Author Note: 2 more chapters to go! :) I had a hard time writing this climax, this final confrontation, trying to figure out exactly what I wanted to happen for Todd, since I feel sorry for him but I definitely do not condone what he is doing, and I never like seeing our favorite girl detective in a spot of trouble, but I'm pleased with his outcome. Minor violence warning ahead and some language? hence the T rating (insert evil laughter here). Still, with this one I tried to imply rather than show with certain situations, and I thought it was important for Nancy to have a dialogue with the villain. Still another 2 chapters to go, as I want to wrap this story up on a happy note. I have them already written out, but am following a new posting schedule, so it'll be a couple days yet. Frank still owes Nancy that first date, after all, (lol), and then this story will be wrapped up and a much lighter sequel is coming! Not that I don't enjoy writing creepy villains, but Nancy needs a break from serial killers, so in the next story, I plan to tackle a different kind of villain.

I appreciate everyone's patience and hope you enjoy!


Frank Hardy blearily awoke and tried his hardest to focus his gaze a few feet in front of himself. The thick scent of dust and hay reached his nostrils and he coughed once or twice to try to clear the thick coating of phlegm that had settled in the back of his throat. "Nance?" he murmured, lifting his head and tried to irritably brush back that one stubborn, coarse lock of his thick dark bangs that would occasionally haphazardly get into his eyes, only to find that he couldn't. "What...?"

One quick glance down was more than enough. He'd been hogtied to a chair, and from the sounds of things somewhere in the loft up above, the creep that had Nancy was talking to her, trying to have some kind of...last dialogue with her before he would undoubtedly unceremoniously rip her to shreds, piece by piece. He seemed to Frank the type that delighted in watching his victims suffer, playing with them like a kid would toy with his food before eating it. "Gotta get us out of here," he grunted, struggling against his restraints. "If only I could kick then I could get out of these and..." He muffled a started scream as he felt someone tugging on his rope restraints.

His shoulders relaxed when he saw it was only Helen. "Helen," he breathed, feeling his shoulders sag in relief. "How'd you get out?" he asked. He figured there was no way Baines would have left Helen unattended. Frank grinned as he saw her hold up a small pocketknife.

"I hid it up my shirt sleeve during my walk with Greg, just in case..." she whispered, her gaze nervously flitting behind her, to the side, and then up to the loft where the noises were. "I don't know what he's planning, but I could hear him talking to her earlier, when I...when I woke up. I don't think he plans to hurt her just yet, but you'd better hurry," she urged, finally cutting loose the last of Frank Hardy's rope bindings. "Go," she whispered. "I already called the cops, Sheriff Jones is sending a unit."

Frank nodded silently, afraid if he said anything it would give away their position for the killer to hear, and that he would not do. "Hang on, Nance," he whispered under his breath as he strained to locate the source of the low talking. The place, he realized, was like a damn labyrinth, which was impressive, even he had to admit.

Baines must have remodeled this place over the years, he thought as he wasted not another minute standing around and doing nothing. "Just hang in there, Nan."

I'm coming to save you. I promise...


Todd Baines frowned as he stared down at his captive, the girl with the fiery red locks that looked like she had been kissed by the sun when she was born. She was beginning to be something of a problem for him and this had caused him to come to the decision to separate her from her other pesky friends. Wide, bright, shining blue eyes the color of a robin's egg stared back up at him, just a hint of fear in her eyes.

The smallest admission of fear. Good. It was going to have to be enough for him. With her hands handcuffed together and her mouth covered, the girl looked completely and utterly defenseless—in a strange way Todd kind of felt excited about if he were going to be honest with himself. This girl was a special one. Not like the others. Not afraid of him, or if she was, she was damn good at hiding the truth. A challenge. That's what this young woman was. A challenge.

And Todd was never one to shy away from a challenge. Just knowing he could do whatever the hell he wanted to this woman made him feel entirely powerful—maybe more powerful than he'd ever felt in his life, and that included taking care of Greg earlier. Todd's heart pounded in his chest and his breathing rate increased as he realized he could literally do anything to the young redhead woman bound in the loft of his barn, which he had modified over the years of hiding, turning it into something like a labyrinth. He could kick her, break the detective's bones one-by-one, cut her pretty little face with a knife, make her one ugly whore if he was of a mind to, and yet…he didn't want to ruin her features. He could burn her arm with a cigarette, choke her, stab her, whatever he wanted.

And something in Todd's gut told her she would take it, if judging by the fire in her eyes was anything for him to go off. This girl was brave, a strong one, not so easily shaken up or scared like all the others he'd dealt with in times past. He should have taken this young woman for himself the minute she set foot on the campgrounds. Baines had never so much as given it a second thought as to how fun it might be to steal her away and keep her hidden, to be his pretty little obedient plaything for as long as he wanted, because no one would find them all the way out here.

As Todd stared down his scarred nose at the girl who'd been nothing but a thorn in his side ever since she arrived in Casston, he could see the young redhead was trying hard not to cry, blinking back briny tears, every once in a while, an occasional grunt or squeak would escape her gag, but she was also trying to be subtle in her movements as she shirked away from Todd's groping hands as he squatted down on the barn loft's floor and placed a surprisingly tender hand on her leg.

"Does it bother you?" he asked softly, feeling his voice lower an octave and go quieter than it usually did whenever he was around a new victim. Which was surprising to him. This kind of tone he usually only reserved for Jessica. The young woman made a muffled noise through her gag. Annoyed, Todd reached up a hand and, with surprising gentleness, removed it for her. "Better?" he asked, a mock note of concern laced throughout his deceptively kind voice. He was rewarded with a withering stare. "Welcome, Nancy," he said courteously, throwing out his arms as if he were inviting her into his home. "Do you like it?" he asked politely. "It's not much to boast of, but…growing up, this place was a paradise for us."

