Taylor

I didn't fight him as he led me back down to the basement. I had to fight the instinct to try and escape and instead I took in as much detail as I could about the layout of the house. If I ever made it out of the basement, I would need to know the quickest way out. I ignored the fear inside of me that told me I might never make it out of the basement alive.

My free arm wrapped around my stomach as it began to throb. Once he'd led me back to the small bed, I was in pain and all I wanted to do was lie down on the small bed to ease it.

"I'll get you some painkillers," Eric said when he saw the pain on my face. "Lie down and I'll be back in a moment."

I didn't let his surface concern fool me into thinking he wouldn't hurt me. I did as he said. The throbbing eased when I lay down as he left to get me painkillers. I had to stop myself from crying so I took a deep breath and released it, trying to dispel the emotions wanting to bubble to the surface. Escaping would be hard, but the fact that I was injured would make a difficult task so much harder.

The darkness at the end of my subconscious called for me to give in and let it take over. There was no hope for me to escape and the darkness would help me cope with whatever was still to come. It would be so easy to give in and let it take over like it had when my parents had been murdered, but the tiny bit of hope that I held onto made me refuse.

I had so much I still wanted to do in my life and I couldn't accept that it was over. There was no fooling myself into thinking that he may let me go. He would take what he wanted and afterward...I couldn't think about it.

As much as I hated to admit it, I hadn't seen any of this coming. The few very brief encounters I'd had with Eric hadn't been enough for me to see the dark and dangerous person I saw now. I hadn't even noticed the overpowering cologne that I'd smelled when he'd attacked me in the stairwell.

I thought about all the things that had happened to me and now that I knew who was responsible, everything seemed to fit together. The night my drink got spiked, Eric would have been there.

He was Sin's roommate so he would have known when I'd stayed overnight with Sin. A sickening feeling curled in my stomach at the thought that he'd been so close to me and no one, including me, had any idea he was the stalker.

And now I was at his mercy, his prisoner, and I had no way out.

He returned minutes later with some painkillers. I took them from him and swallowed them with a couple of sips from a bottle of water he'd brought me.

"That should help with the pain," he said as he pulled up a chair and sat down.

I was feeling tired. I didn't know if it was because of the injured state I was in or the scary situation with no idea what Eric was going to do to me.

"You are so beautiful," he said as he reached out and touched my face. His touch revolted me, but somehow I kept my true reaction hidden beneath a calm look.

"Do you want to know why I chose you?" he asked, like I was lucky to be locked in a basement with him. He really was crazy and that made me even more scared. It was hard to know what might set him off and I had to tread carefully because of what I feared would happen if I upset him.

"No," I replied softly, keeping my eyes focused on him. Trying to read the subtle indications of his mood in his face.

"I don't look a little familiar to you?" he said and I gave him a confused look. The first time I'd ever met him was at Sin's house. It wasn't like I'd had an active social life before that, so there was no chance that I'd met him somewhere and just not remembered.

"I've been told I look just like my uncle," he revealed like it should be enough for me to form a path to figure out who he was. My forehead creased as I looked at him. Why would I know his uncle?

"Who is your uncle?" I asked, still not seeing the full picture.

"I didn't think his face was something you would ever forget," he said softly with an intense gaze.

It took a few seconds for it to register. There were only two strangers' faces marked in my memory forever. I'd seen them briefly during the trial. My breath hitched in my lungs at the shock of the discovery of who Eric was related to. The fear that I'd felt before was nothing compared to the terror I felt now.

I'd seen his uncle's handiwork and I knew without a doubt that Eric was more than capable of the same. He smiled at my reaction and the blood in my veins ran cold.

"I think you need to rest," he said and the change in his demeanor and voice was so drastic that it took me by surprise. His eyes softened. The caring Eric was back.

I swallowed hard.

"You need to rest so you can get better," he further explained as he stood up, "then we can be together."

I felt the bile rise up in my throat, but I forced it down. He didn't need to explain what 'we can be together' meant. Seeing his agitation at my reaction, I forced a smile and nodded my head, unable to get out any words. I had to keep him happy so he wouldn't get upset.

He leaned over and pressed a kiss to my cheek. I was disgusted and wanted to pull away, but I didn't.

I let out the breath that I'd been holding when I heard him close the door to the basement. Even though I was in pain, I stood up and began to investigate my prison. There was no time to waste. I needed to come up with a plan to get out of here because if I didn't, there was no surviving what Eric had in store for me.

There was a small window that was big enough for me to fit through, but disappointment filled me when I couldn't get it open. Tears began to sting my eyes at the realization that there was no escaping.

The only other alternative was to try and find a weapon of some sort that I could use against Eric. If I could knock him out or incapacitate him, I would be able to get away.

I began to look around the darkened basement. The light from the small bulb hanging from the ceiling wasn't bright, so it was still difficult to see what else lay in the room.

My pain eased slightly as the painkillers kicked in. I had to concentrate on getting myself out because there was going to be no one to save me. I'd never once suspected Eric was the stalker and doubted anyone searching for me would even look at him as a possible suspect.

There were a couple of boxes, but there was nothing in them but some old clothes and books. I couldn't exactly use a book to knock him out. Frustrated, I rubbed my hands over my face as I tried to keep the fear from taking over.

If I gave in to the fear. I was as good as dead. A picture of my parents' bloodied bodies lying in their bedroom flashed in my mind and it was enough to push me on.

I thought about Sin and my heart ached. I had so much regret. I didn't want my last memory of him to be our fight.

Connor. I felt bad that I hadn't spoken to him for a while because I'd been so upset with him. A tear slid down my cheek as I considered that I would never see him again. With a deep breath, I wiped the tear away. I couldn't give up.

I searched the entire basement but came up with very little. There was an old radio, some clothes, and books. But other than that, there wasn't anything else. I'd hoped to find a weapon I could use, but there was nothing. Nothing could keep the disappointment from creeping over me as I sat down on the bed and dropped my head into my hands.

The fear kept me from dropping off into a peaceful sleep. Instead, I tossed and turned in the small bed, still trying to figure a way out of my prison.