David was instantly transported to his dark world. He was in a panic.

"Fuck, is this freak going to rape me or something?," David thought, "What kind of guy drugs another guy at a bar?"

David was desperate. He was reaching out for random dream orbs trying to get some sort of help. None of the dream orbs remained motionless though. David had a feeling that he was being transported somewhere... ya...he was still in the car...that's why none of the dream orbs were stationary.

After what seemed like a half hour or so, David realized that the dream orbs became less frequent to the point of absence and he could not longer detect any motion.

David's perception of time was messed up, but after a short while he started to feel himself leave the dream space.

"Hello, trash," a echoing voice sounded besides David's head as he regained consciousness.

David was slowly opening his eyes as he awoke in a haze. Those drugs must have been pretty strong.

Looking around, David could see that he was in a warehouse of some type. He could also feel that he was bound to a sturdy chair with a heavy duty rope. He struggled for a moment but couldn't free himself. He was also unable to utilize his heavenly energy to use any of his darkness skills.

"What the hell is going on?," David asked as he started to focus in on his surrounding to see four men standing a few feet away.

"Your friend sold you to me. He sold you to me for a chance to promote his family on Earth and to earn a spot on the next trip to The Other. Guess your friends aren't that high quality," a familiar voice said mockingly besides him.

"Gabriel?," David said still trying to figure out what was happening.

For a split second, he was relieved that Chaz had not drugged him for some weird sexual act.....but then he realized he was actually in a worse situation. He and Gabriel had some hatred toward each other....but it should not be enough to kidnap him and move him off to some abandoned building in the middle of nowhere.

'Is he going to kill me?,' David thought for a second as a look of fear passed across his face.

"Ha ha...No, I do not plan on killing you," Gabriel said, "you cost me two good guards. I need repayment. I had offered to give my group of guards a bonus if they could bring me your corpse.....but who would have known that they would screw up and leave you alive. I guess that they did manage to explode your parents though. That seemed to cause you a little heartache.....ha ha ha...."

Gabriel's laughing words struck David pretty hard.

So, Gabriel was behind the explosion that killed his parents.

"You killed my parents?," David raged while trying to break free of the chair, "Why? Why? Why would you kill my parents?"

"Oh, you must be an idiot. The reason should be pretty easy to figure out. You put your eyes on Karine....My woman," Gabriel said, "Anyone that goes after a woman I am interested in shall pay a price. You have paid part of yours...but you still have some balance left to pay...so you are here."

"Fuck you. You killed my parents over some stupid shit like that? What kind of twisted bastard are you? Karine doesn't even like you," David said with anger in his voice.

That last comment seemed to strike on Gabriel's nerves, he yelled at David, "Anyone who gets an eye for my women will not be allowed." He paused a second then looked over to a man at his side with a sneer, "Raze, go remove one of his eyes for me. Do it slowly. I want him to hurt."

David felt a stab of panic at Gabriel's words. What type of nightmare was he in? This seemed like it should be one of his old nightmares. But David knew.....this was real life.....he could modify what was about to happen.

The man at Gabriel's side walked over and pulled a small knife off of his hip. David's mind was running frantically trying to figure out a way to escape. He tried to phase into shadow, but nothing seemed to be working. Why couldn't he do anything?

Walking up to David, the henchman Raze tried to hold David's head steady. David was resisting with most of his strength.

"Hey Jace, are you going to come help me or not? You kept talking about paying this guy back for those few hits he landed in the tournament," Raze said as he struggled to hold David's head still.

"Sure. I was just waiting for you to ask," Jace said as he walked forward. As he got near David, he punched out right into David's abdomen.

David felt a wrenching pain come from inside his body and started gasping for air.

"See you can't just go in for the eye removal first, Raze," the other man explained, "you need to loosen them up first." He then began to repeatedly hit David in various locations.

After about ten minutes of beating, David was slumped down in the chair. He could only taste blood in his mouth. He could only smell a mixture blood and vomit around him. He could also still see the group of men standing there laughing as one of them flicked a lit cigarette butt into the crotch of his pants....but of all the senses....his sense of feeling was what was receiving the most input.....he was in pain. Intense pain all over his body.

Even in his previous fights, the pain was only a fraction of what he was going through now....and he knew more was going to come his way. Anticipation was one of the keys to a good nightmare.....and these guys seemed to understand that point.

"Quit wasting time," Gabriel said to the group of guys, "Take his eye now, so I can release some of the restraint so his body starts to heal. I still want to keep him alive remember."

With his head slumped down, David could hear the footsteps approaching him. All three of Gabriel's henchmen grabbed a hold of David at once. David tried to close his eyes because he knew what was going to happen, but he felt a pair of hands grab his face near his right eye. He couldn't resist....he didn't have the strength. As his eye was propped open, he could see a small knife blade in a hand moving towards his eye. He tried so hard to close his eye, but the knife kept coming nearer to his eye. As it got really close, the knife started to blur and David couldn't make out what was happening anymore. Then he felt a pushing sensation and pain....lots of pain. Then he felt a pop and the pain escalated greatly. He could still see out of his eye for a few seconds, but that quickly faded. The eye was no longer there. All David felt was pain and the emptiness of a gaping hole in his face where his eye once was. David passed out.

