Hey, everyone! Sorry it took me so long to post this update! I got a bit of a case of the dreaded Writer's Block and couldn't think of what to write down. I mean, I knew what I wanted to put down, but I didn't know how to word it. Anyway, this chapter's kind of short, but it's finally an update. I hope you enjoy it!

I needed to get away. I needed to escape and get out of the vent. I struggled to back away, but my shirt got caught on one of the corners and I was too weak to get myself free. I was afraid, and struggled even more in a more frantic fashion as I heard the Headmaster getting closer to my hiding place. Before I knew it, or could even prepare for it, the Headmaster wrenched open the grate, pulling me out of the vent roughly by my hair and freeing me from my space. I let out a cry of pain, my eyes shut tight. "Spying," he hissed, yanking on my hair and causing me to cry out again, "Spying on your own people! Why?"

His voice frightened me, almost as much as the man himself scared me. I was so afraid that I couldn't come up with a good reason to give my Master, and I only ended up stuttering, "I-I don't k-know."

He threw me against the wall harshly, causing a jolt of pain to course through my body and knocking the wind out of me briefly. He held me up again by my hair, locking me into a painful, iron grip. "You know perfectly well, why!" he hissed venomously, "Do not play dumb with me, traitor!"

I let out another cry of pain, the blur of tears leaking out of my eyes. "I-I'm not a traitor!"

"Then why were you eavesdropping?" the Headmaster growled. Again, I didn't know what to say, so I only kept my mouth shut this time. I avoided looking at him, and after a few moments of my silence, he slapped me across the face for not answering him. "Tell me!" he shouted.

I let out a grunt of pain, my face turned away from him and my eyes fighting to keep the tears back, to keep them from leaking out, to keep me from showing weakness. I felt so stupid, and so scared. Why did I do such an idiotic thing? Why did I have to be so curious? It got me in much more trouble than I ever wanted, and now I'd be punished severely, maybe . . . maybe even getting myself dragged to the torture chambers. I gulped at this thought and decided to finally try to answer the Headmaster. I opened my mouth to reply, but no sound came out of my mouth. I was too upset to speak, and a lump formed in my throat.

"Who sent you?" he snarled, grabbing me by the shoulders and twisting them, squeezing my shoulders so tightly that I let out another cry of pain. "Answer me!"

I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes, taking a few shuddering breaths to get enough strength to finally give him an answer, "N-No one sent me!" I whimpered, and cursed myself silently for such a pitiful answer. How was I supposed to prove that I was strong when I sounded so pitiful when being treated like this?

"Then why are you here when you were told to stay in your room?!"

I winced as he harshly twisted one of my arms, and my willpower shattered. I started leaking out small tears and tried my best to keep him from seeing them. "I-I don't know! I was just curious!"

"Curious?" he chuckled darkly, a chuckle that frightened me and sent chills down my spine, "Curious, you say? A foolish, idiotic reason to spy. And now, you will pay dearly for it."

I gulped and closed my eyes tightly; awaiting my punishment and just praying that it would all be over soon. I felt myself being dragged away by two guards and futilely fought to try and free myself of their grip, but they were too strong for me. I was thrown into a small, empty brick room and then beaten senseless by the guards. Once they were done, I was left alone in the room, my body covered in bruises and cuts with blood leaking from my nose. I shuddered, wiping away the blood and standing up on shaky legs from where I was huddled in the corner. I used the wall for support to help me as I shuffled back to my prison cell of a room. Along the way, I had to spit blood out from my mouth to try and get rid of the coppery tang.

Once in my room, I went immediately to one of the far corners, huddled there, hugging my knees, and finally letting out all of the tears that had wanted to spill a long time ago. I couldn't cry in front of other people, they'd only think me weak again. When I was finally done crying, I wiped the tears from my eyes and looked up at the window, sighing sadly. I hated this place much more than I could possibly imagine. I needed to get out of this hellhole that I lived in, but how? It was futile, there were too many guards, too many intricate security systems.

All possible exits were blocked. My only comfort that there was something other than the base was the window to the outside. But even looking out of the window was torture to me. I could see the grass, the trees, the animals, the sky, all taunting me, laughing at my entrapment. No matter how much or how long I wished, prayed, dreamed, or stared so longingly out the window, I knew I would never be able to be free. I was in a living nightmare, experiencing hellish horrors every single day, and escape was nearly impossible. I sighed, letting the little bit of hope I had left free, resting my head on my knees and closing my eyes in dejection. There was absolutely no hope left in the day, only the dread of seeing the Headmaster again for training.