From his blood splattered watch it read one thirty A.M. He had gotten home late but Addie was still passed out. He went to the living room and drank a fifth. He sunk into the couch and the night recalled in his head over and over. The chanting, the flames, the screams of the young girl. The seven of them dancing around naked with mask. The thrill of killing. The Eagle was the head of the cult. There was also a bear, a wolf, a deer, a fox, a snake and then the mountain goat. He was the goat. The one who liked to pound and beat on the women that were brought to the circle of death.

The vision of her still fresh in his mind. He took another swig. Her screams still echoed in his ears. Her young fragile body leaped from the rock, begging for them to stop. But he loved it; he loved the excitement, the pure torture. He had thought of Addison. She had pissed him off so much that he took a lot of the hatred on the young girl. He guzzled the last drop and passed out, dropping the bottle to the floor.

He awoke to the sun shining through the dusky windows. The blood was still on him. He stretched and walked to the bathroom to take a quick shower. When he got out he put on a fresh pair of pants and a tee shirt. He checked on Addie but she was still asleep. He went to the kitchen to fix a bite to eat and made her a plate as well. When he came back she was still sleeping.

"Addison, you need to wake up." He tapped her on the cheek. Her face was swollen more and now both of her eyes had turned black from the breaking of her nose. She barely opened either of them now. It was difficult to breathe; therefore she could not smell the breakfast that he had brought for her to eat.

She moaned of pain.

"Come on now you have to eat, wake up."

She opened her eyes again but everything was blurry.

"Good girl." He patted her. "That's my girl. We need to eat now. He spooned the oatmeal to her mouth. She tried to open wide enough to take a bite. Her jaw ached and every time she closed her mouth she had a difficult time breathing.

When she was finished he left and then came back with a hot bowl of water and a wash cloth. He wanted to clean her up as much as possible. Wiping the blood from her nose and her lip, she jerked every time he came near her.

"Addie, I'm sorry this had to be this way. I'm sorry for having to hurt you."

Blood filled the bowl of water and her stomach felt weak all of a sudden. Her head pounded, her body ached and her bladder was so full that it was screaming to release itself.

She leaned closer to him and whispered, "I need to go to the bathroom."

"But if I let you get up you will fight me again, I can't have that."

"No I wont. I promise to behave."

"I will let you, but if you dare try anything I will kill you." He untied the knots around her wrist and he grabbed her leg to unlock the chain.

She went to get up but fell back on the bed. Her body was tense and her ribs felt like they were caving in on her. "I can't move, I think my ribs are broken."

"Yea, right." He smirked.

"Please Keith you got to carry me. I really need to go."

"Damn it, do I gotta do everything." He picked her up and carried her to the bathroom. She tried not to make a sound but the pain was heart wrenching, tears streamed down her face.

"Keith."

"What now?"

"Would it be all right if I took a bath."

"Why not, I got all damn day," he smarted off. While she sat on the toilet to relieve herself he filled the tub. The steam from the heat of the water rose above fogging up the windows and the mirror above the sink. He helped her take off her clothes and eased her into the tub.

The tub immediately turned red. She had dried up blood all over her. As she tried to wash herself she noticed that her poor body was almost completely black and blue. She looked like a dead corpse but the water pierced her skin and sent a painful sensation to her nerves to her brain to let her know that she was very well alive.

"Look at me, I look like I have just been smashed to death on Celebrity Death Match."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you but you provoked me to do it."

She over looked the statement, knowing that it was yet another lie. She laid back into the tub and let the water embrace her.

"All right that's long enough, let's get you out and dressed." He wrapped the thick towel around her and helped her walk back to the bedroom. As they walked by the mirror that was over the sink she got a glimpse of her face, or at least she thought it was her but the face was a stranger to her. It looked nothing like her. The girl in the mirror, if it was a girl, her eyes were almost swollen shut with big dark black circles. Her nose was deformed and was crooked to one side. Her lips were in fact so large that it looked like she just had them botoxed. She looked like she had gained at least twenty pounds and that was just in the face. She suddenly became weak and fell. She crawled to the toilet and vomited repulsively. Her skin was clammy and the little beads of sweat rolled along her fore head.

"I need a doctor, I'm dying," she moaned.

"You're not going to die. Come on now let's get you dressed."

"Keith, I'm not joking this is serious. Something is just not right and I can feel my chest caving in on me." She tried to hold back the tears but they kept pouring.

"Suck it up. Besides you're going to be lying down anyway. It's not like you got anywhere to go."

"I need a doctor, DAMN IT, my ribs are broken. I can't breath," she demanded again.

"Well, we are far from a doctor and even farther from a hospital so you will just have to make due."

"Damn it Keith if you will not take me to a doctor then you need to get someone to at least look at me."

He then bellowed, "If you raise your voice to me one more time so help me."

She had thought about the day before and she knew if she didn't clam down he would hurt her again without even thinking about it. So she asked him nicely. "Keith, please, can you at least find something to wrap around me. Anything will due it just needs to be tight to help hold the ribs in place."

