"Carter?" I gasped as I looked into the now red eyes of my beloved as he strangled me.

"How do you know my name?" Carter growled in my face tightening his grip around my throat.

"Carter, please." I managed to get my fingers in between his hand and my throat and took a deep breath of air as he was distracted by my words.

"Sorceress," he hissed, pushing me up against the cave wall. "You vile creature, I will slaughter you." Carter squeezed my neck again.

"It's me," I gasped as he stared at me with cold red eyes.

"Don't try your medieval powers on me, witch. I will kill you before your next breath." He bared his fangs at me, and I tried to scream, but I couldn't make a sound. He was far too strong for me to fight off. "You disgust me." Carter almost spat in my face and dropped me on the floor like I was a piece of rubbish in his hand. "What do you want from me, you vile creature? He yelled, pulling me onto my back as I coughed and reached for my neck. "Who do you work for? Is it my brother?"

I shook my head as I took big breaths of air.

"Liar," he pulled me up by grabbing onto my hair and lifting me to meet his angry face. "I will shred you like cabbage if you lie to me again," he hissed, throwing me back on the hard cold floor of the cave.

"No," I groaned. "Not Leon,"

"Then who was stupid enough to send you here to me?" He grabbed my face tightly. "Who do you work for?"

I took a big breath of air. "You," I gasped, "I work for you."

His face suddenly changed, and he smiled, slightly amused at my words. "You are smarter than you look, creature."

"Carter,"

"Do not call me that. How do you know my name?" He threw me down again and climbed on top of my still body. "Nobody calls me that,"

"Please, I don't understand." I cried out as tears filled my eyes. "What is happening? Why are you like this, Carter?"

He slapped my face so hard it felt like he had knocked it clean off my shoulders.

"Stop calling me that," He yelled. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip your head clean off right now," he said right in my face. "You are a pretty one, though, aren't you? Maybe I could use you for something else," he smiled as he touched my face.

"Why are you doing this?" I cried as I closed my eyes.

"Master, I'm hungry," the little girl said near me. "Can I eat, please?"

"Not now, Ebony. Get to your corner and stay there. I will deal with your rudeness later," Carter barked at her. "Go, now."

"Ebony?" I said, opening my eyes. "Wait, she is Ebony?"

"Yes, master," the little girl wailed as she ran off down the cave in fear. "I'm sorry, master."

"Oh no," I whispered as I suddenly realized what was happening. "Oh god, no."

"Silence," Carter roared in my face. "You never speak unless I tell you to, you disgusting creature."

"No! This can't be happening again. No." I shook my head as I felt my body start to go into complete meltdown mode. "No, please."

He pulled my face up to meet his. "I warned you," he said as he suddenly threw me against the wall. "Test me again, creature, and it will be your last words," he growled as he walked away further down the cave.

I gasped for air as I sat up and pushed my hair out of my face, my body was becoming weak, and I knew I couldn't do this much longer. "I can't be back here again. I can't."

"I told you that you would better off dying than meeting him," the soft voice of the little girl said suddenly. "I told you to hurry up and die."

I looked to see the little girl standing next to me with her arms crossed over her chest. My eyes filled with tears as I looked into the sweet innocent eyes of this familiar little girl.

"Not again," I wept as I closed my eyes. "I can't do this again."

"Do what?" She said, kneeling and looking at me crying on the floor.

"Please, you need to help me. I need your help to get out of here. He is a monster, and we need to get out of here."

"He is not a monster. He is my master,"

"Please, listen to me. It's about to get a whole lot worse for you soon. He will lose his temper, and he will take it out on you. He will torture you and tear you apart. Please listen to me," I tried to reach out and touch her, but she quickly backed away, shaking her head.

"MASTER," she screamed. "Master, quickly come here."

"Ebony, please listen to me," I held up my hands to show her I meant no harm. "We need to get out of here."

"Why do you keep saying my name like I'm supposed to know you?"

"Because I do know you, Ebony. I'm your family. We are family," I tried to smile.

