Annika and Danica resumed their seats. Mikhail leaned forward to talk to them, "What do you remember of your life before you escaped?"

Annika closed her eyes, wincing. She should have known that they would want to know. Andre put his arm around her shoulder, filling her mind with love. She sent him a small smile. He had agreed not to convert her unless it was necessary so she could be with her family. Annika turned back to Mikhail, "We didn't see Razvan all that often. We were mainly Xavier's food sources. Sometimes they weren't there at all. All of us were given enough food to last until they returned. We were kept in cells. We all knew when Razvan was tortured. He tried to block it from us, but we knew. He helped me get through...."Annika trailed off.

"I'm sorry, I know that this is difficult for you, what did he help you get through?" Mikhail asked gently.

Annika met his gaze with her own, "He helped me get through the rapes." She ignored the gasps from her family members. "Xavier raped me on a regular basis."

Danica cried out, "Is that why you took away our memories? Did he do that to us?"

Annika wrapped her arms around her younger sister, "No sweetie, that never happened to you, or any of the others. I was the only one." She comforted the teen.

"You took their memories?" Natalya asked. Horror mixed with pity filled her eyes.

"Yes, I wanted them to have a live unsullied by what had happened to them. I have their memories in my head, when they are older, if they want them, they can have them back."

"She has nightmares every night, they play themselves in her mind," Danica told the others.

"It doesn't matter," Annika said in a hard voice, "What matters is that we got out."

"How did you escape?" Gregori asked.

"Razvan had been saving his strength for days, he pinned Xavier down in his own mind, trapping him there. We made our way out of the caves. We didn't have real names, just our ages. I was thirteen when we escaped. We made our way out of the mountains into the city. It was easier to hide there. But it was more dangerous. I had to fight off pimps, gangs, drug dealers, other street kids. We were somewhere in Montana, we made our way to Vermont as quickly as we could. Danica and I carried Raoul most of the way. Then we found Tabitha and Oliver. They let us stay." Annika smiled at the older woman.

Gregori turned his silver gaze on the woman. "You didn't give them to the State?"

Tabitha glared at him, "I was raised in a foster home, no way in hell am I giving a child, let alone seven children, to them. I ran away with Oliver when I was fifteen."

Gregori nodded his understanding, then asked Annika, "You were in caves? Ice caves?"

Annika shook her head, "They were rock."

The questioning continued until the Jensings were yawning. They took their leave, Andre followed.

ANNIKA!! HELP!!! came the cry. Annika's head went up and she ran back toward the inn, not realizing that the others followed. What is it? What's wrong? She sent back.

Natika sobbed in her mind, There are men, they knocked out Shira and Raoul, Griffin and Fawn fought them, they aren't moving! I'm pretending to be asleep, one of them is coming at me with a syringe---

Natika? NATIKA! "She's gone, unconscious," Annika bit out to the others. Andre had been relaying the information to them.

Mikhail looked at Gregori, "The society has struck again."

Another transition chapter, sorry about the cliffie!