Demons

I groaned I came back to my senses. My head was lolled to the side and felt like it had been hit with the butt of a gun, and I didn't doubt that Vengeance had hit me over the head to make sure I was knocked out. I fluttered my eyes open, but it did no use. Wherever we were, it was pitch black. I felt my body tingle and I knew that it was the drugs wearing off.

"Payton?" I whispered. The whisper seemed to grow in volume as it rebounded off the walls and moved back to me. But I got no reply from Payton. "Pay!"

I instantly started to panic. I pushed my body upward, letting a hiss of pain slip through my lips. My hand shot to my forehead, feeling the warm liquid slip between my fingers. I cursed under my breath and tried to stand, but my legs were shaky from not being used for God knows how long and I fell. I didn't hit the ground like I expected, instead I slumped into a wall. I placed my hands on it and stood up again. I didn't shake and I thanked my lucky stars that my father made me strong.

A thump of pain resided through my heart at the thought of my father. He was everything to me, besides Pay, after my mom was killed. He taught me to be strong, he taught me everything I knew from punches to weaponry. It hurt to think that he was gone, but I couldn't dwell on it. Emotions made you weak, they were a liability that I just couldn't have.

"Payton!" I called louder this time. I didn't give a fuck if there were people upstairs, I'd scream ten times fucking louder if it got Payton to reply to me. I started to walk forward, moving my foot a few inches out in front of me so I wouldn't trip over anything. It was then that I realized I was still in the blue dress I had slipped on before we were captured. Granted it was ripped and torn in places, revealing a lot more of me than I would've liked, but at least it was a sense of familiarity.

I hadn't moved five feet when something against my wrists and ankles constricted, keeping me from moving any farther. I touched my wrist with one of my hands and felt the cool metal that stretched into chains that I was sure attached to the wall behind me. I moved my ankles again, hissing as the metal bit into my skin and shook the chains.

I walked back to the wall and slid down it until my ass hit the ground. I let out a frustrated sound and took off my flats, hearing something drop onto the floor around me. My hands patted the ground, looking for whatever it was. I didn't remember putting anything in my shoe, but whatever it was might have fallen in while my shoes were in my backpack. My left hand clasped around the handle of something and I let a small sigh escape my lips. It was my lighter.

I flicked the lighter, watching as a small flame shot out and illuminated a few inches around me. I stood up again and began walking as far as my chains would let me, judging every corner of the place I had been carelessly tossed into. I was in a basement, with cold cement floors, cement walls, and no windows. There was a wooden staircase in the far right corner, but other than that, the basement was bare. And what freaked me out the most was that I couldn't see the familiar blond head of hair that belonged to Payton. My chains were longer than normal, so I could walk to three of the four corners in the room. I was praying to whatever God that was up there that Payton was in the forth corner that was still covered in shadows. But I had no way to tell unless she woke up, and judging by how much of the drug Syn had put on Payton's cloth, she might not wake up at all.

I got an idea and rushed back to where I had abandoned my shoes and picked one up. I used all my force and chucked it into the shadowed corner, listening to it hit off the wall with a 'pop'. I cursed again and picked up the other one, taking a few more minutes to aim properly. If I missed, then I'd have to wait in agony for God knows how long to know if Payton was here. I'd drive myself to the brink of insanity if I didn't know she was okay. I threw it again, listening quietly for it to hit something, anything. It hit something with a thud and my heart lurched when I heard a low groan.

"What the fuck?" Payton's familiar voice came through the darkness and I fell to my knees.

"Payton!" I called, hearing her shuffle on the ground and her chains rattling.

"Jessa?" Her voice called. I crawled over to as far as I could, sitting on my knees to reach my hand with the lighter out farther into the darkness.

"I'm right here, Pay. Come on, see how far you can move." I said urgently. The sooner she got her bearings, the sooner we could get out of here.

Her chains shuffled again as she crawled forward and her face popped into view of the small flame. Her blonde hair was matted and tangled, and she was sporting a nice black eye from the hit she had taken from Syn, but that was nothing she couldn't handle.

