by Elen Chase
"My name is Dan. I... work for the guy who had you brought here. I was looking for you, and I finally found you. I want to let you escape from this place."
"But what is this place? Why have I been brought here?" she asked me, careful to maintain a certain distance between us. I suspected she wanted to attack me again, so I didn't lower my guard.
"This is a villa. We're in the mountains outside Rosedeer. The people who kidnapped you are part of a sect." Those words definitely freaked her out, but she intently listened to me until the end.
"What are they gonna do to me?" The way she said that, it didn’t sound like a question at all. Thus, before I could even think of an answer, she added, in shock, "I’m gonna be killed."
"No," I shook my head and walked closer. "No, I won't let you die," I vowed, taking her hand in mine. "I promise."
"If you really want to help me, get me out of here now, please, I want to go home." She was doing her best to hold back, but tears fell down her face. The thought that seven years before An was feeling the same way as her, before being hit by that car, made my chest hurt. I put my hands on her shoulders to calm her down.
"Tell me, what's your name?" I asked her.
"Shallie."
"Listen, Shallie, I swear I'll bring you home. Only, I can't do it now. They have a strong surveillance, and it's just me against all of them. But soon they'll send servants and guards away, because they think nobody should be close to the place of the ritual. That day I'll let you escape."
"I want to go away now."
"I know, I'm sorry," I told her. "I wish I could do more, but that's the best I can. Look, I'll find a way to come back here tomorrow, so that we can talk about my plan to get you out of here, okay?"
"...okay," she said. She was looking at me with an enigmatic expression. I hoped she would trust me. I left her room locking the blinded door behind my back and walked back toward Colten's bedroom, when the elevator of the third floor opened and a young man I had never seen came out of it. Our eyes met in a long stare.
"You work here?" he asked me.
"Yes, sir," I replied.
"I was told my room is here on the third floor. I hope it's ready, even though I arrived a few days earlier than scheduled."
"May I have your name?"
"Robinson Jr. Don't get confused with my father; he’ll get here with the others," he said. "Can you take my bag?"
"Sure," I said, and I checked on Ms. Wilson's notice board where his room was. I accompanied him there and put down his luggage. I could feel his eyes fixed on me, and I didn't like his stare at all.
"You don't really work here, do you?" he said.
I had been careless; I wasn't even dressed as a staff member. I was thinking of my next move when Robinson said, "Don't worry. I won’t tell Colten I met you. My father has known him for decades, and he told me how perverted that old man is. What's your name, boy?"
I had no idea what that guy was up to, so I decided to play along for a while to understand better what kind of person he was. "Ian," I said.
"Ian and then?"
"Just Ian." He sure was nosy.
"Good, you're smart at least. How old are you, just Ian?"
"Twenty-one."
"I meant, how old are you really, Ian?"
"Twenty-one, sir." Robinson’s stare was fixed on me, as if he was trying to read me, making me rather annoyed.
"Better than I imagined. I was sure you were underage." A short conversation, but it had revealed me enough; that man was different from Colten. He was younger, seemed smarter, and totally didn’t want to fuck me, which put me in a disadvantaged position. "Listen, it's true that I'm not much older than you, but since I started this job I learned my lesson. This is not a place you want to be in. How much is he paying you?"
"Eight thousand credits a day."
"Insane." Robinson passed nervously his hand on his forehead.
"I need the money," I said, now hoping he would just let me go soon.
"I thought so, but just take it as a piece of advice. Take the money and leave that old fart as soon as possible. You have no idea how deep the shit is that these people are in." A sudden knock on the door cut our conversation short.
"Bart Jr., what a surprise to see you so early!" sounded Colten's voice as he entered the room. He glared at me, a quick, furious look, then went back to his guest. "So, young man, how is your new life in politics going? And what about the old fox?" he asked cheerfully.
"I'm still getting used to all the bureaucracy. And I probably shouldn't say that, since I'm a damn lawyer," chortled Robinson. "My father said he'll stick to his schedule, but I thought I could really use a little vacation in the woods."
