After my 3 year hiatus, I'm back! I'm so sorry it took this long to update, University is kicking my ass. However, I'm determined to finish this story one way or another. Thank you everyone who's favourited, reviewed and continued to encourage me. Please enjoy chapter 8

Roger padded quietly down the main hall. Slowing to a careful stop, he poked his head around the corner, eyes peeled for the tall blond who'd just about crucified him days earlier. The chicks here are all insane. He griped to himself. Maybe Janet should have her doctor's coat switched out for a straightjacket.

"Hey!" He heard someone yell. He whirled around, ready to bolt for cover. "Whoa!" Carl held his hands up in a non-violent gesture. "Easy! You look like someone's out to kill you."

"I should be so lucky." Roger muttered darkly. "I've got two of them on my back now: Harvey and her psycho keeper."

Carl nodded sympathetically. "One of the doctors told me what happened. Or some of it, anyway. He heard Janet yelling at you." He shrugged slightly. "Try and stay out of her way from now on. She's funny when it comes to Ash."

"How so?" Roger asked somewhat sarcastically.

"She's very protective of her." Carl answered, missing the tone in Roger's voice. "She'll fight to the bitter end for her and doesn't forgive those who pick on her. I mean, she still hasn't forgiven Mark…" His voice trailed off, his expression turning to one of horror.

Roger gave him a sharp look. "What?"

Carl's oh-shit-I've-said-too-much face only intensified. "Nothing really." He squeaked unconvincingly. "Mark didn't really like Ash. Nothing major."

Roger turned on the nervous orderly slowing trying back away. "If it was nothing major, then why isn't he here anymore?"

"Look, I've got to go…" Carl turned, trying to unsuccessfully slink away.

"You're hiding something." Roger accused, planting himself in Carl's path.

"No, I'm not!" Carl's voice was a tad too shrill to be effectively convincing.

"Yes you are." Roger glared at the other man. "What happened to him?"

"I don't…"

"WHAT. HAPPENED!"

Carl froze like a deer in headlights for a moment. Then his shoulders slumped. "He's in St. John's Hospital. In Springfield."

Roger narrowed his eyes. "Why?" He demanded.

Carl ignored his question. "Remember the day Ash attacked you? Remember how frightened everyone was?" He exhaled loudly through his nose. "Well, it's because they'd seen it happen before. Mark hurt her the same way you did. Only in his case, they got there too late." Carl shook his head. "Janet still goes ballistic if you even mention his name. She despises him."

Roger gave Carl an incredulous look. "All just because he got Ash upset?"

Carl shook his head slowly. "It was much more than that. Mark hated Ash. And one day, he decided to get back at her in the most degrading way possible."

Roger glared at him, silently telling him to hurry up with the full story.

"It was almost a year ago now…

Ash lay curled on her small cot, somewhere between waking and sleep. She hummed quietly to herself, trying to cut through the suffocating silence. Smith's Grove was uncommonly quiet, with most of the staff either home sleeping or elsewhere in the facility. Even the inmates seemed unusually docile that night. No sounds of sobbing, no hysterical cries. No sound of voices turned hoarse from years of screaming. She hummed louder, trying to calm herself. Not that she'd ever admit to it, but silence made her nervous. From her experience, it was always quietest before the ceiling came crashing down. She curled her legs to her chest, hugging her arms around her knees. At least Mark had decided to finally leave her alone. She didn't know where he'd finally slinked off to and, quite frankly, she didn't care.

Eventually, her humming took effect and she began to drop off. In her semi-conscious mind, she heard the door to her cell open and close, the whisper of footsteps gliding across the room…

She was suddenly jerked upright, a hand sealing itself over her mouth. She gave a startled cry, muffled by the hand, as her attacker dragged her off of her cot. She kicked wildly, her limbs clumsy with sleep. She heard her attacker grunt in pain and she twisted, trying to free her wrists from her attacker's grasp. A fist connected with her stomach, driving the air from her lungs and causing her muscles to spasm with pain. She sagged in her assailant's grasp, wheezing, as she heard handcuffs click shut around her wrists. Her attacker dragged her across the room, throwing her against the wall and pinning her there with his weight. She twisted, eyes straining to see a face through the dark.

