Everything hurt.

I couldn't see or hear anything.

It felt like I was floating.

Voices fluttered through my head.

Monster

Demon

Don't break now! We just got started!

Weak

Disgusting

Why don't you just die?

Faces flitted into my vision.

My parents, staring at me in terror and horror. They stood in front of my sister, shielding Kamiko from me. And then Ricker. Smiling sweetly, his eyes too bright, his voice too loud. Laughing roughly, and only getting happier when I screamed out. The Admin, studying me, disgusted by my existence.

Rana! Don't hurt her!

Get up, we have to run!

Get behind me!

It's going to be okay. I won't let them hurt you again.

I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere.

You can trust me.

Bring me with you.

We'll be happy, right?

Okay, I trust you.

You promise?

Liar

Traitor

More faces.

Clarita. Crying, screaming at Ricker, begging him not to hurt me. Rin, wrapping her arms around me, dragging me out of the crossfire. Darcy, helping me escape. Her eyes were wide with relief when the key unlocked my cell door.

Then Clarita again. Smiling shakily, nodding at me. Trusting every word that came out of my mouth. Every promise that I made.

And then...

Enraged. Betrayed. Staring at me with hatred in her eyes.

Traitor.

Liar.

Your fault.

Your fault.

Your fault.

"Clarita!" I screamed.

Something slammed into me. My eyes flew open, the side of my head throbbing in pain.

I was in a cage, shiny and brand new. My head brushed the top of it, and my knees were pressed up against the bars. When I moved my head, I felt my neck pop in protest. I hissed in pain.

"You awake, little lamb?"

No. Oh my God, no.

Ricker's face appeared in front of me, grinning gleefully. Fear rose in my throat, my voice stuck in terror. It must've showed on my face, because Ricker let out a howl of laughter. The raspy sound echoed all around the room, filling my ears.

"Clarita! What did you do to her?" I yelled at him.

"Ricker didn't do anything to me."

I turned my head.

Clarita sauntered over to me, her silver eyes sharp and a harsh smirk on her face. She knelt in front of the cage, and put her hand on the bars.

"How does it feel?" Clarita cooed. "To be trapped. All alone, not able to do anything about your friends and family?"

"What did you do to them?" I whispered.

"I just left a little note." she chuckled. "But knowing them, there's bound to be a group coming to rescue you. After all, your sweet family does love you."

"No!" I yelled. "No! Clarita, don't do this. This isn't you!"

Clarita laughed. "This is me. And if you didn't want this to happen, then you should've thought about the consequences when you left me behind!"

"Clarita-"

"Stop stalling, little bird!" Ricker scoffed. "Let's get to the fun part."

"Do not call me that." Clarita hissed. "You will call me Blue, just like everyone else does."

Ricker snickered. "Sure, blue bird."

Clarita glared. "Just Blue."

"Fine. Blue." Ricker relented. "But I got an axe with little lamb written all over it."

"For the last time," Clarita groaned. "We are not going to kill her. Rana's much more useful alive! Anyway, we'll have more fun if she can respond."

"Hurt me!" I gasped. "Do whatever you want to me, just don't hurt my family."

"But that's the thing," Clarita chuckled.

She leaned in, her face an inch from the bars. The fluorescent lights made her hair seem lighter, and her eyes seemed to glow. She reached through the bars and grabbed onto my chin, pulling me forward.

"We both know that you don't give a damn about what happens to you. What really hurts you is your family being hurt. And that you can't do a thing to help them. That's your fatal flaw. You want to make sure that nobody is hurt because of you, and it kills you when you can't help the people you care about."

"Oh, its going to be so much fun, seeing the spirit drain right out of you!" Ricker cheered.

"No! Don't hurt them!" I cried.

Clartia rolled her eyes. "Don't worry. I won't hurt them."

I exhaled in relief, slumping back against the bars of my cage. Clarita turned around, letting out a soft hum.

"But, y'know Rana?"

I looked at her.

Clarita smirked. "I can't speak for anyone else."

I bolted up again, and my head slammed against the top if the cage. My head spun slighlty, but I didn't care.

"We done with the talking?" Ricker laughed.

His eyes were bright with excitement. He was grinning, wider than he ever had. The tension in the room was suffocating. My eyes darted between him and Clarita.

"Don't touch my kids." I whispered.

Clarita frowned at me, looking offended.

"Why would I hurt Kai and Sabrina?" she asked. "They're just kids. They didn't hurt me. They didn't do anything wrong. They're safe, and I can promise you that they won't get hurt."

