Glad to see that my story is popular. However, all things must come to an end.

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"Well, it looks like Vlad will recover; that's good." Jack sighed, rubbing his temples. "Do you know who did this?"

Maddie debated with herself. Even after what they did to Vlad, they were still her brothers, and she had a lot of difficulty bringing herself to tell the truth. However, she knew it wasn't something she would be able to hide for very long. "It was…Adrian and Tyler."

"Your brothers? Why would they do something like that?" Jack asked. "They seemed like good people to me."

"Think about it; they still think Vlad raped me, and they decided to pay him back." Maddie snapped. She shuddered internally at the memories, but forced herself to stay together. "I told them who it was, but I don't think they believed me. Far as they're concerned, I'm talking out of fear that Vlad will do something to me again."

"How bad off is he? I haven't had the strength to go see him."

"He's got several broken bones, and lost a lost of blood. For a while, I thought he was going to die. I really don't want to think this, but…I think they intended to kill him."

"Well, I'd better go there and look after him, then."

"Look, maybe…you shouldn't. His parents are there, and they're not happy. They were screaming at me, calling me a whore and a liar. They blame me for everything that's happened." After saying that, she broke down in tears. Damn it, why can't I stop crying?

"None of this is your fault, Maddie. Don't think that, even for a second."

"I can't be there for Vlad when I'm barely holding myself together. I can't convince my brothers that they're wrong. Hell, the only thing I've managed to get is get the charges dropped, but it probably won't matter. His life is over…and so is mine. Who's going to want to touch me after all this?"

"Maddie, I admit, some people will always be fools, but they mean nothing. You have me, and you have V-man!"

"Thank you, but it doesn't matter. Before all this, I had emotions; I was attracted to other guys, and some of me even wanted to sleep with them. When I see them now, all I can feel is fear. I have a hard time even being around you two, let alone anyone else! I'm never going to be able to forget this. They say you never forget your first, which means I'll be able to have a normal life."

"Look, Maddie, I don't know much about all this; research is Vlad's expertise. But no matter what happens, Vlad and I will stay with you, ok? You're our best friends, and that's what friends do. They stick by one another."

"No, Jack, they usually don't. If you're lucky, you can find someone, but most of the time, you end up hurt. Just see what's happened to Vlad. It's not really something a sociable person can understand." And that's probably why Vlad's helped me more; he can understand what it's like to feel reviled and alone, especially after the past few months.

Before everything had happened, she had developed feeling for Vlad Masters. She was even considering telling him, but now…she shook her head. She wasn't able to handle any kind of romantic relationship. Lost in their thoughts, neither of them noticed the figure following them.

X X X X X X X X X X

"Damn it…why the hell are you here?" Vlad moaned. It had been a couple of days since he had first seen him, and he thought it was a morphine-induced haze. However, when it happened again and again, he started to think it was real after all.

"Partly to see how you were doing, and partly because I want to make sure you know something." Morand smirked. "I see your temper hasn't improved since our last encounter."

"Sigh, I was hoping this was a figment of my imagination." Vlad snapped. "What the hell do you want?"

"A more important question is: what do you want? I've been watching you for some time, Masters, and we are impressed at your resilience. It is a rather cruel world, isn't it?" Even as weak as he was, Vlad had no trouble seeing his smile.

"You've been watching me?"

"Yes, we have. I have some information that you might find interesting."

"Look, I don't give a damn why you're here."

"Oh, I think you do. You see, this concerns your friend Maddie."

"What is it?" Vlad gasped in fear. "Has something happened to her again?"

"You should be happy, Mr. Masters. The charges against you have been dismissed. It looks like your slut of a friend Maddie has finally come up with the courage to tell the truth; she's not quite as weak as I thought."

"Don't call her that; she's the strongest person I know!"

"You can't do anything to stop me, Masters. You are helpless, as is she. She was weak; she begged, pleaded. Too pathetic to fight back!"

"Shut up!" With more strength than his fragile state would attest, Vlad got out of the bed and slugged him across the face. It was a weak punch, and caused little pain, but the fact that he was capable of that even after everything that happened meant he was stronger than he appeared at first glance.

