My eyes slowly opened as the familiar stinging feeling flooded my entire body. I let my eyes close when nothing but darkness stared back at me. My thoughts turned to the life I had before I had been taken away from it, from everyone who ever loved me. Years had passed since then and I knew that they had given up on me. They all must believe that I was dead by now.

Did I have a family out there somewhere wondering where I am? Or was I like I am now, alone? So much time has gone by since then. Time had no meaning for me now. I was stuck in this darkness and I would never escape it.

Somewhere outside of the poor excuse of a cell, I could hear the soft dripping of water. For a brief second, I could taste the cool, refreshing liquid as it slid down my throat, quenching my thirst. The sound of a door opening and slow, heavy footsteps against the cobble stone floor instantly overpowered the soft drip drop sound that had a way of calming me.

Several soft whimpers could be heard and I felt pity for them. They hadn't been locked up here as long as I had. They still held onto the hope that one day they would be found and taken back to their families. It saddened me that he would break them of that hope soon.

The footsteps stopped just outside of my cell and I knew what was coming. A small part of me was relieved that he hadn't chosen one of the newer girls that surrounded me but I never saw. I was used to the treatments he dealt out, I could take it. But I knew in the back of my mind, one day, they too would be able to withstand what he did to them.

The needle was swiftly removed from my arm as I was roughly picked up. The guard pushed me ahead of him, and I stumbled. My body was weak beyond belief, but for some reason, it refused to give up like I had. "The master requested you for tonight." The guard sneered at me, laughing as I was drug from the darkness. I never understood how the guards could see in such darkness when I couldn't even see my hand just centimeters from my face. Six hundred steps later, we reached the door. Just seconds before he opened it, I closed my eyes so the light wouldn't hurt them.

I kept them closed as they took me up three flights of stairs and down a very long hallway. Another door opened and I was handed over to another man, a man that I hated with everything within me. His voice sounded loud as he ordered the men to make sure that he would not be disturbed for the rest of the night and then the door was closed. He laughed when he noticed my eyes were closed, but he didn't say anything. By now, he was used to not seeing my eyes. As he slowly led me towards his bed, I lost myself in my mind. It was my own way of protecting my-self I guess. Everything that was done or said, I would not remember once I came to back in my cell.

The slight breeze softly blew through my hair as I hid beneath the willow tree. A smile played on my lips as I heard a boy calling out, slowly growing closer to where I was. "Come on Georgiana! Mama's gonna be mad if you tear your dress again."

I giggled and quickly stepped out, smiling at the boy. "Ok bubba. Race you home." I challenged him as I took off running through the woods, my destination was home. My laughter rang out loudly as he chased after me, his face shining with joy.

Because of my little head start, I was just out of sight from him. My little body slammed into something warm and sent me flying back. Startled, I look up from where I was lying and fear flooded my body. "Toby!" My voice called out as the red eyed, black creature slowly started walking towards me. My brother called out for me, but his voice sounded farther away than before.

The creature swiped my body with his paw causing his claws to dig deep into my shoulder and back. I screamed with pain as tears clouded my vision. I could Toby calling out for me again, but my body couldn't handle the shock. My eyes closed and the darkness swallowed me.

With a groan, my eyes slowly fluttered opened and once again I was met with darkness. The needle had been re-stuck into my arm. Even though I had no memory of what he had done to me during our time together, I could feel the aftermath. The slight pressure of my shirt against my back was almost just more than I could handle. Judging from the smell of blood, the wounds were still pretty fresh. On top of that, my entire body cried out in pain.

"Cleo?" A soft voice pulled me grabbed my attention. "Are you awake?" The girl, Judy I think it was, called out softly. She was the newest girl among us, so her determination and hope was still strong. Knowing that she wouldn't stop talking to me unless she got what she wanted, I groaned softly. I could hear her sigh of relief and I hoped that she would stay quiet. If the guards caught us, or rather her, talking, it wouldn't be pretty. "He didn't hurt you to bad, did he?"

The concern for me that I could hear in her voice had my eyes burning. Blinking quickly, I tapped twice on the metal pole beside me. Even if I did talk, I wouldn't have told her the truth anyways. There was no use in causing her more worry than she already had. "Don't worry Cleo," she says softly, her voice growing softer, "my pack will not stop looking for me until they find me." Her words had me confused. Pack; is that what she called her family?

