"Jan… Alex… Alexianos… Alex!"

I was roused from my sleep with a start, sitting up quickly, just to bash my forehead into my husband's nose. I concluded within a few seconds that he had been trying to wake me up for a little while now. Damn, I was a heavy sleeper.

I fell back into the pillow, clutching my forehead. "Ow… Tino, your nose is hard as fuck. My poor forehead…"

"Geez, Alexei, your forehead? My nose." Tino chuckled. "Oh well. I don't have a very prominent nose anyways. Anyways, you've slept until noon!"

I sighed and rolled out of bed, rubbing my tired eyes. My name's Alexianos Kirzigian; thirty-two years of age, about five-nine, average weight. Dark hair, dark eyes, a patch of facial hair on my chin, Armenian, so-called architectural genius; the works, you know?

My Finnish husband, a twenty-seven year old fitness instructor named Tino Väinämöinen, was something to behold. He was handsome, leanly muscled, with light blonde hair and near-violet eyes. Only about an inch shorter than me, and around the same weight considering his fitness.

"Ugh… I had terrible insomnia all last week, you know… I finally got to sleep at like three in the morning last night." I mumbled, stretching my tired limbs, a few cracks and pops coming from my joints.

"Oh, I'm sorry… You could have woken me, you know." Tino apologized, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"What could you have done to help? I'd rather you have gotten your sleep. You had to get up early this morning to work with one of your clients." I said, turning and wrapping my arms around my husband. He smelled strongly of sweat and I cringed. "Phew, you need a shower."

"I know. I just got home from running with Andelko. That man ran a bit over five miles today and only stopped a few times. He's making great progress."

"Five miles? Christ, that's an amazing comeback from hardly being able to walk two weeks ago after that car crash."

"I know. It's amazing how much he's pushing himself to get back in shape and recover. Sometimes I think he pushed himself too much, but he insists he's alright. I still advise him to take it easy, but he doesn't listen too well." Tino laughed a bit. "You would think a neurosurgeon would, but I guess I'm wrong."

"Yeah. Well, hop in the shower, Tino. I'm going to get straight to work today; I've got to finish the design for the new chapel just outside of town within the next four days. Hopefully I can get it done soon so I can actually spend some time with you. Do you have any clients later today?" I asked as I started getting myself dressed in a pair of jeans and a royal purple button-up.

"Just a quick meeting with one of my less-regular clients to assess their goals and if they've met them. Six o clock. I should be back around seven-thirty. If I'm not, assume that I'm working out or something. Don't worry about me. Alright? I know the last time I didn't get back in a decent amount of time, you worried yourself to near-illness."

I chuckled, smiling. "Alright. I'll try not to. Please text me or call me if you're going to be out later than usual though. You know I can't hel-"

A loud crash from the kitchen made both Tino and I jump out of sudden shock.

"What was that?" Tino asked. I shrugged a bit.

"Can't be anything terrible." I replied, heading out of the room, going down the hall, and descending down the spiral stairs to the living room. I then made my way to the kitchen cautiously, though I presumed that the crash Tino and I had heard was nothing detrimental.

Though, I presumed wrong.

A masked man, brandishing a metal baseball bat, was standing in the kitchen, glancing around.

"Who the hell are you?! Get out of my house!" I exclaimed. The masked man turned to me, a sinister look in his eyes.

"Well, well. Alexianos, it's been years since I last saw you… I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to play a little game with you." He said with an oddly familiar accented voice. I couldn't pinpoint who was hiding behind the mask though.

"Who are you?" I asked, staring at his eyes, practically feeling the evil radiating off of him.

"You should know, but I guess you don't remember how you ruined me so long ago. I'll let you speculate for, oh, ten seconds."

"Ten seconds? What?"

Almost as soon as I got the words out of my mouth, I took a baseball bat to the skull, and was knocked unconscious.

When I awoke, I was sitting on the couch, two envelopes and a small box sitting on my lap. My blurred vision soon cleared, and I sat up quickly, looking around in a panic.

"Tino!" I shouted. "Tino, where are you?!"

