I fell through restless dreams, as the pain overwhelmed me. It was torture. I had no escape. The only way out was death, but there was no way that they would do that. They had gone to all this trouble to capture me without a trace. Me and Dex. Why would they just let me die? It wouldn't make sense. And I certainly couldn't kill myself, because my hands were tied again. I was strangely between consciousness and unconsciousness. I could see Gethen checking my pulse. I realized with mixed relief and regret, that he needed me alive. He had to keep me alive.

   With that thought, I fell into full unconsciousness. Sleep.

   But all I saw in my dreams was a strawberry-blonde haired boy. He needed my help. I was saving him. Sacrificing myself. Even if I had to go through the unbearable pain. I needed to save the ones I loved. Wait, loved? I thought. I didn't love Dex. Not in that way. But I couldn't help but let him fill my dreams. Seeing him safe. I watched dozens of scenarios of me saving him, and sending him to safety.

   "Marella? Are you alright?" A soft voice asked me. I tried to open my eyes, but they were blurry with dried tears. I felt pain, and everything ached. Finally my vision sort of cleared, and I saw Dex leaning over me. He was ripping bits off of his shirt, and sopping up blood with them. Trying to make some makeshift bandages. It wasn't easing the pain.

   I couldn't help but notice how close out faces were. His warm breath fell on my face. I just laid still, trying not to break any fragile scabs.

   "Hold on," he said, as my eyes started to drift closed. "How do you feel?"

   "Hurt," I uttered the single word, then I cringed at my voice, broken from screaming. It hurt to talk. It hurt to move. It hurt to breathe.

   "What did you see?" He leaned closer, and his finger brushed an especially painful scab.

   "Gethen. Pain. He..." I coughed lightly, my chest aching from the small feat. "He hurt me."

   "You're gonna be okay, just stay awake." He looked around the little cell, frantically searching for something. Finally he leaned over me, and grabbed a cup of dirty water. He poured some of it on my wounds, and blood trailed all over my skin. The cool liquid soothed my scars a little bit. He poured some of the remainder down my dry throat. A little bit dribbled down my cheek. He brushed it up, then drank the small bit that remained.

   "Where are we?" I gritted out.

   "A cell, I guess." His gaze fell upon me, and it was filled with concern. I felt so bad for him, even though I was the scarred, immobilized one. He had to put up with this. He tried to pull me up into a sitting position, and it felt like my arm was going to fall off, but he eventually succeeded, and I leaned against the rock wall.

   "Are you okay, Dex?" The roughness of my voice was starting to fade. I looked up at him, as he stood, also leaning against the rock. His periwinkle eyes were clouded over with sadness.

   "I'm just worried that they're going to carry out the threats that Gethen made. Like ki—hurting your mom. Or Bex." He sighed. My heart sunk. While I only thought about us, Dex had been worried about me, and our families.

   "I think, while we're here, they won't hurt them," I lied. I had no idea what they were going to do. They might even hurt us. I wasn't sure if they even would let us out of the cell. Ever.

   "You're sounding better, do you think you can walk?"

   "Sure," I said, not sure if it's even true.

   "I'm going to try to unlock the cell, okay. Just keep awake, please." He sounded stressed, so I gave my eyes a rub, and gave him a thumbs-up.

   He reached up, and touched the incredibly large lock. Carefully, he stuck his fingers in, but then jerked them out again. A little trickle of blood ran down his finger.

   "Ouch," he moaned. "Gotta remember that." He looked up at me, and gave me a reassuring smile. "Just a complicated lock. It has an extra piece in it to prevent lock pickers, but I can avoid it."

   This time he stuck his fingers in, and wiggled them around reluctantly. A loud click resounded through the cell, and he smiled.

   In excitement, I jumped up and kissed him on the cheek. I couldn't believe he had gotten it that quick, and—

   I fell down, and crashed on the rock floor.