I placed my foot cautiously on the ground as my eyes flickered from side to side. Any small bit of sound could throw out my location to one of them. It was terrifying to know that after making so much progress I could get sent back for a tiny whisper. I had to be careful, yet quick, because if I was slow there was a greater chance of running into a monster. Yet, for some strange reason, the hall was completely empty like something had forced them out. It gave me a false comfort, but I knew handling a situation like this was not easy. In fact, it was nearly impossible.

I placed my hand on my chest, annoyed that my heart beat seemed so loud at the moment. It was thumping quickly in excitement as if I had just run a huge marathon. I wanted to tell it to shut up even though I knew that did nothing to stop it. My hand moved in a silent patting motion as I continued towards a door that had the smallest hint of sunlight shining through its cracks. The light was something I hadn't seen in a while, and I craved its warmness on my face.

I began to slow down as a thought crept into my head that I hadn't thought about. I was hungry, so hungry I was almost desperate to eat the first thing I saw. Now that my worries of being trapped here were disappearing, all I could think about was food. Imagine the taste of a sweet treat melting on my tongue…but I couldn't worry about that right now because getting outside was my biggest concern. "I'll eat when I get home," I thought to myself, hoping it would calm down my twisting stomach.

I froze in horror as my stomach let out a loud growl, complaining about its condition. The sound seemed to echo down the hall making me want to hit the door in defeat. I looked back, waiting for the rush of wind that would carry me back to my cell and possibly chastise me for trying to escape, but it never came. I smiled in relief as I reached for the handle, turning the cold metal slowly.

A hand gripped my shoulder, coldly pulling me back. "What do you think you're doing?" a confident deep voice said. I gasped in surprise, backing up to look at rose colored eyes that seemed so calm, as if he was in no danger. A chuckle rose from his chest as he seemed to recognize my face. "Well, this is a first. How did you get out? Felix made sure that door was locked."

I quickly blinked my eyes to get out of the fearful daze I was in. "I have my ways," I answered in a quiet voice. I couldn't fake anything at all; I was scared to go back. I didn't want this. He reached out again to grip my arm so he could lead me back to the cursed place.

I shot out my hand back to the door knob keeping my eyes glued to his face. "If you touch me, I'll open this door and who knows; maybe a human will be out there to spot your handsome face. Imagine the shock of seeing a vampire; they'll probably go tell everyone they know," I threatened with clenched teeth. I could see a conflict in his eyes as he thought about what I said.

"You're bluffing, you don't even know if that's the right door," he said as the calmness began to drop from his voice. I smiled to throw him off.

"You're right, I don't know if this is the right door, but the question is, do you?"

He growled, shaking his head. "This is ridiculous; I don't have time to deal with you when I should be running my tasks around the castle." He roughly pulled my arm away from the door. "Don't make me knock you out."

I let out a cry of protest, pushing against him as my desperation to be outside became more apparent. I closed my eyes, using all my strength as I struggled. It seemed to pay off as his hands disappeared and a howl of pain echoed out.

I opened them back up to stare at him in shock as flames ran down his arms. He looked around for something to put out the furious fire, yet there was nothing nearby to help him. He was about as helpless as I was, which was more comforting to my eyes. I yanked open the door and sprinted off into the streets.

Narrator's POV

Demetri held Christopher by his neck, growling as he shoved the burned vampire into Caius's chamber. Christopher's arms were a devastating sight with their charred appearance; there was no hope to fix them since anything needed to bring the skin back together was burned off.

"Tell him! Tell him what happened!" Demetri demanded to the vampire. Christopher glanced up with pleading eyes, knowing he was in trouble. "It wasn't my fault! I swear I didn't do anything!"

"That's not what I asked!" Demetri yelled as he kicked Christopher hard in the chest, causing him to bend over in pain before obediently looking up at Caius.

"T-the girl, she got out and... she's gone," Christopher finally said with a heavy voice. He became silent, not wanting to say another word.

"And did you do anything about it?" Caius growled angrily. He glanced at the vampire carelessly because he didn't matter to him, but Carly did. Her gift was very rare and something he couldn't lose.

"I tried to stop her, and she burned me. I was trying to stamp the flames out when she got outside. I tried to follow her scent, but it seemed to disappear so fast," Christopher explained, hoping it would give him some time. He kept a humble expression to avoid punishment. However, his efforts were in vain.

