g w e n:

My dream was so beautiful that I didn't want to wake up. It felt so real that every image was vivid. Despite the simplicity of its content, the dream was nothing less of wonderful. It was a sunny day, warm and I could feel the rays kiss my skin. I was at a park laughing and enjoying life with all my friends and family, and like an angel, Calum walked into the scene. With a ear to ear grin that filled my heart up with joy, Calum took me in his arms to kiss me tenderly. I smiled into the kiss, as did he, and all was perfect.

But then I woke up.

There was a loud crash that jolted my entire body with fear. My beating heart was ignited and before I knew it I was forced to come face to face with a reality so disturbing. The other girls around me bursted into screams, into cries, and the most terrible of all: hopeless pleas.

"Single file line!" The guard roared at the top of his lungs, banging against the walls with a metal pole.

The clamor was enough to cover our ears as we all followed direction. Isra stood behind me, and when I turned around to look at her, fear coated her dark eyes. She knew, I knew, and several of the others knew what this all meant. The heavy, metal door that barricaded us from freedom was wide open. But it wasn't salvation where these guards and Fiora were taking us; we were in for a fate worse than death.

Surrounded by Fiora's men, we filed out of the concrete room I came to know as my home for the last several days. It felt so odd, so surreal to be out of that prison but I knew in my heart that I was only walking towards another cell. The dim lights above us flickered, casting eerie shadows on the concrete walls as we sauntered through the narrow halls.

I felt like a pig for slaughter; walking to my death and there was nothing I could do about it. I wanted to turn around to look at Isra, but I was scared. We were surrounded by four of Fiora's men and I knew they had no soul. One tiny mistake on my end, and I could possibly die - but I'd be lying if I didn't consider it. Death would be a much better option than the fate I was about to face.

"Up the stairs, hurry up!"

I hated being screamed at; evil voices reverberating off of the walls and hitting my heart with great force. We all climbed up a metal, spiral staircase, towards another metal door that seemed oddly familiar. Once we approached it, the barricade swung open and it was in that moment did tears begin to well up in my eyes again.

"Oh God no," I breathed, covering my hand to my mouth in utter shock.

I couldn't believe it; I refused to believe it. I stepped through the door and entered a room so familiar that I wanted to kick the wall. It was a room I knew so well because it was a room so close to home. While it rattled my brain thinking that I was somewhere in the middle of nowhere, my soul shattered the moment I was surrounded by these four walls.

On one side was a metal shelf of paints, another were stacks of plastic crates, another had paper, and another contained a door - a door that lead straight into the Outreach Center. I had been home all along; right beneath the people I called family and it broke my heart. All this time I thought I was in some far away country, when in reality I was here.

I couldn't control my tears, though I knew I'd get punished for them. I didn't care, and part of me wanted to get punished. I was missing for so long, still in Sydney, yet no one had found us. Every day volunteers would come into this very room, Evan included, probably gathered supplies for the kids and not once would it have crossed their minds that I was right under their noses.

"Shut up!"

I was slapped in the face for crying and the area on my cheek was burning like hot, prickling knives. I couldn't control my emotions - not when I was so close to home, yet so far away.

"Do you ever listen?" Fiora's man seized me by the shoulders, shook me for a moment as his devilish eyes stared me down. He slapped me again when I wouldn't stop crying, and I winced in pain, as the other girls around me watched in horror.

Kick.

Punch.

Slap.

I was getting punished for my behavior and every little part of me was burning with absolute pain. But after a while, I couldn't feel it anymore. I was numb. I couldn't feel the physical or the mental pain and I was okay with that. I knew my fate was going to be worse than death, and I needed to be numb - I needed to not feel.

After the stairs we found ourselves outside of the Outreach Center. I couldn't look at the edifice, not when it would only make me cry more. So instead I looked away from the building I called my second home, and faced the large truck in the back. Like animals, we were loaded into the back of the vehicle. It was cold, damp, and without a word I sat up against the wall next to Isra. When the truck door shut and only darkness surrounded us, Isra grabbed my hand. She gave me a reassuring squeeze before resting her head on my shoulder.