Nancy struggled to move and found she couldn't. Glancing down, she repressed a tiny groan. Wherever Todd had brought her and Frank, she had been carried into what looked like the barn loft. The strong scent of hay and dust filled her nostrils. She was bound in a chair and her hands trapped in a pair of metal handcuffs. No getting out of these without the key. "Oh," was all she could muster up the energy to say. Nancy felt like the room was slowly suffocating her, the air pressing down, as if she was drowning, but not able to do a damn thing about it. She thought briefly maybe it would be better if she drowned. At least then, the nightmare would be over, but no, she had Frank to get out. As she looked at the Black Lake Killer's hulking, towering, and stocky form as he loomed over her, his arms folded across his chest, she felt a new surge of fear course through her veins, chilling her blood. They say there was nothing to fear but fear itself, yet in this world that was not true. Many things were worse than fear. The truth, for the young detective, in those words, was a warning that fear could change whom she was inside, make her compromise where she should stand firm. This house—these people—were testing her limits, pushing all her right buttons until…

"Wh…where's Frank? And Helen? What did you do with the others?" she demanded, groggily opening her eyes, struggling to keep her eyes open. No doubt the drugs he had injected her with upon rendering her unconscious were starting to take effect. Good. He smirked and relished in her shrinking away from him as much as she could with little victory on her part. The drug would enable her paralyzed.

Oh, not permanently, of course, where would the fun in that be? Just long enough for him to complete his work. Narrowing his eyes, Todd stared down at the whore who had caused him so much trouble. It might be funny just to slowly work towards getting her to cry. He was close to that point already. She'd gotten a little teary earlier the minute he had dragged her away from the dark-haired teenager she'd been with when he found them, but not a full on sobbing breakdown, complete with tears, screaming, shaking sobs, the works. Todd would have been lying to himself if he'd said that he didn't want to make the young woman cry more than anything right now. Just to see how easily he could do it. The women always cried, in the end, see much pain the girl could put up with, maybe even see if he could get the bitch to cry without hurting her at all, without laying as much as a finger on her at all.

"Safe," he answered at last, and for some reason, he felt that familiar tenseness in his shoulders begin again as he watched the young detective's shoulders sag in relief, and she breathed an audible sigh of relief. Todd Baines weighed the knife in his hand. It was no heavier than a kitchen blade, but would cut on first contact, even with minimum pressure. Its serrations were like waves, but not randomly, so like on the cheaper knives you could buy in a store. They would slide in smoothly and do maximum damage on the way out, like the barbs on a fishing hook. At seven inches, he could easily keep it under his jacket, not his only weapon of course, but a useful back up in close combat. For some reason, when he saw his reflection in the steel, his mind flicked to wounded woman bound and helpless in front of him, forced to a kneeling position on her knees. He hated it so when they died too soon, but he had to punish them. They were dirty, their ways filthy and wanton. If they refused his teachings, Todd Baines sliced them. Hell, he usually did that anyway. If they fought back, he cut even deeper, savoring their anguish in killing them slowly. He was firm and fair; they were whiny and without morals. He picked the girls for their painted lips and short skirts, he felt drawn to their high heels and long legs. They made him think bad thoughts, unclean thoughts. They made him lustful and unchaste, something within himself he despised.

His father had instilled in him at a young age to be wary of women after their mother had left them when Todd was only nine.

"Why are you doing this?" Nancy asked, careful to keep her voice neutral, eyes level.

The Black Lake Killer noticed her look and smiled, the smile not reaching his eyes, so…lonely. Was that even the right word? Yes. Lonely. There it was. "I've been wanting to share a dialogue with you, Nancy, for a long time now. I've been watching you, pet, ever since you stepped foot onto this campground's soil."

"Why?" was all she was able to ask the man.

Todd growled. "Because I can, sweetness. That's why. You counselors," here he spat the word as if it were poison in his mouth, "only care about physical attraction to one another and sex. You don't know what it means to really, truly love someone, do you? No. I thought not. There's a connection between "beauty" and "love," but not in the way our media would have us believe, wouldn't you agree, detective? They tout a form of beauty that is simply aesthetic, something that could inspire lust—a thin replica of love based more in desire and conquest. It disgusts me, it really, truly does. All of you," he hissed as he ground his teeth, "you know nothing of real love. Not like…" But his voice trailed off and he didn't finish.

Furrowing her brow into a frown, Nancy visibly flinched as she watched the man begin to restlessly pace the barn loft, all the while twirling a pristine clean silver dagger in his hands. Where are you, Frank? She thought, pained. "Wh…where's…." but her voice broke. Nancy was rendered speechless. All she could do was stare and hope that she could find a way to break free. Even she could not guess what a man like this wanted with someone like her. She swallowed hard back past the lump forming in her throat as Todd Baines continued.

"Safe. I told you."

Nancy nodded, knowing if she spoke out against him, he would likely strike her, or even worse. He noticed her looking and smiled at her again, catching her off-guard. His smile was genuine; almost…dare she even think this? Kind. Sweet. "Frank, wh—where is he? What have you done with my partner, Baines?" she pleaded. "I—I want to speak to him, I need to know he's all right," she whispered, and the tenderness in the redheads' voice gave Todd pause, and…and…he was hardly aware he'd set the knife down on a nearby wooden table and had begun to dig his fingernails into the wood of a nearby beam, a pillar that was one of many that held the rickety old barn upright, even after years of weathering bad storms and even old age.

It took him a moment to realize it was rage. The way she spoke the man's name with such a graceful gentleness, dare he even think for a minute that it was love, true love, like Jessica had always prattled on about, made his blood boil and course through his bloodstream just then. Never before did a man's name sound like a curse. What made it all the worse was the way the cretin's name sounded on her lips. This—this bitch of a detective had cried his name with such anguish that he felt his very blood boil and he curled his hands into fists to prevent himself from striking out at something, but then she said the brat's name again, even softer.

That was the breaking point of his patience. At that moment, Todd seethed and ground his teeth together, jaw locked, and he was blinded by a five-course serving of rage that tasted bitter, yet surprisingly satisfying. Todd reached out. He went to punch the young woman in the face. When his fist came into contact with the right side of her cheek, even he winced at the sharp cracking noise as her head whiplashed backwards and hit against the headrest of the chair. Nancy let out a sharp yet soft cry of pain, and that only fueled his inexplicable ire more.

Todd tried to shake the aching after taste, on the taste buds of his hand. Much like coffee, its bitterness drew him in to take another sip knowing he would be more awake than before. There was a fresh black and purple bruise underneath her left eye already, that would yellow as it aged, and Todd knew it would stick around at least a week or two, and she kept her head tilted backward, and for the briefest of moments, Todd was tempted to run his palms along the smooth column of her throat, to really feel her skin, to see if it was as soft and unblemished as it really looked. He stifled a low growl in his throat and resisted the urge.

