This didn't feel right. Zaid didn't recognize any of the scents that were approaching. Last time, at least one of the men that came had been a regular at the coffee house, but these men looked completely different. The way they carried themselves, the way they moved. This was more dangerous than he wanted to believe.

"Andrea, this...they don't look anything like those other guys. Please, be careful!"

He had one hand on her arm, about to try and pull her back, when the snakes started hissing. Aces and spaceships, he hunkered backward slightly as Sloth came to life, his rabbit instincts overrunning his human ones. Snaaaaaakkkkkkeeee, angry snake! Sloth was not so cuddly when he was pissed off!

As he backed up a step, his nose twitched again, his ears swiveling. He spun, spitting out a real curse this time. They were surrounded! No, this was definitely NOT like last time. "Andrea, we should call someone. Help, Erik, someone. I...I..." He yanked his phone out of his pocket, and hit send. One name flashed across the screen. Jude

Voicemail--

A fist flew out, knocking the phone away. It clattered under a nearby bench, still active. How long could a voicemail record for? How much could he relay? He had watched movies like this before, and tried to remember the advice in them. That was just a movie, right? But what else could he do!

"Andrea, what street is this? Between the coffee house, and the ice cream parlor, like five--" He almost got out the word blocks before the next fist shot for his stomach. He flinched, falling backward, but Andrea wasn't there now. She was fighting the other group, suddenly getting further away. No, no, this was a bad idea!

"Stop talking you little vermin! Someone, shut off that phone!"

Stupidity be damned, he couldn't think now. "Black van, license plate number GTR3--" Crunch! Call ended! Would it be enough? Andrea, he had to help Andrea!

She'd gotten out one contact by the time the men were within reach of her. The first one went down the second she let his eyes, even with one eye still blocked by the other contact. He hit the ground hard, stiff and unresponsive. The next behind him was smart to try and block his eyes with a hand, but had moved well within striking distance of Sloth. He screamed bloody murder when the large snakes jaws latched around one arm, dozens of teeth sinking in and sticking like velcro to felt.

Zaid shouted something about being surrounded, which she briefly registered, but then someone threw a coat over her head and she was in the dark. "Zaid!"

Hands gripped her forearms and shoulders. She could hear the man shouting as someone worked to try and pry Sloth off of him. There was blood leaking from multiple people as she and her snakes fought back. She could hear Zaid shouting over the chaos, while she struggled to get the coat off of her head. Someone swooped up her legs in an attempt to physically carry her away. "Let me go! ZAID!"

She purposely tore her gloves off, panicking. Bare palms slapping around trying to get a grip on anything and force them to put her down. She made contact multiple times, there was loud swearing and more shouting.

Something stabbed into her right thigh and she felt the release of something cold into the tense muscle. The second she felt the sting she was dropped unceremoniously on the ground as her attackers backed off.

Tearing the coat from her head, she tried to quickly get to her feet but stumbled. Her leg was already starting to feel like it had been injected with novocain. Panic surged through her, but the men who had been holding her had retreated, some joining the others trying to silence the bunny.

He had the right idea. She needed to call someone, anyone. Give out details like he had.

She fumbled for her phone that was in her bag. Her vision swam suddenly. It wasn't there! Maybe it had fallen out in the struggle?

She spotted it a handful of feet away where she had been standing, on the ground... but her legs were jelly under her already and she could feel whatever drug they had used slowly creeping through the rest of her body. The Greek attempted to crawl her way over while it looked like Zaid was fighting for his life.

She never made it. She passed out a hair's breadth from the phone with her fingers nearly touching it. A few men broke off from the other group to go and collect her.

Andrea was fighting. For a moment, it seemed like she could win. Zaid tried not to think about the blood and the unresponsive man. This was a fight for survival, no holds barred.

But then, they covered her head. Zaid panicked, realizing this was taking a turn for the worst. Zaid rushed forward, swinging a kick out and hitting one of the men in the stomach. Another kick landed between someone’s legs before they caught wind what was happening. “Someone, grab the damn bunny before our cover is blown!”

“We have all men dealing with the dang gorgon and YOU want us to come deal with a frickin’ bunny?”

“Let her go!” Zaid yelled, another kick flying. He reached in his heart for every move he had ever seen Officer Hopps unleash on a bad guy, forcing his body to react. One kick, two. Another bad guy down! Finally, just the leader. He sprang, aimed!

