“Thanks, doc, for everything, I really do appreciate what you have done for me, I really do.”
“That was my absolute pleasure Mrs. Holt and I hope that you will be able to put this horrific experience behind you one day. One or two of those injuries will remain visible, the ones I had to stitch up, but the others will fade in time, well most of them anyway. Rest assured you will not be disfigured by this, Gwen. You will be able to be seen in a bikini - not next week perhaps, but certainly next year.”
“Thanks Doc.” said Gwen and she got off the table stark naked and hugged him. She did it instinctively without even thinking, but it didn’t faze him at all. He just took it all in stride and then went to tend to Maureen in the next cubicle, but her injuries were less severe. Once she had been treated, Officer Hicks then drove them back to their hotel.
***
It was well past midnight when they got back to their hotel rooms. They looked so inviting after the accommodations they had been used to lately. It had been some time since they had experienced the luxury of hot water for a shower. The men were used to taking a dip in the lake, a very quick one too due to its temperature; the two women had used pans of hot water off the stove. They would boil the water and then dilute it with cold water to make it go around. That way more women could wash and clean up in warm water at least. Now they were in the hotel they were in a whole new world. Tonight they would sleep between clean sheets and be able to snuggle closer to the men without a sleeping bag getting in the way. They really would sleep well that night. The trek through the forest had tired them out physically and their afternoon nap on the school bus apparently made little impression on their general fatigue. They would go shopping in the morning to buy one or two necessities that they had left back in the logging camp. As they were lying there thinking about this they suddenly realized that they had no money or credit cards. Hopefully they could borrow some from the two guys. They were still mentally wrestling with that when they fell fast asleep.
While they were having breakfast in the dining room the following morning, the hotel manager came over to Paul and told him he had a phone call. This totally surprised him as nobody knew they were there, except the police. When he went to the desk to take the call it was indeed the police. They wanted to get a map of the logging camp and hunting lodge pointing out what was where.
“Yes Inspector, Gwen can do that for you, she drew one for me and that is how I managed to rescue Maureen. I’ll have her draw one up right now and we’ll drop it off right after we finish breakfast.”
“Perfect” said the Inspector. I have two teams ready to leave. They are being briefed as we speak and once they get your map they’ll be off and running. We shall use a helicopter for the Hunting Lodge as it is inaccessible by road.”
“Thanks for the update Inspector; we’ll be over there shortly, Bye”
Fifteen minutes later the police were on their way armed with a detailed map laying out all of the buildings and what they contained. They would arrive on site at approximately 2:00pm, rescue the women, and then await the arrival of the men. All of them would be arrested immediately and transported back to Thunder Bay. Their reign of terror was over – but they might soon be experiencing their own nightmares once the prison inmates learned of their crimes. They take a very dim view of rapists in prison as they have their own code of ethics in there and sex offenders are disliked intensely and are made to suffer the consequences for their actions. They will now receive the same degree of sympathy that the women had in that camp – and their lives would certainly not be envied by anyone now. They had richly deserved this after what they had done and nobody would feel sorry for them. Except for themselves that is – they would certainly be feeling very sorry for themselves in the years ahead.
The police arrived on site just after 2:00pm and stopped just short of the actual camp itself. They were gathered together, split into small groups and then dispatched to their allotted locations. When the women saw them arrive they rushed up to them and threw their arms around them like they did in WW11 when the allies came to town to rescue them. It was an incredible scene and one the cops themselves will never ever forget. The women were then told to gather all their belongings and collect in the canteen when they had done that. They were then sent back to Thunder Bay on a police bus to give their statements etc. They would then be allowed to go back home once the doctors had cleared them. Like Maureen and Gwen they would need to have their injuries seen to first. This time the hospital was expecting them and all the necessary equipment was on hand. Dr. Raymond had warned the next E.R. shift what to expect and he had not been exaggerating the severity of those injuries they soon learned. One woman was admitted on the spot her injuries were so severe.
All of the women were now excited at the prospect of going home. They were laughing and also crying at the same time in some cases – their traumatic ordeal was now over. Words cannot begin to express the sheer joy that they were now feeling. The darkness had lifted; they were no longer living in fear in the bowels of that dismal forest and being abused by violent demons. They were now safe and on their way home. They were human beings again, something we all take for granted, - but for these women this was a real and precious gift. They would heal in time, but it would take time and probably therapy too before they could look at men again. Some comfort may be had from knowing that these demons were now headed for jail for what they had done to them – but not much. Nothing could compensate them for what they had suffered, the indignity, the humiliation, the degradation, the ridicule and the soul destroying lack of humanity. These vile and sick individuals were running a modern day death camp in that forest and nobody knew a thing about it. Well they did now and it was all over- but the satisfaction in knowing that was insufficient to dull the pain – one day maybe, but certainly not today.