The Black Lake Killer grabbed the back of her chair and tilted it backwards, her red hair falling back over her shoulders. He smirked as she continued to fight her bindings, but she wasn't going to be getting out of those anytime. "Looking for this?" he taunted, holding up the key to her handcuffs before slipping it into the back pocket of his jeans. "Don't try to fight it, Nancy."

He almost laughed at seeing the look of defiance in her blue eyes, but then what she did next set him on edge. She spat in his face. Red. All that filled his vision was crimson red. Burning rage hissed through Todd's body like deathly poison, screeching a demanded release in the form of unwanted violence. It was like a volcano erupting; fury sweeping off Todd like ferocious waves. The wrath consumed him entirely, engulfing his moralities and destroying the boundaries of loyalty. The Black Lake Killer could envision Nancy bleeding already for what she had just done. Never had one of his little playthings spat in his face before. This was a first, one he could not allow to go unpunished. Todd drew back his hand and backhanded her so hard across her pretty little face that even he flinched at the deafening crack. Not broken, no, but it would hurt for a while. He felt guilty, but he couldn't stop. So many years of bullying that sunk deep into his mind and added a fire-hot spice that completed the vexed dish he was serving, though he considered that little deed mostly finished as he had killed the ugliest. He had killed Greg.

But still, he would not consider his work completed and finally able to rest until the campground was closed for good. So many places of bad memories. Todd knew he should put an end to all of this, just…take Jessica somewhere and go, apologize before he made it worse, but he just didn't have it within him to stop. "S—Stop," came the detective's plea desperately.

He almost had to strain forward to hear her through her mumbling, her voice was so soft and quiet. Timid, even. Her tone was not fearful, and this gave him pause, so…he stopped.

Todd watched, curious, cocking his head to the side as the young woman turned her head sharply to the left and spat a mouthful of blood off to the side. "You…don't…have to…do this…" she rasped weakly. "Th—there's still…time. Give this up. Turn yourself in, Baines."

He said nothing, and, no longer wishing to stand, looked around the room until he found what he was looking for. Nancy winced as the loud scraping of the wooden chair he dragged across the room rang in her ears. His face remained neutral and impassive as Todd turned the chair backwards and straddled it in front of Nancy, resting his chin in his hands as he regarded the young detective with an inquisitive expression, as if she were an exotic animal in a zoo.

"I don't know what it was, Todd, th—that bent your life out of shape," the young woman began hesitantly, lifting her chin, jutting it out slightly defiantly so in order to look him in the eyes. "B—but maybe…I've been there too. Maybe I could help you. Rehabilitate you. You don't need to be alone. You…you don't have to kill anyone else, Todd," her voice came out as barely a whisper. "Let me…let us help you, Todd. We can…we can fix you. Get you help."

Todd froze, considering her words. "I'm sorry." His voice was solemn, no hint of malice or joking at all. "I'm sorry, but…no. It's too late for me," he spat, sounding disgusted with himself. "I'm trying. But I can't feel a goddamn thing, Miss Drew," he growled. The Black Lake Killer regarded Nancy in silence for a moment. She really was quite a pretty little thing.

He almost hated to ruin her face in a moment. Almost.

"Todd…please don't do this…" Nancy startled as she heard a muffled yelp from somewhere down below the loft. Frank, she thought wildly, and swallowed hard to quell the lump in her throat. Her throat felt incredibly dry and scratchy, and she wanted nothing more than a drink of water. "Wh…t—think about Jessica. She—she wouldn't want this for you, would she?"

"You don't get to talk about my sister," growled Todd angrily, jabbing a finger in her chest and poking her hard. "Leave Jess out of this. You really wanna know how it feels, huh?"

Nancy nodded mutely. Anything to stall him, keep him talking. Maybe…just maybe then…help would arrive, and they could all get out of there. "I do. Tell me, Todd…"

If she kept him conversing like this, maybe whatever Frank was doing down there would allow him to go get help.

Todd frowned. "Well, it's like…when you go under water, and you close your eyes. Everything in the world suddenly ceases to exist somehow. The only thing you hear is the beating of your heart and the thoughts on your mind, and if you don't reach the surface, you start to feel your lungs craving for oxygen, burning because you can't breathe," Todd growled, and Nancy gulped nervously as she saw the briefest flickers of pure, unadulterated rage pass through his one good eye.

The detective figured talking about his almost-drowning was a bitter, sore subject for him, so she wasn't surprised at the one emotion that she could read in his one good eye. She was trying her very hardest not to stare at the scarred, black empty socket that used to be his other eye, and she wondered what happened to him then. Nancy watched as his lethal stare felt painful and piercing, as if his glare was tearing her heart apart. She looked down at her lap and rested her handcuffed hands on her thighs. Blood. Her own. She looked up at him again, this time, with widened eyes. A final glance at his furious eyes confirmed her possible outcome.

Eventually, Todd Baines would kill her.

The young woman watched as the serial killer's eyes misted over, as if he were remembering something. Whether that memory was unpleasant or a happy one, Nancy could not tell at all.

Todd let out a low, guttural growl from the back of his throat. "That's how I feel about everything lately," he said in a quiet voice. "I can only hear the echoes of past voices in my mind. Sometimes…it's hard for me to breathe, but the rest of the world doesn't matter. Nothing matters right now except for Jessica. I just feel the beating of my own heart. Nothing less, nothing more. The world never gave a shit about people like her and I, so why should I?" Todd heaved a heavy sigh, feeling around in the pockets of his black and red plaid shirt until he found a carton of cigarettes and a lighter. He clamped one between his teeth, and Nancy noticed his hands seemed a little uncoordinated and kind of fumbling. Nervous, even. "Your little boyfriend's like an overbearing bastard, right?" Todd finally spoke up, seemingly interested in making conversation with his captive. Nancy frowned. "No," he growled, jerking his head down towards the stairwell below. "Not that one. The other one."

Nancy swallowed. To that, she didn't know what to say, so she thought silence was best.