"Very good, Mr. Masters; you're stronger than we expected. Still, you'll have to a lot better than that if you want to save her."

"What are you talking about?"

"My employers have eyes everywhere, and from the look of things, your…love interest does not have much time."

"What's going to happen?" Vlad wasn't about to let anything happen, even though his blood had still not been fully replenished and his hand was nowhere close to healed.

"Let's say she's going to relive her nightmare a second time. You see, he was not happy when she told the truth, and you have very little time."

"No, I've got to do something!" Vlad leaned against the wall for support and slowly started walking out of the room.

"Do you want to help her, Masters? Does she matter that much to you? After all, if he rapes her again, she'll need you to be there for her."

"Shut up; I won't let it happen! One more remark about her, and I'll kill you!" Vlad was now serious about what he said. Ignoring his pain, ignoring his weakness, he got out of the room. However, he didn't manage more than 10 feet before he was stopped by a nurse. "No, please, I've got to help!"

"Mr. Masters, you need to lie down and rest." The nurse told him. "If you keep this up, it'll take longer for you to recover."

"Please, let me go!" Vlad struggled. "He's going to get her; help me!" But Morand had disappeared from sight, as if he was never there. Vlad fought her grip, until another nurse ran into the room. He was given a sedative, but still tried to get away.

The last thing he heard before losing consciousness was "My employers were right about you, Masters."

X X X X X X X X X X

"I'm sorry, Jack; I can't turn them in." Maddie sighed. "They're still my brothers and I love them."

"Are you really willing to let them get away with assault, maybe even attempted murder?" Jack replied in shock. "They'll go after him again; I'm sure of it. If you can't convince them he's innocent, you have no choice!"

"Damn it, Jack, don't you think I know that?" Maddie cried. "It's ripping me apart inside. Whatever I choose, I won't be able to live with myself."

"You know what the right thing to do is; you just don't want to admit it."

"I know, but it kills me to have to do something like this. God, both of them are some of the most stubborn people I know. Look, I have to get home."

"I'll walk you there; you shouldn't be out alone. Hopefully, your brothers won't come after me too." Maddie felt like snapping at him, but knew Jack was right.

"I'll try one last time to talk to them. If they won't listen, I'll turn them in. What choice do I really have? Makes me wonder how much more I can take before I become catatonic."

"Well, let's find out, Maddie." Someone said behind her. They turned around and saw Ken leaning against a tree. Jack growled furiously and started towards him.

"What do you want, you son of a bitch?" Jack demanded.

"I told you to keep your whoring mouth shut, but you didn't listen to me." Ken laughed. "Well, there's only one thing to do now." Jack charged towards him, intending to rip him apart, but Ken swung a heavy stick into the side of his head. He fell to the ground, moaning in pain. He hit him a few more times before turning his attention to Maddie. "This should be quite fun."

"Why are you doing this?" Maddie tried to sound angry, but it came out as a whimper.

"Because I enjoy the power, the control." Ken smirked. "And I have it over you; I always will. No matter how much time passes, you're going to remember that experience. People never forget their first, remember? And you'll never forget, no matter how much you want to, especially after today's reminder."

Maddie's mind froze in terror. Ken smirked and walked towards her. She punched him in the gut, and ran for her life. If she was thinking logically, she would never have left Jack behind, but logic disappeared in the face of enduring her nightmare once again.

She ran through the streets, frequently looking back to see where he was. Unfortunately, she ran into a street pole. Dazed, she tried to get up, but Ken grabbed her and dragged her behind a dumpster, backhanding her across the face.

"Shut up, whore!" He screamed, tearing her shirt off. Maddie stared at him, trying to get her limbs to move, but it was like they were completely frozen. Once her bra was off, though, she managed to have enough strength to knee him in the groin and get to her feet.

Careless that she was naked from the waist down, she continued running, now screaming for help. However, it was close to midnight and nobody was out. She grabbed a shirt from a nearby clothesline, and put it over herself.

Oh, god, what about Jack?" Maddie muttered. "I can't believe I forgot about him; idiot!" Reluctantly, she ran back to the scene, her heart pounding. She was exhausted by the time she got there, the adrenaline wearing off, which meant she felt a massive headache.

