Oh right. We’re still in the village. Someone might hear us. “Can you tell me your plan, then?” The fact that Federick was helping them made her feel more confident about escaping.
“Not yet. The fact you saw through my disguise is already making my work hard.” Enna didn’t think Yelena would ruin her plan, but she wouldn’t tell anyone top-secret information.
Yelena understood that, so she said nothing.
A while later, Federick came in. When he noticed their smiles, he thought it was weird.
Federick wasn’t surprised. “She has always been smart. That’s not surprising.”
Yelena thought that sounded eerie. “What do you mean? Do you know me?”
Federick gave Enna a look, and she went back to her room, leaving him and Yelena alone. “You don’t remember me?” He studied her expression, trying to see if she remembered him, but she showed no signs of it even after a while, much to his disappointment.
“Should I know you from somewhere? Tell me your name. Maybe that’ll jog my memory.” Yelena smiled awkwardly. “It’s been a while, so I don’t remember.”
Federick quickly composed himself. “I’m Federick Seanzy.”
Federick… That jogged Yelena’s memory. Back in middle school, there used to be a handsome top student everyone loved, and Federick was his name. He didn’t look as sharp as he was now. He only looked cute back then, but now he was handsome. They barely spoke to each other back then, so Yelena slowly forgot about him. “So, it’s you. You’re a village officer now, I see.”
Federick looked at her coolly. “Didn’t think you’d be a star.”
Yelena raised her head proudly. “I have the talent for it.”
Still as proud as ever. Federick chuckled. “How did you get kidnapped?” Good thing she ran into me, or she would have been in trouble.
“No idea. I was hanging around the lake with my friend and boyfriend. I went to the restroom after that, which was when someone knocked me out.”
Federick’s face fell. “You have a boyfriend.”
“Yeah. We’ve known each other for a long time now,” said Yelena, oblivious to the fact that Federick, who was standing behind her, was looking harsher by the second. “So, what’s your plan? I asked her, and she said you’d tell me.” Yelena turned around, hoping that Federick would tell her their plan.
Federick scoffed. “None of your business. Just know that we’ll bust you out of here.” He went back to his study after that, refusing to talk to her.
Yelena saw him off, feeling that he was acting weird. Why did he get mad all of a sudden? Weird. It’s just like how he was back in school.
Elspeth and Callum were driving deeper, and they noticed a lot of weird obstacles on their way.
Callum mulled over it. “Probably set up by the villagers to prevent anyone from going in or out.”
It was dark so they couldn’t make big strides. They could only drive slowly just in case the obstacles hurt their car.
As time passed, Elspeth got more and more worried. “She must’ve been taken into the village. If we don’t speed up, who knows what might happen?”
Callum looked solemn. “She might have been…”
“I trust her.” Elspeth took a deep breath to calm herself down. “She’ll protect herself.”
Callum said nothing. He was prepared for the worst-case scenario. About four hours later, they finally got out of the meandering mountain path and entered a village in the mountain depths. In case anyone saw their car, they parked it in the woods outside the village and covered it up. Dawn was breaking, and a few farmers were going to work with their tools in hand. Fortunately, the two of them were swift and easily maneuvered around these people.
“It’s going to be a hassle looking one by one.” Elspeth noticed the houses looked all the same. “At this rate, she might be in trouble.”
Elspeth observed the buildings, and for some reason, she thought they looked familiar. “Hey, this place looks familiar.”
Callum turned around and gazed at her. “You’ve been here before?”
Elspeth shook her head. “No way. I’m just saying the buildings look familiar. Oh, I remember now. Ever read a book called The Village?”
It was the story of a female college student being kidnapped and sold to the mountains. Callum shouldn’t have read it before, but surprisingly, he nodded. “I have.”
Callum explained, “My friend wrote the book. He asked me to beta read it, so I did.”
Callum looked around him and realized what Elspeth was talking about. He looked at the fog in the skies and recited, “Short huts were strewn all across the village, their walls made of red, crimson bricks. On these bricks were spindly, stringy words resembling arcane runes. A great path led into the mountains, and standing on both sides of this path were short poplar…” He stopped reciting. Standing on both sides of the path they were on were poplar trees.
“Art imitates life. That book must have drawn its inspiration from somewhere.” Elspeth touched a poplar tree. “I bet your friend must have come here before.”
Callum looked a little hesitant. “It’s been a while since I contacted this friend of mine. Let me see if I can get in touch.” He took his phone out, but the signal in the mountains was bad. When they neared a signal tower, they finally managed to get connected. Callum went through his contacts and made a call, and it went through quickly.
“What is it, Callum?” Callum’s friend asked calmly.
Callum frowned. “It’s about your novel called The Village. Where did you get the inspiration for this setting?”
