The first thing felt when I came into consciousness was pain. My head ached so bad that it drew tears from my eyes. A whimper passed my lips and I tried to grab my head only to be stopped. My eyes snapped open but only darkness hovered in front of me. For a second I panicked, almost convinced I had gone blind. But then, slowly various shapes came into focus as my eyes adjusted to the dim, barely there light. It was a small room, like an attic or a barely there basement. Dust and hay covered the entire place with suspicious black spots on the floor that closely resembled move droppings.

A soft groan sounded somewhere behind to my left and I whipped my head at the direction and regretted almost immediately as my head felt like a cannon had gone off in it. After a second or two of waiting for the pain to subside, I whispered into the silence:

"Who is there?"

After a while, with a small shuffling sound, a pained whimper replied.

"Beau?"

I almost laughed aloud at the relief that swept on me.

"Martha?"

A sigh of relief sounded when Martha replied:

"Thank god! Are you fine? Where are we?"

"I am fine. Are you ok?"

"Yeah... Where are we?"

I looked around as much as my tied up body would allow and couldn't come up with anything apart from my initial conclusion.

"Looks like an attic or something..."

After a while of silence she replied:

"Beau? Who might have taken us?"

I sighed and my head hit the floor with a light thud. Who could it have been I had no idea. My legs and hands were bound too tight for me to do anything apart from crawl. Spitting out the hay from my mouth I grunted shifting over to my back.

"Martha? Can you move?"

"Yeah... My hands are bound together and there is a rope around my right leg, but it long enough that I can stand I guess."

We both were quiet for a while as we contemplated our situation. Then she hesitantly spoke:

" Beau, you know Adam will be fine right?"

Suddenly the memories that had been repressed by my current state came back and a sob ripped through my throat.

"Oh god Beau... I'm so stupid. I shouldn't have brought it up!"

I felt bad at her panicked voice and tried to smothered my soft sobs. I had no time to waste on my pity party while our situation had to have the highest priority. After getting us out of here, I would have all the time to cry.

Giving out a soft cough to clear the misery that blocked my throat, I slowly said: "No, no. You are right. He'll be alright." He would have to be alright. There was no way I was going to let him die.

There was a sudden loud squeal of metal before heavy foot steps ascended. I was right. We were in an attic. I scooched behind to were I had heard her voice till I hit a warm body as we waited on painful silence as we waited for the perpetrator to appear.

The door opened with a groan and a head appeared through the crack before the entire body was visible. Behind me Martha gave a choked noise as she stated at the man in front of us.

"Ivan?"

Standing in front of us wearing a black cloak, stood Ivan as he surveyed the place. He was here to save us right?

"Ivan! Help us." Martha cried out as hope filled her voice.

"Shut up."

I could feel Martha shrink back im suprise as my own eyes widened at the coldness in his voice. Something was wrong. He was Ivan, but he wasn't? The way he spoke, his eyes, they were something completely different from the Ivan that we knew and no one knew Ivan better than Martha.

"You are not Ivan! What have you done with him?!" She shouted as she struggled in the ropes that she was tied to. Ivan started walking towards us and suddenly I saw a glint of metal against his hands.

"Stop! Don't come near! Don't you dare come near us!" I yelled in alarm as I tried my best to cover Martha but my legs and hands were bound too tight.

"Beau! Get off me!" She shouted as she pushed me away and tried to cover me with her body but before she could she was jerked away from me.

"Ivan! Don't do this. Come back to me!"

I looked at the scene in front of me in horror as Ivan clutched Martha's neck holding a knife at her neck. The look in his eyes was unnerving, as he looked detached from humanity.

"Ivan!" Martha cried as she resolutely stared into Ivan's eyes. " It's me! Martha! Come back!"

The knife dug into her neck but she stood still as she gazed trying to search any hint of Ivan that she knew in those eyes.

The skin broke and more and more droplets of blood swelled from the cut and dripped down. And then the pressure eased!

He pushed her away and threw the knife down as he clutched his head howling in agony.

"Ivan?" Martha looked at him in concern while I breathed out in relief. Bending down she retrieved the knife and quickly cut her ropes and mine before rushing towards Ivan. Blood flowed down his nose as he collapsed on his knees with Martha right behind him.

"Martha?" He whispered as he collapsed in her arms.

"How? What should I do?" She looked at him agonised as her hands hovered over him, not knowing where to place them.

"Where is... Where is Bea.. u?" He coughed up blood as he spoke. I quickly rushed to him, my mind still left somewhere far behind as I struggled to understand what was happening.

"Go!... You have to (cough) back.. to Adam. Save him!" He rasped out before he gave into fits of coughing and ruby red blood sprayed out.

"Martha..." I turned to look at her.

"Go. I have to stay here." She didn't look up as she told me, her hands cradling Ivan's face as tears ran down her face. "Go!"

I nodded and got up. Running down the building, I bursted out into the sunny afternoon and ran towards the mansion, not once looking back.