Sunday, December Twenty Third, 9:00 A.M…

I woke up on the floor with a kink in my neck. All I remember was a horrible dream, not how I got here. I remember after Ryan did unspeakable things, he threw me onto the floor. Maybe I fell out and crawled out here?

Zack was asleep on the couch, one arm over his eyes. I crawled over to him, lightly tapping on his arm. He grumbled to life, turning to look at me. I sighed and leaned against his arm, closing my eyes.

He reached over, lightly stroking my hair. His sleepy eyes caught mine. I saw a hint of sadness in them.

“Are you okay?” He asked. I nodded weakly, the crook in my neck hurting. He rolled over, kissing the side of my head.

“I’m fine. Are you okay?” I asked, taking another look at his sleepy features. He nodded.

“You started mumbling in your sleep and then you started screaming and ran towards the window, trying to get out. Do you remember any of that?” He asked me. I shook my head, lying.

I had that dream, that terrible, terrible memory that invaded my mind and purged my sleep. I didn’t want to tell Zack. He would worry about me too much. I could just lie instead.

“No, I don’t.” I mumbled. He eyed me a moment before nodding.

“Well, I came out here because you passed out on the floor and would twitch if we tried to move you. I just slept out here to keep an eye on you.” He explained. I nodded and snuggled against his arm. He chuckled.

“Are we heading to the bar today?” I asked him.

“We should be on course to get there in a few hours-OH LOOK! The world’s monument to Alfred Derfla!” Jack yelled from the front of the bus. The vehicle slid to the right, taking a sharp turn and nearly taking out a fence in the process. Alex held onto the table and cereal he was eating. Rian screeched as he was tossed out of his bunk.

“Who the hell is Alfred Derfla!?” Alex grumbled.

“No clue, but if they have a monument to him, he as to be important!” Jack argued and sped up.

“Well, it looks like we’re having a three hour detour.” Zack sighed to me. I nodded, righting himself from the tossing that Jack had done.

“It’s okay. I can wait.” I smiled to him. He laughed.

“Okay, because it might take us a little while.”

An hour later, we had parked the bus. Zack was right; It was going to take a while. We finally parked in the broken, empty parking lot outside a tiny little shop. There was only one other car, a minivan. I poked my head out the window to see if I could see the monument. All there was is a large field behind the shop.

“Let’s go inside!” Rian called, jumping out the front. Jack and Alex put on fresh shirts and followed him. Zack took my hand and led me down the steps. I felt a little nervous, going out in the open. Would there be people who recognize me? What about them giving me funny looks? I would have to be careful.

We entered the shop. It was just a tiny little rest stop in the literal middle of nowhere, Arizona. The cool air hit me like a baseball bat as soon as I stepped into the store. Jack and Alex were asking the young looking cashier about the Alfred Derfla monument. The kid, no older than thirteen, pointed to the sign. Jack fished out five dollars for the tour. It was only a buck per person. The boy said it would start in five minutes.

Rian, Zack and I wandered about, looking at the shelves of food. I stood closely by Zack’s side, not really trusting to go anywhere else. I felt eyes always watching me. It was always one of the boys, but I was never too sure. I constantly looked around, trying to see who it was.

“Oh sorry.” A college looking guy muttered as he bumped into me. I bit my lip, scurrying around to go stand by Zack again. I noticed that he had wandered off, or maybe I had wandered off from him. Either way, we were separated. I couldn’t find him down any of the five aisles of food. The feeling of the world crashing down tumbled onto my shoulders.

I kept seeing that boy. He must be stalking me. He had to be stalking me. Was he trying to kidnap me? What was his goals? Where was he going to take me? Was I ever going to get back home?

My thoughts were causing my head to spin. I just wanted to find Zack! I hunched my shoulders up, ducking my head, trying to look small. I spotted him across the store, watching me. I quickly moved over to his side. He wrapped an arm around my waist.

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah.” I squeaked out. He studied me for a moment before pulling me along with the others for the tour. We went out the back door towards the field. I stood as close as I can without running into the others. I just wanted to be safe. I knew these boys were trustworthy….weren’t they?