His friend asked in puzzlement, “Why the sudden question?”
“A friend of ours got kidnapped to a village, and it’s just like the one you described in your book.”
The friend asked coolly, “Is your friend called Yelena Sullivan?”
Callum froze. “How do you know?”
“Where are you now?”
Callum looked around him and told his friend his location.
His friend solemnly said, “You’re in the village, aren’t you?”
Noticing what his question implied, Callum asked, “You’re here too?”
“I’ll pick you up in ten.”
Ten minutes later, a handsome silhouette came out of the cloud of dust before them. Elspeth narrowed her eyes, but she said nothing.
“It’s been a while, Federick.” Callum smiled.
Federick wasn’t fazed. He nodded and looked around, then his gaze landed on Elspeth.
Noticing the gaze from Federick, Callum said, “This is my wife, Elspeth.”
“I know.”
Callum wondered what he was talking about.
“We met at an authors’ gathering.”
She’s an author? Callum shot Elspeth a look, and she quickly looked away.
“Just wrote something out of boredom.”
For the first time since they met, Federick smiled, but it was a mocking smile. “That thing you wrote out of boredom got you the highest award an author can get.”
Elspeth smiled sheepishly.
Callum was not surprised Elspeth had another side he didn’t know about, so he just looked at Federick and asked, “Why are you here?”
“I’m a village officer.”
Elspeth looked at him. He was wearing simple clothes, but he radiated an air of regality. Man. I’d love to chat, but we have work to do. “Where’s Yelena?”
Federick looked in the direction he came from. “She’s at my place. Come with me.” He added, “This village is filled with crude, barbaric people. You guys come here all alone wearing expensive clothes and they’re going to rob you.”
Elspeth and Callum looked at their clothes. If they went into the village wearing these, they would be robbed, but there was no time to talk about that. Before the villagers came in droves, they carefully went to Federick’s place.
Yelena was asleep on the bed when they came. She had been nervous the whole night, and exhaustion eventually overwhelmed her.
Federick poured two glasses of water for them and sat down. “You guys are here to save her?”
Callum nodded. “Yes. She’s my friend.”
“She’s safe. Nobody has laid a finger on her since she got taken here.”
Elspeth shot him a look of gratitude.
“But…” Federick mused over it for a while. “Can you stay back and help us out for a bit?” The fact he used ‘us’ meant there was more to the topic.
Elspeth nodded. “You helped Yelena, which means she owes you one. We’ll do our best.”
Federick looked like he was in a dilemma. “But this might be a difficult task. We can’t be sure about the details yet, and the mission might put you guys at risk.”
Elspeth smiled. “It’s alright. Callum and I can fight well. We can handle ourselves.”
“No, it’s not you guys.”
Elspeth was surprised. “Who are you asking for, then?” It can’t be…
“Yelena.”
Elspeth frowned. “I can’t do that. Yelena’s not a combatant. She wouldn’t have been kidnapped otherwise. If you have to use her, I won’t let you, but I can help in ways I can.”
Federick looked a little sullen. “I know it’s going to be hard for her. She’s a former classmate of mine and I wouldn’t want her to take the risk otherwise, but she’s in a perfect position. She’s a celebrity, after all.”
Federick didn’t seem to be lying, so Elspeth decided to listen to him.
“I’ll shoot straight. I came here to be an officer so I can destroy this human trafficking joint. The human traffickers here are working with the local cops, and we can’t get rid of them easily.”
Elspeth had a feeling that was the case, but she nodded anyway. “And?”
“They’ve sent an undercover cop in as a female college student, who will work with me so we can capture these people. It just so happens that Yelena was captured as well.” Federick noticed the solemnity in their eyes, and he sighed. “The disappearance of a famous celebrity is going to cause an uproar. If I tell the public what happened, we can get them to help. Then we’ll tell them the exact address of this village and get them here to bust her out. Maybe we can capture these traffickers at long last.”
It was a reasonable plan, but there was a flaw. Elspeth asked, “What if the perpetrators take revenge on Yelena?” If they find out Yelena’s the reason they can’t do their business anymore, they’ll try to kill her. Human traffickers are evil, after all.
That was indeed an issue. Federick couldn’t risk Yelena’s life, so he set that plan aside.
Yelena woke up while they were chatting. When she came out and saw familiar faces outside, tears fell down her cheeks. “You’re here.” She knew Elspeth would find her, but she didn’t think Elspeth would be this quick.
“Of course. We’re taking you home.” Elspeth walked up to her and patted her head. “You didn’t get bullied, did you?”
“No. He was nice to me.” Yelena smiled, albeit a bit cautiously. “Are we going home today?”
Elspeth was about to say yes, but then she remembered what Federick told her and she had no idea what to say.
Yelena was smart enough to notice the hesitation. “Did you run into something?”
