Jesenik: The Dungeon

The minutes ticked by, and still neither Theresa nor Gwen said a word, just sat in excruciating silence.

Theresa stood up, her head still throbbing from the fight with Gwen, and began pacing back and forth.

"Stop it." Gwen's voice was flat. "It's driving me mad."

Theresa stopped and leaned her own head on the bars. "We're incredibly stupid."

"I think you mean you're-" Gwen started to snap back.

"No, Gwen! I mean we! As in both of us! We both screwed this up, badly. Take some responsibility for once!"

Gwen just sat there, her face grim, not responding. Theresa resumed pacing for a moment more than stopped. "I can't take this anymore, Gwen. I'm done with this. I am so over this little game we've been playing for years."

Gwen looked up. "And what does that mean?" Her voice was sarcastic. "That you expect me to just drop dead so you can have everything you've ever wanted? Have you not taken enough? I lost Sarah fighting with you. I pray that she's not dead, but I never would have thought she was if it hadn't been for that fall. Then I lost my ability to have children. Then you promised me a baby, Theresa-you promised me! And I believed you! I was so grateful to you...I forgave you everything. I thought you were giving me the greatest gift anyone could. But you never, ever intended for me to have that baby, did you? Even if you hadn't thought you miscarried my embryo, you weren't ever going to turn that child over to me, were you?" She walked closer to Theresa, looking into her pale face. "Were you, Theresa? Answer me!"

"No, I wouldn't have!" Theresa shouted. "After what you did to me, Gwen...when you had EJ taken from me, I hated you so much. You did that out of malice and you can sit there and deny it all you want. Don't waste your breath, ok? I'm not saying this to get an admission out of you-I'm making a simple statement of fact. You lost Sarah, you blamed me, and you took EJ out of revenge, so that I would feel the same pain. You know I wasn't an unfit mother-don't shake your head!"

Theresa couldn't stop. It was like she'd been waiting years to say all the things that were coming out of her mouth in droves. "Look me in the eyes, Gwen, and tell me you didn't know EJ was happy with me. Wait-don't even bother. You know in your heart that you made an innocent boy a pawn of your revenge scheme. You tore him out of a loving home and away from his mother, you listened to him cry for me, and YOU DIDN'T CARE. Was it worth it, Gwen? Do you sleep well at night?'

'Because you know what? I don't. I don't because I know the mistakes I made. I know that I was horrible to you because I was eaten up with hatred, like a cancer that was rotting me from the inside out. I know I did things that I am ashamed of, and I'm going to say something to you that I'll bet you never thought I'd say. I'm sorry, Gwen. I really am. I can't ever forget what you did to me, and I can't make you be sorry in return. I can't make you apologize. I can't make you change. But I can change myself, and from now, it's over. I will not sink to that level again and tell myself it's all ok in the name of love. I want my children to be proud of me. I want to be an example for them. But what about you, Gwen? Can you admit what you've done, or are you going to spend the rest of your life blaming me? You've done such vicious things-you've hurt innocent people. You've hurt Ethan, purposely, and I didn't force you to do it. You made that choice all on your own."

"You started this all, Theresa. You started it the day you took Ethan from me."

"Oh, stop!" Theresa screamed in frustration. "Ethan fell in love with me, OK? You may not like it, you may try to convince yourself he was manipulated into it, but if that's all it was, then why, after all these years, does he still love me, Gwen? If it was all based on a lie, why can't he let me go? Why do you have to work so hard to keep him? Because he's like a restless dog on a leash and you know if you let go, even for a second, he'll disappear. Tell me you're happy living like that. Please, tell me that, Gwen-I could use a good laugh right now."

Gwen's voice shook. "Shut up, Theresa. Just shut up!"

"No! I'm not going to shut up, Gwen. You and I need to have this out, right now. If you'd like, we can slap each other around again-it'll save the guards the trouble. Or we can get this off our chest, for once and for all."

"Oh please! Are you really expecting me to have a heart to heart with you, Theresa? In the last few days you've taken my daughter and now I find you've taken my husband. My other child is gone and I may never find her again. I have nothing left for you to take, Theresa, for God's sakes just leave me alone."

"Gwen." Theresa walked over to her. "Aren't you hearing what I'm saying? I don't want to take anything from you. I don't want to play games with you anymore. Jane is my daughter, and I'm taking her home, but you're still in her life. I can't say I'm happy about that, but I signed a legal document committing myself to it. As for Ethan, I'm done. I admit it-I slept with him. We had an affair. And you know what? It's not what I want, and I've finally realized that I'm never going to have what I want. You've got it, Gwen and it's on the third finger of your hand. You've won. So why aren't you happy?"

