Warning: This chapter does contain violence and torture.
Please note I did take my time with this chapter and was really debating on writing it, let alone posting it, as it is pretty intense and emotional. But feel free to R and R and tell me what you think.
…
Holly woke up groggy and groaning. All she could remember was the smell and the smoke. She tried opening her eyes but they didn't seem to want to function. She coughed weakly. All that smoke really did something to her, her nose was itchy and her eyes were so watery she could barely open them.
Roddy! She thought suddenly. She attempted to get up and realized her hands were bound with some kind of metal to something above her head. She tried moving her feet and realized they were chained. She was spread eagle on something soft, yet couldn't move her hands or feet. She slowly opened her stinging eyes. It was eerily dark where she was. She tried letting her eyes adjust and struggled with her bonds. She looked down and realized she was only in her white tank top and underwear. She shivered.
She started coming to a little more and then got panicky. The feeling of claustrophobia hit her. She struggled to break free and couldn't get it. She realized she was bound to a metal bed. She looked around.
The place was oddly familiar. There was wood everywhere. She listened and could hear trees rustling, creek water flowing, night critters making their noises.
Then it hit her. The hunting cabin! She recognized some scratches she had made on the wall years ago when she had been sprayed with a skunk in the face and had a hard time seeing. It had made her so mad she clawed at anything in her path.
She breathed heavily and wanted to morph, to get away from here. Then she remembered her dad teaching her how to calm herself to prevent the animal from coming out. She breathed and thought about dancing, how it released her. She thought about her dad playing the cello, Roddy kissing her...
"Finally up." An eerie female voice said nearby. Holly jerked and looked over. She growled, looking into her mother's face.
"Yes, yes, I know, you're a dog or something." Her mother waved her hand impatiently. She turned to face a table, her mother lit a small lamp and Holly could see a bunch of what looked to be tools and other household items on the table. Holly looked closer and saw a collection of different knives and scalpels. She wanted to gag.
"Wha-what are you going to do?" Holly gulped. She started shaking. She'd never felt more afraid as she looked into her mother's soulless eyes.
"What I should have done years ago when you would have just died like your pathetic parents." Her mother said, matter-of-factly.
"I didn't do anything! I had nothing to do with them! Please!" Holly cried, struggling.
"You're just like them." Her mother whispered, attending to the stuff on the table.
"No I'm not!"
"You say that now, but, deep down, you really are. You can't deny you are…different."
Holly shuddered, breathing heavily, trying to escape. She calmed herself and pleaded through tears, "Please, don't do this. I loved you mom, I thought you loved me too."
Her mother shook, then turned toward her angrily, "You think I like this? I loved you too, but you just don't understand. Something like you, it isn't natural. I'm only doing what I feel is best. You must understand that."
Holly glared, "You're sick!"
"Maybe I am, but at least I'll be at peace when this is over." With that, she picked up a needle and a lighter. She held the needle in the flame for a while. Holly continued to struggle.
"Now hold still or it'll look messy." Her mother told her, as if teaching her how to cook. She lifted up Holly's shirt to her chest.
Holly shook uncontrollably, "No, mom, no! Please!"
Holly felt a shooting pain in her stomach. With each stroke of the scraping needle, Holly couldn't even hear herself scream, could only feel the pain. It felt like forever, and Holly's throat was cracked and her stomach was on fire.
"This is so people will see you branded for what you really are…a female dog."
Holly continued to shake and cry then looked down. She passed out.
...
Monroe was seething. Roddy had finally woken up and was sporting a bloody and broken nose. They were all in the car. Nick refused to let Monroe drive, instead, let him see if he could sniff out Holly. Unfortunately, all the smoke made it hard to catch her scent. Monroe began to get agitated; the longer they searched the longer Holly was in Mrs. Clark's mercy. And she had none.
Suddenly, Monroe caught a hint of Holly's scent as well as Mrs. Clark's. He knew it was her, because he remembered the scent at the park. Then he realized, he'd been smelling it for weeks but hadn't seen anything so thought nothing of it.
"That hag has been stalking us." He said, angrily, "God and I practically let her waltz on in and take Holly."
"Don't beat yourself up, Monroe." Nick said, "We'll find her."
Monroe was panicking inside. He dreaded finding Holly hurt, or worse, dead. He didn't know what he'd do if he found her that way. Well, he knew he'd rip Grace Clark apart like the piece of trash that she is.
Roddy was panicking just as much. Just being with Holly made him feel loved and cared for. He hadn't felt that in a long time. Sure he'd had girlfriends in the past, but none of them accepted him the way Holly did. Hell the last one let her family and rich friends influence her. Holly cared for Roddy and didn't care who or what he was. He wanted to find her. He had to find her. He promised her that anytime she needed him, he'd be there, and be there he would, ready to rip a few heads off in the process. Well, maybe that was Nick's job, but he was willing to start.
"That way!" Monroe yelled pointing. Then it hit him, "Oh my God. Why didn't I see it?"
"What?" Nick asked.
"The hunting cabin, where we found Holly."
"You think she's there?" Nick asked.
"I know she is." Monroe said darkly.
….
Holly woke up, praying she was having a nightmare. That her dad was down the hall coming to her.
God was in a foul mood that night.
"Glad you're back, I was afraid you'd miss the fun." Her mother said, jokingly. Holly glared at her as hard as she could. She may be in pain but she refused to let this sick piece of garbage tear her down.