This time, they were prepared, and his ankle was snatched midair. With a twist, he was spun sideways, slamming into the concrete with a grunt of pain. Just like that, he was done.

“Load them up! Quickly!”

“Andrea!” His voice cracked in distress, and he lashed out again; a foot swinging for Zaid’s face in response. He managed to wrap his arms around the mans calf and sunk his teeth into skin with all the jaw strength he could muster.

“Frickin-hell man!!!” WHAM! He was knocked away, stars spinning in his vision. Andrea, he had to help her get away... but she was already gone as one of them lifted him up by his hair.

“Don’t damage his face!” Someone said suddenly. Zaid shivered as a bloodied man came closer, a smirk crossing his festures. “I know just where to send this little one. Maybe a little cup of tea will calm him down.” He snarled.

Zaid fought as they tossed him into the back of another vehicle, something sharp pricking the back of his neck. His heart was racing as the sedative started to take effect, his hands clawing for the door. Andrea! No, she can’t, no...not again...

He was waiting at home when the knock finally came on the door, leaping from the sofa and racing to answer. The officer in the doorway looked startled to see his ears, but quickly removed his hat, looking down. “Zaid? My name is officer Pennywise. I have some bad news, son. There was an accident...”

The rest of the words felt empty. The sensation of crumbling, of the world caving in around him felt so real. He was chasing them, screaming, begging his parents not to leave him behind. They couldn’t be gone, he couldn’t be here alone!

”ANDREA!!!” the last scream of panic sounded broken with every ounce of desperation he felt. Fear, rage, and confusion melted into despair as darkness took him.

Hours later she started to groggily come to again. The first few things she noticed were that she was on a old, rough metal surface, and that she was missing clothing if the chill coursing through her was anything to go by.. some sort of medical apron that didn't cover much at all. She didn't have the energy to spend on being shamed, though.

Her hands were fixed behind her back with what felt like metal cuffs. Her snakes were only starting to come too as well and there was something cold around her neck.

"Hey, this one's awake now."

She could hear what sounded like deep, mournful weeping coming from somewhere, and other softer sniffling all around. As she pulled herself into a sitting position she was able to get a better look around. "...Where am I?"

She was in a large metal cage it seemed. As the drug wore off she could feel fear settling back in.

Where was Zaid?

Someone stepped close to her cage, kneeling down at eye level with her.

"Not so tough now, are ya you Bi-" He had one arm wrapped fully in bandages and tucked away in a sling, and some visible portions of his skin were hidden away under more crisp white cloth. He had been the one who Sloth had attacked.

She glanced at him, met his eyes and he cut off mid sentence as her power kicked in. He slumped forward into the bars of her cage just as electricity jumped to life from the cold metal ring around her neck. Never in her life had she ever been shocked before, especially to such a degree. Andrea's whole body tensed up, muscles stretching out in a painful way that had her jerking back over onto the metal floor and screaming louder than she had in a long while.

The shock lasted less than a full minute, but it had felt like forever. Her voice was hoarse from straining her vocal chords by the time the device kicked back off. She laid there, panting and sobbing, as a few others came over to investigate.

A man who hadn't been there during her abduction whistled and pushed his hat back to scratch at his scalp. 'Whew, I wouldn't recommend keeping that up, Darlin'. You'll end up pissin yourself long before we're all knocked out." He turned to one of the other men, "Hey, go get another round of sleepy meds, will ya? Don't want this one damaging herself to much before the quacks get her, ya know?"

Winded and sweating, she squished her uncovered eye closed so that she could still see him.

... What quacks?

Zaid’s head felt heavy when he started to come to his senses. Cold concrete was against his face, his nose twitching as the stench of chemicals and filth invaded his senses. His body was already bruising where he had been hit, but the pain reminded him of what had happened. Andrea he thought, rolling over and opening his eyes. What had happened to her? Where was she?

Nearby, someone saw the action, and yelled before he could do much. “Hey, the bunny’s up! I told you he would take more sedative!”

He didn’t have time to try clearing his head, he just threw a kick out as quickly as he could. Andrea…I have to find her! There was a solid thud, a crash, and a degree of cursing that promised he hit someone. He rolled over, prepared to try again, when someone grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked him into the air.

