No one dared question why he had taken so long, even though it wound up being longer than twenty minutes, and jumped right into their scenes. One by one, Victor called each pair up to the stage and over the course of the last hour and ten minutes, they performed their skits. Just as she had suspected, the evil bastard watched intently and proudly so, chuckling to himself in sinister delight every so often, and making a big show of applauding each pair as they were done. She sat back, rolling her eyes, her arms crossed firmly over her chest, the mere sound of that sinister laughter making her sick to her stomach, coupled with the look on his face. It was almost as if he were a proud father or better yet, The Devil, Satan, himself, watching his minions as they performed a special tribute in his honor. The evil bastard might not have been a part of any of it, but he was definitely a big influence on their acting, so much so that even these skits were giving her the creeps. Some chose to act out robberies, others kidnapping, and those few couples that had Victor on his feet in a standing ovation, chose murder and rape.

As intent as he seemed to be on watching those skits, she still caught him glancing a few times in her direction, more than likely just to see her reaction to it all. Figures. She shot him a glare and even contemplated flipping him off again, but recalling back to the obscene gestures he'd made previously, she held back and simply shook her head in disbelief, putting her attention elsewhere, anywhere other than on him much less on the scenes that were unfolding before her eyes.

By the time nine fourty five rolled around, the last pair was just finishing up their murder skit. An allieviated sigh escaped her. She would be so happy to finally get out of this nightmare and get on with her life.

Victor applauded the last pair as they left the stage, another sinister but delightful chuckle escaping him as they did so. "Bravo! Bravo! Nice job!" He turned his attention to the rest of the class, opening his arms as he adressed them, "I want to commend all of you on your superb acting abilities in all of those thoroughly intriguing little scenes of yours. It's nice to see my little demonstration had such an effect on some of you. Well done!"

She narrowed her eyes irritably, his eyes darting briefly over to her the moment he brought up the demonstration. Asshole.

He stole a glance up at the clock on the wall and sighed softly. "Class is dismissed. You're all free to go."

Thank the Lord! Excitement spread through her belly as she started to pack her things up, everyone around her beginning to do the same. Finally, she could be free of this hell! Free of him.

"Except..." Victor shouted, suddenly commanding the attention of the class and causing everyone and her to freeze. His penetrating gaze fixed upon her, as a huge feeling of dread loomed over her head, her stomach clenching in fear. Suddenly, she knew, getting out of that classroom or even the college for that matter, was no longer an option. "For Amy. You stay after class. There's some...unfinished business we need to attend to."

Her heart plummeted to the pit of her stomach as abruptly as the drop of a roller coaster. A part of her had seen this coming, but she had refused to believe that she would wind up the very fragile and defenseless prey in this cat-and-mouse game of his. Not again. No way in hell could she allow this shit to continue! She wasn't his victum anymore and she wasn't going to be. She had tried to make that clear to him, but he would never listen. Never! Not until she gave him exactly what he wanted.

"The rest of you are free to go!" He informed the rest of her peers with a wave of his hand.

She stole a glance in either direction as everyone began to file out. Her eyes darted back in his direction in a icy cold glare as she tried to suck up the fear inside her, push it aside, stop her heart from pounding in terror of what he would do to her once everyone was gone, what other horror awaited her. With a firm shake of her head, she grabbed her backpack, slung it over her shoulder and instantly sprang up to her feet, her gaze never leaving his face. "Go to hell asshole," she mumbled--though doubting he or anyone else heard her--before turning on her heels, moving hastily out of the aisle and towards the double doors, intent on getting the hell out of there, whether he liked it or not.

Reminding herself that she still had James to deal with outside, she opted for going towards the opposite doors this time around. It might not prevent him from actually seeing her, but at least she'd have somewhat of an element of surprise. Considering she was still surrounded by her classmates, she had a pretty good feeling in her gut that James would be the same as Victor, well, in the sense that he wouldn't be stupid enough to try to hurt her with so many witnesses around, and he sure as hell couldn't kidnap her to save for Victor's wrath later without her making a big scene of it. If Victor came at her right now, as she was fighting hard to squeeze by her classmates, he would also create a scene, which she knew he wouldn't be stupid enough to do either.

Rather than glance back at Victor to see if he was in fact trying to come after her, she kept going forward, trying to get out of their as quickly as she possibly could, but the fact that most of the students had chosen these particular doors to leave through wasn't helping her quick getaway. It was almost as hard to squeeze past them as it was a sea of fans clustered together after a concert let out. The aisles were wide, but they weren't that wide. It seemed more like hours than minutes before she reached the doors, but the moment she did, she was both infuriated and taken off guard by James suddenly coming forward, pushing past a couple much smaller guys, and intercepting her exit.

"Sorry love, but I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

She tried hard to get around him, pushing him in one direction, but with much stronger force, he pushed her in the other, backing her into a somewhat dark corner between one of the two doors and the wall. "Get out of my way asshole!" She cried, wincing at the pain that shot up the back of her neck when her head hit the wall, disorienting her for a few seconds. By the end of the night, she'd probably have a concussion from these two sadistic assholes knocking her head into the wall. Her stomach turned at the overwhelming scent of nicotine. She coughed a couple times, the smell threatening to suffocate her now that she and James were so near to one another, so much so that she found herself holding her breath.

"I can't allow that to happen either. See, my man Vic, has insisted that you stay after class and that's exactly what you're going to do. I mean, come on, it would be awfully rude of me to just let you walk out of here, wouldn't it? It would certainly put a massive damper upon my friendship with Vic, and I can't imagine what a bloody predicament I'd be in then."

Her eyes darted towards the other door, which, students were still passing through. A few glanced over in her direction curiously, probably wondering what was going on, and who this strange man was. Regardless of the strong hands he hand upon her shoulders, she reached her hand out and pushed against the release bar on the door beside her, trying hard to open it, but much to her frustration and dismay, it was locked.

James glanced over his shoulder at the other students, "off you go, you peeping lot. That's a good lad, you too darling, keep moving. Nothing to see here." As she attempted to squirm under his hands, he quickly brought his gaze back to her, his grasp tightening on her shoulders, causing her to wince in pain. "Why is it that you insist on fighting me, darling? You're not getting away, and I don't intend on letting you go so you'd do bloody well to just calm down."

She blinked incredulously. "Calm down? Calm down!"

James stole another glance over his shoulder as the last few students passed through the door. He then reached behind his back to pull out...something.

"You're going to feed me to Victor and you want me to--!" A loud gasp escaped her throat as he raised the blade of his knife to the left side of her face, the sharp side of it caressing the tender skin of her cheek.

"Calm. Down." He commanded softly. "I don't want to hurt you, darling, but I will, if you don't do as I say."

She opened her mouth, in the hopes of screaming or yelling before everyone got too far out of hearing range to come to her rescue, but before she could utter a sound, she felt the blade of the knife against her throat and immediately fell silent.

