Damien hung up the phone and grabbed his keys before the woman had even stopped talking. All he knew was that Roxy had been found, and that she was at the hospital. That was all that was important. He ignored all thoughts of what condition she might be in as he jumped into his car and tore out onto the road, only remembering his seatbelt halfway down the street. The lady on the phone mentioned that she’d tried to reach Martha, but she didn’t pick up the call, which wasn’t surprising. She barely ever answered unknown numbers from her personal phone, especially when she was at work. He just hoped that he would be able to reach her at some point soon.

He did his very best to obey traffic laws on the way, even as his entire being was screaming at him to just put his foot down and go. Getting pulled over by the cops would only slow him down. His heart was racing like nothing else on earth at the thought of seeing his daughter again. The past eleven days had been the worst of his life. He hadn’t shaved, hadn’t worked, he’d barely eaten anything. He spent practically all of his time sitting on the couch staring at the TV in the hope that some good news would finally come along, but it seemingly never did, until today. He’d been happy to hear that his daughter was still alive when those photos were sent to Sam, but he hadn’t been at all prepared for the images they contained, even with Detective Luna’s warning. The thought of his only daughter being tortured like that was too much to bear. Why? Why did it have to be her?

He pulled into the parking lot and flew out of his car without even locking it behind him, which reminded him that he’d forgotten to lock the door at home, as well. It wasn’t important. Nothing was important aside from seeing his daughter again. He ran into the lobby of the emergency department and straight up to the front desk.

“Where’s my daughter?! Is she okay?!” he frantically asked the nurse on duty.

“I’m going to need you to calm down and elaborate, sir,” she responded, a little taken aback.

He realised how he was coming off and did his best to compose himself a little bit. “R-Roxanne Kindley. I’m her father. I was told she was here?”

The nurse’s eyes widened in recognition. “Oh! Yes, please follow me,” she said, getting up from her desk. He followed her down a hallway as she continued speaking. “She was admitted a few minutes ago and rushed into surgery, so you’ll have to wait until she gets out, unfortunately.”

“Surgery?! Why?!”

“I… don’t have all the details. She was bleeding a lot when she arrived, and the girl who was carrying her said that she’d been shot. Her and one other girl are in the waiting room as well. Usually we wouldn’t let them wait there unless they were family, but we need to keep them here until the police arrive to question them, and they said that they were friends of Roxanne’s, so we thought it couldn’t hurt, even though we can’t really verify it. They seemed pretty worried about her, regardless.”

Damien took a second to absorb that. “Right… I’m pretty sure I know all of her friends, so I should be able to verify it for you.”

The nurse smiled at him. “That’s good to hear.”

They got to the waiting room and, sure enough, Sam and Leif were already there, though they looked… different. They both had brown hair and were wearing suits, not to mention that Sam’s clothes were covered in blood. It looked like there was some on her hands and face, too, but it had been washed off. Leif was a little bloody, too, though that seemed to mostly be coming from a bandage that was wrapped around her head.

“Oh… It’s you two,” he observed. Sam looked up at him. It was clear that she’d been crying. Meanwhile, Leif continued to stare into space, not entirely present.

“So, you know them?” the nurse asked.

“Y-yeah.” He nodded. Satisfied, the nurse left them. He walked up to the two girls, not really sure what to do. This whole situation was so overwhelming. There was too much he didn’t know.

“H-hi, Damien…” Sam muttered, her voice thick with tears.

“Sam, what… What happened?” he asked as he sat down, trying to keep himself calm. The girls were clearly shaken up, the last thing he wanted to do was scare them more. “Where did all this blood come from? Are you hurt?”

Sam shook her head. “N-no… most of it is… is Roxy’s.”

Damien’s heart sunk. “Th-the nurse said she got shot?”

This time, she nodded. “Y-yeah, i-in the leg. It was right as we were about to get out. D-don’t worry, she should be fine. She… She’s survived everything so far, she’s not going to stop now.”

Damien hoped to god she was right. “So you guys were the ones to find her?”

Sam hesitated. “K-kind of. It’s a long story. I’ll be telling it to the police, anyway, so I might as well wait until then rather than going over it twice.”

Damien nodded. Whatever they did must have been pretty terrifying, so he could understand Sam’s hesitance to relive it without needing to. The bottom line was, they brought his daughter back, and for that, he could never repay them enough. He realised that Leif was still staring off blankly. “Leif? Are you alright? Did you get hurt?”

The girl didn’t respond. Worry churned in his gut. He turned to Sam. “Is she alright?”

“Physically, yes. A bullet grazed her ear or something, but other than that, she’s alright. M-mentally, I’m not sure.”

Damien swallowed thickly. Where on earth was Roxy that would have warranted them getting shot at while breaking her out? Just how big was the organisation that took her? “Leif?”

Leif finally responded, muttering so quietly that he almost missed it. Almost.

“I killed him.”

He froze. “I’m sorry?”

Leif finally moved, turning to him with wide eyes that were full of tears.

“I-I-I killed him. Th-the one who shot Roxy. I-I saw him aiming at us and I saw that Sam, Roxy and P-” She paused for a second. “th-that Sam and Roxy were preoccupied, so I pulled out my gun and sh-shot him in the head, b-b-but his gun still went off. I-I… I killed him for no reason.”

Leif broke down crying and Sam pulled her into an embrace. “Shh, it’s okay, Leif. You saved us. If you hadn’t fired, his shot would probably have killed me. He was aiming right at me.”

“I s-s-still killed him!”

Sam gently rocked back and forth. “I know, Leif, I know. It’s hard. But you were protecting us. You were protecting Roxy. That’s what you need to remember. You’re not a bad person for protecting the people you love. You… you heard what that Harrison bastard said, you saw what was in that office we checked out. R-Roxy… She did what she had to do to get out, too. She’s not a bad person, and neither are you.”

Damien silently listened to the exchange, amazed at Sam’s words. She spoke about it as if she knew what it was like. Had Sam… killed people before? And she implied that Roxy did too, during her escape. A horrible feeling rose up in his chest, at least until he remembered those photos, and what her captors had been doing to her. If Roxy felt that she needed to go that far in order to protect herself, then she was completely justified in his eyes, and he would have her back, no matter what. Same with Leif, for that matter. Sam was right, she was protecting them. But still… What was Sam’s deal, then? He was hesitant, but he chose to give her the benefit of the doubt for now. Whatever she had going on, she was still the reason that Roxy was here, at the hospital, and not still in the hands of whoever kidnapped her.

He decided to forget about it for now, and moved onto what had really been worrying him. "R-Roxy… when you found her, how… how was she?"

