The next time she woke up, everywhere was quiet and so bright that she shut her eyes immediately.
The faint smell of disinfectant and antibiotics flooded her senses and it made her stomach growl in disapproval. Annie's throat felt dry and she wondered where she was and why she was laying on a bed in an unfamiliar room, which she assumed to be a hospital; if the white walls and constant beep of the monitor was anything to go by.

Her limbs felt ladened when she tried to see if she could move them. She even tried to lift her head, but wished instantly that she hadn't. Pain sliced through her head, making her dizzy and bile rose in her throat. She dropped her head on the pillow with a groan. It took sometime before her vision became clear again, and when it did, she saw a nurse at the foot of the bed fiddling with something on the trolley tray.

Annie tried calling out to her, but her throat was so parched that all that she could muster was a low squeak. That seemed to catch the nurse attention, because she turned towards Annie with a broad smile on her face. The nurse looked to be in her early twenties; ginger hair, freckles and warm brown eyes.

"You're awake." The nurse said as came to stand beside her, whatever she was doing was forgotten at the moment.

If Annie didn't feel as if she had swam across the Atlantic Ocean and survived, she might have rolled her eyes at the obvious question.

"Would you like some water?"

Annie nodded gratefully.

The nurse walked out of the room, then returned few minutes later with a disposable cup which held warm water and a straw poked out the top of the cup. Annie took few tentative sips before pushing the cup away. She relaxed against the pillow with a sigh.

"What happened to me?" Annie cringed inwardly at how hoarse she sounded to her own ears.

The nurse placed the cup on the cabinet beside the bed, before pulling a chair closer to the bed and sat down on it.

"For starters, you were said to be running towards your home from the airport and you kept repeating the words 'My family'. We got a call from your home and when we got there you were dead. By some miracle, you came back to life again and have been in and out of consciousness for five days now."

"Oh." Annie licked her dry lips. She could now remember how it all happened. Her family was fine. Which explained why her body was hurting so much.

Several glances at her body told her what she need to know. One of her arm was wrapped in a thick caste, while an IV line was passed into her other arm. Cuts littered her arm and also her feet were hurting like hell. Her face was no exemption. And if she was feeling like this what about the baby?

Annie gasped.

"My baby." She looked at the nurse. "Is my baby. . ."

"No. Your baby is fine and you are too."

Annie slumped against the bed with a relieved groan. She didn't want to loose the only connection she had with Jovon. The baby was the only physical reminder she had of him right now.

The nurse leaned forward in her seat so that Annie could see her clearly without straining her eyes. "I have a message for you."

"Hmm."

"'We can do this the east way or the hard way'. That's what The Revenge said to tell you."

Annie jerked her head around so fast that it was a miracle she didn't get whiplashed. "W-what?"

"You only have two options." The nurse leaned back into her chair with a grin on her lips. "You can either come with me and not make a sound as we go, or your family would die today."

Annie's heart pounded away in her chest. "Who-who are y-you? And where is m-my fa-family?"

"They're currently on their way here to see you. Even your Lukas is on his way here." The nurse said. "So what option will it be, A or B?"

"Why are you doing this to me?" Tears welled in her eyes. "W-who are you pe-people?"

The nurse rose to her feet. "That is none of your concern. For now. Just answer the damned question."

"I-i will go with you. Just pro-promise me that my fa-family would not be har-harmed."

The grin broadened. "Good answer. And yes, your family is safe, but if you mess this all up then it's Asta La Vista baby."

"I-i w-won't."

The nurse began to unhook her from all the wires, except from the IV line. She attached the catheter to the side of the bed, then proceeded to covering Annie's whole body with a blue sheet. Annie cried silently beneath the covers as she heard things being moved around.

"It's done." She heard the nurse say. "We are on our way now."

Then the bed began to move. Annie did her best to keep still, and winced each time the bed bumped into something, jostling her aching body. The bed stopped moving and she heard the nurse chatting with another nurse. Annie had to bite her lip to restrain herself from uttering a word when she heard the nurse tell the other one that she was a dead body that was being transferred to the mortuary.

