Aria's POV
It was a long walk through the darkness, our bodies dragged like dead weight over uneven ground. We were brought to somewhere that looked like an abandoned house, its skeleton frame barely visible against the night sky. Then they took us down, down into what seemed like a tunnel, the air growing colder and damper with each descending step.
They strapped us to chairs, the rope cutting into my wrists so tight I could feel my pulse throbbing against the restraints. We were still unconscious, but somewhere in the fog of my mind, I could hear them arguing, their voices faint and distorted like a radio with bad reception.
"Are you kidding me right now? You think I'm weak or dramatic?" One voice rose above the others, panicked and young. "These people are high-profile. We could get
