I instantly run towards the front door, only to finding it locked. Surprise, surprise...

Not wanting to waste invaluable seconds, I run deeper into the house instead. I start running of a corridor, and open all the doors I see on the way. Some of them are locked, and I don't have the time to take in the appearance in the other rooms, all I am looking for is a door leading out, knowing that the windows are sealed.

As I feel my muscles tense and stretch out, my question replays in my head over and over again.

What's the catch?

I open another door, this one at the end of the corridor, and steps into a big room with bookcases and a few tables, chairs and armchairs. It looks like a library, but most important, it looks like a library with a double glass door leading out.

I instantly run past a few decorative vases with green plants and push down the door handle. To my surprise, the door opens with ease and I frown. I had prepared myself for smashing the door open, shatter the glass into thousands of pieces. Could it really be this easy? I ask myself as my feet keeps moving forward and leaving the door open in the hurry. My eyes quickly glance through the new surrounding.

A few meters in front of my is a big, squared pool with a trampoline and a few loungers, and on each side of this backyard, in the corner of the mansion, goes a gray fence that disappears into the woods about a hundred meters away.

It is in the middle of the day, and the sun shines straight in my eyes and I have to put my hands in front of me to be able to see the tops of the fence. It's lined with barbed wire. Great.

Instead of immediately running towards the thick woods, I run to the fences and stretch out my arms in front of my to shake the fence, see if it gives in a little bit. Before I manage to slip my fingers into the gaps between the fencing, I feel a pain shot out from my fingertips and launching through my whole body. I scream at the shock and then line up a few curses as my whole right arm tingles in an unpleasant feeling. The fence is electrified, and not only with a few volts.

There is no way I'm able to climb the fence, and something tells me the whole place I'm in right now is enclosed by the fence. Running off into the woods will probably be as useless as trying to break a window or climbing the fence. Pointless, with other words.

Suddenly realization hits me like a punch in the stomach.

There's no escape. This is just a test.

They tricked me. I can't get out of here, not now with them in the kitchen, counting, and the electrified fence out here.

I bet they do this to all of the girls, as a test, or a game. And I bet they think I will run off into the woods, which is exactly why I won't.

I don't know how far they've gotten with the counting, but I do know that they will be done at any time now if they aren't already.

As my whole brain scream no, I force my legs and feet to take me back inside, still leaving the door open. I tiptoe over to the door that leads from the library back out to the corridor, and as I can still hear them counting, simultaneously shouting "54", I make a quick decision and open the door as quietly as I can, not bothering to close it as I slip out. They will probably search the woods no matter if the door is open or not.

I continue tiptoeing past a few doors and slipping into the third as I hear them all shouting "58". I'm trying to be as quiet as possibly as I close the door again, silently thanking the guys for counting slow, as I watch what kind of room I've ended up in. Everything in here goes in black and white, as in the kitchen, and I immediately understand what kind of room I'm standing in as I notice a washing machine and dryer, and even a white rectangular box that looks like a drying cabinet. I'm in the laundry room.

On the left side, there're a few lockers and I open them, just to find drawers after drawers full of sheets, pillowcases and other textiles. Realizing there's no way I will fit and that I don't have time to be picky, I close the lockers again and step into the drying cabinet. I let out a sigh of relief as I notice it's not on, and just as I do, I hear the guys shoot "60!".

I thought hide and seek was a funny game when I was younger, but now it has turned into a nightmare.

I can hear footsteps coming closer to the door leading into the laundry, but as I'm holding my breath as the sound grows stronger, the footsteps start fading out a few seconds later.

They just walked past.

Knowing that my hideout won't be safe forever, I wait a few minutes, with my heart beating more rapidly for every minute that goes by until I decide to step out. Someone opened the door once, a few minute ago, but they didn't search through the room, just eyeing it quickly.

No voices are heard, no matter how much I strain my ears, no other sounds except for the low humming from the dryer are heard,

I don't want to open the door, but I know I can't stay here any longer. They are probably looking through the woods right now, but they won't stay there forever and I don't want to be here once they decide to go back looking inside the mansion.

