It had been months since my Kennedy High case with the RUA. It had been months ago that I'd been tied to that chair in a classroom on prom night. Yet when I awoke with a drowsy feeling and a lack of understanding, it felt like only yesterday. The same feeling I'd felt that night returned to me and I realized how much I hadn't missed it.

At least this time, I had company.

My arms were restrained, tied up with some kind of rope onto the arms of a chair while my legs also remained tied together. The tightness and restriction made me worry I would lose circulation. At first, I tried to move my arms in an attempt to break free, yet it didn't take me long to realize that I'd been tied up this way in order to prevent that from happening.

The tent I was in was white. It was a reasonably large sized and equipped almost like a normal room in a building. I could see a small wooden desk, a cabinet, and other miscellaneous items scattered around.

The only relief I felt was when I turned my head to see Eric was beside me. He was also tied to a chair with his face looking slightly bruised. But I was glad he was still alive.

"Eric," I breathed unevenly. "What's going on? Where are we?"

"We're at their base camp," he answered wearily. "They've taken us all hostage."

I grew silent as I realized what he was saying. Fear immediately struck me as I looked around in horror. On the other side of me, I saw Mackenzie tied up in her own chair. She was awake but looking dazed. Her face was covered in bruises and her lips were swollen.

"What are they going to do to us?" I asked, my heart beating fast.

Eric hissed out air through his nose as I watched his chest fall. "I'm not entirely sure," he answered after a moment. "But we're going to have to find a way out of here."

"How did you even end up here?" I asked as I remembered the reason for our capture had been due to looking for him.

He stared blankly in front, his jaw ticking angrily. "I woke up to noises from just outside our camp so I got up to inspect them. It was foolish, but I thought I would only be gone for a moment." He paused. "And then I was ambushed."

He leaned back his head, releasing a deep sigh.

"This isn't your fault," I told him firmly. "You were only trying to keep us safe."

"And that worked out perfectly," he muttered sarcastically.

I pursed my lips, not knowing how to respond. I didn't want to admit to myself how bleak the situation was but there was no telling what was going to us. I again attempted to break free from the rope tied to my hands but no amount of strength or wriggling appeared to make a difference. Defeated, I gave up moving, instead, turning my head back to Eric.

"How are we going to get out of this?"

He shook his head slowly. "I'm not sure," he answered honestly. "They have us outnumbered and will likely have any weapon they need in order to stop us. We'll just have to hope we get lucky."

"Lucky?" I repeated.

"A moment of distraction or a slip up from them will be all we need to escape." He further explained. "Just make sure to be alert at all times."

He didn't sound too confident in his own plan, nor did I. But reluctantly, I nodded. If it was the only plan we had, we would have to make it work. As we stayed still in silence, I tried to listen for any noises that would indicate someone was coming. Through the sheer fabric of the tent, I could see that it was still daylight.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of footsteps approaching, getting louder and louder with every step. I glanced back at Eric, who'd also heard the noise.

"Whatever you do," I began as looked him in the eyes. "Be careful."

He stared back, not replying. He turned his head as the slit in the tent was opened by a pair of hands. Three men entered, all dressed in black with mud-covered boots. Out of the three of them, I recognized one instantly. His appearance was scruffy, with a long black beard that covered his half his face. When I'd attacked him on the plane, I'd wondered whether he'd survived of the chaos of it all. I guess I had my answer.

"Welcome," one of the men greeted with a sick smile on his face. He was the oldest of the bunch, looking like he was in his fifties with his light brown hair thinning on his head. "I trust that you're being looked after?"

None of us replied, only glaring back with rage. Our lack of response only caused the man to laugh. A deep chuckle that sent chills down my spine.

"Now, Now, there's no need for the silent treatment," he said in his thick Russian accent. "We're all friends here."

Eric continued to glare at him, showing no amusement to the man's jokes. I shuffled uncomfortably, trying to calm down my jittery nerves.

"By now I'm sure you're wondering how you ended up in this predicament." the man continued to speak. "How we managed the hijack your plane, and what our intentions are."

"Entertain me," Eric replied flatly, never taking his eyes away from him.

The man glanced towards him, eyes widened in glee. I could tell he was enjoying the fact that he had an attentive audience - and he was going to brag.

