The bright sunlight had faded into a warm afternoon glow basking the bedroom in golden glimmers when they finally woke up from their midday nap.
Minnow was lying on her stomach. She stretched and yawned, then turned her face towards Saylor's and met his suspicious glare.
She could feel the chilled air trail over her bare skin. Minnow immediately pulled down her jumper to cover her back.
"Why, do you have a bruise from a boot on your back?" Saylor whispered. His voice was horrified.
Minnow buried her face in the pillow to compose herself.
"It's nothing. Don't worry about it." She grumbled from inside the soft, fluffy layers.
"Um, I am going to worry about it, ok." Saylor's tone was determined, and Minnow knew he wouldn't back down.
"I don't want to talk about it." She whispered and finally met his concerned eyes. Minnow sat up on the bed, and her shoulders slumped.
"I think you will feel better if you do." His eyes were soft but seemed decided on getting her talking.
He reached out to comfort her, and she flinched from the unwanted touch. Saylors eyes looked perplexed, and a bit wounded from her action.
"I know something has happened. Don't think I haven't noticed your weight loss and grumpy mood." He expressed in his typical sarcastic voice. "Actually, You haven't been yourself since Imogen's party." He ran a hand through his well-styled dark hair, and then his hooded eye widened. "Did something happen at the party?"
Minnow sighed. "No, nothing happened at the party." Her voice trembled.
She felt anxious that if she talked about the assault, she would remember the traumatic visions dormant inside her head.
Because, at the moment, she could only recall a few details. The rest was pushed down, hidden somewhere within the profound depths of her mind.
"So when?" Saylor asked softly, his head tilted slightly and his eyebrows furred.
Minnow knew he wouldn't let up with the investigation, so it was easier to tell him. "Do you remember that I took an Uber home?" She started, and Saylor interrupted her straight away.
"Was it the driver?" He gasped, cupping his face.Minnow looked at him and rolled her eyes, annoyed. She stayed silent, glaring at him for being so thoughtless.
Saylor looked at her and smiled apologetically." I am sorry. I promise I won't interrupt again.
"I got into an argument with the driver, and he forced me to leave the car before I had gotten home." Minnow continued. She could tell Saylor wanted to comment on this, but he kept his promise and stayed silent.
Minnow struggled to form words and stuttered, making her speech blocked and strange sounding.
Saylor reached out slowly and put his hand on her shoulder, and smiled gently."Whatever you tell me, it will never leave this room."
Minnow nodded and inhaled a deep breath to steady herself. "I was drunk, so I decided to run home through the small clearing. You know, the one with the playground. God, I am so stupid. she cried out angrily.
"Oh, honey." Saylor grabbed her hands and held on to their eye contact. "It's not your fault." His lips quivered, and his eyes became wet.
He pulled her in and embraced her stiff body. Minnow wept against his shoulder. "Two men attacked me." she sobbed. "They came out of nowhere."
Saylor tightened his grip around her and cried against her scalp.
"They. They hurt me." She stammered between ragged sobs.
"I am so sorry this happened to you", Saylor whispered. Unsure what to say to comfort his best friend at this sorrow-filled moment. "You have to tell the police." He added gently.
"No, I can't. I don't even know what they look like?" She whimpered, upset.
"That doesn't matter. That's the police's job to find out." Saylor continued softly. He stroked her long messy hair affectionately.
"I don't want anyone to know this happened to me. So it's better if I forget and pretend it never happened." Minnow's voice was becoming less weak and angrier.
"I just don't think this is anything you will forget." Saylor tried. But then he decided to let her off the hook, in trying to convince her to report the assault after seeing her determined face.
Minnow untangled herself from his strong arms. Her eyes were red and swollen.
"So, what do you remember," Saylor asked carefully.
Minnow sighed. It was now, or never she guessed. "Not much. They were strong. I tried to fight back, but it was useless. Her voice trembled again, and she cleared her throat.
Minnow hated feeling this weak and powerless. " I felt like they were waiting for me? I know that sounds stupid, but I can't shake the feeling."
"Well, you should trust your gut feeling on that then. And, who knows, maybe they were?" Saylor's shoulders rose swiftly.
Minnow smiled weakly. Saylor was always on her side, defending her sometimes irrational thoughts. That was one of the many things she loved about him.
"They raped me." she blurted out quickly, and her hands instinctively covered her mouth as she suppressed a gag.
That was the first time she had said the word rape out loud or even let herself think it, and her stomach revolted in a violent protest.
Minnow rushed to the bathroom and unloaded the contents of her stomach into the toilet. She crumpled onto the floor beside the bowl when she purged her shaking body.
The putrid taste of bile was heavy on Minnow's tongue and slicked along the back walls of her throat. Just the spasming nerves of her wound up gut alone were enough to tempt her back into throwing her face over the toilet bowl, but she resisted.
Saylor had hurried after her and leaned on the doorpost. Their eyes met, and tears streamed down both their faces. Her face was distorted from the gut-wrenching grief of losing her innocence.
Saylor wiped his flustered cheeks with the back of his hand. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up and back into bed." He helped her up and led her over to the bathroom sink. Saylor gently helped her wash up.
He put toothpaste on her toothbrush and gave it to her with a weak smile pinching his nose. She brushed her teeth eagerly to get rid of the horrid taste in her mouth.
"How about drinks and a movie night?" he asked softly.
"Sounds perfect." she agreed gratefully in a raspy voice.
He always knew what she needed. Her heart ached over how thankful she was for her best friend's kindness.
They walked back to the bed, and Minnow turned on the large smart tv and scrolled amongst the many movies.
