Addison woke up from the concussion in pure darkness. Her body ached more than ever and her arms had fallen asleep, with a numb feeling. Struggling to move but was contained as if she was in a coffin. She was hog-tied, the rope draped tightly around her wrist and down to her ankles. She tried to look around but only one eye was capable of opening. She felt the car jar to the left and then back right. She was in the trunk of the car. She knew it was his old beat up Chevy and now she was suffocating in the dark, cramped area. She spotted a small stream of light that came through the opening of the trunk above her. She would have been out longer but the road had been rugged, causing her to bang her head on a steal object that rolled around, somewhat like a car jack or other sort of bar. Her head was splitting and throbbing of pain. And if she could just sit up and move a little her arms would wake to the tingling sensation. The only thing that worried her most was where in the world was he taking her.

Keith and Addie had been dating for a few years. They had met in college. Addie was studying physiology while Keith was more interested in computer technology. They were introduced to each other at a party. He seemed like a nice guy although he wasn't really considered her type. She was more prone to date guys in the field of science. Not geeky or nerdy guys but guys that were very smart and wanted a good career and making good money.

Keith was just different. He was built, although from his shirt one would not have noticed. He enjoyed working out and actually it was a hobby of his. His hair was auburn brown, a slight touch of red; it curled slightly past his ears. He was not out going, somewhat shy and seemed to keep to himself. But there was something about him that she liked and she soon fell head over heals in love with him.

She had noticed over the past year that he had changed so much. He finally graduated from the college and had a degree in technology. He landed a good job with a corporate office making high tech video games. It was a passion of his. He had wanted to change his life and the one thing he really wanted was to marry her. He wanted to be married, have children and move to a place up in the mountains. He talked of it often but she was not ready for any of it, although they had dated for the past three years. She was more concerned of her job and making her office well established. She graduated with a doctoral degree in Physiology and now had her own office in down town Atlanta. She adored her job and her patients.

The one thing that made her worry about Keith was that out of the blue he decided to shave his head. Not just any shave but completely went bald. When she came home she was just shocked, she didn't mean for her jaw to hit the floor.

"Why did you shave your hair for?" She rubbed the top of his head, then planted a kiss on his lips.

"Just something different." He wrapped his arms around her kissing her back. "Do you like it?"

"Mmmm....It will grow on me." Rolling her eyes.

"I hope so, because I'm keeping it this way." He scooped her off her feet and carried her to the bedroom. He was always so passionate with her and knew just how to ease her mind and body by the end of the long working day.

They had moved into together in a nice one-bedroom apartment on the out skirts of Atlanta. They enjoyed the simple life of dating and once they both graduated thought that it would be a great idea to move in with each other. Both of them worked in Atlanta but Keith would rather have moved to a quieter place. So they settled for ten miles out of the city. If only her parents were as happy for her as she was.

Keith had been a great guy. He cared for Addie immensely. He did everything to make her happy. In the beginning he would wait up for her late in the night and have dinner ready for her and sometimes even have a hot bubble bath waiting. He would light candles and have music playing down real low, love making music or something classical to wind her down. He was passionate about her. But over the past few month he did not do that as often. He stayed up playing, searching, and chatting on the Internet. When she would walk in he would close his laptop as if he wasn't doing anything. He became more secretive and now he gone and shaved his head. He started to come withdrawn from her and it made her feel awkward.

It had been a Sunday night in the late part of July. She remembered waking up to an empty bed. The room was pitch dark except for the clock on the bedside table that gleamed two forty-five A.M. The apartment was quiet. She sat up and wiped her eyes form the stickiness that builds up in the corners. She stretched and then stood from the bed. The floor was cool from the air conditioner and she slowly walked to the door and down the hall to the living room. The bathroom light was on and the door was almost closed shut leaving a small stream of light from the opening, the music played muffled behind the door. She continued to walk. On the far side of the table she noticed the laptop was open but Keith was no where around. She walked over to look out of curiosity and her eyes squinted at the page. She was a little stunned. At first she thought he was into porn. What man wouldn't be especially if his girl friend was never home. But it was not porn or a game web site, instead it was a site of hatred, a sign of a cult. The page had a few weird names and pictures of animals and all the men were shaved bald. She scrolled down and seen pictures of brutal attacks and killings and racial slurs. Was he part of this? She wondered. Is this why he had shaved?