I received no response. My heart nearly stopped; Tino was gone, along with the man whom had wanted to play a "game" with me. Who was he? Why did he seem so familiar? And what were these envelopes and the package doing on my lap?

I carefully looked them over. Each one was labeled with a number. The first one was an envelope sealed with a red wax stamp in the shape of a star. I opened it, and began to read the letter that resided inside.

Dear Alexianos,

I told you I wanted to play a game. I wasn't kidding. I have kidnapped your precious husband and taken him somewhere secret, somewhere you must find. But, it's not going to be easy. I'm going to give you three tasks, or as I call them, trials. You must do at least one task each day in order to save Tino. If you fail to do the tasks, or you exceed the time limit, I will kill Tino.

Your first task is to go to the old Emerson Warehouse at the south end of town. You know, the abandoned one that no one ever goes in or around? Go there. Go in the door labeled 'staff' and you will be presented with a semi-circular opening to a tunnel. You must crawl through that tunnel, and reach the end, where a note lies in wait for your arrival. That note has the first clue as to the whereabouts of your missing husband.

Oh, and if the police get involved and I find out that Tino has been declared missing in any way, I'll shoot him and kill him before you can even say goodbye.

Are you willing to suffer for the person you love? Your first trial starts now.

-I.B.

I stared in shock at the words before me. I.B.? Who the hell? Why had he kidnapped Tino? Why did he want me to go through three trials to save Tino?

I presumed he had no choice. I had to do this. I had to save Tino. There was no second guessing that this I.B. guy was serious. No one just barges into someone's home, tells them he wants to play a game, knocks them out with a baseball bat, and puts them on a couch with three tasks to save the victim's kidnapped lover.

I stood from my place on the couch, shoving the first letter in the pocket of my jeans. I ignored the ache in my head and grabbed my winter coat, quickly lacing up a pair of old work boots on my feet, and heading out the door into the winter cold.

I looked around the driveway for my car and sighed, noting the fact that there were wheel clamps on all four tires of my four-door sedan. I.B was most definitely making this difficult. I now had to walk all the way to the southern part of town to get to the abandoned Emerson Warehouse.

Walking through the frigid winter weather, I eventually arrived. I entered the door labeled staff, and was greeted by a gray room with a single semi-circular opening in one of the walls. There was broken glass scattered about the floor, as well as in the entrance of the tunnel.

"Please tell me this tunnel doesn't have broken glass covering the floor…" I muttered, crouching down and inspecting the tunnel. I sighed shakily, unprepared for what was going to be an incredibly painful task. I had to move slow, or else I risked cutting myself up the entire way down the tunnel.

As I got on my hands and knees, then lowered myself into an army-crawling position on the glass-covered floor, I questioned whether or not this was really worth it. I quickly shoved those thoughts away, knowing that I had to save Tino. There was no hesitating here; I had to just crawl forward.

I could hardly bring myself to start to move. I was trembling in fear; not of the dark or of the small space, but of the pain that inevitably would occur from me crawling through the glass. I knew my clothing would be pierced and torn. I knew my arms and legs and maybe my abdomen would get cut. There was no avoiding it.

Frozen in my fear, I must have waited ten minutes before I finally convinced myself to move. I slowly started to crawl, trying to use my forearms in a sort of snowplow effect to push the glass to the side and clear it away from my body and legs, but I had no such luck, and was forced to start lifting my arms and setting them down on the razor-sharp glass. I winced in pain as I felt the shards pierce through my clothing and tear into my arms. Anyone with an ounce of sense in them wouldn't continue, but I had one goal, and that was to save Tino at all costs.

That man was my life. He had guided me to success, and had loved me more than anyone else. He was heaven personified, or at least, something like that.

I crawled painfully for what must have been ten minutes before I had to stop myself from continuing. I was in so much pain. My arms and legs were torn up and bleeding; I was sure there was a trail of red through the tunnel.

"G-God damn it…." I groaned, tears in my eyes. They dripped to the glass-covered floor, and a let out a shaky sigh.