Todd merely grunted in response. "My life would be a lot better off if I wasn't…here. Like this," he growled, gesturing with his finger towards his empty eye socket, and at the scar that snaked its way across his brow bone and ended at the curve of his lip, twisting the edges of his mouth into a permanent grimace which gave him a truly terrifying look, but…but… Nancy sensed there was more to Todd than he let on, and if she could just continue to have a dialogue with him, then maybe there would be no need for the night to end in bloodshed. The young detective flinched as she felt his hand drift downward, where it rested on her thigh as he scooted his chair that little bit closer. Todd noticed her look of trepidation and his lips curled into a taunting sneer. "Run, run, run…that's all you ever do. You haven't changed anything yet, Miss Drew," he explained, feeling his voice go dangerously low and quiet. "You haven't saved any of them, Nancy, and you won't. What's done is done…"

"That's not true!" Nancy shouted, feeling the beginnings of fear prick at her heart as she felt his hand move with surprising tenderness up her thigh. She flinched, not wanting to show this man just how much he was getting to her, and feeling like she was doing a bad job of, because he noticed and his lip twisted upward into a mischievous smirk, his one good eye twinkling.

"Ah," he said casually, biting his bottom lip in almost a playful way as his fingertips grazed the column of her throat. "You. You're trying to remember your training," he mocked. "What's the regulation to cover this?" he taunted, settling his hand around Nancy's pale throat. He glanced down at her thighs and regarded her torn and dirtied jeans. "Hmm? See what your little boyfriend has done to you? He has made you a mess, Nancy," he sighed, almost sounding…disappointed.

"Can't say this is my first time being tied to a chair," Nancy snapped hotly, feeling her fear manifest as anger. "Though Ned never… never did that," she whispered, feeling her shoulders slump as she thought of Ned, hoping and sending a silent prayer to whoever was up there that Ned and the others had made it safely back to River Heights, while they still could. "Get off."

"His loss," Todd answered simply, reaching up a strong hand and toying with a lock of her hair. "All the physical stuff…so dull," he drawled, now sounding bored. "So…old-fashioned." The Black Lake Killer glanced down at Nancy's knees and then to her restraints. "Your knees must be killing you," he admonished, feigning concern for the state of her well-being. He noticed Nancy's gaze drift upwards towards his empty eye socket and he let out a dark chuckle. "Go on, then. Ask. I know you want to."

Nancy bit her bottom lip, hesitating. "What happened to your eye, Todd?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Greg," came his simple answer, and Nancy's eyes grew wide and round. "He shot me with an arrow and tried to drown me when I stopped him from seeing Jess."

She could tell by the pure unadulterated hatred in the man's tone as he spat Greg's name as though it were poison that had settled on his tongue, that something had happened to the head counselor. Nancy hated thinking along these lines, but she wouldn't be surprised to learn later if they made it out of this alive, that the police had managed to find Greg's body lying lifeless in a ditch somewhere.

"Todd," begged Nancy, and she hated the weakness that was laced throughout her voice. She swallowed as Todd drew closer, having resumed picking up the dagger he'd left on the side table, along with another set of instruments she couldn't and didn't even want to identify.

Frank, whatever you're doing, please hurry, she thought wildly, doing her best to control the panicked look that she was certain was present in her blue orbs. "Y—you don't have to do this, Todd. You could take Jessica a—and leave. Right now. I swear it. I—I won't tell anyone you were here. Y—you could…I'll say we were mugged and brought here by a couple guys."

At her desperate plea, Todd Baines threw back his head and let out a short, bark-like laugh and regarded Nancy, seeming almost amused with her attempts to reason with him.

Todd resumed his seat in front of Nancy, continuing to sit in that way of straddling the chair backwards, twirling the knife in his hands, admiring the sheen of the silver in the dim light, courtesy of the moon that streamed in through a hole in the barn's roof. He let out a bitter laugh as he shoved Nancy's chair painfully back against the wall. "No. It's too late for me. I'm far too gone. I've killed people. I'm an angry, bitter, violent asshole. I know what I am…I can't go back from that, no matter what Jess says. If there's one thing our dad got right…there's no hope left for someone like me." The self-loathing in his tone was evident.

Nancy felt her mind quickly going into overdrive to put the missing pieces together.

"Yes, you can," Nancy rasped out hoarsely, reaching up with her cuffed hands as she felt Todd's grip around the column of her throat tighten slightly. "Todd, yes, you can go back. I—if Casston and Bangor, if these places are too painful, take Jessica and just get out of Maine. You can leave and have your own life. G—get married, have kids who treat you well. Put all this behind you a—and start over," she whispered breathlessly, hardly daring to believe the words that felt like they were tumbling out of her mouth, her tongue no longer listening to her brain.

Todd laughed and tightened his grip around Nancy's throat, ignoring her desperate clawing at his hands as she struggled to pry his hands off her.

"You of all people shouldn't suggest to me that I ever have kids. You're one to talk, Miss Drew. You can't even keep a boyfriend, so what makes someone like you think you'll ever have kids, huh? Don't lecture me about what you think I should do," he snarled, leaning in so the tip of his nose practically was touching hers. "What woman would ever want this?" he snarled, gesturing to his deformities, the huge gaping hole where his eye once was, and she drew in a sharp breath that pained her screaming lungs and ribcage as he rolled up the sleeve of his plaid shirt, his arm littered with dozens of angry scars, thick, red and white jagged lines, and several burn marks, fixing Nancy with a cold stare, almost emotionless. "Hmm?" he growled. "You know any volunteers? Certainly isn't going to be you. Just looking at you and how those boys fought over you makes me want to punch you and beat your little body within an inch of your pathetic life. Why you? You're nothing special, kid," Todd growled, squeezing her hand even tighter around Nancy's life. "It's sick. You're playing them both with no regard to either one's feelings. Just as Jessica did once, when she…used to date," he hissed."I knew I was right to take you. Both those men will be better off without a sniveling little detective in their lives. They'll be free. Women like you test men's baser instincts and inflame them."

"And Jessica? What 'baser instinct' does she ignite in you, Baines?" snapped Nancy hotly, immediately clenching her eyes shut and braced herself for another blow, but it didn't come. Damn her and her temper. It was going to be her undoing one of these days, she just knew it. It was her and Ned had so many disagreements. She would lash out in anger and say things that she didn't mean, though by the time she had, it was always too late to take them back.

