Ch 5
It had been several weeks since the girl had told Sydney her name. Attempts for more information only met with a frantic shaking of the head and a look of fear. However it did make the Rangers job somewhat easier at finding out who she was and what might have happened. Now all they had to do was look for a report of a missing black-haired, green-eyed, English- speaking, short (5"2), skinny girl, in between the ages of 14 -17, whose name was Catriona. Doesn't sound too hard now does it? They had been working at this for 3 weeks and soon got the break they needed. From Catriona none-the-less.
3 weeks and 4 days after Catriona had told Sydney her name, and 3 months since she had been found, she decided to spill all. She didn't know why exactly, but she knew she could trust Sydney, that Syd wouldn't hurt her. It was the first time in a long time she had felt this way. But she also knew she had to tell Sydney what had happened to her. She would tell Alex as well, because she had come to like the blonde attorney almost as much as Sydney. And she knew both Sydney and Alex really wanted to know who she was. Not just to KNOW who she was but also in the hopes of being able to get the men and women who had hurt her.
Sydney and Alex were in Syd's apartment talking after a day of shopping with Catriona. It was a girls day out and now they were talking (or at least Syd and Alex were talking ) about the men in their lives. Catriona was in her room, thinking about how to tell them. Out in the living room Sydney and Alex were talking about some of the "adventures" their men had been in but mostly they were laughing at the mishaps they had gotten into. Alex had finally gotten Sydney to admit she loved Gage and was now trying to convince her to tell Gage because he felt the same way about her. Sydney on the other hand was trying to explain to Alex that she didn't want to screw up the friendship and partnership they had, when Catriona walked into the room.
She sat next to Sydney on the couch and waited for a lull in the conversation. Well it didn't take long for both women to notice the serious expression on Catriona's face. When only silence spoke in the room, Catriona leaned over and, surprising Syd, gave her a hug. This wass one of the few times she had willingly touched anyone.
"I've got something to say. Please don't interrupt because this is very difficult. I will tell you what happened to me but only once so take notes or record it, I don't care." At this point Alex grapped her bag and remove the tape recorder she always had with her. When Catriona saw Alex was ready, she reached out, took a strong hold of Syd's hand and began the horror story, in a detached voice.
"My name is Catriona Anne Maeverly. My parents were Ronan and Elizabeth Maeverly. My Father was Irish, Mother was Canadian. I was born July 2, 1985 in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. I was an only child but it was no big deal, my parents always made sure I had lots of animals to play with." At this point Catriona stopped and allowed a small smile to show through, perhaps remembering all the fun she had when she was young. But just as quickly it was gone and the grim tale continued.
"I was orphaned when I was 9. My parents dead, the result of a drunk driver. And since both my Father's parents were dead, Mother's father was dead and Grandma was in a nursing home, dying and I had no other relatives, I was packed off to an orphanage. I lived there for a couple of years when I was kidnapped on February 7, 1996. It was a couple of years later when I figured out why it was me they had taken. Apparantly these men and women would go to an orphanage and pretend to be looking for a child to adopt. When they found one they liked they would think of a plan to take them. They figured since we were orphans no one would report us missing. I don't remember alot because I guess they chloroformed me but I do remember being put into a trunk and then carried to a car: we then drove for a little while, but after that it is a just a blank till we arrived at the house and I woke up. Anyway at the house they already had a couple of girls but they were older than me, around 16 years old. They told me the best thing to do was just lie still and don't argue. I didn't know what they meant at that point but I learned soon enough. About a month later both girls were gone. I asked what happend and they just beat me and told me to be quiet."
Alex and Sydney glanced at each other. Even if Catriona didn't realize what had happened they had an idea. Obviously the men and women who had taken Catriona and the other girls, were pedaphiles, and got rid of the girls once they were "too old". Over their thoughts Catriona continued to talk. This time about how they beat and raped her.