"Take him out of my sight and give him to Jane. Tell her to torture him until I tell her to stop," Caius said as he looked away in disgust. "There's no room for error." At the wave of a hand, Demetri dragged the screaming vampire out of the room. "Oh, and after that, tell her to destroy him," Caius added just as Demetri was about to turn the corner.

Caius grabbed his hair in stress as he began to pace. "This has never happened before. How could she have gotten out? The door was locked." He clenched his jaw as he threw one of the pencils from his desk.

Chelsea looked up. "But Master, isn't this exactly what you wanted?" She asked, giving him a hint to something with her soft words. She flickered her fingers as she picked up the now-broken pencil, touching the tender splintered edges.

"How could this be what I want?! Now we have to go and get her again before she spreads the word about this place! How else is she going to explain her disappearance to her stepfather?" Caius yelled with absolute rage.

"Right, her stepfather that we need to break the bond with. Don't you see Caius? She'd be leading us right to the man with no intention of doing so," Chelsea pointed out, causing Caius to grin with realization.

"She solved our problem without knowing it." Caius took quick steps to the door. "Come Chelsea, bring Demetri. Carly is waiting for us."

"Yes Master," Chelsea said with graceful bow as she left to fetch Demetri.

Carly's POV

I opened the apartment door, almost gasping for joy as I took in the familiar smell of apple pie. David probably made some earlier today. I could tell because the room always smelled like this when he did. It also made me frown because he only made apple pie when he was trying to cope with something, whether it be a break up or another goldfish dying, he always did it. Only in this case, he was trying to cope with my disappearance.

I almost wanted to pull him in and tell him everything would be alright, but the truth was that I didn't know if it would, for how could I explain such a long absence? How could I tell him that I was kidnapped by evil creatures?

No one would ever believe me, and I would be locked up in a loony bin or chastised for lying and making up such a fantasy. This was what being alone felt like, and I didn't like it one bit.

I was trapped in this modern world; no one believed in the supernatural, and if they did, they wouldn't admit their existence for the sake of their own lives. I wished that there was at least one person I could tell.

My stomach complained with a loud growl to remind me of its condition; it made me smile as I remembered the fridge. Surely David wouldn't mind if I ate while waiting for him. After all, it didn't see like such a big deal since he himself was taking a while to come home. As far as I knew, it would be dark by the time he saw my face so I had as much time as I wanted to eat to my heart's content. It would have been relieving to some people, but I was impatient. I couldn't wait for him that long.

I opened the fridge with thoughts of David running through my head. His hug, his smile, everything about him I missed, and I would be happy once we were together again. I snatched a green apple that must have been leftover from the pie, shiny with chemicals.

I wanted to eat it right away, but I knew what David would say: 'Wash it because the chemicals on the outside are bad for you.' He researched everything and knew the shininess of an apple wasn't that natural.

I placed it in the sink, letting warm water rush over it as I rubbed it with my fingers. It replied with a tiny squeak as my fingers moved back and forth to make it perfect. Once that had been all said and done, I placed it on the table to get a cutting board. I hated eating an apple whole so David always cut it into four pieces. I flipped out the cutting board with almost a snort to hold back laughter at its unnatural shape.

David made it in a wood shop class in an attempt to try something new. He wanted to be more diverse as one of his New Year's resolutions, so he signed himself up for the class only to find it more complicated than he expected. His result was a piece of wood with a hole in one of the edges that looked like someone had hacked it in. It was pitiful to look at, so I used it to spare his feelings.

I rolled the apple on the cutting board and looked for a knife. We kept them in the drawer under the table for easy access; it was efficient. I softly lifted up the very sharp knife from the drawer, remembering David had it sharpened recently. It was very expensive and he liked to keep it in top shape.

The knife entered the apple with ease as it moved down to make the apple two halves. The apple let out a nice, yet crisp and juicy sound, letting me knew how fresh it was. I licked my lips, ready for its taste to spread across my tongue, making me drop the knife at once. Two halves would have to do for now.

I moved a half up to my mouth ready for the bite. The action was almost uncontrolled as my hands shook. Just as it entered my mouth, I heard the familiar click of the door unlocking. It made my heart race as I dropped the piece to turn all my attention to the door.

David nearly stumbled into the house with a disheveled look about him. He let out a soft gasp and looked at me with his warm hazel eyes. That one look made me worry; it was a familiar one that I knew. It was full of a fear that would be unexplainable to a normal human being, but I wasn't normal anymore. "Carly, who are these people?" he asked as his voice matched his gaze.

I began to take a step forward to answer him with confusion. I didn't see any people. I felt a familiar cold touch as hands locked around my wrists like handcuffs.