"You know, you did well! Come with me, I'll show you the property," said Colten. "Ian, come here a minute," he called me, letting Robinson go ahead. "Go wait in my room. You're in serious trouble this time."
Fuck.
That day he beat me so badly I seriously thought I was gonna die. I was lying face down on the floor in a pool of blood I had vomited after being hit repeatedly in the stomach; I could hear the clinging noise of a red-hot iron growing closer to me. My instinct was telling me I had to run away, but I wasn't able to move, blocked by the pain I was feeling. When he placed the incandescent metal on my back, I felt like my entire being was being torn apart. The smell of burnt skin reached my nose as my body was writhing in pain. I screamed to the point that my throat hurt like it was burning along with all the rest. When it stopped, I knew it was temporary. In a state of confusion, I was waiting for it to start again, but it didn't happen.
"I'm sorry sir, but I cannot let you go any further," said a man's voice somewhere close to me. "Three months ago you ordered me to take care of him, and as things are now, this boy is going to die. I'll be taking him back to his room now." I closed my eyes and I woke up in the middle of the night in my room in the servants' guesthouse. I was lying face down again, and this time Ms. Wilson was applying a cold moisture on my back. From that position I could see the blood stained bandages she had changed on a chair beside the bed. I tried to ask for some water, but my sore throat seemed unable to produce any sound. Then Mr. Hutchison sat by my side and had me drink some with a straw. Slowly I remembered he was the one who brought me out of that room. I felt incredibly depressed; I knew I couldn't get any lower than that.
"Ian, I want you to leave this place once and for all," he told me. "The master was always a strange man, but with you he's going past the point of no return. He'll end up killing you for real one of these days."
"I can't… leave..." I croaked, holding on to the pillow. My head was hurting and heavy, and I felt cold. I probably had a fever again.
"Of course you can," he told me. "I'll help you run away if needed."
"No, I can't leave her… Not after all these years."
"Her? Who are you talking about?"
"The girl he’s keeping behind the blinded door," I confessed, tired, trying to hold back the tears. "Even if he does this to me… I can hold on just a little longer... But if I leave her… she's gonna die."
"What did you say?" Another voice spoke from a part of the room I couldn't see. I panicked. I should have never said a word about the girl; that stupid moment of weakness could have just cost me everything. I tried to get up but I fell back down from the pain. Then I turned around to see who that person was, and Robinson Jr. rushed from the corner of the room to sit next to me on the bed. "The girl, so you know where he keeps her?" he asked me, quite agitated. I didn't answer, still trying to understand what his purpose was. He looked at me and let out a deep sigh. "Don't be scared, I'm here for the same reason as you," he said as he put a hand on my shoulder. "I want to stop them."
Chapter 65.b
The messages Ms. Wilson had exchanged with Robinson helped me complete the puzzle around what happened to Dan.
“Mr. Robinson, thank you for the help you gave us today. We had underestimated that boy's situation and it might have be
come a tragedy if you hadn't warned Mr. Hutchison. We have pretended not to see our master's madness for too much time. We will do anything to help you from now on.” That was the very first message she sent him.
“I still can't believe that kid wanted to go against that organization alone. When I was his age, I could only think of going out with my friends and asking girls out. His plan was good though; we can try to re-adapt it to make it safer for both kids. He said he planned to let the girl escape from the guesthouse and stay behind on his own to open the external gates and set fire to the villa to distract them, but I suspect he wants to kill all those crazy bastards. I don't want that boy to become a murderer; I'd let him escape with her and I'll stay behind instead. You can wait for the kids to exit the external gate of the property and bring them to a safe place. Then I'll let Mr. Hutchison in, and we’ll set fire to the villa and decide then what to do with the members of the sect. For now, during the afternoon I'll keep Colten occupied, so that Ian can go talk with the girl and explain the plan to her. Hopefully that way he'll stay away from him too, and God knows he needs that.”
Chapter 66.a
Robinson, Ms. Wilson and Mr. Hutchison offered to help me. I felt uneasy and full of doubts about it, since I had been alone in that fight for seven years and it was hard for me to trust anybody with such a secret. However, all the distress and pain I had been feeling weakened me to the point I ended up accepting their help. Thanks to Robinson, who was keeping Colten occupied with outdoor activities, I had the chance to go meet Shallie every day, until the other members came to the villa on the 1st of February.