“So this is the Alfred Derfla monument. Alfred was the leader of the Great Battle of the Tennis Courts.” The kid announced, trying to make it sound as interesting as possible. The monument was barely four feet tall. It was just a stone pillar with a sign on it, saying the date he was born and had died.

“Um, you know that Derfla is ‘Alfred’ backwards, right?” Rian asked. The kid nodded.

“Sir, the battle was fought one hundred years ago and they didn’t have the fancy names we have.” The kid sighed. Rian held up his hands in defeat. Alex leaned over to inspect the monument. I leaned into Zack’s side for more comfort.

“So what was this Great Battle of the Tennis Courts?” The singer asked.

“The battle was one that our town fought against the native Indians, who had been stealing Red Potatoes from the locals. It was hard fought.” The kid started to nod off, like he was even bored of this. I looked at it from the sideways.

“So what did they do? Shoot the Indians?” Jack questioned.

“No, no, the Indians stormed the four tennis courts and the local woman’s tennis club beat them over the head with tennis rackets.” The kid explained. I couldn’t help but snicker.

“How does Alfred come in?” Zack took his turn to ask.

“Well, on the second day, the Indians tried to come in again, and Alfred arranged a wall of people around the fence of the tennis court and anytime a local got near it, they’d pelt ‘em with tennis balls. After that, Alfred died four days after they won the battle, he got sick and died. He had a short life, but at least he could say he won a battle.” The kid shrugged and walked back inside. We were left in silence, just staring at the strange monument.

“Well, so much for Alfred Derfla.” Jack and Alex shrugged and started back. I followed them in with the other two. We went through the building back to the bus.

“I don’t know if that was a nice break or a waste of time.” Rian grumbled. Jack shook his finger at him.

“It was a wonderful tribute to a great man who won a war fought over dusty potatoes. Now shut up or put up. It’s your turn to drive, you fool.” Jack grumbled before going back to his bunk. Zack pulled me aside, going into the back lounge. He closed the door behind us. I looked at the closed door.

This is what Ryan had done.

This is what Ryan did when he abused me.

I started shaking badly. Zack looked at me, pushing me down to sit. I stood right back up, going over by the door in case I had to make a quick escape.

“Are you okay, Rory? You were looking really lost and panicked at the rest stop and now you’re shaking.” Zack noted. I nodded and opened the door all the way, sliding it back in its spot. The bassist immediately got up and closed it.

“I think we should close the door for this talk.” He murmured to me softly. I shook my head.

“Please, can we keep the door open?” I begged, starting to tap my foot from the feeling of being trapped. Zack gave me a cautious look before opening the door a few inches. I stood between him and my exit so I could make a quick escape.

“Rory, please look at me.” Zack asked softly as he sat on the couch. I dug my nails into the inside of my hand and looked up to him.

“Sorry, sir.”

“I’m not your Master, don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you.” He soothed, but I didn’t feel calm. In fact, I felt even more anxious.

“I know.”

“Then why are you looking like I’m about to hurt you?” He asked. I reached up, nervously wiping at my face. I felt anxious, like I couldn’t stand still.

I didn’t answer him. In truth, I didn’t really have an answer that he would like. I don’t want to disappoint him. I don’t want to provoke him. I just want to escape.

“Rory, what’s wrong?” Zack asked softly. I tried to melt into the wall, but it didn’t work.

“I don’t know.” I blurted out.

“Well, if you’re feeling bad, please tell us. We’re only here to help you, not hurt you.” Zack soothed. I started to inch to my exit. Zack sighed.

“Okay, I will.” I promised shakily.

“We’ll be at the bar in a few hours, okay?” Zack changed the subject. I nodded silently.

“Okay.”

“You can go.” He gave up, just gave up and let me go. I bolted before he could change his mind.

Notes

So as I said before, it's important to pay attention to everything that's going on, all the actions and reactions of the characters and how it related to Rory's mental health. Here's something else to ponder:

Is Rory becoming unstable? How can you tell? Can we trust Rory's POV? She is seeing everything and this is what comes from her mind, but as her mind becomes more and more warped and frantic, her POV in the story maybe not as truthful. Can we call Rory a "reliable narrator"? (Hint: you might want to do a little research to find out what this is and what it means :D)

Thanks for reading everyone! Don't forget to leave your comments/answer the questions I pose to you below!!!