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Hours turn to days. Days turn into weeks. The volunteers that had once filled the parlor when Hannah was first taken, slowly dwindle in number. The media coverage is nonexistent. The only thing there is to remind the city that a beloved friend is missing are the fliers that Sawyer, Mr. Randoff, Shelley, and the others put up. Capt. Lee has advised that she is most likely dead at this point. All the tips that had poured in at the beginning of this nightmare all resulted in dead ends. There was only one truly promising lead. A couple driving down a deserted highway east of town came upon a police cruiser with its door open. When the couple slowed down they found the body of a young police officer. Officer Joseph Johnson was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds. When his dash camera was reviewed, investigators found that he had pulled over the same make and model of car they were searching for. The car was registered to Chester Philatanus of Lawton, Oklahoma. He was a forty-one-year-old white male who lived on the outskirts of the city on a secluded plot of land. A subsequent search of his residence revealed evidence that the man had been involved in Hannah’s prior disappearance. The police found the bunker that held Hannah and her mother prisoner for those fifteen years. They found all the surveillance footage taken from the bunker. They discovered the tape of Chester murdering Molly, proving that Hannah was correct in her story to Sawyer. Every detail she relayed to Sawyer was corroborated with the surveillance footage. The land around the house was excavated. Within a few days, the remains of Molly Randoff were uncovered from a shallow grave on the west side of the house. Mr. Randoff had prepared himself for the findings, but when reality struck his grief overtook him. He had been staying with Sawyer while the search was active for Hannah. Mr. Randoff eventually had to leave to go back home after two weeks. His job wouldn’t allow him to miss any more work. Sawyer promised to keep him updated on any developments.
A few weeks later, all the friends are gathered at the parlor trying to persuade Sawyer to get out of the building for a little while. He adamantly refuses, saying that he needs to be there in case Hannah comes back.
“Shelley, I hate to say this, but it’s been seven weeks. Do you think she is still alive?” Bryce sadly questions. Shelley looks over at her Bryce who she loves and regards as a brother.
“I think that she is still out there fighting. She managed to survive for fifteen years in the presence of a monster. She is tougher than she looks. I know we will see her again,” Shelley gently says to the red-head. Everyone heard the conversation between the two. Scot adds his opinion, “I agree. She will be back any day. We will find her. We have to, I can’t watch that shell of a man anymore. It’s depressing as crap.”
Everyone agrees. Sawyer is a shell of his former self. He has lost a considerable amount of weight; his face is gaunt with large purple bags under his eyes. His hair is long and shaggy. He doesn’t bother to change his clothes or shower most days. He walks around in a daze. Sawyer stays in his office pouring over the tips that the police received, hoping he can find something that they missed. He has stopped tattooing, leaving all the clients for Bryce, Chelsea, and Scot to work on. Blacked Out Ink is slowly slipping in business. People want Sawyer to do their tattoos, not his staff. The women stop vying for his attention, they move on to the next thing. His staff is worried about the parlor being able to stay open. The business only thrived because of the work and effort Sawyer put into it. No amount of work that they can do on their own can revitalize it. Blacked Out Ink needs the old Sawyer back. The Sawyer that has their Hannah with him.
Bryce and Shelley walk into Sawyer’s office and close the door. Sawyer acknowledges their presence with a nod of the head, then goes back to the papers spread out on his desk.
“Hey bro, whatcha doing?” Bryce asks softly. Sawyer grunts, continuing to shuffle the papers. Bryce looks at Shelley with a pleading look.
“Sawyer put down the papers and come with us. Let’s go up to your apartment, we can cook you something to eat while you take a shower. Then you can get some sleep while we stay up in case Hannah comes. We will wake you up as soon as anything happens. How does that sound?” Shelley gently nudges.
Sawyer never lifted his eyes from the papers. “No.”
“Sawyer, come on bro. You need to sleep. You look like crap. Everything around here is going down the toilet. We need Sawyer back, man,” Bryce pleads with him.
