Taken

Marty rushed out into the night. She was chasing after Todd on foot. It was a very dark; almost as dark as that other night, the one when she had been attacked.

As she was walking, she couldn't see more than a couple of feet in front of her. She didn't even have her lantern to guide her. She had ran out too quickly, trying to catch up to Todd.

*What in the world am I doing?* she thought when she realized she was only wearing her nightgown. It was far too cold out... and far too dark.

She didn't get far when she was grabbed in the woods. A man reached out, nabbing her from behind a tree.

"No!" Marty cried out in fear.

The man was laughing like a maniac. He placed a hand upon her growing stomach, touching her in a lewd caress. He made the comment, "Why didn't you tell me about our baby?"

PETER?!

Marty felt sick inside. Suddenly she realized that it was Todd's uncle who had raped her. Sobbing and upset, she begged him to let her go.

"Please... please, don't hurt me again! Please just let me go...'

Peter laughed wickedly as his hand wandered down between Marty's legs. He pushed the fabric of her nightgown aside as he boldly caressed her. He stroked her with rough fingers, painfully squeezing her delicate flesh. "Stop! Ohhh God, please," Marty said in a whimper.

"I want to be deep inside your tight, hot little pussy again," he said.

Marty shuddered as she caught a whiff of his sour breath. She began to sob hysterically. She fought as best she could, but her attacker was more powerful. He thrust his fingers inside her, taking away her breath.

"I want to fuck you till you scream... until BLOOD runs down your pale little legs," she heard him say. His threats were too much. Marty became lightheaded. She passed out from fear in his arms. Pleased with the turn of events, Peter lifted her up in his arms, quickly carrying her away into the darkness.

~*~o~*~

Meanwhile, back at the Manning cabin, Dr. Larry was delivering Barbara's baby. She had gone into preterm labor and there had been nothing Larry could do to stop it. As Barbara pushed, a small and sickly infant came into the world.

"You have a baby girl," Larry said to the fragile woman who had just given birth. Despite the circumstances, Larry knew that Barbara would be ecstatic. Her baby - this baby was alive!

But as Larry held the baby girl and prepared to give her to her mother, he discovered the tragic truth. Barbara Manning had not survived. Tears filled the doctor's eyes when he realized that Barbara had died moments after her daughter's traumatic birth.

Larry was saddened as he bathed the tiny girl. He wrapped her in some cloth as he cuddled her against his chest.

As he gently rocked the infant, he was thinking of his own daughter. Soon she'd be having a baby, someone as helpless as Barbara's tiny daughter. He wondered why Marty hadn't joined him when he came over to check on Barbara. He assumed it was difficult for her now, considering she was pregnant.

*My little girl is pregnant now,* Larry was thinking to himself.

He left the Manning house. A few minutes later, he rode away on horseback. It still wasn't real to him yet, even as much as he'd been repeating it to himself.

Marty's pregnant.

How could it be real? Marty was just a child herself; she wasn't ready to be a mother.

Larry was holding the infant as he stepped into the cottage. He was holding the blood-soaked cloth which contained Barbara's newborn baby. Very gently, he placed the child in his wife's arms.

Staring at Larry, Meredith could see it in his eyes- the pain and the sorrow. "Barbara didn't make it?"

"She died giving this little girl life," Larry answered.

"She's so tiny," Merrie said as she looked at the baby. "Is she... will she be alright?"

"I don't know," Larry replied. He looked around the cottage, but he didn't see Marty.

"Is Marty asleep?" he asked.

Meredith shook her head. "I heard Marty and Todd speaking," she spoke sadly.

"About what?' Larry asked.

Merrie wasn't sure how to explain what it was that she had heard. "Larry, Todd knows what happened to Marty," she told him. "And when he found out, he ran out of here. I think he was going to find the man who is responsible."

Larry stared at Meredith in shock. "Did Marty go after him?" he asked.

"She ran out after Todd," Merrie confirmed.

Larry grabbed his gun from the mantle, hoping he wouldn't have to use it to protect his daughter. "Take care of Barbara's baby girl," Larry instructed. "I'm going out to look for Marty."

"Larry, be careful," Merrie warned as he headed out the door.