"Well, well, well…" She heard through the dark. She stopped struggling, teeth grinding as she put voice to face. "Looks like someone's in a bit of a situation."

She snarled from behind his hand, burning holes through him with her eyes.

Mark leered at her through the dark, eyes glittering at the sight of her pinned and helpless. "You know, it occurred to me the other day that I'm sick and tired of your bullshit." He leaned in closer, brushing a stray lock of hair off her forehead. "You make this job a living hell for everyone around you. You prance around this place like a queen, making sure to step on us as often as you can. You insult us, and humiliate us and make us all look like fools. And I'm tired. Of. It." He hissed the last word, his breath blowing into her face. "So, I began to think of ways to put you in your place." He grinned darkly. "But how? Physical pain?" He leered at her again. "Tempting, but not enough. Besides, you'd probably enjoy it."

She glared at him, eyes full of murderous intent. He smirked back. "Emotional pain, then? I know how much it hurts you to hear about your little friend. How deeply the knife goes." He tightened his grip as she lunged at his face, snapping her teeth. He shoved her back roughly, her head cracking against the wall with a hollow sound. "Same problem." He continued, leaning in, "Not enough. But then I got another idea. You see," He leaned in closer, almost whispering in her ear. "I've watched you. And I know more about your mind then I think you'd care to know." His mouth stretched into a sadistic grin. "I know what you fear."

Her eyes narrowed at this new statement. He watched her face with a growing smile. "Those kids, all those years ago. They made you feel helpless, didn't they? They could do whatever they wanted to you and you had no power to stop them." He slowly tilted his head. "That's your great fear, isn't it? That helplessness, that lack of control. You act so bloody condescending and cruel and arrogant," His lip curled slightly, "because it gives you a sense of control over the situation. And having that control stripped away, being at the mercy of someone else." He slowly licked his lips. "Well, it's enough to drive you insane, isn't it?"

Her glare faltered slightly, vague ideas beginning to form in her head…

"And that humiliation, that fear, that weakness…" He smiled. "That'll hurt you more than anything else I could possibly do to you." He leered. "You have absolutely no control over what happens to you. I can do whatever. I. Want."

The sudden meaning behind his words hit her like a ton of bricks. She screeched behind his hand, her struggles becoming frenzied. He grinned and dropped his eyes, sweeping them slowly and obviously over her body. He shifted his hand off her mouth and was immediately met by a string of curses and insults, nearly unintelligible from rage. He ignored her, shifting the handcuff chain to one hand while he reached into his pocket. Turning back to the shrieking girl he had pinned against the wall, he slapped her hard across the scarred side of her face, her cheek tearing as the stitches broke.

"Shut up." He commanded. "Now," He said, getting close to her face, "You're not going to make any trouble for me, are you? Because if you do, I'll have to use this." He held a long, ice pick-like tool up in front of her eyes. "They used to use these for lobotomies." He wagged the tool back and worth slowly, smiling as he watched her eyes follow it. "They would slide it in through the eye socket, tap it until it broke through the bone, then scramble it all around," He mimed scrambling some poor soul's grey matter, "before sliding it out again." His grin widened as he watched her face work, trying to hide her fear. He rested the tip against her cheek, just below her eye. "Want to try it?"

Fire sparked in his groin as he watched the pulse in her neck flutter, her shallow breaths causing her chest to rise and fall in sharp twitches.

She glared at him, her teeth bared."Fuck you."

He shot her a sadistic grin, teeth glinting in the dark. "Well, I wasn't going to wait for an invitation, but if you insist…"

She let out a shrieking growl, twisting her body in an attempt to escape.