"You'd really do well to keep quiet right now, love, 'specially seeing as how I've got a knife to your throat at the moment. You never know, my hand might accidentally slip for no reason, and then," he chuckled softly, "you'd really be in for it, wouldn't you? You'd also succeed in pissing the hell out of not only me, but Vic over there as well."

As much as she wanted to just shove her knee into his groin and make a quick getaway, she couldn't take the risk that that knife would slip, purposely, and cut her. She had one cut there already, and she didn't need another one, but in this light, James seemed oblivious to it. At the moment, there seemed to be no more than an inch seperating his blade and her wound. Glaring coldly up into his face, she kept still in addition to keeping quiet. She wanted to turn her head to look over at Victor, if only to see what he was doing, but that would be a risk in itself. It was better not to move in her position.

The distinct sound of a heavy door closing came from the opposite side of the room, just before Victor's voice boomed angrily through the room. "Enough!"

The sound startled James, and would have cost her some pain if the knife pierced her throat, but to her relief, the man's knife seemed to ease off of her, not entirely, but slightly. Though sadly, not enough to make it safe for her to turn her head and see what had caused the evil bastard's outburst. James, however, could turn his head and did, his thin bushy brows furrowing considerably.

"Bring her to me." Victor commanded sharply.

Despite how much she tried to shake it off, that one command and the malevolent tone of his voice caused her to shiver. She didn't have to look over at him to know that he was giving her the evil eye. Satanic bastard!

James didn't need to be told twice. She expected, and even hoped he'd be stupid enough to drop the knife. Just long enough for her to kick him in the crotch and make a quick getaway, but to her aggravation, he didn't. Instead, he brought the knife down, just long enough to take a firm and painful hold of her left arm, and force her to face the front of the classroom, the backpack on her shoulder slipping off and onto the floor. Victor stood at the end of the aisle, his hands folded over his belly, his malicious and intent gaze fixed upon her face. Everything was happening so fast, she didn't have a shard of a chance to hurt him in those nano seconds he had lowered the knife. Before she knew it, he was wrapping both of his strong arms securely around her shoulders, holding the knife in his right hand against her throat. With their faces now cheek-to-cheek, he forced her to start walking towards Victor.

"Go on then, off you go," he murmured, his nicotine and faintly alcoholic breath hot against her cheek, causing her to pull her head away slightly and wince.

As pissed as she was with this whole situation and with them, she no other choice but to obey. Unfortunetly, walking would be a lot easier if some foul smelling Englishman didn't have a knife pressed to her throat, dangerously close to both re-opening and making the wound Victor had given her even deeper. The closer she got to Victor, the louder and harder her heart pounded in her chest, and the evil little smile that was starting to creep onto his face only made it worse. She felt as though she were a criminal finally forced to faced their execution, but she wasn't Victor. She would never be Victor, and no matter what the hell he claimed, she wouldn't join forces with him just because his mind intrigued her. It didn't.

Well, okay...maybe just a little, but not that she'd ever admit it to him. At least not anytime soon.

Her eyes shifted in either direction of the class. Every one of her classmates were gone. It didn't come as much of a surprise to her. She had gotten that impression when she heard the final door shut, almost hinting at the fact that she was trapped. Trapped with two psychopaths that wanted her dead. That much was clear.

Victor's lips stretched into a smug smile. "Alone at last." She stopped four feet short of him and watched as that smile quickly faded. A frustrated sigh escaped him as the muscles in his jaw flexed. He clenched his teeth, his cold eyes quickly shifting towards James, "bring her closer."

She groaned in debate as James urged her closer, trying desperately to dig her heels into the floor, if only to prevent herself from being any closer than a foot away from Victor. "Stop pushing me, asshole!" She snapped, relieved that cigarette breath had enough sense to stop at a foot.

"Just following my mate's orders." He implied. "Don't make this any harder on yourself, pet, you already gotten yourself into a heap of trouble the last time round."

Ignoring James' words, she exhaled sharply, suddenly meeting Victor's intent gaze. A ghost of a smile appeared on his face, "hello, my sweet."

"Where's Mr. Pyles?"

"Oh, not to worry, you'll be seeing him soon."

"You mean you didn't kill him?" She scoffed. "There's a shock."

Both he and James exchanged a laugh. "You think you know me so well, don't you, my sweet? It's both fascinating and amusing how you seem to think I'll kill anyone when the opportunity presents itself, but to be quite honest, you know nothing."

"Bullshit. I know how sadistic you are by now, and I already told you, I'm not 'your sweet' anymore. Or any other little pet name you can come up with. You got that?"

"How about 'darling?' Or 'love?'" James spoke softly and seductively in her ear then proceeded to murmur against her cheek, his lips caressing the skin as he spoke, "do the pet names I use strike your fancy?"

"Back off James," Victor warned in a dangerously low tone of voice, his eyes gleaming with vexation. "She's mine. And until the moment comes when she breathes her last breath, she'll always be mine."

Both the sound of his voice coupled with his words made her tremble. They made her feel dirty. The way he made it sound, it was as if he thought she was made entirely for him, that she had been born and put on this earth for him and him alone. Bastard!

James sighed softly, pulling his head back where it had originally been, above her left shoulder. "Yes, I know she's yours, mate. You don't have to tell me twice. I was only implying--"

"I know exactly what the hell you were implying and I don't want to hear it again. I didn't ask for your imput. I'll call her whatever the hell I want. Is that clear?"

She felt James' grasp loosen slightly on her as he spoke testily. "Crystal."

Her eyes narrowed incriminatingly on Victor. "I'm not yours. I don't belong to you. I'm not a thing that you can just possess."

"It's called a possession, sweetheart, and you damn well are. You can deny it all you want, but no other man will ever be able to inhabit you the way that I can."

"Well you've made that clear enough." She remarked with a roll of her eyes. "Why the hell did you even come here today? To get revenge or to just have fun fucking with me like you always do? It has to be one or the other, right? Or both. Maybe it's both. Yeah, that seems more like you."

James' eyes shifted from her to Victor then back to her. "Spunky little bird, isn't she?"

He chuckled softly and sinisterly, "and that's just one of the reasons why I'm drawn to this 'little bird.'"

She rolled her eyes once more at those words. "You're drawn to my body. That's all you've ever been drawn to."

He pursed his lips, nodding his head in regard before the corners of his lips turned up into an arrogant smirk. "That too, but on the contrary, my sweet, I'm drawn to far much more that your spunk and that tight and rosy little pussy of yours."

"And he's told me all about it, mind you," James interjected. "Especially how tight you tend to get when he forces you to take it up the bum, like a bloody vice around his willy. Oh, and also how horny and kitten-like you get when he gives you a spanking."

Her jaw went slack as she blinked back her astonishment. Her icy cold gaze fixed on Victor, wanting nothing more than to make him pay for everything he'd put her through, right there and then. "You asshole! So, what? You've been telling him everything about us this whole fucking time?"