It's all for Tino. I kept telling myself that, but it hardly motivated me. I was in so much pain. The glass had torn my clothes to shreds, and my skin to something similar. The pain was so intense. It was worse than anything I had experienced. Every movement sent incredible agony through me; God damn my nerves for sending signals to my brain to cause me pain. I was aware of the fact that I was crawling through glass, the least my brain could do for me was shut down and numb me.

My heart pounded and I glanced over my shoulder slightly, noting how far I had gotten through the tunnel. The entrance was a long crawl away, which meant I must have been getting close to the end of the tunnel. Adrenaline suddenly surged through me with the though; this task could almost be over.

I began crawling once again, trying my best to ignore the intense pain that came with each movement. The stinging glass cut into me like knives, but I resisted the urge to give up, and continued, until finally I reached the end of the tunnel. A small dimly-lit clearing was in my view. I scrambled into it, practically worshipping the glass-less area. A small note tacked to the wall caught my eye though, and I grabbed it without hesitation. I looked it over.

_4_ R_e_ _

It was the first clue to my husband's location.

I shoved the note in my pocket and sighed shakily, looking around. There was no way out other than to retrace the bloody path I had left.

With adrenaline still coursing through my veins, and the rush of finding the first note fueling my movements, I made my way back through the tunnel, crawling ever-so slowly for about a half hour before I reached the entrance I had originally came in.

I stood on shaky legs, blood dripping from my shredded arms and legs, leaving droplets of red on the cold floor. I was in bad shape. There were small pieces of glass jammed so far into my skin that even when I walked, or rather, stumbled, they didn't budge from their place.

I walked out of the warehouse and began making my way down the streets, heading back home. The walk was grueling and the agony in my arms and legs was really getting to me. Thankfully the air outside was cold, and it soothed the swollen, bloody mess that were my wounds.

About halfway to my house, a red pick-up truck pulled up next to me, and the passenger window rolled down to reveal a long-time friend of mine; Eileen. She was a Scottish woman of thirty-two years.

"Jesus Christ, Alex, are ye okay?" She asked. I stopped and looked to her, shaking my head.

"I… I need to get home, Eileen." I said. "Will you give me a ride?"

"Well, no. Ye look to be in rough shape; ye need to go to the hospital." She told me as I opened the passenger door and got in.

"I can't. Some madman kidnapped Tino and has given me three days to complete three tasks or else he'll kill Tino… I can't waste precious time in going to the hospital."

"Ye're kidding me, right? Ye can't be serious."

"Would I be kidding you at a time like this, Eileen? My arms and legs are torn to shreds because that… that crazy bastard's first task for me was to crawl through a tunnel full of broken glass to get to a not with a fragment of the address Tino's at. I have the note…" I reached into my pants pocket and retrieved the note, which was stained red by blood. Eileen glanced to it, eyes widened.

"Ye really aren't kidding me…" She murmured, running a hand through her curly ginger locks. "I'll take ye home, but… Ye need help. I could give Sadik a call and ask him to come take care of ye. He'll fix ye right up."

"It's about the only help I'll have… Thanks, Eileen." I replied, giving her a smile, though it was pained. I was in some severe pain.

She drove quietly to my home and I entered it quietly, Eileen following close behind. I, knowing it would be painful to lay on the couch, tore the cushions off, laid them on the floor, then used them as a sort of mattress.

"Please… call Sadik, Eileen… Th-This hurts… so bad…" I said, holding back tears. I couldn't believe I had completed that task. I couldn't believe I had been crazy enough to crawl through broken glass for almost an hour just to get two letters and a number off of a note.

But that note was a start to finding my husband. It was the first clue to the address. I couldn't regret this decision, but the pain was edging me closer and closer to regretting not doing more to stop I.B. from getting in the house and taking Tino.

As I lay there, Eileen on the phone with Sadik, I watched quietly as blood dripped from my arms and legs to the cushions below me. The blood stained the blue fabric easily, and I let out a sigh. I was in bad condition. I was just an architect; I was no soldier. I was not incredibly physically fit, and I was not mentally prepared to take the risks I had to take.

Eileen sat in a chair once she got off the phone and stared sadly at me. "Can I ask how this happened, Alex?"

