Demons (Galen Hooks: Hunted- Book 2)

Chapter Eleven- The Truth

"I'm so glad we found you when we did," Isabel sighed as she reached for Galen's bloody hand. "It doesn't look like your body could have taken much more of this."

"It's worse than you think," she muttered.

"What did they do to you?"

"Everything. Electricity, stabbing, and... and... I can't even believe she did this..."

"Wait, there was a woman in that group?"

"Her name was Johanna. She was the one who made me a target in the first place."

"So what was that last thing you were going to say?"

"Well... can you keep a secret?"

"Depends on what it is."

Galen lowered her voice to a whisper before she spoke again and Isabel leaned closer. "Izzy... the first day, she set this man named Lucas on me and... he..." She shook a little bit and a small tear slipped from one eye.

"Hey, it's okay." Isabel placed one hand on her friend's knee, feeling one of the more major cuts on her skin. Then she noticed something that caused everything to make sense in her mind. The area above the cut was red and inflamed and as she pushed the shorts up a little bit, she saw that her whole thigh was like that. In fact, both of them were.

"Okay, no, this is not okay." She winced, which made Galen look even more afraid than before. "Galen... is this what you don't want to tell me? You... you were raped?"

At the sound of that last word, the injured dancer recoiled in shock, accidentally banging her head against the tree trunk.

"So that was it? That's what he did to you?"

"Yes!" Galen burst out as Isabel leaned over and pulled her towards herself, resting her head on her lap. "It was horrible... and so painful..." She shuddered. "Lucas was only set on me once, but Johanna... she did it so many times... I totally lost track..." Trailing off, she curled up against her friend, more tears sliding down her face.

"Yikes..." Isabel was trying to keep calm, but inside, she was overwhelmed by the confession. "Well, at least Camila has to know."

"No!" Galen gasped. "Don't tell her."

"Why not?"

"If you think you're overprotective, then you don't know how much she is. And if she hears about that, she won't care if I'm a famous dancer or not; she'll keep me locked inside my house until those people are arrested, which could take a while. Promise me you won't tell."

"Okay, fine."

"We need to take another trip to the hospital then because some of those cuts could get infected." Isabel tilted her head to the side. "I wonder if you're light enough for this..." She gathered Galen's broken body into her arms and stood up. "Wow, you really are." Galen groaned as her wounded shoulder pressed against Isabel's chest.

"Hey, don't move or talk. You're already hurt badly enough."

"But... how did you find me?"

"You still have your phone on you and because the tracking app didn't work, Camila and I assumed you were in some type of forest. We've been traveling for days to get here and I'm so glad we found you at last." She glanced over at her. "Cammy, there's no one else here anymore. Can you get my pack from me so I can carry her easier?"

"Cammy?" A small smile appeared on Galen's face under the tears. "When did she start letting you call her that?"

"What do you mean?"

"She usually hates being called that. You must be something special to her." She lowered her voice again. "If you guys get together, I totally ship it."

"But-"

"She's bisexual, so don't be worrying about that."

"Okay..." Then Isabel snapped back to reality. "Wait, why are we even talking right now?" She beckoned to Camila again and the blonde quickly rushed over and removed the pack string from around her right arm, freeing it into her hands. That allowed her to adjust Galen's position in her arms to make them both more comfortable. "We need to go. Now. I'll call the hospital as soon as we get to the edge of the forest."

"Follow me then." Camila looked at Isabel and began to lead her back the way they had come. They had gone pretty far from their campsite, but Isabel didn't want to run in case it hurt Galen more. The path had to be careful.

"Your instincts were right," she murmured as they walked on. "That was a close call, Camila."

"But we're not safe yet. We still have to get out of here and if we don't get Galen somewhere safe soon, she may die of blood loss. She already looks pale enough, but we don't want this to kill her."

"Yeah." Isabel didn't want to think about it, but looking down at the bloodstained body of the dancer in her arms brought unwanted images crashing into her mind. The weight of knowing what she had gone through was almost too much for her and she staggered.

"Whoa, Izzy, be careful!" Camila darted forward to prevent Galen from falling. "I know it's painful knowing what had and could have happened, but think of now! You need to hold on to her. Right now, until she gets to the hospital, her life is in our hands."

"Okay..." Isabel blinked as Camila snapped her fingers in her face. "Live in the present!" She sighed. "I'll call the hospital when we get out of here and then I'll call Rhea and let her know what's happened."

"Fine."

"I honestly think we should run."

"Would you mind?" Isabel asked Galen. She shook her head, closing her eyes.

"Izzy, she needs to stay awake."

"Why?"

"At this point, it's easier for her heart to stop if she's unconscious."

"Ugh, okay," Galen grumbled as she opened her eyes again.

"Don't worry." Camila reached forward and stroked her hair a bit. "We're doing this to save your life." She and Isabel exchanged determined glances. "We can do this."

Sorry this was shorter than the other chapters, but this is how long it is now, so accept it! Next chapter'll be out soon; I'm updating pretty fast. Peace out! ~Hazel