Gone But Not Forgotten

Ch 12 - An Unfinished Story

"What do we have here, boys?" A gravely voice interrupts my train of thought.

Audrey and I turn around and find a tall man, wearing all black with his gang standing behind him. He smiled in a friendly sort-of way as he motioned for the gang to move in for the kill. These men were definitely up to no good. The leader looks Audrey and I up and down, as if checking for flaws in our design. Satisfied with his observations, he continues to move in closer and closer. "Now, what are two pretty maids doing down a dark alley all alone. Be careful, someone might think your up to no good." He laughs silently at his own joke.

I move closer to Audrey. I've never been a coward, but logically speaking, it would be better to stay together then be separated...and I wouldn't mind the comfort. Audrey, on the other hand, looks almost excited at this newfound challenge. She scans the group as if choosing a sizable component and squares up as if she was ready for a fight.

I finally find my voice, "What do you want with us? We don't have anything of value that you may want to steal, and we haven't trespassed." A small voice in the back of my head is telling me that these men may be looking for more trouble then a couple of trespassers.

His smile grew even wider as the gang continued to move in. "Well, it's not often that two beautiful young woman, like you two, present yourself in my alley. This opportunity is too good to pass up."

I began to notice that Audrey wasn't really paying attention to the gang and was forming some kind-of plan in her mind, probably a way out of here. I decide that the best course of action was to keep the men talking. "But if there is one of you, and two of us, why do you need two young ladies?"

"Foolish child, one young lady is not nearly enough! Even if it was enough, Grayson here wouldn't pass up an opportunity to spend some quality time with a beautiful young lady." The man standing next to leader nods in confirmation, but with a savage look in his eyes. Something about Grayson scares me more than the leader does.

Before I could think of something else, a younger member walks up the leader. He looks light and nimble so I'm guessing he's some kind-of lookout. He whispers quietly in the leaders ear, but I was close enough to catch some of the conversation. It went something like this:

Lookout: "Wolfson, palace guards were spotted near the bakery. They seem to be looking for these two (points to Audrey and I). We probably should bring them back to the safety of the bunk before the guards find them.

Wolfson/Leader: "I'm not afraid of some palace snobs. Bring on the guards! We could beat them with our hands tied behind our backs (Grayson grunts in agreement)."

Lookout: "I'm very sure that we could, but it would be very unwise to risk our men. The women may even get away while we are fighting. It would be very hard to keep track of them while we are focused on the guards."

Wolfson/Leader: "Very valid points, Max. I guess it is better to bring the ladies back to the bunk. We don't want to damage their minds before we have a chance to play with them (Grayson grunts in disappointment)."

Max/Lookout: "Thank you, Wolfson. I'll go around and tell the rest of the men to get ready to leave for the bunker."

Once Max the lookout left to tell the rest of the men to be ready to leave, Audrey seemed to have finished calculating the best way to escape Wolfson and his gang. She pulled my hand into hers, smiled in encouragement, and whispered quietly, "On my count, get ready to run." I nodded once in reply and waited for Audrey's signal.

Audrey seemed to be focusing on the exact point on which we were to make our escape, the butterflies in my stomach growing bigger with ever passing second. I needed to focus if we were to get out of here alive and well. Audrey slowly mouthed, "One, two, three," and she yanked me along with her, underneath Wolfson's outstretched arm. He looked surprised while Audrey slipped through, but came to his senses with me. He yanked my arm out of Audrey's and although I screamed, Audrey didn't hear me as she continued to run off into the night without me.

* * * *

The rest of my night was spent in severe confusion and I, thankfully, hardly remembered what happened. I remember being roughly dragged to the bunk, and thrown into a cell. I remember watching the sun come up through the cell bars and I prayed that Audrey was alive and well, hopefully now back at the palace to assist Queen America. I remember praying in my cell that Queen America would forgive me for my horrible choice and would replace me with a new maid who deserved the honor of serving our fair Queen. I remember kneeling on the dusty floor, praying that I may soon be with Paige, the first maid who managed to get close to me.

The men took turns ogling me like I was a creature in a zoo, but mostly Wolfson visited me. He would slowly enter my cell, brush my hair, and repeatly tell me that I was too beautiful for my own good. He would ask me what I did at the palace (when I told him that I served the Queen, he got particularly interested). Then he would lean in to kiss me. The first time he tried to kiss me, I slapped him. Wolfson smiled in amusement and called Grayson into the cell. Wolfson would leave while Grayson beat me savagely saying that the only way for it to stop was to obey Wolfson's every command.

Wolfson would then repeat this process many, many times that night. I refused to crack.

He would smile the first couple times, then grimace, then glare, and finally, his patience ran out. He dragged me roughly by the hair out onto the commons area in the bunk. Wolfson smiled in a gastly sort-of way and said, "If you refuse to kiss me and obey my command then you will be punished like any other member. This is your last try, woman! If you refuse me one more time, I will shoot you."

I trembled slightly at this statement, but I still stared at a patch of floor while he repeated the threat again. He paused a moment to wait for my answer which I easily supplied, "Never."

"Foolish woman! You would give up your life instead of spending the night in my company!? Am I really that repulsive to you? Am I really worth the loss of your life!?" He roared louder and louder until a crowd had gathered to watch me die. He pulled out a sleak, black gun and held it to my head. "One last try, woman! Will you spend the night with me?"

I stared at the patch of floor, this time untrembling, "I will never spend one single night of my life with you, you repulsive monster." The words were barely out of my mouth before he pulled the trigger and I fell to the hard, cracked, tile commons floor. The last thing I ever saw was the one patch of flooring I had been kneeling on.

I'm coming Paige...

(America's POV)

I was shaking by the time Maxon finished his story. He glanced at me in concern before speaking up, "That's what we think happened. Then Wolfson's gang decided that it would be a good message if the Queen's maid was found outside the palace gates with a threading message. But don't worry, dear. Arrangements are being made about Caroline's funeral and a group of guards are tracking down Wolfson's gang. They will never harm another innocent again."

Maxon held me tighter in his arms. "I've moved our honeymoon back a few weeks so you can have a chance to recover..."

I interrupted him at this point, "No, Maxon! I want to go on the honeymoon and escape these thoughts that are constantly chasing me. When can we leave?"

He glanced at me in confusion. "Our original trip was scheduled for tomorrow..."

"Then tomorrow we will be on a plane to a mysterious place that I don't know yet! Oh, and bring me those strawberry tarts you promised me while I was blacked out!" Mason smiled at my enthusiasm, kissed my forehead, and left to arrange our honeymoon trip and grab a tray of freshly baked strawberry tarts.