There was a noise from the other room, startled she quickly scrolled the page back to the top. She froze at first; listening to the direction the sound was coming from and then started to creep back to the bedroom. On the way down the hall she came to the bathroom and could not help but notice Keith sitting on the floor by the toilet. She had thought that he had been sick but when she pushed the door open she gasped. He looked at her, frozen, shocked from being caught. His skin was pale as a ghost and his eyes were blood shot, dark circles danced around them. He had his pants on but was topless. A thick rubber band knotted tightly above his elbow, veins emerged. In his right hand he held a needle. She could tell that he had all ready used it.

His eyes became dark and ferrous seeing her there. "Get out of here, damn it."

"What are you doing?" her voice was soft like a child who just got into trouble.

"I said get the fuck outta here!" He stood on his feet now and charged at her. He shoved her hard into the hall and then slammed the door to finish his business.

She was frightened, shocked because not once since they have been together he had cursed at her or laid his hands on her. She knew it was the drugs, the drugs made him mad, but she would not live this way. Her career was way too important to her and she refused to live a life with drugs in it. As the tears streamed down her face she went to the closet and pulled out suitcases and started tossing clothes in it left and right. She was still naked and found an over head sweatshirt with bold print of the Atlanta Braves scrolled over it. That was another part of their life together, but at the moment she was just in a hurry to get the hell out of dodge. She went to the dresser and found a flannel pair of pants, she could care less at the moment if she matched or not. She made her way down the hall and into the kitchen where she had left her purse and her keys. She knew she wouldn't be able to get anywhere without it. She hurried to gather all her belongings and then proceeded to walk swiftly to the front door. She was almost out when he came up behind her. He grabbed the door and slammed it shut.

"Where do you think you're going?" he slurred over his words but his tone was very intimidating to her.

"I....I..." a knot formed in her throat. Her eyes were wide of panic. She was suddenly so terrified of him.

He grabbed the suitcase and slung it into the living room. It came down with a thud and her clothes flung out, scattered every where. She stood in shock. She wanted to scream but for the moment thought that it would be wise not too.

"Give me your purse!" He demanded.

Addie had a bad habit of throwing her purse over her head, letting it lay dangle cross her breast. She held on tightly for she knew if he took it she would not have a way to leave.

He reached over and yanked it from her. "I said give me the fuck'n purse." The second time he pulled the strap broke, making her fall into him. Without hesitation he backhanded her and she fell back into the door and slid to the floor.

" What is your problem," she cried, holding on to her cheek.

"You are my problem." He reached down and grabbed her by the head of her scalp pulling her up to him. Her hair intertwined in his fingers.

She started to fight back. She started to swing her arms and kick at him. She hit him the first time and with the second swing she hit his nose just right to make it bleed. He became irate and slapped her again. She fell to the floor again and then he jerked her by her leg, dragging her to their bedroom. She was frightened, afraid of what he might do. As they passed the kitchen she held on to the doorframe and he had to jerk her hard for her to let go. Into the bedroom she found the doorframe again and with both hands on each side held on for dear life. He kept pulling but she refused to let go. He let go of her for a split second. And just when she thought he was done his foot came slamming into her left hand, crushing her fingers. The pain was unbearable.

"Do you want me to do the other one too?"

He didn't have to ask again because she let go to grab her other hand that throbbed. Pain shot through her arm and she could feel her heartbeat, the blood pumping to her now crushed hand.

"Stop....please stop," she begged.