Saylor poked his head out of the bedroom door and called for Ariella.
Minnow could hear him charm the older woman outside in the hallway to bring them snacks and drinks for their movie night. Not many people could resist Saylor's charm and good looks.Soon, they sat curled up amongst the soft pillows with large bowls of popcorn, candy, soft drinks and a bottle of bubbly prosecco.
Saylor had picked out a wide selection of happy, easy, going movies for them to enjoy. Minnow relaxed for the first time in what felt forever.
Soon she fell asleep, but with sleep came the nightmare visions of the men who had hurt her.
A steady rhythmical whirring seeped into her ears, and Minnow blinked as her eyes adjusted.An expansive room with a high ceiling and smooth concrete walls stretched out in front of her.She first thought, have I just stepped into a military base? There were desktops alongside the slate grey walls with multiple laptops and computers, the hard-disk access light flickered in the dim glow, and the drives made a high-pitched whining noise as they received continuous data.Above the desks hung large screens displaying what looked like surveillance footage from numerous foreign locations. On the opposite wall were countless glass cabinets with a vast arsenal of weapons.Under a warm light was an old wooden bookshelf adorned with ancient inky treasures lined by size. The wood on the bookshelf looked like it was once a part of a mighty ship that had washed up on a beach one day. But, now finally sat in its forever harbour, in this room. A sturdy steel table stood in the middle, with docume
The truck ride down the mountain was uneventful. The man who introduced himself as Elias was chatty and vibrant. Aiko wasn't really in the mood to talk but answered Elias's question appeasingly. The rhythmic rocking of the truck made her eyes heavy, and she swung her restless gaze over the stunning nature flowing past the windows. On one side of the road, the knobbly face of the mountain was grizzled and sacristy silent. On the other side, a magnificent panorama view peeked through a harmonic blend of towering emerald pine trees and the ember-red leaves of autumn. "So, are you from the mountain?" She suddenly heard herself ask in a desperate attempt to stay awake."No, I live closer to White Creek. That's where I have my farm." Elias clarified."You are a long way from home," she mumbled and rubbed her narrowing eyes.Sleep seemed hellbent on claiming her right this instant."Yes, but it's worth the trip. I sell most of my produce to The Moonfall town. They are great people," Elias
The grass was crispy under Aiko's feet, growing freely on the clumpy, mossy mattress floor. A flurry of wind carried a fragrance with it. It was soul-refreshing to smell the mulchy mix of the forest's perfume.Aiko knew the best thing to do when lost in the woods was to try to retrace your steps. It was obviously harder to do when you had been brought to a place blindfolded.So she searched the surrounded area for footsteps. She found large prints near the crater in the ground and glanced in the direction they pointed; she now knew to walk the other way.The hells pit looked like a natural sinkhole with circular earth and stone blended edge. The first blush of light had chased the shadows and banished the gloom, and Aiko could finally see the bottom of the hole.She estimated it was about a 10-meter drop to the smashed cardboard boxes on top of the foam mattresses.The isolated, unpleasant hollow contained nothing but natural debris that had fallen down over time.The ropes twisted fi
Minnow's head pounded with tension as she slowly returned to consciousness. Her mouth was still gagged with duct tape, and the musky-smelling sack remained over her face.Goosebumps burning like coal covered every inch of her shivering body in the cold night air. Two unknown people dragged her down a quiet, isolated trail. Her bare feet slid across what felt like rotting leaves and squelchy mud.Nausea stirred in her gut, and panic rose instinctively in her chest from being unable to vomit with her mouth covered.They stopped, and the forest sounds could be heard through the sack's coarsely woven fabric. A wise owl hooted in the distance, and a fox's agonizing cries echoed amongst the towering tree giants swaying in the breeze.A gust of icy wind travelled up from underneath. Minnow gasped at the paralyzing fear of being hung over a cliff edge.She could feel the coldness of the rock beneath her feet as her toes curled around the edge in one last futile attempt at survival—Minnow's h
Minnow shifted her weight from one foot to the other as the guests sang the celebration song at a deafening volume.The unpleasant feeling of being stared at intensified as more people entered her field of vision. She was surrounded from every angle on a razor's edge of panic. Minnow glanced furtively over the shoulder with an urge to run, but where to? Aiko's thoughts and her very different personality exploded through Minnow's mind. She was feeding on Minnow's fears and anxieties, using them to become stronger.Aiko pried among Minnow's memories, ridiculing her for being a weak pacifist. They were nothing alike.Their voices conflicted among themselves—within Minnow's head."Regretting sending me away?" Aiko's voice echoed smugly."Never. I am handling it, ok, so leave." Minnow took one long, slow, deep breath as she endeavoured to convince herself that her fast reply was true. "Look at you all sweaty and stressed. You are pathetic." Aiko snickered."Leave. I don't need you", Min
As the night continued, Aiko mingled the crowd with elegance and ease. She held the influential businessmen's lingering stare with newfound confidence and calm.Aiko knew the men in the room desired her, and she moved her curvy body sensually and gracefully to tease and provoke.Minnow couldn't control anything happening to her; in what felt like an out-of-body experience. Nevertheless, they remained co-conscious in a state where one person was out, but the other was aware of what was transpiring.Minnow was mortified over the way her alter acted around these big shots.Her grandfather watched her from the centre of the room, surrounded by a group of flatterers. His usual disapproving frown was there, but there was a shift in his glare as curiosity flashed in his milky eyes. "You seem so different. I thought you hated these kinds of events?" Saylor questioned as they danced to the upbeat tunes.He glanced at her suspiciously, and she pouted her full lips and peeked at him from under