The jeep bucked over the bumpy road. For the first half hour or so the jeep had been on a seeled road, meaning that the going was rather smooth. Li and Paulo had stayed asleep, but that didn't really say much as Li was drained of every last bit of energy, and Paulo could sleep anywhere. Soon after that, they had begun to climb. At first it wasn't so noticeable, but then the bitumen ended and the fun really began. Every now and then, the jeep would hit a deep hole and it felt as if the entire vehicle would shake itself to death.

Hex had remained next to Alex until he was tossed off the end of the seat. There was not really much room for him there, so he moved back over to sit next to Amber. They clung on for dear life as the jeep squealed around a bend. Li gave a gasp and closed her eyes tight as if that might make the whole situation go away.

Unknown to Alpha Force, the front of the vehicle was filled with the four guards who had grabbed Amber, Li and Hex. Behind the jeep followed two more cars filled with more guards and Ling Cho. Cho was grinning happily and rubbing his hands with glee. While having five hostages, all foreign, could cause some serious problems, he knew that somehow he could make this whole situation work to his advantage.

After studying the five teenagers, he knew who to manipulate. They all seemed incredibly close, but there appeared to be some deeper feelings in the group between certain people. Cho had made a mental note of this and knew that if things turned nasty, he had that small piece of very important information tucked away at the back of his mind. He smiled and stared at the jolting jeep ahead of him. Yes. This will be fine.

It took another hour and a half to reach their destination; a cluster of small, stone buildings high in the rugged Chinese mountains. They were surrounded by thick forest, and steep cliffs all around. To be able to reach the buildings, Cho had called for several helicopters and they had left the vehicles at the bottom of a sixty metre cliff, then flew up to the base.

Alex was worried. Not only did he not know where they were, he had no idea what these men were capable of. Or women, he corrected himself as five young females came walking out of one of the buildings. Four of the women took the babies that Cho handed them from the back of his car, while the fifth came over to Alpha Force. She was petite, with short, black hair and grey eyes. From a distance, she didn't look a day over twenty-five, but up close Alex could see the bits of grey in her hair, and the slight wrinkles on her face.

The woman regarded them with a cold stare, and then beckoned to them. Alpha Force looked at each other, then followed reluctantly. The woman stopped when she reached a building with a thick, metal bar door. With a flourish, she drew a key out of the pocket of her big jacket and unlocked the door. Stepping back, she looked pointedly at them, then the door. With a frustrated sigh, she gave Paulo, who was standing at the front of their little group, a shove in the back. He stumbled inside and his friends followed quickly. The woman locked the door, pulled a canvas sheet across it and left Alpha Force in darkness apart from a pool of moonlight streaming in through a high bared window. Alpha Force looked at that small window, and wondered how they were going to escape. It seemed so hopeless.

Amber blinked slowly, and shifted position. Hex was lying on her arm, and Alex was lying with his head on her ankle. It mustn't have been very comfortable for him, because it sure was painful for her. With a little shake of her leg, she flicked Alex's head off her foot, then shoved Hex off her arm. With an angry scowl on her face, Amber rubbed her ankle and tried to get rid of the pins and needles flowing up and down her arm.

Hex yawned and stretched, grinning at her.

'What a comfortable sleep I had last night. My pillow was so soft and-' He stopped and ducked Amber's swinging fist. Li was sitting next to Hex, plaiting her long hair. Paulo was still sound asleep next to Alex and Hex grinned again. He and Amber got up and slowly made their way towards Paulo. With a yell, the started tickling him. Paulo's eyes flew open and he was gasping for breath.

'Stop! Please!' Amber and Hex eventually relented and left Paulo clutching his sides and breathing deeply. He glared at them. 'What a wake-up.'

The canvas sheet was pulled back, allowing the early morning sunlight and the early morning chill in. The same lady who had locked them up the night before was holding five small bowls. She unlocked the door and pushed the bowls inside, before slamming the door shut, relocking it and striding away.

Alpha Force ponced hungrily on the white, plastic bowls and pulled back the lids. A strange fragrance drifted out and they all looked in wonder at the contents of the containers.

'Ah. Does anyone actually know what this is exactly?' Hex remarked with a wary glance at his food. There was some rice and a few chunks of some sort of meat. What animal it came from they couldn't say but it was food.

'I don't care. I'm hungry.' Li attacked her food with pleasure, ignoring the strange taste in her mouth. Paulo gave Amber a wicked grin and stirred his food slowly with a chopstick.

'Well, Amber. It cannot be as bad as those grubs.' Amber glared at Paulo, then spun around so her back was to him.

'I toldyou not to mention that ever again.' Alex and Hex snorted with laughter, but quickly turned it into a cough when Amber shot them a furious look.

Li had finished her food and was watching her friends quietly. They may have been joking around, but their situation was serious. She wasn't sure whether they knew about Cho's threat or not. Probably not, Li thought. Or I don't think they would be this relaxed The others ate their food quickly, then Amber injected her morning dose of insulin while the others sat in silence.

Alexopened and closed his mouth.

'Wish they had of brought us some water. I'm parched.' The others nodded their agreement, then Hex leapt up, ran to the door and started to yell at the top of his voice.

'CAN WE HAVE SOME WATER, PLEASE?' he hollered. Immediately, four guards came running. Hex stepped back from the door while they unlocked it, pleased that the service was so quick. The guards got the door unlocked and stormed inside. One of them grabbed Hex and held his arms behind his back while a second punched him in the stomach. The pain was intense. It made Hex gasp and he tried to double over but the guard was still holding his arms and forced him to remain upright. The guard punched him again. Someone was screaming. It sounded like Amber. Then Hex felt his arms released and he crashed to the floor. The remaining two guards kicked him before all four of them left.

Amber was the first to Hex's side. She pulled his head onto her lap and gently stroked his head while Paulo asked Hex various questions.

'How do you feel? Where does it hurt? Anything internal damaged?' Hex was fighting to stay conscious. It wasn't just the punches and kicks. As he had fallen to the floor, Hex had whacked his head hard on the concrete floor.

Amber was sobbing and Li was crying as well. She gave Amber a furious look.

'What sort of people are they?' she asked quietly. 'Who could do this to someone, unprovoked?' Amber gave a sniff and looked down at Hex.

'I don't know. But we're surrounded by them, with no way out.'