"I tell James everything, Amy. After all, we are partners-in-crime."

"Mm, yes, that we are."

She started to shake her head, but stopped short, remembering the knife still against her throat. "You're a fucking asshole! Both of you are." Both men exchanged an amused laugh. "Why the fuck did you come here tonight, Victor? I want the truth!"

"Why? Would it get you off?"

"I just want to know!" She snapped. "You can at least tell me that."

"Honest to God, pet, my man Vic isn't obligated to tell you anything, unless he deems it appropriate. Ain't that right, mate?"

"You bet your ass." He retorted, stealing a glance in James' direction before taking a step closer to her, closing the distance between them.

Exhaling sharply, her eyes shifted towards James, "God, would you just shut up already? No one is asking for your opinion, not Victor and especially not me."

Victor's brows arched in surprise before an amused chuckle escaped his throat.

James abruptly tightened his hold on her shoulders, as the blade of the knife drew closer to her skin, causing her to groan and wince painfully. Maybe it would have been better if she had just kept her mouth shut. She swallowed hard and whimpered as she felt the tip of the blade poke her under the chin. "I think you'd be better off shutting up, darling. Or have you forgotten about the bloody knife I've still got to your throat?"

She scowled, her heart pounding so hard at this point, she feared it would burst out of her chest. While James might have been brought up better than Victor, she still had no clue exactly what he was capable of and she wasn't about to test him now. Still, Victor's next words had her blinking back her astonishment, and she wondered if she had even heard him at all.

"Let her talk, James. As much fun as it is to watch her squirm from your petty little threats, in a way, she's right."

The other man quickly turned his head and shot him a glare. "Come again?"

"While I don't mind your input every now and then, this conversation is between me, and her. I'll do the threatening, your job is to stand there and keep her from escaping. Got it?"

James sighed softly. "Yes, I've got it."

"Good." Victor fixed his gaze back on her, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "So, you want to know why I came here tonight, do you? I thought I summed it all up in the little cat-and-mouse game we played earlier tonight, remember? The game in which you seemed so confident you could kick my ass in?"

"I did, and it felt so good to do it too."

"What?" James' brows furrowed inquisitively. "Do my ears decieve me or did she just confirm to kicking your bum in my absence?"

"You got lucky. That's all." He insisted, ignoring James' question and keeping his gaze on her face, his eyes gleaming with malicious intent. "See, I was only testing you, my dear, anticipating just how strong you would be so that I could better prepare myself for when you come at me again. Sorry to put a damper on these new little self-defense techniques of yours, sweetie pie, but if you think, for one minute, that I'm just going to stand there and let you come at me like that again, you've got another thing coming. In fact, by the time I'm done with you this evening, I'll make you scream with pain ten times worse than you've caused me."

She shivered involuntarily. Worse than the pain he had inflicted upon her in his basement? God, the very thought made her skin crawl and her heart jump up into her throat. She had to get out of this situation. One way or another. Get out or die trying.

"I gotta hand it to you though, baby, the rush of adreneline did manage to give me one hell of a rock hard errection." He chuckled softly.

"You're a pig," she remarked disgustedly.

Victor pursed his lips, his eyes narrowing considerably. "Maybe, but as I recall, you seemed pretty hot for this pig at one time. Didn't you baby?" He started to lean in, and without any clue as to what he was about to do, she started to struggle in James' grasp, but that struggle came to a halt as his grip got tighter, her shoulders throbbing under his arms. She turned her head away with a painful groan, but one of Victor's large hands suddenly took hold of her jaw, forcing her head back in his direction and pressing his lips firmly against her own in a forceful kiss.

An irritable groan rose up in her throat, heat pooling between her legs at the feel of his lips, but she did not kiss him back. James chuckled delightfully in her ear. What the hell was this anyway? A final kiss good-bye before he slit her throat open or stabbed her to death? Quickly pushing the thought out of her mind, she tried to kick him or shove her knee into his crotch just to get him off of her, but as before, Victor was one step ahead of her, grabbing a hold of her knee and shoving her leg back down before she could even attempt to hurt his family jewels. God, it really sucked being short!

He tried to force her mouth open with his tongue, but she kept her lips tightly closed. Victor pulled back with a deep growl, his brows furrowing incriminatingly down at her, but he did not let go of her chin. "What's the matter? Not in the mood to take your boyfriend's tongue in your mouth? Of course, I could always," his eyes traveled down her body, "stick it elsewhere, if that's what you'd prefer."

She swallowed, feeling her loins tingle at the very thought of him doing such a thing. "Ex-boyfriend, and no, not when I know you're just going to kill me anyway. Why bother kissing you? It would be a waste, just like you are." Her head was thrown to one side as that hand on her jaw suddenly connected with her left cheek in a hard slap, the sound of it echoing throughout the room. She winced as a fiery pain throbbed through her cheek, feeling the tears welling up in her eyes all over again.

"You know something, you're right. Why bother kissing you? Why don't we just get right to killing you?"

Suddenly, she felt a new knife under her chin. This one much larger than the one James had a hold of. With a groan, she quickly turned her head and met Victor's evil pentrating gaze, fire gleaming in his eyes. He held one of his many Bowie knives under her chin while James held tight to the other against her throat. She whimpered and shuddered, tears streaming down her cheeks. Trapped. Trapped between two deadly looking knives, two psychopaths, and with only two options in her mind. Fight or die, but how could she fight in this position? It was impossible. How could she fight without getting seriously hurt?

"Go on then, Vic." James nodded in regard, turning his head to murmur into her ear, "teach this bloody little tart a lesson."

As pissed as she was that it had to come down to this, she did the only thing she could do...beg for mercy. "No, please," she pleaded softly, staring directly at Victor through the tears in her eyes, the sound of her pounding heart echoing in her ears. "Look, don't kill me, all right? If you want another chance, I'll give it to you, Victor. I was stupid. I was just thinking about myself, and I really do miss us. I want us to be together. I want you to go back to being the man you were before. I loved that man. Victor, please, please baby, don't. Just hear me out."

Just as part of her had anticipated and secretly hoped, the malevolence suddenly vanished from his eyes and an irritable sigh escaped him. His eyes narrowed considerably. "Do you honestly expect me to believe that? Huh? Or are you just trying to play me for a Goddamn fool yet again? You pulled this shit before, down in my basement, remember? When I tied you up and tortured you to my heart's content?"

How could she forget? The thought had only been giving her chills for the last three nights. It was the only thing keeping her from getting a good night's sleep.

"I'd wager its the latter," James interjected.

Victor nodded in regard, but didn't so much as glance over to his friend. "I'd wager that too, buddy. You can't lie to me, my sweet. It might have worked before, but since you seemed so intent that it was..." He paused, swallowed and scowled deeply, "over between us, your sudden desperation to make it work is only fueled by your desire to live." He cocked a challenging brow at her.

