While Crystal was getting ready, Nathan attempted to feed Clark, but the boy kept his lips tight and refused to eat. “Did you forget that I’m your Uncle?” Nathan asked.
“I’m not hungry,” the boy grumbled. “I just want Crystal to hug me.”
“She’s tired.”
“Don’t care.” Clark pouted.
Nathan sighed unhappily, and then he called up to Crystal: “Clark is not willing to eat, what should I do?”
“I’ll be there in a second,” Crystal replied, and as she came down the stairs, she said, “Don’t worry about it. He’s not familiar with you, and he’s going through a tough time.”
Crystal sat down beside Clark. He was clutching his toy gorilla, and tears were streaming down his face. “Why is Mommy so late?” he cried.“I don’t know,” Crystal admitted. “Hopefully, she will be here by the time you wake up. Why don’t you put on your pajamas? I could read some more stories to you, and we could fall asleep together. Would you like that?”Clark nodded and said, “Thank you, Aunt Crystal. I love you.”Crystal smiled and kissed him on the forehead. “I love you too.”****Nathan waited for a half-hour before he angrily gave up on Crystal. He took a cold shower to calm his lust, and then he got out of the bathtub. After drying hi
As Nathan and Crystal sat down to eat - Clark was still in his room crying - she asked him if he had heard anything from Nancy yet. He said that there was no news, except that her phone had been found in the underground parking lot of a downtown high-rise, along with several articles of clothing.After that, there was not a lot to say, so they ate in silence. They were just about done with their meal when Vic appeared. He had a big bag in his hand.“What’s in the bag?” Crystal asked curiously.“Nancy’s clothes and her mobile phone,” he replied. “I just picked them up from the parking lot.”Crystal took the bag and poured its contents on the floor. There was a coat, a sweater, and a pair of shoes. She recognized the garments
The time for Crystal to meet with Mrs. Davis had arrived, so she got dressed, arranged for Clark to be taken care of while she was gone, and set out. At first, she could not think of why Nathan’s mother would want to meet with her, but then she remembered that the older woman disapproved of her relationship with her son.Most likely, Mrs. Davis wanted to scare Crystal away, but she did not frighten easily. Besides that, now that she had the bracelet, Nathan would have no trouble finding her if she disappeared.Mrs. Davis’s black RV was waiting for her in the parking lot. So far, everything was set exactly as the older woman had said it would be. Crystal had her driver park next to the RV, and before getting out, she instructed the driver to get the RV’s License Plate number. “Just to be on the safe side,” she said. “If I am g
The beast closest to them was a ferocious mastiff, and when it heard them, its eyes lit up, and it began to growl. Crystal could tell that it had been mistreated and that if it ever got out, it would kill whatever or whoever got in its way. A cold shiver ran down her back as they walked past the angry beast.In the middle of the compound, they found Carlos. He was in a cage, curled up in a corner, and his eyes had a vacant look to them. He was no longer screaming, but the fresh wounds on his back implied that he had been recently whipped. Crystal whispered his name, and he snarled at her.Crystal was dumbfounded. She thought - He doesn't even recognize me…Eric turned to the closest guard. "Was this animal roaring just now?" he asked.
Carlos was released into the stadium first, but he did not move, and a guard had to encourage him with an electric baton. The tiger was released next, and it attacked right away. He is dead - thought Crystal - he does not even know where he is.Suddenly, and to everyone’s great surprise, Carlos’s survival instinct kicked in. He dodged the attack and punched the tiger in the face.The tiger growled. Carlos growled right back at him, and they began to circle each other and assess each other’s strengths and weaknesses.The tiger was caught off guard when Carlos took the offensive. Carlos jumped through the air and landed on the beast with his nails extended. His movements were so fast that Crystal could not see what was going on. It was not until the final stroke had been struck that things slowed dow
Carlos made peace with the fact that he was about to die. The wolves were circling around him. I never really had a chance - he thought not against twenty wolves. But he was proud of himself for how well he had managed with what he had. He closed his eyes and began to recite Psalm 23. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death...”Suddenly he heard a woman calling his name. “Carlos!” she shouted. He recognized the voice. It belonged to Crystal. What is she doing here? - wondered.“You can do it!” she shouted. “I know you can! You are the strongest person that I have ever known!”
The guards led Carlos to the infirmary. Eric cut the rope that bound Crystal’s hands and legs, and they followed behind them. They had not been waiting long when they heard one of the guards begin to yell.“What was that?” Crystal wondered, and she ran into the infirmary.When she opened the door, she saw that Carlos had knocked a guard to the ground. The other guard was so frightened that he had backed himself into a corner.Crystal approached him as if nothing were out of the ordinary. She held out her hand to him and said, “Carlos. It’s me, Crystal. Let me help you.”Carlos hung his head but said nothing.Crystal nodded to the guards, and they ran out of the room. Then she put her hands
Eric cleared his throat, and three guards entered the infirmary. They carried each other with an electric baton. Crystal could tell right away what they were about to do, and she shouted for them to stop, but it did no good. All at once, they pressed the batons to his flesh, and he began to flail about. It looked like he was having a grand mal seizure.“I don’t think that he’ll be putting up much of a fight now,” Eric laughed.****Crystal felt like a shell-shocked soldier, and when Eric led her into the next room, she went along obediently. He sat her on the bed, and he began to treat her wounds.There was a clock on the wall, and its steady tick-tock-tick-tock rattled her brain. She looked up at it and saw that it had been two and