Then she smelled it. There was no mistaking it, her dad was here. It was faint but she knew that scent anywhere. She suddenly felt brave again.
Mustering all her strength, Holly spat. She felt something hard smack the side of her face. She tasted blood and felt sore.
"Is that all you got?" Holly bragged, "Bring it on."
Mrs. Clark looked startled, but smiled. She picked up a crowbar and Holly braced for it.
…
They ran as fast as they could into the woods. Monroe knew the way and he raced like there was no tomorrow. Then they all stopped. They could hear strangled cries echoing in the woods.
"Holly!" Roddy gasped.
Monroe didn't care about backup or leaving them lost in the woods. In full Blutbad form, he ran. His daughter was still alive and he was ready to kill the person responsible for making her cry out.
"Keep yelling, Holly, I can hear you." He thought to himself.
….
Holly didn't know how much longer she could take it. Each beating sent waves of nausea, making it harder to cry out. But she knew her dad was close. His scent was stronger now. It gave her hope.
Mrs. Clark was panting heavily. She felt so alive, yet so exhausted already.
"God, this is such a workout, and I'm only just beginning." She sneered.
"So am I." Holly said weakly, trying with all of her might to stay focused.
Her mother went back to the table. Holly tried holding on but could feel herself slipping.
They heard a rustling sound outside. Mrs. Clark jumped to attention. She pulled out the gun she'd stolen a week ago. Holly got nervous, thinking of her dad.
"Relax, probably a skunk." Holly told her weakly.
"Shut up." Her mother snapped, smacking her with the gun. Then she went to the door and opened it. She looked down the ladder and didn't see anything.
She started closing the door, when without warning; Monroe tackled her and threw her down from the tree. Holly heard a scream and a thud as Mrs. Clark hit the ground.
Monroe went to Holly. She morphed for him and they communicated without words how glad they were to see each other. As they morphed back, Monroe looked ready to cry.
"Holly." He whispered, looking at her battered body, "I'm so sorry."
He grabbed some bolt cutters and cut her free.
Holly smiled weakly, "I think everything's going to be all right." She whispered. He smiled at her; he remembered telling her that in this very hut. He looked down and saw her chest. His eyes got red, but she held his hand. He lifted tear-filled eyes to hers. He found a wash rag on the table and began wiping off some blood and tears from her face. Then he attempted to clean off some of her chest. She hissed in pain. He grimaced, staring at the etchings in her chest painfully.
"How'd you do it?" Holly asked him as he checked her body for any broken bones.
"Do what?"
"Get inside."
Monroe chuckled through tears, grinning at her, "I decided to pull a wild you and learned how to climb the trees and sneak in through the window." He winked.
She smiled at him, she wanted to laugh, but it hurt way too much.
"Monroe! Holly! Are you up there?" Nick called from below.
"Yeah." Monroe choked, "We're coming down." He couldn't believe Holly's bravery. Here she was battered and broken and she was smiling at him like he was a knight in shining armor.
She nodded at him.
"Okay, I got you." He said gently as he lifted her. She groaned, her whole body ached.
The whole way down was a challenge but her dad finally reached the bottom and laid her on the ground. Roddy went to her, giving her his coat.
"Oh, Roddy." She smiled at him, he smiled back, crying.
"Holly, I should have-"
"Don't, you're here now, broken nose and all." She told him confidently.
Roddy gave a choked laugh, "No pictured lungs right?"
Holly rolled her eyes, "You're not gonna let that one leave are you?"
"Go. But close enough." He grinned.
"Where's Clark?" Nick asked Monroe.
"What do you mean, she fell down here?" Monroe said, suddenly getting nervous.
"She's not here, she wasn't when we got here?" Roddy said by Holly.
Holly and her dad exchanged scared looks.
Then they heard the gun shots and someone screaming like a lunatic. Monroe and Nick grabbed the two teenagers and tried running behind the tree.
Mrs. Clark came out looking angry and maniacal.
Monroe and Nick made a silent plan, much like they did with Schnell.
Nick distracted her giving Monroe time to run around and tackle her from behind. He rolled off of her while Roddy came up and kicked the gun out of her hand. It landed next to Holly. Nick was coming over, but Holly was faster. She ran up to her mother and pointed the gun at her.
Her mother looked annoyed, angry, and yet, satisfied.
"Holly, put the gun down." Nick told her calmly.
"Holly, don't!" Roddy said, next to Monroe who was debating whether he should even move. One wrong movement and someone could die.
Mrs. Clark laughed, "You couldn't do it, even if you wanted to. You just love your mother too much." She joked.
Holly stood shaking, "You're not my mother, you BITCH!" with that, Holly fired five shots straight at her mother.
She dropped the gun and fell to her knees. She didn't know what got into her but she started sobbing. Roddy came to her first, putting his arms around her. Then moved over so her dad could pick her up and carry her to the car.
The whole way back, Holly felt terrible. She calmed down enough to finally whisper to her dad, "I never wanted to kill again."
Monroe was silent for a while, then looked her in the eye, "Holly, everything's gonna be fine now, you did what you had to do. I've never been more proud of you." He smiled at her.
"I love you daddy." She said weakly, then without warning, passed out.
….
I repeat, this was an extremely emotional and intense chapter to write. But I hope you all feel justice was served in the end and that Monroe finding Holly and saving the day worked out great! The next chapter is going to be much lighter and of course will have a surprise once more
