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Paulina squeezed her eyes tightly closed, not wanting to risk being painfully blinded by the harsh lights and making noise, which could incur a punishment from Mikey. He was cradling her closely in his arms, so close that Paulina could feel his even breathing, and the solid thump of each step on wood floors, not the cement of her basement.

Very suddenly, Paulina felt herself sliding out of her captor's arms, instinctively tightening her grip around the man's neck. He pushed her down, ducking out of her arms and letting her fall on the hard, wooden seat of a chair. Paulina chanced cracking her eyes open to examine her new surroundings.

Her chair was pushed into a matching wooden table, upon which was a glass of what looked like water, and a plate with food. A grilled cheese sandwich and a mound of applesauce. Paulina glanced up at Mikey questioningly.

"Are you hungry?" Mikey asked her, gesturing at the dish of food. Now that he mentioned it, Paulina was feeling starved. She realized that she hadn't eaten in a little over four days. Paulina held up her hand to her face, examining it as it shook violently, completely out of her control. The lack of nutrition was taking its toll on the already-weak girl's body. Still, she wasn't sure that she should be eating the food that had just been...set in front of her. There had to be some sort of catch. She shook her head slowly.

"Paulina," came a voice, not Mikey's. "I believe he asked if you were hungry." It was Frank; he came slowly into view, his eyelids lowered and one hand in a pocket, while the other dangled nonchalantly at his side.

Terror pounded into Paulina's chest once more, and she made haste in trying to pick up the spoon beside the plate and begin eating. Unfortunately, she was so weak that she was unable to get a good grip on the utensil. Paulina's heart leapt into her throat when the silver clacked noisily and restlessly against the plate, creating quite a commotion in the severe silence. Frank's features immediately softened, and he slid into the chair beside Paulina's, picking up her spoon and lifting a dollop of applesauce.

"Here, let me help," he said softly, feeding her the mush. Paulina timidly opened her mouth, accepting his offer of assistance, more out of a fear of what would happen if she disobeyed than her hunger.

It tasted like heaven, and the second bite was even better, the third better than that. Paulina ate eagerly, gratefully gulping down bite after bite of what Frank was feeding her. Soon, the applesauce was gone, and Frank began tearing the sandwich into manageable pieces, finger-feeding them to his young charge. So far, none of the food had tasted funny or different than it should. In a few minutes, there was nothing left on the plate, and Paulina felt that some of her strength had returned. She still shook, though not as much as before.

"There. That wasn't so bad, now, was it?" Frank said knowingly. Paulina shook her head as he stood, leaving the room through a door to the left. The girl looked back at Mikey, who was still standing behind her chair. He, however, was still watching the door, through which Frank had just exited. Paulina looked, too, just in time to see Robert come through into the dining room. The two men nodded briefly at each other, Mikey taking this as his cue to leave through the same door.

"Paulina," Robert greeted, walking towards the small girl and sitting in the seat that had previously been occupied by Frank. Paulina nodded in response, eyeing the bowl that the man had carried in with him. He set it on the table. "More food," he told her. Paulina shook her head.

"I don't want it," she told Robert, pushing the dish slightly away from herself. She felt so at ease with this man that she wasn't afraid to disobey him, really. He pushed it back towards her.

"I didn't ask if you wanted it." He gave her a look, a look that Paulina couldn't place. "You haven't eaten in almost five days. You have to eat something else."

"I'm not hungry," she said, frowning. Robert sighed exasperatedly, placing his forehead into his palm before looking up again.

"See, you're saying that you're not hungry, but what I'm hearing is that you want the shit beat out of you, again." He peered imploringly into her gray eyes, firm and determined.

"Robert, I don't think you have it in you to beat the shit out of me," Paulina said, a bit shocked at her own gall. She couldn't believe that she was daring enough to say such things to a man that, despite being very demure, could snap her in half.

