In honor of Valentine's Day (but mostly because last week's chapter was posted two days late) here is today's chapter a few hours early! Yay!
Also...this got posted early because I've run out of things to do at work and I still have another 30 minutes hahaha.
Y'all better hold onto your seats...it's about to be a bumpy ride!
Chapter Thirty-One
Meg was going crazy.
That was the only explanation she could give for her current state of mind.
She had been locked in this bedroom for over a month, only being allowed out three times a day to use the restroom. Other than that, she stayed seated on the bed, waiting for the end to come. Because it was inevitable, and she knew it. The end would come, and she wanted to be ready for it.
Christian came to see her. Not every day, but sometimes he would be the one to bring one of her three daily meals. She called them meals, but in reality they were more like scraps and leftovers that weren't fit for a dog. Christian would stand there silently and watch her eat, seemingly pleased with seeing her pain. Sometimes he would ask about Adam or the IIA, but Meg never gave him the satisfaction of an answer, thus the reason for the bruises across her face. Christian had taken to slapping her when he wasn't pleased with an answer.
Meg hated it. She hated being treated this way by someone she had once considered a brother. She told herself over and over that it wasn't the same Christian. She needed to separate this Christian from the memory of her old Christian. She knew that if she could do that, it wouldn't hurt as much...but she couldn't do it. Every time she saw his face, she couldn't help but think back to those days.
Her nightmares returned. They were worse, and sometimes she woke herself screaming and crying. No one came to comfort her, and make sure that she was alright, and she would often curl up in a ball and sob. She had thought she knew torture, but up until then, she had never truly experienced it. Every day that Christian appeared in her room, she silently prayed that he was there to kill her. She wanted it to be over.
She hated when Christian hit her, but his wounds were nothing compared to what the General did to her. Despite now knowing that she was an enemy, the General couldn't seem to put his feelings for her aside. Instead he still came to her almost every night, only now treating her much worse. With no one to see her except Christian, himself, and the occasional servant who brought her her food, there was no reason to limit the number of injuries he inflicted on her.
Bruises and cuts covered almost every inch of her body, making it impossible for her to move. Each morning an old German woman would come to her room, using hot water to soak down the bruises. When Meg had asked why on the first day, the woman had simply replied that Christian had told her not to speak to Meg. That was the only answer Meg needed; Christian must still care for her a small amount if he sent someone daily to tend her wounds.
Still, it didn't lessen the hatred she felt for him. Her entire relationship with him had been a lie, even before he joined the Germans in 1941. If she couldn't trust him about anything since then, she obviously couldn't trust him about anything before then either.
That was the worst torture; the mental torture she inflicted on herself daily. As she sat there, she would think of every interaction she had with Christian over their years together. Had his friendship with her brother been true? Had he cheated on his IIA tests? Had he lied about how pretty the color blue made her? She analyzed every single thing she could, tearing apart their relationship and slowly driving herself insane.
Meg lost track of time, barely keeping track of each sunrise and sunset. When she had first arrived, she had found a pencil and had marked on the wall each day, but that had been abandoned early on. There were only nine tallies on the wall, and she knew it had been much longer.
She wondered what Adam and Marco thought. Certainly they knew something was wrong; she had been out of contact for weeks. Had they sent someone to look for her? Had they done anything to attempt a rescue? She doubted it, because she knew the risk that all would take. She didn't blame them of course. That was her life and she knew they couldn't bend rules or risk their lives to attempt a rescue. Still, a small part of her hoped that maybe Adam had broken down and was sneaking around Germany looking for her.
Of course, a large part of her days were spent thinking of Lew. She wished she had his letters, a photograph, anything to remind her of him. She didn't even have the dartboard necklace anymore. That had been left at Lynette's until her return from duty, and now she didn't know if she would ever see it again. Suddenly she wished she was less of an agent and had slipping something in against the rules. All she had left of Lew were her memories, which were on repeat in her mind.
Between thinking of Lew and Christian, she was slowly going crazy. Very crazy.
One day, after she had been there for a long time, she heard loud cries coming from her window. Frowning, she hobbled over to it, ignoring the pain screaming through her body. The General had been worse than usual and her legs were sore because of it.
Opening the window, she looked down the cliff, just barely making out the small crowd of people forming in the city below. Flags were waving and many car engines were running. She could hear frantic shouting, but she was too far away to make out what was being said.
The knock on her door signaled to her that the German woman was there.