She scowled, wanting to shake her head, but knowing she couldn't. Any sudden move and both those knives would cut right through her throat. "No. No, Victor, you don't understand." Oh, who the hell was she kidding? There was no use trying to lie to him because the bastard would see through everything. Every single lie. It might have worked to her advantage a few days ago, but not now. That much was obvious. As of that moment, she had used up all her "get-out-of-jail-free" cards. There was no changing her fate. Or was there? There was only one way out of this. She knew what she had to do to survive.

"Bullshit! You're the one who doesn't understand--"

Quickly bringing her right knee up, she shoved it hard into Victor's crotch and at the same time, rammed her right elbow hard into James' stomach. He groaned painfully, his arms instantly falling away from her shoulders, but the knife still in his hand. She then thrust the heel of her palm as hard as she could up into Victor's nose, finally causing him to double over in pain and the knife managing to fall out of his hand. With James doubled over in the same position, she quickly whirled around, kicked him in his family jewels and took off in a run, making a mad dash for the doors at the front of the classroom. The sounds of Victor's furious growls and James' groans resounded throughout the room.

"Fucking bitch!" Victor bellowed. "Get your ass up! Go get her, you idiot!"

A part of her was tempted to stop and get her iPod from her backpack, but knew that if she didn't keep moving, keep running, she was dead. Victor wouldn't steal it. She knew he wouldn't. He didn't give a shit about her iPod, neither did James, but she treasured it, as if it were a tiny child. She stopped short at her backpack, which, still sat near the door where it had fallen, risking a quick glance back in their direction. Her eyes widened in horror when she saw Victor fumbling for his knife with one hand, and holding his nose with the other, his furocious growls continuing as James staggered towards the door, holding his groin with one hand and the knife with the other.

Fuck the iPod! She took one last look at her backpack before whirling around on her heels, slamming her hands down on the release bar of the door and dashing out of the room, as quickly as her feet could carry her. A firey pain was throbbing incessantly through her throat, but she ignored it and continued onward. Her eyes darted in either direction of the broad corridor, but there didn't seem to be a single soul in sight. Well, she wasn't about to give up hope yet. As long as she could get out of the building and to her car safely, that was all that mattered. She could drive to the police station and get help. Victor would follow her, she knew he would, but if it led him to a police station, he would probably know better than to tread foot on dangerous ground and maybe, just maybe he'd leave her alone. At least for the night.

The heels of her boots clicked and clacked against the white linolieum floors, the sound echoing through the corridor as she raced towards the double glass doors to her left. She thanked God that her class wasn't that far from the doors, and that she had been smart enough to park as near to them as was possible. She reached out for the release bar on one of the doors, slamming both of her hands against it as quick as the one before it, but to her astonishment and dread, it refused to give.

"No. No, no, no, no, no! No! Come on!" She tried again, but still, it wouldn't budge. It was locked.

Her hands moved quickly to try the other door, praying and somewhat hopeful it would be just like the classroom doors, the left one locked but the right one able to open. She pressed down on the release bar. No such luck. She tried again, harder than before. Nothing. This door was also locked. Her heart pounded in terror as she spun around, stealing a quick glance towards the classroom. She could hear the muffled sounds of Victor screaming at James from inside, but she couldn't make out his exact words. Her eyes darted towards the doors at the opposite end of the hall, the sound of Victor's voice only getting louder and closer with each passing second.

It would be a long run to her car if she went out the other way, but if those were the only doors that were unlocked, she had no other choice but to risk trying them. Without giving it another thought, she sprinted down the long corridor towards the other doors, trying as she might to ignore the pain in both her neck and feet. If anything, she would use the pain to her advantage. She'd use it as fuel for her fire, her desire to live. The sound of her hammering heart echoed in her ears the harder she ran, her lungs aching from the strain. The double doors at the other end of the hall seemed almost miles away, but she knew in reality they weren't. It was just her imagination. She'd be there soon enough, as long as she kept moving.

She thought she heard the sound of a door opening from the other end of the hall, but she couldn't be sure. It might have been another classroom, or the door from the other auditorium across from her class. If she really wanted to, she could look back and call for help, maybe whoever it was could call campus security or something, maybe the police, or maybe they could distract Victor and James before they hurt her. Ha, yeah right. If she knew Victor well enough and she'd like to think she did, he would kill whoever it was before they could even attempt to help her. Maybe slit their throat or stab them to death right before her very eyes. She cringed, quickly pushing the thought out of her head before she became sick. Suddenly, and she was sure of it, she heard a door slam behind her. Should she stop and look back?

No. Don't look back, just keep moving. Keep running! Don't stop, not now! Not when you're so close.

Two sets of heavy footsteps pounded rapidly through the corridor, echoing off the walls, as quick as the sound of her own heart. It was them. There was no question about it.

Don't look back! Keep moving. Just keep moving!

She hurtled towards the double doors with outstretched arms, her legs threatening to buckle under her as she slammed both of her hands against the release bar of the right door, but its refusal to budge sent her flying backward unexpectedly and falling hard on her ass. For a few seconds, all she did was lie there, staring up at the ceiling and breathing heavily as she fought hard to catch her breath. Her mind screamed at her to get up. Get up and move! Now, before it was too late, before both men pounced on her and cut her into little pieces. Placing both of her hands against the cold floor, she pushed herself up to a seated position, wincing and groaning at the pain surging through her ass on down. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears as she raised her chin and looked up at the double doors. Locked. The right one was locked, but the left, what about the left? Was it locked too? Were they all locked?

With the pounding footsteps closing in behind her, she finally risked looking back. Sure enough, and just as she antcipated, Victor and James were hot on her trail, and they were not too far behind. James looked pissed, yes, but there was no mistaking the overwhelming rage present on Victor's face. His teeth were bared like that of a wild beast, his face was beet red with anger, and his eyes, those penetrating and stormy eyes of his were filled with a firey vengeance, more evil than anything she'd ever seen before. It was as if the devil had posessed him. Shit, if looks could kill, she'd be dead already.

Get up! Run! Do something! She had to try the other door. All hope wasn't lost. At least not yet. She refused to believe it. She refused to let herself die. If she waited another minute longer, she'd be helpless to stop these psychopaths from getting their filthy hands on her. Biting back the pain in her body, she scrambled up to her feet and went for the other door, pushing hard and futilely against the release bar. Locked! This damn door was locked too!

Tears immediately welled up in her eyes as she whirled around on her heels. Both James and Victor were no more than thirty feet away from her and getting closer by the second. She looked around frantically for a place to hide. A janitorial closet, a bathroom, another classroom, anywhere. No closet, not even a bathroom, but there were other classrooms. Three doors leading to classrooms down the narrow corridor to her right. They were the only three in the entire building aside from the two large auditoriums--used for seasonal productions as well as bigger classes like hers--at the other end of the hall.

