Astrid's P.O.V.

I woke up on the cot and immediately cried into my hands. So if I say no, my parents either die or think I died. If I say yes, I betray my brother, lose his trust, and possibly lose him. Okay, I just had to keep them thinking that I'm still trying to decide...which I was. Either way, I'd be betraying my family. I couldn't protect all of them...and that crushed me. I've always been able to keep all three of them out of trouble at the same time. But now, with all their lives on the line, I couldn't find any loop holes.

"Loop hole. Loop hole, loop hole, loop hole, loop hole!" I muttered as I started to pace my cell. "Come on, think, Astrid, think!" Tears were starting to leak into my eyes but I blinked them away as I gripped my hair in my fists. "Think! Come on! Get a loop hole, think!" I found myself yelling at the reflection of the lost girl, that was in the one-way window. I then paused. The girl I was staring at wasn't the same one I saw two weeks ago when I was armoring myself with my guns in the hotel room. That girl was strong, confident, clear-minded. Her eyes were bright and her body stood firm. This one was unkempt, scared, fogged. Her eyes were blood-shot and her body was shaking. "THINK!" I screamed as I flipped a chair. 

I couldn't. My mind was a blank space. The gas was shutting down my body little by little. Now, it was my mind. Then, it'll be my limbs. I won't feel like moving or doing anything. Then, my lungs. I'll be holding my breath for minutes on end without realizing it. After that, the fumes will make my heart lazy. It'll beat slower and slower each day, making me more tired than usual...slower, and slower...until finally. It stops. They're gonna kill me. I thought in horror. They already have Travis and they're using me as leverage! They're gonna kill me, show him my body, and make him give them what he stole. I sat heavily on the cot and stared at the floor. At least I wasn't scared to yell at the window and show them how much turmoil I'm in. They hid themselves behind mirrors and glass. I didn't even try to hid myself from them. I could easily cover my face with my hands. But I didn't. I don't look up as the door opens and Haddock walks in. I only know it was him because his footsteps weren't normal. Instead of "shoe-tap, shoe-tap, shoe-tap, shoe-tap", it was "shoe-tap, click, shoe-tap, click". His prosthetic was caused by my sure-flying bullet. Wish I still had it to remind me of that day. One of the proudest of my life.

"Gettin' a kick outta yourself?" he asks, leaning his back against the window and crossing his arms. My hand balled into a fist as I glared at my feet. "Put that fist away, honey, I'm not gonna do anything," he says, making me look at him through my eyebrows.

"What's that mean?" I ask steadily.

"We don't already have your brother. And we're not going to kill you or use you as leverage. Although that's not a bad idea. We'll keep it in mind," he says and I shoot to my feet before bashing my head against the wall. The gas was making me confuse my thoughts with my speech! Haddock simply chuckles as I propped myself on the wall. "Don't worry, we're just gonna keep you in this state so we can know what's going on in that head of yours. Can't have you planning something now, can we?" he said with a smirk.

"Oh...you CIA chaps are really enjoying this aren't you?" I growled.

"Very," he says with a nod. "But that's not why I'm here," he continues, "I've been informed that you've been refusing your food." I glanced at the corner I've been piling the meals, that they served me, in. It was half way up my waist.

"So?" I ask, crossing my arms.

"So, if you don't keep your energy up, you'll end up being no use to us," he says and I stare at him with raised eyebrows. After a moment his shoulders slump and he has the "Really?" look on his face. "Oh," he says and I nod with a sarcastic smile. "Okay, come with me," he says, motioning me to follow him by using two fingers. He walks to the door and opens it before stepping into the hall. I stayed put, glaring at the door way as he turned to face me. "You comin'?" he asks. 

I stayed silent before he sighed and stepped to the side to let two guards come in and grab me. They dragged me down the hall, after Haddock, before he walks into a room and they throw me after him. I was too weak to catch myself, my legs collapsing under my weight. The guards slam the door closed and I hear the lock click before a pair of legs walk in front of me. Haddock offers me a hand but I smack it away before standing on my own. I looked around to find that we were in a room that looked a lot like the "arena" back at the FBI HQ. 

"Drop and give me fifty," Haddock says softly, his voice smug. I obeyed and finished within seconds.

"Give me somethin' harder," I counter as I thrust myself to my feet. He points to an indoor track that was over half the size of the large space.

"20 laps," he orders and I dart to the floor. My legs pumped faster and faster with each thrust and my feet hit the floor harder. My gut was constricting in hunger but that just made my veins shake and urged me on. I slowed to a walk at the end of my last lap, breathing under control.

"Having trouble?" I asked as he stood there with crossed arms. He then snapped his feet onto mine so that he was standing on my toes.

"75 stands," he orders and I roll my eyes before sitting on the floor, doing a sit up, and going back to the stand. I do that 75 times before looking him in the eye. "60 pull ups," he says and I run to a bar before jumping up and grabbing it. "Squat jumps," he says when I finish the pull ups.

"How many?" I ask.

"Until I say stop," he growls. After that, he just names one stretch after another until he had me on squats. I didn't even know so many exercises existed! I was starting to lose my breath as I did my 99th squat. About 20 later, he snaps at me to stop and I do one more before my knees buckle beneath me and I fall to the floor.

"Ah..." I sighed as my muscles became noodles right then and there.

"Had enough yet?" Haddock asked in contempt as he knelt next to me.

"Should've asked me two weeks ago," I hiss before pulling myself to my feet.

"What's that mean? More than enough?" he asks.

"Nope. Back then, I would've had enough. Now. Hungry for more," I growled as he stood to face me.

"Let's start with gettin' some food in you," Haddock says before grabbing my arm and pulling me to a bench. He made me sit before tossing me an apple. "Just eat it," he orders as I stare at him. I toss it over my shoulder.

"What happens if I don't?" I ask. He smirks and next thing I knew, he was pinning me to the floor. "Ah!" I screamed in pain as my tight muscles are ripped. Tears slipped from my eyes as my breathing increased. The worst part was my bicep. It wasn't entirely healed from the gun shot and this little work out didn't help worth two guns. "Okay! Okay! Just let me go, please!" I cried before he stood up and my entire body stiffened again. It stiffened, but relaxed at the same time. Haddock came back with an apple in his hand and gave it to me. I glared at him before taking a reluctant bite. The juices were sweet on my tongue as they trickled toward my throat. The crunchiness of the apple made me imagine it as Hiccup's other leg, the bone being crushed by my jaws. I had a sudden thirst for blood...