“I’ll kill you, you little vermin!”

“Stop! You know where he’s going, if you touch his face, we’ll all be in trouble!”

Zaid felt his heart racing, the rush of blood clearing the last of the sedative from his head. He was looking into the face of a heavily tattooed man, dark black eyes glaring down at him. The man was tall enough that Zaid’s feet were completely off the ground, and Zaid’s hand clawed at the giant paw holding him in the air. Where was he going? What did they mean? And where was Andrea?

”Let, me go!” He snarled, clawing like an animal and wildly swinging his legs. There was additional cursing and he was shook, teeth knocking together painfully.

“I won’t touch his f***g face, but this little f**g is going to learn a lesson. That’s twice now he took a swing at me.”

The insult hit his gut. Zaid was quiet about who he liked, but there was always someone who assumed, regardless of guessing if they were right. It could have been the ears, or the way he dressed. He would never know. He was old enough to realize just how much danger he might be in, however, hearing those insults.

Zaid felt the ground rushing back up and whimpered as he hit the floor. To their promise, his face was not injured, but the hand was pressing against his neck now, and then cold steel touched his skin. Knife. Andrea…where was she? Suddenly, his desire to save her was overcome by the fear he was feeling. He just wanted to feel safe. He wanted her to be here, to help him. But he couldn’t smell her anywhere, couldn’t hear the snakes or her voice. He couldn’t find her.

Weight was crushing him against the floor, preventing him from moving more than an ear. The voice was too close, the breath foul and smelling like alcohol.

“Hey little bun, I heard you cussing us out in that alley. And guess what? I know some Japanese too.” With a slash, he cut open Zaid’s shirt. Cold air met the rabbit’s back, and he felt the first real rush of fear. His tail trembled against his will, and it brought a sadistic laugh to the room.

“What, afraid? Don’t worry, I’m not a fan of your type. The customer can have that type of fun with you.” The cold sensation pressed against the small of Zaid’s back. A prick of pain drew another whimper, then the slow cut through his skin turned it into a scream.

”Stop! Let me go. STOP!” He couldn’t kick free, he couldn’t fight back. He felt completely helpless as the pain spread like fire through his back. The man was…he was cutting something into Zaid’s skin! He wanted to vomit, his insides dissolving with the dragging torture. Pain turned into panic, desperation for help. And that sadistic voice in his ear was laughing.

“Can you figure out what I’m writing yet, little freak? Let’s see how many boyfriends you can find once they see what I’ve done with you.”


__________________________________________________________________________


Zaid couldn’t remember when he blacked out. When he came to, he shivered and sniffled, tears actively rolling down his face. His back was slick, any movement bringing fresh waves of pain. The fight in him was gone, and he shut his eyes, wishing he hadn’t woken up. There were three clean red kanji symbols carved into his skin, and he did not have to see them to know how cruel they were.

He was in a tiny room, probably some type of holding area. He could hear voices discussing final arrangements to drop off their new arrivals. Then, a spark of hope.

“Throw the other one in there to clean him up. If we have to dress him all that blood will make it difficult.”

“You don’t want me to re-sedate her yet?”

“You got her secured don’t you? Maybe making her see what happened to her friend will be a good warning.”

The other one? Could it be, Andrea? Please…please, let it be her. Let her be okay. Let…let her stay with him.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed already. She'd been drifting in and out of consciousness, blissfully unaware of what was going on around her. When she was awake her clouded thoughts drifted to Zaid... had he escaped? She hadn't witnessed him being abducted, so she could only hope. Maybe he had been able to get ahold of someone and help was already on its way.

Eventually she was able to come to enough that she was party to a conversation that seemed to involve her.

"Boss wants her in the holding room with the other one, to clean him up apparently. Send a message or some #$%&." A gruff voice stated. "Gotta get some gloves on her though or she'll damage the merchandise." She kept her eyes closed, shivering despite her best efforts but not wanting to alert them to her being awake just yet.

She heard keys jingling, the sound of a what she assumed was a lock clacking open, and the groan of metal on metal as someone joined her in the cage. He smelled of smoke and mildew. Her nose crinkled without her bidding it too.

"I think she's awake. Pretending to sleep, huh?" A boot none too gently rolled her over so that her hands were exposed. She tried to ignore a few lewd comments aimed at her exposed skin.