"We've been monitoring you for a while. Once we were granted access into your system, we were able to see all the work you do, including your attempts to eradicate us. We knew about your little attempt to keep watch over us and got the advantage on you by hijacking your own plane." he rested his hand by his pants, where I suddenly noticed he had a gun tucked away. I grew tense and felt my heartbeat increase. "It becomes very easy to have the upper hand on someone when you know all of their moves before they even make them. Thanks to some extra help, we were able to uncover all we needed to know about the RUA without even being in the same country."

"So you had someone working for you from the inside?" I piped up. My interaction caused him to look my way, giving me a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. He scanned my appearance before drifting his eyes back to Eric.

"You should work on screening you agents a little better." he sneered. "It barely took any effort on our behalf to infiltrate your division."

"Anybody that is unfaithful to our agency will face severe consequences," Eric responded calmly.

The man shrugged. "I'm not here to rat anyone out. I'm sure we could continue to use their services in order to take down more of your kind. Soon, there won't be any of you left."

"The RUA won't allow anyone who betrays them to continue working there. Your double agent will be removed as soon as it's reported back that there is one."

"But it won't be reported back," he gleamed. The smug look on his face was making me feel more and more inclined to attack him. I could feel my blood boiling with rage as he continued to gloat boastfully. "At least not by any of you." he paused for dramatical effect, enjoying the fact that he was leaving us in anticipation. "We intend to find out all the information we can from you. As to why you were monitoring us, and how you were able to receive the information that you did. Anything on your agency, the identity of you Captain and so on," he took a few steps forward as his eyes raked over us. "And in order to accomplish that, we're willing to do whatever it takes to get you to speak up."

"Such as?" I pressed, feeling myself grow even more nervous.

"Well, we had planned on taking you back to our own location in Russia to commence the torturing, but due to that little...stunt you pulled on the plane, I guess it'll just have to take place here instead."

I wanted to throw up at the realization of his words. Torture? They were planning on hurting us in order to get the information they needed. I didn't even know if I knew anything that would be useful enough to help them, but even if I did, would I be willing to tell them? I swallowed the bile that had risen in my throat as I felt my hands grow shaky.

Once they got the information they needed, they were going to kill us. Without a doubt. They had no reason to keep us around and there certainly wasn't going to be a chance they set us free. They were monsters.

"I remember your name," Eric spoke suddenly. His tone was flat, betraying no emotion. "It took a while for it to come to me, but it eventually did. Andrei Bulgakov. You're one of Russia's most wanted men."

The man simply stared, seeming amused. "And I know who you are. You've been on our radar for a while, kid. We've been plotting to take you down ever since you blew up one of our bases and took down four of our spies a few months ago."

"Would have been five if I hadn't been feeling tired that day," Eric muttered in response.

Andrei looked irritated for a moment like he was only moments away from punching Eric directly in the face. However, instead of reacting negatively to his words, he simply grinned even wider, showing his teeth.

"Boy, am I going to enjoy torturing you."

The two men that had been standing on opposite sides of Andrei, suddenly sprung into action, untying Eric before grabbing both his arms. They lifted him with ease, dragging him forward while he looked barely phased. To my horror, they took him out of the tent and he left my view altogether.

"Please," I spoke directly to Andrei in a haste. "Don't hurt him."

Andrei watched me for a moment, seemingly intrigued by my concern. "Don't worry," he finally responded. "You'll get your turn too."

Before I could protest, he left the tent, leaving me on my own. I heard the sound of their distant footsteps on the grass and tried to peer my head forward for a better view. It was no use.

Again, I tried to wriggle my arms out of the restraints. This time, I was more determined than ever. The thought of Eric being harmed was enough motivation for me to use all my strength to try and free myself.

I struggled, occasionally groaning in frustration at my failure to break free.

"This is all my fault." A voice spoke.

I turned to Mackenzie in surprise. I'd almost forgotten she was here due to her lack of speaking. Her eyes looked glazed as she stared forward, the purple rings framing them.

"I shouldn't have sent off that flare." Her tone was glum and she rested back in defeat.

I stopped trying to break the rope, resting my back up against the chair. At first, I didn't respond. I wasn't sure what to say to her.

After a few seconds, I sighed. "This isn't your fault," I muttered. "You're not the one holding us captive right now."

"But I lead them straight to us," she argued, shaking her head. "They saw the flare, and that's how they found out where we were."

