"About time you got here." 

Donnie strained to see in the darkness. "I beg your pardon?" 

Mar smiled, in that cunning way she usually did. "Well, come on in! People have 
been asking for you." She turned around, flipping the short cape she was wearing 
over one shoulder, and disappearing back into the hallway. Donnie followed, his 
ears flattening against his head as the familiar sounds of sex and cries of 
passion came to him. 

*If I can just find him, I can get out of here. If I can find him, I can leave 
for good.* 

Donnie froze in his tracks, gasping as a sudden chill ran down his spine. Mar 
turned to him when she heard him stop. "What’s the matter now?" 

Shivering a little, Donnie moistened his lips. "...there’s something following 
me." 

"Oh! You mean the Cat? Don’t worry. If you don’t turn to look at him, he can’t do 
anything to you. Just don’t turn around, whatever you do." Still smiling 
mischievously, Mar turned and kept walking. Donnie gritted his teeth, trying to 
steady his nerves, and followed. 

"Here we are! Have fun, and remember...don’t look back!" Mar gestured towards a 
large, ornate door with a tower in flames engraved in gold on the front. Donnie 
clenched his fist, then went to knock...and it opened before him before he even 
touched it. 

*All I have to do is find him. Then I can go.* 

He entered, courteously trying to look away from the groups of people around him. 
They were everywhere, shrouded in darkness, all engaged in their own private 
fantasies of power and control. As Donnie passed each one, he felt the presence 
of the Cat grow stronger behind him, nipping at his heels...after a while, he 
could feel its coldness tugging at him, trying to hold him back. He pressed 
onwards, shutting his eyes. 

"Hey! Hey, you, over here!" 

Was somebody calling him? He opened his eyes, looking carefully to his right. 
Instantly, he recognized the cruel smile of the leather-clad woman beckoning to 
him. "...Alana?" 

"That’s right, lab rat. I’ve got something you want right here. Come on in, don’t 
be shy!" Hesitantly, Donnie stepped forward. /What if she got him?! Oh, God, I’m 
not nearly strong enough to.../ 

It was Ellon. Tied down, spread-eagled on a table, like he’d seen so many people 
before, and had been himself. It took him a moment to register that Ellon was 
dead, motionless, his flesh cold and his eyes, once so clear and wise and 
understanding, clouded over with mist. Donnie backed away, trembling, Alana’s 
laughter stinging his ears. "What’s the matter, lab rat? Don’t you want to be 
human? Don’t you want to be real?" 

*Oh God...Owen, where are you? If I could just find you...* 

The Cat was very, very close now. He could hear its soft, almost comforting 
breath in his ears. /Look at me, Donnie. I’ll keep you safe from them. All you 
have to do is look at me./ He didn’t answer. The Cat didn’t want to keep him 
safe...the Cat wanted to eat him up, and probably Owen too. The Cat was tricky, 
but he was smarter than it. He hoped. He looked around, ears straining for Owen’s 
voice...and saw the cat’s shadow on the wall in front of him, to either side, 
looming over the prone forms of its other victims. Donnie fought back a scream as 
he realized that it was everywhere... 

...and that, right in front of him, was a man without a face. 

"’member the house rules, Donnie." Ryan passed behind him, being led on a leash 
to one of the private rooms in the back. "If somebody wants to show you their 
face, you can’t move until they do." Donnie nodded, only barely registering him. 
The faceless man stepped forward, one hand passing over the mass of dense black 
fog where his head should have been. Donnie fought the urge to scream. 

It was Owen, his expression open and smiling. "Hi, Donnie. I missed you." 

*Thank you, God. Thank you.* 

Donnie dropped to his knees, sighing in relief as he felt the Cat fade away, 
hissing in defeat. As he felt Owen placing the cool, comforting leather collar 
around his neck, all he could say was, "...I found you..." 

Donnie dreamt peacefully by Owen’s side for the rest of the night. In a way.