Her hands were shoved one at a time into some kind of stretchy gloves. A precaution apparently for while they moved her? She wasn't sure. "Where am I being taken?"

She doubted they would answer her, or at least not honestly. One man chuckled. "To see a friend, sweetheart. To see a friend.."

After a fair bit of being jostled around and the unfamiliar sensation of walking on legs that weren't quite awake, she found herself before a door. It looked solid, possibly re enforced, and was made of metal. She closed her eyes after a quick peek for fear of activating the damned collar again. What monster had created such a thing? She knew they tended to be used on criminals from seeing a few in her practice, but the pain... was it really enough of a justification for something so inhumane?

The door opened and before she could even take a shaky step in someone shoved her. She landed on her elbows and knees, face instantly blooming brown in shame at all that was suddenly exposed. Cruel laughter followed, but was quickly muffled by the door slamming shut and locking. She opened her eyes finally and noticed that they had thrown in some old, wrinkled rags and a bottle medial alcohol after her.

She lifted her gaze to see where she was, and that was when she saw him.

Hee heart shattered into a thousand jagged shards.

"Zaid!" A conglomeration of horror, relief, panic, and joy hushed in. He was here! He was also bleeding quite badly from pretty much his entire back. Her eyes took in symbols she didn't recognize before she dropped her gaze and quickly crawled over. Her hands had been re-shackled in the front, allowing her the ability to reach out for him as she grew close. She wanted to capture him in a crushing hug and never let go.

"Oh, Zaid... what have they done to you...?"

The door opened and Zaid was too afraid to look up initially. He wanted to curl away, but the pain stopped him from doing more than flinching. Then, he heard a voice. Zaid!

"Andrea?" His voice sounded like sandpaper, throat raw from screaming. He felt a touch, and then his nose got a whiff of a familiar scent. It was her! She was here! Without wanting to, he started sobbing, reaching out and catching her hands, holding on with too much strength. He could feel the handcuffs, his eyes blurry as he made out outlines of metal and the rough hospital gown. He hiccuped, terrified what would happen next. Why would they bring her here with him? What did they have planned?

"I...I tried calling for help. Jude...he'll get the message, and he will call Erik. He'll get someone. It...It'll be okay." He was trying to say words to reassure her and comfort himself. But it hurt. His back was raw and his nose could barely register much beyond the tang of iron. He was crying too much to speak now.

What have they done...

Someone slammed a fist against the door, and Zaid recoiled, ears flat to his skull in distress. "Get to work! Or we can just leave him to bleed out. Not our problem."

He was a coward...he should be protecting her, but he was useless. There was a distant clang of metal and the sound reminded him of the knife. His whole body was shaking again, a panic attack starting to take form. "D-don't let them take me...Andrea...j-just let me bleed. I don't want to go back in there. I-I don't want h-him to hurt me again." If she left him, he could just fall asleep. He could fall asleep and forget this.

He was there. He was talking. Despite the roughness of his voice and the obvious wounds. Tears gathered and fell, but were ignored. She was too busy throwing her cuffed arms around him and drawing the poor boy into a tight hug. "Shhh... Shhh." Her own voice was raw and thick with emotion. She avoided his back with her hands as much as she could in order to keep him close. He needed support, they both did honestly, but if she focused on him it was easier to think. "You are right, I am sure of it. Someone will come and we will be fine. Everything will be fine.

It hit her like a brick that she had brought this on the both of them. If she had just run like he had said...

"Everything will be okay, Zaid. I am here and I will not let them take you from me? You hear?"

Disentangling her arms, she tried to grip him gently by the shoulders, keeping her gaze locked on the floor so she wouldn't accidentally hit him with it.

She flinched as well with the pounding on the door, fingers curling instinctively in the fabric of his ruined shirt.

"I-I have to clean you up. I can't just let you bleed out, please Zaid. Stick with me." She was desperate and it carried on her voice. "All we need to do is stick together, help will come. I won't leave you, I promise." She'd be damned if she let them separate him from her again. Look what had happened the last time?

Turning, she crawled back over to gather the meager supplies, a permanent frown pulling at her lips. They had given her things that were sure to cause more pain, and she was sure it had been done on purpose. Once she was back behind him, she sucked in a deep, shaking breath to prepare herself.

