Voices spiral around in my head, and I don't recognize any of them. My head pounds with each beat of my heart, and I feel dizzy. I want to open my eyes, but they feel as though they've been stapled shut. Slowly, I slip in and out of consciousness.

Come on, Callie. Wake up.

Slowly and agonizingly, I open my eyes. The world is disoriented and groggy. I can't pick out any shapes, and I blink rapidly. Shaking my head, my vision clears up just a bit. It's still a bit groggy, but I can tell that I'm in some type of basement. I try to move, but my body feels like lead.

Slowly moving my arm, I start to get feeling back. My nose starts to itch, so I try to scratch it, but I can't. My arm stops midway, and I feel cold metal wrapped around my wrist. Scared, I look and see I'm chained to a cement wall. I start to panic and try to jerk away.

The chains just clash against the wall and hold me back. I give up, defeated, and lean against the wall. Unfortunately, the kidnapper left me chained standing up, so now, my legs hurt. My vision finally comes back to me, and I blink a couple of times to get the rest of the  blurriness and grogginess out. I am right about it being a basement of some sort, kinda like something under a warehouse.

The room is dimly lit, and I look for any other people. I see someone in a corner, badly beaten, but I can't tell who they are. Or if they're even alive. I look some more and see Xaiver and Matthew chained on another wall, side by side. Matthew has a black eye with a cut on his lip, and Xaiver has blood caked on his shirt, but that's the only thing I can see. I can tell they're breathing, and that comforts me a little. Only a little.

"M-Matthew. Xaviver," I croak. Good grief, my voice sounds like some freakin' cat is being tormented or something. It's parched, and I swallow dryly. "Matthew. Xaiver," I croak again, a little louder.

I watch as they stir, and hope swirls inside of me. Xaiver is the first to shake his head and raise it from his chest. I gasp slightly. His lip is swollen, and his right eye is swollen shut. He turns his head, sees me, and smiles slightly, before wincing. 

"Callie," Xaiver coughs, "are you okay?"

I nod. "I'm fine, but I can't say the same for you and Matthew," I answer. "What happened?"

"The killer came in after he threw the gas in, socked me in the eye, then went for Xaiver. Then, I passed out," a voice cuts in. Xaiver and I look at Matthew, who coughs up some blood.

"Are you okay?" I ask, worried.

Matthew smirks, but it seems to pain him. "Peachy."

I roll my eyes. "Well, what are we going to do? We have no clue where we are, we're chained to the walls, and you guys need medical attention," I ask, looking to the boys for help. They're silent for a minute. 

"I don't know, Callie," Matthew answers finally. "We're just going to have to wait."

"I don't think you've noticed, but uh, oh yeah, my mom is still missing, and I'm not a very patient person," I snap.

Xaiver chuckles lightly, and Matthew glares at him. "Shut up, pretty boy. Nobody asked for your input," Matthew hisses.

"I'm sorry. I don't care," Xaiver answers sweetly. Matthew glowers at him, and Xaiver returns the gesture with a smile.

"Guys! We don't have time for you two to argue. We need to figure out a way to get out of here, wherever here is," I interrupt.

The boys continue to stare at each other for a moment, before looking around. We're all silent for a moment again. Xaiver and Matthew continue to look around the room, while I mess with the chains on my wrists. They're slightly rusty, but they won't come undone without a key or something. Sighing, I leave the chains alone.

"I found something," Xaiver announces. I snap my head towards him, anxiously waiting. "There's keys on that table right there," he points out, using his head to gesture towards the table, where the person in the corner is.

Matthew sighs irritably. "Well that's nice, but how the freak are we suppose to get them?" he asks.

Xaiver shrugs, making Matthew grit his teeth. Then, footsteps from above silence us. They creak above, sending particles from the ceiling down onto our faces. I sneeze. The footsteps continue towards a staircase, and I hear a door open.

The killer.

The killer steps into the staircase, closes the door, and walks down the stairs. They make it onto the hard concrete and walk towards us, tauntingly. The dim light brightens, making us squint, and I look at who my captor is.

The blood drains from my face, and I feel years of trust come crumbling down. He is the reason Miss Jensen is dead. He is the reason Eddie is dead. He is the reason Jacy is dead. He is the reason my mom is missing. He was the one to comfort my mom and I at my dad's funeral.

My uncle Hunter grins at me. "Hello, Calliebear."