I laid on the bed with my arms out to my sides as I stared at the ceiling, not thinking about anything at all. 

My arms were still wrapped, and even with the medicine that Aidan claimed that he applied...they were still burning. It was like a really bad sun burn on my arms but the pain wasn't unbearable. It mostly caused mild irritation as they rubbed against the bandages. 

I frowned thinking about my lack luster attempt at an escape. I didn't know what else to do – I had failed in everything that I tried. Aidan told me that I was smart before...I was seriously doubting that.

I was all out of options, really.

I narrowed my eyes, focusing on the ceiling as I was silently seething with unbridled rage. 

There was the last option that popped into my mind, just making me more angry. There was absolutely no way that I would be able to get that phone of his. He kept it too well guarded, and I...I didn't want to...

Didn't want to willingly go anywhere near him.

He...

My fingers went to my bruised, swollen, and abused lips. My fingertips lightly grazed against the skin as I refrained from flinching out in real pain. 

He had been particularly aggressive with the way that he kissed me. Hickeys were all down my neck and collarbone. I wonder if he was punishing me for my escape attempt. Or, if that was just how he showed affection.

My heart fell to my stomach from a sudden onslaught of dread that I couldn't shrug off. 

I didn't want to stay here...I couldn't stay here.

I shivered and turned on my side.

I curled myself into a ball and wanted to cry – my eyes became blurry and my throat was scratchy. A small whimper threatened to release itself from my throat. 

I had wanted to let it all out, but I kept it in. I kept my sadness and grief tucked inside, knowing that it would only be twice as bad later if I released it. It was a common thing that I had done throughout my life -- bottling up my emotions and putting it away in the deep corners of my mind. 

There was no sense in crying – that has never helped me in life before. At a young age I was taught to not even have emotions, and if they somehow came to be, then I needed to never outwardly show them. 

Besides, Aidan didn't care if I cried in front of him...it wasn't going to deter him from doing whatever he wanted to do.

I glanced to the side to find that the bathroom door was wide open...I never saw the nail clippers again. Even when I woke up earlier today, they weren't placed back into the manicure set that I had plucked them from.  

I did notice that he had left the nail file.

Nail file...

I sat up, my hair falling behind my back. The bracelet that he had forced on me felt cold against my skin. It was a contrast from the rest of my body with the burn that I still had on both of my arms. 

I let out a sigh, not wanting my thoughts to remain on the brand that he had casted on me. Standing shakily from the bed, I walked slowly over to the bathroom.

I stared at myself in front of the mirror to find the ends of my hair completely fried. Not even the maid who styled my hair could make it look pretty. My face had gotten a light burn, but it was nowhere close to the burns on my arms.

The red and dark marks that covered my neck I was desperately trying to ignore and not acknowledge. I didn't want to even think that he marked me -- that he marked my skin. I began to tremble, seeing the white color of the bandage from the corner of my eyes. 

Raising up my left arm, I minded the bandages that covered my burns. I hadn't seen them yet, but I was sure they looked as bad as they felt. My eyes landed on the nail file that was resting harmlessly in the manicure set. Lowering my arm back to my side, I gripped the nail file in my hands and tucked it into my skirt, allowing the blouse to conceal it.

Despite my failure, I wasn't going to stop attempting to escape. I was still going to get out of here, but I knew I had to be aggressive now with my tactics. I wasn't going to be sneaky and do it in the middle of the night. It didn't work out the last time, and I wasn't too patient to waste any more of my precious time in this mansion of hell. 

My best bet was to locate the gun storage. Knowing Aidan, he would want it guarded, either by his men or by a locking mechanism that was similar to the door. If it were the second option then I would be sure that my tactical hacking would be successful this time around. 

If I had a gun I would at least have some leverage...

Aidan might be strong and fast, but I sincerely doubt he was bulletproof without any armor.

I had another chance with the nail file -- a final chance. 

I turned and left out the open bedroom door. Due to the electrical...mishap the night before, there was no way that Aidan would be able to replace it in time. I overheard that it would take another two days to get someone out here.

I walked out into the hallway to find Dominic standing guard a few steps down the hallway. He didn't have a gun and instead was staring at me with a grin, his arms folded comfortably across his chest. 

"Good morning!"

It was two in the afternoon...

"No gun today?" I questioned, looking at the man in bewilderment. I had always seen him with a gun strapped on him. He looked a little strange to not be holding one. He didn't answer me just yet, continuing to stare at me. "Aidan's orders?"

Dominic grinned while I stared at him. "You're getting desperate now, Vienna, and the last thing that we would want is for an accident to happen."

Aidan was that concerned on whether or not I got shot?

Or was he more concerned that I was desperate enough to shoot everyone if I got my hands on a gun?

Including myself?

"Okay," I said, not giving any of my thoughts away. I suddenly was feeling self conscious about the marks on my skin. I brought my hair to the front of my shoulders, wanting to hide the red and dark colored splotches that Aidan forcefully gave me without any ounce of consent from me. 

I kept walking down the hallway, my hands clenching at my sides. 

"Where is Aidan?"

