Daisy carefully looked around at her surroundings. The path, the density of the trees, the steps it took to get from the house to the outskirts of the woods.
Alex walked ahead of her but only by a few steps. He kept his hands behind his back,with a small remote control tucked away in his fingers.
In the event she tried to run, he would send a painful electric shock, rendering her completely useless and convulsing on the ground.
"May I ask you something?" He asked knowing she wouldn't reply "did you ever have any feelings for me?"
Daisy couldn't help but give a stunned smirk. She decided, that this time she would speak "well let me see, by feelings so you mean love?"
Alex stopped and turned "yes"
"You know it's hard to tell. I was quite close particularly when I found out you gave me food poisoning, tried to have me stabbed to death, raped me and leys not forget staging my death and kidnapping. There's so many fond memories to pick from Alex"
Not appreciating her sarcasm, he wanted to press the red remote button, but knew that trying to forge any kind of relationship with her would need some tolerance from his end.
"For the record, the stabbing was my niece" he corrected.
"Oh yes, psycho niece, how could I forget. A very mentally stable gene pool you have there"
Alex crossed his arms and raised and eyebrow "and yet knowing this, you still insult me daily"
"Knowing this, and what you've done already, the only thing keeping me going is the thought that you get sick of me and kill me" Daisy's tone turned bitter.
"Careful what you wish for little girl" Alex warned with blazing eyes.
*********
Diana searched Freddie's face for a hint of insanity "you're mad, you've all gone fucking mad!"
"Diana, I know it's hard to imagine...."Freddie began compassionately. Diana who had only recently left rehab, was not coping with Daisy's death. Having rekindled her relationship with Roger, and seeking couples counselling, she was fragile in every sense of the word.
"Imagine! That's exactly what it is, you're imagining" she replied getting visibly upset by the suggestion, that Daisy was still alive and being held captive.
Roger took Diana's hand and kissed the back of her knuckles "Di, I know that you're trying to move on from her death and that this is a regression for you, but we need to be sure"
Diana pulled her hand away and stood up while her tears ran in streams down her cheeks "sure of what! You're basing this on some dots in an envelope!"
James gave a slight cough.
"Diana love, I think out of everyone here, I'm grieving the most in having lost my child. The thought of restarting the entire healing process over some dots is crazy to me too. But. If there is, even the slightest chance that she's out there alive, I will do everything to find her"
Diana quickly turned apologetic "James yes I'm sorry of course, I.....I just don't think that this is solid enough"
"There was no body Diana. I'm surprised any of you would even continue your lives without looking for proof that she's dead" Viktor commented in a casual tone "look, I am happy to do this on my own, after all, I was apart of this mess to begin with"
"I'm in" James rose his hand, as did Freddie, his band mates, then finally Diana, who despite her hesitation was praying that they were right and she was wrong.
***************
An owl sat outside on a lone branch on the large oak tree outside of Daisy's room.
She lay on her side, with her hands tucked under her pillow, watching the large bird as her eyes would flash under the reflection of the moon.
There was nothing that she could tell herself that would bring her comfort anymore. Her hope in being rescued began to fade, while the image of a completely destroyed Freddie consumed her. Why did she even think anyone would find her message, or even recognise what it was.
At the time of writing her letter, she knew that there was no other way for her to communicate to Freddie that she was still alive, but now that the days passed she began to realise that if she wanted to leave she would need to do it herself.
Her room was large and under different circumstances, she would have loved it. The large windows overlooked a lake surrounded by mountains. She tried to search for any signs of life daily, but never saw anyone.
She stood up and pulled together her cardigan as chills ran through her. She had tried looking for ways to escape, but could never find anything to give her hope. She entered the walk-in closet. With the exception of two metal rails, it was completely empty.
As she turned she noticed a manhole in the corner or the ceiling.
She tried jumping to reach it, but it was too high.
She quickly went into her bedroom and carried over a small round ottoman. that sat at the end of her bed. She placed it under the manhole, it was soft as she stood on it, but it gave her just enough height to be able to push it slightly.
She had no idea what was above her, but it was hope, and it was better than nothing.