'Because he doesn't love me.' Gwen didn't say it out loud, but it was there, the bitter knowledge that she could no longer ignore. 'He doesn't love me. I will always be second best. Theresa could move to Mars and Ethan would never, ever look at me the way he looks at her. God, I'm so sick of this, so sick of it all.' His face flashed before her and she wanted to hit him, so badly her fingernails dug into her palms. She began to pace the floor as Theresa had a moment before. Images flashed before her eyes, the same ones that haunted her dreams at night. She had done so many things-spiteful, cruel things. She had sacrificed everything to keep her husband...everything, including her own dignity, morals, and self worth.

Theresa began to speak again. "Gwen, please let this hatred go. I am asking you for our children's sake. I'm asking you for Jane. We are both going to be in her life, and I won't pull her between us anymore. Look where all this fighting has got us! We're in a cell instead of out finding Sarah! And Fred, what about him? He was a good man, with a family. What am I supposed to tell his wife and his children, if I ever even get out of here? Should I say 'oh sorry, your husband died protecting us, but we were too busy fighting to even complete the mission that he sacrificed his life for?'" Theresa broke off, exhausted. "Gwen, are you even listening?"

Gwen didn't turn around, just continued facing the wall. "I can never forgive you for all you've done to me, Theresa."

Finally, she did move, looking at Theresa. "But you're right. I've had enough of this. It's destroying my life. I have done things..." she couldn't bring herself to say she was sorry, but she forced herself to continue. "I regret some of the things that I have done. I never wanted to hurt EJ. You may not believe this, but I love that little boy." Tears filled her eyes. "And he's probably going to grow up thinking I'm some kind of monster."

"Maybe not." Theresa folded her arms. "Not if we making fools of ourselves the way we have for the past several years. We'll never be friends, Gwen. I can barely stand looking at you, to be honest. But right now, all we have is each other. Ethan is not going to come bursting through that door to rescue us. We are on our own, and Sarah is depending on us. The way I see it, we have to work together, or we might as well give up. So what do you say? Partners?" She held out her hand out to Gwen, who stared at it for a moment like it was some sort of dangerous snake, then finally...reached out and took it.

"Partners." she said, with some rleluctance in her voice. There was a pause, then Gwen sighed. "Well, that was awkward. Plus I'm still damn sore from that face plant. Where did you learn to fight like that, the barrio?" she raised an eyebrow in Theresa's direction, smiling sweetly.

"Nice to know I can always count on you for a politically correct insult, Gwen." Theresa rolled her eyes and then tentatively touched her aching jaw. "Anyway, they sure didn't teach you to hit like that in finishing school. I think you dislocated something." She sighed and flopped down on one of the small cots. "Look, I think we should get some sleep. Neither one of us has had rest in almost forty eight hours and we need to be on top of our game. When the guards come tomorrow, we have to be prepared. We've got to figure out some way to get past them and escape."

"Theresa, Theresa, dreaming again." Gwen folded her arms and sat down on the other cot. Seeing Theresa's angry look, she sighed. "I guess it's the best chance we've got. We have to try." Laying back, she put her throbbing head on the pillow and closed her eyes.

Later:

A figure crept slowly down the stairs, looking through the bars into the gloomy cell. Cold eyes swept over the sleeping women, taking in every curve. A sadistic grin lit up his face. "Niiiiice. This is going to be fun - for me, anyway." Reaching down, he pulled a key off of his key ring and began to unlock the cell door.

Theresa's eyes snapped open and for a minute she was completely thrown as she took in her surroundings. Then it all came back to here..the trip to Prague, Jesenik, the fight with Gwen..their capture. She sat up, wondering what it was that had awakened her, and then her heart nearly stopped as she saw the leering man in front of her. It was one of the guards, the one they'd seen outside, arguing with the leader on the steps. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Gwen sit up on her cot, looking equally panicked.

"Wh-what do you want?" Theresa asked hoarsely.

The man smiled a cruel smile, then licked his lips.

"Eeny, meeny, miney...mo." He pointed back and forth between them, and then stopped, his finger pointing at Theresa. "Lucky girl." Reaching out, he grabbed her arm, pulling her to her feet. Theresa struggled desperately and Gwen jumped up.

"What are you doing? Let her go!"

The man shoved Gwen aside roughly. "Sorry, not your turn. But you can watch." He pulled Theresa, still struggling, out of the cell, slamming the door behind him and turning the key in the lock. She took advantage of that small distraction to kick him as hard as she could. He grunted in surprise and let go of her abruptly. Theresa turned to run but the man grabbed her by her long black hair and yanked her back. She screamed in pain and he backhanded her, hitting her so hard she fell back against the bars and then heavily to the ground.

