Chapter 6

Before dawn the next day, Damon was dragged out of bed and shoved into the back seat of a black SUV.

The windows were covered with curtains, so he couldn't see where they were going.

"Eleanor, where are you taking me?"

Eleanor gave him a complicated look and didn't answer.

"Drink some water. Get a little more sleep."

Damon took the bottle and drank, then leaned back in his seat, resigned.

He drifted in and out the whole way.

When he opened his eyes again, he was blindfolded, his wrists and ankles bound.

He tried to speak. There was a gag in his mouth.

Damon was instantly wide awake.

He called Eleanor's name through the gag until his throat went raw. No one answered.

Bang—

The car door was yanked open.

Before Damon could react, he was hauled out of the back seat.

He struggled in terror, twisting his body to break free.

Then he caught a familiar smell.

Damon shuddered. His scalp prickled.

He knew that smell all too well.

The cellar!

The blindfold was ripped away, and Damon finally saw it. He really was back where the nightmare had begun.

Eleanor and Marcus stood in the cellar doorway with the light behind them. He couldn't make out their expressions.

The ropes around his wrists and ankles were untied, leaving the skin mottled with bruises.

Damon ignored them and pulled the gag out of his mouth first.

"Eleanor, I want to go home."

He tried to get up and walk out, but his legs gave way beneath him.

There was no strength left in him at all. He could only lie limp on the floor.

Now he finally understood what Marcus had meant by a treatment designed especially for him.

He struggled to lift his head and looked at Eleanor.

Her face was pale, her brows knitted tight.

"Eleanor, take me home."

His voice shook beyond recognition. His face was streaked with tears.

Eleanor took an instinctive step toward him, but Marcus blocked her.

"Eleanor, this is the most critical step. You can't go soft now."

He looked back at Damon, a cold, vicious glint in his eyes.

"Damon, once you walk out of here, you'll be cured."

He took Eleanor's hand. "Let's go, Eleanor. You have to trust Damon. He's going to conquer his demons."

Eleanor hesitated and pressed her lips together.

"Damon, I'll come back for you in three days."

At her words, Damon's blood ran cold.

"No! Eleanor! Don't leave me here, please!"

He crawled toward her on his hands and knees, his elbows and knees scraping across the rough concrete.

He screamed with everything he had.

"Eleanor, I'll die! I'll die!"

But the door still swung slowly shut in front of him.

Bang.

Then came the sound of a chain being wrapped around the door.

Clank. Clank.

The heavy wooden door cut off his cries for help completely.

Eleanor frowned at the locked door, uncertain.

Marcus caught her unease immediately and squeezed her hand.

"Eleanor, if you want to stop now, I'll end the treatment right away."

She frowned even more deeply.

Marcus sighed and made as if to unlock the cellar door.

"I'll tell my advisor the experiment failed. I'll give up my doctorate."

"Wait!"

Eleanor grabbed his arm. "Keep going with the treatment. I trust you. Let's go."

Marcus pulled her into his arms gratefully. "Thank you, Eleanor."

The car drove off.

Damon heard the tires crunching over the ground and closed his eyes in despair.

He knew no one could save him.

No one but himself.

As the sedative gradually wore off, Damon finally got his strength back.

He ran to the corner, picked up a wooden post, and swung it at the door bolt.

The bolt loosened but stayed jammed.

Seeing a glimmer of hope, Damon picked up a stone from the floor to try to pry it open.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Damon froze mid-motion.

He knew that voice far too well. It had haunted his nightmares night after night!