Thank you to everyone who has been concerned and supportive as we've tackled the case of UHR being plagiarized. The other book has now been taken down and will (God willing) not be a problem again. I took a long time to post this because I felt (and still feel) wary about posting after this book being plagiarized (you can read the post on my wall for more info), but basically I'm considering not posting the fully detailed chapters in the future. I'm afraid that my intellectual property will be stolen, and those of you who know me know that it is really important to me. So I'm still on the fence about this and will keep you updated as I decide things.

And a SUPERBIG thank you to everyone who informed me about the book and was keeping an eye out for me, I love you guys so much.

✎_ _ _ _ _ 

Kimberly spun around in her chair and tried her best to keep her mind occupied so that she wouldn't lose it to the paranoia. Julian and his "friend", Eddie, were huddled over by the computer – which happened to be the only source of light in this dank excuse for a room – as Eddie typed away furiously. They were in his cellar, and the setup of the room was the kind of setup one sees in movies. Five or six huge screens all hooked up to each other, wires covering every last inch of the floor, and keyboards that looked obnoxiously large for the measly twenty-six letters in the English alphabet.

As she watched them, Kimberly on her life could not understand how Eddie came to be wrapped up with people like Julian and Freddy Slim. Eddie was a young guy, definitely younger than Julian...she would say twenty-five tops. So why would Freddy Slim or Julian trust a man that young to handle their dirty work? It wasn't like Eddie was mature beyond his years or anything, after all, he had been wearing a fucking onesie when she and Julian first arrived (Apparently because he was watching a game and wanted to support his team (Cleveland) from the comforts of his house).

Whatever the reason being though, Kimberly was very confused as to how Eddie found his way into this mess.

He and Julian were still at the computer, working away as the paranoia ate at Kimberly. The two had been over there for what felt like hours to her. They were trying to get her off of the grid, and they seemed to be succeeding, but at this point Kimberly wasn't sure that even that could help her. Freddy wanted her dead, and he was somebody who got his way.

"Okay...Just one more..."

Kimberly's head snapped over to look at Eddie, whose eyes were wide as he clicked maniacally at the computer. Those were the first words that had been spoken in a while, and the sound of them cut through the musty air like a knife. Kimberly was practically on the edge of her seat as she looked at Eddie. Finally he looked away from the screen and exchanged a few words with Julian, – too quietly for her to hear (of course) – and then he nodded and pressed one last button on the keyboard. "And you're off!" He turned around to face Kimberly with a triumphant look on his face.

"So that's it?" She asked.

"No...?" He gave Kimberly an 'are-you-stupid' look before shaking his head. "Of course not."

Kimberly frowned.

"Come on," Eddie said. "It's Fred we're talking about here. This helps, sure, but he has many more sources than the internet to find out what he needs to know about you."

"Then why do you look so damn excited?" She demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh, that's because you were literally everywhere. Jesus Christ you like your social media."

Julian smacked the back of Eddie's head. "This is no time for jokes, Edward."

Eddie grabbed his head and scowled at Julian. "Don't fucking hit me! Sh–She was on fucking Friendster, man! Who the fuck has a Friendster account? It's twenty-fucking-sixteen, man!"

Julian rolled his eyes, but apologized to Eddie, who nodded silently, still looking at him with a scowl. Eddie pulled down the hem of his shirt, straightening it out as he stood up from the seat. "You'd better get comfortable." He muttered, heading to the stairs.

"Wait, what do you mean 'get comfortable?'" Kimberly asked. "Where are you...shouldn't we be talking about how we're going to get me out of here alive?"

"Get you out of—what are you...?" Eddie looked confused for a moment, until his eyes widened and he looked over at Julian like a child that just caught his mother in her own lie. There was a slight smirk playing at his lips, and it would have infuriated Kimberly was she not focused on what he had to say. "You haven't told her?" He asked Julian.

"Told me what?" Kimberly looked from Julian to Eddie. "Told me what?"

Julian closed his eyes and clenched his jaw, a sure sign that whatever it was was not going to be good.

Eddie tried to stifle his laugh. He had no shame in finding the situation amusing, and at that moment it became clear to Kimberly why he was so good for Freddy and Julian: because he didn't care. The lives of whoever he was working for didn't actually matter to him. He had his eyes on the fact that he was getting paid at the end of the day, and anything else was more of like a free movie that he could watch for his daily dose of entertainment. This was good for the people paying him, because it meant that he wouldn't go around talking about anything he knew because 1) It wouldn't actually be on his mind since he didn't care, and 2) He wouldn't feel like he had some big secret to keep, because again, he didn't care.