"I wouldn't doooo that if I were you…" he sang, tapping the ice-pick against her jugular. He could feel her body quivering against his chest, though he couldn't tell whether it out of anger or fear. He reached a hand into her long hair, red strands tangling around his fingers, and yanked her head back. "Ready, darlin'?" he mocked.

Her answering growl was cut off as his mouth crashed down on hers, his tongue forcing itself between her lips. Her eyes bulged in shock as she tried to twist her head away. The point of the ice-pick dug into her neck, drawing a bead of blood which slowly slid down the ivory flesh of her throat. She cringed and squeezed her eyes shut as she felt his tongue probe the inside of her mouth. His teeth clamped down on her lower lip, twisting and shredding the delicate skin.

Blood. She could taste blood now. His hands roamed over her body, making sure to be as rough as possible.

Bile rose in her throat as his hands found her breasts, squeezing them hard enough to bruise. Mark licked his lips, reaching forward and tearing the neckline of her flimsy nightgown, exposing pale flesh. His mouth latched onto her nipple, teeth pulling at her in animalistic passion.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? Ash shrieked inside her head. FIGHT BACK!

I can't! Ashley sobbed. I can't! You heard him. He'll scramble our brains around until we're like the rest of the poor souls in here!

She heard Ash release a shrieking growl. YOU STUPID BITCH! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT HE'S GOING TO DO TO US!?

Ashley just sobbed quietly.

Ash was jerked violently back to reality as a hard slap left her face stinging. "Don't you dare drift away on me." Mark snarled. "I want you here, experiencing every moment of this." He grasped her chin with his free hand, keeping her head still while he explored her. He trailed his tongue across her jaw line, and down her throat, nipping at the pale flesh. His tongue dipped into the small hollow at the base of her throat, and trailed across her collarbone. He bit down, drawing a pained shriek. Blood welled in the marks left, staining her pale skin.

He pressed his fore arm across her throat, pinning her more securely to the wall. Her eyes widened as she heard a zipper open. She thrashed her head back and forth, eyes squeezed shut. "No no no nononononONONO!"

He grabbed a fistful of her hair, forcing her onto her knees. "Open your mouth, love. I've got something for you."

She snarled and clenched her teeth shut. He yanked back on her hair, smiling at her sudden cry of pain. "Open up, or this is going straight through the top of your skull." He dragged the ice-pick across her forehead, blood welling in the light scratches it left. "And if you bite me," He pulled back on her hair, making her whimper, "They'll find you tomorrow in a pool of your own blood."

She clenched her eyes shut, as if not being able to see could stop it from happening. She gagged as something was forced into her mouth, choking her. Mark growled above her as he thrust his hips, forcing his member deeper into her throat.

Please, no!

Mark's grip on her hair tightened. "Suck me off, bitch!" He bellowed, yanking back on her hair. She obeyed, eyes shut so she couldn't see what she was being forced to do.

No more. Please, I'm begging…

Her neck ached from the angle, her throat protesting the foreign object being forced into it again and again and again.

In, out, in, out…

Mark moaned above her, head tipped back, hips grinding painfully against her jawbone. Tears were beginning to trickle down her cheeks despite her efforts to hold them back.

I'll kill you. For this, if for nothing else you've done to me…

She gagged painfully as his thrusting increased in tempo. Her throat and jaws ached.

Please, please stop! Please god, let it end…

A burst of salty liquid hit her tongue. Mark groaned above her, emptying his seed into her mouth. She gagged, head convulsively jerking forward so she could spit it out. The sharp prick of the ice pick in her left temple stopped her. "Swallow it." He commanded. "Now."

She obeyed, teeth clenched and fluid dripping down her chin as she struggled not to gag.

Mark jerked her head back and smiled as he surveyed her face. Her pale face was criss-crossed with tear tracks. Dark eyes stared at him, begging and trying not to beg in turn. Strands of her red hair stuck to her cheeks and to the fluid smeared on her lips and chin.