"It started the week after we arrived. They were making me clean the floor and I guess I missed a few spots. One of the women noticed and flew into a rage. She smacked my face, spit on me and said she would teach me how to clean up messes. Some of the men were in the kitchen and told her to be careful and not to make too many marks. Then they laughed. She dragged me into a room and made me remove my clothing, then she got naked and dragged one of the girls in, after tying me to a hook in the wall to make sure I didn't get away. She stripped the girls clothing off and forced her to lie on the bed, where she then tied her legs and arms each to a bedpost. The girl didn't seem to fight, she just gave in, I guess she knew it would happen either way. The women (I later learned her name is Grace) then took out a stick. It was about 15 inches and smooth. She then raped then girl repeatedly, made her scream out in pain. And then she made the girl do it to her until she screamed out, but not in pain. This woman then unchained me and told me clean them both up, using only my tongue and that if I missed a single spot she would break my leg. I refused at first so she broke my little finger for emphasis. That worked but when I tried to clean them I cried so hard I dripped tears allover them and got anotehr finger broken for creating an additional mess. Eventually though they were both clean, and the girl got to leave. The woman grapped my face and carassed it and told me she hoped I was a fast learner or I would be in big trouble. She then hit my face again, laughed and left me there vomiting in a corner and crying."
Catriona stopped at this point to draw a deep breath and try to compose herself, before she continued.
"2 days later the "leader" decided it was time to break me in and teach me the basics of being their servant. He took me to a room that had no windows, only a door, a bed, a small table and two buckets, one for waste and one for water to wash up with. He told me it would take about a month to teach me how to behave. First he told me I would only be allowed to wear clothes on some occasions: when it was cold I could wear socks and a robe as long as it was open, and then when I started my period I would be allowed to wear underwear, but that wouldn't happen for a couple of years so it didn't matter. He told me my most basic job was to keep everyone happy, that I was to submit to anyone and anything at almost any time (it was my job to cook so the people were not suppose to touch me then). He then undressed and showed me how to pleasure him. After he made me clean him and then myself. he then explained that I was theirs. I would be their servant and play toy until they tired of me and that I had to do everything they told me to do. This guy explained that all of the men would wear condoms, so that the group wouldn't have to deal with babies or someone contracting some disease. He said if anyone didn't wear one, I was to tell him and he would kill them. At first I didn't believe him but several days later when one of the other men took me, when I mentioned he had t owear a condom and he just laughed and said he didn't listen to anyone. This new man then proceeded to rape me several times and then forced me to take him in my mouth and finish him. Afterwards I informed the boss that the man had not worn a condom despite my warning. His eyes glowed like they were lit by a fire and his jaw got really tight. He then stormed away from me. I gotta say I was so happy he didn't take his anger out on me that I didn't really care if he ended up killing this guy. As it turns out he did kill him and said that that would be a warning for anyone else. It never happened again."
At this point Catriona paused to go and get a drink of water. While she was gone Alex and Sydney both sat there, not talking, just thinking about what she had told them so far. It seemed almost surreal. But they knew it had to have happened. The look in Catriona's eyes when she was talking convinced them of the horror and terror she had lived thru. Catriona came back, sat down and continued her story.
"The abuse and rape continued. Every damn day, not missing a single one, someone would take me to the room and force me to do stuff or to take it." This was the first time she had really shown any emotion on her face, and the hatred there now kinda of scared the other two women. "Usually it was done several times a day. Every damn day, they took me. Over and over and OVER AGAIN!!! Never did I get a break. Again and again and AGAIN I was forced to do stuff that prostitutes wouldn't. They had no care for me. As long as my hands, feet and face were left alone the rest of my body was fair game. They didn't care, they didin't listen, they knew if something happened to me they could always get another girl real easily. THEY DIDN'T CARE!!" At this point she was unable to go on, she had broken down and collapsed against Sydney sobbing her heart out. Sydney and Alex also gave in to their tears, crying along with for what she had to suffer alone. for the longest time they all cried until eventually Alex began to speak to Catriona.
" We will get them, I promise you this. We will get them and we will make them pay. They will suffer as you did but in the prisons. Men in prisons, for whatever reason, don't like people who pray on children. They will suffer as you suffered. I promise you this!" At this point Alex's words got through to Catriona and while she stopped sobbing she still had tears coursing down her face, and landing on the arms that held her so close.