"But the rest of my family didn't do anything either!"

Clarita crossed the room suddenly. Her hand slashed between the bars of the cell and grabbed the front of my shirt. She yanked my forward, and my head smacked the bars.

"They helped you." Clarita hissed. "They helped a criminal, which makes them criminals too. And don't you worry. I won't hurt them. They didn't lie to me and abandon me like you did. But they are going to get hurt by everyone else in this building."

"Blue bird!" Ricker yelled. "We're going to start the game, right now. Whether you like it or not."

Clarita drew in a breath. Her face was pink with anger. But she gave me a knife edged smile and stood up, brushing herself off. I heard her sigh quietly.

"Alright Ricker." Clarita murmured. "Since you're so eager, I'll let you explain the rules of our game. And then we'll play."

Ricker grinned. "Finally! I was almost thinking that you were going to back out!"

"Absolutely not." Clarita growled. "She deserves to suffer."

"Good! We agree."

Ricker turned to me, his eyes glinting. The insanity was rolling off of him in waves, suffocating me. The little light that shone in the room seemed to darken.

"Little lamb. We are going to play Hide and Seek. We will let you out of your cage, and you will run. When we catch you, we will torture you! You can use any of your powers or weapons, just like we will. Got it?"

"What if you don't catch me?" I asked.

"Believe me." Clarita chuckled. "We will catch you."

"What if I don't want to run?"

Ricker slammed his hand against the cage bars. Fury lit up his face.

"You will run!" he roared. "You will run, and you will be caught. And then we'll break you!"

I squeezed my eyes shut, clamping my hands over my ears.

"Ricker, stop it. You're scaring her." Clarita sighed.

"That's the point!" Ricker giggled.

"I know. But you can scare her all you want during Hide and Seek. Not now."

Ricker pouted. "Fine."

Clarita walked over to the cage. She bent down and held up a key in front of my face.

"I'm going to let you out. And you're going to run." she whispered. "You can do whatever you'd like, but we will catch you. Just, try to run fast. We both like a good chase."

Clarita unlocked the cage. I stared at her, and she sighed in exasperation. She reached out and yanked me out of the cage. I staggered up, every inch of my body aching. My head spun. I felt like I was going to throw up.

"We'll give you to the count of ten." Clarita chuckled. "Better start running."

I looked at them.

I could feel my heart breaking.

This was my fault. It was all my fault. I did this to Clarita. And now, my family was going to be hurt because of me.

"Ten," Ricker sang out.

My eyes widened. I ran down the room, and was met with several hallways. I sprinted down the one headed straight, my heart pounding in my ears.

"Nine," Clarita called out.

I looked up.

There were speakers lining the walls, making Clarita and Ricker's voices amplified.

I ran down the hallway and then ducked into another room. It was dusty, with no windows.

It hit me.

We were in the basement.

There was no way out but up.

"Eight," Ricker crooned.

I ran out of the room, my foot steps echoing loudly. I squeezed my eyes shut. I had to get my powers ready.

"Seven," Clarita chuckled.

I concentrated, trying to get into Ricker's head. I could use his memories against him. But I was met with a rush of darkness and nearly fell over.

I couldn't get into Ricker's head. Not deep, anyway.

I had to run.

"Four," Ricker cried.

I had lost three seconds.

I started sprinting again. But every hallway looked the same. Dark, gray and filled with the smell of blood, sweat, misery and insanity.

"Three," Clarita hummed.

I looked around in a panic. They were coming.

"Two!" Ricker gasped.

I had to hurt Ricker. I refused to hurt Clarita.

"One!" Clarita screamed.

Her breathless shout slammed through the hallway, echoing and filling me with terror. That wasn't the Clarita that I once knew.

"Ready or not, here we come!" Ricker bellowed.

No!

I looked around, panic filling me. I had no idea where I was. I felt faint.

But there was no time to panic.

Clarita and Ricker were coming, and I had to move.

I had to run.

So I ran.

I ran as hard as I could, keeping my focus on every step that I took. I had to survive this. I had to save Clarita, and then help my family. I couldn't let them catch me.

I could hear my breathing. All of my footsteps. They echoed off of the walls. But I couldn't hear Ricker or Clarita. This was bad.

"Cute."

I jumped.

Clarita stood in front of me, grinning widely.

"Clarita?" I gasped. "H-how did you-"

"You're not the only one with powers." she chuckled.

In an instant, she was behind me, her hand clamped around my wrist.

"Clarita, stop! I don't want to hurt you." I cried.