Elspeth gave her a look. “Federick needs your help but it’s risky, so we’re trying to figure out things.”
Yelena paused for a moment. And I thought it was something big. She said, “Sure. It’s risky, but I’m sure I will get out of it fine.”
She’s so easygoing. Elspeth knew she was kind, and now she was worried about Yelena. “You silly girl.”
“It’s alright. If it weren’t for him, I would have been sold to some old git.” Yelena was a grateful person.
Since she insisted, Elspeth said nothing more and agreed to the plan. Just in case anything were to happen to Yelena, Elspeth, and Callum stayed around. Fortunately, Federick’s place was a big one, and there was enough space to house two more people.
In order for the plan to go smoothly, Elspeth and Callum spread the news on a bigger scale. The whole of Damoria knew Yelena was kidnapped in just a day. People thought it was fake at first. They thought it was just a marketing ploy, but when Yelena didn’t come out to clear the rumors, they panicked.
Only then did they realize the rumor was true, and Yelena’s fans quickly rallied and came up with a plan to save their idol. Someone actually found out where she was taken, thanks to Elspeth’s leak.
Since she was taken to a remote village in the mountains, going there without a plan was risky. Everyone agreed to have the female fans stay while the guys went to save Yelena. Noticing the splash they made online, Elspeth wanted to laugh. There were actually people out there who would come to Yelena’s rescue, and there were a lot of them. In just three days, twenty thousand people had rallied.
News of this came back to the village. Now, more and more people knew that the beautiful woman they kidnapped was a celebrity, and her fans were coming over to destroy them. The villagers then started gossiping about how Yelena was an omen.
Almost everyone in the village came to Federick’s house. The first thing Federick saw when he woke up was a big bunch of people outside his house. They were disgruntled villagers, and they seemed indignant. “Who’s that woman you bought, Mr. Seanzy? She’s bringing danger to the village.”
“I say we kill her. I don’t want those idiots saying we kidnapped their idol.”
“We’re all just villagers. If they come after us, what should we do?”
“Kill her!”
“Kill her!”
The villagers demanded that Yelena be killed, but Federick didn’t answer them. Instead, he looked at the villagers. “Who told you she’s a celebrity?”
“Mary and her family did,” one villager answered. He seemed like an honest guy.
“How did they know?”
The villager blushed and muttered, “They go to the city every day and kidnap girls for us to marry. Of course, they know.”
“So, they’re the ones who did the kidnapping. The only ones?”
Oblivious to the fact Federick was trying to wheedle some information out of them, the villagers nodded. “Yes.”
Federick chuckled. “Do you think what you’re doing is right?”
The villagers said nothing. A long while later, one of them mustered up the courage to answer, “We know it’s not right. It’s illegal, but we’re dirt poor and can’t afford a wife. What’s more, we’re uncultured and uneducated. Nobody’s going to marry us.”
All the people here were close-minded. Preserving their bloodline was the most important thing for them, hence they prioritized boys. This misogynistic thinking caused them to lose a lot of girls, eventually leaving nothing but men in the village. If they wanted children, they must buy a woman from the human traffickers and make some with them.
The women they bought were never obedient, however. They would try to escape, but every time they did, they would be abused. These men thought abuse would make the women listen to them.
A burly man in the corner dug his ear impatiently. “What’s my buying a wife got to do with this? We didn’t know that Yelena Sullivan had a lot of admirers, and now a lot of people are coming to rescue her. Shouldn’t we get rid of her right away?”
There were only a few hundred families in the village, totaling up to a few thousand people. Yelena’s fans amounted to a few times more. If they were to invade the village, these people would be done for. The thought of a big army coming over to destroy them filled the villagers with fear.
“I’m telling you this for one reason. Yelena’s fans are enough to trample you guys. What if you kidnap those who are more powerful and famous than she is?”
One of the villagers muttered, “Well, we can just keep it a secret from everyone.”
“And how can you guarantee no one will notice? Someone noticed this time.”
Federick was about to lecture him, but the man in the corner—Buck Teeser—dusted his clothes off and stood up. Federick knew this man. He was arrogant and short-tempered, and he was one of the biggest thugs around. He dropped out of school in fourth grade and went around doing petty crimes. Even so, none would stand up to him, all because he was a brute. He sneered. “This is all your fault, you know.”
“What do you mean?” Federick narrowed his eyes.
Buck cleared his throat and turned around. “People, think about it. Nothing of this sort has happened so far, but this time, they found out. Why do you think that happened?”
“Why? The villagers were stupid and ignorant. They were easily led to the wrong conclusion.
“Someone ratted us out, and it might just be this officer here.” He turned around to point at Federick. “There’s a reason he picked Yelena. He knows her. She’s the spy he planted among us!”