I knew that was probably the truth. Because if they had a base on this island, they must have been here for a few days looking for us. After the flare was set off, they must have seen it and traveled to where we were so they could ambush us at the first bit of daylight. But I didn't want to pin that on Mackenzie. As much as she irritated me beyond belief, I at least knew her intentions were pure.

"Look, I get it," I said quietly. "You just wanted to get off this island like the rest of us."

She didn't respond to me. Instead, she blinked several times, seemingly confused.

"This is your perfect moment to get mad at me. My mistake is the reason we're in this position and you're just going to look past it?" she asked.

I thought about her words, shaking my head. "It's not worth it," I replied. "Whatever got us to this point is in the past. We just need to work out how to move forward."

More silence. I continued listening for sounds and looking around for something that would help us escape. I didn't want to lose hope, but my positive thoughts were slowly diminishing. But I knew that we had to get out if we wanted any chance of survival. And I had to find Eric.

"I'm sorry."

"Huh?" I looked back at Mackenzie in confusion.

For a moment, I thought I'd misheard her. In the short time I'd known her, she'd already become one of the most stubborn people I'd ever met.

"I'm sorry," she repeated. "I know I act like a bitch."

There was a silence.

"Really? Didn't pick up on that." I finally replied with a sarcastic mutter.

She shot a glare at me. "Shut up, I'm trying to apologize."

I pursed my lips together in an attempt to keep quiet. If she was going to admit to her mistakes, I definitely wanted to be paying attention.

She looked blankly in front of her. "It's just-" she paused. "I've been through enough in my life to know that you can't depend on anyone. Especially in this line of work. You can trust or grow close to anyone. You're just going to end up betrayed or hurt... so I guess that's why I'm such an ass all the time."

"But that's not true," I quickly defended. "You can depend on people. You just have to find the right ones."

"I grew up in the foster care system," she answered, her voice monotone. "All my childhood I was moved around to different families that only took me in because of the money. So forgive me if I don't really see it that way."

I glanced down at the ground, trying to think of a way to respond to that. Mackenzie seemed to be in a very vulnerable state, and I wasn't sure how to handle it. I wondered if she'd ever opened up to anyone like this. I guess the reality of our situation had finally dawned on her.

"That sucks."I weakly offered in response. "I'm sorry you went through that. But don't let it make you shut others out. There are always going to be people that you can let in. The right people."

"Do you understand how dangerous this job is?" She asked, her eyes glancing towards me. "Look at us right now. We're literally being held captive and in a queue to be tortured. Three pilots that have been associated with the RUA for many years are now dead. We lose lives all the time. This isn't the job for making friends and growing close to anyone - especially since you don't know when you're going to see them last. Take my advice Becca, if you want to ensure your own survival, don't let yourself get too close to anyone. It'll only ruin you in the end."

I wondered if she was right. I knew she was probably thinking alongside the same mindset as Eric, who for that very same reason was trying to keep his distance from me. This job didn't allow you to grow close with anyone. He'd told me that himself. I could only imagine the kind of heartbreak and loss that people felt that was at a high enough extent to make them disconnect from everyone else around them. But isolation didn't seem like the answer to any of this.

"If we want to ensure our survival," I began, speaking slowly. "We should probably stick together. Especially right now more than ever." I met her eyes, giving a pleading look. "I know you're torn on this, but if we want to get out of this, we're going to have to find a way to work together. We've had our differences, but I'm willing to put that all in the past if we can just trust each other enough to find a way out of this."

She stared at me in silence, obviously deep in thought. I knew her mind was probably having a conflicting battle on what choice to make and I looked on in anticipation. With every growing second, I grew more anxious thinking of Eric. I had no idea what was happening to him and I didn't even want to think of the worst case scenario. There was a heavy weight on my chest and a churning feeling in my stomach.

Mackenzie's eyelids fluttered as they shifted in my direction. "So, what do we do?"

I released a deep breath as I looked around in despair, hoping a thought would come to my mind. Anything, that would provide us with a way out.

"I have no idea."

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A/N: honestly I just want to apologize for what I'm putting you all through at the moment. This story is wild af it it ain't calming down anytime soon. HAHAHA And I'm sure my lack of updates isn't helping. My bad. 

Thanks for reading anyway!

BUT UM OKAY I JUST FINISHED WRITING MY BOOK 'DISSOLUTION' SO YOU SHOULD GO READ IT. I know waiting for updates is annoying but this one's a completed work. Go check it out if you want to binge read!

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