"Marcus won't care. He's too busy with Ameana."

"Now that was a whole 10 seconds."

"What?"

"You didn't mention his name for ten seconds. That was kind of nice."

"What does that mean?"

"That means there are other guys in the world and they deserve a chance with you."

He moved in close and kissed me, parting my lips with his tongue. His kiss was tender but firm. It was so unexpected I couldn't even think. A few seconds pa.s.sed, but it seemed like our kiss was in slow motion.

He pulled away when he was done. My mouth was still open from shock. Reese kissed me. I didn't really know what to do with that. He was Reese, my friend. But that kiss was nice. It tingled down my spine. What does that mean?

"Em? Are you in there?" Reese asked.

"Yeah," was all I could manage to say.

"I should have asked before I.... Are you mad?"

"No...."

"I've watched you pine for Marcus and it's kind of been killing me."

"Oh."

"I just wanted you to know that there are other angels, angels who have been wanting, waiting, to kiss you."

"Reese...."

Before I could think of what else to say, he Blinked away.

I sighed. This is getting way too complicated. Luckily for me, I had to babysit Ben tonight, so at least I had something to distract me.

I knocked on the door and his Mom opened up for me. As she rushed out, she thanked me and said Ben was in his room. I locked the door behind her and went looking for him. I saw his sweet face down the hall by his room.

"Hey, where's my hug?" I ask him.

He ran toward me with a big smile. As we hugged, he took out a Taser and shocked me. I hit the floor hard. The last thing I saw was my favorite four-year-old transforming into a grown man.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: INTRODUCTIONS.

I wake up on a cold floor. My teeth won't stop chattering. I open my eyes and everything is blurry. I then shut and try opening them once again. My vision clears up. I'm in a large room with windows high above the floor. Rats scurry across the floor. I'm scared of rats. But I have a feeling they're the least of my problems.

I sit up and groan. My head feels heavy. I cough repeatedly. The windows are all broken. It's a loft-type s.p.a.ce. I get up and to go to the windows to get a better idea of where I am. After taking a few steps, something pulls me back. I look down. My right leg has been tied to a pole with Samson string.

For the next few minutes I try like h.e.l.l to untie it. I know all about Samson String and how only the person who tied it can untie it. I don't care. It's cold. I'm scared and desperate and will try anything. It's hopeless. Every time I untie it, the string reties itself, even more knotted than before.

I look in my coat pocket. My cell phone, keys and money are gone. I zip up my coat and blow into my hands to stay warm. Looking around it's hard to see what else is in the room because the lighting is so poor. If I call out whoever took me will know that I'm up and they will come in. But I don't know what else to do. The cold is unbearable.

"Help me! Somebody please, help me," I shout at the top of my lungs. I get nothing. I walk as far as I can toward the windows and call out again. Nothing. I sit back down, close my eyes and try to calm myself. There has to be a way out of here. I just need to remain calm.

There's a door behind me. I can only go halfway to it before the string stops me. Even if I could reach the door, it looks locked. I call out for help again, but there is still nothing. My toes and the tips of my fingers are numb.

I'm trying to think logically and not panic. And judging by the size of the rat that just ran in front of me, panicking would be fairly easy to do. I make a sound to scare it away but it looks at me as if to say, "Who are you kidding?" They know I'm scared. Be calm, Emmy. They'll find you.

I try to think back and understand what happened. I saw Ben turn into a Runner before I blacked out. I don't know how the Runner was able to do that. I know Ben could be not evil. But did the Runner kill Ben in order to become him? What happened to the rest of Ben's family?

I refuse to consider that they're dead. I won't think like that until I know for sure. I think about his little face asking to stay up and watch one more cartoon. I remember the cute, shocked look on his face when I sneak up on him during hide and go seek. His mouth makes a perfect "O" shape and his eyes are as wide as oceans. I push back the dread inside me. I can't fall apart now. Ben is fine, he has to be.

What about my mom? How long did she stay outside waiting for me? Did she come back upstairs to find me? Did the Ben Runner hurt her? Did another Runner come and attack her outside the building? No, Reese would have seen it. Reese.... Okay, now is so not the time to be thinking about the kiss.

Where did the Runner take me? All I remember is falling and waking up here. Why hadn't they killed me yet? Triweekend. They weren't allowed to attack me until it was over. So, that means I have only hours to live. What I wouldn't give for a watch. They could just have the Runner kill me. But then they wouldn't get the information out of me.

It would be easier for me to tell them the clue they were looking for if I knew what it was. I doubt they'll take my word for it. What if this isn't where the Akons are? What if the Runner took me to Lucy? Then that would make this the house of fire, right? But this can't be Lucy's house-it's freaking cold.

I try to untie the string one more time. It is unless. "Aargh!" I slam my foot into the pole out of frustration. Had I been an angel the pole would have bent in half. But since I'm only human, the only damage done is to my foot. I howl as the pain makes its way across the bottom of my foot. d.a.m.n, that hurt.

"Are you okay?" someone says in the near darkness.

Startled, I jump.

"Who said that?" I ask.

"I'm over here, to your left, by the corner," the voice says.

"Who are you?"

"A guy who made way too many mistakes. Who are you?"

"My name is Emmy. Where are we?"

"Somewhere in the fashion district, I think. I can hear trucks backing up and the guys talking about fabric shipments. That's the best guess I got."

"Can you help me out?"

"I'm tied, too."

"Who brought you here?"

"Akons, you?"

"A Runner pretended to be a boy I know and attacked me. Next thing I know, I'm here."

"How's your foot?"

"Not too bad, but I'm freezing."

"Do you have a coat on?"

"Yeah, but it's not helping"

"Here, take this." He throws something at me that lands just out of my reach.

"Can you get it?"

"Wait let me see." I reach out as far as I can and am able to pull it closer to me. It's a heavy knitted sweater.

"Don't you need this?" I ask.

"I'm warm enough. Don't worry about me," he says.

"Why are you here?"

"I told Lucy I would give her my soul if she gave me riches, but at the last minute I chickened out. She had a Runner bring me here."

"You almost sold your soul?"

"I've done a lot worse. But I'm not a bad person. I mean, not completely."

"I'm not a good person. I mean, not completely."

"Did you go back on the deal to give your soul, too?"

"No, they want me to give them information that I don't have. At least I don't think I do."

"I don't get it."

"It's complicated. But it's gonna work out. Soon, the Guardians are gonna come and save us."

"Us?"

"Yeah, you and me."

"Guardians don't save people like me."

"Well, these Guardians will. We just have to hold on. How long have you been here?"

"Long enough," he says.

"Have you seen anyone?" I ask.

"The Akon leader, Rage. He tied me here and said he'd kill me when he had more time on his hands. He said he didn't want it to be quick."

"We'll be out of here soon. Don't worry."

"Did you put the sweater on?"

"Yeah, I put it on under my coat. It helps a lot. Thank you."

"Wow, I have not heard that in a long time."

"Thank you?"

"Yeah. I haven't done anything to get one of those."

"Well, you have now."

"You're welcome."

"Can I give you a piece of advice?"

"Sure."

"Don't bother screaming, it does no good."

"Why?"

"The windows have a sound Holder over them"

"What's that?"

"It's just like a regular Holder but it doesn't hold in a person, it holds their voices. It's basically a way of soundproofing."

"Great."

"Sorry."

"What do you think they'll do to us?"

"They've already had a crack at me."

"Are you hurt?"

"A few burns."

"They burned you?"