"My family is dead. I saw them die."

"They did die, sweetheart, and I'm sorry about that. Carter killed our family. He killed our parents, and he will try to hurt us as well."

"Who is Carter?" She snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Your master, your master killed our parents, Ebony, and he will hurt you. Please, you need to trust me."

"No, Leon killed my parents. You don't know what you're talking about. You are not my family. They are dead," she turned to walk away.

"Wait, Ebony, please. You're right, I'm not your family, but I am.." I paused for a moment and took a breath before continuing. "Damn it, this is ridiculous, and I know you're not going to believe me, but Ebony, I am you from the future. My name is Ebony Summers, and I'm you," I said, shrugging at how crazy that sounds. "My mom's name was Mary, and my father's name was Jack, and I am a wolf. Carter killed our pack in cold blood, and he kept you or me so he could have something to torture when he got bored. I know you think he is looking after you, but trust me, things are about to get a whole lot worse. You are going to wish you were dead because of all the awful and grotesque things he will do to you. He will destroy you, and I have to stop him. I can't go through that again," I wept, remembering what Carter used to do to me in this cave. "I won't go through that. I have come too far, and so has he, and I will not let this happen again," I yelled, pulling at my chains.

"How do you know all that?" She said quietly.

"I told you. I am you. Our name is Ebony Summers, and you are five years old right now. I know everything because I'm you." I dropped my head to my chest and sobbed.

"He scares me, you know," she said, taking a step toward me. "He hurts me too. He likes to hurt me,"

"I know, sweetheart. I remember it all. I'm so sorry you have to go through this," I cried, looking into the innocent eyes of my younger self. "I'm going to help you, but I need to get out of these chains. My powers are not working here for some reason."

"You won't hurt me?" She said, staring at me with wide eyes.

"You will never be hurt again. I will make sure of it," I said, putting on a smile.

"I can try to find the key?" She shrugged.

"Yes, that's the girl. Can you find me the key, and then we can get out of here."

"Ok, I'll try," she said as she scurried off into the darkness.

"This is ridiculous," I said, leaning against the cave wall. "What the hell kind of voodoo did they cast on me? I'm going to kill Vinnie when I get home." I pulled on my chains as hard as possible, but no matter what I did, I could not pull them out of the wall. "What the hell?" I put my feet against the wall and pulled as hard as possible. I suddenly felt the wall give way slightly.

"Yes, you can do this, Ebony" I once again pulled on the chains as hard as I could.

"You dare betray me," I heard Carter's voice behind me. "You treacherous witch. Do you think you can manipulate my slave with your words? For this, I will destroy you." He was suddenly holding me up by my neck as my feet dangled off the ground. "No one fucks with me, EVER," he growled, squeezing my throat once again.

I grabbed his hand around my neck and tried to pull it off, but he was too strong, and I could see the anger in his red eyes. He was going to kill me. A tear ran down my cheek as my last thought drifted back to my vampire family. I wanted my Carter back, not this vile monster.

Carter, please, if you can hear me. I need you. I need your help. I felt my body go limp as the air was being squeezed out of me. Carter, please...I felt electricity flow through every inch of my body. The tingling became more intense as I stared into the red eyes of this angry monster. A feeling of calm came over my body as I began to levitate, and intense pressure started to form in my chest. "Sunshine," I heard Carter's voice say inside my head as I closed my eyes and listened closely to his voice. "My sunshine," Carter's voice said again right before a burst of light protruded from my chest, pushing me against the cave wall and flinging the monster away from me. I slid down the wall and landed on the ground, confused at what had just happened. My body was still pulsing with electric energy as I slowly stood up, my eyes on the monster that was now lying on the cave ground covered in dirt. "What was that?" I whispered, holding my hand to my chest.

"What did you do, witch? Do you think your power will stop me? It just makes your death more fun for me," he hissed as he ran towards me.

"Stop," I screamed as I held up my hand towards him. "Do not move a muscle. It's my turn to play now."