"You can run but you can't hide!" Victor roared, laughing as manically and sinsterly as a mad man.

Well, she sure as hell was going to try! All she could do was pray that one of the doors were unlocked. If her assumptions were right, with it likely being past ten at night, everyone was long gone by now and campus security had clearly locked up the building for the evening. Maybe a teacher had been foolish and accidentally left one of them unlocked. With Victor and James now ten feet closer, she ran down the corridor and hurled herself at the first door on her left, grabbing the knob and attempting to turn it.

Locked. Shit! The footsteps neared closer, but she didn't bother to look back, and went for the next door, her heart thundering in her ears.

It refused to open. It was locked as well, but there was still one more door left. One more door that could either save her or condemn her. Without wasting another precious second, she grabbed the knob to the last door, and to her astonishment...it opened! She risked a quick glance back down the corridor just in time to see Victor and James appear, springing forward from around the corner and coming at her at full speed. Scrambling to get inside the dark room, she slammed the door shut behind her and with a shaky hand, engaged the lock.

She gasped loudly as something hard slammed down on the knob, causing her to jump back in fright. It turned abruptly to the left, then the right. A deep and angry growl came from the opposite side of the door, much like the sound a furcious beast made before gearing up to pounce upon its prey.

"Open the fucking door! Open it Goddamn it!" Victor bellowed.

The knob turned aggressively back to the left, then the right. Left, right, left, right, back and forth, making a tight clicking and clinking noise, Victor's growls becoming louder and louder, angrier and angrier. The door began to rattle in its frame as he resorted to kicking and pounding on it, with more aggression than she had ever anticipated he had in him, but hearing the distinct sounds of James' grunts and groans in addition to his own growls, she knew he had some help doing it.

Her heart pounded madly as she took a few more steps back, a tiny part of her fearing that the door might actually buckle under the strain, but a bigger part of her knowing it was next to impossible to kick in a door made of solid steel. She was safe. For the moment, at least, but it didn't stop the shivers from creeping up her spine.

"You think you can escape me, you little bitch, huh? Huh?" Victor snarled, continuing to pound the door as fiercely determined and furious as a raging bull. "Open the fucking door right now!"

"Ahh! Christ!" She heard James shout, followed immediately by a painful groan. "I hurt my bloody foot!"

"Get up, Goddamn it!"

She wrapped her arms around herself, her eyes roaming around the spacious but shadowy room. The only light came from the moon, which casted a soft glow behind the vertical blinds that hung over the two semi-large but narrow looking windows at the back of the classroom. She contemplated searching around for a light switch, if only so she wouldn't trip over anything and hurt herself, but at the moment, the moon provided her with enough light to safely navigate herself around the room. From what she could see, there were four rows of small wooden desks to the left of the room, and what appeared to be a chalkboard along the wall to her right. In front of that, a tall wooden podium, and a teacher's desk in the far left hand corner of the room. Just a regular classroom.

The consistent throbbing in her throat had her bringing her hand up to her neck. A fiery pain throbbed violently down the front of her neck as her fingers brushed against something wet there. She winced, instantly pulling her hand back and looking down at it in the light of the moon. There were large spots of what looked like...blood. Blood on her fingers! Shit! She was bleeding. Holding her hand against her throat, in an effort to make it stop, her eyes roamed around the room. Maybe there was a box of tissue nearby or at least some paper towels. Taking a deep breath, she strode across the room towards the podium.

To her allieviation, a small box of kleenex sat on the shelf on the opposite side of the podium. She snatched a few tissues from the box and held them against her throat. The pounding on the door had stopped for the moment, leaving her to wondering whether or not they had given up on trying to get it open or on her. She shook her head to herself. No, she knew Victor far too well to know that he never gave up on anything, especially not her. Once his mind was made up, that was it. There was no going back. Then what were they doing out there? She could hear the two men conversing with one another, but since the door was closed, the words were hard to make out.

Her brows furrowed inquisitively as she grabbed the box of kleenex and cautiously stepped towards the door. She leaned in, about to press her ear to the door to hear what they were saying, but before she even got the chance, a hard kick slammed against it, rattling it once more in its frame. The unexpected action caused her to shriek, her heart nearly jumping out of her chest as the box of kleenex fell out of her hands. Had he felt her presence from the other side of the door? The very thought creeped her out.

"I don't have time for games, Amy! If you don't open this fucking door in the next five seconds, I promise you, my sweet, you'll regret it! I could just as easily kill you right here. Just because I can't get in there, doesn't mean I won't find some other way to kill you before the night is over. If you come out right now, I'll make your death quick, but if you insist on staying in there, well, let's just say, the tortures of Hell will be nothing compared to the amounts of torment I'll put you through."

"And he'll bloody well do it too, in spades!" James added. "You'd better surrender yourself now, love, otherwise, you're nothing more than a sitting duck praying for your last breath."

Tears began to stream down her cheeks, as she wrapped her arms tighter around herself and slowly backed away from the door. She shuddered involuntarily, her heart pounding anxiously in her chest. "Leave me alone!" She cried, the tears falling like rain. Her voice fell to a whisper as she sank down into one of the wooden desks behind her, "just go away..."

There were a few long seconds of silence from the opposite side of the door.

"You know, it doesn't have to end this way, sweetheart," Victor began, in a calmer more tender tone of voice that suddenly captured her attention. "It doesn't have to be over between us. You could get out of this whole Hell-ish ordeal right now, if you could only open the door, look me in the eyes and with genuine honesty, tell me you're willing to give us another chance, give me another chance. If you come out right now, I'll put an end to this whole nightmare. I'll take you home and we can forget this whole night ever happened. Now, come on, baby, isn't that more appealing than...death?"

It was a trick. It had to be a trick. He was just trying to manipulate her mind, making her think he going to be nice to her and let her go, when really, he wasn't. She couldn't see his eyes so his voice was the only thing she had to go on, and that wasn't much. A part of her wanted to believe his words were genuine and were spoken out of love rather than lust, but she knew that no matter how hard he tried, the good part of him would never prevail over his evil one. Ever since she had known him, she realized that he wasn't the kind of man to make promises he couldn't keep. If he said he was going to do something, she knew he would do it, but something didn't add up here. His tone was a little...desperate.

"What on earth are you doing?" She heard James ask.

"Don't worry about what the hell I'm doing!" Victor snapped.

Her brows stitched together inquisitively. Had she just heard Victor get mad at James? Over him trying to reason with her? She didn't know whether to be relieved or suspicious, but over all, she was more confused than anything.

"Amy?" Victor called. "Come on, baby. I'm trying to make amends here, to set things right once and for all, and you're just going to stay in there and cower like a little girl?"