I slowly open the door and peek out, terrified of might getting spotted. The corridor is empty, and I take a deep breath before stepping out, closing the door as quietly as possible behind me, and then tiptoe through the corridor, in the direction opposite to the library.

At the end, it's a large door vault leading into the living room, which is adjacent to the kitchen. I peek out and notice the back of someone who sits on one of the sofas. The black hair only looks slightly familiar but I can't put my finger on who it is, but it's pretty obvious it's one of the guys, which means he is my enemy.

In the corner of my eye, something that's rising from the ground catches my attention. It's a stair, leading upstairs and not down to the basement.

Unsure of whether I should chance or not, I back into the corridor again, hiding from the guy on the sofa.

However, my temporarily safe spot didn't last long. In less than a minute of thinking, the sound of more than one voice coming from the library makes it to my ears. Oh no.

Suddenly, my thoughts become crystal clear as I disappear from the corridor and hurry towards the stairs, still tiptoeing but in a faster pace. If the guys coming from the library sees me, they will shout and caught the attention of the guy on the sofa, and if the guy on the sofa spots me, I have to run for my life, and probably do a little more than that too.

When I place a foot on the staircase, I'm biting my lips and sending prayers to no one particular that it won't give out any creaking sound.

Luckily for me, it doesn't, and I quicken my pace a little as I continue walking up, feeling very thankful towards my socks that attenuates most of the sound from my steps.

Now I got past one problem, and it's only one left.

Where should I go?

Locking myself in a bathroom is just plain stupid, even though it is tempting, but getting out of here is even more tempting than being safe for a few minutes or hours.

People say love is the best and most important feeling that exist, but I don't agree, I think freedom comes first. Maybe I just haven't experienced true love, or maybe I'm just a realist, but it doesn't matter.

I have a goal, and I'm going to do everything in my power to reach it, even if-

"Hey!", someone cut me off in my thoughts. It feels as my heart goes up in my throat and I take a scared peek behind me, only to find nothing there. I'm on yet another corridor, trying to find a place to get away or hide, but all doors are locked.

"Will, check the house! We're not sure she's in the woods", the voice calls again. I think it belongs to Zeke, but I'm not sure and the voice comes from downstairs and I ain't going down to check it out. I'm rather safe, or at least safer, unknowing than knowing and in danger.

I suddenly reach an end of the corridor and instantly starts panicking a little since I can hear footsteps in the stairs, probably belonging to the 'Will' guy who I guess is the one who sat on the sofa, but then a glimpse of brown catches my attention and I turn towards it.

It's another staircase, or not really a staircase, it's more like a ladder, something in between. But what it is isn't what matters, what matters is that it's leading upstairs, probably to an attic judging by the simpler flight of stairs.

Without hesitation, I start climbing up as a quick look behind me confirms my suspicions about my current stalker.

A squared hatch blocks my way, preventing me from moving further, and I fumble with the handle for a few precious seconds before I manage to get the hatch open and slip through at the same time as I feel something brush against my ankle.

I look down and my big, blue eyes meet a pair of gray ones.

Before I have the time to control myself, I give out a high pitched shriek and closes the hatch. Seconds after, he starts banging on it from underneath me and I look around the attic, landing my eyes on a couple of boxes which I quickly use all my energy on for pushing them over to the place where the grey-eyed guy will show up from if I don't do something to stop him.

The boxes weigh a lot and, thankfully, makes it more difficult for the guy to get to me, which gives me more time to figure out what the freaking fish I'm supposed to do.

A small window, different compared to all the other ones I've seen because of the flaking paint, catches my attention and I hurry towards it, ignoring the pounding from the guy as much as possible.

The window is full of a thick layer of dust, making me wonder how long it been since someone been up here, and I wipe the dust away with my hand, grimaces when my hands get all sticky.

Surprisingly enough, the window isn't sealed like the other ones and I unlock it with ease, feeling my lips turn up in a small smile as the window turn wide open.

