Her eyes were blinded as harsh sunlight streamed in through the open door, creating a puddle of yellow light. A woman entered. One look at her, and Brennan could tell that she was a woman subjected to a larger power – only delivering because the other alternative was harsh punishment or death.

She brought a tray of food and a flask of warm water.

Brennan looked up at her, squinting against the sun. "Brason said he would starve me," she said, confused.

The young girl nodded. "He doesn't know what I'm doing. I don't want to see you die, Miss Brennan. I think it's cruel the choice you have. But I can only bring you food once a day."

"You'll get yourself killed! If they find out-"

"They won't. It's not much, but it's all I can give you."

"Thankyou, Miss..."

"Just Naomi."

"Thankyou, Naomi."

The girl bowed her head and slipped out of the door, leaving the tray on the dirt below.

Brennan scrambled over to the tray. The silver platter contained a few scraps of meat, some strips of bread, the flask of water, a pad of thick, yellow paper and pen, and a large roll of bandage. Naomi must have suspected that she would be wounded.

Gratefully, Brennan unwrapped her makeshift bandage stuck to her wounds and applied the fresh cloth. It applied comfort, and she wound a thick wad of it around her feet and legs.

She picked up some of the bread. It felt stale, but it was betetr then starvation. She only ate one small piece, planning to save as much as she could so she wouldn't hunger through the night.

The water was warm. It was probably also teaming with bacteria but she wasn't complaining – these meagre morsels would keep her alive.

Brennan reached out for the notepad. She was grateful she now had something to keep her occupied, apart form the thoughts of ehr coming torture and death. She began to doodle aimlessly on it, and though it kept her busy, it wasn't entertaining.

She crawled back over to her familiar spot on the wall. The small section of light was expanding as the sun grew higher. Brennan could feel sweat beginning to build up on her forehead and upper lip. It would get hot and uncomfortable in this tiny space. She knew the heat could reach up to 45 degrees, and this small area would make it even hotter.

She had no idea of the time. The only inkling of measurement was the tiny filtering under the door, and she could only tell the difference between day and night. The heat was beginning to fuzzle her brain, and everything began to swim before her.

She took in deep breaths, trying to calm herself, regain her vision, collect her thoughts. But it was hard – the heat was overpowering.

She would be glad when darkness came.

She wished she could have taken back that thought.

It was now dark, and she was shivering. Her naked legs were unforgiving in the cold night. She tried to warm herself, but she had nothing to cover herself with.

She heard little from outside. She was used to the quiet chirping of crickets and beetles from inside her tent, the smooth rustling of grass.

But she couldn't hear a thing except her own short breath.

The door smakced open. Her head snapped up, keen to see her visitor.

Or intruder.

Though it was dark, she was able to make out the figure of Brason. Her eyebrows lowered, her blood began to boil. Her anger was rising just looking at the outline of this man.

"Come to gloat, have you?" she asked from the shadows. Surprisingly, she sounded confident and strong.

"About what? The nice, fresh air outside, the large portions of food, chicken," he snickered. Brennan had a ferocious urge to hurt him – anywhere.

"What do you want?" She spat.

Brason stepped into the line of vision. "Just to see how you're doing. You don't look any weaker. But that could be a good thing. Make your screams sound even stronger."

Brennan gulped. Then she saw what Brason held in his right hand.

He was holding a metal pole, about the length of her arm.

He advanced towards her, slowly. She scampered back into the wall. He smiled.

"Not so brave are you, Miss Fighter? Just wait until I've finished and you'll be as scared as a puppy."

He reached forward, striking Brennan with the pole. The pain hit her arm, and she cried out. She felt no blood flow, but a bruise would appear the next morning.

She scampered to the side, as his next hit jsut missed her. She tried to stand up, but the pain sharpened in her foot and she fell down again. She tried to kick out, her foot connecting with Brason's knee, but the pain would be for the both of them. The connection jolted through her leg, but she was satisfied at his grunt of pain.

He swung wildly again, the bat landing on her vulnerable thigh. She tried and failed not to shout out. She tried to run – well, crawl – but the space was too small. She saw the open door and tried to scamper for it.

Brason saw where she was heading and he reached down, grabbing her legs. The force made her stop and slide back. Brason dragged her along the ground, the dirt and rocks now scratching her left side.

She immediately felt the blood.

Brason came back for another attack, striking her spine. Brennan flopped limply onto the ground. He continued the flurry of attacks, striking her all over her body.

Then he grabbed her by the arms, lifting her up and smashing her against the wall. She was nearly unconcious, but he shook her to make sure she was paying attention.

"Listen," he growled. "If you don't give up, I'll torture you; make you wish you were dead. I'll shoot you in the head and dump you down a well, just like that little girl. I will get what I want. Understand?"

She couldn't talk. She was slipping in and out of conciousness. Brason threw her on the ground.

"Pathetic," he muttered and walked out.

Brennan had white light popping behind her eyes. She couldn't move, and she felt blood dripping all over her body.

Brason was right.

She wished she were dead.

Harsh, I know

Sorry it's shorter, though it could be a good thing. Thanks for the reviews last chapter. Please keep them up - I know hundreds of people read stories but only about 3 review, so I'd like as many people as possible to review - otherwise ill think that noone likes the story, or its not good, or not worth updating. Also any ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks for reading, adn sorry for taking so long to update.