The four guards file into the room, each of them grabbing one of us. 

"Hey- what're you doing?" Myles asks, squirming as his guard keeps a tight grip on his arm. I try to resist my guard, but they're holding on tight and they're a lot bigger than me. 

The first guard laughs. "Oh, many of the people here have noticed you talking and thought that possibly you were getting too close to each other. You see, prison is not supposed to be a place where you make friends." His gaze lands on Autumn, then Myles, then finally me. I hope I'm imagining the glare in his eyes. 

"Now, you, young girl," he says, pointing at Autumn. Another guard enters, holding... are those chains?

My stomach is swirling. Are they seriously going to chain up a twelve year old girl? What could she have done that would be that bad?

Autumn goes pale, and then screams at them to stop. But they chain her to the wall, with her arms above her. 

The guards drag me and Myles out. The one holding me seems like their strong hands might cut off my circulation any minute now. 

They close the door behind us, muffling Autumn's screams. It locks with a click that sounds much too final. 

We walk down the same hallway I saw earlier, when I was being interrogated. Myles is thrown into an empty cell with one last despairing look at me. 

And then it's just me and four guards. 

They surround me, making it impossible to escape. And if I did, where would I go anyways? There's no way I could run fast enough to make it to the exits, even if I knew where they were and there wasn't a lock on them, which there most definitely is. 

We pass a few more cells, most of which have muffled sobbing inside. Two more have screaming. 

The one we're heading for is one of those two. 

I feel myself go pale. What if there's a murderer in there? I don't want to die. Not here, not now. I have such a good life ahead of me- 

Or. On second thought... maybe I deserve it. I'm a murderer. I deserve this fate. 

Wow, that's a depressing thought. 

They push me closer to the door, and the screaming goes silent, as if whoever was screaming passed out. Or... died. They open the door, but the room is shrouded in darkness. My eyes are used to the bright lights in the hall, and this room doesn't have bars above the door to let light in. When the door's closed, it must be pitch black. 

The first guard shoves me in with a smug smile and closes the door behind me. 

I stand with my back against the door, the position reminding me of when I talked to Adair, that one time. 

My face twists into a scowl at the memory. He was stupid.

Something rustles in the dark, sounding scarily like someone pushing something out of the way. There's a groan that sounds full of pain. 

As my eyes adjust I can see two shapes in the darkness. One is kneeling beside the other, holding a knife in their hand. The other is lying on the floor, against the wall like the first person moved them out of the wall. They're covered in what looks like blood. 

My breathing turns rapid. Holy Hunger Games. I'm going to die. This maniac serial killer is going to kill me. 

I push myself backwards against the door, glancing back as if the guards might cut me a break and let me out. 

The shape stands up, brandishing their knife. They wipe the fresh blood off the blade, and my heart feels like its beating out of my chest. 

They get close enough to me that if I put my hand out in front of me, I could touch them. 

I consider running, but they'd catch me. There's nothing I can do. 

I close my eyes, focusing on my breathing. I'm so terrified I feel like I'm sweating off ten pounds, which at my level of skinniness would not be very good for me right now. 

The person traces their knife against my forehead, as if judging where they'll cut me. I press my palms against the door, hoping, hoping, for someone to come and save me.

They use their hand to pin me to the wall, then press a thin line of blood into my forehead. I can't make out their features, but their deathly pale skin shines like the moon in the midnight darkness.

They slice the knife across my eyebrow, dripping crimson blood into my eye. I blink, but my vision is blurred from the blood and the pain. 

They slide the blade across my face again and again, before stabbing me in the arm. Agony shoots through my body, and my scream slips through. 

I mentally curse myself. I don't want Myles or Autumn to feel bad for me. I'm a murderer. I deserve this. 

I close my eyes, unable to stop the tears waterfalling down my cheeks. 

Someone calls my name as the person slices the knife across my chest, not deep enough to brutally injure me. 

They're playing with me. Just like a cat plays with its food before it devours it. 

I think about the person in the corner of the cell. I don't know how long they've been here, but it must've been a while. 

They stab my leg, twisting the knife, and my knees collapse. Another scream slips from my mouth.

Everything seems blurry. The pain seems blurry. The world seems blurry. My mind seems blurry. 

I can feel blackness, darker than what you see when you close your eyes, creeping in through the edges of my vision. 

All I want to do right now is let myself slip into the blackness. I don't know if I'd return, but... does it even matter?

I guess sometimes I just wish I could fall asleep and never wake up. 

And... right now it feels like my wish might be granted. 

I lose my fragile hold on the world, letting myself slip away.