Sam glanced at him before swallowing and looking down, still holding onto Leif as she cried. “I-I mean… you saw the pictures, didn’t you? I-It was just that, b-but… but more. I… I don’t think they were feeding her much. Her ribs were showing. P-part of her hair turned white from the stress. She was so scared that I don’t think she even recognised us at first. We found her hiding in a cupboard.”

Damien silently nodded, gritting his teeth to keep himself steady. He supposed that was the best he could get until the doctors told him her condition. He was so terrified to find out more, but at the same time, he had to know. His daughter had gone through something truly horrible, and until he knew the extent of it, his mind would just keep taunting him with possibilities that he didn’t want to consider. He needed to at least understand the extent of her injuries so that he could research how to best help her move on from them.

He decided that now was as good a time as any to give Martha a call and tell her the news. The phone rang for quite a while before she picked it up, but that wasn’t too unusual. Her work ethic was razor sharp. He just wished it didn’t come at the cost of spending time with her family.

“Yes, what is it? You know not to call me when I’m working, Damien.”

He swallowed thickly and ignored the remark. “I-it’s Roxy. She’s been found. She’s here, a-at the hospital.”

There was a slight pause. “Really? Is she there? Can I talk to her?”

“N-no, she’s in surgery at the moment. She was shot.”

“Oh no! Is she going to be alright?!”

“Yes, it was just her leg, apparently. Are you coming down here? I can come to the parking lot to get you.”

“I… hmm. Well, I can’t see her until she’s out of surgery, right? These people are considering buying, so I can’t just step away from work, either. Give me a call when she’s out and I’ll come visit when I get the chance.”

Damien was slightly taken aback. He knew that her commitment to her job was a little… overzealous, but this was seriously crossing a line. “Really, Martha? Our daughter has been missing for over a week and now we finally have her back, and you want to stay at work?”

“You’re making it sound like I don’t care! Of course I care, but this is important. I’m the one putting food on the table for us. She’s not going to know the difference, anyway! She’ll be too high on painkillers! I’ll be there long before she’s lucid enough to notice my absence. Just let me know how it all goes, okay?”

Damien was starting to get angry. He couldn’t believe she could be so… nonchalant about this. He couldn’t believe how little desire she had to actually see her daughter again over finishing her work. He was about to go off at her, to tell her to not bother coming until she actually started caring about Roxy, but he stifled his tongue. He could see Sam watching him out of the corner of his eye, and this was no place to have a marital spat. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Fine. Fine, I’ll call you later, then.”

He ended the call and hung his head in his hands. What was this marriage coming to?

“Are you alright?” Sam probed. A small spark of warmth calmed his heart a little. She always cared so much for others. His daughter couldn’t be in better hands.

He lifted his head and looked at her. “Oh, yeah, it’s just my marriage slowly going down the toilet as I realise what a-” He stopped himself, realising what he was saying and who he was saying it to. He rubbed his face exasperatedly. “Sorry. Pretend I didn’t say anything.”

She gave him a sad smile and silently put a hand on his shoulder. It was surprisingly comforting.

Once Leif calmed down, they sat in silence for a little while, each of them buried in their own thoughts and anxieties about the situation. Damien was really worried about what effect Martha’s apparent indifference might have on Roxy’s mental health. He knew her attitude was already causing Roxy some stress before everything happened, so there was no telling how much those feelings might be amplified while she’s in a fragile state. He would just have to do his best to be there for her to make up for it. He loved his daughter more than anything, and he knew from the moment he first held her in his arms that no matter what, he would do anything to make her happy, even if he was starting to doubt that his wife felt the same way.

The door opened and Detective Luna walked in, immediately sighing when he saw who was waiting for him. “Of course it was you two,” he muttered exasperatedly.

Sam gave him a lopsided grin. “Hey, Pedro.”

He walked over and shook Damien’s hand briefly before kneeling down in front of Sam and grabbing her chin so he could inspect her face. “You aren’t hurt, are you?”

“U-uh, no?”

The detective nodded. “Leif? What about you?”

The girl in question looked at him in confusion for a few seconds before something akin to realisation flashed across her face. “Oh! Uh, my ear was sh-shot, but I’m okay.”

He sighed and stood up, ruffling her hair affectionately before sitting down on a seat opposite to them. That made Damien raise his eyebrow a bit. He could understand his familiarity with Sam, as he knew they were apparently family friends, but Leif? That was odd.

Detective Luna pulled a notepad and pen out of his coat. “So, as I understand it so far, you two somehow managed to figure out where Roxy was being held and, instead of going to the police with that information, you decided to break in yourselves to go and get her, despite how ridiculously dangerous and stupid that would be. Am I correct so far?”

Sam immediately nodded. “Yep.”

He sighed, rubbing his face exasperatedly. “I honestly wish I could say that surprised me. As glad as I am that Roxy’s back in safe hands, I can’t believe you two would do something so reckless without telling me! What were you thinking?” he asked sternly.

Sam frowned. “I was thinking that Roxy needed help as fast as possible, that we didn’t have time to wait for the police to get a warrant. And, as I recall, you were-” She was cut off when Leif elbowed her in the ribs. Both her and Detective Luna were giving Sam these looks. She coughed awkwardly. “Oh. Right.”

Damien was confused. There was something about this that felt strangely… performative. LIke they were putting on a show just because he was there. He shrugged it off. It was probably just the nerves.

The detective defused and leaned back in his chair. “Alright, lay it on me. How’d you figure out where Roxy was?”

“It was Brooke. B-Brooke Harrison,” Leif said. “She came to us and told us everything. A-apparently her dad was the head of some weird… cult thing, the same people that kidnapped Roxy. They told Brooke they were helping her, but then she saw what was actually happening, th-that Roxy was being hurt, so she came to us. She gave us a way in and snuck us some guns from their armoury. They’re set up underneath that pawn shop on Shepperton, ‘Sunny’s Used Goods’ or something.”

He bit his lip as he took down notes. “Jesus. So you guys used that info to sneak in?”

“Yeah,” Leif continued. “That’s what the suits and hair dye are for. They were disguises. Worked pretty well, until we had to blow our cover. It turned out that Roxy had started a breakout on her own, so we had to get moving before she got overwhelmed by all the guards. We sent out a message from their security room to tell her to hide until we got there, which is where I got shot. She was a little roughed up when we found her, but she could still move, so we got going. It was near the exit that a guard came around the corner and shot at us. The bullet hit Roxy, a-and I…” She coughed, burying her admission. Damien had already heard it, so he knew that must’ve been where she shot the guard and killed him. “A-anyway, we got back out to the street, and a good samaritan gave us a ride to the hospital. That’s everything.”

