"And what might that be?" his arms are warm around my body, causing goosebumps to rise, and I pray that he can't see the way his touch is effecting me. Not that it is.

"The knife that you need so badly that you break into my room to find it," his fingers rub circles on my skin and I have to keep reminding myself that he is a monster, that his touch shouldn't be doing this to me. It's the alcohol, nothing more.

I remind myself of how he corners me, how he hurt me, how he held his hand to my throat earlier and the times before that.

"I didn't break in... your door was unlocked," I say snidely. Colton's arms tighten and I step back into him without thinking. I hear him suck in a sharp breath and I can't help the smug grin that finds home on my lips.

We're too close, we shouldn't be standing like this. I pull his arms off of my body and, to my surprise, he lets go easily. I turn to face him.

"If I stay here... you'll give me my knife back?" I strike a deal.

"Yes love," he agrees but I don't believe him. I look at him skeptically. I have no reason to trust him, he has done nothing to earn my trust.

"For some reason I don't trust that you will," I say and move closer to him. We seem to move closer to each other without knowing - like an invisible rope is between us, tugging us towards each other at all times.

"You'd be stupid to trust me," well at least he is honest and self-aware.

"I'll... be leaving then," I smile and as soon as I reach for the door handle he speaks.

"Well, then you're definitely not getting it," I am freezing so it would mean a great deal if we could just hurry this conversation up. I have two options here - leave and I won't get it back at all or stay and maybe get it back but maybe not. I hate him and his ultimatums.

"Fine," I huff. "But I need something to wear, I'm not staying like this," I've mostly sobered up from this whole ordeal but I can still feel the slight buzz running through my veins and my mind is far from clear, both from his presence and my intoxication.

Colton rolls his eyes but gets me something to wear nonetheless. He comes back with a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. I put them on, hastily, and find that they are far too big for me but come to the conclusion that it's better than nothing.

Anything is better than nothing in this situation.

"Thank you," I say and he tenses... weird. "What... what time is it?" I ask and he pulls out his phone. I think I left mine in my room or I've lost it somehow.

"Two in the morning," I didn't know it had gotten so late, it felt like only moments ago I had arrived back at the facility. This is probably the longest that we have ever gotten along for, but my feelings towards him haven't changed and I don't think they ever will.

Besides, it's probably best that it stays that way. For the sake of everyone.

***

Colton undresses and I have to force my eyes to look at anything in the room other than his toned body. He then flicks off the light before getting into bed and I stand there awkwardly... does he want me to sleep on the floor or? Walking down the corridor half-naked seems like a much better option now, whether I get my knife back or not.

"What are you doing?" he asks in his usual rude tone. I'm sure people would find him much more delightful if he spoke to them like a real person and not as if they were some rabid animal.

"I'm not sleeping in a bed with you," I cross my arms and I can already tell he is rolling his eyes.

"I'm tired and you're pissing me off, can you just get in the bed and go to sleep," Colton huffs.

After a few moments of weighing the pros and cons of the situation, I give in.

I manage to walk towards the bed, through the darkness, and get in without making a fool of myself. I make sure to stay as far away from him as possible.

His scent is a mixture of aftershave and mint, I like it more than I care to admit.

I turn over so that I am facing him and I can just about see the outline of his body. I ask him the question that has been on my mind ever since I found his room unoccupied.

"Why weren't you in your room?" I whisper into the darkness. "Don't worry I'm not going to stab you if you don't answer me," I say snidely. I know it's petty but I can't help myself. Actually no it's not petty, he stabbed me and I should be able to hold it against him if I deem it fit to do so. It's the least I deserve.

There's a long pause before he answers. "Nothing you need to know about love," it's like talking to a brick wall. I huff and turn over so that I am facing away from him again. Begging my mind to shut off and my body to decide that it wants to sleep so that I can get this tortorous night over and done with.

No matter how much begging, how much I plead with my mind to give in to the darkness... I simply cannot fall asleep. I have been tossing and turning for the better part of the whole night, Colton doing the same. I'm glad that he finds this just as uncomfortable as I am, I hope I am depriving him of just as much sleep as his presence is depriving me of mine.

This is going to be one restless, long night...

***

I wake to several people shouting outside in the corridor, at first I think it's in my dream but it only gets louder. I sit up and come to grips with where I am... Colton's room. My head hurts as I try to figure out what they are saying. I wait for my eyes to adjust to the darkness before getting out of the bed and creeping towards the door - trying to stay as quiet as possible.

I don't know what time it is but telling from my tired state, it can't have been long since I finally coaxed myself towards sleep.

Opening the door, I peer out to try to figure out who is making all of this noise. Three men bedecked in all black, ski masks over their faces, each of them holding a gun in their hands and they're shouting at a man I don't recognise.

"Tell us!" one of them shouts and the man whimpers. I hold my hand over my mouth to not draw attention to myself. "Tell us or we will shoot every last person in this building!" the same man shouts and holds up the gun to the forehead of the crying man.

