Chapter 11

The Tale Of Sister Abigail

Did she pass out from the pain or did she fall asleep?

AJ didn't know.

It was so dark in the forest, she couldn't see a thing, not even the trees. She couldn't remember whether she passed out or fell asleep, it became dark really fast. AJ never felt this miserable before; she was cold, she was hungry and her foot hurt like hell. But most of all, she was sad. She was pretty sure Bray never wanted to see her again after what she did and left her here to die, to let her bleed to death in this god-forsaken forest.

Closing her eyes for a moment, AJ let out a shaky sigh. This is what she deserved. This is what she deserved for breaking Bray's trust. The bleeding had stopped, but she was still in pain. So this is how it would end for her; dying all alone in a dark forest, with her foot stuck in a damn bear trap after betraying the person she adored.

AJ curled up and sobbed, hoping she would fall asleep and never wake up again.

'AJ?'

Immediately, AJ opened her eyes and looked up, looking around her. Did she just hear that right? A voice in the distance was calling out her name. It was faint, but AJ could swear she heard it. Narrowing her eyes, she saw something in the distance. A little light. The only thing she could see in this darkness. It was moving a little bit.

'Hello?' she carefully asked, not too loud. 'Who's there?'

The little light stopped moving for a little moment. Then it headed towards the wounded girl, growing bigger and bigger as the distance reduced. AJ could now hear some footsteps and the rustling of fallen leafs. Who was it? Did Bray send somebody to look for her? And if so... would that mean he wasn't angry at her anymore? AJ hoped that from the bottom of her heart. Finally, the light reached her. It was bright enough to reveal a pair of legs. White trousers. Could that mean...?

The source of the light was an old lantern. AJ looked up and she saw Bray's face.

She wasn't sure to smile or to cower away. The beating he gave her today had really shaken her up.

'Bray...' she whimpered. She wanted to apologize to him, to tell him she was sorry for breaking his trust and that she would never be so reckless again. But she didn't get the chance for that, not yet.

'What did you get yourself into, girl?' Bray asked, shining the light on her trapped foot. He didn't sound angry or anything. More like he was concerned... But before AJ could reply, he walked over to the bear trap and put his lantern next to it. 'Hold on, I'll get you out. This might hurt a bit.'

It didn't hurt a little bit. It hurt a lot.

In an instant, AJ could feel the teeth of the bear trap pulling out of her ankle, followed with an intense pain. She could feel the blood trickling down her feet again. She was free, but seriously injured. Lying on the ground, she whimpered in pain.

'Come.' Bray said, kneeling down next to her. 'I'll get you home.'

He put his arms underneath her and lifted her up; with one arm, he supported her torso and with the other arm he supported her legs. He was carrying her like a knight would carry his princess.

Bray kneeled down for a little second to pick up his lantern.

'Bray...' AJ whispered. 'I'm... I'm sorry...'

'Hush, little nymph.' Bray interrupted her, but not in a rude way. 'We're going home now. Valerie will take care of you.'

While he carried AJ with his arms, Bray went back the way he came from, his lantern showing the way. AJ couldn't believe it; she broke his trust and yet he came back for her? Could that mean he wasn't angry at her anymore? Either way, she couldn't wait to get back to the compound. The pain in her leg was killing her.

Lying on her bed in her room, AJ whimpered in pain once more.

She could clearly see that Valerie was tired, but that didn't stop her from taking care of her injuries. With her experience from her studies, she wrapped the bandage skillfully around the wound.

'First those cuts in your feet and now this? You have to be more careful, sweetheart!' Valerie said during the procedure.

'Tell me about it...' AJ mumbled, rolling her eyes.

'I can give you painkillers, if you want to.'

'Yes please. Is it really bad?'

'Those wounds were pretty deep, I think they will leave some scars. But with plenty of rest, they will heal.'

'Thank you, Valerie.'

'You're welcome, darling. Now get some rest.'

Valerie gave her some painkillers, stood up and walked out of the bedroom. AJ heard her walking down the stairs. Then she heard some muffled voices. Was she talking to Bray? But then she heard the front door open and close. Valerie was going home.

It was quiet for a little while. AJ got under the sheets and was just letting out a sigh when she heard heavy footsteps on the stairs. Luke? Erick? Couldn't be, she didn't see them downstairs when they arrived. Maybe they were asleep already. Then it had to be Bray. She was right; the door opened and the cult leader stepped into the room. He was holding a bowl with a spoon sticking out of it; whatever was inside it, it was steaming hot.

'Here you go.' Bray handed over the bowl to AJ. When she looked inside it, she saw it contained tomato soup. 'I thought you'd be pretty hungry after everything that has happened.' 'Thanks.' AJ took a mouthful of the soup. It tasted really nice.

Bray sighed and sat down on her bed. He stared at the ground, twiddling his thumbs. It was like he was... ashamed.

'AJ...' he finally said, looking at her. 'I'm so sorry for what I did to you. I should have...'

'No, Bray.'

AJ put her bowl of soup next to her bed. Resting her hands on her lap, she stared at them.

'I should be the one apologizing,' she sighed. 'You told me not to go into that room and I did it anyway, all because of my stupid curiosity. I put on the dress so you could notice me... man, I was so stupid. I know that you took care of me when I had no place else to go, you were kind to me and inspired me with your words... I'm really sorry. Can you forgive me?'