His smile widened as he yanked her hair suddenly, forcing her to her feet. His hands slammed into the wall on either side of her head, trapping her with his body. "Ready for the main course, darlin'?"

She stared at him, eyes huge in her white face. "Don't do this."

He ignored her. "I think I'll do you right here against the wall." He smirked, brushing a loose lock of hair behind her ear. "What do you think?"

"Mark, please." A note of panic had entered her voice. "Please, I'm…" She stopped suddenly, biting her lip.

"You're what?" he asked, leaning close to her ear. "Begging?"

She glared at him, before dropping her gaze to the floor.

Yes.

Her face betrayed what she couldn't bring herself to say out loud.

He laughed, the harsh sounds bouncing off the walls and reverberating in the dark room. "Beg all you want, darlin'." He breathed in her ear. "The more you beg, the harder I get."

She grit her teeth, eyes blazing as her fear gave way to rage. "I'LL KILL YOU, YOU HEAR ME!? I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

He grabbed her chin, tipping her head back. "I'd like to see you try."

"Now, I think you've stalled for long enough." He stroked the tip of the ice pick down her cheek. "Better get this show on the road." He looked down at her torn nightgown and snorted. "They almost make it too easy."

With his free hand, he began inching the hem of her nightgown up her thighs, higher, higher. She growled, trying to kick out with her legs. He stopped when he got to her hips, her white underwear revealed. She glared at him, chest heaving, fear once again in her eyes. He grinned viciously before filling the air with the sound of tearing fabric. He held up the remains of her underwear for her to see, his smile too dark and sadistic to be at all comforting.

She shrieked, the sound bouncing harshly off the walls as she pressed her legs together. Mark caught hold of one of her legs, hiking it up around his hip. As he positioned himself at her entrance, he noted with savage pleasure that she was crying again, the tears slipping silently down her face. "Please…"

He grinned savagely, bending down to whisper in her ear. "You're in Hell now, darling, and I'm the devil." And with a sudden brutal movement, he forced himself inside her. The scream that ripped from her chest almost made him lose it then and there. He pulled out slightly and pushed back in, agonizingly slow.

She screamed, desperately trying to gain enough leverage to push him away. He pumped harder, slamming into her body.

Ash screamed as tears ran down her cheeks. It hurt, oh god it hurt.

Her thoughts kept tempo with his frenzied thrusting.

I'll kill you, I'll kill you, I'll kill you, I'll kill y…

He buried his face in her neck, biting the delicate skin and leaving red marks surrounded by purple bruising. She twisted her wrists, desperately trying to fit her hands through the small openings in the handcuffs.

Please, she thought, squeezing her hands as small as they would go. Please, God. I won't ever ask you for anything ever again, just please let me get my hands free…

Roger gasped, his tempo becoming irregular. He leaned in close her face, lips tickling her earlobe. "Are you afraid?" he whispered. She whimpered in reply, hands singing in pain from her escape attempts.

Her whimper had apparently sent him over the edge. His body stiffened against her, groans issuing forth from his mouth as he spilled his seed inside her.

YOU HAVE TO GO NOW! Her mind screamed at her. GO NOW, OR HE'LL SLIT YOUR THROAT AND LEAVE YOU TO BLEED TO DEATH!

She yanked at the handcuffs, fingers screaming as the bones in her hand compressed. She shrieked in pain and all of a sudden, it was over. Her left hand was free.

Roger panted in front of her, still pinning her to the wall with his weight. He straightened up a little, not noticing her freed hands. "Did you like that, whore…" He reeled backwards as she suddenly threw her full weight against him, catching him off guard. He fell backwards, hitting his head on the concrete floor, the icepick flying out of his pocket and out of reach. The air whooshed out of his lungs as his vision dimmed and then wavered back. "You bitc…" he stopped abruptly, the saliva drying up in his mouth and his eyes widened in terror.

