Chapter Ten: Final Battle
Only after a small snapping sound announcing the landing that interrupted the silence of the forest, and a harsh pain that made her eyes water, did she realize that her arm had been badly broken, This is not right, she thought, standing, and looking up and out of the hole; At least seven feet, she realized, craning her neck to see the yellow moon slowly covered by the clouds that were rolling in. Then, her heart froze; the crunching of leaves told her that he was approaching, No, she thought for what seemed the millionth time that day, Don't let him--
"We seem to have had a pretty bad fall, haven't we?" his voice was full of amusement... perhaps the sick bastard found chasing her through the forest fun; he appeared over her, and with a wicked grin, noticed that Marie-Christine's left arm was limp, and dangling lifelessly at her side, "Lucky that broke your fall," he laughed, and she grimaced.
"Just let me go," she begged, "I want to go home."
"But I can't do that, La Petite Rouge," he whispered, "you would go telling your parents, wouldn't you? Then, what would become of me?" he held a third vial, "You are mine, little girl, and it will remain that way until the day I die."
"No!" she roared, angrily, "I am not yours! I belong to nobody but myself."
His smile widened, "But you are mine, dear... Don't you see that now? We are connected in more ways than one-- The dreams you've had... More or less they were my own fantasies about you... You cannot escape me anymore."
She was now sobbing heavily, "Please," she begged, "I'm helpless now... Just let me--"
"I can help you out if you like... but that comes with this," he shook the vial gently, "I will help mend your arm after the drug has taken its effect."
"No!"
"Or, I can leave you here, leave your arm broken, and break the other one as well... Either way, you will remain with me, and I will have you again every single night."
She closed her eyes, "I--"
"Which is it, Marie-Christine? Stay in this hole, or agree to return home with me-- after being drugged, of course."
Unsure if it was the right course of action to take, Marie-Christine slowly reached for his outstretched hand, and grabbed it.
"That's my girl," he whispered, and quickly brought her up onto the leave-strewn ground beside him, "now, hold still... It'll sting a bit..."
"No!" she screamed, and acting fast, she kneed him in the groin, and pushed him away from her so that he fell face-down in the hole, "Now it is you who are helpless," she whispered, satisfied; he had been knocked unconscious.
Her arm was aching, and her clothes torn and filthy; she had been hurt to a point beyond anything that anyone should be forced to endure, but she was all the much stronger for it; Phillipe would be punished, and the dreams would most likely cease to occur.
She still hurt inside, but she knew that eventually she would heal; the sun was rising, and as she slowly wiped the last tears away from her cheeks, and began the journey back home.
Marie-Christine would be fine... for now.