Damien was expecting him to ask more questions, but instead he closed his notebook and put it away. Surely there was more he needed to know? “Alright. That should do it for now. I’ve gotta go and get this raid set up before those bastards jump ship.” He stood up and walked over to the two girls, putting a hand on each of their heads. “For what it’s worth, you two did good, as stupid as it was. You two saved a life. You should remember that.” He was looking directly at Leif as he said the last part, as though he knew about what she did and was reminding her that it was okay. He was a detective, though, so maybe he just picked up on her subtle cues or something. Damien didn’t have the foggiest. He was probably overthinking it. Still, though. These inconsistencies were starting to add up a little. Was there… something going on here?

Detective Luna moved over to Damien and shook his hand again. “Damien. I’m glad to hear that Roxy’s safe again. Give her my well wishes when she wakes up, yeah?”

Despite the slight air of secrecy surrounding that whole interaction, he seemed genuine, so Damien smiled back. “Sure, detective, and thank you for all your help.”

“Please, call me Pedro. And don’t mention it, it was mostly these two in the end. We’ll talk more later, alright? I’ve got to get going.”

Damien nodded and Pedro left, off to go set up the police raid to catch all of the people who contributed to hurting Roxy. It was a little mind-boggling. Leif was right when she’d theorised about it being a cult. There was a cult operating in Dewsbury all this time and no one knew anything. How many other people had been hurt by them? And again, what did a cult want with Roxy? More and more, he was beginning to think that his daughter might be wrapped up in something dangerous, but he couldn’t figure out what. That wasn’t even mentioning the weirdness surrounding the interview he’d just witnessed, the whole thing plagued by a notion that they all knew more than they were letting on, leaving Damien helplessly in the dark. Every answer just brought more and more questions.

He debated what he should do. He doubted he would get a straight answer if he just asked them about it. Still, the fact that Sam and Leif had risked their lives to save Roxy was fresh on his mind. Regardless of what may or may not be going on behind the scenes, there was no doubt that they cared about Roxy more than anything else. He knew he could trust them, at the very least, and most likely Pedro, too. He decided to just stay silent and wait, to see what he could potentially figure out on his own.

A few more minutes passed and eventually Leif’s parents came to pick her up. They were initially mad at her for doing something so dangerous, but Damien convinced them to cut her some slack by telling them that she was part of the reason that Roxy was saved. He knew they were only mad at her because they were scared for her, and for good reason, to be fair. Had the bullet that hit her ear been aimed just a few inches further across, it would have killed her. Had their positions been swapped, he would have been equally as angry at Roxy, even knowing that he likely wouldn’t have been able to stop her once she made up her mind. He gave her a grateful hug as she left and she promised to be back to see Roxy as soon as she could.

And so that left just Damien and Sam in the waiting room. Carol showed up at the start of her shift, bringing along some spare clothes for Sam to change into, which Damien was silently grateful for. He wasn’t going to bring it up because it wasn’t really her fault, but Sam absolutely reeked of blood, and it was beginning to make him feel a little sick. She was a lot more understanding than Leif’s parents were, just checking to make sure she wasn’t injured much in the same way Pedro had. Carol hadn’t acted angry or even surprised at Sam’s involvement in the rescue, which confused him a little. Maybe she just knew that her daughter was the type to do things like this and had stopped trying to stop her, or maybe she knew about the rescue in advance. Maybe he was getting a little too into the idea of this conspiracy. Maybe she was just more happy that Roxy was safe than angry that Sam had put herself in harm's way.

He sighed heavily. He needed to stop reading between the lines for answers that didn’t exist. Sure, it was a little weird that Pedro was so familiar with Sam and Leif, and that he didn’t feel the need to ask that many questions. Sure, it was a bit surprising that Carol didn’t seem to care much about her daughter’s dangerous acts. Sure, Sam’s advice to Leif about her guilt had sounded weirdly like it came from experience. None of these things meant that there was some grand mystery, waiting to be solved by him, some random accountant. It was probably just a whole lot of missing context, coming together in such a way that made it seem like it was all connected. He was just desperate for answers. He just wanted to know why his daughter had been hurt in such a way. That was the only real mystery here; why a cult had been interested in kidnapping his daughter, and that was for the police to find out. Maybe Roxy would know, but he couldn’t ask her right now, so he just needed to stop thinking about it.

Sam came back in from freshening up in the bathroom, wearing the clothes that Carol had brought for her. She sat back down next to him and yawned. He wasn’t surprised that she was tired, considering the day she’d had. There would still be a bit of time before Roxy was out of surgery, so he tried to strike up a neutral conversation, one that would hopefully get their minds off of Roxy for a bit.

“I didn’t know that your mom was a nurse. I bet she’s pretty handy to have around when you accidentally hurt yourself at home, huh?”

Sam looked confused for a few seconds before the lightbulb went off “O-oh! Uh…” She laughed awkwardly. “Y-yeah, I guess she is, but… she’s not actually my mom, you know. I guess Roxy hasn’t told you about that? I’m adopted.”

“Oh!” Damien exclaimed. Thinking back, he did remember Pedro saying that he was friends with Sam’s guardians, not her parents. He must have just forgotten that part. “No, Roxy hasn’t mentioned it. I’m sorry, is it a sore subject?”

Sam shook her head. “No, not really. I-I just… I mean, they’ve been looking after me for almost my entire life, I just… never really got the hang of referring to Carol and Tom as my parents, you know?”

Damien nodded. “I understand. Are your parents… still around?”

Sam’s face dropped and he immediately regretted the question. “N-no. They… they passed when I was three.”

“Right… I’m sorry.”

Sam sighed and gave him a sad smile. “It’s okay. It was a long time ago.”

They sat together in silence for a long time after that. Sam ended up falling asleep at some point and her head lolled against his shoulder. Occasionally she would grumble and fidget in her sleep, nuzzling into his arm. He did his best not to disturb her, though he did wonder how Roxy ever got any sleep when they shared a bed, with the way she was moving about and constantly trying to get closer to him. She was probably used to it at that point. It was pretty endearing, to be fair. He knew Roxy liked physical affection, so it was no wonder they worked so well together.

It was a good few hours later when the doctor finally came in. Damien immediately stood up at his entrance, startling Sam awake as well.

“Damien Thura?” the doctor asked. At his nod, he continued. “Roxanne’s surgery went well. We have her set up in a room. You can come see her now, though it may be a while before she wakes up.”