"She's different." It did not escape Nancy's attention how whenever Todd said Jessica's name, something in his eyes sparked and softened, and his voice grew quiet, almost thoughtful in a way. Though there was that other part of Todd that almost sounded possessive when he spoke of Jessica, and the mention of her dating others seemed to light a fire in him that Nancy wasn't quite sure what to make of just yet. Nancy furrowed her brow into a frown as she thought of Todd's possessiveness and protectiveness. Could he...really love her in...that way? Nancy wondered, and then immediately violently shook her head to clear her mind of such thoughts. No! No, that's stupid! Get it together, Drew, this isn't Game of Thrones. Todd wouldn't do that to Jessica...would he?

She liked to believe he wouldn't, but given the erratic way he was behaving and his violent mood swings that seemed to have no states of gray-scale, Nancy decided she couldn't rule it out, as much as that little pleasant thought made her stomach churn and the bile rise to the back of her throat.

"Weak women like you and that other counselor just piss me off. But you deserve to be hurt just as much as the others," he hissed angrily. "Maybe more since the world keeps giving you a pass. No second chances here, Miss Drew," he growled, squeezing his hand even tighter around Nancy's throat. "Jessica, she's the only one who really understands me. What I am. What we are."

The young woman let out a frightened little gasp as she grabbed her fingers around Todd's burly arm. The man was close to choking the life force out of her by this point. Nancy would have let out a cry if she were able to breathe. Instead, she opened her mouth and only managed a tiny, strangled, choking noise as tears began to stream down her cheeks. Her ribs ached and hurt horribly from where Todd had hit her, but her lungs screamed and burned for relief even more. She couldn't breathe. Her vision was growing gray at the edges. Letting out a tiny whimper, Nancy felt her eyes clench shut as she tugged desperately at Todd's plaid shirt sleeve, wincing as the harsh cold metal of her handcuffs dug into the tender skin of her inner wrists. She couldn't breathe. She squirmed underneath Todd's weight, trying anything she could think of to get the older man away from her.

If Todd didn't let go soon…the Nancy was going to pass out and Todd Baines could actually kill her, intentional or not. Todd's one good eye narrowed as he glowered at Nancy until was nothing but a slit. It was unnerving to see the head of a snake glaring at her on a human body. "When I saw you walking in the woods this evening, your innocent baby blue eyes looking around like you expect the very Maine air you breathed in to attack you…I wanted to hurt you. You're so…so…" He paused, seemingly struggling to find the right words. "Clean. Protected. Loved," he snarled, spitting that last word as if it were poison that had settled on his tongue. "I saw how those two boys threw themselves at each other," he breathed, for a moment sounding a mixture of awestruck and utter disgust. "Both trying to keep their precious little Nancy safe…" He glowered at Nancy and squeezed her throat tighter.

"P…please, Todd…." She struggled to draw in breath, but his hold on her throat didn't relinquish or even loosen. Black mists swirled, ebbing and flowing at the forefront of her vision.

"Maybe it's wrong. I know I'm an evil piece of shit. I saw you tonight, and I wanted all of you to suffer. People care about you. You're a cute woman, I'll give you that," he admitted, almost begrudgingly so, as he didn't want to confess it to the very detective he was about to strangle to death. "You're beautiful, and you know it, don't you, Nancy? Of course, you do. How could you not?" he whisper-hissed through gritted teeth, and Nancy's gaze drifted down to see his knuckles were white with the effort to steady himself, perhaps to prevent himself from lashing out at her in anger again. "See?" he grunted, the corners of his mouth twisting into an unkind sneer as Nancy shot him a dark look. "There's that look again. You're getting to be quite good at this, you know," he sighed, continuing his absentminded twirling of his dagger in his hands, as though bored with the turn their conversation had taken. "You're innocent. Weak. Pathetic." Todd Baines shook his head in disgust as he stared down his slender nose at her bitterly, his hulking football player build towering over her as he rose from his chair, lifting Nancy off her feet slightly, his grip upon her throat tightening even harder. The color had rapidly drained from Nancy's face, and there was no mistaking the fear in her blue eyes now. "Nobody gives a shit if I get hurt. Nobody fucking cares what happens to me," Todd growled, finally loosening his ironclad grip on Nancy's neck, just enough for her to draw in a gasping, choking, wheezing breath and let out a cry. Nancy couldn't even manage to formulate words in her head that she wanted to speak as she sucked in shaking, deep lungful's of air that pained her lungs, coughing as she gasped for air that simply wasn't there. She barely even recognized the sound of her own pathetic cries, and she couldn't get herself to stop. She just wanted all this to end, for the killings to stop. Todd cocked his head to the side and regarded Nancy in silent, waiting for her violent coughing spell to stop. Nancy reached up a trembling hand to her throat, as well as she could given that she was restrained by handcuffs.

She winced as she touched the area of her neck where Todd's hand had gripped it tight, and she knew it was going to leave marks she didn't want. "Todd..."

But Todd ignored her plea, continuing that infuriating behavior of running his hand up and along her thigh. "Did your parents ever hit you growing up?" The question was out of Todd's mouth before he could stop himself, and he knew, judging by that horrified look on the young woman's face that he already knew the answer.

He pulled up his chair closer to her and looked at her closer. Todd Baines scoffed and rolled his eyes. "No. Of course they didn't. But ours did," he breathed, his one good eye narrowing, and a flicker of dark rage passed through his eye. "I bet your daddy hugged you every night. He probably hugs you." Todd grabbed Nancy's chin, cupping it in his strong hand and turned her face back towards him, slapping his other hand teasingly against Nancy's forehead. "I just can't relate to that, I'm afraid, dear thing," he sighed, almost sounding remorseful. "Your daddy wouldn't do the shit that my dad did to us growing up. Maybe he loves you too much. That's a fine line to cross, you know, Miss Drew. But our father did. To Jessica. It's hard to tell what that line is when you're just a little kid, but even back then, I knew what he did to us was wrong. Our dad was an asshole," he growled, and there was that familiar fire-spark of anger in his one remaining eye, and his head swiveled almost lazily to the left to regard Nancy. "Did your daddy ever sleep in your own bed with you growing up? Tell you how…how special you are? Rub his hands all over you in that way you thought was love at first," Todd Baines went on, his voice growing dangerously soft and quiet now, Nancy would have had to lean forward in her chair in order to hear him, though she couldn't, given she was hogtied to the chair. "You're the perfect target for crap like that," Todd growled angrily. "It starts out innocent enough. Words of praise. Made Jessica feel valid and important when my words weren't enough for her. Gentle hands, rubbing a little more than necessary, but harmless enough…until the day that it isn't. Then it escalated. The creep started sneaking into her room at night and…what he did to Jess was unforgivable, so I…gutted him like the monster that he is," he hissed, and he balled his hand into a fist.