A spy? The villagers realized what he was talking about. “So, you’re saying he knows who Yelena is? It wasn’t a coincidence she got taken here. He wants to take us all out.”
“Yes. And if I’m right, he must have been the one who told the public Yelena is here.” He turned around and looked at Federick coldly. “Want to explain how she got to this village and how the public found out?”
Noticing the anger rising in the villagers, Federick quickly said, “This has nothing to do with me. I wasn’t the one who spread the news.”
“As if we would believe that. Prove that you’re not the one who spread it.”
He wants me to prove a negative? What is he, an idiot? Federick knew Buck didn’t like him very much, but now he had no idea how to prove his innocence.
The villagers took his silence as an admission of guilt, and they screamed murder.
“Mr. Seanzy, we’ve shown you nothing but respect, and this is how you treat us?”
“Disappointing. You’re the same as those women. You’re an accomplice!”
“Tie him up! Punish him!”
“Punish him!”
Federick might be a calm person, but even he frowned at this scene. “You’re trying to stage a rebellion?”
Buck burst into laughter. “A rebellion? No, we’re just getting rid of outsiders.”
The villagers had no idea what that meant. All they knew was that this man had been lying to them for a long time, and he must be punished. The people in the front row were ready to attack.
“Stop resisting, Mr. Seanzy. You can’t run.” Buck whistled and shot the house a leer. “I heard Yelena is a beauty. Why don’t you give her to us? We can show her a good time.”
The man beside him raised his hand. “I’ve seen her. She’s as beautiful as a goddess. Very petite and fair.”
None of them had ever slept with a woman that beautiful. Noticing the lust in the villagers’ eyes, Federick knew things would go bad. Suddenly, someone opened the door and pulled him back into the house.
It happened in a split second. Federick was gone before the villagers could do anything, and they shouted.
“Where did he go? Did he run away?”
“Someone pulled him back into the house. I bet Yelena’s inside.”
Buck was now the leader of these people. He played around with the grass in his hand, imagining all the lewd things he would do to Yelena. Oh, I’ll have a taste of her, I swear. “Calm down. He won’t be escaping easily. We should figure out how to force him to come out.”
Someone shouted, “It’s a wooden house! I say we burn it down!”
That woman is still inside. Buck frowned. “That’s going to constitute arson and murder. What if his boss starts investigating?”
Another villager said, “I say we smash this whole place down with some shovels.”
Buck nodded and patted his shoulder. “Good idea. Get the tools. Make sure they’re hard enough.”
The villagers went back to gather their shovels and axes. The people here were united, and soon enough, they came back with weapons.
“Smash it down!” Buck ordered, and they started smashing the walls of the house.
Noticing what was happening outside, Elspeth and her team frowned.
“Are they mad? What are they doing? How stupid can someone get? This is criminal, don’t they know that?” Yelena shouted as she panicked. She had never seen something like this before. Before this, she never thought there would be people this foolish, idiotic, and ignorant.
“They don’t. Nobody has ever told them this is criminal.” Federick sighed in resignation. It had been six months since he came, and this was his first time seeing a real case of human trafficking. At first, these people would be on guard against him, but eventually, they opened up. When Federick knew about the intricacies of this case, he felt powerless to stop it.
This time, since Federick’s comrade was among the captured, he met up with Mary and bought three women.
Callum understood why he was in this position, and he said, “This isn’t something you can change by yourself.”
Loud bangs kept coming from the door. “What now?” Yelena thought it was scary. “They’re chopping down the door.” She had never seen something this abhorrent.
Elspeth patted her back to calm her down and turned to Callum. “How many are out there?”
“About twenty to thirty.”
She looked down. “Why don’t we kick their butts?”
He shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. There are too many of them. Even if we defeat these people, there will be more after that.”
“I have a better idea.” She took out a bottle of drugs. “My master gave this to me. He said it could temporarily knock people out, but I have never used it.”
Callum’s eyes shone. “That’s a good idea. Any spray cans here, Federick?”
I see what they’re getting at. He took a bottle of insect repellent from the windowsill and poured everything out. He then rinsed it and handed it to Elspeth. “Only one, but I think it’s enough.”
Elspeth took the bottle and poured her drug into it, then she added some water and shook it. “I’ll do it. They’ll be knocked out in a minute.”
She was about to go out, but someone held her hand. “No. That’s too dangerous. I’ll go.”
Callum wouldn’t let her risk herself, but Elspeth wasn’t that weak. “I’m a better fighter. Don’t forget that I’m a karate champion.”
Enna had a good relationship with the girl. When she saw the girl’s risky attempt, she frowned and asked, “Do you know what you are doing, Carole?” Her voice was stern.
When Don heard her words, he shivered in fear. “Calm down now. Let’s talk this out.”
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