May cried out as she continued to be pushed back and forth. Her panic rose as she started to feel her ankle heating up.

No... Not here. Not in front of all these people.

She worked on forcing her way through the crowd, looking for someplace she could hide.

A hand reached out and closed around her wrist, pulling her into an alley way. She was so disoriented she couldn't make out who it was. Something was stuffed into her mouth and she was shoved to the ground.

She screamed. The electricity running through her sent her rolling across the ground.

"I love seeing you squirm." Joe knelt next to her, tilting his head and smiling. "You've been dethroned, Sweetheart."

May couldn't focus. The punishment wasn't stopping. He was drawing it out so much longer than normal. She didn't know how much longer she could last...

"This is your final warning. He is not to make it back to Korea. Got it?" Joe reached out to grab her throat once he could tell the electricity had stopped, but he still wore rubber gloves as a precaution. "If you fail," He sneered, "Let's just say it won't be pretty for you." He slammed her head into the ground, tore out the gag, and walked away.

May felt her eyelids close as she watched his silhouette vanish into the crowd. No... I can't... Help me...

.

.

.

.

"Hey, did you guys see where Alice went?" Seonghwa said, spinning around in a circle.

Yunho stood up on his toes, scanning the crowd. "I don't see her."

"She was just over there a minute ago," The older said, pointing to where he had been talking to her.

"Maybe she went back to the hotel?" Mingi said, also using his height to scan the top of the crowd.

"I don't like this," Yeosang added, his eyes widening a little as he started walking away.

Hongjoong nodded, "It's a big place, but let's at least fan out and try to search. Does anyone have her phone number?" He saw several heads shaking. "Wooyoung, San, why don't you two head back with some of the staff to the hotel in case she did go there."

Everyone split up in groups of two, including some of the staff that stayed behind, and looked around for her.

Jongho and Yeosang made their way to one side of the square, while Seonghwa and Yunho went to the other.

Yeosang scanned the crowd, bobbing his head up and down as the people constantly shifted. Jongho kept his eyes on the alleys. He spotted a shady character slipping out an alley a few yards in front of them and he tapped Yeosang's shoulder before shuffling forward, making sure the man didn't turn around and spot them.

The younger gasped when he saw May laying on the ground, unconscious, but her body was convulsing. He ran to her side and brushed the hair out of her face, "Alice?"

Yeosang stood to the side, his hand covering his mouth. "Wh-What happened?"

Jongho grunted as he lifted May into his arms. He could hear her whimpering and he didn't understand why tremors kept running through her. "I don't know... But call the others and let's get back to the hotel." He held her close to him and ran down the edge of Time Square.

Luckily their hotel was close, so he didn't need to bother with trying to find the group vehicle.

"Hang on, Alice. We are almost back."

He burst through the front doors and ran to the elevator, shifting May so he held her in one arm and slammed the 'up' arrow with his finger. He growled when it took too long, but they were on the 32nd floor, so he knew he couldn't run up that by himself.

The others had managed to catch up by now, so they all piled into the elevator. Seonghwa turned and rubbed May's forehead. "She's burning up." He glanced at Yeosang. "What happened?"

"I-I don't know." The younger said, trying to fight back tears. "We found her laying in an alley."

"I saw a man walk out of it right before we found her, but I didn't get a good look at him." Jongho said, sounding upset with himself.

Mingi placed a hand on his shoulder but said nothing.

When the elevator finally opened, they rushed to Jongho's room. San had the door open and waiting already, both he and Wooyoung looked anxious.

After laying her on the bed, Jongho knelt next to it and did a brief scan of her body to see if she had any other injuries. He didn't find anything, but he did notice a strange cuff around her right ankle. "Have you guys noticed this before?" He tried to turn it, but it almost seemed like it was glued to her skin.

"What is it?" Seonghwa said, leaning forward.

"I don't know, but I can't move it. It doesn't look like she's been hurt though." He turned back to look at May. She was still trembling, but it seemed to have slowed down a bit. Her eyes flicked back and forth under her eyelids. He rubbed her cheek with his hand quickly, hoping to comfort her.

"I guess all we can do now is wait for her to wake up..." Hongjoong said, sighing heavily.

"What if she doesn't wake up by the time we need to leave?" Seonghwa asked.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there... For now, let's try and get some rest, I guess. Jongho, Wooyoung, are you ok with her staying here and keeping an eye on her?"

The two looked at each other and nodded quickly.

When they other's left the room, Wooyoung sat at the end of his bed and patted next to him. Jongho rose slowly and sat next to him. Neither one spoke, but eventually Wooyoung dozed off, leaning into Jongho's shoulder.

The younger shifted so he could lay Wooyoung's head in his lap and stroked his hair gently.

---

May moaned as she started to wake. She didn't know if she'd ever be able to function properly again after what her boss did to her. Everything hurt.

But she soon found out she could function. Like clockwork, her system realized she was awake, and she bolted from the bed to the bathroom and threw up. Several times. She hadn't even realized there were people in the room until she felt a familiar pressure on her back.

Wooyoung sat next to her on the floor, rubbing her back just like last time. She felt tears coming to her eyes and she sobbed in between her purges. Someone moved behind her and sat on the tub, then she felt gentle hands pulling her hair back so she could free her own hands.

When she had nothing left in her stomach and the dry heaving had slowed, Wooyoung left for a moment, then returned with the rest of the group. They filed into the room and found places to sit or stand, while Wooyoung made his way back to the bathroom.

"Are you ok?" He asked quietly, kneeling next to her again.

May hummed and closed her eyes. She was worried she was going to pass out again.

"Here," Jongho said quietly as he reached down and picked her up again. He carried her slowly into the other room and placed her on the bed before sitting next to her, letting her lean on him for support.

She kept her eyes closed, hoping she could ignore the eyes staring at her.

Finally, Hongjoong spoke up. "Alice... What happened?"

I can't tell them... they'd never forgive me. Hell, they probably wouldn't even believe me. Think of something, quick...

"I don't really know." Lame... "I just felt really feint, but I think I got turned around. I don't remember anything until I woke up here." You're lying game is on point... not. Idiot.

"Are you sick?" Yunho said, voicing the question he knew was on his friends' minds.

May swallowed. Not technically... "Not that I know of."

"I only ask because I know this is similar to what happened back at the dorms..." He rubbed the back of his head and glanced at the others.

I know... "I'm sorry. I don't mean to worry you. Maybe it was the chicken I ate last night." She opened her eyes and smiled weakly.

Seonghwa stood to come over and check something, then froze. His eyes got really wide and he lost all color to his face.

"Hwa, let's go." Hongjoong said suddenly, pulling the oldest out of the room.

May watched them go, confused, until Jongho's arm rose up and he used a corner of his shirt to wipe away the blood running from her nose.

Fuck...

She tilted her head back and pinched the bridge of her nose, wincing as the coppery taste of blood ran down her throat.

Did he do permanent damage this time?

San grabbed a box of tissues and came to help clean her up. She felt Jongho's hand running through her hair in comfort.

I can't do this...