We didn't need to speak to know what was to come. We were already bought; sold to some disgusting man for God knows what. I wasn't going to see my loved ones anymore; I was as good as dead. We all were. As I looked down at Isra and my eyes lingered across the other girls in the truck with me, I felt my entire heart explode with sadness.

About twenty minutes later and I felt the truck come to a complete stop, our bodies teetering slightly from the sudden halt of the vehicle. Through the metal walls of the truck, I could hear the loud blow horns and the sloshing waves. My nose tingled as I could smell the salty sea water, and I knew where we were: the docks. When the truck door opened, the metal gears screeching in our ears.

"Everyone out!" Fiora's men jumped in, pushing all of us and forcing us to stand in a single file line.

"Don't leave me," Isra pleaded among the chaos, grabbing onto my hand as she hid behind my fragile body.

"Promise," I told her, faster than I could think it through. It wasn't really a promise after all.

In a straight line, Fiora's men watching us intently, we climbed out of the truck. Our heads hung low, as we met our unthinkable fate. I felt Isra's hand squeeze mine, and I squeezed hers back, feeling at ease for only a slight moment. But as we walked onto the docks, I felt an odd pull on my heartstrings. It was weird, and I couldn't explain it, but something was telling me to look up.

So I did.

"Luke," I breathed, my eyes widening. I was enraptured; captured by the blue-eyed beauty several yards away from me, and my lungs almost stopped working.

He stood stationary, back straight and strong. He seemed emotionless, indifferent and stoic. But when Luke turned his head, catching glimpse of me, our eyes locked. That strong, serious, and polished demeanor that radiated from his body ceased to exist. The color drained from his face, and in that tiny, minute moment did I see fear flush across his entire existence.

"Move!"

I was pushed to keep moving, to keep my legs at a steady pace as I continued to follow the other girls. We were told to line up against the wall, across from one of the dingy warehouses. The dim, yellow light above us casted an eerie glow in the surrounding area. A blow horn from one of the nearby utility ships echoed in the night sky and my eyes drifted up from my feet to the ocean several yards away from me.

I wished I could run; the cold sea water seemed was so tempting. I wanted to jump off of the dock and into the ocean, hoping the strong waves could drift me into the middle of nothingness. I was no longer meant to live a life I once thought I would.

"He's coming," I heard someone say.

It didn't matter to me who did, just that he was soon approaching. I watched as Luke and some other of Fiora's men sauntered over to us, their eyes scanning across us all as if we were cans on a shelf in a grocery store. I couldn't look at Luke. He was my ticket to salvation but my ticket out would be his too - and we'd both end up dead.

There was a strong breeze suddenly; a gust of wind that caused my hair to whip chaotically in the air, and in doing so forced me to turn my head. When I did, I was met with a sight more heartbreaking than Luke. Following behind the suited devil was none other than the love of my life.

Calum looked beautifully broken. Thin, hallow, and shattered, Calum was a walking lost soul. But in the midst of the worn out boy approaching near, was a boy who still had a heart pure and untainted. I knew now that though his heart once belonged to a boy I once loved, Calum's soul was still his soul. Ryan and I were connected heart to heart; his feelings were mine and that's why we got along so well.

But Calum - Calum and I were connected by something deeper, stronger, and more etherial than any of us could ever imagine. The bad boy with the dark hair, tattooed skin, and black clothes was connected to me by his soul. His and mine flowed as one; his breath was mine, and despite our personality differences, Calum and I were truly soul mates.

"Bring her forward," Fiora spoke, his voice soft and tender, yet commanding.

I stood still, watching Fiora and his men interact, but before I knew it strong hands grasped my thinning arms. I screamed, trying to free myself but couldn't. I looked up to see an unknown man to my left, but on my right, was none other than Luke. He gazed down at me, his blue eyes locking with mine, and I saw nothing but guilt.

"Luke, why? Help me," I cried.

