Redeeming Logan

Epilogue

Taliah

T wo years later

“Everything is going to be okay; I swear we will make it out of here, Stacy. I promise you.” I whisper to the crying woman sitting next to me. She’s frail, almost skin and bones, but not quite. Her face is dirty and marred with tear streaks, her clothes covered in splotches of blood and dirt from being worn for so long. I grip her bony hand in mine as I kneel up from the floor, using the wall for balance as I tug her up with me. “I stole his keycard when he took me last, see?” I hold the card up with my other hand, waving it in front of her face to see. Her eyes widen, and more tears fall from her eyes as she starts to weep in relief.

I tug her towards the door and swipe the key card along the pad; the beep is quiet as the door opens with a click. Tugging Stacy out of the door behind me, we make our way down the dingy hallway. My bare feet padding against the cold concrete floor, my own dirty white hospital gown hanging from my shoulders and swishing around my knees as we rush down the hallway. I pull her around the corner and another until I see the blinking red exit sign at the end. “See Stacy, look! We’re almost there; come on!” I say earnestly as I pull her sluggish body along with me. We finally make it to the exit door, where I swipe the key card again, pushing the heavy door open and thrusting us out into the warm summer night air. The dense forest lies in front of us.

“Taliah, it’s nothing but trees! What do we do now?” She weeps next to me, sounding like she’s going to have a full blown mental breakdown now. Rolling my eyes, making sure to not let her see, I then turn towards her and grip her biceps in my hands.

“We have to run! The only way out is through that forest. Get a grip on yourself! I know you’re tired, but we’re almost out, Stacy!” I plead with her before grabbing her hand, not giving her a choice in following after me. Taking a deep breath, I head towards the dark trees with Stacy in tow. Her sniffles are all that’s heard in the eerie forest, but I know we’re not the only ones out here.

Broken twigs and pine needles dig into my bare feet as I practically drag us both over fallen dead trees and low hanging branches. Bramble bushes snagging onto her clothes and ripping them in spots, leaving pricks of blood behind, making me hiss. Once we get to the familiar clearing, I let out an exhausted breath, tilting my head back to stare up at the cloudless sky. Stacy’s breath puffing out of her lips like she’s just run a marathon when it’s only been less than a mile. A twig snaps to my right, and a smile spreads across my face, but I lose it quickly as Stacy lets out a blood curdling scream.

“Did you hear that?” She screeches as she clutches me closer to her.

“I’m sure it’s just a rabbit or something; we are in a forest.” I say with a roll of my eyes.

Another twig snaps closer, making Stacy jump behind me, using me as a shield, but I’m not scared of what’s coming for us. A hooded figure breaches the trees and prowls towards us. Stacy’s body is trembling like a leaf from fear, making my own body tremble, but not from fear. The figure gets closer, and Stacy pulls at my hand, urging me to run, but my feet stay planted to the soft ground.

“Taliah, we need to go, now!” Her high pitched voice makes me sigh in annoyance, and at this point I’m so over the facade I’ve been putting up for the last few weeks.

“Actually Stacy, we are right where we are supposed to be.” I say gently, gripping her hand in mine, holding her tight so she can’t scamper away like the scared little deer she is right now. “How did you end up here, Stacy?” I ask her quietly, making her go motionless in my hold. “You never did tell me that in all the time we’ve spent together in that room.” Her eyes go wide with disbelief as to why I’d be asking her now at a time like this. She’s so focused on me that she doesn’t see the bat coming towards her head. Her body drops to the ground like it’s a lead balloon. “Damn Logan, you didn’t have to hit her so hard!” I scold as I watch the blood leaking from her head.

“Does it really matter? She’ll be dead by sunrise anyways, baby.” He chuckles before grabbing her by the waist and flinging her thin body over his shoulder. “Are you okay? How are your feet this time? I tried to pick up as many twigs and rocks as I could this week.” He grips my chin in his free hand and tilts my face up to his, planting a soft kiss against my lips.

“I’m fine, quit being a motherhen,” I chuckle, before grabbing his hand, tugging him along as we make our way back to the institute.

I toss the bucket of cold water across Stacy’s naked body, making her jolt awake with a gasp. Her eyes look around the room wildly until they collide with him, confusion reflecting in her eyes. “Wakey wakey, Stacy, it’s time to play!” I say with a smile as her breathing starts to increase. She tugs at the leather restraints on her wrists and ankles, trying to get free from their hold. She’s strapped down so tight to the metal table that watching her struggle is comical. Her veins bulge in her neck as she tugs uselessly until she lays back on the table with a huff. She stares up at me with pity as I watch her slowly piece together everything in her mind, her look morphing to horror.

“Taliah, what’s going on?” She asks, her voice wobbling with fear.

“Poor little Stacy, I really had you going, didn’t I?” A chuckle escapes my lips as I walk around the table. “Do you really think Dr. Logan allows his patient’s roommates here? You have to be kidding yourself if you actually thought that I was your friend. Use that little brain of yours; how else do you think I got his key card so easily?” Tilting my head, I watch as her lips flop open and close like a fish as she tries to find her words. “Now, I’m going to ask you again, Stacy, why are you here? Maybe if you’re a good girl and answer me correctly, then I’ll make sure this is less painful for you.” I give her a friendly smile as I stop at her head and pet her stringy, greasy hair.

“I-I um.” She stutters, and I mock her back, making sure she knows just how stupid she sounds right now. “I killed someone.” She says with a sob, tears trailing down her face.

“Who did you kill, Stacy?” I pet her hair away from her face in a soothing manner, waiting for her to dish out all of her secrets.

“The neighbor girl!” She says with a wailing cry, her body shaking with tremors. “The little bitch was fucking my husband!” Stacy spits the words out with venom.

“And you think that gives you an excuse to just kill people?” I ask, confusion making my brows come together as I stare into her eyes.

“Yes, it does! The little bitch deserved it!” She screams in my face, making me chuckle as I walk away from her.

“I’m sure that you really believe that, but no one deserves to be killed for something so innocent. You, on the other hand? You committed a real crime, and I think that my husband will enjoy tearing you apart.” I say with a smile on my face, blowing her a kiss, before opening the door to face an amused Logan on the other side. He’s leaned up against the wall across the hall, his foot kicked back against the wall with his arms crossed across his chest. I walk towards him, my hand drifting across his body as I stretch up on my tiptoes, and peck him on his cheek. “She’s all yours, baby.” I pat his chest, before making my way back to our bedroom so I can watch the impending show in the comfort of my bed.