"Whatever." He threw up his hands as if he had had enough of her. He left her on the bed and came back with a sheet. He folded it long ways and then wrapped it around her tightly, just enough so that she was still able to breathe. He found her some clean clothes and helped her get dressed. He reached down to get the chain and she watched as he fastened it back to her ankle.

"It's not like I can go anywhere, Keith."

"Well this will just make sure that you don't go any where."

"Hello! I can't even walk on my own right now without your help."

He refused to answer her, instead he left and went back into the kitchen to fix her a sandwich with some chips. However, she was surprised to see one slice of ham and a slice of cheese. He could have at least put a thin layer of mustard, ketchup, or even a slice of tomato would have been nice. But no he wouldn't give her any satisfaction.

"You need to eat something." Handing her the sandwich. "You haven't ate anything in hours." He quickly turned as if to leave her to eat all alone.

"Where are you going?"

"I gotta go take care of things; I'll be back later."

"You are going to leave me alone, here in this creepy place all by myself. What if someone comes to the door, or a wild bear comes charging in here?"

"You'll be fine. You're out in the middle of nowhere, far from any civilization. And as far as bears or any other animals, they won't come near this place."

This is what she had feared the most. It wasn't the fact that he would be gone and her left all alone, it was the pure fact that no one was there. No one would hear her screams of desperation; no one would save her form this creepy place. Even though she knew her secretary at her office, her patients and even her family would be worried about her; they would never be able to find her. She finished up the stingy sandwich and stale chips, then laid her head back on the pillow, she thought of her life before him.

She grew up in a small town in the southern part of Tennessee. Ever since she was a little girl she told her parents she hated the country life and longed for the life of a big city. She thought it would be adventurous. At first her parents refused to hear any part of her moving when she forced the topic right before graduation. But her father had loved her so much and just couldn't stand for her to be sad any longer. Her mother still refused but gave in and kissed her goodbye to a life in the heart of Georgia. She loved Atlanta. She attended college and was admitted into a sorority. During her last year she went to a campus party and that's when she had met Keith. They had fallen madly in love with each other. He talked her into taking him with her during the Christmas holiday. At first she thought it would be a really bad idea but her family had enjoyed him. But mostly they were happy because she was happy. Not long after she received her doctor's degree she opened up a small office in Atlanta. He pushed the fact that they should move in together and then continued to push the fact that he really wanted to move to a quieter place, maybe a small city or even better in the country. Every now and then he would bring up the subject of getting married and having children but Addie was just getting adjusted to her new profession and kept putting everything else on hold. Maybe she did miss something, over looked his needs, something. But then again what about her needs. Her job was her life. He had been a part of her life as well and not to mention her family back home in Tennessee that she called at least twice a week and visited on a regular basis. Her family. They would be devastated not hearing from her. They would be worried and maybe even search for her if they did not hear from her. That's it, she knew she would have to wait on them to look for her but how long would that be? How long was she going to be here? How long would she be chained to the bed in an obscure, disgusting, horrid cabin in the middle of nowhere?

She had to think quickly; there was no way in hell she was going to stay here forever and that was for damn sure. She would have to find a way to get on his good side. Then maybe he would trust her again and maybe, just maybe he would take the tedious chain off and she would wait for the perfect time and then run for dear life. But then once out, how far would she have to run? How far would the next house be or the next sign of life?

She must have dosed off because when she woke up the room was dark. The sun had fallen behind the mountain. It was quite as a mouse in the cabin; Keith was still gone. The air was humid and the dust was appalling. Thank goodness she still had a hard time breathing through her nose or else she would have smelled the revolting closed-in mildew smell. She could barely see the moonlight come in a nearby window. If only she could get up and open it, at least a nice breeze would do her some good.

She forced herself to sit up again and then managed to get her feet on the floor. As soon as she stood up her feet gave way and she immediately crashed to the hard wood floor. She eased her way on all fours, knowing it was a closed case to stand up again. She crawled to the window and just as she got there she felt an agonizing tug and it felt like a knife going right through her ankle.

Come Addison get your sweet ass up and push that window up; you can do it girl.

Adrenaline came so fast and as she stood her ankle gave way again. Damn it! All right this is it. If you're going to do this, then do it or get back in that repulsive bed. She had to stand; she had no other choice. As she stood her legs began to shudder under her like a fawn just learning to walk for the first time. Her hands trembled, clammy as she took hold of the window. She rose and pushed with everything only budging the window by two inches. A gulf of wind whooshed in blowing her hair making the back strands stand and shiver right down the middle of her back. Cold chills.

The sound of life beckoned outside. Crickets chirped, katydids chimed in, a bull frog crocked nearby, lightening bugs teased the night sky. The moon hid behind a cloud but she could tell it was almost full. The wind felt so cool to her skin and for once she felt at ease. How she longed for her porch swing, to be at home. The sound was so comforting that she fell asleep at the window with her legs stretched out, one chained to the bed.