An incredible amount of relief flooded his body, even as his anxiety suddenly skyrocketed. He and Sam shared an excited smile, but when they both attempted to follow the doctor, he stopped them. “Ah, apologies, but only family can see her right now. It’s hospital policy. You’ll have to come back tomorrow, once she stabilises,” he said to Sam.

Sam’s excited expression immediately fell away, leaving only thinly veiled disappointment in its wake. The sadness in her eyes tugged at Damien’s heartstrings. “Oh… A-are you sure?”

The doctor nodded. “I’m afraid so.”

Noticing that Sam was about to give up, Damien stepped in, grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her close. “Please? Sam’s practically family already. Roxy would want to have her there.”

“I-I… sir, I’m really not sure…”

He could tell his words had made an impact, so he didn’t let up. “Sam’s the reason that Roxy was saved in the first place! Please, we’re not asking for much. Sam just wants to see her. She’s been just as worried for her as I have.”

The doctor was silent for a moment as he hesitated, before finally acquiescing with a sigh. “I suppose it’s alright. You are her father, after all. But she has to be gone once visiting hours end. After that, it’s non-negotiable, okay?”

“Yes, of course. Thank you,” Damien responded. Sam squeezed his shoulder in a silent thanks and they followed the doctor through the halls. They didn’t go straight to Roxy’s room, however, instead stopping in front of an office.

The doctor opened the door and led Damien inside, though he held out a hand when Sam tried to follow. “I’m afraid you’ll have to wait out here for now. There are some things I need to discuss with Mr. Thura.”

Sam didn’t push the issue and took a seat across the hall. The doctor closed the door and walked around to his desk, sitting down behind it and indicating for Damien to do the same. This was it. This would be where he found out the full extent of Roxy’s injuries. He swallowed thickly, his anxiety boiling over in his chest.

Once he sat down, the doctor began. “Now, Mr. Thura, before we begin, are you in a state to receive information that might cause you distress? I would like to go over your daughter’s condition, but… well, it’s not exactly pleasant.”

Damien took a few deep breaths and nodded. He was expecting this. “Yes, I am. Please, tell me how she is.”

The doctor nodded and continued. “Your daughter is… Well, to put it bluntly, the damage is quite severe. The bullet in her thigh, while thankfully missing any major blood vessels, did end up breaking her femur. We’ve inserted an intramedullary nail into the femur, which will keep it together while she heals. Unfortunately, the surgery was quite invasive, and she will most likely require some quite extensive physical therapy before she can walk on that leg again. The recovery time for this procedure is usually around six months.

“In terms of the rest of her body, there is… a lot, though thankfully it’s mostly surface level and shouldn’t leave her with any lasting difficulties, aside from one or two things, but we’ll get to that. There are lacerations across most of her body, but primarily her back. Those wounds are consistent with those of a flogging with a whip or a cane. They appeared to be the oldest, along with one of the cuts across her face and one across her belly. They’ve already partially healed, and unfortunately will leave quite severe scarring, as she didn’t receive any proper care beyond basic stitches and coverings. Some of the newer ones may be salvageable, however, though it depends. There was another one across her face that seemed only a few hours old, and we’ve stitched it up properly, so hopefully that one should scar much less visibly.

“Beyond that, it was mostly bruising, aside from a broken nose and a few nasty burns that we’ve had to graft over to avoid infection. She was also missing a tooth, as well as her finger and toe nails, which appear to have been pried out. Obviously, her nails will grow back, but she will likely need an implant for the tooth, should she so choose. The little finger on her left hand appears to have been cut off, and then cauterised over. Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot we can do for that, but thankfully, given the fact that it’s only her little finger, it shouldn’t give her too much grief, and I do believe there are options for prosthetics, should she choose to go that route. She was unfortunately quite malnourished, as well, and there were traces of an unknown drug in her system that we're currently analysing. We don’t believe it’s anything to worry about, though.

“Now, in terms of any further surgery requirements, there is one thing, which is what I mentioned earlier. The original cut across her face also damaged her left eye, which, if left untreated, could leave her permanently blind in that eye. Honestly, it might already be too late, given how long that cut’s been there, but given that the damage to the eye also seems quite shallow, it might still be okay. We’ll just have to see once the surgery is done. Now, we don’t have anyone with the qualifications to deal with that here, so we’re calling in a surgeon from Spokane who specialises in ophthalmology. He should arrive by tomorrow, which fits with our timeline nicely, as we want to give her time to stabilise after her surgery today before putting her under again.”

The doctor leaned back in his chair, putting down the papers he was reading from. “I believe that’s about everything. Do you have any questions?”

Wow. That was… a lot to take in. His poor daughter had been through so much. Too much. What did she do to deserve such treatment? He realised that his face was wet, that he’d been crying. He wiped it away. There was still one more thing he needed to know to settle the raging fear in his mind before they could move on.

“Roxy… w-was she…” He swallowed. “A-assaulted, at all?”

The doctor blinked at him. “I’m… not sure what you mean exactly. Clearly, she's been abused to quite an extent, so you'll have to be more specific."

"I- I mean…" He paused, summoning up the courage. He didn't want to even speak the possibility into existence, but he had to know. She was kidnapped by men, and she’d been naked in the photos that he’d seen. It wasn’t an unreasonable fear to have. "A-assaulted… s-s-sexually."

“Oh!” The doctor exclaimed. “Don’t worry, we checked, and things seem fine. There aren’t any signs of that.”

Damien breathed out a huge sigh of relief, eleven days worth of horrible anxiety falling from his shoulders. “Oh, thank christ.” Despite everything else, all the horrible stuff she had to deal with, at least he could take solace in the fact that her kidnappers hadn’t crossed that line.

“Now,” the doctor said, standing up. “If there isn’t anything else, would you like to go see her?”

Damien smiled. “More than anything.”

They exited the office and made their way down the hall, Sam getting up and following along. She had this stricken look on her face when Damien first came out of the office, but when he tried to ask her about it, she just brushed him off. He was too nervous about seeing Roxy again to dwell on it, so he didn’t follow up.

“Alright, we’re here,” the doctor said once they came to a stop outside one of the rooms. “Visiting hours are from 8am to 8pm, though you, as her father, are permitted to stay for however long you like. You, however,” He looked at Sam.” Will have to leave once visiting hours are over. Don’t worry if she doesn’t wake up today. She’s been through quite a lot, and her body will need the rest to heal. It doesn’t mean that anything is wrong. Any questions?”

Damien and Sam both shook their heads and the doctor left them. It was time. He would finally get to see his daughter again. Damien reached out and opened the door, stepping into the room.