"Too bad." she hummed. "Because I really want to hurt you."

I heard the pop before I felt it. The loud, sharp sound echoed through the hallway. Then the pain hit, and I screamed.

She laughed, and then jerked my arm back. popping my wrist right back into shape.

Clarita let me go, her silver eyes glittering with triumph. She grabbed my face, smirking widely.

"I'm going to give you a second chance." she cooed. "You get five more seconds to run from me, okay? And if I catch you again, the game is over."

I let out a hiss, tears welling in my eyes.

"Ready? Five,"

I backed away. Clarita gave me a sweet smile.

"Start running. Four,"

I took off down the hall. It was all my fault that Clarita was like this. If I didn't leave her behind, none of this would've happened.

"Run faster, Rana! I'm going to get you!"

My only shot out of here was to get in their minds. But it was painful, and I refused to hurt Clarita. I had already hurt her enough.

My only chance was to get Ricker.

"There you are!"

I skidded to a stop.

Ricker ran out in front of me, an insane grin spread across his face. In his hand, he had a taser.

He started walking to me, breathing hard. I could see sweat trickling down his forehead.

He was tired.

This was my chance.

I raced forward and leapt on Ricker. He let out a surprised yelp and toppled back. The taser fell out of his hand. I grabbed it and jammed it under his chin. Ricker stared at me, gasping for breath. I dug my knee into his chest, trying to keep him down.

I stared at him, trying to make my way into his mind. And he let me in.

Darkness.

Screaming.

People running, pleading with him.

"Stop! It hurts!"

"I didn't do anything!"

Blood.

Harsh laughter.

A pink haired girl.

Screaming and crying, her arms held up in defense.

Clarita?

Clarita.

Clarita!

I let out a scream, yanking myself out of his mind. Pain exploded across my face.

Ricker slammed me down on the floor, laughing loudly. I felt blood dripping down my cheek. His elbow jammed into my stomach and I choked, all of my breath gone.

"Hurts?" Ricker laughed. "Good! We're just gettin' started!"

I rolled away, dodging his next hit. His fist smashed the ground, but he didn't even pause before leaping at me.

Ricker kicked my arm and I tried to stand up, ignoring the pain. He pulled out another knife and swung it at me, grinning cheerfully. I leapt back, and my back hit the wall.

I dropped down to the floor, avoiding Ricker's knives. I kicked my leg out at knocked his ankle. He stumbled, and I jumped up and tried to sprint away.

His hand shot out and grabbed my wrist. I whirled back and bit down on his hand so hard that I tasted blood. He screamed and let go of my wrist.

I ran down the hallway, glancing over my shoulder.

Ricker was bent over, holding his injured hand tightly. His knives and taser were on the floor.

Suddenly, he straightened up and pulled another taser out of his coat pocket. He fired the laser at me. I skidded to the side, the laser slashing past my face by a bare inch.

I felt sick. Sweat streaked down my face, and my feet hurt. The cut on my cheek burned.

I could Ricker running after me. He was gasping and sputtering, maybe trying to yell something at me. But I wasn't really in the mood to get screamed at.

"Rana! Oh isn't this just perfect?"

No! Damn my life!

Clarita stepped in front of me, her chest heaving. I could see sweat running down her face. Her lips were dry and cracked. But her eyes were bright with triumph and a shaky smile spread across her face.

She grabbed my shirt and yanked me close to her.

"Found you." Clarita whispered.

She threw me down and I hit the floor. A jolt of pain ran up my spine. My head spun and my ears rung. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying not to pass out.

I felt Ricker yank me up, laughing in delight.

"Aren't you going to put up a fight?" he rasped. "You put up one hell of a struggle just a couple of minutes ago? Where's all that fire gone?"

"She's not going to fight when I'm here." Clarita snickered. "Because she doesn't want to hurt me. Isn't that right?"

"No use explaining." I mumbled. "I'm already caught."

"Come on, make it fun for us!" Ricker whined.

"I don't live to be your entertainment." I snapped.

There was a pause. Clarita let out a loud laugh.

"Alright, let's get to the best part." she chuckled.

I stayed limp as they went down the hallway. Ricker was dragging me on the floor by my ankles. He had tied my wrists together with rope. I could hear them whispering, but for once in my life, I didn't try to listen in.

Ricker yanked me up and slammed me down on a table. He untied my wrists and then locked my arms and legs down on the table. Clarita circled the table, her face almost blank.

"We're start with the lethal stuff!" Ricker cheered.

Clarita looked up. "What? No, for the last time, we aren't killing her."