Unknown to all of them at this time was the fact that some good would eventually come from all of this evil. Effective treatment for the pain and suffering from PTSD and other similar conditions would soon be available. It wasn’t right now, well not in the way the new facility would provide it, but this incident would initiate its formation.
Chapter Seven
***
Once they had dropped off the map at the police station they all went shopping. The two women would have to wait until later that day before they would have their own credit cards returned to them by the police along with the rest of their luggage. Meanwhile Andre and Paul would purchase whatever they needed on their cards. The men themselves required very little, but the two women needed several items, mostly cosmetics and personal hygiene products. It had been some time since they had been to a shopping center and the two men followed along like obedient puppy dogs. They were now once again in the civilized world, along with everyone else. As they were walking around the various department stores this fact hit home with the two women. Now that they were free again they would be in competition with all the other women out there, women with far less baggage than they now had. They would both glance around from time to time and weigh up the competition so to speak - and there appeared to be no shortage of it either. The women were attractive; some very well dressed, while others wore figure hugging attire that accentuated their shapeliness. Yes indeed there was no shortage of competition out there. It was always that way they now remembered – it was just something they hadn’t thought about in a while - due to their unusual circumstances. Now that they were back in circulation again these realities would come back into play – or would they? Andre and Paul seemed to be totally disinterested in other women and some of them were very pretty and available, according to their ring fingers anyway – but the two men never even noticed them. Well that might be a stretch – they did see them, but they certainly didn’t ogle at them. They seemed only to have eyes for Gwen and Maureen. Now this was either one hell of an act – or they two guys really were smitten and really did only have eyes for them. By the end of that shopping spree the two women
were convinced; these two Unicorns were indeed theirs. They had no interest in playing the field; they had seen something magical in these two women and that was it for them. Maureen and Gwen felt the same way, these two guys were different. They had their issues, but their plusses far outweighed their minuses and the two women were well aware they themselves were far from perfect either.
They would all stay in Thunder Bay for a few more days now so that they would be available to attend court. All of the accused pleaded not guilty initially – based on the premise that the women wouldn’t wish to testify in open court and have their faces splashed all over the national press. They didn’t know these women at all. Maureen and Gwen wanted these men to pay for what they had done to them - and if that meant going to court to testify, then they would do exactly that.
Once their lawyers had taken their depositions and examined the prosecution’s evidence – those pleas would change to guilty immediately. No lawyer in his right mind would let those women take the stand – they just might re-introduce the death penalty having heard their testimony. The best they could hope for was to throw themselves on the mercy of the court – and there would be precious little of that coming their way once all of this came out. The press would not receive all the details and in particular who the victims were – but they would get many of the details. Their anonymity would be respected, but those atrocities would be reported – they sell newspapers and these details were far too juicy to pass up. What they didn’t report as fact they would write in such a way that the public would put their own interpretation on it. They may come close to the truth – but much was never reported or even imagined. While the evidence itself may not be presented in court – the judge would in fact read it all.
Theoretically they are cool and dispassionate people who merely administer the law- theoretically that is. They too are human beings and reading all of this would no doubt color their judgment when it came to sentencing – minimums would be off the table, as would early parole. Some of these people would be spending the rest of their lives locked up in prison and never be free again. This of course would serve them right. They had acted like wild predatory animals that were a danger to society – now they would be caged up and treated like them.
The preliminary court hearing went as predicted – they all changed their pleas to guilty. The judge then set a date for their sentencing some time in the future. He then pointed out that should any of the victims wish to attend they would be more than welcome, but their attendance was not mandatory. At best it might give them some closure – but they would be well advised to put this unfortunate experience behind them and move on with their lives. Most of them were more than prepared to do just that. It may require professional help in order to accomplish that – but they were determined to do it. These creeps were not going to win and they would get their lives back or die trying. They all felt the same way.