"This.. this is going to hurt, but I need you to be strong for me, okay?" She was already soaking one of the rags with the alcohol. "I need to clean those so that don't get infected, and so they won't come back in here."

She paused, waiting to hear his response, before slipping in a quiet question just loud enough for him to hear.

"...Is there any obvious way to get this collar off of my neck..?"

Someone will come... Zaid clung to that word like it was the only ray of hope left in the world. He had done what he could. He left the voicemail, and he had to have faith that Jude could use it to find them. He...he believed in Jude, right? He knew the underworld, the darker side of New York. If anyone could track someone, it would be the bad guys. Just because Jude did paperwork didn't mean there wasn't more to him. Zaid never felt afraid of that side though. Right now, it was the only reassurance he could muster.

Andrea's hold made him feel safer. It brought back memories of his mom, the comfort he had long missed. It didn't matter that he was 20 years old, he felt like a child, desperate for someone to rely on. But what if she needed him too? Was he being selfish? As she shifted to get the bottle and rags, his body trembled again.

I won't leave you, I promise...

"Andrea, they...they aren't going to keep us together." Zaid whispered, worried by her promise. "They aren't those type of people. They keep talking about clients, and it sounds like they...they want to ship us to other people. We...we need to find some way to locate each other if that happens..." He took the opportunity to whisper what he could as she leaned over to look at the cuts. The smell of alcohol whiffed to his nose and he froze. He gulped, trying to feel braver than he was.

"D...do what you need to." He needed to take the chance to think, to plan. Distractedly, he started wriggling his arm out of his ruined shirt, pushing the fabric toward her before she started. "Find some way to hide this, keep it with you. If...if you find the right mutant, it'll have my scent on it. Maybe...Maybe it'll help" It was the only idea he had. He ignored how bloody the clothing was. Her next question made his ear swivel with focus.

Collar? He squinted at it, then flinched at the first contact on his back. Stars... tears ran down his cheeks unwilling. He could feel the burning through the cuts, cold slicing through his skin, making his torso tremble. He couldn't see a clear lock, maybe it was electronic? "I...I don't know. If it's....it could hurt you worse...if we mess with it..." He whimpered as the cleaning continued. His face flushed different colors, from white, to green. He wanted to throw up. His body was slick with sweat and his heart would not slow down.

She took that scrap of fabric with a gulp. She wanted to argue that he was wrong, they would stay together... but she found herself believing him instead. It made sense, and that didn't help the terrible fear brewing inside her. With her back turned toward the door she reached into the gown she had been changed into and ripped a little bit of the fabric so she could tie his shirt scrap to the inside where it was less likely to be seen. She also reached up to yank a thick enough section of her own hair out, so that he had something with her scent on it as well. She tied it loosely around the base of one of his ears where it would blend in a little.

Cleaning his back would take time, and she was hoping that in that time she could come up with a plan of some sort. Hearing that the collar didn't seem to have any visible lock or release was a huge damper on it, but all they could do was try. "We need to think of something..." She chewed on her bottom lip roughly, turning to glance over shoulder at the door. She didn't know if they were out there sill, but probably needed to err on the side of caution.

When she had finished cleaning the wounds on his back, she was forced to use bits from the bottom of her gown to get them to start clotting again. Makeshift bandages if you will, and her gown looked much cleaner than bit of rag.

"If I caused a distraction, do you think you could make a run for it with these injuries?"

Her hands dropped into her lap and she stared at the bottle of alcohol.

"Say... this thing is electronic, do you think it would short circuit if I poured this on it?"

Zaid tried not to show how much pain he was in, but one of the deeper cuts forced a partial cry from him. The only advantage was the sound would cover some of what Andrea was doing. He squeezed her arm, hoping she would know he was okay, it was probably better he didn’t hold back so much. They needed the coverage after all.

The final cut brought a whole string of Japanese profanity out of his mouth. His mother would have washed his mouth out if she had been there. He whimpered as she tried to cover the wounds with clean fabric, torso heaving.

”I’ll do whatever you need me to. If I need to run, I’ll run.” he promised. As she lifted the bottle, his Jose quivered.

”It might short circuit, but, what if it electrocuted you instead? I don’t want you hurt in the process.” he argued.

His nose could make out the light scent from where her hair was resting against his ear. He felt comfort in that. She was by his side, she would protect him. And he could protect her.

