The Eyes of a Lamb

The Pit

Clarice awoke in the darkness, hearing the whimpering echo around her as her eyes fluttered open, feeling her head pound as she tried to get up from the damp dirt floor. Instantly two sets of eyes watched her in terror from the other side of the circular floor. Clarice knew where she was, had been dreaming about it for weeks now, and finally her nightmares had come true.

Jame Gumb had succeeded in getting his last victim, and now Clarice was back in the pit, battling for her life.

Clarice stood up shaking, her clothes gone as she wore only a simple white dress, Jame's favorite thing to put on his girls when he took them. Jessica and Sage, their faces dirty and eyes wide with fear, were also dressed in the white sacrificial dresses, only theirs were more covered in dirt and who knows what else.

"Jessica?" Clarice said as her voice cleared "Sage?"

Jessica's head bobbed a yes at Clarice while Sage dug deeper into her companion, convinced that this woman was here to hurt them.

"My name is Clarice Starling" Clarice said coming closer "I'm a FBI agent here to save you."

Jessica seemed confused for a moment, looking Clarice up and down as Sage seemed to calm.

"Why are you down here then?" Jessica asked bluntly.

"Well" Clarice said trying to stay strong "That man upstairs took me, because I was once exactly where you were fourteen years ago. And if I survived once, I am going to survive again, and I will keep you girls safe."

"Promise?" Sage whimpered.

"I promise" Clarice said standing still. Jessica moved up quickly, Sage with her as they both came over to Clarice, grabbing her tightly, feeling better that there was an adult with them in this horrible place, someone who had been in the darkness before and found the light.

Clarice held the girls close, reassuring them it was going to be okay, reassuring herself that they could get out of this. But even Clarice knew that her escape last time was shear luck, but if she could get at Jame once, she could get at him again.

Clarice looked up towards the light that stared down into the pit, knowing she was the challenger in a unbeatable battle where the stakes were not only her life now, but the lives of these girls...

"Let the games begin" Clarice thought.

Hannibal watched Will move back and forth in Jack Crawford's office, his motions that of which Hannibal would display if only he could. Instead he stood near the wall, his mind full of planning, full of thoughts about what he would do to Jame Gumb when he got his hands on him. His Clarice was gone, the light taken away from his world, and he would kill to get it back, even if it meant exposing himself.

"We are wasting time" Will said through gritted teeth "Clarice could be dead by now."

"She isn't" Hannibal said firmly "She will stay alive as long as it takes, and if the girls have survived Clarice will do anything and everything to keep them alive as well."

"You don't know that" Will said getting mad "Jame Gumb has changed all of his habits to get to this point, what makes you think he will just stop now. He could have already killed those girls, and he could have just killed Clarice the moment he had her to himself."

"Jame Gumb's habits only changed to get to Clarice" Hannibal said "He only wanted her, and he knew that she would come to him eventually."

"He wants Clarice to succumb to him" Will said "She was the only one, the one that got away. In his mind that must mean Clarice is special. So now he wants her even more. That was the whole reason for the two kidnappings, for the repeated pattern until the very last moment, and now Clarice has grown up, he could do...he could do anything to her."