"He likes to personally do the first round." I stopped walking and looked at Dominic who was looking away. I couldn't help the look of confusion that spread across my face -- first round?

What the hell was he talking about?

Dominic's voice was quiet and I had to strain myself to hear the usually outspoken, boisterous, and cocky man. "He likes to...roughen them up a bit..." He swallowed, almost looking sick as he spoke about it.

I continued to stare at him, not realizing how pale in the face I was getting. I was slowly taking in his words. I didn't want to think that Aidan would be capable of doing something like abuse -- the same man that touched me. 

The same one that slept with me and pulled me close to him in bed. 

"Vienna, are you...?"

I swallowed down some rising bile in the back of my throat. "What does he do?" I paused, unaware of just how breathless I was feeling. "What do you mean by..." I didn't want to repeat those words, but I needed to understand what was happening. "Roughen them up a bit?"

Dominic rubbed the back of his neck. The conversation was making him visibly uncomfortable, which meant that it wasn't anything good.

Nothing good happened to anyone when Aidan was getting entertained.

"It's..." he breathed out, giving up on explaining. "Best if you don't know..." Dominic trailed. At seeing my unrelenting eyes on him, he forced himself to continue, albeit vaguely. "Some sick shit happens. I don't participate in any of that," Dominic placed his hands up in front of him. "I just like the hunt."

Sick shit.

I looked around the hallway and spotted a side bathroom. 

What does he do to them?

I walked in without saying another word to Dominic. 

Was he going to do the same to me one day?

It was beginning to become too much for my brain to handle, and the bile in my throat wasn't going back down.

He'll get bored and he'll do the same to me.

Once I was in front of the toilet bowl in the darkened room, I squatted in front of it.

Same -- Same -- What does he do -- What does he-?

I pulled my hair back slowly and then violently vomited the contents of last night's dinner in the toilet bowl. Dominic was watching me from the open door, not moving a single muscle of his. He didn't utter a single sound. He was silent as he continued to watch me in the hallway.

I stared into the bowl, looking at the murky liquid, but not fully registering what I was seeing.

I breathed in and out...I was trying to think how those same hands touched me. The hands of a killer tainted my skin, the lips of a torturer that dominated my neck last night.

I let out another hurl, lurching my body forward. After a few moments of breathing in and out to collect my thoughts, I felt residual puke in the back of my mouth. I spit out the lingering taste of puke while doing my best to not think about it anymore.

I plucked a tissue from a fancy box near the sink and turned around while wiping my mouth with it. 

Dominic's voice called out softly in my now ringing ears. "Are you-?"

I cut him off emotionlessly, "Where is he right now?"

I wadded up the tissue in my hands angrily before throwing it at the garbage can in the corner.

Dominic rose an eyebrow. "You...want to see the black room?" I stood frozen at that term. I was kept in a black room...my sister and my school mates were also kept there.

I...I remembered how dark and cold it was, even though my encounter with the room was short. The lighting was almost nonexistent in that room – it was a pit of growing despair and agony.

I swallowed, tasting the vomit in the back of my throat still.

I flushed the toilet and walked out of the bathroom. I waved Dominic to lead and he chuckled nervously. I could tell that he was against the idea – but I thought that maybe I would be able to talk some sense into Aidan.

Somehow...I might convince him to stop...?

"I don't think Aidan would like it if I took you there."

"Why? I'm..." I trailed, cutting myself off quickly before I said something I was going to regret. My hands were at my sides, palms raised up. I held my mouth open before slowly closing it and standing up straight. 

I didn't know what I was to Aidan, but I was going to say that I was his almost without thinking. I wasn't going to admit that out loud --

He hadn't broken me yet!

I glared at the man while Dominic turned to stare at me, and we were quiet for a few moments. I was absolutely positive that the older man wanted me to say it out loud too, but I never would. That would mean that Aidan had won...I wasn't going to let him break me like that.

I cleared my throat. 

"I want to see him. To..." I took a momentary pause, but eased into what I had thought was a reasonable excuse. "Apologize for the door..." I explained quickly, the lie slithering off my tongue before I could stop it.

Dominic was silent for a few seconds and nodded.

"Okay. This way, Vienna," he continued down the stairs to the main level. I followed behind him, taking each step carefully. I could hear my heart beating in my chest violently – with each step my heart would beat more obnoxiously than the last...it was echoing hauntingly in my ears.

We arrived at the room that I had known of, it was the exact same one I was forced into a few months ago, now.

It hurt me to realize that they were suffering right here – how often had I passed by this door in ignorant bliss?

It had black paint on the doors, and I swallowed nervously. There was a generic lock on the door, unlike some of the other doors with the locking mechanism. Dominic pulled out a key and was about to insert it into the lock when we both heard a ghastly scream of suffering coming from within the room.

We both froze at this.

The hair on the back of my neck stood up straight.

"O-On second thought..." I spoke, and Dominic quickly put the key back into his pocket. He was shaking, too, and I turned away from the room. I had no idea that the students were being tortured. Aidan really was a sadistic monster.

I couldn't reason with him...

I realized that there was no reasoning with someone like Aidan.

I would need to be more forceful to get him to stop...

A part of me was angry – it was pissed at myself.

