A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.

Sore, Lionel woke up with a pounding headache. His eyes opened slowly and didn't appreciate the harsh light shining down on them. He squinted and tried to understand where he was. The memories of the cemetery and the forest filled his mind, and he grumbled profanities under his breath. It hadn't taken the creature long to knock him out after the death of the other two guards.

Worried for Ellice, he glanced around, but he didn't see her in the small room. It looked like they were in an abandoned cabin somewhere. Torn green curtains blocked his view outside partially, but he was able to tell that they were still in the forest. Or, the creature might've taken them to the woods where the tunnels were. He didn't exactly know, but he did know that he was freezing cold.

Gazing down at himself, he found that he was stripped of everything but his white undershirt and black boxers. His hands and ankles were strapped to the chair with old, weak looking rope. He was surprised that the creature hadn't used something stronger. Even if there wasn't something like that in the cabin, Lionel didn't doubt the creature's ability to find it elsewhere, which caused him to become concerned.

Blue orbs pinned themselves to another door in the space, and it wasn't the exit. He didn't hear anything on the other side, but Ellice had to be in there. If she wasn't, she was somewhere nearby. At least, that's what he would like to hope.

Lionel forced himself to look away and focus on the ropes. He managed to get his left wrist free. The skin had broken a bit, but it was nothing serious. His free hand quickly went to work on the other bonds. Soon enough, he was free.

Carefully, he stood up as though the action was a trap in itself. Nothing happened to him, though. Steadily, he made his way over to the door, but he stopped. Soft footfalls hit his ears. Had the creature heard him? Or, had the creature known that he would escape all along? Lionel became paralyzed when the door started to open.

All of his defenses were gone. He felt like a walking piece of steak. There was practically nothing that he could do against the creature. The difference in their physical strength was almost laughable. Lionel forced his body to move, however, and he stepped back towards the chair. His hands gripped it even though it was a useless item against the creature.

His eyes looked into the next room, and little to no light entered it. He could see boards on the windows. More importantly, he spotted Ellice in the middle of the room. She was unconscious, and she had been stripped of all of her belongings too.

Poking out from behind the door, the creature grinned. "Aren't you coming in? You wanted to get to your partner, right?" The creature lifted its human-looking hand. "She's right over there. You should go to her." It giggled and pulled the door back more. "Partners are important after all."

Not moving, he scowled at the thing. "Like you would know." The creature was about to reply, but he cut it off. "Now, where are we?" Several giggles left it before it smirked towards him. Lionel had managed to keep his voice severe and not stutter, but that didn't affect the thing at all. Instead, it looked like it was about to enter a laughing fit.

"That's a rather stupid question." Multiple giggles escaped the thing. "Why would I tell you that? We're somewhere, and you're partner is in front of you. She needs your help. Go to her; I insist." Its voice had dropped to a lower tone towards the end, and it chilled him. Even though he didn't want to, his feet moved out of pure fear.

Once he was in the room, the creature shut the door behind them and shoved him forward. Lionel could tell that the ropes were weak on her too, and he was tempted to untie them, but the creature remained close. It had seated itself on the ground and had its chin in the palm of its hands. "Well, aren't you going to release her? Or, are you giving her to me?"

Almost, he had spit on the thing. "Like I would ever do that. Now, what do you want?"

"Again, a stupid question. I eat humans. Of course, I want to eat you both right now. That urge is even more so since your forces invaded my home and ended my constant feast." An exaggerated sigh left the creature. "But, I'm holding back because I need information first. I need to know what your organization's plans are to stop me." Giggles parted from him. "Personally, I never thought that I would get the details, but all of you handed yourself right over."

"Like we would ever give that to you."

"Ah, that's what I was afraid of. Well, take her and go, then." He waved his right hand dismissively as though they were mere nuisances. Lionel didn't fall for it. The creature was most certainly up to something, and his heart only pounded faster. "You don't want to take her, then? It's like when I offered my helper a chance to run back in the tunnels. She was so hesitant, but she ran in the end."

"What? Helper?" Lionel couldn't hide the annoyance from his countenance. "Whatever. I'm not falling for your trap. You just admitted that you wanted to eat us, and we're not giving you the information, so what are you playing at?"

"I just changed my mind." The creature shrugged. "It happens. So, take her and go." A grin pulled at its lips when it noticed that Ellice was waking up. "I'm sure that she won't want to see me when she opens those eyes of hers."

The brown-haired male stared at the creature for a long moment, but the thing didn't move at all. Hesitantly, he started to untie the ropes, and he was surprised to see Ellice's head bandaged. Just what was the creature up to? Once he had her released, he picked her up and headed towards the door. There was a serious problem, though, even if the creature let them go. They had barely any clothes on, and their bare feet would have to walk through snow. If they were far out in the woods, they could very well die from the cold. Ms. (L/n) had also mentioned the creature's incredible speed, and they had witnessed it for themselves. It wasn't unrealistic to believe that they were miles from the town.

"I forgot to mention something else about my little helper." Lionel stopped and looked back. The creature was now standing, and its hands were in its hoodie's pockets. "After she ran," it grinned widely, "I caught her." A light groan left Ellice's lips, and Lionel knew that she would wake soon. Before he could say anything, the creature walked over to the bed and took a seat. "And like her, I'll catch you two again, but there's a difference between her and both of you. Can you guess it?"

"I'm not playing with you, and I'll kill you if you come after us again."

"I think that you'll kill me whenever you get the chance." Lionel remained quiet, and the creature smirked. The creature leaned back on its arms, which were several inches longer than a human's. They unnerved Lionel greatly and made the creature look all the more monstrous. "But, I'm not too worried. So, are you leaving, or are you going to tell me what I want?"

Not answering it, Lionel backed out of the room and towards the entrance. Before the creature was out of his sight, he saw the thing reach under the bed and pull out a pair of shoes. "You might want these. Your feet won't last long in the snow otherwise." That was most definitely a trap, but he knew that the creature was probably right.

"How far out are we?" A smile that insulted his intelligence was his answer. He took a step back, but he wanted those shoes. "If I guess the answer to your question, will you throw those over?"

Now, it grinned. "I will."

Thinking that it was worth a try, he responded, "The difference is that you might not kill us." He had assumed the girl to be dead even if it called her its helper. She had helped it by giving it food, and he didn't wish to aid him in the same way.

"Is that so?" Lionel didn't say anything back, but the creature did toss the shoes over. The thing remained on the bed while he set down Ellice and put his shoes on. He grabbed his partner again and reached the front door. Cautiously, he opened it and walked outside. There was no movement behind him.

All around them were trees, and he had no idea which way to go. He tried to look for past footprints in the snow, but he couldn't find any. The creature had probably removed any that had been close by, so he headed straight and hoped that he would reach the town or some warm, safe place soon. It was unsettling that the creature had said that he would come after them again, but he didn't know when. His priority was to get far away from the cabin and make sure that Ellice and he lived.

Cold, he pressed Ellice closer to himself. She cuddled into him, needing warmth. Her eyes blinked opened, and another groan left her. Looking up at him, she squinted as her eyes adjusted to the light. "Lionel? Wha ..."

"It doesn't matter. We just need to get somewhere else. I have a feeling that we don't have much time to do so."