***
Once the two women had their own clothes returned to them the two guys got to see a whole new side to Gwen and Maureen. They were no longer mud spattered and unkempt and rambling through the undergrowth of the forest in anything but a ladylike fashion. They were more girlie and feminine now, fully made up and totally beautiful. It was a real transformation and one that Paul and Andre duly appreciated – and also voiced. This pleased both Gwen and Maureen to no end. They had wanted to look good for Andre and Paul and now they had seen their reaction – and that just delighted them. Words are just words. They are nice to hear, but often they are simply pro-forma and insincere. Physical reactions on the other hand can say far more than words, especially spontaneous ones. When the two women saw the look on the men’s faces, further reassurance was unnecessary. They were now theirs beyond a doubt and they both knew it. Crazy as it seemed, it was still only a few days in after all; and yet they just knew. It was an intrinsic feeling they both shared and it went way beyond hero worship. They just sensed it and they were quite right. The men felt the same way. In essence they all thought they just might have a future together with each other. They had no idea just how meaningful a future that would be for all of them and how many others they would help along the way. However, for now they were just living one day at a time and enjoying each other. They grew to learn more and more about each other every day – and the more they learned the more they liked. It just seemed so much more than personal magnetism and sharing a common experience – they just blended in with each other. Each one had something to offer the other despite it being unspoken; it was just instinctive and much appreciated by the other. Their romance now blossomed because of it and its intensity was now one of magma like heat and passion. Maureen’s shyness was a thing of the past now. Her modesty had now returned; well apart from in the bedroom that is. She was back to being Maureen McLeod again and learning how to put the past behind her. She had found a man to love and he was crazy about her too. She had never felt like this before. The passion was there, but it was so much more than that. This big powerful man had this gentleness about him and magical fingers to go with it too. When he caressed her body she became totally electrified, and that could be from him just simply rubbing her arms. Needless to say when he did become amorous Maureen’s responses were duly intensified and produced volcanic results. Compatibility in that department was never in doubt right from the outset. The rabbits in the forest could attest to that.
***
When they left thunder Bay they headed down to Toronto. It was the largest city in Canada and it had just about everything for the tourist. It was in close proximity to Niagara Falls, The U.S, border, and it had a multitude of tourist sites that could be taken in – and of course the famous CN Tower. After what they had been through they all felt that a brief holiday was in order – very few people would argue with that.
“Maureen, have you ever seen Niagara Falls?” Paul asked.
“No I haven’t, have you?”
“No I haven’t seen them either, well apart from in pictures or at the movies. Would like to go and see them for real, it’s only an hour or so away?”
“Oh Yes, I’d love to go, Paul”
“Andre, how about you, have you seen the Falls before?”
“Nope, I haven’t, but if you guys are going why don’t we all go? Are you up for this Gwen? I know you have been before.”
“Oh I’ve been a few times, but there are still things I have yet to do there, so yes I’m in.”
“I have always wanted to go on the “Maid of the Mist” that would be fun” said Maureen.
“It is fun” said Gwen, “but you’d best take your shoes off, they’ll get soaking wet. The rest of you will remain dry as they do give you raincoats. You can always wear sandals or cheap shoes you don’t care about, that’s what I usually do. It sure is a lot of fun though and the sound of all that water falling down just adds to the whole thing. They even have caves behind the falls that you can walk through too.”
“Really! I didn’t know that” said Paul, “me neither” added Andre.
“You buy your tickets up top and then you go down by elevator. There are lots of things to do there; there is even a Butterfly Conservatory nearby too. When you walk in the butterflies are flying all around you and some even land on you and they have beautiful colors to them too.”
“Oh I’d just love that” said Maureen, “that would be lovely. We would need a map though wouldn’t we?”
“Yes, but we can pick one up in the lobby downstairs” said Andre. “They have a whole rack of tourist brochures down there.”
“Well let’s get the car rental organized first and then we can figure out where we are going and in what order” said Paul.
It was an absolutely beautiful day outside so they all decided to go across to Center Island by ferry. This is just off the coastline on Lake Ontario right across from the city itself. At night one can get really nice pictures of the Toronto skyline from there. The ferry itself only takes a few minutes and that in itself can be quite refr
eshing if you prefer to be up on deck rather than in the cabin section. The island is an ideal picnic spot, has a few beaches (One of them Nudist) an amusement park, and a bicycle rental facility. This in fact is what they decided to do in the end. They all rented bikes and set off to explore the island, the quaint little homes, the marina area and all the boats that were moored there. It was all casual and they stopped at one of the many Hot Dog stands for lunch. They just strolled around the grounds taking in all the sights and the beautiful flower arrangements in the gardens. They were walking along with their arms wrapped around each other’s waist oblivious to the world around them. To the casual observer it would appear that they didn’t have a care in the world – and nothing could be further from the truth. However, having said that, these four people were beneficial for each other. Their minds were now focused on the other person’s needs rather than their own issues. The romantic element was in full swing and bringing out the very best in all of them. They were all loving and caring people to begin with – but now they were head over heels in love it added a whole dimension to the equation. When they left the island they had dinner in a downtown restaurant that evening and then walked around the stores for a while before returning to their hotel. Tomorrow they would head off to Niagara Falls and they were all looking forward to that.
When they arrived back at their hotel the front desk manager told Paul that he had a message for him.
“Mr. Machin, I have a message for you. It’s from the police up in Thunder Bay.”
“Thank you” replied Paul.
He had no idea what it would be about and he was rather curious to find out. It was from Inspector Evans asking him to call him back when he had a minute. It wasn’t urgent he had said, but it just might be something Paul may wish to follow up on. Paul was really intrigued now and immediately called the inspector back.