"What have you done, Kim?" Kayla whispered as Cal left the room.
Kim shook her head. "I did what I had to, Kay - just what I had to do."
"No!" Kayla nearly shouted. "You don't have to do this. You don't have to go with him." Kayla felt her desperation grow as Kim remained impassive. "Listen to me, Kim. You know that Shane and Steve are going to find us. You just have to hold on a little longer."
Kim shook her head again. "There's no more time, Kayla."
"What are you talking about?" Kayla was desperate to get through to her sister. "I know you had to do something when Cal caught us, but that's over now. When he comes back, you can tell him you changed you mind."
Kim laughed bitterly. "You think Cal will accept that? Come on, Kay, you're smarter than that. If I tell him I was just leading him on, he's only going to get more angry."
Kayla paced around the tiny room, trying to think of something to change her sister's mind. There had to be some way out of the situation.
As if reading Kayla's mind, Kim spoke softly behind her. "There are no more options left, Kay. Even if I could stall Cal longer and hope we would be found, there's too much risk involved."
"To me, you mean?" Kayla said harshly. "I'm the reason you're doing this."
"Not just you," Kim replied. "You heard Cal talk about breaking my links to the past. Every day we stay here is another day when he might try to kill Andrew and Jeannie. If I go with him, they'll be safe."
"Shane will keep the kids safe, Kim." Kayla pleaded with her sister to understand. "He won't let anybody come near them. You have to know that."
"I know he'll try. He'll keep them locked up so tight, they'll probably never leave the garden gates." Kim looked at Kayla with eyes filled with unshed tears. "And you've heard Cal. . . . He's insane. There's no way to stop him if he really wants to get to Andrew and Jeannie. And even if he's stopped, my children could still be caught in the cross-fire. I can't take that chance."
"So what am I supposed to do? Just let you go with that madman?" Kayla cried in frustration. "I can't do that."
"Yes, you can." Kim walked over to Kayla and put an arm around her. "You can, because there is no other choice."
"There's always a choice," Kayla said stubbornly. "And my choice is not letting you do this."
Kim sighed softly, then turned Kayla to face her. "All right, little sister, it's time for some cold, hard truths. The truth is that it doesn't matter for me whether Cal takes my deal or not. Either way, he's taking me with him. He just gets to choose between a willing or unwilling prisoner."
"Then why would Cal consider your offer at all?" Kayla asked, confused.
"Because in that insane mind of his, he wants me to love him." Kim shrugged. "And even in the midst of that insanity, he knows that I could never really love him if he kills my children or my sister. I'm offering him what he really wants."
Kayla was incredulous. "He can't believe that you would really love him after all of this?"
"I think he wants to believe it, and that's enough for now," Kim explained. "Maybe he doesn't really care if I'm only pretending to love him. It's enough to keep his delusion going."
"Then why feed his fantasy, Kim?" Kayla asked, needing to hear her sister say it. "Why go with him voluntarily and pretend to love him? Why not make his life the same living hell he's going to make yours?"
Kim choked out the words. "Because if I don't, he's going to kill you. . . . That's the truth, Kayla, and you know it."
"So you're asking me to let you sacrifice your life for mine?" Kayla shook her head. "I can't do that."
"I already told you. . . . It's not your choice to make, Kay." Kim put her hands on Kayla's shoulders. "Look at me. Do you think I could live with knowing you died because of me? Either way, Cal's taking me, and the only way I can get through this is knowing that I at least kept my family safe."
Kayla felt the tears run down her face and saw them matched by the tears on her sister's cheeks. She wanted to yell and scream until Kim came to her senses, but Kayla did not know what else to say.
"I can survive whatever is going to happen if I know that my children are safe and you are home with Steve and Stephanie where you belong." Kim gently wiped the tears off Kayla's face. "But I won't survive it if I know that my family is hurt . . . or worse . . . because of me."
"It's only temporary, Kim." Kayla desperately grasped at any bit of hope she could find. "Shane will never stop looking for you and they will find you and rescue you."
"No!" Kim said sharply. "When we leave and Cal lets you go, I want you to tell Shane and the family to let it go and not to look for me."
"What?" Kayla was shocked. "How can you say that?"
"Because it's too dangerous," Kim replied sadly. "I know Cal, and he'll have some way of keeping an eye on what Shane's doing. If he gets too close, Cal will go after Shane and possibly the children. It's just too risky."
Kayla did not respond. No matter what Kim said, there was no way that Kayla would tell anybody to stop looking for Kim. If Kayla had to do it herself, she would make sure Kim was returned to her family.
"Kayla?" Kim gave her sister a pointed stare. "I know Shane will try. Even after everything that happened between us, I know he'll want to look, but you have to stop him. It's too dangerous. So, please, promise you'll tell them not to look for me. Promise me."
Kayla nodded, knowing that Kim would not stop until Kayla agreed. But she silently repeated her vow to make sure Kim was found and brought home.
"Good," Kim said, trying to smile. "It'll be okay, Kay. It will."
Kayla could see the lie behind Kim's words and attempted smile. As much as her sister was trying to pretend otherwise, Kayla knew it would never be okay.
Staggering to the cot as she felt her legs begin to buckle from the emotions she was feeling, Kayla sat down and began to sob. She could no longer hold back her fear and grief. After a moment, she felt Kim sit beside her, put her arms around her and hold her gently.
Finally, Kayla's sobs slowed and she raised her head and looked at her sister. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "For everything."
Kim gave Kayla comforting smile and then leaned back against the wall, still holding Kayla in her arms. "Just rest now. Everything will be over soon."