Shaking her head slightly, Catalin lifted her neck up and looked around. She was lying on a hard bed with her hands fastened to the headboard with duct tape. The room was small and had no other furnishings other than the bed. There were no windows and only one door. Catalin strained against the tape binding her hands. The strip over her mouth had begun slipping slightly. Rubbing her mouth on her shoulder, Catalin pulled the tape off completely. She scooted up towards the top of the bed and began biting through the tape until it fell loose on one wrist. Ripping the tape off her other arm, she leapt lightly off the bed and pulled off her one shoe. Quietly, Catalin crossed to the door and touched the handle. As she began to turn the knob, the door swung open knocking her backwards on the carpet. A group of seven people were standing in the hallway outside the room.

"Who are you?" one of the women asked. "Are you one of them?"

Catalin rose to her feet and shook her head. Moving into the hallway, she looked at the group of people. There were three women and four men of different ages and appearances. Suddenly, Catalin tackled one of the men and pinned him to the floor.

"What did you do to Syrenthia?" she demanded. "Eamon or whoever you are, what have you done to her?"

The other men dragged Catalin off Eamon and threw her against the wall. Getting back up, Eamon clapped his hand over Catalin's mouth and pushed her backwards. The small girl struggled against the muscular man, but he pressed his weight against her body trapping her against the wall.

"Listen Catalin," Eamon whispered, "I don't know what happened to you. Whoever you saw earlier was not me though. I'm going to explain everything, but I need you to promise to keep quiet. Okay?"

Slowly, Catalin nodded her head. Eamon removed his hand and stepped back.

"What is going on?" Catalin asked.

"All of us were kidnapped from our homes. The kidnappers were people that we thought we knew who blinded us with some kind of spray from their hands and brought us here. But we found out when we got here that the kidnappers weren't who we thought they were."

"What do you mean?" Catalin interrupted. "Who were they?"

Eamon glanced around before answering in a hushed tone. "I don't know exactly. It's just...they are...they're not..."

"They're not what?"

"They're not human," one of the girls blurted out.

"What do you mean?"

"They're some sort of creatures," Eamon took up the explanation. "They can shapeshift into any human, but their natural shape is some type of reptile like creature that walks on two legs. A few of them even have wings."

"But that's impossible," Catalin gasped.

"That's what we thought," Eamon answered. "But it's not. More exists than we considered possible."

Catalin stepped back and leaned against the wall. Her mind was reeling from all she had been told.

"If what you are saying is true," she whispered, "then how do I know that you are the actual Eamon? How do I know that you're not one of the shapeshifters pretending to be Eamon?"

"If I were one of them, why would I have told you any of this?"

"Good point." Catalin looked around. "So why are you guys all standing around here? Why haven't you tried to escape yet?"

"Oh believe me, we have tried." Eamon sighed and ran his fingers through his wavy blonde hair. "There's no escape route out of here. We are in the middle of the forest, and every time we try to get out of the door, they catch us and throw us in the hole in the wall."

"In the what?"

"The hole in the wall." The girl who first spoke to Syrenthia pointed to a small door on the opposite wall at the end of the hall. "It's right over there. It's a tiny room that they force us to stay in for days when we break the rules. They turn the lights off so it's completely dark in there, and there's freezing cold water that drips down the walls."

Glancing at the hole in the wall, Catalin turned back to the group.

"So what are the rules, and how do they know if you break them?"

"There aren't that many rules," Eamon replied. "Obviously we're not supposed to try to escape, but we also can't be too loud or fight with each other. Oh, and we can't go down to the basement either unless they take us."

"Good because I wanted to go to the creepy basement," Catalin muttered under her breath.

"We're not sure how they know when we've broken the rules, but they know," Eamon continued," and they punish us worse every time."

"How do you know that one of you isn't a reptilian? Maybe that's how they find out things," Catalin suggested.

"No, everyone here checks out same as you. We figured out that when the reptilians pose as humans, they transform all of themselves except their eyes. As humans, their eyes are always either blue, green, or hazel and are unnaturally bright," Eamon said.

"I see that you are giving away all of our secrets."