"What's happening?" Meg asked as the woman walked in, a sad look on her face. She shook her head, motioning for Meg to remove her tattered remains of a nightgown. She had never been given clean clothes and had been wearing the same nightgown since her arrival. "Please," Meg pleaded kindly, "tell me what's happened. Why are those people crying?"
"The Fuhrer is dead," the woman said and Meg felt her heart stop.
Hitler was dead? Was the war over?
"Dead?" she asked, shocked at the sudden news. "When? How?"
"Too many questions," the woman said, going mute again as she began to tend to Meg's wounds.
As she sat there, being scrubbed and cleaned up, she wondered what this news would mean for her. Would it mean she would make it out alive? Or would she be killed in an angry rage by one of her captors?
When Christian brought her lunch up a few hours later, Meg asked him the same questions she had asked the old woman.
"He killed himself," Christian said plainly, setting the tray of food down. "Looks like your goal happened after all. Too bad you won't get the credit for it," he scoffed but she ignored his jab.
"Is the war over?" Meg asked, hardly believing her wish could come true.
"Don't underestimate the power of the Germans," Christian said, his voice dropping to a very threatening tone. It startled Meg, and she grew silent.
Neither spoke again, Christian turning on his heel and storming out of the room. Although his reaction frightened Meg, it also made her pleased as well. Christian was worried. That meant the German army was slowly, but surely, falling.
Her thoughts were proven true just a few nights later. As Meg lay on her bed, mentally preparing herself for the General's nightly arrival, she jumped when she heard a loud, crashing noise. It sounded almost like a building collapsing. Hurrying to the window, she could barely make out a cloud of smoke in the night sky.
"What was that noise?" she asked the General an hour later, as he scrambled out of his clothes. There was no more foreplay in their relationship. It had been weeks now; the General took what he wanted, how he wanted it.
"The people in town are blocking off the road to prevent the Allie army from getting into the city," he told her before silencing all talk with a searing kiss. Meg had learned that resisting was futile; he only beat her harder if she tried to get away from him. Instead, she closed her eyes and imagined it was Lew. She always imagined he was Lew.
She missed him so much. She missed his witty remarks, the way his eyes deepened when he looked at her, the feel of his fingers as they trailed his skin...she could go on. Each night, as the General took her in every way possible, Meg wished it was Lew. She prayed with every piece of her that one day they would be together again, but she knew it was useless.
She would be killed before she would be given the chance to leave this place.
Not two days later, another loud noise reached her ears. This was a sound she recognized. The sound of explosives.
Hurrying as fast as she could, she went to her window, hoping to catch a glimpse of what had caused the noise. She was disappointed when she saw nothing out of the ordinary. But she knew she had heard it, there was no mistaking that sound.
Her door suddenly flew open, causing her to jump and spin around.
Christian stood there, his eyes half-crazed as he locked eyes with her. His hair was a mess, obviously he had run his fingers through it a few times, causing it to stick up straight.
"Christian?" she asked cautiously, wondering why he looked as mad as he did.
"The Allies are here," he said as he took a step forward, reaching for the gun at his hip. "I'm sorry Meggy, but we can't have them finding you here."
Meg realized what was going to happen a second before it did. As Christian's hand flew up, the gun firmly in it, she ducked, closing her eyes as the bullet whizzed past her head. Crawling under the bed, she heard Christian curse as he dropped to his knees to find her.
Another bullet zipped past her, hitting the wall just behind her bed. Knowing he had six rounds left, she scurried out from under the bed, ducking behind it as he shot again.
This time she wasn't so lucky.
The bullet grazed her arm, causing her to cry out involuntarily as it seared her skin. She heard Christian laugh; a terrifying, crazed laugh at the fact that she had been hit.
"Five," she whispered to herself, not wanting to forget the number he was on. She wouldn't focus on the fact that Christian was trying to kill her; she would focus on how many bullets were left.
"Come on Meggy, don't make this so hard," Christian said as he walked around the corner of the bed.
Meg coiled up, knowing she only had one chance. When he came around the corner she leapt, hitting him full on and making them both fall to the floor. The gun slid out of Christian's hand and Meg used this to her advantage, clambering up and rushing out into the hallway. Her whole body was screaming in pain but she ignored it, knowing her life was at stake.
Just as she was about to round the corner of the doorway, another shot rang out and she immediately felt a sharp pain in her right shoulder. Crying out again, she knew she had been hit again, but much worse. She had felt this hot, sharp pain before.
