Molly moaned, holding her head as she sat upright. Looking around, she was confused as to how she had gotten to the back seat of a moving car, one driving through an unlit street in the dark woods.

"Where am I?" Molly whimpered, "What's going on? Ms. Richardson, where are we going?"

"I see you are starting to regain your senses. That's good. I was wondering if we were going to make it to our destination before you'd come to or not."

"Where are we going?" Molly asked softly, running her hand along the bruise on the back of her head, "What happened to my head?"

"What do you remember you obnoxious little cunt?" Emilia asked with a hint of pleasure in her voice as she saw Molly's face contort at her insult.

"We were all at home. I think you were planning on leaving soon. I think I went downstairs for some reason but I don't remember. What happened? Why am I going with you? I thought you were going for drinks? Am I going to be serving the drinks or something? Why are you mad at me?"

"So, you don't remember going downstairs with Libby?" Emilia asked, noticing in the rearview mirror as Molly shook her head no, "You don't remember asking her to run away with you? To try and flee the safety of my loving home?"

Molly looked down as she saw Ms. Richardson look at her in the mirror, not meeting her eyes. She didn't remember going downstairs but did remember planning things after her encounter with the book delivery workers.

"No Ms., I don't remember that at all." Molly said softly, "But if I did do that then I am very sorry."

"Oh, nowhere near as sorry as you are going to be. I can't believe what a terrible little creature you are. I gave you a loving home with a best friend, a loving and caring master, sufficient food and only as much discipline as was needed. You should have been a happy little girl like your friend Libby. She knows how to behave and how to show her appreciation for all the nice things I've provided for the two of you. But you… you spat in my face by not only trying to escape but trying to force Libby to go with you!"

"I'm sorry Ms. Richardson, I don't remember doing that but I am so sorry. Please, if you take me home I won't ever try it again. I'll be good. I just want to go to bed." Molly whimpered, her energy depleted from the blow to her head.

"What you deserve is to go to sleep permanently in a shallow hole out here in the woods." Emilia muttered as she slowed down after catching sight of a deer along the side of the poorly paved road.

"Please, please no! I've learned my lesson! I won't ever do anything bad again I swear! I just want to go home. I'll do whatever you want Ms. just please don't kill me! I don't even remember trying to escape…"

"Oh shut up, I said you deserve it not that I was actually going to do it. My son already pleaded for your life so you get to keep living even if you don't deserve it."

"James… James wanted to protect me even knowing I was trying to run away? Even knowing I was trying to take Libby with me?"

"Yes, because unlike you he is a good person. You just cause trouble wherever you go. I bet Andrea isn't even as bad as I imagined her to be, is she? You were probably the source of all the problems in her house, weren't you? You're just a little problem girl, aren't you? Oh, I can see it on your face… this isn't even your first time causing trouble is it? Everyone said you were such a goody good but that's not as true as people think, is it? I heard you family only moved to town less than a year ago; I bet you caused trouble in your old town too, didn't you?"

"No… I mean, not really. Most people liked me and I always tried to be good. It's not my fault if a few people didn't like me." Molly whimpered.

"Oh I'm sure it's not your fault. Just like trying to escape wasn't your fault. Or mixing up books in the store wasn't your fault. Or dying the laundry green wasn't your fault. What else wasn't your fault Molly? Do you ever take responsibility for your actions? Or do you just cry and blame others all the time?"

"That's not fair, those were just accidents. I wasn't trying to mess those things up. I always try to do my best… I always give 110% even when I don't want to…"

"Oh, you don't want to try hard? You would rather just be lazy then put in the effort?"

"That's not what I mean… you're taking what I'm saying… out of context." Molly cried, finding it increasing hard to focus as panic began to sink in mixed with fog from her concussion.

"Oh, now it's my fault because you're not explaining what you mean correctly? You really are a little piece of shit, aren't you?" Emilia hissed, finding it increasingly hard to hide how happy she was as she watched Molly become more and more distraught and tangled in her own thoughts.

"Everything I touch gets ruined! I try so hard but it all falls apart! I lost Scratch, I lost Libby, I lost James, I lost Andrea, I lost Becka, I lost Stacy, I lost my family. Why am I so terrible mommy? Why am I such a screw up?" Molly wept, burying her face into the car seat to try and muffle her sobs. With her face buried in fabric, she didn't notice as the pair pulled into the Brighton Woods Research Center.

"Don't worry sweetie, I'm going to help you even though you don't deserve it. You can come with me now and I will get rid of all the icky badness inside of you and then once we are done you'll be a good girl for real this time. You'd like that wouldn't you? To be a good girl? Maybe a good enough girl to earn a second chance to live with me and James? Do you want that?" Ms. Richardson asked with a wicked grin as Molly slowly raised her head.

"Yes Ms., I want that please." Molly said in barely audible voice.

"Good, then let's take you inside so you can start your treatment."

"When my treatment is done… will James love me?" Molly asked as she slowly slid out of the car.