Sawyer looks up and simply replies, “I don’t care. I need Hannah back.”
Shelley has had enough of his self-pity. She stands, leans over the desk to get face to face with him and begins poking Sawyer in the chest with her finger.
“You listen here Sawyer Jackson Monson, stop feeling sorry for yourself. Do you think Hannah would be happy knowing this is how you have behaved while she has been gone? Letting yourself and the business you love go? She would be pretty mad at you. How are you going to help her when she is found if you can barely function? Get upstairs, take a shower, eat, then sleep. Now!”
Sawyer looks at both Shelley and Bryce with an unreadable expression. They can tell that he is thinking over what has just been shouted at him. He then gets up and walks out the door. As he walks through the parlor several people try to talk to him, but he ignores all of them. Bryce and Shelley apologize for him and ask them to be patient as they hurry after him. Bryce sends a text to Scot, Chelsea, and Elise that Sawyer finally gave in and is going to listen to them, and that they will be upstairs if they are needed.
“That’s a relief, that man has a stench that lingers,” Scot mutters under his breath. Chelsea rushes across the street to the café to pick up a burger for Sawyer since they know he likes them. The friends are relieved to see that Sawyer is finally willing to try to function normally, even if it only lasts for a few hours.
***
“DO YOU KNOW WHAT IS in seven days, my mistress? It’s the glorious day we have been waiting for,” Beau says excitedly. She keeps the hard scowl on her face as he continues to give her the details of the day.
“We will awaken in the morning, and you will undergo your final ritual preparations. You will be completely shaved and will be given special clean food that day. You must be free from any and all impurities. You will then be clothed in a white gown and will wait patiently for me on the altar. I will also be bathed but with rose petals and lavender oil. I will be fed a meal of steak and vegetables, then clothed in a royal purple gown, the sign of royalty. I will meet you at the altar in the evening where we will consummate the plan of salvation for the assembly to witness. We are so close now, aren’t you looking forward to being mother to mankind?”
Hannah holds her cold stare as she shouts in his face, “No!” Hannah has been denied any clothing these past weeks. She doesn’t know how long she has been here, but she knows it has been too long. The only food she is allowed is beef broth, which nauseates her. She has learned to control her nausea because of the violent scouring and beating she will receive if she becomes sick. She glances down at her feeble body. She has many scratches, burns, and red, raw skin covering her small frame. She has lost the weight that she had managed to gain plus more. It reminds her of how she looked when she escaped the first time. The memories of Sawyer crash upon her as tears instantly pour from her eyes.
“My princess, don’t cry. It’s okay to be nervous, but this must happen. You realize this, don’t you? It is imperative for our salvation.” Beau completely misinterprets the reason for her outburst. This makes her laugh hysterically. She can’t stop. How can he think that she is nervous? In all actuality, she is praying for death if she can’t escape or be rescued by next week. She prays to God, the one and only God to help her, to set her free one way or another. She finds Beau to be utterly ridiculous in his endless banter. She would be very relieved if she never had to hear the words mistress of salvation again in her life. She continues to laugh as Beau speaks to her again.
“My princess, I will be away this afternoon. Try not to become depressed. I will return this evening, then I will sing to you,” with that he leaves the room. Hannah is relieved to finally be alone for a moment. Either the women are around her all the time or the men they call protectors are. She doesn’t understand why they feel they need someone in the room. She remains tied down to the table at all times. They have even catheterized her to prevent her from soiling herself. This is their reasoning for only giving her broth. She won’t have a bowel movement, which in their view is too vile for a mistress to have. These people are truly out of their minds. They must have complete control over every aspect of her life. The women even scold her if she takes too many breaths per minute, that is unclean as well. She dreams of rolling in the mud like a pig at night. That is her only form of happiness, just her thoughts on what she will do if she ever gets out of this room and free of them.