She saw Jack slowly getting to his feet, rubbing his temple. "Oh, god, I feel dizzy." He moaned, then fell onto his knees. "I hope Maddie got away from him."

"Jack, are you all right?" Maddie rushed to his side. "Figures; the one day I forget to bring that gun, and he goes after me. Come on, I'll help you up." It wasn't easy, since she wasn't in good shape herself, added to the fact that Jack weighed over twice as much as she did. However, she finally dragged him to her feet.

It was not easy to get to their respective homes, although Jack was starting to recover by the end of it. Maddie's best guess was that he suffered a concussion. "Wait a minute; you're wearing a different shirt?" Jack finally realized. "No, please don't tell me he…"

"No, he didn't; I managed to fight him off." She replied, still nervous about being touched, and her new experience made all the wounds fresh. Remember, this is Jack, not Ken. "He won't be walking for a while."

"Then we'd better get you home, and this time, your brothers had better listen. They try going after Vlad again, I'll be very furious with them. Ow, this is going to be a slow journey."

X X X X X X X X X X

"Mr. Masters, can you hear me?" Vlad heard a voice say. From the sounds of it, it looked like it was being repeated over and over. He looked around and saw his parents, the doctors, and Morand.

"What are you doing here?" He hissed angrily.

"We're looking after you; that was a very foolish thing to do." The doctor told him, staring sternly. "We'll have to look after you for a couple more days. You caused a small puncture in your vein. Thankfully, it wasn't serious."

"Not you, him!" Vlad exclaimed weakly, pointing at Morand.

"What are you talking about, son?" Vlad's father asked. "There's no one there; you're just imagining things."

"He's right there!"

"Look, calm down." Mrs. Masters told him. "You need to rest."

"She's in danger…please."

"Just try and get some sleep, Vlad. We'll talk in the morning once the sedatives wear off." All of them left the room, except for Morand, who was smirking silently.

"Well, now that we have some privacy, I have some new developments from my employers."

"Is this a…game to you? Why are you torturing me?" Vlad moaned, barely able to keep his eyes open.

"I don't play games, Mr. Masters, and I have no intention of torturing you. As for why I'm here, my employers have a gift for you." He held out a small package in front of him.

"What…what is it?"

"You'll find out for yourself. Let's just say it's a gift…from friends you don't know you have." Vlad moved towards the box, and struggled with the wrapping. Even with the sedatives wearing off, his hands were still clumsy. After a couple of minutes, he finally tore it off and opened the box. What he saw shocked him, even after everything he saw in the past few months.

There were several strange chunks of various sizes. When Vlad picked one of them up, he found that they were pieces of flesh. There was dried and damp blood all over them, and when he felt it, some of the blood got onto his fingers. He looked towards Morand, who was just standing there with his hands behind his back.

"Well, let's just say your annoyance had a little accident while pursuing her. Needless to say, he wasn't able to complete his planned revenge. Ah, no thank you? I never expected you to be so ungrateful about this."

"Sorry; I'm still in a bit of shock. You managed to save her? How?"

"My employers have connections everywhere, and I asked them for a favor. Of course, she doesn't realize any of this, and I expect you to keep it that way."

"Why?"

"Simple: because this is between us, and I highly doubt she would believe a word you say about me. I know how to hide in the shadows, Mr. Masters. Besides, I think she has some additional trauma to cry on your shoulder about."

"Don't insult her, not ever!" Morand merely chuckled softly.

"In any case, we saved her and I'm sure you'll be able to take it from there." He turned around and started walking out.

"Wait! How can I ever thank you for this?"

Morand smiled unpleasantly. "We will find you, Masters, when the time is right. And I suggest you keep this little gift from the others here. They might get the wrong impression." He walked out of the room, leaving Vlad to his thoughts.

What does he mean by that? He wondered. And why couldn't anyone else see him but me? God, all of this is confusing. I'm tired, I'm really tired. I'll try figuring this out in the morning.

But it was a long time before he was able to get to sleep.

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Can't believe it's almost over. Just one more chapter, and I should be done with it. Admittedly, this was not an easy story to write, but I'm glad to see that you have enjoyed it.