The detective let out a hiss as she drew in a breath and flinched at the screaming fire burning in her ribcage, near her side from where he had punched her during his tantrum only mere moments ago. Nancy stared, feeling her mouth drop open slightly. She didn't know how to respond. "I—I'm sorry," panted Nancy, still heaving to catch her breath. "They—they shouldn't have. They were wrong to do those things to you and Jessica, Todd, b—but killing all these people…it won't change what happened to you. Stop this now, and you can still be saved."

"SHUT UP!" bellowed Todd, the last of his patience leaving him at last and he lashed out at the wall behind Nancy's head, his fist strong enough that it left a visible dent in the wood. Nancy let out a tiny squeak of terror and clenched her eyes shut tight. This was it. Her end.

Todd let out a small growl and his hand drifted towards the back of Nancy's skull, finding purchase in her thick red tresses. He yanked her hair back roughly, eliciting a sharp cry of pain from Nancy as he tugged. She opened her mouth to say something else to Baines in a last-ditch effort to reach him, but a flash of yellow out of the corner of her eye and the tumble of movement had grabbed her attention. She sucked in a sharp breath and froze.

Jessica stood just behind Todd. "Stop." It was a command, her voice quiet and shy. "Todd. Stop. Please. It's over."

Todd's gaze widened, a muscle in his jaw twitching, and a vein in his one good seemed to spasm as he turned around, letting out a low warning growl from the back of his throat. "Jess," he growled darkly. "Turn around. Go back," he snapped. "Get the hell out of here."

"No." her answer was firm, though it warbled slightly, and it sounded like Jessica Baines' voice lacked the conviction to sell the argument she really wanted to make. "I'm not leaving you, Todd. You know this isn't right. Greg's dead," she announced, more for Nancy's benefit than Todd's, and Nancy felt her heart sink to her chest. "I told you once…I'm not going let you destroy yourself anymore. I wish…" Her voice cracked as she fought back tears, turning away for a moment to compose herself before she turned back towards her older brother. "I only wish…that I could have told you sooner. This isn't you. There's still time for you if you turn yourself in. You can fight this," she urged, lifting her chin slightly, brushing her blonde hair over her shoulders and lifting her chin slightly so she was almost at eye-level with her older brother. "Fight it."

Nancy bit her bottom lip hard enough to bleed as Todd's towering form began to shake, almost uncontrollably, and her blue eyes widened as she watched his younger sister embrace him in a hug, not saying a word, and she could almost sense the inner war and conflict currently waging war within Todd's mind. A stab of pity pierced at her heart.

All his life, all he's ever wanted was to protect his sister, she thought sadly. He doesn't give a damn about anything else now that Greg's gone. and a flash of black caught her eye out of the corner of her eye, and her head whiplashed upwards and she felt the tension in her shoulders leave her almost rapidly as her eyes landed on Frank, whose dark eyes widened and then she watched as he breathed an inaudible sigh of relief at still seeing her alive. He rose a finger to his lips, signaling for Nancy to be quiet. Nancy gave a curt little nod, and then her gaze drifted upwards towards an unfamiliar looking man standing just behind Frank, though there was no mistaking that jacket or the gun belt the man wore around his waist. Nancy drew in a sharp intake of breath that pained her bruised and probably cracked ribs at this point as she realized they needed to keep Todd talking. Jessica saw this.

"Todd, i—it's not too late to walk away. We can flee," breathed Jessica, reaching up a trembling hand to brush back a lock of his light brown hair out of his one good eye, which had, Nancy noted, fallen in front of his eye, conveniently acting as a barrier between himself and the rest of the world, shielding his vision from whatever it was he didn't want to see, as she stepped in between Nancy's chair and Todd, effectively using herself as a shield, the only barrier for Nancy between life and certain death.

Nancy couldn't resist adding in her own two cents. "You can fight…that," she added, seeing how badly the man was shaking. He was seeming to struggle to rein in his effort to control himself and losing horribly. "Whatever is happening to you, you're stronger than this. Please don't do this. We—we can still save you."

"Shut. Up." His body continued to shake and he balled his hands into fists to prevent himself from striking out at something in anger. A beat. A pause. "A word of advice. you really don't want to upset me right now. Or I'll stab you in the throat, you nosy, meddling bitch. Shut your mouth. Stop making noise. Don't say another word."

The young detective pursed her lips together into a thin line and bit down on her bottom lip, but she couldn't stop her own bout of trembling or the soft whimper that escaped her throat. She tried to focus on a spot on the wood behind Todd's head, instead of on her own fears but she was failing horribly.

Todd's gaze drifted towards Nancy, and then back to Jessica. He repeated this a few more times before Nancy could almost see the sudden shift in his personality as he seemed to feel something shift within himself. Nancy let out a little whimper of fear as he took a huge stride forward and knelt at Nancy's chair, so he was at eye-level with the young detective. "I mean it, Miss Drew," he growled, reaching out and grabbing Nancy's arm in a fist and gave it a hard squeeze, as if to emphasize his point. "I'll kill you. And I'll kill all your little friends if you breathe a word of this. No one will ever know it was me if you force my hand and make me kill all of you. Jessica and I are leaving now. Not a damn word to anyone, understand?"

Just as quick as before, Nancy nodded again, letting out a muffled squeak of approval.

"None of that happened," Todd growled, seemingly not even hearing the cop sneak up behind him, slowly inching his way across the wooden barn's loft floor, careful not to allow the floorboards to creak and give away his position. "When the cops come," Nancy bit her lip even harder, struggling to keep her eyes trained on Todd and not on the River Heights cop, who had raised his gun and was waiting for the opportune moment to take his larger opponent by surprise, "and they will come, if you explain the…wound in your leg, and bruises on your back, and your eye…whatever. We don't care," Todd snarled, "make something up. If you tell the cops or anyone else what happened to you, that I did it, I will find you, and trust me, princess, you won't like what happens to you when I do," he growled through clenched teeth.