"Perhaps," Robert said, surprising Paulina by not getting angry. "Perhaps I do, perhaps I don't. But, you know, I could just go into the other room, get Frank, and tell him that--" Paulina never found out what Robert could tell Frank, because it was at that moment that she hastily grabbed up her spoon and tried to start eating the food that Robert had brought her (a bowl of chicken noodle soup). But, again, Paulina's muscles were too weak to really grasp and use it. The spoon fell into the soup, splashing her with the hot broth.

She didn't know why she was so terrified of Frank; there was just...something about him. The fact that he was the leader-type and could really do whatever he wanted was a horrible thought to the young girl.

"Easy, easy, take your time," Robert said soothingly. "You're still very weak. Your body hasn't had the chance to restore your strength yet." Paulina nodded, flinching as Robert covered her hand with his own, guiding her to pick up the spoon once more. After a few minutes of assisting Paulina with using utensils, Robert noticed that the chicken was gathering at the bottom, and Paulina hadn't touched a bite of it.

"Paulina," he said, moving the spoon in the direction of the small pile of chicken, feeling her resist slightly. "Why aren't you eating your chicken?"

"I don't eat meat," Paulina told him.

"Well, now you do. You need the nutrients." When Robert wanted to be firm, he could certainly put his foot down. So Paulina choked down the chunks of chicken sitting in the bowl until it was gone, and her stomach felt swollen and nauseous.

"Drink some water," he instructed, moving to pick up the glass in front of Paulina. He helped her to take a few gulps before setting it back down on the tabletop. Paulina's stomach felt a bit better after that. "Now swallow these." Robert placed two small, white pills on the table, beside the glass.

Paulina looked at Robert, wondering how she could ask what the pills were. She didn't want to chance asking a real question. "I don't take pills if I don't know what they are," she finally settled on.

"They're sedatives. I was supposed to put them in your soup, but I trusted that you'd take them by choice if I asked." Robert pushed them a bit closer, as though to emphasize his point.

"I can sleep fine without them."

"Again," Robert sighed, rising his eyebrows at the insubordinate girl. "I didn't ask whether you could or could not. I'm telling you to take them, and I can make you take them, if I need to." Paulina looked at him for a moment, trying to gauge how serious he was. She only half-trusted what he'd told her; were they really only sedatives? Maybe it was poison, or just something to make her terribly ill. Either way, she was hesitant to take the nondescript pills. Finally, though, she realized that she had no choice. If she didn't take them willingly, they'd probably end up being forced down her throat, and in a very painful way.

Paulina weighed the pills in her hand, popping first one, and then the other, into her mouth. She swallowed thickly, and Robert helped her with another sip of water. Paulina was certain that she could feel the tiny capsules sliding down her throat, into her stomach, and through her digestive tract. She winced.

"Good girl," Robert said, rubbing her shoulder lightly for a moment. Paulina didn't have the heart to shrug him off, beginning to feel a bit less comfortable, having been reminded that this man was still her captor, and he held her life in his hands.

"I don't..." Paulina began, trying to inform Robert that she didn't feel any effect from the pills. At that moment, however, she began to feel a bit light-headed. Wooziness took over, but Paulina tried to fight it. "You--" she began again, to no avail. Her mind was shutting down, and the last thing Paulina registered was being lifted in Robert's arms and carried away from the table.


Hello, all. I am back, indeed. It's been a long two weeks without updates, and I feel like a junkie that's getting his first fix after a long period of withdrawal. It feels oh-so nice. I actually just got home about...a half hour ago. I wrote this chapter whilst in Arkansas, on my iTouch. As soon as I got within range of wi-fi, I emailed it to myself so I could put it on my computer to edit when I got home. Which I have. I actually have four more chapters done, all written on my iTouch. It will probably be a while before I get them on the computer and proof-read, but I'll do my best. Now, please go comment and subscribe, and make my first day home even more enjoyable. OverAndOutxx