'Of course.' Bray put his hand on AJ's shoulder. She smiled at him, happy he forgave her. He smiled back, but the smile faded away when he looked at her arms. Dark blue bruises had emerged from the spots where he kicked her. The honey-colored skin was now ruined because of him. This... he could never forgive himself.

'Can you forgive me as well?' he softly asked.

'Yeah.'

Still staring at the bruises, Bray smiled, but it wasn't very convincing. AJ may have forgiven him, but he never could forgive himself for giving her that brutal beating.

'But Bray... can I ask you something?'

'What is it?'

'Who did that room belong to?'

Bray stared in at the wall in front of him. He looked so sad... AJ could almost swear she saw tears in the corners of his eyes.

'That room belonged to Sister Abigail.'

'Who?'

'She was the woman who taught me everything...'

AJ was now paying full attention. If she was the one who taught Bray all this amazing philosophy, then she must've been a very smart woman. She hoped the cult leader would tell more about her. The name already, 'Sister Abigail'... it had something mysterious.

'You see, April... when I was a little boy, I lived together with my father in a foolish town. My father... he used to beat me for no reason, because he had been so blind in his life he had made mistakes, mistakes he could never revert. He had nobody to abreact his fury on, so he decided to turn me into his personal punching bag...'

For a moment, Bray chuckled and shook his head. Then he continued.

'When I was like... thirteen, fourteen years old, I left my rotten old man. I wandered around, lost and blinded... but then, she found me.'

'Sister Abigail?'

'Yes. She took me to my home, this place. Everything here, this entire compound, it belonged to her. And she taught me everything. She showed me the light, she took care of me... Her touch could save the world, her kiss could open everyone's eyes. She told me they chose me... before I was even born! She said that I was the chosen one, I was the one who had to pry open their eyes. Together, we would spread the truth... but she never managed to do it.'

'Why? Did something happen to her?'

Again, Bray felt silent. He let out a deep sigh.

'I was there... I was there when she fell ill and let out her last breath.'

'Oh man...' AJ leaned forward and rubbed Bray on the back. 'Bray, I'm so sorry about that. But, would that also mean... that dress was hers?'

'It was her favorite dress. She would wear it every day.'

AJ felt ashamed. That dress was possibly Bray's only memory to Sister Abigail and she ruined it. All because she wanted him to notice her... The beating, the pain... it wasn't worth it.

'But at least her philosophy didn't go up in smoke,' she said. 'She had one hell of a student.' Bray looked up. That was very sweet of her. Even though he had beaten the living crap out of her, she would still try to cheer him up. Sweet little nymph.

'Can you turn around for a second? I want to return you something.'

Bray frowned in curiosity, but he looked away anyway. He could feel AJ's legs moving and he heard some rustling behind him. For a moment it was quiet, then he heard some rustling again and felt AJ's legs moving once more.

'You can look now.'

Bray turned around and AJ put Sister Abigail's dress in his hands. She had put her nightgown on. 'I'm sorry if it got dirty.' Bray inspected the dress. There were still some tiny leafs from the forest on it, but otherwise it was fine.

'It's alright.' he said. Then he stood up, holding the dress close to him. He was ready to leave the room. 'I will let you stay in bed for a couple of days, until your wounds are healed.'

'Bray?'

'Yes?' Bray turned around.

AJ smiled at him. 'I think Sister Abigail would be very proud of you.'

That was the sweetest thing a woman had ever said to him... He had always tried his best to spread the word, he tried to make Sister Abigail's dream come true. These words moved him, she made him feel like he was doing everything right. This woman, this nymph... he would cherish her now. He wouldn't lay a finger on her, from now on he would treat her with respect.

'Good night, AJ.'

'Good night, Bray.'

The door closed with a soft click. Even though she was tired of everything that had happened this day, AJ stared to the ceiling. What a story... so that was the story of Bray Wyatt. She wondered if Sister Abigail treated him with the same kindness. What she had done today was horrible, but she was forgiven. Maybe Bray wouldn't trust her that much for a while, but at least she had his forgiveness; that's what mattered the most. The disturbed image she had from Bray was now gone; the image was back to normal. The kindness and admiration returned.

AJ grabbed her bowl of soup and started to eat, trying to ignore the pain.

What a wonderful woman, that Sister Abigail.

'Sister Abigail...'

Bray was sitting outside on his rocking chair, staring at the stars once more. Softly rocking back and forth, he listened to the crickets. Even the music was better at night.

'Today... I have made a mistake. I have beaten her... I have beaten her, because I tried to honor your memory! She shouldn't have come into your room... she never had to! But she broke that rule, because she was so needy of my attention. When I saw her wearing your dress... I nearly killed her. She ran away. Yes, I was mad, I was blinded by anger... but then I felt remorse. I found her in the forest, she was trapped and nearly bleeding to death. There was blood on her body, Abigail... I saved her, though. I have forgiven her and she has forgiven me.'

Bray let out a sigh.

'I have a feeling she is special, Abigail. She's not like the other women, she is different. Once the bruises have disappeared, the nymph shall regain her beauty. I've never seen such... fire inside her. It's shining bright, just like the fire you had. She managed to stand up for herself and fooled those idiots in that hellhole... She knows who she is, she's not blind. Yes, she is damaged, but she has been repaired. She told me you were proud of me... I'm pretty sure she's telling the truth.'

Bray chuckled and closed his eyes. Even though he had his eyes closed, he perfectly could see AJ's face. Her long hair, her eyes, her smile...

'My little nymph... my... AJ.'