Hannah realizes that she doesn’t have much time left. She knows that these people have covered their tracks well. She also knows that Sawyer won’t give up on her, he had promised that he would always protect her. She imagines him breaking down the door and lifting her frail body into his arms then carrying her far away. These are the thoughts that bring her comfort during this nightmare she is immersed in.
***
BEAU IS DRIVING CAREFULLY back to his apartment. He observes all traffic signs and the speed limit. He doesn’t want to draw any unwanted attention to himself, especially since he has to drive the car that the police are looking for. When he arrives at the apartment complex, he quickly parks in an inconspicuous spot. He glances at his red Corvette, then walks over to inspect it for any dents or scratches. He runs his hand over the length of the car, admiring himself in the reflection of the paint. The Corvette, to him, is absolute perfection. He is so proud of this car. His brother had purchased it for him as a reward for growing the assembly. Due to Beau, the assembly now has hundreds of members and millions of dollars. They can do anything they want now. Beau is living in the lap of luxury along with Paul. It is a stark contrast to how they grew up.
Paul and Beau were born Lance and Charles Patterson and were raised by their grandmother in Louisiana. Their parents had both died from drug overdoses, causing them to be placed in her care. She thought that the two little orphan boys could do no wrong. They were spoiled and sheltered while they lived with her. When Paul and Beau were fourteen and twelve, respectively, their grandmother suffered a heart attack. The boys were again left without a home. They became wards of the state, ultimately they were shuffled around to many different foster homes. The foster families tried to make the boys’ life decent again, but they refused to cooperate. They demanded ludicrous things such as bath water that had to be one hundred degrees and caviar. The families they were placed with quickly became frustrated with the boys and the chain reaction started over again. They succeeded in not being adopted. When Paul was eighteen he left the care of the state and took Beau with him. They stole, lied, and cheated their way across the country. They finally endeavored to make a permanent residence in Salinas, California. Paul got a job as a bus driver, while Beau worked as a waiter. Paul became acquainted with a wide diversity of people and was fast to make friends with all he met. Beau, on the other hand, polished his skills in the art of seduction. He set about tempting and gaining the trust of the older, wealthy women that frequented the restaurant he was employed at.
Soon, the brothers’ welcome in the city wore out. The police labeled them as con artists and put out warrants for their arrests. Beau had scammed most the older women in Salinas, while Paul’s sob story won over the people on his bus who gave him many expensive gifts such as land. The brothers cashed out then moved on to the next town. They had no qualms about continuing to do what they did best. They became rich in every city they stayed in. Unfortunately, their affluent lifestyles left little money to save, thus they had to keep up their scams and continue hopping from city to city. During this time, the brothers adopted many different aliases. Every city was a new identity for the brothers to create. They enjoyed this way of life. One day, Paul came up with the idea of creating a religious sect. He believed it would be an easy way to get money without doing much work. He knew that they could convince simple minded people to give them money and do everything that was asked of them. In the city of Lawton, Oklahoma, Salvation for the Saved was created. Paul robbed most ideas for the sect from movies and other cults that had existed in prior years. He created their doctrine, had it printed and passed it out. At first, there was not much interest, but when Beau got involved in the recruitment they grew exponentially.
Paul and Beau enjoy the life they have. They have endless women, money, and luxuries. No one ever would dream of denying anything to their Savior or master. When they are alone, they laugh at the stupidity of the fools that believe every word that they have conjured up.
Beau snaps out of his memories as he walks into his apartment. He packs more clothes, then chooses to drive his Corvette back to headquarters. Beau fails to notice the plumbing van sitting in the parking lot. The van houses undercover officers who are on surveillance detail. When Beau was first spotted, the police were put on high alert. The police have also placed a tracking device on Beau’s car, assuming he would come back for it. In all of their interviews, everyone commented about his love of the Corvette. They said that Beau was infatuated with his car. Their assumption was correct. The plumbing van slowly, yet carefully begins to trail the unsuspecting motorist.