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Prologue

We htmare

The in-betorld where time had no power over rhyme, reason, or connection We met We stared We knew

There was no distortion fro No confusion or battles from hearts and minds

Just us In our silent dreamworld

That night fantasies Entwined together in our happily skewed reality

We fell in love We fell hard

In those fleeting seconds of our nightmare, we lived an eternity

But then oke up

And it was over

Chapter One

I always believed life would grant rewards to thosenaïve Life doesn’t reward—it ruins It ruins thoseall while watching any reoodness rot to hate

—Kill

Darkness

That was my world now Literally and physically

The back ofknocked unconscious My wrists and shoulders ached fro on my back with my hands tied behind me

Nothing was broken—at least it didn’t feel that way—but everything was bruised The fuzziness receded wisp by wisp, parting the clouds of sleep, trying to shed light on what’d happened But there was no light My eyes blinked at the endless darkness from thesuch a fundaift taken away

I didn’t ued my body from the tips of ue ached fro stuffed in en to enter—just enough to keep me alive

Fear tried to claw its way through my mind, but I shoved it away I deliberately suppressed panic in order to assess my predicament rather than lose myself to terror

Fear never helps, only hinders

My senses ca tentatively, as if afraid whoever had stolen me would notice their return

Sound: the squeak of brakes, the creak of a vehicle settling fro

Touch: the skin onwith a mixture of soreness and sharpness A burn perhaps?

Sent scent of fear—but it wasn’t mine It was theirs

It wasn’t justkidnapped

My heart flurried, drinking in their terror Itnore the outside world, I focused inward Clutching th where calmness was a need rather than a luxury

I refused to loseof tears Desperation was a curse and I wouldn’t succu prepared for what ht happen next

I hated the sniffles and stifled sobs of others aroundit with concern for theirs

Get through this, then worry about them

I didn’t think this was a simple opportunistic snatch Whoever had stolen er as I searched inside for any liquor rearettes