She almost seemed peaceful, lying there in the hospital bed, with warm afternoon light filtering in through the window and gently caressing her abnormally pale skin. He could’ve been fooled into thinking that she was just asleep, had it not been for the bandages covering the left half of her face and all of the machines she was hooked up to, beeping and whirring as they monitored her condition. A sob caught in his throat and he rushed to her side, overcome with emotion. He gently grabbed her hand and held it against his face, feeling its warmth and the slight pulse under her skin. She was here. She was alive. Damien couldn’t stop himself from breaking down if he’d wanted to.

Once he’d cried himself out, he gently kissed her hand and laid it back down, settling down in a chair next to the bed. He couldn’t stop staring at her. It almost felt like a dream, like if he looked away she would disappear without a trace again. He reached out and stroked her hair out of her face, taking note of the way that a part of her fringe had turned white. It was sad, that she’d been so stressed and traumatised that her hair had lost its pigment, but it was also strangely beautiful, in a way. It suited her. It was just another reminder that she was actually here. This wasn’t some conjured up memory of her, formed from his desperation to see her again. It couldn’t be a memory, because she looked different than he remembered. She was thinner. Her skin was littered with bruises and welts that stood out against her unusual pallor. She looked exhausted, even asleep as she was, with heavy bags under her visible eye. It was heartbreaking for a parent to see. He was just so grateful to have her back.

Sam was sitting down in a chair across from him and resting her chin against the bed, holding on to Roxy’s other hand and staring up at her face. The relief in her eyes was palpable. He could see it now, truly see it, the devotion that Sam had for his daughter. It was in the exhaustion on her face, the dried blood under her nails. Sam would walk through the fires of hell for his daughter, and she very much proved that today. Damien got up and walked around to her, surprising her with a hug.

“Oh!” she exclaimed. “Uh, hi.”

“Thank you, Sam. Thank you so so so much. I don’t know how I can ever repay you.”

Sam was silent for a moment before squeezing back tighter. “Don’t mention it, Damien,” she whispered. “I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

—

Soft.

That was the first thing that came to Roxy as she gently floated out of unconsciousness. She was lying on something soft. Something other than the hard concrete of her cell or the cold metal of the infirmary table. Her limbs felt incredibly heavy, especially her right leg, which painfully protested her attempt to move it. Where was she? What happened? She couldn’t remember right now. She hoped Emmerich wouldn’t be mad.

She became aware of a rhythmic beeping somewhere off to the side. It reminded her of the start of a song she liked, but she couldn’t remember which one. She was still so tired, her brain felt like soup. Maybe it would be better to just go back to sleep. She had to be in the infirmary somewhere, which meant that Emmerich had probably punished her badly. The sooner she forced herself awake, the sooner she would be sent back to her cell and have to deal with the pain of whatever he had done to her. Why couldn’t she remember what it was, though? That had never happened before.

There was a shuffling above her; a presence. A slight hint of perfume hit her nose. That was very odd. Enamoured by her curiosity, she forced her eyes open. As usual, only the right one obeyed. She was greeted by the chest of a person dressed in scrubs; a woman. They were leaning over her, fiddling with something above her head and beyond her line of sight. The room she was in was dim, a gentle orange light filtering in from somewhere to her right. She had never been to this part of the outpost before, nor had she seen any other women there apart from Brooke. Something must have happened.

The woman above her pulled back and Roxy saw her face. Confusion slowly built in her chest as her mind processed what it was seeing. She swallowed thickly down her dry, sore throat and attempted to speak.

“Carol?” she quietly croaked. Her voice was rough, but she could actually make some noise now, unlike yesterday. She briefly wondered where that thought had come from as Carol looked down at her, smiling at her gently. She placed a comforting hand on Roxy’s cheek. It was nice to see a familiar face, but still, why?

“Hey, sweetie. How’re you feeling?”

Roxy didn’t really process her words. She was too confused. “What are you doing here?”

Carol gave her a funny look. “I work here. You know that.”

Her tone was light and there was a smile on her face, but her words gave Roxy pause. The surge of panic that rushed through her coincided with an increase in the pace of the rhythmic beeping. She really wished someone would shut that off. It was annoying.

“Y-y-you’re a hunter?” she asked, her fear creeping into her voice.

Carol’s eyes turned sad. “No, sweetie, I’m a nurse. You’re at the hospital. Sam, Leif, and Pedro rescued you, remember?”

Roxy paused as her words sunk in, pulling memories out of the fog with them. It was all coming back. Her escape, hiding in a cupboard, reuniting with Sam and making a run for it. She remembered the guard who shot at them, the burst of incredible pain in her leg. After that it was pretty hazy, but she remembered Sam comforting her, at least.

She also remembered Emmerich. What she did to him. To him, and three guards, during her escape.

Four people. She killed four people. With her own hands.

“Huh. Forgot about that.” she muttered. She still felt weirdly indifferent. It was self-defence, after all. Still, she thought she’d be a bit more torn up after taking a life. Maybe it just hadn’t hit her yet.

“So?” Carol asked. “How are you feeling?”

Roxy smacked her lips. “Thirsty.”

Carol smiled at her sweetly and stroked her hair. “I’ll get you some water.”

She stepped away for a bit and Roxy tried once again to move. Her arms were more responsive now, and she could lift her head off of her pillow a bit. She didn’t bother trying her legs. After remembering what had happened, she thought it was probably a good idea to keep them still, especially her right one. Now that she was aware of it again, it was beginning to ache quite badly.

Carol returned with a glass of water and supported Roxy’s head while she drank. She’d honestly forgotten that it was possible for water to not taste mildly metallic. The relief it provided was second to none and she already felt a little bit more alive, and less like a corpse that hadn’t gotten the memo yet. She let out a satisfied sigh as her head came to rest back on the pillow. “Thanks.”

“Anytime, sweetie. Is there anything else? Are you in any pain?” Carol asked. Roxy was about to reply ‘no’ out of habit, despite the dull pain that had made itself known throughout her body, but Carol’s caring gaze made her reconsider. She wasn’t in the outpost anymore. She didn’t have to pretend she was okay just for Emmerich’s satisfaction. A spark of happiness came to life in her heart at the thought.

“A bit.”

“Scale of one to ten?”

Roxy considered. “I… I think my perception might be a bit skewed. I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t in pain,” she admitted.

Carol looked at her sadly and stroked her cheek. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that, darling. Here, this will probably help.”

Carol leaned up and out of her sight again, and a few seconds later a wave rushed through her body, from her centre down to the tips of her fingers and toes, taking the pain away as it went. It tingled a bit, but it felt good. Really good. She surprised herself by laughing as the relief overtook her. Not being in pain felt amazing.

“Wow,” she muttered without realising.