"Ok, ok. Thank you Alex, I can only hope you are right and that they do suffer much the same way. Ok lets continue and get this over with. I had been with them for maybe a year (I was unable to tell the passing of days and months since they ate irregularily) when I came up with the idea of escaping. Now I had thought of it before but the yhad watchedme so closely that first year, it was impossible to get away. But now they had seemed to have relaxed their guard. So in what I thought was hte middle of the night, with most of them asleep, I snuck out the back door. Turns out it wasn't the middle of the night, only the midddle of the day, but I didn't care if they could see me, I still ran. Well they managed to recapture me in about 10 minutes. They keep me tied up, spreadeagle in bed for days, maybe weeks. By the time they left me loose, I could barely walk. My legs were too weak and I was to sore so I was stuck in bed til lI could recover. Although they only gave me a day to recover."
Again Catriona paused, this time to take a deep breath as though she were preparing her self for battle.
"After I tried to escape they tormented me whenever possible. The ywould set me up so I would believe I could escape or be rescued and then they would swoop down and destroy thosse hopes. After a while I didn't believe anything but my hatred was real. About once a year they would pull a big one. Teh first time they had people I didn't know dress up as cops and break down the doors and 'beat' everyone up and the nrescue me. But instead of taking me away they used their fake handcuffs to hold me down and then my 'rescuers' rape me also, while my captures sat in the backround and laughed at the expression on my face. The folowing year it was firefighters, complete with axes and outfits. Again they raped me while teh rest sat and laughed and then joined in. This year, just a month before you found me they used Rangers. they had teh stars, the guns, the attitudes. I really thought they were real people coming to rescue me. But after 'defeating' my captures, they too raped me but his time instead of laughing my captures videotaped it. They said it was much better than the previous years because I had actually believed it and when I found out I was wrong, I had cried. That was my first real show of emotion in several years, I had tried to block all others previously figuring it would be easier that way. And this time instead of leaving the 'Rangers' stayed for, I think a week, and continued to use me while rubbing the stars in my face."
Catriona now turned to Sydney and tried to explain. "That is why I was so scared of you guys when you first found me. I didin't know what to expect. I thought for sure you were more of the same people, just hunting me down and returning me to that horror where you could then use me also. Never did i think you were actually rescuers. You were just more of the same to hurt me. I mean that may be hard to believe since there were both you and Alex presrent but there were also some women during the fake rescues and they would help hold me down. These people are als owhy I didn't talk to you. It was forbidden for me to speak, under any circumstances, punishable by being whipped and beaten."
At this point she stopped, noticing that both Sydney and Alex seemed to be having a hard understanding exactly what had happened. They probably found it hard that people would want to use other people in such a manner. Catriona decided to give them a few minutes to try and absorb what she had told them so far before she continued. At least there was only a little bit of information left to tell, really only how she ended up in the woods.
"As I said the incident with the Rangers happened only about a month before you found me. After that happened I guess I became totally unworthy of their attentions. I never screamed anymore, no matter what they did. They even broke my ribs to try and convince me to scream, but I didn't care about the pain anymore, it didn't matter, I knew they would kill me eventually so why not sooner than later, I figured. So about 3 days before you found me, I overheard them discussing how I was no more fun and they would have to kill me. Several wanted to keep me until they got a replacement but most wanted me gone as soon as possible. I decided that I would try to leave as soon as possible. I guess I did care if they would kill me or not. If they caught me leaving they would kill me, and if I didn't leave they would kill me. So my only hope was to leave and not get caught. As it was apparently they get rid of the girls by giving them sedatives s othey are quiet and then killing them. When Idecided to escape I looked around and found the sedatives. Since I am also the cook it was easy enough to slip the sedatives into the food. This I did the following night and soon they were all dead asleep. I left and ran. I ran everywhere, switching directions often, hoping if they followed me they would lose me. I kept to the heavily wooded areas and in the streams, I don't know if i was even thinking about where I would go or even if I would survive, I don't think I would have even cared if I had died, I just kept running. I ran until my feet wouldn't go on and then I collapsed against the boulders. The next thing I knew I was staring up at the face of Sydney."
Catriona turned to look at Sydney. " You really scared me you know. At first I felt a little relieved to be found, after I got over the fact there was a face staring right down at me. But then you said you were Rangers and you wouldn't hurt me, remember? Well that is almost exactly what they said and then they rapd me. So that is why I reacted as I did. I hope you can understand. And that is basically what happened to me in the last 5 years. If you want to ask me some questions go ahead"
Both Sydney and Alex were stunned. The story they had just heard was something from Hollywood, something made up, not a tale that actually happened in real life. They didn't know where to start. Eventually though Sydney spoke up.