"What are you talking about? James cares about you. He's the only reason you are still alive and relatively safe. I told you that less than five minutes ago." Emilia asked perplexed.

"But he doesn't love me, not like he loves Libby." Molly sighed.

"Of course not. Libby is his girlfriend, you aren't. Wait, is THAT what your problem is? You're fucking lonely?" Emilia bellowed at Molly.

"I didn't need to have him all to myself, I would have shared. Best friends share things, right?" Molly said in a barely audible whisper.

"Oh my fucking god! Is this whole town filled with nothing but love starved little girls? Don't any of you know how to flirt or how to ask a boy out? Are there no other boys in Brighton?" Emilia growled in frustration.

"He's the only boy I get to spend much time with… and he is sweet… and cute… with his big doe-eyes and bright smile and soft, low voice."

Emilia grabby Molly by the shoulder, prepared to drag her victim back to reality and into the medical center but stopped before moving her at all. With a long sigh Emilia lifted Molly chin up to have Molly meet her gaze.

"Alright, look… believe it or not I was once a lonely teen girl too and jealous because my friends so easily caught the eye of boys while I could never get what I wanted."

"I'm sorry to hear that Ms."

"I actually suspect you are which is why I'm going to be honest with you for a moment, okay. Are you paying attention?"

"Yes Ms."

"This place… it's a nightmare factory. You do not want to go in there. A sweet girl like you will not survive. The girl that comes out of that place will be you but missing a few parts, her mind, her soul, or some combination of the three. You will beg my staff for death within a month of going through those doors and we will not give it to you. And this is not part of any mind games to try and trick you; I have no need of doing that. Nothing I do to you out here will be within the same order of magnitude of what I will do to you in there. Do you understand me?"

Emilia could feel Molly shake as the words entered her mind. Molly's eyes grew large as she realized that her tormentor was being honest and sincerer. Emilia scrunched her nose and sighed as a pungent smell struck her nose.

"I'm fairly certain from that disgusting smell, the massive wet patch on your skirt and the puddle forming at your feet that you just lost control of your bladder. While nauseating, it does show that you do properly understand the situation you are in. So here is what I am going to do. I am going to ask you some questions, ones you might not want to answer. If you answer all of them properly and honestly, as a gift from one former lonely girl to another, I will call my son and his new bride and talk to them. If they are willing to forgive you and take you in, make you the little third wheel in their relationship, I'll take you back home. You'll get to snuggle every night with your two best friends… I'll even buy a full size bed to replace the twin that those two are currently sharing. If you turn down my offer, if you lie, or refuse to answer a question then you'll be going through those doors. Do you understand?"

Molly nodded her head, "Yes Ms., I understand."

"Good, do you want to take me up on my offer?"

Molly again nodded her head, "Yes Ms., I want to take you up on your very generous offer. Thank you so, so much for giving me this chance."

"Good girl. Now remember, you need to be honest. Even if I don't know the true answer to a question I will be able to tell when you are lying."

"I'll tell the truth, wilderscouts honor!"

"Let's start with an easy question then. Have you ever stolen anything from me?" Emilia asked, her gaze locking Molly's eyes in place.

"No Ms., I've never stolen anything from you ever. I know better than that."

Emilia smiled, "Good, that was simple question with answer I already knew. Let's try something a little bit harder. You've spent a lot of time with Leah working down in the bookstore. Has she ever said anything mean or hurtful about me?"

"About you? No Ms., never anything mean. The first few days after I became a part of your household she did warn me not to do anything to make you upset or disappointed because you would punish me mercilessly but I don't believe that is mean or hurtful but rather just a wise and truthful warning as she knew what I was like before I belonged to Andrea."

"Good, you are still being honest. Next, do you ever cry?"

"Oh, yes Ms., often. I try to make sure I don't cry in front of customers or when I am busy but sometimes when things are slow at the store I can't help but remember a fun time I spent with my family and how much I miss them. I'm sorry if crying displeases you, I just can't help it sometimes."

"It's alright Molly, I don't mind you crying if you keep it from interfering with your duties. Next question, are you a virgin Molly?"

Molly winced, being asked so matter of factly.

"Ye… Yes Ms., I am a virgin. Because of moving from town to town and school to school I've never had a chance to get close with a boy before. I never even had a chance to take a sex education class until last year because of moving mid school year so I didn't even really know what I didn't know until then."

"What about other girls Molly? Ever done anything risqué at a slumber party or in quiet moment with a female friend?"

Molly sighed as her cheeks turned bright red. Her own mother had asked her a similar, far more loving and benign question months earlier. She had blustered and stumbled her way through not answer her mother's question but knew better than to do the same with Ms. Richardson.

"I kissed a girl once as a dare during a slumber party before moving to Brighton. I've been tempted in the past to try and kiss Libby back before she became James' girlfriend but I never acted on it because I didn't know how she would react. I wasn't even sure if I really wanted to or if I was just curious. I'm not really as sure about how I feel about other girls as I feel about boys." Molly said softly.

