I groaned and blinked as my eyes adjusted to the pitch black gloom of the cell I was in. My hands and feet were- mercifully- unbound and I decided to explore the room.

I leaned against the wall and limped my way around. The room was square and quite small. There was an unidentifiable black lump on the floor and I cautiously walked towards it. I poked it. The lump moved.

I screamed.

The lump screamed.

I scrambled back until I hit the wall and closed my mouth to stop screaming.

"Holy snickers!!! Who the hell are you?!" The lump- which I know identified as a boy- yelled. His voice seemed achingly familiar- like a warm summer's breeze in an icy winter.

"I'm Iris," I stammered, "who are you?"

The boy went unnaturally still, "Iris what?"

I narrowed my eyes at him, even though he couldn't see, "why should I tell you?" When he didn't reply, I sighed, "Iris West-Brown."

There was a pause and I heard some shuffling as the boy moved closer, "R-rainbow?"

My eyes widened, "How do you-?" I gasped and my hand flew to my mouth, "A-Alex?"

"Oh God..." he whispered.

"How do I know it's really you?" I demanded, my voice wavering.

"I met you when I was ten years old," he said quietly, "in Pratoh Park. You joined a gang at ten years and was abused by John and your 'mother' Elise. We met Jax at around eight years- I was twelve- and I supposedly died a few years later. It's been four years."

I kept asking him questions only the real Alex would know and he answered them all correctly.

"It really is you," I murmured, wishing it wasn't so dark.

"It's really me," Alex's voice was choked with emotion. He crawled forward and gripped my hands tightly, as if he was worried this was all a dream.

I flung my arms around him and began sobbing hysterically. Alex hugged me back tightly, also crying.

"You're alive," I mumbled, kissing his cheek, "you're alive."

Suddenly, I pulled away and glared at him- even though he couldn't see me in the dark, "you're alive!" I yelled and hit him repeatedly.

"Do-you-know-how-much-pain-you've-put-me-and-Jax-through?" I said harshly, hitting Alex after every word.

"Ow! Ow! Rainbow!" Alex shied away from my blows, "I can explain!" He yelped.

"Please do," I said sarcastically, leaning against the wall and bringing my knees up to my chest.

"I did have lung cancer," Alex started, "and I genuinely thought I was going to die that day. I fell asleep, really thinking it was the end. The next thing I knew, I was awake and tied to a chair," his voice took on a hint of anger, "they told me I was cured and kidnapped. They wanted to know about you. I refused to tell them anything, so they tortured me. It was Hell, Rainbow."

My anger diffused hearing his broken tone. Silently, I hugged Alex again and gave him a shoulder to cry on.

The door banged open and a flood of light entered the room. I squinted and Alex took up a protective stance in front of me.

"Aw, isn't this sweet?" John's voice rang out in the chamber.

"Go die in a hole, John," I snapped from my position behind Alex. We both got to our feet and I gasped when I saw my best friend's face. It was mottled with bruises and cuts. I wanted to kill the person who hurt him.

"Hey Iris," John smirked, "did you miss me?"

I rolled my eyes, "dude, you've already used that cliche line before. Can't you think up of something more unique?" Someday, my sarcasm is what's going to get me killed.

To my surprise, John began laughing, "oh I'll enjoy torturing you."

"Why do you hate me?" I asked sincerely.

It seemed to throw John off guard for a second before he snarled, "your family took everything away from me. I'm merely returning the favour."

I suddenly remembered the tracking device Dad had put on me a while back. Hopefully, he didn't remove it. I decided to try and pry some information from John.

"What did we do?" I asked innocently, "if I'm going to die for something, I think I have the right to know why," Alex gripped my arm and shot me a warning look, telling me not to go too far.

"You want to know?" John hissed venomously, "fine. I'll tell you," from his pocket, he took out his wallet and from there, a photo. He walked towards us and shoved the photo in my face.

It was worn and faded, but the features of the people were clear as ever. John looked very different. His eyes were sparkling with joy and he had an arm wrapped around a beautiful red-haired lady and a younger girl with black hair and the same blue eyes as John. The red haired woman was clutching a small bundle in her arms.

"This was my fiancé holding our daughter,"John growled, "and that's my sister standing next to me. My older brother took the photo. That was the happiest time of my life and your family took it all away from me," he leaned against the wall and slid down, as if the weight of his story was too much for him.

"My fiancé's- Rosie's- parents were the leader of the American Mafia. She had nothing to do with it. Years ago, I came home to find the house on fire. I could hear their screams as it burned down..." John closed his eyes and a lone tear tracked down his cheek, "it still haunts me to this day. The firemen managed to subdue the flames, but it was too late. Her lungs were filled with smoke and she was covered with burns as she tried to shield our dying daughter. My brother and sister died of smoke inhalation," he broke down, his shoulders heaving with massive sobs, "my only family... gone."

Despite the way John has treated me the last few years, I felt sorry for him. I understood what it was like to lose a loved one.

"How do you know it was Iris' parents who caused the fire?" Alex asked, his grip on me not relaxing.

"Who else would it be?" John spat out bitterly, "it was a well known fact that your parents and Rosie's were rivals ten years years ago."

I looked at him, confused, "that can't be right... the two mafias have had a peace treaty for decades."

"So?" John asked, wiping his tears and getting to his feet.

"Neither family would want to start a war ad ruin that," I elaborated, "so it can't have been them."

John glared at me, "you're lying," he snapped and left the room.

I suddenly felt incredibly tired. I yawned and Alex smiled.

"Sleep," he said, sitting down and gently resting my head in his lap, "I'll wake you up in a bit."

My vision dimmed and I welcomed the dark abyss, praying that we get out of here soon.