"Oh God Sweetie, it makes sense know. Your apprehension when we found you and then you not wanted to be touched or to talk, it all makes sense. But can you tell us how you got some of the scars on your body? I mean if it is too hard then don't worry but it might make it easier if the Rangers have an idea what kind of weapon to look for."
"Ok no problem. The long slashes on my back are from a leather strap inlaid with tiny metal edges, like razor blades. They would use this only if I did something really wrong, like if I refused to do something." Both Sydney and Alex flinched at hearing this. But Catriona continued. "The circular marks are cigarettes that were still burning that they put out on me. The ones on my throat and ankles are robe burns. The others are just various injuries given to me."
After that, and late in to the evening, Sydney and Alex continued to question her, about the men and woman involved, how many there were, whate they looked like, if she would recognize them and if she knew any of their names. Catriona answered as best she could and by the time they were done 4 tapes had been filled with her story and their questions and her answers. By the time Alex left, around 11 o'clock, all three of them were exhausted. It had been a very trying, very revealing day and they all wanted sleep. knowing it would be a tiring day tomorrow as well. After Alex left, Sydney and Catriona prepared for bed. Sydney had been asleep for about 20 minutes when she heard her bedroom door open and a voice spoke up.
"Can I sleep in here with you, please?"
"Sure Sweetie, climb aboard." Was all Sydney could reply in her drowsy state. But when Catriona climbed up into the bed Sydney felt she had to tell her something. Turning her around so that they faced each other, Sydney stroked her hair and told her. "Sweetie I just want you to know that I love you and I will be here for you through all of whatever happens. OK?"
Catriona cried at hearing this. "Thank you , thank you" She sobbed. " It has been so long since someone loved me. I love you too Syd."
They both clung to each other, one needed to be reassured of love in the world and the other glad to provide it. Sydney had almost fallen back asleep when she heard Catriona speak up again.
"I think you need to tell Gage too."
It had been several weeks since the girl had told Sydney her name. Attempts for more information only met with a frantic shaking of the head and a look of fear. However it did make the Rangers job somewhat easier at finding out who she was and what might have happened. Now all they had to do was look for a report of a missing black-haired, green-eyed, English- speaking, short (5"2), skinny girl, in between the ages of 14 -17, whose name was Catriona. Doesn't sound too hard now does it? They had been working at this for 3 weeks and soon got the break they needed. From Catriona none-the-less.
3 weeks and 4 days after Catriona had told Sydney her name, and 3 months since she had been found, she decided to spill all. She didn't know why exactly, but she knew she could trust Sydney, that Syd wouldn't hurt her. It was the first time in a long time she had felt this way. But she also knew she had to tell Sydney what had happened to her. She would tell Alex as well, because she had come to like the blonde attorney almost as much as Sydney. And she knew both Sydney and Alex really wanted to know who she was. Not just to KNOW who she was but also in the hopes of being able to get the men and women who had hurt her.
Sydney and Alex were in Syd's apartment talking after a day of shopping with Catriona. It was a girls day out and now they were talking (or at least Syd and Alex were talking ) about the men in their lives. Catriona was in her room, thinking about how to tell them. Out in the living room Sydney and Alex were talking about some of the "adventures" their men had been in but mostly they were laughing at the mishaps they had gotten into. Alex had finally gotten Sydney to admit she loved Gage and was now trying to convince her to tell Gage because he felt the same way about her. Sydney on the other hand was trying to explain to Alex that she didn't want to screw up the friendship and partnership they had, when Catriona walked into the room.
She sat next to Sydney on the couch and waited for a lull in the conversation. Well it didn't take long for both women to notice the serious expression on Catriona's face. When only silence spoke in the room, Catriona leaned over and, surprising Syd, gave her a hug. This wass one of the few times she had willingly touched anyone.
"I've got something to say. Please don't interrupt because this is very difficult. I will tell you what happened to me but only once so take notes or record it, I don't care." At this point Alex grapped her bag and remove the tape recorder she always had with her. When Catriona saw Alex was ready, she reached out, took a strong hold of Syd's hand and began the horror story, in a detached voice.
