Milly lay in silence on the rough fabrics of the cot. The ropes on her wrists and ankles had turned the tender skin a bright angry red, and she had given up on ever loosening the rope. Her cheeks were puffy from all the tears she had shed, and her hazel eyes bore a dark and grim shadow devoid of all hope. She sat up on the cot and pulled her knees to her chest, laying her cheek against her knee. Her eyes flickered over towards the door when she heard the familiar clicking and scraping of a key turning in the lock. She half-expected the dark-haired head of Jack to peek around the corner, but instead the tall, thin figure of Damon stepped through the portal.

“Having fun?” he teased her, whilst closing the heavy door with a clang.

“What do you want?” she responded, an icy tone in her voice and a glare full of daggers in her eyes.

“What a change of character you have,” he commented. “What happened to the terrified girl I saw before?”

Milly said nothing as she stared at him with utter hatred.

Damon moved to the side of the cot and seated himself next to the curled up figure. Milly shifted in her seat, uncomfortable being so close to him.

“What do you want from Lilith?” she asked.

“Nothing that concerns you, I’m afraid,” he replied, tauntingly.

“Then why am I here? Why are you talking to me?”

“Well, that, my dear, is a personal reason,” he paused, peering at her with a mischievous glint in his eye that unnerved and shook Milly to the bone.

“What possible reason could that be?” she responded in irritation.

“How about I show you?” he said, wasting no time in closing the space between the two of them.

He had become uncomfortably close to Milly, a rise of suspicion slowly seeping into her unbelieving mind. Cupping a hand beneath her chin and lightly pushing her back onto the cot, his eyes lingered hungrily on various parts of her body.

She held up her hands in a defensive position shoving against his chest. Her eyes squeezed shut, she turned her face away as she felt his hot breath on her skin. She felt his lips trace her jaw line as his hand slowly made its way down her neck and across her shoulder.

Milly had no strength to be able to push him off her. Now, all she could do was just wish that it would be over quickly.

Just as she finished her thoughts, the familiar scraping of the heavy metal door rung throughout the room. Jack stood in the open doorway, mouth open in astonishment.

“Hello, Jack,” Damon greeted. “Would you like to join?” he asked as he nuzzled her beet-red face.

“Um, Lilith says she needs to speak with you,” Jack said turning his face away, a look of anger flickered across his eyes as well as a red flush washed over his face.

Damon sighed. He picked himself up and left without another word to Milly as if nothing had ever happened.

Fresh tears poured out of her eyes. She covered her face with her hands wishing she could just die.

Lilith was swinging her chair back and forth, humming a simple tune. Hearing footsteps enter the room, she silenced her humming and resumed a bored expression.

Without looking at him she spoke in an almost monotone fashion, “Just about done. I’m assigning all the programs to you, and this is the part that is going to get tricky. I’m also going to need to teach you this part.”

She turned to face him, and upon her scrutiny of his face, his eyes, that smile, she stood in a heated rage, the chair falling to the ground in a loud clamor.

“What did you do to her?!” she screamed. She would have lunged at him if it were not for the handcuff binding her leg to the desk. Instead, she grabbed one of the many monitors from atop the desk, ripping the cords and plugs, and aiming it at his head. It narrowly missed him, leaving a hole in the side of the wall.

“I’ll kill you!” was the phrase she screamed over and over again, monitors and modems and keyboards and anything she could get her hands on flying in every which direction.

She screamed and wailed at him, her judgment clouded by a dark red fury. No words would console her, and Damon ended up ordering two men to lock her up until she had calmed down.

Her eyes fluttered open, but no light came to them. Lilith was in complete darkness. The room was dark and cold, no light coming through any window, if there were any, or any crack. She felt the rough fibers of rope constricting her arms behind her back, and a collar chained to the wall was around her neck.

Her first thoughts drifted back to Damon. That demon, the scoundrel, the wretched, dirty snake. She wanted to kill him, to feel his pulsing throat being squeezed between her hands.

As if on cue, a door swung open filtering light into the dark room. A figure stepped into the room, and as if on impulse, she pushed herself off the ground to lunge at the figure only to be yanked back harshly by the collar leaving her coughing and gagging.

“Settle down. It’s me, Jack.”

The figure reached up and pulled a string, a flickering light bulb brightened casting light over the whole room.

“Let me go, Jack. I’m going to kill him. I’m going to kill him!”

“Don’t worry. He hasn’t done that to her yet.”

“Yet?”

“Damon’s not that kind of guy,” Jack said, his face clearly showing his disbelief in his own words. “He saved me when I was little. I would’ve died if it weren’t for him. He’s a good man.”

“A good man?” she snorted. “A good man? That good man of yours is a dirty rat. The dirtiest they come.”

“He is a good man,” he appeared to become more agitated.

“That good man,” she spat the word, “tried to take advantage of Milly.”

“No, he didn’t. I saw him stop.”

“How would I know you’re telling me the truth when I know what I do?” she asked him quietly.

Curiosity overtook him, “What do you mean?”

She sighed heavily, a heaviness was laid on her chest. “Not more than maybe five years, something like this happened. For the same reason as a matter of fact. I was kidnapped and in return my grandfather,” she paused briefly, “was to give up the very same information I am to give up soon. Not too long after I was kidnapped, he did the same thing he tried to do with Milly. He did that horrible thing to me. I won’t let it happen to her. She won’t go through the same horrifying experience. I won’t let it happen! I won’t! He can’t do that to her! He can’t!”

She was in a rage again. Angry tears streaked her face as she fought the ropes that bound her.

“I can’t do what?” a voice spoke.

“I won’t let you, Damon. If you do, I swear I will kill you. Nothing on earth will stop me from it!”

Damon strode into the room, passing a wide-eyed frozen Jack, and stooped in front of Lilith.

“You know, you spout these threats, these names, but you know so well the feeling of helplessness. You hate it. It’s gnawing at you from the inside out. You want to kill me, but you can’t get over the fact that you just can’t. That’s it. You can’t do anything.”

He pulled her face up to look at him as he spoke inches from her face, “You can’t do anything, Lilith. Not then, and certainly not now. I have you and your precious little friend completely in my power.”

His devilish smile spread across his face.

“You are helpless.”