Carol chuckled. “That’s morphine for you. But don’t you go getting addicted, alright?”

“No promises,” Roxy muttered with a weak grin.

“Roxy?”

Roxy froze at the voice. She turned her head, and saw her dad sitting on a chair next to the bed, using his jacket like a blanket and seeming like he’d just woken up. He looked terrible, though probably a lot better than she did, all things considered. She started tearing up.

“D-dad?”

His face crumpled and he rushed to her, leaning down and pulling her into a tight hug, crying and kissing her head. She tried to reciprocate the hug as she too began to cry, but her arms were still too weak to reach up all the way. She settled for gripping the front of his shirt.

“Oh, my baby. I’m so sorry. I’m so proud of you. You’re so strong.”

Roxy just sobbed into his shirt. “D-dad!”

“It’s okay now. It’s okay. Everything’s okay.”

They stayed like that for what felt like a long time, Roxy holding onto her dad and breathing in his scent. She missed him so much. Honestly, she even missed her mom. She spent a lot of nights in her cell crying herself to sleep, wishing her parents were there to comfort her like when she was a kid.

Her dad finally pulled back and sat down on his chair again, though he did pull it closer to the bed so he could keep hold of her hand. She appreciated it. Carol had left them alone at some point during their reunion, so it was just the two of them now.

“I missed you, Roxy,” he said, gently squeezing her hand.

“I missed you too, dad.” She smiled. It was a lot easier to smile with morphine running through her system. She looked around the room, a little disappointed to find it otherwise empty. “Is… is Sam anywhere? Or mom?”

“Sam was here last night, but she had to leave once visiting hours ended. I expect she’ll be back the second they start again. The doctor practically had to drag her out.” He chuckled. “Your mother… She stopped by last night as well, but… Well, you know how she is with work. She’ll probably stop by again sometime tonight.”

Roxy frowned. “R-really? Even now, she’s… She still doesn’t care?” She started to cry again.

Damien held her hand with both of his, squeezing it tight. “Of course she cares, ချစ်လေ. She was so worried about you, she just… processes it differently. She’s never been the type to be open with her feelings, you know that. She threw herself into work to make sure that we still have income while I’m looking after you.”

“I guess…” Roxy sniffled. “Still, it just… would’ve been nice to see her here, y’know?”

He kissed her hand. “I know.”

“So…” Roxy started after a long pause, eager to change the subject. “What happened after I… after I got out?”

Damien shifted in his chair. “Well, after you were admitted to hospital you were rushed into surgery. They called me and I came, had a chat with Sam and Leif-”

“No, I mean,” she interrupted. “I-I mean with the… with the people who… t-took me.”

“Ah,” Damien said. “Well, after Sam and Leif gave their statement to the police, they used that information and raided the place where they said they found you. I don’t know all the details, but apparently they arrested a lot of people. Found their leader handcuffed in a cabinet with a broken jaw. I get the weird feeling Sam had a part in that.” He chuckled. “I still can’t believe that Ken Harrison of all people was the one behind this. Leading a cult. He-! He sent me a message on facebook saying that he hoped I was doing alright after you disappeared!”

“Harrison…” Roxy mumbled. So he’d been arrested, then. That was good. That made her feel a little safer.

“Was he… Was he the one that did this to you?” Damien asked gently.

“No.” Roxy shook her head. She held up her disfigured left hand. “He… he cut off my finger for trying to escape, but… b-but the rest was someone else.”

“Do you know his name? Maybe it could help the police find him?”

“His name was Emmerich. B-but they won’t find him. H-he’s… he’s d-”

Her chest suddenly tightened and she cut herself off with a sharp breath. Damien stroked her hand in a soothing gesture and the beeping of her heart monitor slowed a bit from its spike. “It’s okay, Roxy. I understand. You were defending yourself.”

“H-h-he had h-his back turned. H-he said he was g-gonna… th-that he wanted me t-to…” She swallowed the words. She couldn’t say it out loud. “I g-grabbed one of those heavy crucifixes off of the wall, a-and I… I swung, and I-I didn’t stop until…”

She realised she was hyperventilating. Damien leaned down and held her close again until she calmed down. “Shh, it’s okay, baby. It’s okay. No one’s gonna hurt you.”

“I’m sorry,” she muttered. She didn’t know who to.

The door opened and a doctor came in, accompanied by a nurse, who came over and started checking the machines next to her bed. “Is everything alright in here? We noticed a spike on the heart monitor.”

“Yes, apologies,” her dad said. “Just… getting a little emotional, is all.”

The doctor nodded. “I understand.” He clapped his hands gently. “Now, Roxanne…”

Everyone in the room froze as her heart rate suddenly shot through the roof. Her entire body tensed up. Her eye was locked on to the doctor, suddenly terrified of him. She had to remind herself that this was the hospital. This wasn’t the outpost. That wasn’t Emmerich. He wasn’t going to hurt her. She just… forgot for a second.

He looked taken aback. “I’m sorry, is something wrong?”

“P-p-please d-don’t call me th-that. N-never call me that.”

The doctor blinked. “O-oh. Is… is there something you’d like to be called instead?”

“J-just Roxy, p-please. R-Roxanne is what… what my kidnappers called me, b-but my name is just Roxy.” she muttered. Her dad squeezed her hand supportively. She’d considered it a little in the past, but this settled it. She was getting her name legally changed. She never wanted to be called ‘Roxanne’ ever again.

The doctor slowly nodded. “Alright, Roxy. Now, I wanted to go over what your recovery is going to look like, if you are comfortable right now. We can go over this later, but you’re scheduled in for another surgery today and I wanted to get this done before that. Is that alright?”

“Wh-what other surgery?”

“For your eye, to see if we can’t salvage it and save your vision, at least partially. The cut was pretty shallow, so there’s a decent chance of success, but the wound is old, so we may not be able to restore your vision in its entirety. You may still potentially experience blurriness or blind spots, but it should be manageable with the right assistance.”

“R-right.” she muttered. That was a little bit of hope at least. She might get to see out of her left eye again, even if it won't be perfect. She was grateful there was even a chance.

They went over what her recovery was going to look like. It was mostly a recovery schedule for her busted leg, with a whole bunch of recommended physical therapy. They estimated it would be six months before she could walk properly again, which was pretty depressing. Still, she supposed she should be grateful for even being alive after getting shot like that. Her eye would most likely take a good few weeks to months to heal, which she was expecting. Could be worse. The doctor said she’d have to stay in the hospital for about a week, maybe longer. She didn’t mind it too much, though. It was far comfier than the outpost, and she could spend her time with the people she loved, instead of locked in a dark box with nothing but her thoughts and a speciesist bible. Hell, there was even a TV in her room, not to mention the guarantee that she’d actually get to go home at the end of her stay. The hope of that promise made such a difference.