"Four," she said to herself, otherwise ignoring the pain. She continued down the hallway, ducking into a side room that was open. As she leaned up against the wall next to the open door, she heard Christian hurry by, slowing down as he realized he had lost her.
Saying a quick prayer, she jumped into the hallway, landing on top of his back. Christian shouted, reaching back to try and grab her with his left hand, his right still holding the gun. Meg used her fingers to scratch at his face, using all the techniques she had been taught to use as a last resort of desperation. Christian cried out in pain as she dragged her fingernails along his face, leaving deep, red gashes with her fingernails.
"Goddamnit Meggy!" he cried as he twisted sideways, causing her to roll to his right. She clutched his arm at the last second, pulling his hand with the gun toward her. In the confusion it went off, sending a bullet up to the ceiling. Both of them ducked out of reflex, Meg accidentally letting go of his arm.
Realizing her mistake, she rushed to him again, wrestling him to the ground. He grabbed for her, twisting her arm until they both heard a pop. She cried out, feeling the pain course through her. Using her new injury to his advantage, Christian pointed the gun at her, sweat dripping down his face.
"I'm sorry Meggy," he said as the gun angled at her head. Using all her strength, Meg grabbed his right wrist, twisting it around.
"So am I," she said firmly before the gun went off.
Blood splattered across her nightgown, adding to all the other stains and rips it had accumulated.
Christian's body slumped to the ground, dropping on top of Meg. She gave a small cry as the realization of what she had done hit her.
She had killed Christian.
Pushing with her one good arm, she was soon out from underneath him. Wiping the blood on her hands, she chanced a look at her old best friend.
Blood dripped from the holes in his head. From the looks of it, the bullet had gone clean through his jaw and out the top of his head. At least his death had been quick, Meg thought as she tried to hold back her tears. Despite the fact that he was no longer her best friend and despite the fact that he had been trying to kill her himself, she still felt a great sadness at seeing his limp form. It was almost symbolic to the death of the Christian she had long ago lost.
Dropping to the floor, she leaned against the wall, letting the tears crash over as she stared at the dead body.
Eventually, she realized she couldn't sit there any longer. Someone was bound to come across the scene and then she would be dead for sure. She was lucky no one had come already. Slowly using the wall to ease herself up with her one good arm, she stepped over Christian's form and picked up the gun, opening it to confirm there really were two bullets left. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she reached forward, digging through his pockets. Her search turned successful as she pulled out three more bullets, quickly sliding them into the compartments.
Silently making her way down the hall, she tried to stick to the shadows as much as possible, hoping no one would come along. Looking back, she sighed when she realized her bullet wound was dripping, leaving a small blood trail along the floor.
Just as she reached the bottom step of the first floor, a scream echoed through the house from above.
"Damn," Meg said under her breath as she tried to quicken her pace. Hearing footsteps running toward her, she ducked into another room, hoping no one would see her. Looking around, she quickly realized she was trapped; the only way out was through the doorway she had come through.
Backing up to stand behind the sofa, she aimed the gun at the doorway, anticipating the arrival of someone once they realized there was a blood trail to follow.
She heard them before she saw them. Two sets of footprints, quickly walking in her direction.
Hoping she had the height right, she paused, her hand on the trigger. As soon as a figure appeared in the doorway she shot, not even looking at where the bullet had hit. The man went down, making the man behind him completely visible. Meg shot again, giving the man not enough time to lift his gun up.
Meg thanked God. Those two kills had been completely painless and effortless. Knowing anyone else would now definitely be alerted to her presence, she rushed to the doorway, carefully leaping over the two bodies.
She had three bullets left.
"Where is she?" she heard a familiar voice shout. Not wanting to get caught, she ran across the hallway and leaned up against a tall bookcase, hidden from view of the stairs.
"I do not know sir!" the voice of the German woman replied. "I heard the shots so I came as fast as I could. When I got here he was already dead. The guards followed her and two more shots just sounded. I do not know who fired them sir."
Meg heard the General groan loudly before his footsteps stomped down the stairs. This would be her only chance to kill him.
Ducking into the shadows, she watched as he walked into the room, pausing in the doorway at the sight of the two bodies. Meg aimed for his head, steadying the gun.
Just as she pulled the trigger, the General bent down in the act of checking the two bodies. The bullet shot over his head to embed in the doorframe. The General shot up, spinning around to face her.
