Up in Canada, Mark Tuello held a thick manila folder under his arm as he watched the Waterfords in the conference room. The information in his arms was shocking, but most of all gruesome and terrifying. He had just informed them about the 86 children who've arrived safely in Canada, much to their shock. He fought the urge to strangle Fred for believing the children belong to Gilead like property.
With a sigh, he turned to Serena, "Mrs. Waterford, you might want to sit down, there are other more crucial things you and your husband need to know."
Serena looked like she wanted to refuse, but decided against it as she sat opposite from her husband whom she refuses to make eye contact with.
Tuello sat at the head of the conference table and gently placed the folder in front of him. He stared at the couple with mild contempt before he began, "I have recently received information about a Handmaid, the one you had before June Osborne."
"Yes, she was quite troubled by the separation from her two children. The poor thing could not handle the pain anymore." Fred said with what he thought was sympathy, remembering the first Handmaid they had in their household and how she would talk about her two children while they played scrabble. Serena glared at the mention of that Handmaid and how the two snuck behind her back.
Tuello held back a glare. "That's right. But there's something else you two need to be aware of if you want to stay alive."
"Why's that Mr. Tuello?" Serena asked, her expression gave none of her emotions away.
"Tell me, do you know the real name of the Handmaid who hung herself?" Tuello tested them, though he knew these two would no care about the names of the people they enslaved.
They were both silent until Fred spoke, "I can't recall."
"Can't recall, or didn't care to know her name?" Tuello asked with some bite in his tone.
"What does this have to do with us?" Serena asked, feeling irritated by something she considers pointless when she has bigger things to worry about.
Tuello clenched his jaw and sighed through his nose before he opened the folder to reveal a picture of the Handmaid pre-Gilead. "Her name was Sue Snell. She gave birth to a baby girl after she graduated high school, worked as a guidance councilor for students, and adopted a foster child as her own." He gave them a pointed look as he pushed a picture of Sue Snell with her daughters in front of them. "She was a good woman who cared very deeply about the well being of her children and all her students."
"God rest her soul." Serena said as she picked up the picture, envy written on her face at how happy the woman looked with her children, but it was the older girl with black hair that made her tense up.
"That's not all I'm afraid." Tuello began as he turned the page over to a very recent picture of a young woman with the same black hair as the girl in the other picture, except she was covered in blood spatters and had a demented smile on her face. "Your first Handmaid, Sue Snell, the woman who you raped, was the adopted mother of the Wrath of God." He explained as he showed them pictures of Wrath's victims over the years.
Fred and Serena's eyes widened at the horrific photographs depicting men nailed to walls with their genitalia cut off and their limbs twisted grotesquely. Fred's hand flew to his mouth as bile rose up his throat. Something like this was hard for the Commander to stomach. "These pictures are before she finds out what you did to Sue Snell." Tuello stated, just as shocked by what she has done to Gilead leaders. "Most of them she keeps alive purely for sport and payback. What happens after she discovers your involvement in her mother's rape and suicide can only be catastrophic."
Tremors engulfed Serena as put the picture down, her stomach dropped at the very mention of God's Wrath. She and her husband heard stories about this mad woman's atrocities, the sick twisted manner in how she deals with her victims was enough to put fear in the hearts of High Commanders. Now, to learn that the first Handmaid they had was actually the Wrath of God's adopted mother created a new type of fear within her soul.
Waterford shook his head in denial as terror filled him to the core. "No. No you're lying." He stood up and began to pace. "There is no way that woman could be that monster's mother." He pointed at the pictures refusing to believe Tuello.
"I didn't believe it either. But no matter how you look at it, Sue Snell was an important figure in her life. But she's dead." Tuello stated, taking satisfaction from Waterford's fear.
"We didn't kill her." Serena said, "You said it yourself, she hung herself. We didn't tell her to do that." She added, trying to deny any part in Wrath's mother's death.
Tuello gave her an icy glare. "You stole her children. You two raped her. And you pushed her to her limit. While you didn't kill her with your own hands, you are to blame for all the pain she suffered. Once Wrath finds out, and she will, she will hold you both responsible for her mother's death." He said with certainty as Serena struggled to keep her emotions under control.
"The only good news you can take out of this is that as long as you are held in Canadian custody, she won't kill you. At least I hope she won't while you're in Canada." He said, surprising them then added, "But should you ever return to Gilead, it won't be your fellow Commanders who take you."
He gathered up all the papers, but left the two pictures with them. "Better pray for God's mercy and forgiveness, because Wrath won't have any." He added as he left the conference room, locking it behind them and leaving them to their fear.
The Waterfords were stunned silence as they processed this new turn of events. Fred held onto the chair as he shook his head, "Of all the Handmaids, this one had to be Wrath's mother. The moment she realizes what we've done...we're dead."
"No Fred." Serena said, staring off into space, the pictures of Wrath's work left her nauseous. "She won't kill us. It will be far worse. Not only will she cut off limbs, she will have her men rape us until the ends of our days."
They sat there for hours contemplating this new turn of events. Their lives now hung in the balance as the knowledge of what they've done created the worst kind of monster seeking vengeance.
Short, I know. But I can't help but feel satisfied at their fear. Not only does the idea of Wrath scare them, but the anticipation that at any moment, Wrath will come and drag them to Hell. Psychological torture at its best. The higher the status, the harder the impact when they hit rock bottom.