She’d actually get to go home. It wasn’t just a pipedream anymore.

That was the thought that carried her once the doctor left and she settled back down in her bed, still holding onto her dad’s hand. That was the thought that stuck with her as she was slowly lulled to sleep by the rhythmic beeping of her heart monitor and her dad singing her a lullaby in Burmese.

She was going home.

—

Sam made her way through the hospital towards Roxy’s room, Leif and Ross following along behind her. She’d heard from Damien that Roxy had woken up this morning, but she wasn’t able to go see her until now because of her eye surgery. Unable to stay at home while she waited, the three of them hit up the town to buy Roxy some gifts, both for her missed birthday and just because they felt like it. Leif in particular had been tasked by Damien with buying Roxy a new phone in his stead, since her last one was broken when she was kidnapped. Leif was still sporting the brown hair from their disguises, but Sam had shifted and reverted back to her natural colour the second she’d gotten home from the hospital.

The best way to describe the feelings Sam could feel through her mark was… floaty. She could tell that Roxy was awake, but clearly there was still a lot of funky stuff in her system. She smirked to herself as she thought of videos she’d seen of people who’d just woken up from surgery, all loopy and delirious from anaesthetic and painkillers. She wondered if Roxy was going to be like that. Regardless, she couldn’t wait to see her again, even if she was a little incoherent. They reached the door to her room and Sam rapped on it politely before entering. The sight before her did not disappoint her expectations.

Roxy was sitting up in her bed, leaning against the raised head and staring blankly up at the TV, where an episode of Seinfeld was playing. She was holding a juicebox with the straw hanging limply between her lips, as though she’d forgotten about it. She hadn’t even noticed their arrival, though that wasn’t that surprising. The door to the room was on her left side, so they were all still out of her current field of vision. It was a little funny that she hadn’t registered Sam’s knock on the door, though. There were less bandages over her face than there were yesterday, but her eye, cheek, and nose were still covered. The top of the vertical cut down her face was visible on her forehead and through her eyebrow. It looked like the stitches had been removed, and it was already forming into a pink scar. It must’ve happened pretty early on.

Damien smiled warmly at them as they entered the room. He turned back to Roxy and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Roxy?”

She lethargically turned her head in his direction, the juicebox straw falling from her mouth as she did so. “Mm?”

“Your friends are here.” He pointed to them, taking away the juicebox with his other hand so she didn’t spill it.

“Hey, Rox,” Sam greeted as she walked up to the bed. Roxy turned to them and her face immediately lit up with tired yet excited child-like glee.

“You guys!” she slurred, holding her arms out for a hug that Sam quickly accepted. Roxy hummed happily against her shoulder and Sam kissed her on the head. When she pulled back, Damien gave back her juicebox and she immediately started drinking from it with renewed fervour, seemingly having just remembered its existence.

“How’re you doing, hot stuff?” Leif asked as she sat down on the end of the bed.

Roxy shrugged, her head flopping back onto her pillow. “Doin’ great. Wearing clothes again is nice.” She lifted her head back up. “Oh! And I have my eye back! It feels kinda…” She trailed off, momentarily distracted by the TV. When she tuned back in, she looked around to everyone, a confused expression on her face. “Was I saying something?”

Sam snorted and sat down on the bed next to her, grabbing her hand. She kissed her on the cheek. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Speaking of which, how did the surgery go?” Ross asked Damien.

“Good!” he replied. “The doctors are hopeful that she’ll get her vision back, at least for the most part.”

“This is a big win for the gay community,” Roxy muttered.

“Of course,” Leif said, laughing along with everyone else at Roxy’s inebriation. She pulled the phone she bought out of her pocket. “Hey, I got you this. Everything’s all set up, including your usual password, so all you have to do is add a fingerprint. Happy late birthday.”

Roxy’s face lit up with joy. “Oh wow! Thank you so much!” She reached out and took the phone, hesitating slightly. “Wait, when was my birthday?”

“The day before last,” Sam said.

Roxy thought long and hard. “Oh! I remember now! I got two slices of toast with my food! And… a-and…”

She paused and Sam could almost see the memories flashing before her eyes as she felt her emotions spiral. She immediately took her hand and squeezed it, reminding her that she was safe through her mark. Roxy took a deep, shaky breath and quietly leaned further against her. “Ne-n-nevermind.”

Roxy silently went back to her juicebox and started fiddling with her phone as Damien smartly changed the subject. “So, Leif, how’s your ear?”

The girl touched the bandage around her head. “Oh! Uh… a little worse than I thought initially. I thought it was just a graze, but no, the bullet actually, uh… took a proper chunk out.”

Damien winced. “Oh no, I’m so sorry.”

She waved him off. “It’s fine. I would do it again in a heartbeat if it meant keeping Roxy safe. Besides, it could’ve been worse, so I really shouldn’t complain.”

“Wait, you were shot too?!” Roxy exclaimed. “I got shot as well!”

Leif smiled at her. “I know, Roxy. I was there.”

Roxy blinked. “Oh yeah.” She giggled drunkenly, her previous fear completely forgotten. “They said they put metal in my leg. Does that make me a cyborg?”

Sam carefully put an arm around her shoulders and squeezed her. “Totally.”

Roxy leaned back onto her pillow. “Awesome.”

They passed the time with some more casual conversation, Sam never once leaving Roxy’s side or letting go of her. She’d spent so long being terrified for her, not knowing how she was aside from vague emotions passed through their bond, so finally having her back, right there next to her, was almost too much for her to handle. They all gave Roxy her gifts and she seemed close to tears from the gesture. Sam got her a bunch of chocolates and a new pair of Doc Martens, Leif got her a bunch of new posters for her room, and Ross got her a lesbian romance book that she’d apparently been excited for. They all convinced Sam to try one of the chocolates despite her allergy by arguing that they were already in a hospital anyway, so what was the worst that could happen? It did taste really really good, to be fair, but she immediately ran to the toilet to throw it up right afterwards. Better safe than sorry.

After a while it became clear that Roxy’s loopiness was wearing off. She participated in the conversation less and less, and became more and more withdrawn, just burying herself in her new phone. Sam could feel her mood dropping, but she didn’t want to bring it up in front of everyone, so she settled for shuffling in even closer to her, making sure that Roxy knew she was there. Eventually, Damien left to get himself some dinner, and Roxy finally opened up.