Her heart constricted in her chest at the tender way in which he called her "baby," and she began sobbing softly to herself. As tempted as she was to take his offer, the same offer he had pitched to her earlier that evening, the painful and horrifying memories of the past few days kept replaying, over and over again in her head, reminding her of all the things that could go potentially go wrong. She shook her head. "No. No, no, no! We've already been over this, Victor! How do I know that you're not lying to me? How can I be sure that I can actually trust you?"

After a brief hesitation, Victor replied, as tenderly as before, "if your love for me, for the good part of me means anything to you, that's just a risk you've going to have to take. For me, for us."

Risk? Risk her life by walking out of that door? Risk getting her guts wrenched out by that big knife in his hand? Even if that wasn't his immediate intention, she knew it was bound to happen anyway. If not now then later. After all, he wasn't known as the King of Manipulation for nothing. "I can't!" She cried, sniffling softly and wiping the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. "I just can't!"

"And why the hell not?"

She scowled at the irritable tone of his voice. He was getting angry again, and it wasn't helping to make her decision any easier. "I told you why!" She sniffled, taking in a deep breath, her voice breaking with emotion, "I can't trust you! And I'll never be able to trust you because you'll never change. Not now, not ever! It's over between us! It has to be." Her eyes fell shut as she waited for what she expected would be an explosive outburst from him, but to her astonishment, she was met with silence.

An unsettling silence that had her holding her breath.

All of a sudden, something heavy and hard slammed against the door, once, twice, three times followed by the shrill and furious sounds of Victor growling. She gasped loudly, nearly jumping out of her skin and out of her chair as a result.

"Not if I can help it," she thought she heard him say, but the words were spoken so quietly, she wasn't sure she had heard them at all or if they were purely a pigment of her imagination.

"You just made a big mistake," he snarled. "You won't come out? Fine. I guess we'll just have to do it the hard way then, won't we? Sorry baby."

"Ooh, you're really in for it now, pet!" James added with a chuckle.

She blinked, a few more tears rolling down her cheeks. What was he going to do? The hard way? Oh God, what was the hard way? What did he plan to do to get her out of there? Aside from picking the lock, dragging her out by her hair and killing her right there in the hallway, she didn't see what more he could do, but then, did he actually have the tools to pick the lock? She'll bet he did, but did he have them with him at the moment, that was another question. He could probably break in through the windows from outside the building, but then again, how would he get out if the doors were locked? Unless...he had obtained a key from someone previous to showing up there. It was a possibility. It was obvious by now that this had all been a trap. A cleverly orchestrated trap to get her back, or kill her. She couldn't figure out what his motives were anymore.

Her eyes darted back in the direction of the door. More silence. More eerie silence. What the hell was he doing out there? Were they having a conversation? He and James? Had he already left to follow through with whatever sick plan he had brewing in his head? No. She would have heard his footsteps by now, and she hadn't. Sniffling softly, she wiped a few more tears from her eyes before pulling the tissues away from her throat. Even in the moonlight, she could see there was a good amount of blood staining them. With a cringe, she pressed the tissues back against her throat and gasped, suddenly feeling her cell phone vibrate in the back pocket of her jeans. Her cell phone! She had completely forgotten that she still had it on her.

Thanking God that she hadn't shoved it into her backpack instead of her pocket, she quickly reached behind her and pulled it out. Nothing could make her happier at that moment than to see, who else, but "Courtney" on the caller ID. The movie. They were supposed to go see a movie tonight after she got out of class. Of course, that had to be the reason she was calling. Flipping it open, she held it to her ear, keeping her voice low as she answered. "Oh my God, Courtney, I'm so glad you called me."

"Hey, yeah, what happened? It's after ten and since I hadn't heard anything from you, I thought I'd call and see what was up. I thought we were going to the movies tonight. Was your class longer or something?"

Her eyes caught sight of some movement out of the corner of her eye. She gasped softly, immediately turning her attention towards the door. The first thing she noticed was a dark piece of fabric being wedged under the half-inch crack of the door, blocking out the thin shaft of light that had been filtering into the room from the florescent lights of the hall. She couldn't distinguish what kind of fabric it was, let alone if it were a shirt, a coat or a pair of pants, but something sharp and pointed seemed to be pushing it further under the door until a good half of it was on this side of the door. Her brows furrowed considerably as a strong odor permeated the air. Although she wasn't an avid drinker, she recognized it as alcohol.

What was going on? What were they doing? A hard fist of panic clenched around her heart and stole her breath, and she knew, she was about to be fucked. Big time! "Courtney, listen to me." She pleaded softly. "I need your help. I need you to call the police, right now. Victor, that son of a bitch, he showed up here at my class. It's a long story, but I think he's trying to kill me. At least that's what he said he was going to do. I locked myself in some classroom right now, but he's trying to do something to get me out, to kill me, I don't--"

Suddenly, and much to her horror, the piece of fabric that had been wedged under the door burst into flames, tall, blazing and crackling flames that licked the steel door like the devil. No sooner after the shirt had burst into flames did she hear two sets of heavy footsteps rapidly departing down the hall, giving her the impression that both Victor and James had probably decided to vacate the building before it all went up in flames. The very thought gripped her heart tighter in her already growing panic.

"That evil son of a bitch! Okay, girl, okay, I'll call the police right now. Just stay there! You locked the door, right? He can't get you if you just stay in there, right?"

Having sprang up to her feet immediately after the shirt had caught fire, she quickly scurried around the rows of desks and backed away. "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! Courtney!"

"What! What's wrong? What's going on? Are you okay?" Her friend asked frantically.

"No! The room is on fire!" She shouted, blinking back the tears in her eyes. "He shoved something under the door, a piece of clothing or something and..." Her voice trailed off as the fumes of smoke floated up into his nostrils and into her lungs, causing her to start coughing. "Now the room is on fire! I don't know what to do, Courtney, I'm scared! Help me! Please!"

"Okay, okay, it's okay! Just try and calm down! Let me think. Is there a window?"

Her eyes widened as she spun around on her heels and fixed her eyes on the windows behind her. "Yes! The window! There's a window! There's two!" She coughed a couple more times, glancing over her shoulder as the scorching flames spread, engulfing the small box of tissues that had fallen on the floor earlier and a long walnut table to the left of the door. Her eyes widened in horror, darting suddenly in the direction of the four rows of desks, wooden desks. Her heart hammered in her chest and she knew it wouldn't be long before they too caught fire.

"So climb out the window! Can you get it open?"

She turned her attention back on the windows, shoving the blinds aside, her eyes searching for a latch of some sort as the oxygen in the room began to rapidly decrease, making it more and more difficult for her to breathe. "Yes! I think I..." She paused to cough a few more times before fixing her eyes on the latch. "I see a latch. It's high though. I don't think I can reach it."

"Break the glass! Use a chair or something! Hurry!"

"Ohh Courtney," she whined, "you have to call the cops or the fire department, or both! Call both! Get them here! Victor is going to get away if you don't!"

"I am! I will! I'd have to hang up though, and if I did that..."