"My name is Catriona Anne Maeverly. My parents were Ronan and Elizabeth Maeverly. My Father was Irish, Mother was Canadian. I was born July 2, 1985 in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. I was an only child but it was no big deal, my parents always made sure I had lots of animals to play with." At this point Catriona stopped and allowed a small smile to show through, perhaps remembering all the fun she had when she was young. But just as quickly it was gone and the grim tale continued.
"I was orphaned when I was 9. My parents dead, the result of a drunk driver. And since both my Father's parents were dead, Mother's father was dead and Grandma was in a nursing home, dying and I had no other relatives, I was packed off to an orphanage. I lived there for a couple of years when I was kidnapped on February 7, 1996. It was a couple of years later when I figured out why it was me they had taken. Apparantly these men and women would go to an orphanage and pretend to be looking for a child to adopt. When they found one they liked they would think of a plan to take them. They figured since we were orphans no one would report us missing. I don't remember alot because I guess they chloroformed me but I do remember being put into a trunk and then carried to a car: we then drove for a little while, but after that it is a just a blank till we arrived at the house and I woke up. Anyway at the house they already had a couple of girls but they were older than me, around 16 years old. They told me the best thing to do was just lie still and don't argue. I didn't know what they meant at that point but I learned soon enough. About a month later both girls were gone. I asked what happend and they just beat me and told me to be quiet."
Alex and Sydney glanced at each other. Even if Catriona didn't realize what had happened they had an idea. Obviously the men and women who had taken Catriona and the other girls, were pedaphiles, and got rid of the girls once they were "too old". Over their thoughts Catriona continued to talk. This time about how they beat and raped her.
"It started the week after we arrived. They were making me clean the floor and I guess I missed a few spots. One of the women noticed and flew into a rage. She smacked my face, spit on me and said she would teach me how to clean up messes. Some of the men were in the kitchen and told her to be careful and not to make too many marks. Then they laughed. She dragged me into a room and made me remove my clothing, then she got naked and dragged one of the girls in, after tying me to a hook in the wall to make sure I didn't get away. She stripped the girls clothing off and forced her to lie on the bed, where she then tied her legs and arms each to a bedpost. The girl didn't seem to fight, she just gave in, I guess she knew it would happen either way. The women (I later learned her name is Grace) then took out a stick. It was about 15 inches and smooth. She then raped then girl repeatedly, made her scream out in pain. And then she made the girl do it to her until she screamed out, but not in pain. This woman then unchained me and told me clean them both up, using only my tongue and that if I missed a single spot she would break my leg. I refused at first so she broke my little finger for emphasis. That worked but when I tried to clean them I cried so hard I dripped tears allover them and got anotehr finger broken for creating an additional mess. Eventually though they were both clean, and the girl got to leave. The woman grapped my face and carassed it and told me she hoped I was a fast learner or I would be in big trouble. She then hit my face again, laughed and left me there vomiting in a corner and crying."
Catriona stopped at this point to draw a deep breath and try to compose herself, before she continued.
"2 days later the "leader" decided it was time to break me in and teach me the basics of being their servant. He took me to a room that had no windows, only a door, a bed, a small table and two buckets, one for waste and one for water to wash up with. He told me it would take about a month to teach me how to behave. First he told me I would only be allowed to wear clothes on some occasions: when it was cold I could wear socks and a robe as long as it was open, and then when I started my period I would be allowed to wear underwear, but that wouldn't happen for a couple of years so it didn't matter. He told me my most basic job was to keep everyone happy, that I was to submit to anyone and anything at almost any time (it was my job to cook so the people were not suppose to touch me then). He then undressed and showed me how to pleasure him. After he made me clean him and then myself. he then explained that I was theirs. I would be their servant and play toy until they tired of me and that I had to do everything they told me to do. This guy explained that all of the men would wear condoms, so that the group wouldn't have to deal with babies or someone contracting some disease. He said if anyone didn't wear one, I was to tell him and he would kill them. At first I didn't believe him but several days later when one of the other men took me, when I mentioned he had t owear a condom and he just laughed and said he didn't listen to anyone. This new man then proceeded to rape me several times and then forced me to take him in my mouth and finish him. Afterwards I informed the boss that the man had not worn a condom despite my warning. His eyes glowed like they were lit by a fire and his jaw got really tight. He then stormed away from me. I gotta say I was so happy he didn't take his anger out on me that I didn't really care if he ended up killing this guy. As it turns out he did kill him and said that that would be a warning for anyone else. It never happened again."