Then they began to move again. A loud ping signaled that they were either waiting for the elevator or was already in it.

"Good morning." The nurse said again.

"Good morning to you." The person replied.

Cassie!

"Is that a dead body?" She heard Cassie ask with disdain.

"Yeah. She died this morning. We are transferring the body to the mortuary."

Annie wiggled her right finger, hoping that Cassie would see it. She tried to wiggle it again but stopped when she was pinched on her arm. It was a clear warning from the nurse.

"Oh. Her family must be so sad." Cassie said. "It's hard loosing a loved one suddenly. I was scared when Annie had no pulse. . . " She sighed. "But I know she'll be better now. She'll live."

"Yeah." The nurse replied. "She's strong, that one. As much as I love talking to you, I have to wheel this one to the ambulance, so excuse me."

"Oh, right. I was just on my way to see Annie."

"No!" The Nurse yelled.

"What?"

"I meant the doctor asked you to see him first. He wants to tell you about Ms. Mckade."

"Oh. Thank you."

The bed began to move again. Annie heard the elevator door slide open and shut once they were in it. The nurse peeled the cover back far enough for her eyes to be visible.

"You almost made us get caught. I think you didn't get my warning clear enough. The Revenge won't be pleased when he learns of what you just did."

"Please." She whimpered.

The nurse's lips drew back in a sneer, her eyes that were warm before was cold as ice now. "I can't wait to play with you." Then she drew the sheet over her eyes the same time the elevator came to a stop.

The bed began moving again. Annie did her best to keep quiet and still in case they were in the midst of people again. After what felt like am eternity, the bed finally rolled into a stop. The sounds of doors opening and closing could be heard.

The sheet was jerked back from her face without warning and bright light flooded her vision. Annie shut her eyes tightly and bit her lip until the metallic taste of blood flooded her tongue. She wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing her tears or fear.

"She's a pretty one,ey?" A new voice mocked from somewhere above her. "Caste, cuts and all."

"Keep your filthy fingers away or the boss would have your head." The nurse said. "Now, we haven't got all the time in the world for you to leer at her, so let's get going."

"Jeez, keep you hair on, m'dear." Another new voice said. "Jim, fold that part and I'll fold this one."

Annie felt the bed decrease in size and then she was being lifted into what felt like the back of a car. She sneaked a quick peek at the people beside her and saw two muscular men, their faces with ski mask, beside her in the back of black van.

She shut her eyes again when one of them glanced at her.

"I'll have fun with ye." He promised as he ran his knuckles down her cheek.

Annie cringed and started to turn her head so she could bite his stupid finger when a alarm began to sound in the distance.

"Shit!" One of the men cursed. "Let's go, let's go."

They climbed out of the van and shut the door with an audible click, then rushed towards the drivers side. Annie jumped at the sound of the doors slamming into the place then the ignition of the engine.

The van began to move at a break neck speed which made her teeth chatter in fright of dying before she even got to see her tormentor's face.

"This is gonna be a bumpy ride, honey." The nurse said from beside her. "So you have fun sleeping."

"W-wha-" Annie's tongue felt too heavy against the roof of her tongue. It was as if something was pressing against her eyelids, rendering her weak more than ever.

Then she realized with a start that she had been drugged. Her fingers groped fruitlessly until they too lost their function.

"Have fun sleeping."

Annie fought to stay awake. She tried to get her mouth to move. Her brain kept sending signals to her limp body to get a move on. Then she began to sink back into that horrible dark, dark place.

No!

Her mind became filled with cotton and her vision spiralled round and round until there was nothing left anymore. She submitted to the darkness.

* * *

Cassie opened the car door immediately it came to a stop at the stairs leading into the hospital. She grabbed her purse and climbed out the car. Pausing long enough to tell the driver slash bodyguard:

"Park the car in the garage and meet me in room three hundred and sixteen."

"Yes, ma'am."

