-1Basta raced after the girl, screaming inaudible curses at her, like that would slow her down. They raced down the mountain sides, dodging incoming birds and bare tree branches that looked as if they hadn't been touched for years. A few times, Basta tripped on a rock or stone, which gave Aubrey an even larger lead, but Basta could always find her due to her purple punk streaks she had so foolishly gotten, thinking that would throw Capricorn and his men off. Of course it didn't. Possibly his men, but never Capricorn himself. He was the only one she feared, not even Basta scared her, for she saw through his empty threats.

After a while, Aubrey slowed down, not able to hear Basta's clumsy footsteps behind her. She didn't dare stop running until nightfall, though, for she knew how obvious she was in broad daylight. She continuously turned her head to check if Basta was close behind, which he never was, but Aubrey was sure Capricorn wasn't going to let her go that easily. Basta would drive a truck down here, bring the dogs, even recruit more men, but he wouldn't let Capricorn down because of such a foolish girl. So she kept a steady race, rarely pausing for a quick breath so she could stay as far ahead of Capricorn's village as possible.

Thoughts of her beloved Rillian kept her moving. As much as she tried to focus on the landscape ahead, her mind always ended up thinking of his long, brownish blonde hair and gorgeous deep brown eyes. The thought of him made her weak at the knees. His walk, so confident and knowing, yet loyal to his promises, and his jokes, irresistibly charming and witty. He was what made her shiver at the thought of going home, from love, not hatred.

Eventually, Aubrey stopped to find something to eat from the wildlife. She scanned her surroundings, noticing that not only were there no deer, birds or snakes, but there was barely enough food on the trees to sustain a squirrel for a day, let alone a thirteen year old girl who hadn't eaten any for more than three weeks. She had refused once Capricorn stopped letting her out of his house and the church, only in special occasions was she to be let out, due to her trying to escape. Capricorn had tried many attempts to cheer the girl up, make her eat as to not die, but she coldly refused him, for his offers never let her out of the house and church. Aubrey eventually found a half dead olive tree and picked some from it. Though they tasted incredibly sour in her mouth, she forced them down, knowing she would need the strength. She also found a stream, with bushes containing some sweet tasting berries surrounding it, and she drank from that. After Aubrey received her fill from the wildlife she rested her head against the olive tree and closed her eyes. Though she tried to fight it, she was eventually drawn into a sea of dreams of Capricorn and what he would do to her if they found her. She awoke from these nightmares many times, but Aubrey was still alive.

Aubrey awoke to the sound of a distant engine. It took her a moment to realize what was going on before she saw Basta's tired face through the large front window of the car. She raced down the path she was headed yesterday, but Basta soon caught up to her. He parked the car and she merely stopped and counted her blessings, praying for mercy from God before going back to the Devil's Den.

"What did you think you were doing, running away from us like that?" Basta asked her in a mocking tone after they were in the car. How Aubrey hadn't seen them, she would never know, but Flatnose and Rechi were also in the car with Basta. And so were the Hounds of Hell, in the back open trunk. Flatnose sat Aubrey in his lap, examining her look since he had last seen her eight months ago.

"Yeah, princess, did you think that you were of that much importance to us?" He asked as he began tracing her hourglass figure. She tried prying his hand off her waist, but he held on tight, like an old boyfriend very angry at his cheating girl.

"Why are you back? Did you find it boring in the German bases?" Aubrey asked.

"Not a damn thing happened the whole time we were there, right Rechi?"

The boy called Rechi merely nodded and replied, "Not a damn thing."

"But enough about us, sweetheart," Basta said to her, "The boss is quite disappointed in you now. He was very worried you had hurt your pretty little self."

Aubrey merely nodded, trying to pluck up the courage to go back to that village. The square alone held memories, let alone the rest of the place. As memories flooded back into her, tears escaped her eyes, and not able to control even those, she let herself cry. It wasn't the first time Basta and them had seen it, it came after an execution or she lost what little hope of escaping she had left. But she wanted these tears. She wanted, she NEEDED Basta and the rest to think she was out of hope.