to her head, which really was aching quite badly.

Alex let her eyes flicker open a bit before moving her other hand to her head. She winced as her hand brushed the new wound on her head and scrunched up in a ball, holding the position.

"Animal," he said quietly from behind her.

Alex considered keeping curled up in the ball. Since her face was completely covered now, he wouldn't be able to tell if she was faking, would he?

"Animal," he said, more insistent than before. Alex knew there would be no faking him out. She'd have to face him. With a groan, she rolled onto her back and pushed herself up, aware of every single throb of her head. Alex leaned herself up against the wall, looking down at the ground, her hair covering her face.

The man nudged her thigh with his boot clad foot. "Cover yourself," he said.

Alex pulled down the nightshirt down as far as she could down her thigh, but she didn't really care anymore. Her dignity had faded long before the hope had.

"You've been out for a good while," the man said. "I've been in to check on you three times."

Alex said nothing, but her mind was racing. Had she really missed three visits from him? Three visits where he wasn't torturing her? She almost felt victorious, but that was thrown away as soon as the man started parting the hair on her head. He pressed down on a lump that had formed and she hissed in pain.

"You deserve this pain, Animal. But you know that, don't you? Explain to me why. Speak."

"Because I'm a whore and an animal," Alex said bitterly. "Through the pain you are showing me what kind of woman I am supposed to be."

"Good. But you don't sound like you believe it yet. Once you believe that you are a whore and an animal, we can move on."

Alex didn't say anything, resuming staring at the floor.

He knelt in front of her, pulling her chin up in her hands. Alex averted her eyes, not daring to even look at his face. He always got angry when she did that. The man stroked her face gently. She wanted to slap him away, but she couldn't. If she even tried to harm him, he would make her endure an obedience lesson before she could move a single centimetre.

"Everything will be better if you just stop fighting me, Animal. All the things you hate, they'll stop. If I can see that the lessons are starting to sink in, those can stop. You'll only have a punishment when you do something wrong. But you won't get those often either, because you will know what is right and what is wrong."

Alex wanted to shake her head no. She would never give up fighting. She couldn't let him win. He was a bent, sick, twisted bastard who was bordering on insane. He would have to kill her before she gave in to him.

Suddenly he slapped her across the face. "I see the fight in your eyes, Animal. In the middle of my lecture you are still fighting to get out."

He shook his head. "If the Lord hadn't commanded me on this, I would have long ago given up on you. But he thinks there is hope. So I must endure this longer."

She wanted to scream. He was making himself sound like a hero for this torture. She had done nothing wrong. She was innocent!

"You say the words, but you don't mean them," he said, still staring at her face. Alex cursed the fact that she was not able to control her expressions.

"You don't think you are the whore. You don't think I am your master. You're a liar. You recite what I want to hear like a schoolchild reciting for her teacher." His voice was growing angrier. "Stupid animal!" he yelled, slapping her across the face.

Alex felt a small trickle of blood flow down her chin and realised numbly that he had split her lip. Her face was probably swelling slightly as well.

Alex heard a clink as the man reached into his back pocket. Her stomach sunk. She knew what this meant. The only question was where she was going to be handcuffed. Had she made him angry enough to have her hands cuffed behind her back? Or was he only slightly angry, and her hands would be cuffed in the front? Her question was answered quickly.

The man moved behind her and grabbed her left arm. She felt the cold metal snap against her wrist and he pushed it tight. Too tight. The handcuff was cutting into the skin of her wrist. He did the same for the other hand and stood back staring at the misery she was trying so hard not to show.

"I'll bet you're hungry," he said suddenly, disappearing from the room but leaving the door open.

No. She wasn't hungry at all. She hadn't been hungry since before she refused the meal a few days ago. He had tried to feed her since, but it didn't matter. She was refusing to eat everything. She would drink the water he gave her, however, because although she could deal with the pangs of hunger if they ever arrived, the thirst would drive her mad.

She was surprised he had taken the handcuffs off in the first place. He knew she was being stubborn, that she was just refusing to eat, but what she thought was the day after she fell asleep in his arms, his eyes had crinkled into a smiling motion and he had taken them off.

Alex wondered if he was possibly bipolar. That would explain the sudden swing in moods that he always had.

He entered the room again, holding the bowls of food and water. He set them down in front of her, and Alex just stared at the bowls dully. Did he expect her to lean down and eat out of them like a dog? She may have very little dignity left, but she had enough.

"I'm not going to offer it to you. You eat it from the bowl, or you go back on the short chain."

Alex considered this. She hated the short chain; the punishment was terrible. But at the same time, she couldn't let herself eat. Whether she was or wasn't eating was one of the few things she could control here. Alex continued to stare at the bowls, refusing to move."

"Have it your way then," the man said, lifting her to her feet. He pulled the collar off her neck, and Alex felt the inevitable rush of panic. He pushed her up against the wall, much like he had for her first obedience lesson. Alex wanted to push him off; she could feel the anger in his body. However, he just grabbed the short chain and fastened the collar around her neck.

"You will eat eventually, Animal."

With that, he walked out of the room, turning off the light and locking the door behind him. Alex stared into the blackness and felt the small amount of hope she had left drain down to nothing. Even when she won, she lost. She would never have a total victory. She'd never be free.