At this point Catriona paused to go and get a drink of water. While she was gone Alex and Sydney both sat there, not talking, just thinking about what she had told them so far. It seemed almost surreal. But they knew it had to have happened. The look in Catriona's eyes when she was talking convinced them of the horror and terror she had lived thru. Catriona came back, sat down and continued her story.
"The abuse and rape continued. Every damn day, not missing a single one, someone would take me to the room and force me to do stuff or to take it." This was the first time she had really shown any emotion on her face, and the hatred there now kinda of scared the other two women. "Usually it was done several times a day. Every damn day, they took me. Over and over and OVER AGAIN!!! Never did I get a break. Again and again and AGAIN I was forced to do stuff that prostitutes wouldn't. They had no care for me. As long as my hands, feet and face were left alone the rest of my body was fair game. They didn't care, they didin't listen, they knew if something happened to me they could always get another girl real easily. THEY DIDN'T CARE!!" At this point she was unable to go on, she had broken down and collapsed against Sydney sobbing her heart out. Sydney and Alex also gave in to their tears, crying along with for what she had to suffer alone. for the longest time they all cried until eventually Alex began to speak to Catriona.
" We will get them, I promise you this. We will get them and we will make them pay. They will suffer as you did but in the prisons. Men in prisons, for whatever reason, don't like people who pray on children. They will suffer as you suffered. I promise you this!" At this point Alex's words got through to Catriona and while she stopped sobbing she still had tears coursing down her face, and landing on the arms that held her so close.
"Ok, ok. Thank you Alex, I can only hope you are right and that they do suffer much the same way. Ok lets continue and get this over with. I had been with them for maybe a year (I was unable to tell the passing of days and months since they ate irregularily) when I came up with the idea of escaping. Now I had thought of it before but the yhad watchedme so closely that first year, it was impossible to get away. But now they had seemed to have relaxed their guard. So in what I thought was hte middle of the night, with most of them asleep, I snuck out the back door. Turns out it wasn't the middle of the night, only the midddle of the day, but I didn't care if they could see me, I still ran. Well they managed to recapture me in about 10 minutes. They keep me tied up, spreadeagle in bed for days, maybe weeks. By the time they left me loose, I could barely walk. My legs were too weak and I was to sore so I was stuck in bed til lI could recover. Although they only gave me a day to recover."
Again Catriona paused, this time to take a deep breath as though she were preparing her self for battle.
"After I tried to escape they tormented me whenever possible. The ywould set me up so I would believe I could escape or be rescued and then they would swoop down and destroy thosse hopes. After a while I didn't believe anything but my hatred was real. About once a year they would pull a big one. Teh first time they had people I didn't know dress up as cops and break down the doors and 'beat' everyone up and the nrescue me. But instead of taking me away they used their fake handcuffs to hold me down and then my 'rescuers' rape me also, while my captures sat in the backround and laughed at the expression on my face. The folowing year it was firefighters, complete with axes and outfits. Again they raped me while teh rest sat and laughed and then joined in. This year, just a month before you found me they used Rangers. they had teh stars, the guns, the attitudes. I really thought they were real people coming to rescue me. But after 'defeating' my captures, they too raped me but his time instead of laughing my captures videotaped it. They said it was much better than the previous years because I had actually believed it and when I found out I was wrong, I had cried. That was my first real show of emotion in several years, I had tried to block all others previously figuring it would be easier that way. And this time instead of leaving the 'Rangers' stayed for, I think a week, and continued to use me while rubbing the stars in my face."
Catriona now turned to Sydney and tried to explain. "That is why I was so scared of you guys when you first found me. I didin't know what to expect. I thought for sure you were more of the same people, just hunting me down and returning me to that horror where you could then use me also. Never did i think you were actually rescuers. You were just more of the same to hurt me. I mean that may be hard to believe since there were both you and Alex presrent but there were also some women during the fake rescues and they would help hold me down. These people are als owhy I didn't talk to you. It was forbidden for me to speak, under any circumstances, punishable by being whipped and beaten."
