Cierra shot up as she woke. She attempted to look around, but there wasn't much to see in the dark. She was bound at the waist, shoulders, wrist, and ankles to a chair. A little excessive, but appropriate. She rocked forward, trying to break the ropes when she heard a voice.

"It's no use, I already tried." She said. Cierra turned to the source of the noise. She could not see very much of the person. She had two swollen eyes and a variety of bruises and cuts. Her brown hair was a mess and her clothes were torn and ripped.

"Alli? Oh my, are you okay?" Cierra rushed. She tried to stand but couldn't.

"No, I'm not." She sobbed. Cierra sat in the chair in a state of shock. She did this to her. she paused. No, he did.

"When I get my hands on the-" I am sorry, as the narrator I have to cut this not-so-mild- language out. Essentially, she is going to kill whoever did this. From further on I will leave --- marks in the number of letters.

The door swung open. A thin, dark-haired man walked in. He turned on the lights. The girls recoiled at the sudden presence.

"I am all yours Cierra." He smiled. He had been outside the door waiting for a one-liner to walk in on.

"You -------, you ------- -------. How dare you ------- touch Alli. I will ------- tear you apart. You are lucky I'm tied up." Cierra shouted. Alli visibly blushed under all the bruising. The man just laughed.

"You two are too cute," He walked over to Alli. "I made the right decision with this one," He ruffled her hair. Cierra lurched forward. "It first I thought that there was no way you would allow someone else to be part of your life, but I was wrong about my little lone wolf." He laughed.

He grabbed Alli's chair and dragged it right across from Cierra with hardly any effort. He crouched right between the two so he could see them both.

"You know, now that the two are reunited, I should really introduce myself. I am Bates." He extended his hand to Alli, then laughed to himself. Cierra glared.

"I assume you know why you are here." He said as he stood. There was silence as he stared at Cierra, unconcerned with Alli for a second.

"No, please inform me." Cierra watched him walk around Alli, who watched Cierra. Bates ruffled Alli's hair playfully. Alli took a shaky breath. Bates walked around, blocking Cierra's view.

He grabbed Alli's chin. She winced as his hand brushed a bruise. Alli blinked away tears as he tilted her face back and forth, examining the marks and bruises.

"I wonder how long it will take Cierra to figure out." He said to Alli. Cierra urgently tried to see what was happening. Bates slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out a small razor, displaying it to his side for Cierra. Alli jerked her face back. The venomous expression Cierra set melted to worry.

"Bates don't. She knows nothing. Just let her go, and we can have a civil conversation." Cierra pleaded. Bates clicked his tongue in disapproval, continuing to search Alli's appearance.

"Where is the fun in that?" He said as he absently ran the blade across Alli' face. Cerria lunged forward as hard as she could, but the ropes didn't budge.

"You will still have me. You can torture me any way you want, just let Alli go." Cierra promised. Alli shook her head.

"Look, she really cares about you." Bates smiled, still not turning away from Alli. He twirled the blade in his fingers.

"Let her go," Cierra repeated. Alli shook her head. The silence in the room was defining as Bates considered.

"You said any torture?" Bates asked, turning to Cierra.

"No," Alli croaked. Bates let her chin go.

"Yes," Cierra sighed of relief.

"Emotional." He said with a devilish smile. Cierra bearly had time to react before Bates dramatically spun. The tip of his blade etched across Alli's forehead, creating a line that curved into her hairline towards the middle. Bates finished with his arm pointed to the sky.

"Bates, that was not part of the deal," Cierra shouted as he cleaned his blade on Alli's shirt sleeve. Alli inhaled sharply as blood trickled into her eye. Tears streamed down her face, but she didn't make a noise.

"You want to know something?" Bates asked as he inspected the blade. He shrugged and put it in his pocket. He gestured to Alli. "She has a high tolerance for pain. And she is brave. It took a lot for us to crack her. But when we figured it out, it was amazing. She was like an open book." Bates laughed. Alli recoiled in the seat.

"Shut up, Bates." Cierra glared. Bates raised his eyebrows in surprise. He walked behind Alli and put his hand on her shoulder. Alli flinched.

"I have never had anyone in your position say that to me. They have called me many things, but they have never commanded me to shut up." He slipped the blade out of his pocket. Cierra's eyes widened. 

"And for that," He said, his hands hovering by Alli's arm. Alli closed her eyes. In one fluid motion, Bates cut the ropes around Alli's arm and slid to the door, "Solitude," He said as he closed and locked the door.