Rico trudged up the dirt brown staircase of the Mastersons home, his eyes lacking the usual flush of warmth and happiness. His eyes had transformed from the colour of the lustrous day time sun into the flat, lifeless colour of black coffee in the time span of three days. Three days is the length of time, Jo Masterson has been missing. His hair was ruffled and his grey shirt was crumpled and painted with stains. Rico warily hoisted his right arm up and knocked on the light creamy sea shell coloured door. He lifted his arm readily, prepared to knock once more, when the door was pulled open.

Tess Masterson let out a flimsy, wavering beam that after a moment or two just broke into a grimace. "Hi Rico" She mumbled airily, her eyes were bright red and bloodshot and she looked absolutely vacant of colour or happiness. "What are you doing here? It's nine o'clock. You should be at school" Tess informed him as she bit her lip a worried expression entwining onto her usually admirable facial features.

"I guess... I should be at school" He admitted timidly "I don't like... The crowd" He sighed. He had been forced to go to school the day prior but he wasn't sure he could handle another day like the last. It had been reporters and interviewers and students chiding about Jo. He couldn't stand it, especially the constant whispers and laughter you heard from the students. It was impossible to escape the rumours, some saying Jo ran away, others saying she was abducted and as the day went on the stories got even wilder and wilder. Most large towns would brush this off but in the small area of Green Grove a girl whose whereabouts are not known for as little as a day are big news, very big news.

"Oh, okay. Would you like to come in for tea?" said opening the door wide enough for Rico to enter.

"That... that... Would be favourable' Rico said summing up a fake laugh as he entered.

Wooden logs that were all Jo Masterson's eyes could see in the shadowed light. Log after log, it was seemingly endless. She felt sick as if there was a certain queasiness that was targeting her body and it could not be overcome. She felt her tongue dry and her throat quench for water. Jo had never been a drinker, maybe at the occasional party (and let's face it when did Jo Masterson go to parties) and every now and then. But she unfortunately, wasn't completely uninexpirenced on the topic of hangovers. But right then with the throbbing sensation in her head, and the wanting to puke out her throat and the intense dehydration, took all the worst qualities of a hangover and morphed them together. She let out an excruciatingly high pitched scream, it wasn't the fact that the pain was so untameable it was more the fact she was hoping someone would hear her. She screeched as she attempted to move her arm up only to find that it was tied, she stared down to see her hands entwined together with a length of crimson fabric capturing them with a tightly done knot. She shuffled her feet as well to find them in the exact same predicament as her hands. She looked down at her thighs to find them also strung and tightly wounded to the chair. She let out one last howl before pushing her body up and banging her head against the wooden back of the chair. Instead of making the aching in her head disappear, all it did was make it more apparent.

That was when the door to the room opened. Jo's foggy and swelling red eyes had already adapted to the terrible lighting in the room and had a very clear view of the man that had run in. Dark hair, twinkling caramel eyes and that ever so deceiving smirk. It was Danny Desai, her abductor in his psychopathic glory she thought dryly to herself almost allowing a smile to creep in when the throbbing in her head returned.

"Would you shut up?" He said inventively as he switched on the light. Jo shied away from the bright light now beaming in her eyes. She attempted to shield herself from the obscured energy providing light but there was not much she could do, after all she could barley move.

"I would shut up. If I hadn't been drugged, abducted, stuffed into a van and then had fallen on a tree root" Jo said her voice starting off shaky and uncertain but turning even more rickety as her sentence continued until at the very last word, tears were already seeping down her cheeks. She whispered "I just want to go home" intending for her only to hear those desperate mummers of words.

"You've been passed out for that last two days" Danny informed her "If you hadn't sprayed my eyes with pepper spray like the little bitch you were. Then you wouldn't be in so much pain, which I will gladly allow you to continue to endure and also you would have been present for the last two days"

"I'm so sorry" She spat "If I was present, would you have already hit me over the head and buried me with the shovel that's in your trunk" She had no idea where this burst of courage was from. Even though her words were shaking and uneasy, she was saying them. She was feeling even thirstier then she had before though. The yelling and spiteful words were making her mouth even dryer.

"Listen here, honey. You don't know shit about what's planned for you and that gangly mane you call your hair. So stop making a fuss and shut up" Danny said his voice harsh, low and terrifyingly calm. He lifted his arm in slow motion as he reached towards her neck. Jo shifted in her chair, she squirmed, she pushed but she was completely inadequate of doing anything to help her situation. The hands felt rough and warm as they squeezed on her neck. She felt as if her head was growing even lighter as the world escaped her. She wondered if it would be better to die then to be seated here awaiting death but in the meantime played with and used in the same manner as a dogs' chew toy. She felt her fear and vulnerability pierce into her heart as the pain and nausea skyrocketed from her neck into her face. She could feel her body began to numb and the struggle to breathe was becoming so difficult that she had dark tears streaming down her cheeks. She was going to be garrotted and there was nothing she could do about it. Finally the hands released her as she heaved in and out trying to suck in every last breath Danny promptly exited the room.

Jo sat there in silence, hunger and thirst still overwhelming her body. She was mostly surprised she hadn't felt the need to urinate just quite yet. She glowered at the binds on her hands as she thought of hundreds of impractical ideas that could help her escape. But escape seemed almost impossible at this pointless. She let out a shuddering breath as the door swung open again. Danny Desai had returned to the log cabin. This time in his hands was a light brown paper bag and he had an almost smug expression on his face.

"Greasy food and a drink for the royal pain in the freaking ass" Danny announced as he threw it at her.

"How the hell am I supposed to eat" She complained

"Well, last time your hands were untied you peppersprayed my freaking eyes. So take either dig in face forward or deal with it" He commanded

The throbbing in Jo's head had subsided after the food and drink. She felt slightly dizzy and even cloudy. As if her judgement was clouded over by other more powerful thoughts. That when she felt it, a light tanned hand wrapped around Jo's inner thigh. And a whisper in her ear "I need you to do me a favour, Jo"