Judy began humming softly, and it made me sleepy. This hadn't been the first attempt from the girls to get me to talk. But for as far back as I could remember, I had never spoken a word in my life. I never tried too either. The only way they knew my name, was because the master himself came to get me one night, growling my name out as if it burned him to say it. "Be quiet Judy." Tracey muttered softly, fear evident in her voice. "If they hear us speaking, you won't like what happens. That is a promise."

Her humming was slowly replaced with silence and I stared up at the ceiling that I had never seen. A part of me wished that her words held truth in them. None of them belonged here, that was for sure. They belonged with their families, people who loved and cherished them. But me, I have nothing beyond the consuming darkness that I have lived in for so long. I have no memories of a family. Maybe it would be best if help ever did come for them that I stayed behind. There was nothing for me outside of this hell that I was trapped in. I had nothing beyond the darkness and the torture.

My eyes opened to find a very worried looking woman holding me in her arms as tears ran down her face. "Mama, why are you crying?" I asked her as I laid a hand on her cheeks. Mama hugged me gently, mindful of the deep cuts that ran along my shoulder and back. "I almost lost you sweetie."

My eyes traveled over her shoulder and I saw Toby standing in the corner, his eyes glued to me. I gave him a weak smile and he slowly walked towards us. "I'm sorry Mama. I should have been running with her. She took off running before I realized what she was doing." I knew that he was blaming himself for what happened, but it wasn't his fault.

Mama laid me back on the bed as a man in a white coat entered the room with a smiling woman beside him. "Georgiana, this is Dr. Wells. He's going to look at the cuts. He won't hurt you, I promise." Mama's voice soothed my worries, so I just laid there holding Toby's hand while the doctor cleaned away the blood and stitched me up. I looked around for my mother, but she had stepped out of the room.

The doctor and nurse left, leaving the door open just enough so that my brother and I could just make out Mama's conversation. "I told you that living this far from any pack was dangerous Jude!" I winced knowing that she was angry. "Our daughter was just attacked by a rogue, who could have easily killed her if our son hadn't stepped in." Mama fell silent and I knew that Daddy was trying to calm her down.

"No Jude! Either you move us back to our pack where our children will be protected and safe while growing up, or I will take one of them and leave. I will not live in fear of finding them tore to bits by a rogue all just because you can't stand your brother!" Toby looked at me and I gripped his hand tighter. Why was Mama upset and fighting with Daddy? They almost never fought.

A loud noise from the hallway startled Toby and I. Our eyes were glued to the door when Mama walked back in. When she saw us, something passed over her face before she came and sat down beside me on the bed. She took my hand and smiled at me, but it wasn't like her other smiles.

"Sweetie," Mama told me softly as she started crying, "I have to take Tobias with me while I run a few errands. Daddy will be here in a little while to take you home, so don't worry. I love you sweeting." She whispered before kissing my head. "Tobias, come say goodbye to your sister quickly." Mama told him as she stood up. Toby climbed up in the bed with me, hugging me tight. The look on his face had worry running throughout my mind.

"I'll come back for you Georgiana. I swear on the goddess above, I'll return for you." Toby promised before he slipped to the floor and took Mama's hand. I couldn't understand what he meant. He and Mama would be back, I thought as I watched them leave my room. But I had been too young to fully understand the conversation that I had overheard. But Toby hadn't; he knew what Mama had meant. He knew that we would never see each other ever again.

It grew late and the nurse told me that Daddy would be late coming to get me. As I lay in my bed, I longed for Toby to come and sing for me. The sounds of screams had me sitting up quickly. My door slowly opened and I watched as a pair of blood red eyes appeared before me. I screamed as the eyes rushed towards me.

The sound of a cell door being slammed shut made my eyes open. They landed on dark gray stone that was all around me. Confused, I looked around before spotting the back of a guard outside my cell. In his arms laid a woman. "Put her in here. The master won't notice the difference between that one and the new one. They look alike." The second guard said, laughing.

I watched as they carried the woman away, her eyes staring at nothing. It dawned on me that she was dead. The guards were soon gone, taking the light with them. Sniffling from the cell across from mine told me that the new girl was crying, as I think we all had done. My brows lowered as I thought over that. When I first came here, did I cry as well? Shrugging the thought away, I slowly turned over on the cot, biting my lip when I felt a cut on my back reopen.

I knew that until my back healed, I would be left alone. Sighing softly, I let my eyes drift shut for a second time. There was nothing for us to do down here except to heal from our time spent with the master and sleep. I knew that the others spent their time trying to come up with a way to escape or thinking about their families. Just as my eyes closed, a howl, although muted, echoed throughout cells. Shrugging it away, I let sleep claim me again. If I had know that everything was about to change, I wouldn't have slept.