“Hey,” she started, getting everyone’s attention. Her voice was flat and emotionless. She was inspecting herself through her phone’s front-facing camera, tilting her head to check all of her angles. “Do you… do you guys think that my face is gonna be all fucked up once these bandages come off?”

“No way!” Sam replied, without even a second of hesitation. “You might have a few new scars, but that doesn’t mean your face will be messed up or anything!”

“Yeah!” Leif added on. “Sam’s got scars on her face. My ear’s got a chunk out of it like I’m some sort of stray cat, but we’re still both hot as hell, and so are you, alright?”

Roxy looked away, conflicted feelings clear on her face and through her mark. “You’re just saying that. Neither of your scars are as bad as mine will be.”

“I promise you we aren’t, Roxy. It was you who told me that ‘battle scars are hot’ after Blaine gave me these, remember? Your scars don’t make you ugly.” Sam said.

Roxy turned back to her, a half angry, half sad look in her brown eyes. “That’s different. Those… those are actually battle scars. You fought him and you survived and those are a sign of that. Mine are just… I didn’t fight for these. I just… I just sat there and took them. I barely even fought back. You’re… You’re already so pretty, a little scar isn’t going to make a difference with that, but me? I’m… I’ve never been anything to write home about, a-and now… Now my whole body is just…”

“Roxy, you were fighting,” Leif said. “You were fighting every day. Just because you weren’t actually in combat doesn’t change that. You’re alive right now because you fought to stay that way. You didn’t just give up when things started looking tough. I… I’m not saying that you have to be proud of your scars, but you can’t act like they’re any different from mine or Sam’s, like they somehow make you matter less or make you weak or ugly while ours don’t.”

“A-and that other stuff,” Sam jumped back in. “You can’t seriously believe that, right? That you’re…” She paused and gently cradled Roxy’s face. Her bottom lip was quivering. They were getting through. “Roxy, you’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever met, inside and out. Scars will never, ever change that for me. I didn’t… I didn’t fall for you just because you saved me that day, nor was it just because you were so nice to me when barely anyone else was. It was both of those things as well, of course, but… It was also just because I was attracted to you, plain and simple. I think that you’re absolutely gorgeous. I always have, and I always will. I know you can feel that I’m not just saying that to make you feel better.” She leaned in and gently kissed her. Roxy reciprocated. When they parted, Sam pulled her into a hug. “I love you, okay? I love you, and that will never, ever change.”

When they parted, Roxy looked down at her lap, her mouth opening and closing like she couldn’t find the words she was looking for. “I’m sorry,” she finally settled with. She shook her head. “I-I’m sorry. It’s just…” She grunted and buried her hands in her hair angrily. “That bastard got in my head. H-He… He would constantly tell me that I was worthless, th-that you guys had stopped looking for me. Th-that no one would even want me if I ever got out. I just… I guess it started to stick. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologise, it’s okay.” Sam pulled her in close and kissed her head, burying her anger at Emmerich. He was already dead, there was nothing more she could do. “He can’t hurt you anymore, and he was full of shit, anyway.”

“Yeah,” Ross said, finally joining in. “He was probably just some lonely asshole who was projecting his own insecurities onto you.”

Roxy smiled weakly. “He was a lonely old creep. Dude definitely hadn’t gotten laid in years. Hell, he tried to convince me…” Once again, Roxy cut herself off with a haunted look in her eyes, her smile dropping from her face as she clearly remembered something she wished she hadn’t. “S-sorry, let’s change the subject.”

“Hey, you wanna take a group selfie?” Leif asked, forcing a smile. “Celebrate your grand return?”

Roxy smiled back. “Sure.”

They all piled in next to Roxy on the bed and Leif took Roxy’s phone for the picture. “Say cheese!”

“Cheese!”

Sam quickly leaned in and kissed Roxy on the cheek for the photo. It ended up coming out really well, and Roxy decided to post it on her Instagram, once she’d sorted through the many dozens of messages she’d gotten from well-wishers during her disappearance. There was a bit of deliberation about it, but in the end, she went with the caption ‘I lived, bitches.’

Sam smiled at the picture. It was so unreal, finally having her back, being able to touch her, hold her, kiss her again. She never wanted to look away from her, never wanted to let go. Roxy was finally, finally safe. They’d beaten the hunters and destroyed their outpost. Whatever they were planning wasn’t going to come to fruition.

She took a deep breath and let her shoulders drop, months of unknown tension flowing from her body. It was all going to be okay now.

It was over.

—

The door opened. His second-in-command walked in; a hot-headed man with more muscles than brains. “Sir!”

The man with the scarred face interrupted him with a single raised hand. “Let me guess. Harrison has been arrested, the Dewsbury outpost has been destroyed, and we failed to capture the direwolf, yes? I do read the news, you know.”

“What are we going to do? The eclipse is only a month away.”

The man got up and walked over to the window, looking out over the late-night New York skyline. “This is a setback, nothing more. There will be more eclipses. Besides, perhaps this is for the best. Harrison was a fool. The only reason I didn’t terminate him after that fumble with the hunting party is because he promised me this ‘bait’ plan would work. Clearly, he didn’t account for the direwolf finding him before he was ready.” He turned to his underling. “Did he really expect the direwolf to just sit by idly while his man was torturing her mate? Arrogance like that has no place in our ranks.”

“What about the publicity? The kidnapping went viral. Now that she’s out, do you really think she won’t tell the world about us? And Harrison? There’s going to be a trial. What if he squeals?”

The man considered. “There is nothing we can do about the girl now. Our existence will become known, and that is unavoidable. What isn’t unavoidable is the knowledge of our purpose. The girl is part of a werewolf’s pack. To expose us completely, she would have to expose them as well, which she won’t do. The last thing those beasts want is to be revealed to the world. We will have to scale back, but it is not a death sentence. DX-47 is complete, after all. We can close our labs down to save on costs. We only really need one dose of it, anyways. Harrison will be dealt with before he has the chance to admit to anything, along with any stragglers from his outpost, so we don’t have to worry on that front, either.”

The man touched his scar and smiled, turning back to the window. “I’ve already waited fifty years for my revenge. I can wait a few more if that’s what it takes. Mark my words, Torran. Before my time on this Earth is up, I will rid the world of those fiends, and take my place among the halls of legend. No longer will the Sons exist in the shadows, hunting beasts in the darkness. No longer will we take orders from people who couldn’t care less if we lived or died. No longer will we sit by while our government allows our country, our world, to be corrupted by vile, unholy forces. No. When the dust settles at the end of the night of the Bloodmoon, it will be us sitting at the top, and the poor, ignorant masses will be all too happy to let us. After all.” He turned back to Torran.

“How could they possibly say no when we saved the world?”