"Todd, please," begged Nancy, feeling tears well in her eyes, stinging and burning in her vision. "Th—there's still time for you to change." She shirked away, as far back as her back would allow as he brought the tip of his silver dagger and pressed it delicately, but firmly at her throat, just hard enough to enforce his intended message, what happened to her if she were to tell the cops what had happened here. "We can…we can still save you," she breathed, and immediately she knew she had made a huge mistake.

Nancy watched, horrified, as Todd's face blanched and almost immediately drained of color and he drew back, looking as though Nancy had slapped her.

"There's nothing left of me to save!" he roared, and that was when all hell broke loose. Shouting rent the tense atmosphere, and Nancy didn't know who was screaming what, if that voice was Frank or Todd, but Nancy was trapped and given no time to react as his hand lowered and he made a move to plunge his dagger into the side of her thigh, and it made a satisfying squish as the tip of his blade sank deep enough to make his latest victim scream. He twisted the blade in his hands, all the while sinking it deeper, and Todd yanked his now crimson-stained knife out of Nancy's thigh.

Her cry was a brilliant sound, guttural chokes mixed with a heart-wrenching agonized scream that brought Frank running to her side immediately. "Jesus, Nan! Don't look at it, I—it's going to be okay," he swore under his breath, rushing to catch Nancy as she collapsed out of her wooden chair, cushioning the worst of her fall as she felt the strength in her legs leave her. "I…you…you're going to be fine, Nance, you'll see. I promise," Frank whispered into the shell of her ear, tenderly brushing back a lock of her hair and gently rocking her back and forth, trying what he could to distract his crush from the agonizing throbbing and burning in her leg. One quick glance at it was more than enough. It was just a flesh wound, but enough and deep enough that it was undoubtedly going to scar, but she needed a hospital and fast.

Todd smirked, turning away as her pleas for mercy became fainter, the sweet tang of blood tingling in his nostrils. He turned away, reached out for Jessica, and a shot was fired, and a horrible ringing filled Nancy's eardrums as her consciousness swirled in black mists, her head pounding, muffled screaming vibrating in the barn's lofts, startling a few crows in the process who had settled, perched on top of the rafters. Even the passage of the light slowed, and the sounds became as if underwater. Aside from the beat of Nancy's heart, no muscle moved as she felt Frank stiffen, wrapping his arms around her waist, using the wall of the barn's loft as a brace to support himself. That pounding inside beat a rhythm to the words of Todd's unexpected take-down, the cold steel Todd's judge and jury.

The bullet entered the man's left leg as if it were nothing, just meat, blood bones, blasting a cavity in his knee as it burst crimson into the fading light of the loft. His face was frozen, eyes open, mouth slack, as he was propelled backward. His gaze held Jessica's and in those fractions of seconds the man that had once been her brother was there and then the next, reduced to a crumpled mess on the ground.

The officer from River Heights holstered his weapon and, immediately seeing Nancy hold out her hands, he sprang into action and released her. "I'll be taking those, miss," he said, his tone clipped and hard as he glanced down at her red wrists with an immense look of disgust. The cop glanced down at Nancy's thigh, which had, for now, ceased to bleed so much, thanks to Frank and Nancy's hands both pressed over the wound's entry point to stop the bleeding as much as they could. "Doesn't look too bad," he murmured quickly, to which Frank breathed an audible sigh of relief. "Just a flesh wound. Bet that hurts like hell though," the police officer sympathized. At that, he glanced back towards Todd and furrowed his dark brows into a frown. His gaze darted briefly back towards Nancy and Frank, both of whom were eyeing the River Heights cop with mixed expressions of awe and bewilderment. "I don't shoot to kill unless there's no other choice…."

Good man, Nancy thought, and felt her heart swell with relief and pride for this man. He had saved their lives, and she made a mental note to thank the cop at her earliest convenience after all this was over. He was handsome enough, Nancy supposed, and as he stepped further into the light, Nancy recognized him as one of the guys on Chief McGinnis's team. Nancy winced and gingerly rubbed her wrists as the cop relieved her of her restraints. She watched through blurring vision as the cop turned towards Todd Baines, who had collapsed on the floor, panting heavily, the leg of his jeans staining red with garish blood.

"You're under arrest, Baines. Got a lot of people outside who've been looking for you a long time. Hands up where I can see them, asshole. You try anything stupid like that again, I will shoot to kill, test me again and see what happens for yourself. Move it," he growled, yanking Todd to his feet with surprising force, more than Nancy thought possible of him, given Baines outweighed the young police officer by at least twenty pounds. But…there was something in his eyes Nancy recognized. Defeat. Fully having expected Baines to resist, she watched, slightly awestruck as he gingerly raised both hands in surrender where the River Heights cop could see them, and it was then that the young detective noted Todd seemed to have eyes only for his sister, not anyone else.

Not Frank. Not Nancy. Not the police officer currently arresting him. Just Jessica. In his sister's hysterical wailing as the cop dragged him out of the barn and towards the flashing blue and red lights outside, which Nancy only just now took note of, she realized the sister's heart was breaking. Neither she nor Todd would ever be the same, not after this. They wouldn't be the same again, there was a part of both siblings that had to die so the rest of them would be able to carry on with life.

So, as she watched Jessica Baines sink to the damp ground outside as Nancy craned her neck up and peeked over the open barn window, her tears flowing unchecked as she watched the Casston Police Department and what looked like a black FBI van cart Todd Baines off, there was a part of Nancy breaking too. If Jessica wasn't the same, then neither would Todd be. That was what happened when you loved someone, Nancy knew, as she remembered what Hannah always used to tell her growing up. That their happiness was a part of your own, as was their heartbreak. Both siblings' lives were now drastically changed forever.

Though life for Todd, Nancy knew, would be spent behind bars for the rest of his natural life. She was honestly surprised the cop hadn't shot to kill, and she glanced at Frank, though her vision was rapidly fading. "Nan?" he asked at last, his tone laced with concern as he draped one of her arms over his shoulder, helping her to stand. "You okay to walk to the car? Let's…let's get you to a hospital, Nance. You need emergency medical care."

His face was white, far too pale to be considered healthy, even for Frank.