Good, he would run if he could. She appreciated what that thought did to her heart. He had a valid point about the possibility of another shock, possibly even a worse one, but she didn't know if there was a lot of choice in the matter. If she could just get the collar off, they had a chance to escape. Any chance was better than none at all...

Before she could grit her teeth and bite the bullet, the door behind them clanked as it unlocked, and swung open. A man with a dark expression and tattoos took a heavy step in.

"alright, lovebirds, times up. Me and bunny boy have some more talking to do."

The Greek panicked, launching forward and throwing herself over zaid like a shield. She wasn't going to go peacefully, and seven serpents jumped up to show it. The collar couldn't shock her if she didn't use her eyes, right? She gripped onto zaid as best she could, using her cuffed hands to her advantage.

Said man snorted, lifted a big meaty hand that had a little remote of some sort in it, and casually pressed a button.

She wasn't at all prepared when the collar went off anyway and shocked the living hell out of her. Poor zaid got to experience first hand the muscle spasms that rocketed through her body, and how it completely knocked her on her ass.

This time at least she hadn't screamed, even if it was only because her jaw was locked shut. She didn't know if zaid's poor ears could take it.

There was no time. The door swung open and Zaid looked up with wild eyes at the man that entered. That face, that voice. His whole body felt sick with horror. More talking to do. No, he wouldn't go. He wouldn't leave. He couldn't take any more time alone with that psychopath! Andy's body became a solid wall trying to shield him, and he wanted to sob with fear. He was selfish, he wanted her to stay, wanted her to protect him. What type of useless rabbit was he cowering behind her?

Actually, maybe it wasn't the most unusual thing for a rabbit to hide behind the protection of a wall of snakes, right? The hissing sounded so much sweeter from this side.

Then, the collar activated. Zaid felt her muscles contract, horrified at what they were doing. He wiggled free, rage washing over the fear. "S...stop it! Stop hurting her!"

The laughter was mocking, those dark eyes staring down at them. "Or what? What are you going to do you useless weakling?"

He was being baited, some voice of reason was telling him. But he couldn't sit and watch Andrea be hurt. With a scrambling lurch, he jumped, wrapping his arms around the man's arm and biting down with all the force his jaw could muster. His front teeth broke skin, and he really hoped this idiot didn't have some type of disease he was going to catch second hand. Maybe biting had been a poor choice, but he had little to his defense. The man's roar of rage made his entire head throb, even with his ears flat against his skull. There was a clatter, and he heard the remote fall. Get the remote... He desperately thought. That was it, that could be her chance. Like a squid he wrapped his arms and legs around the man's arm and back, pulling his hair, taking another bite into his shoulder. Actually, he was surprised he got as many clean shots as he did. Clearly, the beefy man did not expect the bunny to be able to fight back still.

Ha. Asshat.

WHAM!!!

They pitched back into a wall and Zaid saw stars. Stars and... Nope. Just stars. Lots and lots of stars. "Have...you learned...nothing?!" The man was snarling, and with each word, he leaned harder into Zaid, pressing his cut back against the wall. A whimper turned to a scream as he let go, and then all the air was pushed out of his lungs. Just run...Andrea, just run!

"Zaid... don't look!"

He was fighting so hard. As soon as her muscles relaxed again she fought against the urge to melt into a shuddering puddle of goop. She forced herself to spring for that dropped remote, catching it in her hands. There wasn't time to try and figure out how to turn it off. Her sweet, loving friend was in danger after having tried to protect her.

She opened her eyes and looked at the tattooed man, just as Sloth sluggishly sprang for his throat.

Her collar activated again and this time the shriek waiting inside wouldn't be contained. Shadows danced around the edges of her vision as her heart beat pounded like thunder in her ears.

Her knees hit the cement floor, body pitching sideways in a dead faint. Her last thought was a desperate plea for Zaid to escape...

Don't look...

Zaid wasn't sure he could look. Pain was making his head fuzzy, all the screams making his senses overwhelmed. There was screaming, electricity, and another yell from the man currently burying him against the wall.

Footsteps had arrived, cussing, and someone pealed him up from where he had slid to the floor. "What a frickin' mess. Someone get her out of here. Dress the bunny on the way, they'll just have to tolerate a little blood."

He let the darkness carry back into his mind. That was the only escape coming for him now.