"It's day seven, Ayva Collins." The man, whom I had learnt was the boss, called out from behind me as I felt another bucket of ice cold water fall onto me from above. "How are your muscles feeling, Collins?" He mocked me, knowing very well that I couldn't bear to be standing up anymore.

Ever since yesterday, he had placed me in a room where I had to stand up, otherwise, for every time that my knees bucked, or I fell to the ground because my legs ached to relax for even a second, I would get tased. It first started as small bolts that shocked my skin, until they became full-on electric waves that coursed through my entire body, ripping apart my already broken ribs. I had to stand for a whole 18 hours, non-stop, without even the tiniest of movement that hinted my exhaustion.

I felt another tub of frost come down to my already drenched clothes. It didn't help the fact that the boss had placed a fan in front of me that was pushing cool air to bite at my frigid bones. I could hear my teeth chattering incessantly while my body shivered uncontrollably.

"It's just one question, Ms. Collins." The boss man reminded me, smirking in front of me, and I could see the reflection of my purple lips on his shining glasses. "No answer?" He wondered before another bucket load of cutting ice fell on top of my numbing body.

I could feel the warmth of my tears trial down my cheeks, burning their way down before becoming cold as they fell to my quivering lips. "I-" I gasped as I felt his body move from the fan, the frosting air biting at my skin. "A-ask another q-ques-question." I pleaded, shrinking in my seat to fight off the numbing coldness that was taking over every inch of my body.

"You know," he spoke, amusement laced with his voice. "I heard that after a cruel body workout, it helps when you seep into a nice, cool pool with ice." I heard the sound of another bucket being loaded with ice before it was tipped over, and crashed down to me. I sucked in my bottom lips and tried to run my tongue over it, but everything was numb, not even my tongue had feeling. "Another question?" He pondered out loud, and snapped his fingers. "Alright, how about this one? Who is his most trusted employee?"

I closed my eyes and whimpered back, I couldn't answer that, I couldn't put Linia and Silvano in danger. Not after all they had done for me, Linia had almost lost his life protecting me while Silvano spent most of his days by my side, watching out for me.

"I- he- don't know!" I bit out, and let out a yelp when I felt a slap against my back, stinging right through my frozen spine and rocking across to my equally as frozen and broken ribcage.

"Come on, Ayva, think!" He exclaimed loudly, "I know you know, just tell me, and we can stop with all of this non-sense, besides, I myself and getting quite chilly just by being near you." He joked and stepped back as the sound of ice and water sloshing around racketed from above.

I closed my eyes in defeat and cried out in pain as the excruciating cold nipped at my beyond frozen body. One would've thought that after being here for hours now, my body would've numbed out, but unfortunately, I could still feel the most pained spots wither inside of me.

"He has t-two!" I yelped out, feeling ice fall down the back of my shirt, burning my skin slowly and painfully.

"Two, you say?" The man mused as he walked around, "that's certainly something. Who? Do tell, we're not done here just yet." He encouraged me to speak, but I couldn't force myself to say their names. I didn't know if it was because I knew it was wrong, or because I couldn't feel my tongue or lips anymore, but I knew I had already said too much. "No answer?" He asked as another bucket sloshed above.

I closed my eyes and grunted in suffering as more ice found their way down the front and back of my soaking and freezing shirt.

"Sir?" A voice called out and I silently thanked the Gods that they had stopped my suffering for even a second. "You have a message, he says it's important." The young man called out.

"By who?" My tormentor asked, nearing the man as I opened my blurred eyes, and winced at the air that coming at me.

"No name, sir." The guy answered, his voice lowering as the boss neared him.

"Fine," he spoke before turning to me, "two buckets every five minutes." He ordered to the men above, and I almost bawled out in pain and anger. I couldn't get a fucking break.

I watched as he exited the room, and shut the door behind him when another bucketful fell. I looked down and trembled in my seat, feeling as the cuts in my hands prickle with the dried blood that had probably frozen in place, clogging up the fluent flow that my blood was supposed to have.