I slowly close the door and my hands shake violently.

I walk over to the bed where a soundless Colton lays and I shake his shoulders. "Colton... Colton wake up," he doesn't budge. I shake his shoulders more this time. His eyes snap open and he sits up quickly.

"What? What?" he says, his voice frantic but laced with sleep.

"There's guys in the corridors with guns and... and they're threatening to shoot everyone in the building if someone doesn't tell them something," I ramble and Colton pinches the bridge of his nose before getting up and going to the door.

I follow closely behind him and listen to the voices as they continue shouting.

"The girl! Where is the girl?" someone else shouts and I hear a gun click.

"What girl? What girl are you talking about?" the man cries and I hold my breath.

"The lead commanders daughter! Now where is she?" as soon as the words leave their mouth my heart stops. Me. Why do they want me? My conversation earlier with Andrew floods my mind... war they've already started war. Colton turns to face me, his face full of confusion.

I immediately start pacing the room and tugging at the roots of my hair. They're coming after me and there is nothing I can do to stop them unless... unless I turn myself in. If I turn myself in no one has to get hurt and I'm sure I'll find a way out of wherever they take me... well I'd hope that I would. There would be no way in hell that my father would even bother trying to look for me or find the time to even care.

My mind is racing and I can't keep my th- a bang sounds down the hall and screams erupt from outside. The sound resonates through the room and I can picture that poor man dead on the floor... because of me.

"We need to go... now," Colton says and I rush towards him.

"Where?" I ask frantically and another shot fires.

"Just follow me okay? Don't lose me," Colton says before looking both ways outside his door then running right.

***

We're now running down the corridor, my legs burning already - telling me just how unfit I am. But my adrenaline and need for survival overpower my want to stop. It's hard to keep up with Colton but he looks back every so often to make sure I am still behind him. My lungs are on fire and my heart is begging me to stop or at least slow down but I can hear boots slamming against the floor behind us and I force myself to go faster.

Colton takes a sharp right and I almost fall over from how sudden it was. My lungs are starving for oxygen but I can't seem to inhale enough, my legs are begging for mercy but I deny them. All of a sudden Colton stops at a metal door and places his hand over a scanner. After a couple seconds the door unlocks and Colton shoves me inside before closing the door hastily.

I sit down on the floor and am practically gasping for air as I clutch my chest. It takes me a few minutes but my breathing gradually returns to normal and I take in the room around me.

It's full of guns and weapons of all sorts. The walls covered in everything you would need to take down opposers.

Colton is only in his boxers and I know that he definitely wasn't expecting this tonight otherwise he would have chosen a different attire to sleep in.

"Do you want these shorts?" I ask as he takes a gun down from the shelf and fills it with ammunition, the sight making me shudder.

"No it's fine... keep them on," he says and I roll my eyes. I take them off anyway and hand them to him. The shirt he gave me is relatively long so it covers the majority of me.

He takes them and puts them on before handing me a small gun.

"I have no clue how to use a gun and I still have alcohol in my system... I don't think it's a good idea for me to be holding one," I explain as he does the same thing with a different gun.

"That sounds like a you problem, love," he clicks the gun, turning the safety off and I stand there shocked by the words that have just left his mouth.

"That's it... no tips on using a gun for the first time?" I say and can't believe I expected an actual answer of some sort from him.

"Just aim and shoot," he says. He may as well just throw me into the corridor without a gun, I will be just as useless without one as I'll be with one. "You ready?" those two words will probably haunt me for the rest of my life, if I even get to live one.

I nod, unable to speak and he unlocks the door... here goes nothing.

***

This feels like a dream but not a good one... this is a bloody nightmare. We walk silently, checking behind us every other second to make sure no one is trying to ambush us. Colton holds his hand up, halting, and I don't hear it at first but more gunshots resonate throughout the hallway, they are a lot closer this time. I have no clue who is being killed - the rebels, the people in the facility, both?

My mind quickly goes to Zach... What if he's been shot, what if he's dead, what if he's hurt and needs someone?

I swallow the lump rising in my throat and power on, following Colton's lead.

Before I can even make it another footstep, someone clamps their hand over my mouth and drags me into a darker hallway. I scream and kick, hitting them profusely - trying to get them to let me go. They push me up against the wall and my face is just inches away from their covered one.

"We've been looking for you," I realise that he hasn't noticed the gun in my hand and use it to my advantage. "Scream and you're dead," he holds a gun to my stomach and I forget how to breathe. I have my finger over the trigger but I can't seem to pull it. "Such a pretty face... would be a shame to kill you," his voice is sickening and I want nothing more than to kill him.

"You're not going to kill me... I won't be as valuable," I say but he shakes his head and laughs.

"Whether we take you hostage or kill you... it sends the same message," I hear his gun click, he's going to shoot me.

"What do you want?" I manage to say and he laughs.

A sick, hollow laugh filled with nothing but arrogance.

"You and your father dead," he spits and my blood runs cold.

Grow up... you're weak... you're useless... such a child... the gun fires.