"I'll find a way out. I have to!" She grabbed a hold of her shirt, holding it over her nose to keep her from further breathing in the fumes. "I'm not going to die, not because of him. Just call them! Please! I'll call you when I can get to my car, I promise." Or if she could get to it. That was the bigger question. First, she had get out of that room, safe and sound and away from Victor.

After a brief hesitation, she replied, "okay. Okay, I'll call them. Just hurry! I don't want anything to happen to you, not again. You don't deserve to be put through anymore Hell."

"I know, and I will. Just call them! Now!"

Once they exchanged good-byes, which, she hoped wouldn't be her last, she returned the phone to her pocket and dashed over to the teacher's desk in the corner, grabbing the four legged wooden chair behind it and dragging it over to the window. Glancing over as the fire blazed on, she noticed that the flames had risen as high as the ceiling, pouring over the walls and taking out every piece of paper, poster and cardboard banner in its path. She didn't have much time left before they reached the back wall. Five minutes at most.

Climbing up onto the chair, she shoved the blinds aside once more, pulled on the black plastic latch until it came loose and then slid it downward. Grabbing a hold of the free-moving latch with both hands, she held her breath and proceeded to pull the window towards her, trying to open it with as much force as she could muster. Unfortunetly, all her force wasn't much because it refused to move. She turned her body, getting a better grip on the the latch and tried to pull it in the reverse direction, thinking that might be the problem, but still, the window wouldn't open.

A whimper escaped her throat, her heart pounding loudly in her ears, enough to block out the sounds of the crackling flames. They had reached the far left corner of the room and had somehow managed to ignite the podium in the process. The flames were no more than fifteen feet away from her and closing fast. "Just hurry! I don't want anything to happen to you, not again." Courtney's words re-played in her head. She stepped down off the chair, doubling over as a huge feeling of nausea hit her square in the gut. She grabbed onto the back of the chair, coughing a few times and covering her nose and mouth with her hand. Her eyes darted over to the teacher's desk, where a stack of manilla folders sitting on top had caught fire.

Get out! You gotta get out! Now! Quickly picking up the chair, she wobbled on her feet for a few seconds as she struggled to get a good grip on it. When she got a tight enough grip on it, she turned her head away, shutting her eyes tightly and slamming it into the window. The glass shattered upon impact. Letting out the breath she had been holding in, she dropped the chair, quickly climbed up onto the shallow and narrow window sill, and dove out onto the pavement coughing, just as soon as the room erupted in flames. She cried out from the sudden explosion, and despite the pain throbbing rapidly through her body, scrambled up to her feet, taking off past the small motion picture studio and heading in the direction the music building, half-running, half-limping.

She didn't bother to look back or worry about her injuries at the moment, she just kept running, figuring she could worry about them later, when she was safe and sound in her own car and far away from here, Victor Bane, and James...whatever the hell his last name was. Noticing some movement out of the corner of her eye, she quickly turned her head just in time to see Victor and James running--practically sprinting--towards her. A uniformed man's body lie on the cement behind them, and there looked to be a puddle of something dark pouring out from under him. Blood. There was no question about it. The college sheriff. He had killed the college sheriff! She gasped, suddenly increasing her speed and wincing in pain at the effort it took to do it. Why did her ankle hurt her so much? Had she twisted it or sprained it? God, she hoped it wasn't broken. If it was, she'd just kill Victor herself.

"Leave me alone, you evil bastard!" She screamed.

"Not a chance in hell, my sweet! We're meant to be together, and Goddamn it, I'm going to prove it to you if its the last thing I do!" He shouted back.

"I already told you, it's over! How many more times do I need to say it?" The tears streamed down her cheeks as she neared closer to the music building, barely stealing a glance in his direction. An alarm blared faintly back in the direction of the Theater Arts building. More than likely a fire alarm. "How can you even expect me to come back to you after tonight? You're an evil asshole and you'll always be! Just leave me alone already!"

She disappeared behind the music building, but kept running at the same speed she had been. Her car was parked in Lot C, which sat diagonal and a good distance away from the Theatre Arts building, but luckily, a hell of a lot closer and right across from the music building, in the north eastern direction. If she could only make it to her car by the time the police arrived, she would be saved, wouldn't she? One could only hope. Clenching her teeth together, she bit back the pain in her right ankle and drove herself forward. There was a part of the building that jutted out about five feet and ran down about half the length of the building. If she couldn't make it to the end of the building, she was intent on reaching at least that part before Victor could spot her. She glanced back in the direction from which she'd come. No Victor. No James. Not yet. God she hoped the asshole wouldn't suddenly grow a new clever idea and think to trap her from both sides. It was possible, very possible, but as time went on, she was slowly starting to get an idea of how his sick mind worked.

Within a matter of seconds, her running began to slow as she came to the end of the extension and stopped, instantly disappearing around the corner. She doubled over, placing her hands on her knees and fighting to catch her breath, in the few precious seconds she had left before they caught up with her. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears and she wished so desperately that she could lie down and rest, if only for just for a few minutes, but she knew that would not be possible. Not until she was home, tucked safe and sound in her warm bed. The tears continued to stream down her cheeks and she choked back a sob. She couldn't lose it here. Not now. There would be time for that later, and if there was hope, much later. Her throat was dry and she felt as if she were going to vomit. Water. She needed water. Oh, it would taste like heaven right now, if only she could get to a fountain.

"Amy?"

Her breath caught in her throat at the sound of Victor's voice, forcing her up against the wall at a stand still. She heard his footsteps moving steadily in her direction, the heels of his boots clicking softly against the cement.

"Amy?" He called loudly in singsong tone of voice. "Come out, come out wherever you are."

Getting the impression that her rapid breathing was probably louder than she thought it was, she pressed her lips together and tried as she might to calm her pounding heart.

"I know you're here. The question is, where could you possibly be hiding? Hmm?"

Well, there weren't many places that she could be hiding besides the corner she was in. The faculty parking lot sat across from her and unless she could make it to the other end of the building, he would probably find her within a matter of minutes. She could turn to run, but by that time, he'd probbly have a hold of her arm and be yanking her towards him before she could get away. And what about James? Oh, the hell with James. Victor's the bigger threat right now! In more ways than one. She had to keep moving.

Rather than take a peek around the corner to see how close he was to her, she pushed the thought out of her head, said a silent prayer in her head and kept her back close to the wall as started inching her way towards the end of the building, as quietly as she could. It didn't help much that she was wearing boots with two inch, hard leather heels. To lessen the noise, she attempted to move on only the balls of her feet, wincing at the pain in her right ankle as she manuevered herself that way.

"Come on, sweetheart, let's talk about this." He pleaded, exhaled sharply, and continued, in a more condescending tone of voice. "I don't want to kill you, well, actually, I do, but I might be persuaded to let you live, if you come out from hiding right now and give in to me willingly. I'm not giving up on us, my sweet. We belong together and Goddamn it, I'm going to make you see it, whether you like it or not."

