He found Serena in her semi-cluttered attic, sitting against the back wall underneath the circular window. Outside, they could hear the shouts and instructions of the press below, all of them camping setting up shop on the front lawn. There was pounding on her front door. Wade approached and sat down beside her, resting his head against the wall. They were silent for what seemed like forever, the only sounds being the noise outside and the pounding on the door. Serena could hear them calling her name asking her to talk to them, not realizing that they were giving away her location. That he could see her house on the news.
"He hit Shaun first. With a stun-gun," Serena told him, cutting through the semi-silence. "We never saw it coming. Shaun hit the ground and he was out. You know, I've spent years, growing up in New York, thinking what I would do if something was to happen to me, and you know what I did? I just stood there. I stood there like an idiot while Shaun convulsed on the ground. That's when he shot me. I was out for a long time."
"Serena…" Wade started, but she shook her head.
"I couldn't tell you where we were. Reporters said it was in the middle of nowhere, I say it was in the middle of Hell. I woke up with him slapping me. Shaun was already awake. He threatened to kill him. We'd only been dating for two months. Whenever he was out of earshot, I'd tell Shaun we could survive this. I told him he had to live. I got tortured first. Shaun got to watch what he did to me and then I got to watch what he did to Shaun."
"Did he…?" Serena nodded. "Sweet Jesus." Wade put his head in his hands.
"As the days went by, I was becoming more and more aware that we weren't going to get out alive," Serena told him. There were no tears in her eyes, but Wade could tell that talking about it disturbed her greatly. "I knew Shaun had a loving, tight-knit family, but I didn't think anyone was looking for me. He had us chained like animals to these pegs that were in the floor. We tried to pull them out, but we couldn't. They were right in there.
"On the third night, the night before he was supposed to finish what he started, there was a raid. He knew they were there. He had the place set up to alert him. He thought he could kill us and sneak out the back. He was cursing and agitated. He slashed Shaun's throat. I watched Shaun…he gurgled and he slumped over and his eyes…they were so wide and vacant. I started screaming. He came at me. I should have been the first, but he was the closest to Shaun, and he knew he was pressed for time.
"The police were pounding on the door and he knew he needed to run. He slashed at my throat. I was in such shock that I fainted. The doctors said that my split second movement kept me from dying.
"I was out for a couple days. They said I was malnourished and suffering from several infections along with the injuries I had. Apparently it was pretty touch and go. I caught a really bad infection from the knife he used. I woke up alone in a hospital room hooked up to all sorts of machines. It sounds stupid, but I thought they could save Shaun. He was dead before the police even got into the cabin."
"Serena, I'm so…" Wade started.
"My mother was happy to grant interviews afterwards, talking about how grateful she was for the public's support and how she was so happy I was alive, but she hadn't even come to the hospital to see me," Serena told him. "That's the way she's always been. She has to be the center of attention, no matter the circumstance. While she was talking to the press, telling them I was in 'great spirits', I was lying in a room being poked and prodded like a pin cushion, photographed. At that point, my dignity had pretty much been snatched from me, so I didn't even care. I just lay there and took it. All I could think about was Shaun. How it was so unfair that the guy who had the good family and the bright future was the one who died. I talked to his family and told them I wasn't going to go to his funeral. The press converged on it like vultures and I didn't want to overshadow it. His mother understood. I felt like the worst human being missing it, but Shaun deserved to have the focus on him." The tears were beginning to shine behind her eyes.
"He's not going to get his hands on you, Serena. I promise," Wade assured her. She smirked.
"You can't promise me that."
"Dean, Seth and Roman are on their way. Between the four of us, he's not getting near you, love."
"You called them."
"I had to. Dean would kill me if I didn't." She nodded. The pounding was still going. The doorbell rang.
"Fucking tossers," Wade snarled. Serena stood. "You're not answering the door."
Serena pulled off her dress, revealing the short black skirt slip and crop-top styled bra she wore underneath. She felt vulnerable, standing in front of Wade in her underwear, but she felt the need to get it all out. Wade gasped. On her left side, he could see the unmistakeable tic-tac-toe shaped scar. There was a knife shaped scar, red, ragged and angry on her right shoulder. There was several other scars on her back, between her shoulder blades and a small cross carved on the top of her right breast. There was a very small scar on her neck, at the junction between the shoulder and the collarbone, where he had tried slashing her throat. There was a scar on the meat of her right arm, spiral shaped. He had fun with Serena, toyed with her and tortured her. Wade stood and approached, staring at all of the scars. Without a word, she held up her hair and turned her back to him. That's where Wade saw the '8' shaped scar on the back of her neck. The second he touched it, she began to sob uncontrollably. She let go of her hair and turned to him. Without a word, he gathered her in his arms. Tears burned behind his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. He needed to be strong for Serena. He understood very well now why she wore all the turtlenecks.
He stroked her hair as she cried. "He's coming back for me, Wade," she told him tearfully.
"He'll never get his mitts on you," Wade assured her soothingly. "I think you need to get some rest, Serena. I'll call Vince and let him know what's going on, if Dean hasn't done it already."
"I can't rest. Not knowing he's out there," Serena told him. She stepped away from him, shaking her head.
"Serena…"
"I'm so dead."
"Don't talk like that. Everything's going to be fine."
"Those idiots out there are going to be doing live broadcasts from here and they're going to lead him directly to me! He could be here in a matter of hours!" She left the attic. Wade followed her quickly, trailing her into her bedroom. It was decorated in burgundy, violet and white. It was a very well-decorated room. Serena went into her closet and pulled out a Shield T-shirt, sliding it on. Then she tied her hair back, something Wade had never seen her do before. Wade turned away as she pulled on a pair of jeans and took off the slip skirt, tossing it into the hamper.
"Serena, they could always catch him. I'm sure they've set up road blocks everywhere for the wanker. He's not going to get far." She shook her head.
"He evaded police for a year with the FBI hunting him," Serena informed him. "If he wants to go undetected, he knows how to do it." There was more knocking on the door. "Wade, do me a favor and call the police. We need to get these guys out of here."
"I'm on it, love." He picked up his cell phone and left. Serena sat down on the bed. It felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders, telling Wade and showing him the scars she had. She knew she needed to do it again for Dean, Seth and Roman.
Wade returned, with Serena's cell phone in his hand. "You've got a message. I imagine it's Dean," Wade told her. She took the phone. There were at least a dozen messages. Serena, are you ok? Serena, I'm worried. Answer me when you get this please.
I'm fine, Dean, she replied and sent the text back. Wade sat down beside her.
"Are you going to be all right?"
"I think so," she answered. "I'm not going to sit here and cry 'why me', but I will say that I'll feel a lot better when this guy's been wiped off the face of the planet." Wade put an arm around her shoulder and she rested her head on his chest.
"I can't say I blame you."