I had let him keep these high schoolers here all morning. He was gone for at least a couple of hours before I ventured out of the room.

I could have stopped this earlier – no, I will stop this.

I will stop this now.

"W-Why don't you..." I once more attempted to mask my intentions. I patted the back of my head to hide my anger and blood lust that was coursing through me. "Give me a tour?" I suggested.

"Yeah, okay," he responded, walking quickly away from the black doors. "Yeah, sounds good," he spoke, nodding slowly. I followed behind him, looking back at the black painted door. I tore my eyes away and faced his back.

He continued walking and we passed by the large dining room.

There was the familiar hallway that led to the library, and further down there was another wing with stairs going up. "That's where we sleep," He pointed his hand to the stairs. "Down that hallway is...." He trailed, and I turned the corner to see a panel outside one of the rooms.

Dominic stood in front of me, blocking off my view with his sturdy chest.

Dominic's voice was gruff, "Off limits."

I nodded my head to the side with my hands raised in mock surrender.

That must have been the gun room I was looking for.

"Where to next?"

Dominic rubbed the back of his neck in thought.

Then, he let out a small, playful smile. "Well...There's a pool."

"Really?" There was complete shock in my tone. How could any place this cruel have something....relaxing like a pool?

After a tiring day of running and gunning teenagers down, they...what...?

Take a quick dip...?

I felt more disgusted the longer I thought about their leisure activities. I needed to keep up the façade that I meant no ill intent. It was getting harder to do the more I was finding out about Aidan and his men.

"Do you guys go swimming a lot?"

"Not a lot," Dominic shrugged. "We don't have a lot of men at the property at one time unless a game is taking place. Usually they're at the main manor."

I nodded, but kept that information on the side.

I didn't know that this was considered as a side manor.

I assumed that Aidan was part of a much larger business but didn't know what he did. I figured that his main goal was human trafficking...but, what other shady, illegal business was he a part of?

I looked over at Dominic while placing my hands together. It was in a praying manner, but I never went to church in my life. "Can we go see the pool?" I pleaded. "Please? I've been having the worst couple of months and it would be my first time out of the mansion."

Dominic didn't think to mull over the request for long.

"Let's go," Dominic spoke, and we headed down a hallway that lead into a massive back room. There was a couch and television. There were multiple pool tables and an open bar. The double wide doors showcased the large pool. It looked like a pool from the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Even back home we didn't have a pool that big...

Home...

I pushed that agonizing thought away.

I walked over to the doors and slowly pulled it open. The scent of chlorine hit me instantly and I walked out while looking at the pool's light blue water. Dominic followed my lead and we were right next to edge of the pool.

It was still a little cold out, and it wasn't anywhere close to swimming weather.

Then again, I don't ever want to go swimming in this pool.

"Dominic..." He looked over at me from looking down at the pool. "Can you swim?" I asked, looking between Dominic and the glass doors. I would be able to barricade it quickly enough after pushing him in. 

Then, it would take some time to run to where I think the gun room is – Dominic wasn't exactly subtle with trying to not disclose its location.

I would blow down the door to the black room and rescue those kids.

Dominic let out a chuckle and poked his thumb into his chest. "Of course! I can run laps around all of these posers in this mansion!" He boasted with a grin. I smiled back, looking at how close he was to edge of the pool.

"That's good to know..." I spoke softly, giving him a hard push.

His eyes went wide, and he struggled to keep himself standing on the ground as his arms flailed to his sides. I didn't see much more of that, though, before I sprinted to the double doors and shut them quickly. I brought out a pool table, and rolled it over to the double doors. I didn't care how loud I was being since Dominic had even said there weren't that many men in the mansion.

I could see Dominic place his hands on the concrete and push himself up.

The barricade was set up successfully and I sprinted out of the large back room and down the hallway. I turned a corner and went down a smaller back hallway until I found the door with the panel. I forced it up violently and gripped the nail file with a trembling hand.

It was hard to focus with all the sudden adrenaline that was surging through my body, giving my body a false sense of being high.

I identified the right wire and quickly rubbed the nail file against it.

There was a loud bang...I assumed that Dominic was now at the glass doors.

I swallowed and the wire cut, this time without any electrocution. The door slammed open as the lights in the room turned on.

It was exactly as I thought – there were different types of guns and I scanned the shelves to find a shotgun. I loaded it quickly, and then placed the strap around my shoulders. I glanced to a hand gun and took nine extra rounds with me, plus the six rounds that were already in the gun itself.

Tucking the pistol in the back of my skirt and blouse, I armed myself with the shotgun. I ran quickly out of there, just in time to hear the glass break violently deeper inside the mansion.

I continued down the hallway, sweat rolling down my forehead. I spotted the black door and prepared to ram my shoulder into it. I didn't want Aidan to know that I was coming. With one quick thrust the door flew open and I closed it behind me as a sharp, pulsing pain erupted in my shoulder.

It was pulsating from the pain, but I pushed it outside of my mind.

I let out a shaky breath before shaking it off and cautiously walked down the steps. I knew these wooden stairs would creak – I had heard it a couple of months ago when I was down here with my