Gwen watched helplessly as the guard pulled Theresa over onto her back and then straddled her, tearing at her clothes.

"No, God! Please, no!" Theresa's fingers scratched desperately at the man's face and neck, anywhere she could get a decent hold. Irritated by her struggles, he put a hand around her neck, cutting off the oxygen just enough so that the struggle to breathe was all that she could maintain. She knew that trick well...it was a favorite of Alistair's when he wanted her to hold still. The terrible memories washed over her as she struggled to stay conscious, the memory of the night Alistair had first raped her..the pain he had caused her..the terrible shame she had felt...

On the other side of bars, little to Theresa's knowledge, Gwen was reliving the same night. The night she had stood outside Alistair's door and listened to Theresa scream in agony and beg for help. The night she'd become a monster...

Gwen shook her head as she watched the scene unfold before her. 'Not again, dammit-I won't stand by and watch!" Frantically she threw everything she could find at the guard, small rocks on the ground, even her shoe. She might as well have thrown paper streamers at him for all the good that it did. He didn't even appear to notice. Gwen knelt down and reached out, stretching desperately, farther and farther...if she could just reach him maybe she could distract him somehow...her fingers caught the end of the filmy scarf he wore draped around his neck and suddenly she had an idea. Reaching out with her other hand, she stretched frantically until she caught the opposite end, then pulled with all of her strength, feeling a rush of adrenaline like she never had before. The guard was forced upwards, slamming against the bars back first, as Gwen pulled the scarf as tightly as she could. The guard choked and sputtered, turning purple as he slowly strangled. Gwen pulled harder. "Pass out, you bastard!" Gwen hissed. Suddenly, though there was a flash of silver-the guard had pulled a knife out his pocket. Gwen tried to tighten the scarf, hoping to disable him, but he reached up and cut himself free.

"Theresa! Run!" Gwen screamed as the guard got to his feet.

"Bitch!" He reached through the bars and grabbed her, pulling her forward, deliberately smacking her face first into the iron bars. She saw stars for a moment, dizzily stumblling backwards.

At Gwen's cry, Theresa jumped up, shaking and terrified. She saw Gwen hit the bars, saw her fall...then saw the knife where the guard had dropped it on the ground. Without a thought, she reached down and picked it up. The guard turned to grab her, and instinctively she drove the knife into his chest.
Theresa and Gwen both watched in shock as the guard's mouth opened. He grunted, looking down at the protruding knife in shock, then began to stumble in a slow circle. Then finally, he swayed and collapsed in front of the cell.

"Oh my God." Theresa fell to her knees then pulled herself back, huddling against the wall. "Oh my God." Tears streaked down her cheeks, then as shock set in she became more and more numb.

"Theresa!" Gwen banged on the bars. "Get his keys-let me out!"

There was no response. Theresa just sat there, white as a sheet, slowly rocking herself back and forth, eyes fixed on the guard's body.

"Theresa!!" Gwen banged again. Giving up, she once again kneeled down and stretched her hand towards the guard, finally pulling his key from his bloodspattered pants. Standing up, she hurriedly unlocked the cell door.
"

Theresa! Get up, we have to go!" There was still no response. Theresa stared straight ahead, eyes fixed on something only she could see.

Gwen resisted the strong temptation to smack the other woman silly. "Fine then, Theresa." she stood up. "Just sit there and rot. Meanwhile, I'm going to get Sarah, then get the hell out of here and back to Harmony, where it looks like I'm going to have Ethan, Jane, and even EJ all to myself. Have a nice life." She started towards the staircase.

"Like hell you will!" Theresa croaked. Shakily, she got to her feet.

Gwen smiled. "And she's back-the Theresa I know and hate."

The two of them just looked at other for a moment, knowing that what just happened would forever burn in both of their memories. Then Theresa looked back at the guard. "I killed him." she whispered. "I actually killed someone. I never wanted to be a murderer."

Gwen scoffed loudly. "Have you forgotten what you tried to do to Alistair?"

Theresa looked up, some color returning to her face. She actually managed a small, if shaky smile. "That wasn't murder-that was a public service."

"Yeah, well so was this." Gwen looked at the would be rapist in disgust. "I doubt anyone's going to miss him. And like you said, we're in this together. We both had a hand in it, and you don't see me going to Planet Guilt, do you? Now let's get the hell out of here before any one else shows up."

"Oh, it's a little late for that." Both women whipped around, to find the head guard staring at them. They backed away nervously as he approached, then watched apprehensively as he approached the guard's body. He looked at it for a long moment, then looked back up at him.

"You're right, you know. He had it coming. Besides, that's one less guard for me to take care of." He flashed a brilliant grin at them. "Now ladies, I believe we have some escaping to do, don't you?"

To Be Continued