Catalin spun around with the rest of the group. A man who looked exactly like Eamon stood at the other end of the hall. As he drew nearer, Catalin could see that his eyes were a more brilliant icy blue than the real Eamon.

"Do you remember me?"

"I wish I didn't," Catalin returned brusquely.

"You may have confused me with someone else, but my real name is actually Ryker."

The reptilian contorted his body and transformed into his natural form. Reaching out one long claw, Ryker pressed a button on the wall. Instantly, a row of wooden chairs rose out of the ground by one of the walls.

"Everyone take a seat," the reptilian commanded.

Slowly, everyone obeyed the order. When Catalin hesitated, the reptilian seized her arm and dragged her to a chair. Four more reptilians with yellow and blue scales entered the hall and helped Ryker strap everyone's arms and legs down.

"What are they going to do to us?" Catalin whispered to Eamon who sat next to her.

Before he could answer, one of the reptilians backhanded Catalin in the face. Her head whipped to the side and struck the side of the chair. Catalin could feel blood dripping down the side of her head.

"Do not injure the subjects without orders from me," Ryker ordered. "And you, do not speak again without permission."

"Hey, leave her alone!" Eamon called out.

Ryker shoved the Irishman back in his chair and fastened a silver band tightly around his head. Eamon grunted in pain as the reptilian tightened the headpiece. One of the blue and yellow reptilians attached a matching metallic circle around Catalin's head. Craning her neck around, Catalin could see the other three reptilians placing headpieces on the rest of the prisoners.

"Stop moving." Ryker placed a claw around Catalin's neck and forced her to face forward. "Believe me, it will be much less painful if you remain still."

Pulling out a black remote, the reptilian pressed a yellow button in the center. Immediately, a burning pain shot through her head. Catalin could feel the burning worsen until it felt as though her brain was a torch scorching through her skull. Screams and groans echoed around her. Just when she thought she could not take any more pain, the burning receded slightly. Catalin gasped for breath as her muscles shook uncontrollably. The reptilians pulled off the silver bands and unfastened the restraints.

"Now," Ryker instructed, "everyone kneel."

Catalin watched while two of the men and one of the women obeyed. The others remained in their chairs with their eyes tightly closed against the pain.

"Kneel!" Ryker yelled.

The rest of the group except Catalin and Eamon mechanically slipped out of their chairs and knelt. Catalin looked at the girl next to her. Her eyes were glassy and unfocused as if she was in a trance.

"Sir, what do we do with this one?"

One of the reptilian doctors seized a handful of Catalin's short black hair, pulled her up, and shoved her towards Ryker. Losing her balance, Catalin stumbled and fell in a heap at the reptilian guard's feet.

"She must first learn obedience before her mind is pliable enough for use," the doctor instructed.

"Understood." Ryker grabbed Catalin's upper arm and threw her against the wall. "Kneel in front of me."

"Why?" Catalin asked.

"No more questions!" Ryker slammed his claw against the wall right next to Catalin's head. "Do it. Kneel down now."

Tightening her lips, Catalin refused to move. She knew that these strange creatures could probably force her to kneel, but she wouldn't let them break her without a fight.

"I did not want to have to do this, but you give me no choice. This is your last chance. Kneel down."

"No," Catalin replied.

With one strong blow, Ryker knocked the girl to the floor and held out his hand. One of the doctors handed him a long wooden stick. The scaly creature brought the switch down heavily. Curling up in a ball, Catalin brought her arms up over her head. Her back was throbbing with each new stroke. Through the blur of pain, Catalin vaguely heard Eamon's voice yelling, and suddenly, Ryker was jerked away. Coughing and gasping for air, Catalin lifted her head up. She could see Eamon on top of Ryker punching the reptilian in the face. The doctors quickly grabbed Eamon and pulled him away while Ryker stood up.

"Throw him in the hole in the wall," the reptilian ordered emotionlessly. "And take the girl to the basement. We'll deal with her more effectively there."

"Yes sir."

Still panting for breath, Catalin watched helplessly as Eamon was hurled through the small door in the wall. She was dragged to her feet and pulled away down a wooden staircase into the unknown.