I don't know why I don't pass out from the cold this time, but I'm glad I'm still conscious. Jay looks more wicked today, compared to the last time I saw him.

Might be the dust and darkness of this cavern that intensify his ruthless demeanor, or my endless panic may simply be interfering with my vision. Either way, I can't manage to look at him for more than a few seconds, and instead shift my attention back to Nathan.

"He isn't dead, don't worry, regular bullets only knock him out."

Just knock him out? What? How? I stare at Nathan's crumpled body with renewed awe, he vastly understated his abilities. I'm pretty sure one bullet would be enough to erase my existence, but he just took two and is apparently taking a nap.

"I hope we don't need to take such measures to make you comply with our instructions Leah, I would really hate to hurt you." Jay whispers as he slowly circles around Nathan and I, like a predator after a successful hunt.

I'm pretty sure he wouldn't mind hurting me, he'd probably enjoy inflicting pain on any living thing. So I play my cards safe, this escape was poorly executed, next time I'll definitely put more effort into the planning.

"I'll play nice, if you answer some of my questions about this place." My voice is shaky and frail but I maintain my conviction. "Where am I, and why did you bring me here?"

Jay stares at me for a full minute, before showing any sign of a reaction. His cold stare and the shuffling of guard boots around me only amplify my nervousness and abates whatever confidence I had.

He smiles, a wicked gesture that does nothing to compliment his face, I have never disliked someone as much as I did Jay at this moment.

"I don't think you're in any position to make demands, considering how destructive you've been since you got here. Just do as we say and maybe you'll be treated decently." The cold commander makes a show of dusting himself off as he makes to leave.

"Oh, don't be rude Jason, I'm sure we can come to some sort of understanding."

I feel a pit in my stomach as a loud voice cuts clear through the shuffling boots and chatter between the guards. Jay stiffens momentarily while the guards immediately stand at attention and cease whatever activities they were doing. Whoever just spoke is important, very important.

The dust in the air irritates my nose and I sneeze audibly, a fit of coughs following immediately after. Where is he, the owner of such a commanding voice. It's still dark yet I unconsciously stand on my tip toes, trying to peer over the heads of the guards around me but see nothing.

"She is a valuable guest after all, isn't she?"

The guards suddenly move apart, a bunch of them going to either side, leaving a clear path ahead of me and I see him, visible despite the dark and dust, a man almost as big as Jack but not as muscular.

There's something else about him, his skin glows, almost as if the blood underneath is made of pure light. Silver eyes behind his spectacles pierce into mine as he smiles at me. The whole encounter feels heavenly. Who is he?

No one says anything, not even the cold and confident Jay, we are all captured by his presence. He walks towards me, maintaining that godly smile. ..and is he.. glowing even brighter as he gets closer? I can feel the power surging within him, that could consume me in an instant.

My survival instinct screams at me to run but I only manage a single step back, It's too late, he's already an arm's length away from me.

"Hello Leah, I'm Jacob, people call me the professor here."

No way the inside of his mouth glows too. As he speaks, his teeth pick up the mild glow within his skin and reflect it back and forth within his mouth, producing an unearthly light as he speaks. I conclude there's no way that this person is human.

"Get cleaned up and change, we'll meet civilly in my office and I'll answer all your questions."

Was this god-like person being friendly to me?

"You'll see to that, won't you Jason."

"Yes sir," Jay squeaks from behind a bunch of guards and I giggle lightly.

I realize that each time he spoke to me, Jay would intentionally deepen his voice to sound more menacing. Hearing his normal voice reminds me that he's probably still a teenager.

"I'll see you soon Leah, sorry for all the trouble."

With that, Jacob turns and walks away, blending into the darkness after a few steps, making it seem as if he's just vanished. A minute after he's gone I feel the tension subside within everyone around me. The stiff guards slowly start moving around as a couple of them lift Nathan and carry him off.

Jay also slips back into his cold kidnapper personality as he approaches me, but for some reason, i'm not threatened by him anymore.

"You're lucky, now follow me."

As I follow Jay quietly, I notice everyone is maintaining a wide berth around me, deliberately giving me space. A few guards collecting debris even shuffle to the side as I pass by, that's weird, was the professor's favor that powerful in this place?

A big hole in a wall signifies the source of the earlier explosion that completely messed up our senses. It seems that the underground area we fell to wasn't accessible and our pursuers had to blow up a wall to create an entrance.

I climb over one of the mid sized boulders that litter the base of the blown hole. Jay makes a show of jumping over the boulders. I would have been impressed had it not been for the fact that he was clearly showing off.

Beyond the dark pillar maze was a familiar white hallway littered with fluorescent lights. I shade my eyes from the bright light and glance down at myself and gasp at the sorry state of my clothing.

The previously brilliant white pajamas had no indication of their original color, instead a musty brown and red were the colors of my adjusted design. Tattered in several places, my outfit was simply destroyed, an entire sleeve was missing from my left arm while the entire fabric on my right leg was red, as if entirely soaked in blood.

Even Jay looks surprised as he signals me to follow him once again. I notice it's not as cold anymore which means I could probably cause trouble with my abilities if I wanted to. I decide against any rash actions before getting solid answers from Jacob and a layout of this place, including the direction of the exit.

The path we take leads us to the left of the gigantic hole blown into the pristine hall way. As we walk I notice the hallway is constantly curving to the right, as if the entire facility was a dome or built in a cylindrical manner. Black clad guards move swiftly all around us, as if reacting to another escape incident as they move in and out of the dark cavern.