"Jesus, Jessa." Payton cursed, reaching her hand forward to run her hands through my fiery red curls, where I could feel the blood slowly slipping down my cheek. "He hit you fucking hard."

"It's nothing I can't handle, Pay." I forced a laugh, sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of her and holding my head in the palm of one hand as my elbow rested on my knee. "You wouldn't happen to have a candle hidden in your bra, would you? We could really use some light."

"Nope, no candles, but I do have this." She reached into her bra and pulled out a small black cylinder. Leave it to Payton to stuff a pen-flashlight in her fucking bra. I laughed and shook my head while she shined the light down on the shackles that bound our wrists and ankles.

They were standard, really. Metal loops that were held together by tiny locks. I inspected the lock closer and saw that on the back there was a small black box with a red and a green light. At the moment, the green light was lit up.

"How long do you think we were out?" I asked as I inspected the box. The sooner we found our barrings and got more information, the sooner we could break the fuck out of here.

"No idea, but it had to be at least a few hours, if not more." Payton replied, biting her lip out of nervous habit that we both shared.

"Do you think they're upstairs still?" I asked. We shared a look and fell silent, both of our eyes trained on the wooden ceiling above us. It was dead silent. No television, no radio, no laughter, not even a footstep. "It's too quiet."

"They're probably asleep. But I know what you mean, the silence is to.. disturbing." Payton observed. She looked at me and held her shackled wrist over toward me. "Do you think you can pick these?"

I reached a hand back and plucked out the bobby pin I used to keep my hair up. The rest of my red curls spilled over my face and I brushed them over to the side, out of the blood flow. "It's a possibility. But hold still, I don't know what that box is. Something tells me it's there for a reason, and if I snap the lock and something happens, no playing hero. They'll kill us on spot. We have to put the locks back on and pretend we're knocked out still. Deal?"

"Deal." She replied and I nodded. We were no use to any member of Bat Country if we were dead.

"Grab the flashlight and hold it over the lock, and make sure you keep it steady." I instructed. Payton did exactly what I said and I stuck the bobby pin into the hole, twisting it and turning it as I listened for the click. I was trained for picking locks. My father always told me that your no use to anyone incapacitated. He also told me that some of the most complicated locks are the simplest to pop open, which resulted in me carrying a bobby pin on my person.

Click.

Payton's shackle popped open and the light turned red. We held our breath as we waited for a siren or an explosion, but nothing happened. I took this as a good sign and continued to pick all the locks until our shackles rested in piles by our feet. I grabbed the flashlight and scrambled around the basement, looking for the flats that I had thrown at Payton. I found them and slipped them on my feet silently before walking back up to her.

"That hurt you know." She rubbed the place on her head that I hit her with my shoe.

"Sorry, had to make sure you were still breathing." I retorted, rolling my eyes as we creeped toward the wooden stairs in the corner. We took one step at time, laying only inches of our feet on the steps at a time to make sure they wouldn't creak. We were trained to be perfect and precise. Getting sloppy got you killed.

We made it to the door and we didn't even bother to check if it was locked. We knew it was, so Payton let me step ahead of her and I picked the lock with ease but didn't open the door. I looked back to Payton for the confirmation. If this door had an alarm, we'd have them all on us in a second with no room to fight back and no weapons on our person to use.

Payton held up a finger and went back downstairs. I heard her foot connect with something and a large snap that made me freeze on point. No one came to check on us and Payton returned with two pieces of board that she snapped off the the stairs. I took one in my hand and held it tightly as I pushed lightly on the door.

It made no sound as it opened up, and I stuck my head out to check around the hallway. The hallway was pitch black and from what I could gather, the left went to the kitchen while the right went to the living room. Usually, people had their front doors situated near their kitchen. So I went right. It would be the most obvious means of escape, the front door. They'd have alarms and cameras and dozens of locks on the fucking thing that'd we never get the chance to get out of it. At least in the living room they had windows that we could easily open and slip out through.