As she open the hole completely, a rush of air came down, it smelt fresh and crisp. She lifted her arms, and using the walls while bracing her feet to push herself up, just enough to be able to see what was in the ceiling cavity.
It was dark, and with the exception of a few boxes placed on top of each other in the corner,it was empty.
She looked around, she had no idea what she was looking for. She open the boxes quietly and found various items of clothing and old shoes. She could feel a strong breeze of air coming from somewhere around her.
She found a tile from the roof that had slipped exposing the outside to her.
She pushed her finger in through the gap, and shifted the tile effortlessly. She removed a second one, pulling it through and placing it beside her on the floor.
She poked her head out, and could see that despite being quite high, she would be able to move easily through the gap and manoeuvre herself down onto the ground.
Her adrenaline started to kick in, she searched through the boxes and found a pair of pants, a jumper and a pair of used sneakers that despite being slightly too big, were still better than her bare feet.
She clothes quickly.
She crawled out of the hole and froze, trying to listen for any sounds of Alex, who was in his room watching tv.
She took small and quiet steps, holding on to the roof carefully.
She made her way around the side of the house, and found a ledge and lowered herself.
Dangling off the side, she let go, falling to her feet.
The impact caused pins and needles to shoot through her legs. She stood up, and ignored the pain taking a deep breath and letting it out.
She took a miss placed step, and knocked over a terracotta pot which fell to its side and broke.
Her breathing stopped she stared at the broken pieces.
The she heard it. Footsteps, his footsteps.
Run.
She ran. She knew that she had a head start, he would first check her bedroom and notice that she's missing, before putting on his shoes and coming after her.
She needed to run. She tried to remain a invisible as she could, while running alongside the lake.
Her heart was racing under her chest, her breathing was so heavy that the air burnt her lungs as it rapidly entered and left her.
The branches and rocks cracked under her feet with each hard step. Even through the shoes, the surface was painfully stabbing her.
In the distance, she could see a faint light. She tried to narrow her eyes, wondering if she was imagining it or whether there was a building. As she grew closer she could see more lights, she was near town.
She could hear his car, the road was close by, the engine was racing against her, she knew that he had worked out where she was heading, she continued to run and soon reached a beautiful wooden hotel.
She burst through the doors, and fell onto the floor screaming with what last breath she had.
"Heeeeelp!" Her shriek was bloodcurdling.
Working seconds the lobby staff rushing to her aide, she tried to quickly explain that she had been kidnapped and that she escaped, but they couldn't understand her, they didn't speak English.
A young teenage girl sat in the lobby waiting for her parents. She was terrified by the ordeal and was frozen in her seat. Her eyes were wide, she stared at Daisy who is pleading with the staff.
She could understand what Daisy was saying, but was too scared to speak up.
Alex had caught up. He laughed with relief, as he saw Daisy, who scampered behind the hotel receptionist.
"No! Noooo! Don't let him touch me! He kidnapped me please! Pleeeease!" Her screams when mixed with her tears and terror "I'm Daisy, please call Freddie! CALL HIM!!! Freddie Mercury please call him!"
She sounded insane. No one knew what to say or do they all stared at each other. Alex, removed a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to the receptionist. It was a medical certificate which framed Daisy insane. He began to speak Swedish, explaining that Daisy was his wife, and due to mental health issues, she was completely delusional and had an episode before escaping their family home.
The receptionist nodded and handed the paper then turned to Daisy, wishing her well and handing her over to Alex.
He took her by the arm aggressively and began to pull her out of the lobby, she continued to scream and protest but he was too strong for her. She was weak and exhausted.
The girl stood up. Her parents appeared next to her.
"I'm famished! What was all that yelling?"Her father asked curiously.
"Dad I need to get something from my room really quickly it's important " she rushed off without waiting for his reply.
She ripped through her luggage, and found a scrapbook. She open the pages and flicked through countless Queen photographs, and newspaper clippings.
She found the photo. The photo of Freddie and Daisy from the newspaper months prior.
"It was her" she whispered to herself as she placed her hand over her mouth "that was Daisy".