Hey peoples. Sorry it's taken me a while to update. I've been a little busy.
Kylria: I take it that 'please update soon' means it's going moderately well. Thanks!
When Abe returned, Kate appeared to have fallen asleep on the couch. Quietly, so as not to disturb her, he set the bowl of soup down and pulled a blanket over her sleeping form. He nearly jumped out of his skin when she spoke.
"I-I'm n-not asleep."
"Then I apologize. It appeared you were."
"M-my head w-was j-just h-hurting." As she sat up, he handed her the bowl of soup.
"Here's your soup."
"Th-thank y-you."
"Does your head still hurt?" She shook her head and continued to eat her soup. When she set the bowl down, Abe said, "Do you need anything else?"
"N-no, th-thank you." She pulled up her sleeves slightly, as anyone does when they become warm. Something caught his attention.
"What's on your arm?" Kate looked from him to her arm before pulling her sleeves back down.
"N-n-n-nothing." Abe grabbed her arm before she could move away. This caused her to flinch.
"I'm sorry. I need to see." She nodded and he carefully moved her sleeve back up. There were dark red welts and cuts wrapped around her arm. Underneath these, he could tell there were scars from old lacerations. Controlling his voice, he calmly said, "Did they do this to you?" Kate nodded meekly. "What else did they do?" She showed him where the demon-men had whipped and cut her stomach. Somehow, Abe managed to control his anger at the pain they had caused her. "I'll be back."
"A-are y-you a-angry at m-m-me?"
"No! Not with you. You didn't do anything."
"B-b-but you're st-still m-mad?"
"No one has the right to put someone through that." He left her and strode quickly from the library.
--
He found Liz talking to HB in the half-demon's large room. They looked up from their conversation at Abe's entrance.
"Hey, Brother Blue. What can I do ya for?" Hellboy greeted with a grin. His smile faded slightly as he watched Abe pause and breath deeply. "What's going on?"
"I know some of what they did to Kate." Abe's face seemed impassive, but his words and voice were harsh.
"What did they do?" Liz asked quietly.
"They whipped her, beat her… They even cut her." Liz covered her mouth in shock and Red's face had turned hard as stone, no pun intended. "She still has marks. It appears as if they cut her a day or two before we found her."
"Where?" Red asked.
"There were more cuts than welts."
"Where?" Red asked again.
"On her arms and stomach." Red raised an eyebrow at that. "She showed me after I asked," Abe replied, reading Red's mind. Liz stood.
"I'm going to talk to her," she said.
"Wait." They both waited for an explanation. "She hasn't quite learned to block her mind from people's thoughts. Let me tell her you're coming." Red nodded and stood behind Liz.
"We'll follow in a few minutes," Red stated and Abe rushed back to the library.
--
Kate was sitting curled up on the couch when Abe reentered the library. She nervously glanced at him when he sat beside her. He was telling himself to calm down, she could hear him think. When he finally looked at her, she decided to speak.
"I-I'm s-sorry I m-made you m-mad."
"You did not anger me."
"B-b-but—"
"I am angry with those you call the 'demon-men'."
"O-oh."
"Is it all right with you if Hellboy and Liz come here?" She didn't answer. "I'll block your mind if you want me to."
"N-no. I w-want to t-try it."
"Very well. They are on their way." She had her eyes closed. "Are you prepared?"
"Y-yes." Abe nodded and allowed Liz and Hellboy to enter the library.
"Hello, Kate," HB said quietly. She lifted her hand in greeting and gave a small smile, but all could tell she was concentrating on something. She winced as thoughts hit her thin shield. Abe walked forward, but she didn't allow him to place his hand on her forehead until the walls crumbled.
"D-d-darn. I a-almost h-had i-it."
"Do not worry. You did well," Abe reassured.
"Very well," Liz added. She made her way to the couch and sat beside Kate, who was very nervous. She could hear Liz's questions and didn't know if she wanted to answer them. "Hey, Kate," she said quietly.
"H-hi, L-liz," Kate replied.
"Kate…what did they do to you?" Abe felt the pressure in the air change as Kate tensed against the question. "It's okay, Kate. We're your friends, and we just want to help you."
"I-I kn-know."
"I'll ask a different question. Do you remember how many there were?" Kate slowly nodded after a moment. "How many?"
"T-ten d-d-different ones, I-I th-think." Liz glanced at Hellboy.
"Red? How many did you get?" He shrugged.
"I think there were about six or seven," he replied.
"There were seven bodies," Abe supplied.
Uh-oh.
Only seven?!
Let me know what you think!
Any reviews are welcome.
A/N: I have a little bit written from here, but I've hit a block. If you have any ideas, let me know. I'm not sure where to take it. :/ It's annoying when that happens... Anyway, please give my any ideas you may have.