"Bitch!" he shouted in German, rushing toward her. Meg lifted the gun again, taking aim and shooting once more. When the trigger didn't go down all the way she swore, realizing it had jammed.
The General's hand came up to strike her across the face roughly, sending her flying into the wall. She cried out in pain as the back of her head hit the corner of the wall. As the General reached for his gun, she knew she'd have to check her head wound later. Now she didn't have time.
Scrambling to her feet once more, she reached for her gun, hoping this time it would work. No such luck.
The weapon jammed again and she threw it aside in frustration, realizing she would have to get the General's gun if she wanted to kill him.
Ducking a bullet he sent at her head, she rushed toward him, wrapping her arms around his torso and shoving him to the ground. The gun went spinning away from them, leaving them both weaponless. Feeling like deja vu of what had happened between her and Christian earlier, she hoped this time worked as well in her favor.
Sitting up so she was straddling the General, Meg swung her arm back, landing a punch to his jaw. The General's eyes spun but he was quick to react, reaching both hands up to wrap around her neck. As Meg began gagging, she put her good hand down, her thumb finding his left eye. Her intent was to jam her finger in his eye socket as hard as she could, but as soon as her thumb started to touch it he flinched, releasing her neck to pull her hand away.
With a twist of his hand, she heard a snap, and she cried out again. He had broken her wrist.
Knowing it was now or never, she crawled over his form, kicking at his face when he reached up for her ankle. He tried again, grabbing it and pulling her toward him. She kicked out with her other foot, stretching her right arm out and ignoring the pain. Her fingers grazed against the gun and she closed her eyes, stretching herself just a little further.
Her eyes shot open when she felt the cool steel within her grasp. Twisting her body around quickly, she didn't even take aim, simply pulling the trigger once, twice, three times.
As the smoke cleared, she looked down, realizing the grip on her angle had gone lax.
Dragging her body over to the wall, she used it as leverage to lift herself up. Then she turned, taking aim and shooting the general's body twice more, just for good measure.
As what had just happened hit her, she stifled another sob, dropping the gun and lifting her right arm to put her hand over her mouth.
It was over. After all those days, weeks, months, years of being a slave of the General, it was over. Never again would she have to deal with him. She would never get a letter requesting her presence. She would never have to play the role of Vivian.
It was over.
Hearing shouting outside, she turned, slowly dragging herself to the front door to see what the commotion was. It took her longer than normal, mostly because of how weak she felt. Twice she stumbled, but she caught herself and continued, hoping she wouldn't be met by Germans on the other side of the doors.
Stepping out into the sunlight, she winced, closing her eyes for a second. When she opened them, she almost smiled at the sight of the five men in front of her. She could just barely make out Malarkey and Spiers, the other three were blurs.
"About damn time you boys showed up," she said before everything went black.
Yay reunited! Well...kinda...
LovingBOBThePacific - I feel like I'm going to get so confused when I post a chapter for both my stories so close together. I'm going to want to overlap my responses hahahaha, but I shall refrain. As for Christian as Aaron, I can see it...but I picture Christian as more of Sebastian Stan. And I know Joe didn't kill Christian, but wasn't Meg so much better at it? She's so badass hahahaha. I'm glad you liked it in Lew's POV. I was worried people might freak at the change, because it is randomly out of nowhere. But it totally brought new atmosphere and I felt like it was needed. She wasn't getting letters etc, so it's not like we had a recent update on what was going on. And it would be SO awesome if Aaron came to your birthday lol. As soon as I find out he's back in NYC (he's currently in Florida ugh) I am off to see him haha. I can't wait for the day his manager makes the announcement! I wrote him an autograph request a couple weeks ago...so here's hoping I get a response! Thanks for your review!
IceColdInAlex - Thanks for reviewing! I hadn't really thought of this chapter as heartbreaking, but I guess that's because I felt disenganged from it since it wasn't Meg's POV. I'm glad you thought it was though, because it means I wrote the characters well hahaha. Yeah, I felt like his freakout in Part 9 was great...but I felt like adding the Meg thing to the whole mix would make it more powerful. Like, he's already on edge because she's missing, then he loses everything else he has so he doesn't even have that to fall back on if Meg is killed, you know? All of a sudden he truly is alone. As for explosive, was that explosive enough?
ilovemedia18 - Thanks for your review! I feel bad for Nix too haha, so I'm happy to tell you that his saddness will be coming to an end shortly. He's had enough troubles these past few weeks!