Chapter 1

Ethan was shoved into a black car with all the windows up. The men had their faces covered; it was obvious that Ethan had been kidnapped.

The men had him between them in the back seat. Ethan was fidgeting; he tried to struggle, but a white cloth was placed over his nose. He struggled, but within a minute, he had lost consciousness.

Ethan opened his eyes to a dark, dusty, small room, with cattorns all over the place; it looked like a basement. He tried to move himself, and that was when he realized he was bound to a chair, his hands were tied behind his back, and his legs were tied to the chair.

He still struggled, but nothing worked; instead, the chair was making creaking sounds, and if he moved it too much, the chair would lose its

balance, and he would fall. His arms hurt, his legs hurt, and his throat feels dry. How long has he been here?

“Hello! Is anyone there?” His voice came out a little bit shaky.

“Hey!!! Who are you? Who sent you?” He yelled, but his voice only returned to him in echoes.

Suddenly, the door pushed open, and a figure stepped in. Ethan gulped; if he were standing on his feet, he would have stepped back in fear. The man who stepped was a bulky man; his eyes were nearly invisible as they ran deep into their sockets. A huge scar ran down his chin, adding to his already scary aura.

“W…who..are you?” Ethan managed to speak, his heart pounding violently against his chest.

“Who..am..I?” The bulky man’s voice came out rough; he then burst into laughter, “Oh, little one, you don’t have to know who I am, but what you should know is…” he let his words hang in the air before completing, “…you won’t leave this place alive.”

Ethan’s face turned pale, a shiver ran down his spine, he forced saliva down his throat and faced the bulky man, trying to sound like he wasn’t scared, “You don’t wanna mess with me, Lucien will not spare you.”

“Lucien? Who’s that?” The bulky man asked, feigning interest.

“Lucien, Lucien Thorne, he will shred you into bits, he…he…will kill you for laying a finger on me, he will destroy you,” Ethan yelled, his eyes wide, not from shock, but from fear.

The bulky man let out a long, scary laugh, “Oh, you really don’t know a thing.”

“He will come for me,” Ethan said.

The bulky man stared at him, then walked out.

—LATER IN THE DAY—

The door pushed open, Ethan looked up, and it was one of the kidnappers. This one looked less bulky, less scary, but still scary. He carried a tray which contained food and water in his right hand.

He dropped the plate on the floor, then walked up to Ethan and started untying his hands.

“Lucien is here, right? I told you guys he’d come for me.” Ethan smiled.

“Shut up! No, Lucien is here, and don’t be fooled, I’m only untying your hands so you can eat. Since you are still going to die here, we would be generous enough to feed you before your death.” The kidnapper snapped.

After untying Ethan’s hands, she stretched the tray to him. Ethan turned away, “I don’t want food, I’m not hungry.”

“Wait, you think it's poisoned? I would rather buy a blunt with the money. Take this!!” The kidnapper yelled, stretching the tray towards Ethan again, and this time, Ethan hit the tray away, scattering its contents all over the floor.

The kidnapper punched Ethan in the face, and Ethan slapped him, then turned around to tie his hands back. Ethan groaned in pain as blood ran down his nose and lips.

“Fucker!” The kidnapper spat before walking out.

“Lucien, where are you?” Ethan whispered before passing out.

A bucket of water was poured on his head, and he jolted awake, “Huh?Huh?” He looked around. The kidnappers laughed.

“You are such a boring catch. Do you even have loved ones?” The bulky man squared in front of him. Ethan spat on his face. He grabbed Ethan’s face in his palm, squeezing his jaw like he was about to break it. Ethan winced in pain; his chest was hammering so loud that he could hear it in his ears, but he didn’t want them to see his fear.

The bulky man got a horsewhip. Ethan's eyes widened, “Please, please, don’t use….arghhh,” He screamed as the first whip landed on his thighs.

His cries sounded melodic to the kidnappers as they all laughed and cheered. Another whip, another, and another, whip after whip landed on different parts of his body; each whip was more hurtful than the last, tearing his skin where it was exposed.

Ethan screamed, begged, but these men were only getting more excited the more he cried. His throat began to hurt from the excessive screaming. His voice became more of a muffled sound. His lungs hurt, his eyes hurt, he was too weak to cry anymore, he could only wiggle, and when he couldn’t take it anymore, he passed out.

“Such a weakling, “ the bulky kidnapper who seemed to be their leader hissed.

—THREE DAYS LATER—

“Are you still waiting?” The leader of the kidnappers mocked.

“He will come, Lucien will come for me,” Ethan whispered. He looked a mess, his clothes were torn, his face was pale, dark circles were visible under his eyes, he looked thinner than he was before, because he had refused to eat or drink water for three days, and the kidnappers did nothing to help the situation.

They beat him up at given chances, sometimes they beat him up when they are bored and want to have fun.

Hours passed, and there was still no sight of Lucien. Egan's eyes dropped; he was beginning to be scared. Would Lucien not find him? Will he just die here? Different questions ran through his head.

His eyes still carried a little bit of Hope left, maybe, just maybe Lucien was already searching for him and he would find him soon, right?

In that moment, the door burst open, Ethan looked up slowly, his eyes widened, the hope he had almost lost returned to his eyes, and standing there was he

“ Lucien.” Ethan whispered, a smile appeared on his face, “I knew you’d come for me.” He added.