We slipped down the hallway swiftly and silently. Now that we were upstairs, I could hear the light snores echoing from somewhere around us and I tried to see where it was coming from. I moved into the living room and saw that it was clear.

"Window." Payton pointed out and I scurried across the floor to the two large bay windows that sat on the right wall. I pulled the curtains back a little bit to see what we were dealing with outside.

The mansion sat on a hill surrounded by a thick forest. Around the mansion was thick barbed fences and guard towers with spotlights and machine guns. Then at the end of the driveway was a large metal gate that needed to be buzzed to open. As if that wasn't bad enough, on the bottom of the hill was the same thing.

"It's fucking surrounded, Pay." I whispered.

"It's better than in here." Payton replied.

"We wouldn't even be in here if you had shot Shadows when you had the chance!" I whispered back. I knew it was a low blow, but I couldn't help it. Our fathers told us never to hesitate, and that's what she did. Granted, my life was on the line and I'm touched that she valued my life over Bat Country, but she should have listened to me. Though I can't stay blame her. I would've done the same thing in my place. I wouldn't be able to live without her.

"You would've done the same for me." She replied flatly.

I sighed and pushed open the window. No sirens went off and I was starting to get suspicious. This is Avenged Sevenfold. They would not leave their biggest threats unattended, poorly captured, and leave their mansion this poorly protected. Something was wrong. I shook off the feeling and motioned for Payton to open up the other window. Once both windows were open, we heaved ourselves upward, pushing our upper bodies through.

I was halfway through when something latched onto my ankle and pulled me back through the tiny space, the fabric of my dress getting caught on a nail and tearing from my belly button the alley between my breasts. I growled and kicked my feet, smirking when I felt it make contact with skin. Another pair of hands latched onto my ankles, tighter this time, and yanked me the rest of the way. I fell, subconsciously turning so that my side took the impact of the floor instead of my arm or leg.

"Fucking bitches," Shadows chuckled darkly. "Did you really think we'd leave you unattended like that? We knew you were trained poorly, but fuck that's sloppy work."

"What the fuck are you talking about, you son of a bitch!" Payton shrieked, kicking against Rev, who had her held tightly to his chest.

"You didn't think we were just going to put you in a basement and leave you, did you? This was a fucking test, dumb bitch. We had to see how resourceful you were so we'd know how to restrain you properly."

I knew something was wrong and I should have been more cautious. My father always told me to trust your first instincts because they usually lead you right and I didn't listen. I shrieked and broke my foot out of the hold Vengeance had on it, aiming a swift kick to his face. I smirked in spite of myself as I drew blood from his nose and sent him toppling back with the impact.

"Get a hold of her would you?!" Shadows snapped. "Fuck sakes."

I was hauled up by my hair for the second time that night. Christ wrapped his arms around my waist to try and hold me inplace as he leaned down to my ear, "You fucking bitches are more fucking trouble than your worth."

"Feelings mutual." I hissed. I struck with my elbow, catching him in the gut and knocking the wind out of him. He doubled over and I struck him in the back of the head with the palm of my hand, knocking him to the floor and possibly eliminating him from the scuffle.

I moved forward to help Payton, who was fighting off both Rev and Syn, when Vengeance stepped in my path. I struck first, swinging my foot out to knock him out of the way, but he was one step ahead of me. He grabbed my foot and hit my leg with his hip, knocking me off balance and onto the floor.

He straddled my hips and swung a punch, landing it on the left side of my jaw. My lip split and blood filled my mouth, slipping down my throat and into my airway. I turned my head to the side and spit it out before Vengeance grabbed my face and turned me to look at him.

"Nice to see you again, Princess. Did you have a nice nap?" He teased darkly, trailing his fingers down my sides while his other hand pinned my arms above my head.

