Trigger warning: Mentions of sexual abuse

Chapter 12: Missing

"The fuck am I?" Kristoff asked in disbelief at the axe still pointed at his face. "The fuck are you?" he asked as he frantically tried to get to his feet, only to fall on his ass without being able to use his arms still held behind his back with the zip tie. "You-You just chopped someone's head off, like you were from the freaking crusades! You just killed a man in cold blood!" he screamed as he tried to scramble away from the trio on his backside.

"Oh, are you talking about him?" the blonde girl named Astrid asked sarcastically as she swung her axe around to point at the body on the ground. "Well, him?" she adjusted to point towards the decapitated head halfway across the alley. "Because that wasn't like any man I've ever met."

"Astrid," the girl with the auburn braids started. "Let's just leave him. You know, that axe could take someone's eye out if—"

"No, no, no," Astrid started in as she hefted the handle of her axe to rest against her shoulder. "I want to hear what this idiot has to say."

Anna let out a disappointed huff and shot a glance at Kristoff. She gave a tiny shrug as if to say "Sorry, my friend's kind of a nut job."

His attention was yanked back to the girl with the axe as her shadow suddenly engulfed him.

"So, Idiot, what do you have to say?"

Kristoff looked up at the girl that couldn't weigh more than 115 pounds standing over him and wielding a battle axe as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

"You just killed a human being," he said, narrowing his eyes at her. "What the hell do you want me to say?"

She just smirked, which turned out more intimidating than Kristoff ever thought a smirk could be. In the next second, she was suddenly face-to-face with him, kneeling on the ground of the alley way next to him with the axe still slung over her shoulder.

"Let me ask you something, big guy," she started. "You see what that human was about to do to Anna?"

Kristoff didn't answer. All he could do was glance at the girl with the beanie before looking back to glare at the one right in front of him. She smiled again.

"Alright, now, what would you think if I told you that he and his buddies had already done that to countless girls before her?"

Kristoff blinked.

"It was a trap," he realized. "You guys lead him here to kill him."

"You know, you're not near as dumb as you look," Astrid said with a chuckle.

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. These people had planned a murder.

"You tricked him," he said as his mind started to race. "He wouldn't have hurt you otherwise. You didn't have to kill him—"

"Tell me, blondie, you ever kill a moaner—sorry, a zombie—when it wasn't attacking you or anyone else? When it was just…" she gave a shrug, "minding its own business, not hurting anyone?"

Kristoff didn't answer again. He didn't want to. Astrid could see the answer in his eyes, either way.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," she said, standing to pace around the alleyway. "You probably did it more than once, too, am I right?"

Kristoff continued to glare at her as he struggled to his feet, using the alley wall to support himself. He already knew where the conversation was heading.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," she continued as she paced back and forward slowly. "Everyone does it. Kills a moaner when they don't have to. Do you know why they do it? It's because they know that that moaner has more than likely killed someone. They know that if they don't kill it, it will undoubtedly kill again. It's the same with scum like him," she nodded towards the body on the ground. "We were simply providing the world a favor through prevention."

"I thought the American policy was 'innocent until proven guilty,'" Kristoff retorted. He remembered learning about something like that in school. "But you killed him before he even had a chance to—"

"To what?" Astrid asked abruptly as she swung her axe down, causing it to connect with the concrete with a clang. "To rape Anna? While I wait for that innocent until proven guilty shit?"

Within two steps and the scraping of metal on concrete, Astrid was in front of Kristoff once again, eyes seething a few inches below his.

"You know that's a great idea, big guy. And then, maybe afterwards, we can all sit around drawing pictures with crayons and talk about how much we love our mommies and daddies and how the world is such a wonderful fucking place. In case you haven't noticed, that world does not exist any more. There are no governments. There is no innocent until proven guilty. There is no judge, jury, executioner. We can't afford that happy horse shit any more. All we can afford is one person to do it all."

"And that one is you?" he asked, refusing to drop eye contact. "Deciding the life of a man?"

"Do you know how many girls this man raped before we caught up to him?" she jabbed her axe at the body again.

Kristoff didn't answer. His chest had gone numb at the question and he wasn't sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

"We found three," she said, her words cutting into him as effectively as her axe. "And that's what we could find. Who knows how many others there were. The first one we found abandoned and covered in bruises and blood along the side of the road, just left out for the moaners. We did all we could to help her, but she died the next morning. The second one? He and his buddies killed off her brother and sister she was traveling with and left her the same as they had the first. She was with us for a while before she was taken down by a hoard of moaners about two weeks ago."

There was a moment's hesitation as Astrid stopped, still glaring up at Kristoff.

"And the third one?" he finally asked quietly.

Astrid dropped her gaze and took a step back.

"The third one was Sandy," Anna said softly. "She hasn't spoken since."

Kristoff looked at the short girl with the cropped hair that had restrained him. She stared back at him, her eyes made of stone, almost as if she was daring him to say something.

"Now tell me," Astrid muttered to the ground. "Does that sound like a man, or a monster to you?"

"Sorry about Astrid," Anna said as she cut through the zip tie with a snip. "She gets like that sometimes."

"No, it's alright," Kristoff muttered as he brought his hands around to rub at the red lines on his wrists. "I can get where she's coming from. I'm just glad she didn't take my head off. Literally."

Anna let out a small laugh.

"She's usually fine with strangers, though she's a tad more cautious around men. I think you just surprised her though."

"Yeah, and I'm completely used to having my hands tied while someone's swinging an axe in my face."

Anna gave an apologetic smile. There was a moment's silence before,

"Sandy said you saw what was happening and tried to help me. Even when she had her knife on you."

Kristoff stopped rubbing his wrists and let he hands fall as he turned to face Anna. He gave a small shrug.

"Well, yeah. I couldn't just…let him do that."

Anna smiled.

"Thank you."

Kristoff gave a smile back, realizing as he looked at Anna just how blue her eyes were. And how they sparkled...

"Hey! Tweedle Twat and Tweedle Dick!" Astrid's yell from across the alley interrupted the momentary daze the two had found themselves in. "Anna, we're moving out. Tell blondie over there bye."

Anna cast a glance back at Kristoff.

"Sorry, we have to get going. See ya around," she said with a small wave and a smile as she rose to join the others.

"Yeah…," Kristoff said, slightly distracted. Something was nagging at the back of his brain. Something about needing help with something. "Bye."

Then it hit him. He remembered that he did need help with something.

"Wait!"

The three retreating girls all turned to look at him.

"Is there—ah. Do you think you could—I mean I just need some help getting out of this city. I'm sort of...lost…" he finished lamely, embarrassed at his own incompetency.

"Where are you trying to go?" Astrid asked, brow creased.

"Just to the city limits so I can circle around and try to find my trusty steed. I left him on some off ramp near—"

"Wait," Anna said, stepping in front of Astrid. "Say that again."

Kristoff glanced at her, rather confused.

"I, uh, need to circle around to find my trusty steed…?"

"So like a horse, right?" she asked, her voice a bit too urgent.

"Uh, sort of…"

Anna looked back at Astrid.

"Anna, no—"

"Please," Anna said, spinning around to face Kristoff again. "We need your help. It's my sister, Elsa. She's missing."