"Earlier today… I was… Tino had just waked me up from sleeping. We were getting ready to get on day and… there was a crash from the kitchen… I went down to investigate and there was a man in all black standing there with a baseball bat…" I shifted my position to try to ward off some pain, but I only made it worse. "He told me he wanted to play a game… and apparently I ruined him in the past… He hit me in the head with the bat and must've knocked me out cold… And he must have moved me, because when I woke up, I was sitting on the couch with two letters and a small package on my lap… They're labeled one to three… The first letter…" I reached into my pocket and retrieved the letter that had been in there since I left the house earlier in the day. "Here…"

I handed Eileen the bloodied piece of paper, and she read it. I watched her expression become very concerned. "This is mighty serious, Alex… Ye… Ye have to do these tasks, though... Ye have to save Tino…"

"I-I know… and judging by the fact that this was only the first task, I… I don't even want to know what my other two will be…"

"Sadik is on his way, by the way… He took some supplies from the hospital, so ye'll be gettin' some much-needed medical attention…"

"Yeah… Thanks…" I found it hard to continue speaking. My mind was clouded with pain and thoughts of failing these tasks, and what the remaining tasks were and how I was going to complete them without giving up or running out of time.

Soon, Sadik arrived, and he was immediately in shock.

"Holy Hell… Eileen wasn't kidding when she said you're in rough shape…" He said. The tall Turkish man knelt down beside me, placing a small backpack down on the floor. "We've got to get your clothes off and disinfect the wounds… Shit, looks like there's some glass stuck in there too, huh? I know I have some tweezers but… I don't have any anesthetics. All I have is a bottle of paracetamol. It's a painkiller." He explained.

"I-I don't care, Sadik, just do what you have to do." I said, gritting my teeth in pain. With the help of the thirty-eight year old doctor, I was carefully stripped of my blood-soaked clothing. Even though I was lying there in just my boxers, I wasn't embarrassed. I was in too much pain to be embarrassed.

Sadik used what he could to help me. He picked out the glass with tweezers, used disinfectant to reduce my risk of dying from these cuts, stitched a few bad ones up, and wrapped both my arms and both my legs in bandages. He then handed me two paracetamol pills and a bottle of water that he had in the bag.

"These will help with the pain. They're strong, so you can't take too many or else it can lead to things being worse than they already are."

I nodded my head and took the pills, lying back down once I had taken a few sips of water. "You two can leave if you'd like…" I muttered. I did not wish for them to babysit me. I did not wish for them to see me like this; to see me cry in pain and agony. To see me cry for fear that I may not complete the tasks at hand or that I may run out of time or that I may never see Tino again.

"I know for sure I'm not leaving." Sadik said. "You and I may not be on the best of terms, but I'm not letting you continue to do these tasks without any medical assistance. I'll stay here until this is over."

"Aye. Me too." Eileen agreed. The two showing their support almost brought a smile to my face, but my emotions were set on 'depressing' and 'pained' until I saved Tino.

"Thanks, you two… I…" I sighed. "I need to save Tino… There's no way I'm letting that I.B. guy kill him…"

"Why can't we get the police involved?" Sadik asked.

"It says in the first letter that I.B. will kill Tino if he finds out that the cops have been alerted." Eileen explained.

"… Well, for now just rest, Alex. How long do you have to do these tasks?" Sadik questioned, looking to me.

"Three days…" I replied. "A task a day…"

"I see… Well… Sleep tonight. Tomorrow you can get the second task done with."

I nodded my head slightly, looking over to the table next to the couch where the letters and the small package were. I questioned what the third task was that required whatever was in the box. I didn't know what to expect.

I sighed quietly and stared up at the ceiling, my eyes clouded with tears. This was unbearable.

I let the tears fall from my eyes, and I didn't reach up to wipe them away. Moving hurt too much. I would wait until morning to even try to be active again. I would lie here, and cry, and ponder whether tearing my arms and legs to shreds was worth getting two letters and a number from a note.

I didn't know when it happened, but eventually, my eyes slid shut, and I fell asleep.