Ash stood in front of him, head bent forward like she was praying. He could see her eyes open though, and in the dim light he could have sworn they'd turned black. His eyes dropped downward and the skin on his scalp tightened painfully.

She had the icepick in her hand.

He tentatively held a hand up. "Ashley…?"

Her head snapped up, eyes widening until they seemed to overflow her face. Her mouth was open in a jagged scream which, as he watched, twisted itself into a screaming rictus of pain. Her eyes locked onto his and she grinned, her skin stretching until he though it would tear.

"Ashley's not here anymore."

Her voice was awful, like it had been chiseled from the inside of her ribs. She took a single, shuddering step towards him and he screamed, his voice echoing off the walls. "Don't come any closer! I mean it! I'll…"

"You'll what?" she asked him in that same awful voice. "You'll what?"

He scrambled backwards across the cold floor, never taking his eyes off that terrible grin. His back hit something hard and he realized he'd backed himself into the corner. She took another slow step towards him and he screamed, throwing his arms across his face like he could protect himself by simply by refusing to see her.

He listened to the dry whisper of her feet as she drew closer to him and he screamed louder, voiding his bladder in the extremity of his terror.

He shrieked as cold fingers wrapped themselves around his wrists, gently, almost lovingly trying to pry his arms away from his face. The fingers abruptly let go and he pressed his back against the wall, head buried in his arms and eyes squeezed shut, hoping beyond hope that someone had come, someone had saved him…

Please don't let her be there, please don't let her be there, please don't let her be there…

He cracked an eye open, scanning for any sign of her. Nothing. She was gone. He cautiously opened his other eye, looking for movement in the dark. Nothing. He exhaled and turned his head.

Her face was inches from his, grinning like a jack-o-lantern, eyes utterly blank. He screamed, his head hitting the wall as he jumped back. She slid closer until their noses touched. His mouth opened and shut like a beached fish, suddenly gripped by the conviction that this grinning thing in front of him wasn't human.

It's not human, it's not, it can't be, it can't be…

She slid the tip of the icepick up his cheek, resting it just under his eye socket. The torn flap of her cheek stretched and he could see all of her teeth, glinting in the dull light.

"Are you afraid?" She whispered, that awful, grating voice mimicking the words that he'd said as he'd raped her.

Her eyes seemed to swell, the blackness rushing at him. As they swallowed him whole, he began to scream.

Roger stared at Carl in silent horror, transfixed by the story. "One of the orderlies working the third floor heard him screaming. They sounded the alarm. By the time a bunch of them got up there with restraints…" Carl shook his head, eyes wide. "There was nothing left of him. She'd…" He grimaced, like the memory was too awful to put into words. "…eaten his face."

Roger grimaced in disgust. "Eaten it?"

Carl nodded soberly. "His eyes were both gone. So were his nose and lips. The rest of his face was…chewed." He swallowed convulsively. "His genitals were gone. They found those in his stomach. I guess she made him eat them."

He shook his head, face registering nothing but horror. "She must have had some sort of blade, but we never found anything. Not on her, not in her cell, nothing. His chest…" He stopped, shaking his head. "I still have nightmares about it sometimes."

Roger stared at him, silently urging him to go on.

"She'd opened up his chest. You… you could see his heart beating. Glistening, like a plump red fruit." He shuddered at the memory.

"Why hasn't she been sentenced to death?" Roger asked. "Illinois has the death sentence, there's provocation…"

Carl shook his head. "She will be someday. For now, she's too valuable as a research subject." He looked at Roger, his eyes pleading. "You see, man, while I'm all for bringing her ego down, I'm not ready to end up like Mark." He nodded slightly, more to himself than to Roger. "And if you repeat that episode from the other day, you will. No one who hurts her ever survives."

Roger opened his mouth to answer, when a loud voice cut him off.

"What the hell are you two planning now?"

Hopefully, I'll have another chapter up fairly soon. I don't know how often I'll be able to update, but rest assured that this story will progress. Slowly.

-VulcanGirl17