As usual, David was back in his dream world. He was pain free and back to his normal self. It was weird being in the dream world while he knew the poor shape of his body in reality. But he couldn't do anything about it. After what seemed like a half hour, David felt the tug of consciousness and found himself back sitting in the chair.

"See I told you he would heal if the restraint was lessened a bit. In the tournament, it was almost clear that he had mastered the Body of Recovery. Guys that manage to master that skill will heal on their own as long as they are not critically injured," Gabriel explained to the other three men.

"He's healed enough. Tighten the restraint," Gabriel ordered one of the men.

"You awake yet, trash?" Gabriel's voice sounded closer to David.

David was awake. He actually felt a little better then when he had passed out. From the conversation, it seemed that these guys had the ability to restrict his heavenly energy access.

"Alright, guys, here is how the story goes. David Knox was so upset over the rejection of his suitor status with Karine Carmine that he went on a rampage in the guard's housing facility tonight. He actually managed to kill several guards before fleeing. The family will immediately place him on the wanted list for criminal actions and violation of the guest employment contract. Then we will go to hunt the traitor. Our group will capture him as he flees, but the guy seemed to have some sort of explosive on him. He grabbed a hold of a few of the guards and exploded himself...all we could find is a mangled eyeball as proof of death," Gabriel said to the astonishment of everyone in the warehouse.

"Holy shit Gabriel. Are we really going to get rid of a bunch of the other guards tonight too?" one of the henchmen said in excitement.

"I have been waiting to rid us of a few of those bastards. This is a great excuse. We can capture or kill the rest of William's guys and this trash takes the fall as the bad guy," Raze, the henchman, said.

"I know. I am genius. My dad even said that this was a wonderful plan," Gabriel said with a overconfident smile on his face.

Hearing the narration, David actually laughed. Despite all his physical pain. He laughed.

"You honestly think everyone would believe that story. Some people know me and they understand that I would never do something like that. ha ha....you are no genius.....you are a fucking idiot....and someone is going to find out about this," David said using a lot of his remaining energy to speak.

Gabriel was angered by David's comments. He walked over to David and began to beat the man again. This time however....he did not avoid the face. What did it matter if his face was beat? They had already pulled his eye out.

With an echoing crack, David felt his cheekbone break. He felt a knife dig into his knee. He could feel the impact of something hitting his body repeatedly. His body was being broken.

When this round of beating ended, David was left completely physically destroyed.

"You can heal again. I don't want the goods to be completely spoiled," Gabriel said as he performed some gesture with a stone in his hand.

David could feel a trickle of heavenly energy enter his body. His Body of Recovery immediately started working overtime to repair his damaged body.

Gabriel and his henchmen just stood there chatting and having a good time. Every now and then they would throw something at David or curse him. But other than that, they carried on just like a couple of friends hanging out at a party. These guys were cruel and uncaring. They treated David like they really did consider him trash.

After about ten minutes of letting David heal, the small heavenly energy stream was completely cut off. David was in horrible shape.

"Alright, you look healed enough," Gabriel said as he started walking toward David.

"Thanks for the good time, Trash. I feel much better now," Gabriel said to David as he swung his fist into the side of David's head.

David was instantly brought into his dark world again. This dark world was his home when he was unconscious. David just sat there in the dark thinking about what had happened to him. From the hints given in Gabriel's words, he wasn't going to kill David.....but what was he going to do? David needed to live. He needed to have a chance to get them back for what they had done to him.

David also had worries about Karine and a few other people in the Carmine Family that had treated him nicely. But they were strong people. Karine should be able to handle herself. David had a feeling that since her mind shift, she was going to be a force to be reckoned with in the Carmine Family. She didn't need his help. Even though they were friends.....Their relationship was over after all.

What he could think of the most was that he really wanted revenge for his parents. He wanted to payback those that had acted against him. He wants to clear his name that Gabriel will try to drag through the mud. Most of all.....David just wanted to kill everyone involved in the entire situation. Gabriel and his henchmen. Anyone who had any knowledge of the events that took place and didn't act. Anyone that tried to stop his vengeance.

He was just an average architect who enjoyed his work. These people had ruined his normal life.

He had tried to help someone in distress. They had tried to kill him multiple times.

He had started to fall in love with an outstanding woman. They had killed his parents.

He had wanted to make a woman smile beautifully. They had twisted the woman that he loved into a cold heartless person.

He wanted to have someone to share camaraderie with. They made his one and only friend betray him.

He wanted to be stronger to protect the things he cared about. They had tortured and ruined his body.

He wanted to live a dream life with a good job and a beautiful wife. They had made his life into a living nightmare.

Sitting in his dark space.....drifting about in loneliness.....David relaxed and smiled. He finally realized that he had been too gentle, too kind.....too human. These people treated him like he was disposable. They wanted to give him a living nightmare simply because his actions offended them. But David knew more about nightmares than anyone...and they had no idea the nightmares that he could give them.