"You really came back," she told me the day after our first encounter, looking just a little bit relieved.
"Yes, I'm back," I smiled at her, hoping to gain her trust. "I have a plan for the day of the ritual. I’m supposed to go away with the rest of the staff and the guards in the morning, but I won’t be really going. I’ll hide in the guesthouse. A maid I know will cover for me. One of their assistants will guard this floor, but I can take care of him easily. I’ll come to get you and we’ll escape from the kitchen window which leads to the maze. You’ll run away from there and you’ll find the external gate of the garden open. I’ll stay back and act as a bait so that they won’t reach you." Robinson had told me he wanted me to run away with Shallie, but I didn't trust him enough to let him take care of those guys alone.
"So you won’t be coming with me?"
"No, but I promise nothing will happen to you. You’ll run to the woods, and the maid I told you of will be waiting there with a car. She’ll bring you home."
"What if they come back for me?"
"They won’t. Leave it to me."
"Can I ask you why are you doing this for me? You said you work for these people."
"I do, but… The reason I took this job was in the first place that I wanted to stop them."
"Why? You must be around my age. What’s your relationship with this sect?"
"Seven years ago someone dear to me died because of them, and soon after that it was the turn of another girl. I couldn’t do anything but stand still and watch her die… This time I’ll stop them. I spent the last seven years preparing for this."
She looked at me with sad eyes and she didn't say anything, but I got the feeling that since then she started believing in me a little bit more.
Shallie was a delicate yet strong girl. Despite the situation she was in, she was always trying to stay positive. After I explained to her the plan and told her about the people who wanted to help us, she asked me to stay a little longer, to talk about anything else. Talking with her, I had the feeling I had met another human being for the first time in forever. We were probably both so psychologically under pressure that the time we spent together became a way for us to remember that normality still existed outside of those walls. I went to talk to her every day, and soon we grew fond of each other. On the fifth day I went to see her later than our usual meeting time because Colten had kept me occupied. As soon as she saw me opening the door, she jumped into my arms with teary eyes.
"Dan, I thought you wouldn't come anymore," she cried, slipping her arms around my waist. I pulled her closer, an arm around her shoulders and a hand firm on the nape of her neck, but I couldn't hold back a groan of pain when her shaky hands touched my back. "Dan, I'm sorry," she said, softly, and let go of me. Then she took my hand and gently pulled the arm of my sweatshirt up. "Why are you hurt? Your body is always covered in bandages. I can see them under your clothes."
I smiled at her and caressed her head. "I had a little accident, don't worry about it," I lied, and I hugged her again, seeking comfort in her warmth. That day she sat on my lap and I held her in my arms for the whole time we were together.
"Dan, you said a girl dear to you died because of this sect, right?" She was resting her head on my chest as my fingers delicately ran through her golden hair. I stopped for an instant, surprised by her sudden question, then I kept going.
"... yeah."
"What was her name?"
"An... Ange, actually."
"Ange… Lowell?" she asked timidly, looking up to me with pure, sad eyes. Hearing her pronouncing An’s name gave me the shivers. How did she know her? I tried to remember every classmate we had, her friends from the sport clubs, and the feeling I had met her before just kept increasing. "I thought I had seen you somewhere," she smiled. "You’re so thin it took me a while to recognize you, Dan Price."
"Shallie, do I know you?" I asked her, taking her face in my hands, looking at her, trying to remember where I had met her.
"No, we never met in person. But I saw so many pictures of you, and I was told about you a lot."
"Who told you about me?" I found myself fearing her answer. A little voice inside my head was already suggesting who she was, and I hoped it was wrong.
"Drew," she said, her cheeks slightly flushed. "He’s my boyfriend." So that's how it is. Why is this happening to them? He went through hell once already after An’s death. I imagined how he must be suffering in that very moment not knowing where she was, and my heart ached.