But he pulled her up onto the bed with forceful hands; his fingers dug into her skin.

"Don't kill me," she cried out, tears streamed down her face. She begged him to stop but the look in his eyes begged to differ. He was not himself. She knew him all too well and this was not the man she had fallen in love with. He was not the man she lived with and definitely not the man he was a few hours ago.

He kept punching and kicking her as if she had been his punching bag at the gym. He would not let up, taking all his frustration out on her. He went on and on and then she was motionless, lifeless. At first he thought he had killed her but she was still breathing tediously.

*****

He stood back for a second, confused of his actions. He didn't know what caused the out burst but he knew he had done this to her. He panicked and sanked to the floor. He thought back. In the past six months or so he had started to drink more. Addie was always late getting home. Plenty of nights she was with her patients or thought of them more than him. He had cared so much for her. He treated her like a queen placing her on a pedestal. But as the days went by he became more involved with a web site. It had caught his attention and he wanted to be apart of the new life. He was gone a lot and performed many slayings and rituals. Addie never knew because she was never there. The meetings became more frequent and that's when he started taking the drugs. At first it was simple but then he found the needle and his passion was the enlightening feeling after the needle went in. He loved the way it made him feel, desensitized.

He had wanted to move to the mountains to be closer to the group but he knew Addie far to well and knew she would have no part of it. She loved the city, her office, and most of all her patients. He knew if he could get her there she would love it. He just didn't plan on taking her this way. He watched, as she lay lifeless on the bed. He knew she would wake up shortly and he had to act quickly if he was going to get her to go with him. He quickly went to the drawer and pulled out a rope. He flattened her out on her stomach. Held one arm and wrapped the rope around it and then the other. He tied a knot and then pulled the rope down to do the same to her feet. He looked at the clock that now glared three fifty-four.

Not long from now neighbors would be waking up and getting ready for work and getting their children ready for school. He would need to hurry to get her to the car before anyone saw anything. Hopefully with all the commotion they hadn't all ready woke the neighbors next to them. He rushed to put some of their clothes in the suitcases and then dragged them down the steps to the parking lot adjacent to the building. He then walked back up to their apartment. She was still out cold and he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. Her body fell limp on him. He quickly carried her down the steps, nearly tripping over the neighbor's cat. He kicked it to the side and continued to the parking lot. He heard a noise nearby but it was the cat trying to get out of the bushes. He tossed her into the trunk and slammed it shut. He got into the car and started the ignition. The radio came on and jammed to Highway to Hell by AC/DC. He backed out and onto the street making his way to Interstate 75. He tried not to think of her for now. His mind was focused on the cabin in the mountains.

The surprise was for Addie, a new home for just the two of them with no one interrupting anything, no parents, patients, or nosy neighbors. He was now almost in Chattanooga. The green sign above his head read Nashville left lane and Knoxville right lane. He stirred into the left lane and headed towards Nashville. The mountains were in view now. He had loved the mountains; they were beautiful. He felt at home there, secluded and safe. The land he owned was in the midst of the mountain. Other members of the cult lived within the mountains as well. In the middle of them, they had a secret meeting place where the rituals took place.

The members had arranged land for Keith when he became one of them. The cabin would be waiting for life to fill it. As he turned off Interstate 24, the road was smooth and then became rough. The tires hit the gravel and hit a few pot holes in the road. He had expected her to be still out, but the bumps caused her to bang her head and woke up to the frightening feeling of entrapment.

The car came to a dead stop; he turned the engine off and got out shutting the door behind him. He fumbled for the key and she could hear him unlocking it. His eyes meet with hers. The light was bright and she had to blink a few times for her eyes to adjust. But he stood above her with no expression at all as if something took over his body, his soul. They starred at each other for a few seconds. Her heart pounded, her eyes were saddening, lost, confused of it all. He reached in to pull her out. He tossed her on his shoulder and walked towards the cabin. She tried to move but was still tied.