With each step she took towards the end of the building, she heard him take one closer. Pushing down the huge lump that had formed in her throat, she trembled involuntarily, fearing that he might already know her plan of action. He expected her to come out from hiding and give in to him willingly in that tone of voice? The disrespectful choice of his words was one thing, but if there was any amount of tenderness in his voice, it was completely drowned out by his arrogance and fiercely determined lust. She shook her head in disbelief, quickening her pace as discreetly as possible. Another ten feet and she'd reach her destination.

Suddenly, his footsteps stopped.

As astonishing and unnerving as it was, her mind screamed at her to keep going. If she wanted to live, she had to keep going. A shiver crept up her spine, her heart drumming fiercely against her chest, fearing at any moment, he would jump out from around the corner and come at her full force with that knife of his. Her eyes darted in the direction of the street. Where the hell were the cops? She'd even be grateful for the firefighters. At least then Victor might hear the siren and maybe run away thinking it was the cops.

Regardless of her mind's insistence for her to keep going, her eyes still managed to wander curiously back in Victor's direction. She froze dead in her tracks, her eyes widening in horror as she and Victor locked eyes with one another. Panic gripped her by the throat, threatening to strangle her, in just the same way Victor was known to do. Somehow, she had managed to get so far down the building that she had mistakenly made herself visable to his gaze.

This was the first time she had had a chance to get a good look at his face, since she had escaped he and James' clutches. He was still clad in the same ensemble he had been in earlier and still in his leather trenchcoat, giving her the indication that it wasn't an article of his clothing that had been lit on fire, but possibly James'. There was a purple hue around his slightly swollen right eye, and a dark red bruising on either side of his nose. She couldn't tell whether or not it was broken, but if it was, so be it. As attracted as she'd always been to his ruggedly handsome face, she was proud of herself for the damage she'd done to it. The evil bastard deserved it! From what she could see, James wasn't with him, but his knife was. He was gripping it in his right hand, twisting and turning the handle between his fingers, making her wonder whether it was the knife that was more impatient or him. Either way, she wasn't so sure she wanted to find out.

Victor chuckled sinisterly, his lips curling into an evil grin. "Ready or not, here I come!"

Whirling around on her heels, she disappeared around the side of the building and immediately took off in a run. No sooner after she'd turned the corner did she collide with James, and would have nearly lost her balance and fallen over if he hadn't grabbed a hold of her arms to stop her. "Let go of me, you asshole!" She shouted angrily, wriggling in his grasp in an attempt to free herself. She knew this would happen. So the son of a bitch had planned to trap her this way after all. Fucking prick!

"Vic! I've got her!" James shouted, his voice ringing in her ears. "Come quick!"

"Oh hell no!" Quickly bringing her right knee up, she slammed it into his crotch with as much force as she could muster, successfully breaking his hold on her and causing him to double over in pain. She was about ready to take off in a run when suddenly, someone snuck up behind her and firmly grabbed a hold of her arm. That someone was none other than the fucking prick himself, Victor. He yanked her towards him with enough force to pull her arm out of her socket. She slammed against his chest, wincing painfully at the grip on her arm.

"No more hide-and seek-games for you, my sweet," he said, emitting yet another sinister chuckle, mischief gleaming within his eyes.

"Oh no?" She pulled her free arm back and thrust it towards his bad eye, attempting to punch him, but he was too quick for her because before her fist could even connect with his face, he pulled his head back and dodged the attack. Almost as if he anticipated her second try, he quickly slipped his knife under his coat, seizing her wrist in the knick of time and pulling it against his chest. She groaned painfully as she fought desperately against his grasp.

"You know, you're really not making this any easier on yourself. See, as hard as this tough chick attitude of yours might make me, if you keep it up, its only going to succeed in pissing me off, so why don't you just relax. Or would you like me to give you a little something to help you do that?"

Sirens could be heard faintly off in the distance. The cops! Oh thank the Lord! The cops were coming! At least she hoped they would be the ones to arrive first. Maybe together. The sirens got louder as they neared closer to the college, but she knew, the cops wouldn't do her much good if she couldn't get out of Victor's grasp before then. Something told her that even if they arrived, it wouldn't be that easy for her to get away. After all, James was his accomplice. If he really wanted to, he could probably use him to distract the cops while he dragged her away to his car or to kill her.

"Go to hell!" She snapped, as an idea suddenly popped into her head. With as much force as she'd used with James, she slammed her knee into Victor's crotch, once, twice, three times. Just as she expected him to do, he doubled over in pain, grabbing his crotch with one hand, but still holding firmly to her arm with his other.

"Fucking bitch!" He screamed, his vengeful gaze darting from her to James. "James! Get the fuck up! Pump her full of that shit and take her back to the car! Now!"

Pump her full of what? She shuddered to think. She struggled against Victor's grasp, trying hard to free her arm, but his grip was too strong. "Let go of me!" She screamed, tugging her arm furiously in one direction as he tugged it in the other, the pain throbbing violently up to her shoulder.

James glared coldly at her as he staggered up to his feet, pulling what looked like a syringe out of his pocket. He took a step towards her and then froze, suddenly casting his piercing green eyes to the street in astonishment. "Shit, Vic, it's the cops! They're coming! We've got to get out of here!"

"Not without her we're not!" Victor snapped. "Grab her!"

Doing the only thing she could do, she delivered a hard kick to his stomach, enough to finally get free of his grasp. Once he let go of her arm, she took off in a run towards the lot where her car was parked. Since James was obviously too mystified that the cops were coming, he didn't make any move to stop her, which she knew he would probably pay for later on account of not following Victor's orders.

"Vic! Come on mate, we've got to go!" James shouted frantically. "The bloody cops will be here any minute!"

Half-limping and half-running, she stole a glance back at the two men to see James throwing one of his arms around Victor's shoulders and struggling to help him up to his feet. If she was lucky, she had done enough damage to the son of a bitch to keep him from getting to his own car before the cops arrived. It would slow him down, and James definitely couldn't possibly be strong enough to drag him all the way to their car. Wherever the hell it was they had parked. Although, even if they didn't make it back to their car before the cops arrived, knowing the evil asshole, he could probably fool them into thinking he had been caught up in the fire, and use the injuries she'd given him to his advantage like the clever asshole he was. And if he did that, she would be no more better off than she had been before he'd invaded her class.

Deciding it was better not to think too much about it at the moment, she kept moving, kept running. The stench of brimstone permeated the air. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the red flashing sirens of two police cars racing towards the college, and behind them, a fire engine. Pain radiated and throbbed violently through her muscles, from her head down to her toes, but as logical as it might be to sit and wait for the firefighters or paramedics to arrive, she didn't feel like being the talk of the evening news, let alone be rushed to the hospital for just a few bumps and bruises. The cuts on her throat were another story altogether. She'd decide what to do once she got to her car.