46. June 23rd

JUNE 23RD

Sylvan

My feet are killing me.

She snorted at the stupid thought her brain wanted to complain about. She had much more serious issues than sore feet. Had someone told her she was going to be kidnapped today, she would have worn flats. But no. Her vain self chose high-heeled boots to distract TB with, so now, if she took them off, her toes wouldn't even reach the floor. She was stuck.

A slightly hysterical giggle escaped at the thought, but she managed to smother it quickly.

"Gotta keep it together. TB is coming," she reminded herself. She refused to accept any other option.

There had been a long period of time with no buzzers for a while. So when the noise suddenly sounded directly next to her, she jumped.

That's Medusa's box! Will he look inside before he moves it? He didn't seem to check earlier for whichever box she switched into, so maybe he won't notice. Oh, freakazoid! Hurry, TB, hurry!

She looked up at her timer. Just under fifteen minutes.

Suddenly, someone pounded three times on the door of her box. She yelped in fright.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, no need to shout, Jolie."

She shivered.

Gendry.

For the first year or so after escaping, she'd heard his voice daily in her head. Every voice sounded like him. Every stranger's face in the crowd had been his. Slowly, and with Ms. Monica's help, his voice had faded. Seven months ago, when all of the stalking behavior started, memories of his voice began to slowly leak back into her mind. Today, it was like all those years of freedom were washed away with simply the sound of his actual voice.

"What do you want, Gendry?"

"Oh, the fair maiden speaks! I thought for sure you'd try to play dumb. Pretend you weren't yourself. Try to convince me I have the wrong woman."

"What would be the point? You know it's me. I ran away. I just wanted away from you."

"But here's the thing, Red. I didn't want you away from me. I wanted you by my side."

"You were going to sell me to the highest bidder, you slime bucket. You killed my parents, you basically kidnapped me, you addicted me to drugs, then hired me out as payment to your bosses, and then you were going to try and use me to solve your money issues."

"Yes, well, sometimes we don't always get what we want."

"And what about what I wanted?"

Gendry laughed. "Since when has what you wanted ever mattered to anyone?"

Since TB. He says the choices are always mine.

"My choices are mine, Gendry. It's always about what I want. You may have me in a box right now. You may think you're going to win, but TB will come for you. And he will destroy you for what you've done."

Gendry's laugh became louder. "Brave words for a little girl locked up in a box. You have no choices, Jolie. You never did. You never will. In about ten minutes, you'll have even less choice because where you're going, you'll be lucky to last ten months with what's in store for you. The men bidding on you right now think they're playing a game they might win. But the man who's going to win your auction, he can't possibly lose. He has more money than most countries put together, and he's wanted you for a long time. And once he has what he needs from you, you'll be erased from this planet as if you never existed. Not that you ever really did."

He slapped the door of the box again. "I'd love to stay and chat. Better yet, I'd love to have a last taste of you. But, sadly, we're out of time. And you were hardly worth it anyway. Not enough fight in you. Goodbye, Jolie. I win."

Sylvan raged inside the box, pulling and yanking on the chains keeping her from searching for a way to break through the door. Logically, she knew she was locked in and wouldn't be able to escape, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to try.

"I got away from you once, Gendry. I can do it again."

Gendry's laughter grew fainter and fainter as it echoed through the warehouse space. "Not likely, Red."