Hi! Let's just get right into the story - I know this is suspenseful...

I gasped, understanding the situation more clearly. The rebel attack was planned so that Hunter would be able to trap me in a room and rape me. They didn't care about killing me this time. They just wanted to end the royal line as well as my future with Maxon. It was about to happen.

"Please don't do this," I begged, tears pooling at the edges of my eyes. "Why do you want me to be unhappy?"

"I don't care," the man said gruffly. "But I belong to an organization that does. You don't even know the beginning of unhappiness. You may have been a Five, but you've never had the experiences of an Eight. You may have starved for a week, but you don't know what it's like to be starving for months and scavenge the trash cans for food. The best way to change that is to start over. The Schreave family has ruined everything. We have our own plan, and we want to see it through." I slumped hopelessly. This was bigger than just ending me and Maxon. The Southern Rebels wanted a completely new government!

"You still have a choice," I said quietly. "You don't have to hurt me."

"I've already made my choice," Hunter growled, his eyes becoming slits as he looked me up and down. "I told you who I am. Now undress," he commanded. "Don't make me do it for you." I bit my lip and slowly pulled off my leggings after slipping off my shoes. "Faster!" Hunter hurried me impatiently. I had to do something. I had to stop this. How could I keep Hunter Bersole away from me?

Suddenly I remembered that each safe room had a gun. I had used one to try to get out of the room during the last rebel attack, when King Clarkson and Queen Amberly died. If I could quickly get my hands on one, I could scare Hunter away or shoot him if I had to. "Let me wash my hands first," I said lamely. He rolled his eyes and let me go.

"You have ten seconds, missy. I am out of patience." I nodded and briskly walked to the sink where the cabinets were, shivering. I was only in my bra and underpants. I slowly turned the knob to turn on the water. I glanced over my shoulder at Hunter, who was glaring at me with an unwavering gaze. I washed my hands to go along with it, and quickly opened the cabinet, pretending to look for paper towels.

"There are towels right next to the sink!" Hunter snapped, rising from a chair and walking towards me.

"I...also need something else," I whispered fearfully and peeked inside the cabinet so Hunter couldn't see what it held. I saw it. The revolver was black, shiny, and tempting. Hunter put his hand on my shoulder roughly and dragged me up. "Let go of me!" I shrieked, regaining my confidence after seeing my advantage. Hunter was naked, so he clearly wasn't armed.

I slipped my hand into the cabinet and felt the cool touch of the gun. I was going to do this for Maxon. I pulled the revolver out quickly and pointed it straight at Hunter's head.

"I said get away from me!" I yelled. Hunter just smirked.

"You don't actually think I'd believe you would shoot me, do you?"

"I will. Don't test me," I said bravely. He just shook his head, trying to contain laughter. He reached out and pulled me in close to him by the waist.

"GET OFF!" I screeched. This was the moment. Hunter really wasn't going to mess around. I aimed the revolver at my attacker's foot and pulled the trigger, holding my breath. A crack ripped through the air and I tensed, expecting to see Hunter fall onto me, clutching his injured leg. Instead, the man just grinned widely, unharmed. "What is going on?" I breathed nervously.

"I have a thorough plan, honey," he chuckled. "Of course I made sure the gun wasn't loaded. You are smarter than many, though, not that is matters!"

"Wha-what?" I panicked. My plan was ruined. Now what could I do?

"Now, come here," he ordered. Still holding the empty gun, I cautiously walked up to Hunter, knowing I had no other choice. He stuck a rough hand under the back of my bra and began to slip it off.

"NO!" I screamed, slapping his hand with a new adrenaline and biting his other, which was snaking up my cold spine. With Maxon in my mind, I kicked Hunter in the groin and quickly smacked him on the head with the gun. He howled in pain and collapsed on the ground, knocked out. I hit him twice more for good measure and to make sure he didn't wake up any time soon.

"I just did that," I whimpered, gazing at Hunter's miserable shape on the ground. His head was bleeding and his arm had marks where I had bitten him. I shook my head, in a daze, and sagged my shoulders, climbing onto the hard cot. No matter how hard I tried, I could not fall asleep. I couldn't close my eyes for fear of waking up with Hunter looming over me. Instead I waited, weeping softly into the pillow. I hadn't even been thinking about Maxon's safety.

Was he alright? Was he hurt? If Hunter had been able to access the safe room and unload the gun, then surely the Southern Rebels now knew about them. Could they break into one? Maybe there were more guards who had turned to the Southern Rebels that were currently hurting Maxon. I shuddered at the thought and forced myself to think optimistically. However, whenever I closed my eyes, Hunter's image flew to my head. When I opened them, I was staring at his limp body.

Whatever I came up with made me think of how I had almost lost everything. I didn't know what time it was, because there were no clocks in the safe rooms. I didn't have a watch, but I suddenly realized that Hunter probably would. I crept out of the bed and went over to him where I could see his clothes lying on the ground. His wrists were bare, but perhaps he had a watch in his heap of clothes.

I carefully lifted the white tank top, and on top of his belt, I saw his watch. I picked it up and glanced at the time. It was currently one o'clock in the morning. I had gone to the gym at ten o'clock, so I probably first got to the safe room at ten thirty. It had certainly been a while. Sighing, I laid the watch back down and sat on the bed again.