"Fucking peachy." I hissed, bucking my hips to try and get his weight off my lower area in vain. He had numerous pounds on me, making it almost impossible for me to throw him off. He smirked at my attempt and took his wandering hand from my sides to press it against the gash in my forehead.

I cried out in pain and slipped one of my hands out of his hold. I swung my left hand up and caught him under the jaw, knocking him off balance for a few precious seconds. I shoved against his chest, sending him backward as I scrambled up and sat on his stomach, pinning his hands beneath my knees.

I wrapped my hands around his throat, applying as much pressure as I could manage. I heard him splutter, trying to move his hands to push me away. I could feel his attempts getting weaker and I could see his face turn red from lack of oxygen. A bubble of hope formed in my stomach, thinking that this could finally be it. If one fell, they all fell. Though they may be murders and rapists, they were brothers first. None of them lived if another didn't survive.

Hands wrapped around my throat and pulled me from Vengeance's body, tossing me carelessly across the room until I hit the wall. My head and shoulder took the impact, making me see large black spots dance in front of my eyes.

"Jessa!" Payton's voice cleared the dots away and I looked up, seeing her being backed into a corner by Syn, Shadows and Rev. Christ was still unconscious and Vengeance was trying to gain his breathing back in control.

I pushed myself from the wall and ran full force, skidding along the ground until I hit the back of Syn's knees, sending him toppling to the side and taking Rev down with him. Shadows reached down and grabbed me by the throat and threw me into Payton, sending us both tumbling into the corner.

I looked up to see the barrel of a gun pointed directly between my eyes, while Shadows smirked behind the butt of the gun. I didn't understand. Why didn't he just kill us already? We were thorns in their sides, the one shine of hope that Bat Country had. If they eliminated us, they eliminated the threat of rebellion. But so far, they'd kept us alive, but for what purpose?

"Stand up." Syn barked, resting the gun on Payton's forehead. I saw her bite her lip harshly and slowly rise to her feet. She hated being told what to do, especially by these bastards, but her pride would suffer as long as she lived.

"You too," Shadows cocked the gun back, but I didn't move. Payton may have the willpower to overrule her stubborn nature, but I didn't. "I said stand the fuck up!" He slapped me, splitting my lip even more than before. I snarled and spat the blood out at his feet before slowly standing up and crossing my arms under my bust.

"Alright boys, take your pick." Syn grinned evilly, gesturing for Vengeance and Rev to step forward.

"What?!" Payton spat angrily. "We're not some fucking whores that you can pick up whenever you want!"

"You are what we say you are," Syn growled, cocking the gun and pressing it to her temple. "and if we say your our whores, then that's what you are."

"Fucking, cock-sucking bastards." I cursed under my breath, earning another slap to the face.

"I'd learn to control that mouth of yours." Shadows spat, grabbing my arm roughly and pushing me into Payton. "Now, Vengeance and Rev are gonna take their pick of you two. You are to do what they say, when they say it. If not," He cocked the gun again. "well, let's just say things will get very ugly, very fast."

I bit my lip to keep myself from bursting profanities as Vengeance and Rev looked us over. I could feel their burning gaze linger on my chest and ass rather than on my face, but I tried my best to ignore it. That gun was fully loaded and still too close to my head for my liking, and I feared that the second I opened my mouth, it would be my last second of life.

"I got her," Vengeance spoke first. He didn't make any gestures as to which 'her' he was talking about so neither of us moved. Shadows cocked the gun again and swung it around his finger teasingly.

"He said you didn't he?" Shadows hissed, pointing the gun at me.

Vengeance stepped forward and grabbed my arm in a tight grip before I felt something cold slide onto my wrist. I immediately tried to pull my hand free from the handcuffs. Vengeance wasn't having any of it and punched me hard in the ribs, but I showed no signs of weakness. He tugged me along behind him and I dug my heels into the floor in an attempt to slow him down.

"Where the fuck are you taking me?" I growled, grabbing onto the banister to keep me from going any farther.

"To my room, Princess." He smirked and pulled me up the stairs.