Like I said, it's small, but it's big enough for me to fit in, and as I'm halfway through, I hear the hatch open with a cracking sound.

I don't need to look back to know who it is, and my heart begins to pound faster in my chest as I meander through the window onto the roof.

Just as I'm about to drag out my feet too, I feel a tight grip on my ankle, starting to pulling me back. I scream of surprise and despair, trying to yank it back without success.

"Let me go!", I cry at the guy, who just ignores me.

My hands search for something to grab and hold on to, but the roof is cold and wet, causing my fingers to slipper on whatever I find to hold on to.

Nick's shirt that I'm currently wearing is now wet because of the layer of snow I pushed myself through on my attempt to get out of the window, and now as I'm practically rolling around, trying to free my ankle, I feel the coldness digging into my skin and bones.

Maybe the roof wasn't such a great idea, after all, I mean, what if I would slip on the treacherous snow and fall down three stories?

The guy, Will, suddenly drags back my ankle with such force I slip back through the window and lands on the floor with a loud thud, and a heartbreaking scream.

He didn't just drag my ankle backward towards him, he also twisted it a little bit and even though I didn't hear anything break, I was too busy screaming out of pain, I think he just broke it.

He broke my ankle.

How am I supposed to escape from this place when I can't even walk or run?

Fly? I don't think so.

Crawl? Wish me good luck.

"Get up", he hisses at me through clenched teeth.

"I can't", I spit back, holding my sore ankle and trying to hold back the tears that're resting in the brim of my eyes. I'm sure I'm going to get some bruises from the rough landing, but my ankle hurt ten times worse.

"And why not?", Will snap back and gives me a glare, which I gladly return. Sure, I'm scared of him, but some of my fear has been replaced with anger.

"I can't", I say as I take a deep breath, trying to calm down my nerves, "because you broke my freaking ankle."

As a response, he gives out a frustrated sigh and rolls his eyes before crouching down beside me, slipping an arm around my waist and then standing up again, supporting me at the same time.

I feel uncomfortable of his touch and try to squirm out of his grip, but as I put down my sore ankle and makes an attempt of walking on it, I hiss in pain and would've fallen backward if it wasn't for Will's support.

He doesn't say a word as he drags me back the same way I came from, down the hatch, through the corridor, and down the other stairs until we reached the living room, where everyone else sits and waits for us.

"That took time", Zeke comments as Nick hurries to my side.

"What happened?", he asks and replaces Will as my support, leading me to one of the sofas and puts me down on his lap as Will explains the last few minutes. By a natural reflex, I try to stand up again once I'm placed on Nick's lap, moving away from him, but he just slips his strong arms around my waist, holding me back.

"Gorgeous, you're ankle is broken, you're clearly in pain, and you even bother trying to stand up in an attempt to get away from me? I thought you were smarter than that", he chuckles.

I give him a death glare, ignoring the so-called 'rules'.

"And I thought you were less of a jerk. I guess we were both wrong then." As the words leave my mouth, his grip around me tightens until it almost hurts.

He leans in closer to me, his lips barely inches from my ear.

"What's your tongue, gorgeous, or I have to hush it myself, maybe by using my lips?", he whispers in my ear and starts nibbling on my earlobe.

I close my eyes, just wanting to shut everything and everyone out, when suddenly the sound of a door being open and slammed closed sounds through the room.

"Dude", Will speaks up, "I thought you never would show up. You've just missed all the fun, but what do I know, maybe you already have had your fun with her? It's actually thanks to you she's here, we couldn't pull off the attack without you, man."

The newly arrived person gives out a dry laugh. "I told you she was worth it", he says in a familiar voice and my heart skips a beat of pure shock.

The blood in my veins suddenly freezes and my head start roaring like a waterfall. My heart starts pounding uncontrollably and all voices around me melt into a hum.

My mind tells me no, but I slowly open my eyes - and feel my heart sink like a stone.

Will said it's thanks to the person in front of the door that I'm here, the person said he knew I would be worth it.

The person is...

Peter.