After a couple more hours, I heard a banging on the door. I immediately stiffened and clutched the cot tightly. I heard the lock click and cowered in the back, scared of what was coming into the room. Finally, the heavy door opened.

"Anyone in here?" A familiar voice asked hesitantly, poking his head through the door.

"Aspen!" I shrieked, putting a hand over my racing heart. "Thank goodness!"

"America?" He stepped inside, taking in the scene. "Oh my God, America. What just happened?" He rushed over to my side and helped me up as I caught my breath.

"He...tried to...to rape me," I gasped, tears pouring down my cheeks as I said it out loud.

"Holy..." Aspen's eyes widened and he gripped me more firmly. "I can't believe it, Mer. You did stop him, didn't you?" Aspen asked, letting me go to examine Hunter.

"Just barely. I tried to shoot him but he had already unloaded the gun, so I bit him and knocked him over the head with it. His name's Hunter Bersole. I suppose he was a guard who turned to the Southern Rebels. The creepiest thing is that, rearranged, the letters of his name spell 'Southern Rebel.' Oh, I can't do it, Aspen," I wailed, fighting a fresh army of tears. "I can't stop thinking of him. It's the scariest thing that's ever happened to me."

"It's because you have so much more to lose," Aspen nodded, gently hugging me for comfort. "I'm really proud of what you did, Mer. Of course, Bersole will be investigated and questioned. If we want him to survive, we have to act quickly, though. That's a nice cut you gave him on the head, but he's losing a lot of blood," Aspen observed, pointing to the pool of Hunter's blood next to the unconscious man's head.

"Wait. What about Maxon?" I begged, pleading for my fiancé to be unharmed.

"He made it to a royal safe room and is perfectly fine. He's sick worried about you, though. We had to slam the door in his face to keep the king from running out to find you. The rebels ran away, so we can get you back to him now. I'm sure he's back in his suite."

I agreed gratefully. "Please do. I need Maxon." Aspen nodded and called another guard to come inspect the room on his walkie talkie. He led me out of the safe room to Maxon's chambers, leaving me outside.

"I'm so sorry, America. It's completely my fault for leaving you so unsafe."

"It's all right, Aspen. We all make mistakes. I'm just thankful I got out of that one." He sighed and let me walk into the room.

"Maxon?" I murmured hesitantly. I immediately heard him jump out of bed and run to the door.

"America!" he cried, picking me up and holding me close. I breathed in the fresh scent of his cologne. I could see he's been running his hand through his hair a lot, because his golden hair was mussed up. "America, I was so worried," he whispered, trying to hold it together.

"I thought I'd never see you again," I sobbed into his shoulder, reliving the past day's memories. Maxon held me tightly and carried me over to his bed, setting me down gently. I tensed as he brushed his mouth over my lips, recalling the terrifying thought of Hunter doing that to me.

"What's wrong?" He asked, sensing my anxiety. "What happened, Ames?"

"Everything," I cried, turning into the pillow so he wouldn't see me so distressed.

"Look at me, America, please. You don't have to stay strong. Tell me what's wrong." I took a deep breath and stared into his chocolate eyes, so full of love and worry. They gave me courage and I sighed, ready to share.

"The rebel alarm sounded when I was in the gym," I started. "A guard dragged me into a safe room. When I looked up, he was in there with me. And, oh Maxon, he literally undressed in front of me. He told me that his name was Hunter Bersole. He said that if the letters of his name are reordered, they make up the words 'Southern Rebel.' He commanded me to undress, and I was panicking. However, I remembered there being a gun in the safe room. I stalled, saying I had to wash my hands, and grabbed the revolver." I shivered despite the warmth in the room, recalling the cool, sleek touch against my smooth hands.

"Oh, Ames," Maxon fretted, tears gathering in his eyes. I held his hand tightly and continued.

"I tried to shoot him in the foot, but Hunter had already taken out the bullets before hand. I was stuck. He started to grab me and pull my bra off..." I shuddered at the thought while Maxon paled. "But I bit him and struck his head with the gun." I curled up against Maxon, needing to be comforted. "The whole time I was petrified at the thought of losing you. I know that only a virgin can marry into the crown, and this man was so close to taking that away from me."

"America," Maxon whispered hoarsely, his eyes watering. He blinked and the tears streamed down his face. "I'm sorry, Ames, so indescribably sorry. It's all my fault. You could have been killed. I can't believe it. All this time I was feeling frustrated about the rebel meetings, when really my carelessness led to your being hurt. I'm sorry, America." He wrapped his arms around me and held me so tightly I thought I would break. I weakly hugged him back, worn out after telling the whole story.

He reached his neck down to kiss me, but I shook my head uneasily.

"I love you more than anything else in the world combined, Maxon, but I just can't do it. It just makes me think of...of Hunter. Of what could have happened. I'm so sorry-"

"Shhh," Maxon hushed me kindly. "Do not be sorry ever again, okay? I can't stand that I let you get into such a dangerous position. I'm the one who's sorry. Of course I'll wait until you're ready. I'll wait for a hundred years. It's all my fault, Ames. I can't believe it."

"I'm here, Maxon. I never thought I would be, but I am. I love you."

"I love you too. You are the strongest and bravest person I know, America. I'm never letting you go again."

I sighed and leaned against his strong chest. His heart was beating quickly- Maxon was clearly still shaken up, as was I. I settled into our embrace as sleep finally washed over me.