Cassie stepped back from the car with a nod and waited until it was out of sight before hurrying up the stairs and into the hospital. She stopped to greet the receptionist and check in. By the time she got to the elevator, few people were already in it. Cassie pressed the button for her floor and relaxed as the door slid close.

Ever since Annie almost died, they took turns in watching her so everyone could get enough rest. Ella had stayed last night, Arabella stayed in the afternoon slash evening, while Lukas stayed in the morning. It was her turn this morning and Cassie prayed that Annie should wake up today.

She was the only one that could explain what made her run all the way from the airport. It didn't help that her phone was currently MIA.

The elevator finally arrived at her floor, and Cassie stepped out of it. She stopped at the sight of a ginger haired nurse standing beside a bed where a patient lay still and covered from head to toe with a blue sheet. Her heart began to beat faster as horrible thoughts filled her heart.

The patient was exactly Annie's height and even had the same shape and all. There was also the strand of hair that peeked out of the edge of the sheets. It was the exact colour of Annie's.

Cassie approached the nurse out of curiosity.

Good morning." The nurse said when she met Cassie's eyes.

"Good morning to you." Cassie replied. "Is that a dead body?" She asked with disdain.

"Yeah. She died this morning. We are transferring the body to the mortuary."

Cassie thought she saw the patient move, but when it didn't again, she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her.

"Oh. Her family must be so sad." Cassie said. "It's hard loosing a loved one suddenly. I was scared when Annie had no pulse. . . " She sighed. "But I know she'll be better now. She'll live."

"Yeah." The nurse replied. "She's strong, that one. As much as I love talking to you, I have to wheel this one to the ambulance, so excuse me."

"Oh, right. I was just on my way to see Annie." She started to leave.

"No!" The Nurse yelled.

No, God please. Don't let it be what I'm thinking.

Cassie turned around slowly, her eyes never straying to the bed for fear of what she might see. "What?"

"I meant the doctor asked you to see him first. He wants to tell you about Ms. Mckade."

"Oh. Thank you." She breathed a sigh of relief. Then took one last glance at the still body before turning and heading towards the Doctor's office. When she got there, she knocked and waited until he asked her to come in before opening the door.

"Mrs. Mckade." The doctor pushed his chair away from his desk and rose to his feet. "Good morning."

"Good Morning, Doctor King." Cassie shook his hand. "I was told you wanted to see me."

Doctor King frowned. "No. I didn't tell anyone to tell you that. Who told you that?"

"A nurse I met by the elevator. She was wheeling a dead body away. She said you asked to see me."

The doctor's frown deepened as he reached for the received of his office phone and dialled a number. "Hello. Is there a record of a patient passing away today?. . . No? Alert the security guards and have them shut the exits down."

Before he could even replace the receiver, Cassie was already running out of the office. She ran down the hall, barely dogging nurses and other patients in the hall. She didn't even falter when she bumped her hip against a trolley. She already knew what she was going to find when she got to Annie's room, but she didn't want to believe it.

Maybe someone truly died and they forgot to keep the record. Maybe she was just panicking for no reason. Maybe that nurse was telling the truth. Maybe-

Cassie burst into the room. Her steps stuttered slightly and she almost fell face first into the trolley that stood where Annie's bed was supposed to be. Her knees became wobbly and she kept muttering the word 'No' over and over, even as Doctor King and a nurse came in behind her. Cassie didn't want to believe it. She must be in the wrong ward.

That was it.

Cassie ran out of the ward and went to the next one. The patient in there jerked at her sudden entrance, but Cassie didn't stop. She went into the next ward and the next and the next and-

A hand closed over her arm. "Mrs. Mckade."

Cassie scratched at the body-guard's hand and fought to get free. "Let me go!"

"She's in shock." Doctor King shouted. "Get me some sedative."

"No." Her bodyguard said. "I'm sorry, ma'am."

Before Cassie could comprehend what his apology meant, she was struck across the face. At once, her became limp and hot tears trailed down her cheeks. Her face was pressed into a warm chest and warm hands encircled her. Cassie didn't want to believe it, but she knew that it was true.

Annie had been kidnapped by whoever was after the whole family.