Ricker glared. "Why not? Don't tell me you're like her."

"Excuse me?"

"That you fell in love with her or something." Ricker scoffed.

"Absolutely not." Clarita growled. "I don't love people that way. Never have, and never will."

"Then stop stalling!"

"I'm not stalling. The Administrator said specifically not to kill her."

"If you guys are going to torture me," I said. "Then get it over with, instead of standing around and arguing for an hour."

They paused, looking at me in surprise.

"We are not going to kill her, and that's final." Clarita snapped. "If you have a problem with that, then talk to the Admin."

Ricker pouted, grumbling quietly.

Clarita went over to the wall and pulled a package down. I strained my head. trying to see what she was doing.

"Alright, I'll go first." Clarita hummed.

She came back over, standing over me with a syringe.

I froze.

"Scared?" she asked.

"Clarita, please." I croaked. "Don't do this. I know you. I know that you're a go-"

"Shut up!" she barked. "You don't know me. You left me behind, for five years. And you knew I'd pay for your mistake. You damn well knew I'd get hurt because of you! This is all your fault. Shut up and pay the consequences!"

She lunged forward and jammed the needle into the vein of my right arm.

Pain exploded, and I screamed.

Clarita glared at me. "Shut up! You don't get to scream."

I bit my tongue, trying not to cry. My head spun and my ears rung.

I felt nauseous and couldn't stop sweating. My chest and knees burned.

Most of all, the air in the room was suffocating, hot and thick with tension.

I could barely breathe.

I felt another stab of pain, this time in my left arm. I cracked open my eyes and saw Ricker bending over me, jamming a syringe into my vein.

I closed my eyes again.

I didn't want to see Ricker, and I couldn't look at Clarita.

I tried to remember the good times. Or as good as we made them.

Talking to Clarita, late in the night. Trading stories about times before the Facility. Saying goodnight and good luck. Playing little talking games.

And then with Darcy. Laughing and trading jokes. Making make shift beds and teasing each other. Competitions. And how she listened to me, comforting me after a nightmare.

And Rin. Oh my God. She was back at the Haven. And I had hurt her so badly. All she had done was support me, and I slashed her worst memory.

"Open your eyes."

I opened my eyes, trying not to scream. I felt almost numb from all the drugs they shoved in my body. Clarita smirked down at me.

"Take a look at this!" Ricker laughed.

He grabbed my head and yanked it up, grinning maniacally.

There was a TV mounted on the wall. The screen showed a pristine dining room, with the Admin at the head of the table. And my family was sitting at the table. Rin, Darcy, Ivan, Kamira, Lanis, Marcus and Rocco.

"No!" I gasped.

I watched Rin suddenly leap up, and men came rushing forward. Darcy grabbed Rin's arm and tried to pull her down. The Admin stood up and started to walk out. Rin stabbed out her hand slashed out a line of electricity at the Admin.

It connected with the wall just an inch away from his head.

And then the guards attacked.

"Rin!" I screamed.

Ricker snapped the TV off, beaming with sadistic delight.

Clarita sighed. "Always confrontational, isn't she?"

"How'd you like seeing that?" Ricker cooed at me. "They're all going to die. All because of you!"

I opened my mouth to answer, but a thought came into my head.

She deserved it.

They all deserved to get hurt. Because they said they would protect me, and they lied.

"Good." I heard myself growl.

What?

No! They were my family. They didn't des-

Yes, they did.

I could hear my own voice in my head. But it was deeper, and sharper. With a rough note that Ricker's voice had.

"What did you do to me?" I choked out.

Ricker grinned. "Just let your real self out."

"Thank God." the voice laughed. "Rana's too damn weak. Blaming herself for everything, caring too much about everyone but herself."

"Stop!" I gasped.

"Come on out." Clarita laughed. "Come on, tell us how you really feel."

"I-"

"Awful. Now let me out of these chains. I want to be up there to see the terror on their faces. Not to mention Saundrine. She's going to pay."

I felt darkness closing in.

Bile rose in my throat.

What did they do to me? The person who was speaking wasn't me. But it was still my voice. But its was different. This person was different.

"No." I whispered.  "Please,"

No answer.

And the light completely faded away.

J here!

So, Rana had changed, to say the least!

What do you all think of this new identity? Will she hurt Rin?
Will she....

Kill Rin?

And then Clarita. You saw a bit more about what's going on in her head.

She's not Ricker. She doesn't want the kids to get hurt.

So, will Rin and the group fall?

I guess you'll find out in the next chapter....