The hallway is abuzz with feedback from a dozen hand held radios and murmurs from the guards holding them. A few guards sneak a glance at me as they shuffle past us, forcing me to wonder why Jacob referred to me as a valuable guest.

As I walk behind Jay, I'm amused at my naivety and sudden blind trust in my kidnappers. All their boss had to do was be nice to get me to cease my erratic behavior. I smile as I follow Jay, who's probably a psychopath, as he leads me to my next cell.

Elevator doors whoosh open from what seemed like the solid hallway wall, a few seconds before Jay stands before them. He ushers me in with a sneer, it's clear that he doesn't like me. I stand in the furthest corner when inside the square box, as Jay takes a step in and the doors whoosh shut behind him.

He punches a bunch of codes into a keypad next to the elevator doors which get the elevator moving up. I should have probably tried to sneak a look at what the codes were but I am instead busy fighting the nauseating sensation of being stuck with him in such a small space. Reminds me of my helpless state at the back of the van during my kidnapping.

The absence of elevator music forces me to drown in my own thoughts as the elevator hums and effortlessly pulls us up. I think of Jack for the first time since being forcefully brought to whatever this place was. Was he looking for me? He must be obviously.

The real question was how long it would take for him to bust into this place and take down these hooligans. My thoughts switch to George and the explosion, giving me a heavy sensation in my heart. I hope he's okay, I kinda liked his company.

I'm forced out of my thoughts as the humming stops and the elevator doors whoosh open. I feel the different atmosphere as soon as I leave the elevator. This time the hallway walls have fancy wallpaper with intricate colored patterns drawn on it. There's also pieces of art hanging from the walls at regular intervals. Chandeliers litter the ceiling above instead of fluorescent lights. What is this luxury.

Had I walked into a hallway like this when during my initial escape attempt, the escape would have definitely become less of a priority and not the first thing on my mind. It was clear that I was now in an entirely different area of this mysterious place, a warm and inviting section where I could definitely get the answers I need.

Jay doesn't give me much time to take in the additional features before walking off, forcing me to rush after him while stumbling as I try to catch up. I bump into a smartly dressed lady carrying a silver platter as we navigate a blind corner and unintentionally push her straight into the wall to my side. She hits the wall roughly with a loud thud and collapses onto the floor, while the contents of the platter plop onto the carpeted floor. At least my abnormal strength is back.

"I..I...I'm so sorry sir, I'll clean this right up." she whimpers while clumsily recovering the platter.

She's probably hurt after hitting the wall so hard, why is she apologizing so furiously.

"I bumped into her, it's my fault," I glare at Jay, I'm pretty sure he's previously intimidated her with his menacing temperament.

He looks back and waves dismissively and resumes walking forward.

"I'm sorry," I whisper as I crouch to assist her recover the fallen cupcakes.

"You should probably go ahead too," she says with a faint sad smile. I get the feeling that being ordered around and taking responsibly for mistakes that weren't particularly her fault was normal for her.

"Take care...Mia," I smile back as I peek at the name tag pinned to the right side of her chest.

My opinion of this place sinks even lower as I catch up to Jay, what really goes on here?

We come to a stop in front of two gold colored metal doors that complement the multicolored wallpaper on the walls. I notice that this particular section of the hallway is full of such doors and guess it's a residential area for some officials or maybe highly ranked supervisors.

Jay keys in a bunch of numbers to the keypad fixed to the right side of the door, located in the wall. The keypad's mini monitor beeps and turns green as the double gold doors part to reveal the room behind. The lights within flicker on and illuminate a fancy interior.

The inside of the room is not even comparable to the cell Nathan and I were in before. This room is super spacious and has a window the size of a wall, opposite the door. Made entirely of glass, the window fully displays the scenery beyond.

I rush towards the it, anticipating to get some sort of idea indicating where I am. I'm disappointed when I get to the majestic clear glass. We were so high up, in a tower-like building, a green forest spanning as far as my eyes can see. I see the sun's position, It's probably midday right now, how many days have passed since I was taken?

I turn back to Jay once my short lived excitement fades.

"This will be your room for now, the bathroom, shower and bathtub are all through that white door to your left. You'll find clean clothes that fit in the wardrobe to your right. Please wear them after you clean yourself up. Someone will be here to get you in an hour."

With that Jay turns and exits my spacious room, the doors whooshing shut behind him. I spin around as I study the room, which contains several couches and a king sized bed right at the center of the room. The floor is carpeted just as the hallway outside was. There are absolutely no electronics in the room, just a bunch of comfy furniture and a bed.

I push the door to the bathroom open and notice a toilet seat in one corner while a bathroom stall with glass walls occupies the opposite side. The bathtub Jay mentioned is within the glass confines of the shower. A variety of shower products and soaps line the edge of the tub. I smile at the full body mirror next to the door, just half that size would fit my entire body.

I rip my nasty pajamas off, starting with my tattered shirt and jump onto the bed in my underwear and lie on my back. Lifting my legs up, I notice that my right leg is entirely stained red, as if it were bleeding profusely. Had I been bleeding?

Nathan had mentioned that I fell pretty hard when we phased through the nature dome wall. The blood stained leg indicates that I was injured pretty bad, but how come there aren't any visible injuries.

I think of Nathan as mild fatigue rolls over me. I want to see him again, just to make sure he's fine.

Closing my eyes, I embrace a wave of sleep creeping behind my eyelids.