"I'm gonna go upstairs now," Eddie said, "and I'm locking the door – of course – but you know where the escape door is, right?"

Everything Eddie said had a smug twist to it, and so it became increasingly hard to know whether or not he was actually being cynical. Julian just glared at Eddie and snarled, "Just get the fuck out."

Eddie rolled his eyes and laughed as he went up the stairs and closed the door behind him. There was a loud ~CLICK~ and then the shuffling of Eddie's feet leaving the door. Kimberly looked at Julian, "So?" She asked.

Slowly, Julian looked up and met her eyes. He looked guilty, ashamed, and visibly uncomfortable. "Kimberly, we can't get you out of here alive." he said.

"W–What?"

"We can't beat him Kimberly. All we can do is hide."

"Until when?"

Julian paused. "...I don't know," He finally said. "But you can't go back to your life."

Kimberly's eyes narrowed as she slowly backed away from Julian. "You're messing with me, aren't you?" She asked, even though they both knew fully well that he wasn't.

"Kimberly, I—"

"No." She shook her head, she was trying to keep the information from settling in her mind. She didn't want to believe it, that she was stuck in fucking Eddie's cellar! And for who-knows-how-long?

While she was living it, her life didn't seem so glamorous, but right then, there was nothing she wanted more. She didn't want to be stuck down there with Julian. Just the sight of him was making her feel sick as she thought about the fact that he might be the only person she spent time with for a long time.

"Please," Julian reached a hand out to touch Kimberly's arm and she flinched away from him.

"No!" She brought her hands to her head and held it tightly as if she could shake herself out of this dream. "No! This wasn't part of the deal, Julian!"

"What fucking deal? Kimberly, I'm the only reason you're alive right now!"

She looked up at him wide-eyed. "You're not serious."

He shrugged, "Aren't I?"

"Julian, what life is this! I would rather be dead than be stuck down here for the rest of my life!"

"It's not going to be for the rest of your goddamn life Kimberly!"

"Yeah, but it's an indefinite amount of time, which means I could be here a week, a year, or ten! Who the fuck knows? Not me!"

"Kimberly, I'm down here with you!"

"You don't have to be though. You can leave if you want to and continue trafficking little boys and girls like you've been doing! Freddy can't kill you, you said so yourself."

Julian took in a sharp breath and opened his mouth to speak, but before he words could come, he stopped them and instead just looked at Kimberly. She flinched away from his gaze of anger and disappointment. Not because she felt bad though, because in all honesty, she didn't feel bad about what she said because no matter what, her words stood true. He could leave and she was stuck here. One day he could just decide he's had it and then leave her there alone. Then what would she do?

Julian let out a breath, talking slowly and through clenched teeth as if it were supposed to guilt Kimberly more. "Kimberly, I think this place is just bringing out the worst in us. We just need to stop and calm our tempers...take a breath."

Kimberly scoffed and looked up at him blankly. "The air in here tastes like fish."

Julian faltered, "...aren't you allergic?"

And then, without any forewarning, she let out a strangled sob and dropped to the ground. She wrapped her arms around herself as she cried out in body-shaking sobs. It was as though this had been coming for a long time and she could finally let it all out. She couldn't have stopped crying even if she tried to, at this point, it was uncontrollable.

Julian saw her on the ground and felt a little bit of himself break along with her. He sank down to the ground and sat beside her so that at least she would know he was there. He didn't touch her though. Their relationship had never gone past sex and fun. The only time he'd seen her distressed was with Melitta, and he just used money to fix that. A couple plane tickets and things were better (for the most part, at least). With this, he had no way to fix it, all he could offer her was himself, and he wasn't sure that that would be enough for her. She hadn't expressed anything solid about her feelings for him.

All he knew was how he felt, but that wouldn't matter if she didn't feel the same way.

He had tried multiple times to convey how he felt and hopefully get something out of her. He had tried and tried, said everything but.

But Kimberly hadn't given him anything, so he didn't know if she really wanted him or anything from him. And so he just sat by her, and listened, and watched, and broke, as she wept into her own arms and dried her own tears.