At first, the tape was fairly boring. People shuffled back and forth across the screen, unaware that they were being watched for the pleasure of their kidnapper. So far, Juniper had counted five different people, none of them Peter. When a boy of about eleven years old crossed the screen, Juniper finally felt something. She felt pity. Tears stung her eyes.

"Peter, you sick fuck." She whispered hoarsely.

The boy was filthy, like his companions. How he kept his pants on was a miracle. He was sticks and bones, only a hair healthier. Every time he walked into view, he was unconsciously hitching his pants up. That action, above all others, broke Juniper's dam of tears. That boy had gone through hell, at the hands of a monster. She hoped he had survived. It did not seem likely.

Juniper held down the fast-forward button until she saw Peter come down the stairs. He took a pretty girl off screen. Fast-forward. The little boy and a young man crouched in wait with homemade weapons. Fast-forward. Peter came back on screen naked, bleeding from his crotch. Juniper smiled. He was hit from behind by the pretty girl from before. She hit him over and over again, like Juniper had imagined herself doing. Only, the girl didn't look as brutal as Juniper thought she herself might have looked in the same situation.

It was more of a look that said, "I need to survive you." Still, there was no blood, so Juniper fast-forwarded. He must die later on, she thought. Later on there was a monster, Peter, and the group of insurrectionists. After much struggle, a man got a hold of Peter. He told the girl and boy to run. They hesitated, but they left. More struggling, and then Peter fell on his own knife. The man got up from the floor and stood over his body. Juniper expected him to spit on Peter, but he didn't. Instead, he began to cry.

The man shouted, "Thank you! Thank you!" Tear-filled laughter followed his outburst.

Beside herself, Juniper cried right along with the black and white stranger. She found that she felt not a sense of victory in Peter's death, but a sense of hope. Like a bright light, it warmed her, and she could feel the void being filled up.

Peter's captives had endured much

[The thought of the little boy hurt]

and they had known monsters had been waiting for them Outside. Yet, they had fought with all that they'd had, sacrificing for one another, struggling to live.

Juniper felt a flicker of shame at her original plans. Blood vengeance and suicide? What a waste that would have been. How angry Christopher would have been at her early arrival in Heaven, or wherever he was now.

No, Juniper found she wanted the struggle. The coarseness of life paled to a more comfortable annoyance. Those strangers she watched had been starved, beaten, raped, and tortured, but they had held on. Well, so could she. Juniper would start by freeing her dog, and ransacking the house for all the supplies to be had. Then, she would get in the car and pick up the girl she had carelessly left behind. Hopefully, she was still alive. If she was, Juniper would help the girl to find her own purpose. Without purpose, the girl would fall into darkness. Juniper didn't want that for her, or for anyone.

Jesus, there is so much to do, Juniper told herself. She knew she should focus on opening the dog's cage, but her thoughts scattered. She couldn't stop herself from wondering, I wonder how many bullets it'll take to get me to England?

~*~