I tried to focus on something other than the fact that I was getting frosted into a human popsicle. I looked over to the door, and saw the faint shadow of feet underneath move around, their low voice rumbling as they discussed something they clearly weren't agreeing with. I shook in my seat, and tried to listen past my trembling breaths as their voices arose with anger when I started hearing gunshots. I flinched back, knowing for sure that whatever man came was now dead. Despair fill my heart when I saw the door open again, and I looked away, not wanted to see as the boss man walked over.

I tried to focus on the fact that I was regaining little strength on the tips of my fingers when another loud gunshot thundered through the room. I was sure I was dead, I mean, that would explain the horrible feeling that my body was going through right now. I could also hear Carson's voice call me out, and I closed my eyes, feeling my body ache with excruciating pain as it was jostled. I was probably going to hell, to be honest. I hadn't been a very nice human being, even though I did have to give myself credit for not stealing lives, or candy from kids, I wasn't that cruel.

"Ayva, baby, I'm here!" I could still hear Carson's voice ring clearly in my ear, but I refused to open my eyes. If I opened them, I would be met with the vast emptiness where Carson wasn't even near. It had happened before, I thought he had arrived to my rescue, and when I opened my eyes to actually take him in for myself, but he was gone, like smoke. Hell, smoke lasted longer, he was there for only a mere second before he disappeared into the darkness. "Ayva, baby, please, open your eyes, baby, please, I'm here, please." I could hear him begging, and I wanted to please him, but I was the one dying, not him.

I was the one that needed to be pleased, however, I found myself opening my eyes and meeting the dark green ones I had dreamt of.

"Carson?" I called out, frowning when he wasn't disappearing into nothing.

"Yes, Ayva, it's me, come on, I've got you, baby, I've got you." He smiled down at me in relief when I started hearing more guns shooting.

"Alright Boss, we've got this." I heard Silvano speak, and I could almost hear his smirk. "We'll fucking bomb this place, right Linia?" I heard his crazy comment, and I knew that I wasn't dreaming.

"Silvano," I heard Linia's stern voice reprimand Silvano, "we won't just bomb it, we'll fucking extinguish it." Linia snarky reply threw me off. Linia was usually the calm one, the one that never seemed to enjoy the small things, or even the big things, he was always just working and being dull.

I could hear their voices fade, and I couldn't help, but to cry about the fact that I had almost gave them out to a terrorizing man.

"Shh, baby, I've got you, I'm so fucking sorry I couldn't get to you sooner, so fucking sorry." I heard Carson mumble against my ear, and I shook my head.

"You'll get wet, Carson." I blubbered out as he entered his Escalade, and sat me in his lap, his strong arms wrapping securely around me. "You'll get sick."

"Dammit, Ayva," he clutched me tighter against him, and I cried out in pain for my midsection. "Oh baby, what have they done to you?" He asked me gently, pushing the hair back from my face as he grabbed his suit jacket, and wrapped it around me carefully. "You're freezing." He brought my body closer to his warmer one, and I gladly accepted his heat. I was still shivering against his body, and I knew that the wetness of my clothes was seeping into his own clothes, but he didn't seem to care as he kissed my head gently while reached to touch my face with his other hand with great tenderness.

"I think," I paused and tried to restrain any movement that could cause discomfort to my midsection as I gripped Carson's warm hand in my frigid one, "my ribs are broken."

"I've called the doctor already, baby," he spoke to me as I heard a large bombing sound explode through the atmosphere. "It's okay, you're okay." He kissed my forehead, "the doctor is boarding is the plane with us, we're going back home." He said, his hand squeezing my own as I started to control my breathing, and my trembling body became to warm up with the heat that Carson's body was offering.

I closed my eyes against his chest and focused on the beating of his heart, something I thought I wouldn't be able to get a chance to do again.