Serena's POV:

I rolled my head to the side and noticed that my arms seemed awfully heavy. My thoughts were slow and fragmented. I lay there just trying to collect my thoughts. I managed to open my eyes and blinked slowly at the white ceiling. The shed didn't have a white ceiling...

I tried to sit up in sudden alarm, but my body didn't respond properly and I ended up halfway rolling onto my side, laying there as my breathing sped up in anxiety. My memories came back to me. Where was Darien? The mere fact that he wasn't here was almost painful. What had happened?

The room was small and basically empty. And white. White ceiling, white walls, white linoleum, white sheets, even the doorknob was white. The decorator obviously had an obsessive compulsive disorder.

A small camera in the corner was watching me. This had been partially covered in my evasive training in the event that someone did manage to kidnap me. If possible, play stupid and hope for a chance to escape. I doubted that this group would be so careless, but I had nothing to lose by trying.

I tried to sit up again and this time succeeded, although I was swaying pretty badly. My expression was one of confusion as I looked around, hopefully they didn't realize it was mostly fake. I was still in my clothing, so that was a good sign. I must not have been out too long. My head was rapidly clearing and I was grateful for that.

There was a glass of water on a small nightstand. I was extremely thirsty and hoped that they hadn't drugged it. There were ways around it though. People often didn't realize just how precious clean water was. It was a lesson I had learned on the streets. Sometimes access to fresh tap water simply wasn't possible. It was one of the few hums that I had used and honed - the hum to purify water.

My legs were too shaky to stand so I simply slid closer to pick up the glass while quietly humming. I felt the magic rise, peak, and fall as the humming song ran its course. I took a small sip, but it tasted like normal water. No surprise there though. This was one hum that I knew worked infallibly.

I had once filled a water bottle with muddy water, hummed it pure and took the crystal clear water to a center that did free water testing for people. The results had come back so pure that the company had been curious as to which area had such a clean water supply.

I slowly drained the glass and put it down. I felt much more alert now, although I was somewhat tired, so it was likely still night time. There wasn't a clock or window in this room to give me any hints. I glanced down at my sandals and noticed there was a thick black metal band around my ankle.

I lifted my ankle onto my other knee as I examined it. It was quite bulky and I didn't see any obvious way to get it off. It was tight enough that I could barely spin it. I bet it was some sort of tracking device in case I did manage to escape. I pretended to ignore it for now and let my foot go back to the floor.

The door handle turned and opened. A man in a white lab coat came in with a clipboard, "Ah, Serena, you're awake. How are you feeling?"

It disturbed me that he knew my name. They must have taken my purse and ID from the shed. I blinked slowly, uneasy in the stranger's presence, "I am feeling well, thank you. Ummm... What exactly happened? I am afraid I do not remember coming here... Where are we?"

The man seemed friendly enough, like most of my customers when they were in a good mood, "You fell and bumped your head while running. We are keeping you here in the hospital for a few days for observation, just in case of any side effects or concussion. What do you remember?"

It was a test and a fairly subtle one. If I didn't admit to this, then they would know I was hiding knowledge. Besides, I wanted a good excuse to find out how Darien was doing.

"I was talking to a friendly man for most of the evening. Nothing seemed wrong, but he suddenly got very mad and ran out the door. I took off towards the forest in case he came back. I remember entering the forest, but it kind of goes dark after that."

The man was scribbling in his notebook, "Do you recall what made him mad?"

I frowned as if in confusion, "He said he heard a radio. I don't get why it was such a big deal though, we were close to a back alley and lots of cars drive by with their windows down."

I knew Darien had meant the communication radio of the guards, but I wanted to mislead this man into thinking that I wasn't quite aware of what was going on. The man didn't seem at all confused by my misunderstanding, as if it had been expected. They weren't surprised that Darien had heard a communication radio from inside a shed, neither did they shed light on my mistaken assumption.

The man looked at me again, "What did you think of Darien?"

I tilted my head as if examining the idea. I was not about to blurt out the first words that came to my mind. They would send me off to a nice padded room if I started throwing out words like amazing, kind, loving, and breath-taking. "He was polite and courteous. Much like many of the customers who pass through the café where I work."

The doctor gave me a look as if he wasn't sure we were talking about the same person, "He didn't seem upset?"

I shook my head, "No, not until just before he ran out of the shed. Is he okay?"

The doctor nodded absently as he kept writing, "Yes, he is also in this building. He has some other... medical complications that require him to stay here indefinitely. His mental state makes helping him difficult. We had some people mention that they had seen you two holding hands, which is quite remarkable since Darien detests direct contact from anyone. He has injured many nurses and doctors who accidently touched him."

The doctor paused and looked directly at me, "You are the first person he has not reacted negatively to. Would you be willing to help as a caretaker? We would be willing to pay, of course, and it would be much more than a waitress would make."

Really? Bribery was the best they could manage? He couldn't even put a caring spin on helping someone? That alone showed one of the many things that were wrong with this place. His last sentence was also kind of an insult...

I shook my head, "Thank you, but I will decline. If needed, I could come and visit him if it helps, but not as a job."

The man frowned and sighed, "I don't think you understand. He won't even talk to anyone else. He doesn't listen to us in the least either. He is strong enough that we can't force him to cooperate. There are a lot of medical tests that he needs, but he fights us every step of the way. He spoke with you for hours and held your hand. You could probably convince him to cooperate."

They had watched us for a long time... That thought creeped me out. I rubbed my temple as if I wasn't following his train of thought, "I saw him for only a few hours. I fail to see how I could force him to do anything he doesn't want to do. Besides, I have a job and I plan to move shortly, so I won't even be in the area by the end of the year."

The man dropped the friendly guy act as he grew serious, "I am afraid you don't have a choice. You aren't leaving here."

I gave him a shocked look, "What? I hate to break it to you sir, but I am pretty sure kidnapping is illegal."

He smirked, "Only if you get caught. I highly doubt that anyone is going to overly miss a homeless person with no immediate family."

My jaw dropped in shock at the insult. It may have been the truth, but it still hurt. How did he manage to find out so much about me anyways? He turned and left the room. I jumped to my feet as the door closed with a faint click, "Hey! Let me out of here!"

I rattled the doorknob, but it was locked. I gave it a half-hearted kick and it didn't even make a sound. It was designed to hold strong adults, so someone like me wasn't going anywhere by normal means.

"What the hell is going on?! What kind of place kidnaps people? Shoot, he never even told me where I am!" I was pretty sure the cameras in the room also had microphones. Those comments might get me some wiggle room if they thought I didn't know their dark secrets.

Well, at least I knew Darien was around. I hoped that I could see him at some point. The doctor's words confused me though. His description of Darien was nothing like the man I had spent six hours with.

I explored the tiny room, which took all of twenty seconds. It was about the size of the shed. No pictures, and absolutely nothing to look at or think about. Four walls, a door, a tiny nightstand, and a bed. All in pristine white.

It was the epitome of boredom.