Unknown.

23- Please...

   The sound of a door slamming wakes me up. At first, I just sit there and listen for any other sounds, but when I hear Wolfe's voice whisper, my eyes flip open.

   "Are any of your ropes loose?" He says, as I take in the surroundings. There are four concrete walls around us, the one to the left of me owning a bolted door. The room is lit pretty well, for I can see all four of my friends.

   We sit in a circle, all of our hands tied to the arms of sturdy wooden chairs. Our ankles are tied now, too, to the legs of the chairs. Wolfe sits directly in front of me, dirt plastered to his handsome face and his hair clinging to the sides of it. His icy eyes are wandering, looking over each person and their binds.

    Ellie is to my left, her head lowered as if she is asleep. Her hands grip the chair hard though, her knuckles nearly turning white. Her dark hair drapes on both sides of her face, and if I am seeing right, I watch tears drip from her hidden face.

   Marcus sits in between Wolfe and Ellie, but he is passed out cold, his head rolled to the side and his body so limp and innocent. Marcus's orange hair is matted to his forehead and sweat rolls down the sides of his nose.

   Gage sits in between Wolfe and I, to my right, and looks about his fellow teammates like Wolfe. His left eye is swollen shut and turning a black/purple color. Just looking at his eye makes me want to scream, but I know that wouldn't be wise in the situation we are in.

   Registering what Wolfe said before, I look down at myself and then pull against the ropes that bind me. None of my body parts are released free, and none of them move a centimeter.

   When Wolfe peers over at me, I shake my head and let my hands and ankles go limp. I gather my breath, my mind racing for a way to get out of here.

   I glance down at Wolfe's waist and I note that his belt is gone, along with all of his weapons. I curse under my breath, my voice coming out hoarse and shaky.

    "What are we going to do?" Ellie whimpers, her head raising. Her tear-stricken face meets mine and her lips curl in with dissatisfaction. "I can hardly move my ankles and hands."

    "Hey..." Gage coos to her, Ellie's eyes averting from mine and casting over to his. "It is going to be okay... We are going to get out of this alive. Everyone just needs to stay calm."

    "What are we going to do?!" Ellie cries out, her head dropping back down to sulk. "I've never been tortured before! I don't know if I would be able to handle-"

    "Sh... Sh... Sh..." Gage replies, his voice low and smooth. "Ellie, you cannot tell them anything. If you do, they will kill us and they will kill our families."

    Suddenly, the door bursts open and the two men that grabbed Marcus waltz in, their heads held high. They both wear red outfits that climb from their feet to their heads, topped off with blazing eyes. They both stop before they reach our circle, and just study us like we are some chemistry experiment.

   The one on the left has a weird hair-do, with his head shaved on both sides and bleach-blonde hair greased back in the middle. He has caramel eyes and a wicked smirk.

    The other one has black hair that rains down the sides of his face in curls until it reaches his shoulders. His face is creepy because he nearly looks like a skeleton, his skin appearing as if it is stretched across all of the bones in his face. His eyes are a blank, boring color of hazel and his mouth is one thin line that doesn't tell me if he has any emotions at all.

   The blonde-haired one turns around to close the door, while the other lifts his left arm and shows us the briefcase that dangles in his grasp. My stomach rolls over, images of Caroline's torturing flooding my mind.