"We have met once," I told her, as I suddenly remembered where I had seen her. "Last year, on An’s anniversary, I saw you at the graveyard."
"So it really was you. I had gone unusually early, and there was this figure kneeling in front of her grave, leaving there beautiful blue roses. I found that picture so solemn I couldn't get close to you."
"But I walked past you as I was going back."
"And you looked at me. I remember I thought that your eyes were the same color as the roses you’d left on the grave. When I told Drew he didn't say anything, but then he spent all day looking at you on the picture of you three he keeps on his desk."
"He's still keeping that." So he still remembers.
"I always told him you had never really left him. Dan… come home with me."
"What?"
"Run away with me the day of the ritual. Let's go back to him together. Can you imagine how happy he will be when he sees us?"
"I..." How can I go back after all I've done? I had never thought I could go back. I was ready either to go to prison for murder or to use the last bullet of my gun on myself. But I didn't have the courage to say that to her. "Can you tell me more about you and Drew?" I asked her, trying to change the subject. She certainly noticed but, thinking of him, her expression got softer and she started talking. I loved hearing her speaking about him; I could feel how much she cared for him and I was glad he had found a girl like her. I wished they could be happy again.
"So you're the famous little Shallie. You're so cute," said Robinson, giving Shallie a big smile. It was January 31st, the last day I could go see her before the arrival of the other members of the sect. Colten was busy in the basement, organizing everything for the ritual, so Robinson was able to come with me to meet her.
"Dan, is he the one you told me about?" she asked, hiding behind my back.
"Yeah, there's no need to be sc
ared of him."
"So Dan is your real name?" Robinson asked me. "I like it, I think I'll put it on the list."
"What list?" Shallie asked him.
"My fiancée asked me to make a list of names for our baby," he said, smiling broadly.
"Eh?" Shallie and I reacted the same way.
"Congratulations," Shallie told him enthusiastically. "So your baby is a boy?"
"We don't know yet. It’s still too early."
"Bart, put my name on the list too!" she exclaimed, happily. She was already calling him by his first name.
"Of course Shallie. If she's a girl I hope she'll become a cute little lady like you." He dearly patted her head. They got along very well considering they had met less than ten minutes before. Somehow that made me laugh. I hadn't laughed in ages. They both looked at me a little startled, and Robinson passed one arm behind my neck, the other around Shallie's shoulders and drew us closer to him. "You know what?" he said. "You're both invited to the wedding."
"I love weddings," said Shallie, laughing. "I'm coming for sure."
He smiled at me. He was basically telling us we would all go home safely. Worried and unsure of what was going to happen to us, the happy future he described so certainly gave us back some courage.
"Thank you, Bart," I told him, and looked the other way, a little uncomfortable.
With a hearty laugh, he ruffled my hair and told me, "You're welcome, Dan."
Chapter 66.b
Robinson was really a good man. He truly gave everything to help Shallie and Dan; his only mistake was to trust Brown. The group already knew he was going to betray them, and he was locked up in a room by his father, so Dan and Shallie couldn't escape.
"Did Dan tell you what happened exactly?" I asked Miller.
"He told me all the exits that were supposed to be open were, in fact, guarded; they never managed to reach the external gate of the villa. After they were caught, Colten played a sadist game with them. He beat Dan up in front of Shallie, and then told her, ‘You're gonna die anyway, but I'll let you choose whether he has to live or not. I'll spare his life if you drink this poison with your own hands now.’ She chose to drink it. Seconds later Robinson, who had managed to break free, arrived to help them and shot Colten. He let them escape and stayed behind to face the rest of the group, losing his own life in the end. But for Shallie it was already too late. She died in Dan's arms before they could get to the rendezvous point with Ms. Wilson. He feels responsible for her death, Andrew. He told me that hadn't it been for him, Robinson would have saved her in time. He told me that Colten had no reason to rush her death to that point; his obsession with Dan made him want to seek revenge on Shallie. When Dan came here, he was destroyed by what had happened. We tried to explain to him that in that situation the casualties were too many, that both Shallie and Robinson wanted him to live, and that despite everything the sect was over."