"I'm sorry," he breathed, a croak in his voice, and I knew he was trying to keep the tears in. Luke and the other man brought me to the center of the crowd, the other girls still standing behind me. I darted my gaze from Luke to Calum, who had terror dripping from his face.

"Cal," I whimpered, as I was pushed down to my knees.

"Baby girl," he mouthed, worry etched across his face. He looked at me with great fear as his breathing began to quicken its pace.

My stomach dropped 3000 feet, swallowing the ever growing lump in my throat as I closed my eyes in hopes the action would cease the tears before they fell. It was a useless move, because the uncontrollable crying started. Luke and the other man continued to grip my arms with roughness as I kneeled before Fiora. He leaned down to stroke my cheek, chuckling at my pathetic expense.

"You're quite a beauty," he declared, his hot breath that smelled like cigars fanning across my cheeks.

"Why are you doing this to me?" I asked him, gasping for air as my own tears perpetually choked me. I've never spoken to Fiora before, never let words slip through my mouth to interact with a man so evil. But if these were my final moments, I might as well know why he chose me.

Fiora didn't answer, he just laughed in my face. He stood up, proud and mighty with the dark Sydney sky above him. He sighed, turning over his shoulder and with two fingers clad in gaudy rings, he summoned Calum.

"Mr. Hood," he spoke again, and without a word, Calum stepped forward. Like a father, Fiora draped an arm around Calum's broad shoulder, his eyes never leaving me as he continued to walk in unison with Fiora. "Mr. Hood, are you aware of how I feel about disloyal members of this family?"

"Y-yes," Calum stuttered.

"It's a silly question to ask, as you know perfectly well what happens when my family is disloyal to me," Fiora continued, "Ashton Irwin paid the consequences of his disloyalty."

I could feel Calum shudder in mention of his late best friend. I shuddered myself in thinking about Ashton's untimely fate, and how I hoped it wasn't the same future for Calum.

"Calum, I know you've been disloyal to me," Fiora stated.

My mouth dropped slightly as I watched Calum's dark eyes dart from mine to Fiora's. He himself was shocked at Fiora's statement - I didn't believe it myself. Calum knew better than to ever cross the line with Fiora.

"I-I-I would n-never..." Calum was almost speechless, trying to defend himself with words that were aching to come out but couldn't.

"Do not lie to me," Fiora was furious, and I could feel the fury despite his controlled voice.

"I swear," Calum insisted, his voice a little louder this time.

"Punishment," Fiora began, dropping his arm from Calum's shoulder to walk over to me, "is inevitable."

Fiora held out a hand, and in a moment's notice a shining, clean, black gun was placed atop his palm. He grasped the weapon, gazing at it like a child in his arms. Fiora suddenly pointed the gun straight at Calum, and in that instant I lost my self control.

"No!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, trying to lurch forward but Luke's grip tightened on my arm. "No, please!"

"Baby stop," Calum shook his head, attempting to calm me down from a distance. All that could calm me down however, are his arms around me, but that wasn't going to happen.

Fiora chuckled. He was a cynical man and had a passion for mind play - it was disgusting. Fiora lowered the gun and instead handed it to Calum with a snicker.

"I won't kill you," Fiora stated, "that would be too easy. Death would be a reward; an honor if killed by me... take the gun Calum."

He did, without uttering a single sound.

"Come here," Fiora demanded and again, without a sound, Calum took a stride towards Fiora.

"I'm going to let you choose the fate of Gwen," Fiora smirked, taking a moment to look at me.

"What?" Calum spoke. He looked at me, and I wanted nothing more than for him to hold me. To have his warmth wake me up from this nightmare.

"Shoot her dead," Fiora started, "or let her be sold into a lifetime of sex slavery."

//

Dun. Dun. Dun.

Meant to get this chapter up a few days ago, but I got busy with school again. I can't wait for Thanksgiving break! I'm so tired and I need to sleep. And eat. Eat a lot. Thanks for being patient with me. RUN BABY RUN is almost completed! About 3ish more chapters!! Oh my!