At this point she stopped, noticing that both Sydney and Alex seemed to be having a hard understanding exactly what had happened. They probably found it hard that people would want to use other people in such a manner. Catriona decided to give them a few minutes to try and absorb what she had told them so far before she continued. At least there was only a little bit of information left to tell, really only how she ended up in the woods.
"As I said the incident with the Rangers happened only about a month before you found me. After that happened I guess I became totally unworthy of their attentions. I never screamed anymore, no matter what they did. They even broke my ribs to try and convince me to scream, but I didn't care about the pain anymore, it didn't matter, I knew they would kill me eventually so why not sooner than later, I figured. So about 3 days before you found me, I overheard them discussing how I was no more fun and they would have to kill me. Several wanted to keep me until they got a replacement but most wanted me gone as soon as possible. I decided that I would try to leave as soon as possible. I guess I did care if they would kill me or not. If they caught me leaving they would kill me, and if I didn't leave they would kill me. So my only hope was to leave and not get caught. As it was apparently they get rid of the girls by giving them sedatives s othey are quiet and then killing them. When Idecided to escape I looked around and found the sedatives. Since I am also the cook it was easy enough to slip the sedatives into the food. This I did the following night and soon they were all dead asleep. I left and ran. I ran everywhere, switching directions often, hoping if they followed me they would lose me. I kept to the heavily wooded areas and in the streams, I don't know if i was even thinking about where I would go or even if I would survive, I don't think I would have even cared if I had died, I just kept running. I ran until my feet wouldn't go on and then I collapsed against the boulders. The next thing I knew I was staring up at the face of Sydney."
Catriona turned to look at Sydney. " You really scared me you know. At first I felt a little relieved to be found, after I got over the fact there was a face staring right down at me. But then you said you were Rangers and you wouldn't hurt me, remember? Well that is almost exactly what they said and then they rapd me. So that is why I reacted as I did. I hope you can understand. And that is basically what happened to me in the last 5 years. If you want to ask me some questions go ahead"
Both Sydney and Alex were stunned. The story they had just heard was something from Hollywood, something made up, not a tale that actually happened in real life. They didn't know where to start. Eventually though Sydney spoke up.
"Oh God Sweetie, it makes sense know. Your apprehension when we found you and then you not wanted to be touched or to talk, it all makes sense. But can you tell us how you got some of the scars on your body? I mean if it is too hard then don't worry but it might make it easier if the Rangers have an idea what kind of weapon to look for."
"Ok no problem. The long slashes on my back are from a leather strap inlaid with tiny metal edges, like razor blades. They would use this only if I did something really wrong, like if I refused to do something." Both Sydney and Alex flinched at hearing this. But Catriona continued. "The circular marks are cigarettes that were still burning that they put out on me. The ones on my throat and ankles are robe burns. The others are just various injuries given to me."
After that, and late in to the evening, Sydney and Alex continued to question her, about the men and woman involved, how many there were, whate they looked like, if she would recognize them and if she knew any of their names. Catriona answered as best she could and by the time they were done 4 tapes had been filled with her story and their questions and her answers. By the time Alex left, around 11 o'clock, all three of them were exhausted. It had been a very trying, very revealing day and they all wanted sleep. knowing it would be a tiring day tomorrow as well. After Alex left, Sydney and Catriona prepared for bed. Sydney had been asleep for about 20 minutes when she heard her bedroom door open and a voice spoke up.
"Can I sleep in here with you, please?"
"Sure Sweetie, climb aboard." Was all Sydney could reply in her drowsy state. But when Catriona climbed up into the bed Sydney felt she had to tell her something. Turning her around so that they faced each other, Sydney stroked her hair and told her. "Sweetie I just want you to know that I love you and I will be here for you through all of whatever happens. OK?"
Catriona cried at hearing this. "Thank you , thank you" She sobbed. " It has been so long since someone loved me. I love you too Syd."
They both clung to each other, one needed to be reassured of love in the world and the other glad to provide it. Sydney had almost fallen back asleep when she heard Catriona speak up again.
"I think you need to tell Gage too."