"You're a good girl for answer that question Molly. I've been able to tell for a while that you might have some interest in other girls and that was the first question that I honestly thought you might not answer truthfully. I want you to know that while I expect you to be loyal to my son and Libby if they decide to take you in I also won't judge you for questioning who you are and who you are attracted to."

"Thank you Ms." Molly replied, expressing actual gratitude this time instead of simply trying to please her tyrannical mistress.

"Now, we're almost done but this is going to be another hard question. I know you didn't just decide to try and flee from my home all by yourself. I am certain you had contact or a connection with someone else outside of my household who was going to help you. Tell me who it was. And remember the cost of lying to me."

Molly felt her stomach tie itself into knots as Emilia asked about her collaborators. For a split second she considered denying having any outside contacts or help but Ms. Richardson's description of the medical center and James' descriptions of his mother's hidden sadism quickly pushed the truth out of her mouth.

"I had discussion with the book delivery crew that comes periodically to resupply the store. They were going to help me escape from Brighton and go up north. They spoke about eventually getting us to other people who could help us get even further away once we were far enough but they didn't give any names or details about who those other people would be. Just that we would hide out for a while and eventually I would meet up with these other people at some point. Once again, I'm so sorry for trying to escape. It will never happen again Ms., I swear it!"

Emilia tried to hide her surprise, not just at the idea that the book delivery crew might be running a fugitive slave smuggling ring but also at the fact that Molly had actually turned on them. She had felt certain that Molly wasn't going to answer that question, at least not right away or with such honesty. She had been fully prepared to drag Molly kicking and screaming into the research facility. Though surprised, Emilia wasn't upset at her slave's honest reply; she still had one more question to ask and even if Molly properly answered all of Emilia's questions forgiving her young slave was a worthwhile trade for being able to turn over her accomplices.

"One last question Molly. You've been a good girl so far, but this is going to be the hardest one yet. You can think for a second on this one if you need to because I know this one might be challenging to answer. I want you to tell me something worthwhile; something I don't know that might actually be of some value to me. Something that you haven't told others."

Molly waited for a moment after Emilia stopped talking waiting for to ask her question before realizing that her vague request was the question. Molly felt her chest tighten as panic began to set in. What did she know that could possibly be of value to Ms. Richardson? Her cruel taskmaster seemed to have significantly more knowledge about the world, the town, her home and anything else then Molly did. The only piece of information she had of possible value, the identity of those who were willing to help her escape, she had already revealed. Molly began to stutter, making meaningless noise as she scoured her brain for family secrets, chance encounters, conversations she overheard at Andrea's home, or anything else that she could offer up to earn her chance to get back into Ms. Richardson's car. Her vision was getting blurry as tears began to gather in her eyes. The lump on the back of her head that she had momentarily forgotten about started to throb and ache, making it hard to think.

"Tick tock Miss McGee, I'm only willing to wait so long. You've come so far, it would be a shame to fail now. There must be something in that little brain of yours."

"I… I can teach you how to make dumplings. I know my grandmother's family recipe." Molly meekly offered.

"While you may not have told anyone about that, it is hardly something I find of value. Anything else? I'll give you just a moment longer."

As she started to hyperventilate a strange inky glow slid passed a few trees in the distance.

"Time is running…"

"Wait, I know something! I know something that you will find valuable and I am 100% willing and ready to tell you!" Molly shouted frantically, cutting off Ms. Richardson before she could finish her mocking threat in fear that if she didn't then she might be allowed to answer in time.

"Oh, you certainly seem excited about this one. I can't even begin to imagine what you could possible know that you are THIS certain will make me happy. How about I throw in a little bonus free of charge. If this really does prove to be something of worth not only will I do everything I said I would do, I'll stop on the way home and get both of us a little treat. When was the last time you had a soda? I bet a nice, bubbly sugary drink would be really nice, wouldn't it?" Emilia toyed with Molly.

"Before I can tell you my information, I need you to answer a really simple question for me: What is the best way to spell the name Jeff?" Molly asked.

"I'm the one asking the questions Molly. Don't stall for time!"

"No please, just answer the question… it's relevant to my information I promise."

"Alright, fine. Obviously the best way to spell Jeff is the shortest standard spelling… J E F…" Emilia replied, starting to spell before noticing a strange feeling in the air around her.

"Hey Molly, are you going to let her give you wrong information like that?" Geoff asked Molly.

"Oh Geoff, I'm glad you're here… ummm, why don't you explain to Ms. Richardson how to properly spell your name." Molly suggested, her body shaking as she hoped Geoff would take the bait and make himself visible to Emilia.

"Hello Ms. Richardson, I'm Molly's friend Geoff… and while there are multiple accepted spellings the best way to spell Jeff is in fact G…E…O…F…F!" Geoff explained, his ectoplasmic form becoming visible.

Emilia looked incredulously at Geoff before nodding and looking down at Molly once again.

"So, are you an orange soda girl or a cola girl?" Emilia asked playfully.