"I'm…good…" she rasped out weakly, closing her eyes and leaning against Frank for support, trusting him to lead them both in the right direction. Walking with her eyes closed was comfortable. Nancy knew Frank would keep her from running into anything. Nancy drew in a sharp breath as the cold night air blasted her cheeks and the wind tousled her red hair into buoyant curls. The detective stared down at her sneakers as she walked, and then her gaze wandered towards her wrists. They were rubbed raw from where the metal of the handcuffs had dug into her skin during her futile effort to free herself.

Why had she struggled so much? She didn't even manage to free herself, and now the skin on her wrists was practically gone and tender to the touch. Nancy winced and hissed as her fingertips gingerly grazed the markings on her left wrist. She let out a startled cry of surprise as Frank swiftly but firmly smacked her hand away.

"Don't touch it, Nan, you're hurt," Frank admonished, though not unkindly. His grip on her shoulder tightened as she felt her footing stagger. Nancy hadn't realized how dizzy and thirsty she was. It had been useless to try to fight the Black Lake Killer. She just wished these damn markings would go away. She had not asked for any of this. She wanted nothing more than to leave Maine behind forever. To leave and never come back. Forget any of this ever happened.

"Hey…" Frank whispered tenderly. "You all right, Nance?"

Nancy shook her head, letting a lock of her red hair tumble in front of her face like a curtain, hoping to shield her tears from Frank, but with one swift movement of his thumb and forefinger he had brushed it back behind her ear where it belonged. She bit her bottom lip and fought down a half-choked sob.

Frank stopped walking, grasping her hands lightly onto Nancy's shoulders and bent down slightly to look the young woman in the eyes. "Nan? Talk to me, Nance. What's wrong?"

"I—it's just…" Her face crumpled as she looked at her wrists, and never mind the screaming throbbing of her leg where Todd Baines had stabbed her, for God's sake! "H—how am I going to explain these to others? T—to Dad a—and Bess and George? And…Ned," she finished, though she didn't say his name.

If hearing her say his best friend's name and her ex now bothered him, he did not show it. Instead, Frank nodded in understanding. "Just don't. Don't tell them if you want. Just say only want you want to, yeah? I'll be right with you the whole time by your side. Trust me, Nan, I'm not going anywhere," he promised, reaching up a shaking hand to brush a lock of her red hair back behind her ear and smiled.

Nancy, without thinking anything of it, instinctively reached for his hand and gave it a tight squeeze.

"You're stuck with me, Drew," he said, his tone hopeful, though Nancy knew there was more behind it. Frank was an emotional man, as much as he liked to tease everyone and claim that he wasn't.

It was one of many things she liked about him.

She felt her breathing rate increase as they drew towards a Casston local police car, where it appeared the officer was just finished talking with Jessica Baines, whose eyes were red-rimmed from crying and had now cocooned herself in a thick blanket, courtesy of one of the other cops who had arrived on scene.

Nancy exhaled shakily. She'd hoped to spot some sign of the River Heights cop so she could say thank you and find out what he was doing all the way out in Maine, but she soon realized it was a different man. Older, grizzled slightly, one who looked like he'd been around a few decades and seen things.

"Excuse me, you two…What's your name, ma'am?" He furrowed his brow into a frown and tipped his hat in acknowledgement as Nancy limped forward, stifling a cry of pain as it still hurt to walk, and there was the matter of the festering wound in both her leg and her wrists were screaming for a salve and bandages. "You okay?" When Nancy did not answer immediately, he pressed her further. "Ma'am?"

Nancy felt her breath catch in her throat. She couldn't bring herself to answer, not after what she had just been through. She kind of wanted to lie, which was a first. Use a fake name. She felt like she was about to get in trouble, and none of this made any sense. All she wanted to do was to sleep and go back home. She wanted nothing more than to let Frank take her on a date, when all of this calmed down.

Luckily for her, sensing her discomfort, Frank took a careful step forward, one hand never leaving Nancy's waist, and the movement brought her forward to. "This is Nancy Drew, sir. She's the girl who went missing a few hours ago." The pair of amateur detectives watched as the cop smiled nervously and exhaled a deep breath, removing his hat and running a hand through his dirty blond hair in relief.

"Thank fu—I mean, thank God," he breathed, quickly correcting himself as he no doubt saw the dirty look Frank was giving him. "We got the call about an hour ago. Thank God we found you before anything happened. I'm glad you two are safe. We been looking for our Black Lake Killer a long time. You got any family we can call for you, let them know you're safe? First things first, we gotta get you to a hospital, and then I think it's a good idea if you come down to the station, Miss Nancy Drew."

Nancy shook her head and had been about to open her mouth to violently protest, that she didn't want to go to a hospital, but at the gentle touch of Frank's hand upon her shoulder, she felt her shoulders sag in defeat. "Fine," she grumbled, swallowing nervously and climbing as best she could back into the cruiser.

The detective wanted to feel relieved, but she knew a lot of questions were coming. Difficult ones. Dread crept down her spine like a careful spider leaving a trail of silk. She felt her feet on her skin, descending until she was frozen to her seat in the backseat of the police cruiser. Her stomach felt full of lead, her mind worryingly empty. All Nancy could do was hope things slipped into place when she took the hot seat, when finding the answers mattered. And then, her anxiety almost seemed to evaporate as she felt Frank's hand drift toward her lap and settle there. The cop put the car into drive and started towards the hospital.

Frank, sensing she needed comfort, pulled her close and allowed her to rest her head on his shoulder. "I'm right here, Nance. I'm not going anywhere. I promise," Frank whispered, leaning over, brushing a lock of her hair over her shoulder so he could murmur it into the shell of her ear, and then, he did something bold, but something he had wanted to do for the longest time. Looking into Frank Hardy's eyes, Nancy saw deep pools that displayed his very soul. His lips touched her cheek. Time stopped. Her heart gave a few flutters before coming to a complete halt. Her breath caught in her throat.

Their fingers locked together, like puzzle pieces. A perfect fit, Nancy thought wildly. It was never like this with Ned. As the soft skin of his mouth left the side of Nancy's face, the exact spot where they had come into contact burned and tingled. A hot blazing fire pulsed through Nancy's entire body, warming her. A tiny grin crept onto her face and her cheeks flushed a bright pink. Frank pulled away silently, but their eyes locked, having a private conversation of their own.

Somehow, Nancy knew, as long as she was with Frank, everything was going to be okay.