“You guys know exactly what we have been through, and all because we were lonely and trying to find someone to love us. Do you think any other men will still look at us now that we are damaged goods asked Gwen?”
“What! are you serious?” responded Paul.
“Are you crazy?” said Andre simultaneously. “You two are beautiful both inside and out. A man would be crazy to let you pass by.”
“Amen” to that said Paul. “Physical beauty is one thing, but it only goes so far. What really matters lies inside your heart and the depth of character you have. Andre and I were discussing that when we were gathering wood for the fire. You two girls are beautiful even without make up, but that is purely physical. Inside you have compassion, warmth and understanding and you have this ability to actually care for others. That in itself is remarkable considering what you two have suffered. We both know we have our own issues, but it didn’t stop you from trying to help us get by and trying to understand us. How many women would bother to do that? It isn’t just because we are here in the forest all alone – it’s just who you are. So in answer to your question, any guy out there would be lucky to have you. We most certainly would if we were fit and well, but as you know we have our own problems and few women would want to take that on 24/7.”
“Well now Paul, why would you say that? Let me tell you something and I think I can speak for Gwen on this too; we have seen what is out there in terms of single men, married ones too. We have tried everything to meet good decent men, including the internet and look where that got us. Then out here in the forest we meet you guys. You are kind gentle, considerate and respectful and above all caring. You are not bullies and you make us feel totally safe and protected. Yes you have issues, so do we, so what? As you pointed out, its character that counts, and you two guys certainly have plenty of that. Apart from your obvious physical attraction, Gwen and I are attracted to you for just who you are as is - and with all your flaws, Right! Gwen?”
“Truer words were never spoken, Maureen. I feel exactly the same way. You make me feel so secure Andre, especially when you cuddle me at night. However, I was concerned that you may not want to come near us sexually after what you know about us.”
“Nothing could be further from the truth Gwen.”
“Having been through what you girls have suffered, Paul and I figured you would want to be left alone and not be used as a sex object. Let’s face it, men have not treated you well and we didn’t want to add to that. You are right, Maureen, we do care, we care very much and that is why we kept our distance so to speak. However, for the record, we most certainly do find you to be sexually attractive in addition to all of your other qualities – so now you know.”
When they turned in for night, their cuddling took on a whole new dimension that night. For the first time in a long time the women really felt relaxed and satisfied and totally content afterwards. The tenderness and the gentleness of the caresses as the men explored their bodies pleased the women to no end. This was exactly how it should be. The warmth and the nuzzling of their necks sent tremors through their bodies as the sensations intensified. Their responsiveness simply went off the scale that night and the local bunny rabbits were totally put to shame by their explosive performance. They all fell asleep knowing that tomorrow would be the start of a whole new scenario. The flame that had been lit before was now becoming a fire. In the very near future it would take on volcanic intensity in terms of heat as they all realized how fortunate they were to have found each other – and in the most unexpected place too.
Chapter Six
***
They set off on the last day in the forest with renewed vigor. They had a mission to complete, but now that romance was in full bloom their energy level had risen significantly. They got up bright and early, had breakfast and packed up all of their equipment. The two men were not sure just how far away the road was – and they didn’t really care. They now had someone to care about and more importantly, the women actually cared about them and that was huge for these two damaged men. That in itself wouldn’t solve all of their problems and quell their demons – but it was a hell of a good start they thought. Their minds would now spend more time on the two women and far less back in Afghanistan dodging bullets and IED’s. However, right now the job in hand was to get out of this forest and back into civilization and tell the police just what was going on out there. Most ordinary people would have a hard time believing this to be possible – but the police see all kinds of depravity and it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch for them to imagine this. They would never have encountered it before – but they would never underestimate man’s insane behaviour. This would simply be a new twist to them and one they would eagerly pursue. Paul and Andre never doubted for one minute that action would be taken immediately once they could muster their forces. Considering the numbers involved in this enterprise, the raid itself would have to take on military proportions in order to capture all of these miscreants. The very thought of this raid taking place was inspiring the two men to accomplish this task with all due haste.
They finished the last of their tinned foods for lunch that day and they never even considered having to provide for dinner. It simply never crossed their minds that they would spend another night in the forest. They were all driven by the urgency of rescuing those poor women from the hell they were going through- spending another night in the forest was simply unthinkable. Around two thirty, as they were still surging onward, they heard a train whistle off in the distance. It was music to their ears. They could not be too far away from the road now. An hour later they could hear the sound of the odd vehicle in the distance and then they were out. Here they were at the side of the road now, with the forest on both sides of the road. They now had to wait and get a ride into town, or anywhere amongst people. They got really lucky that day and they were picked up by a school bus within a few minutes. It was one of those short school buses that had just taken a load of kids to camp and was on its return trip empty. The driver welcomed the company as it was a three hour drive to Thunder Bay from there.
“Well howdy folks, did your car break down, or fail to show up to pick you up? I guess you’ve been camping in the woods, eh, judging by your back packs?”
“Yeah” said Paul, “we’ve been trekking through the forest for a few days and we got kinda lost.”
“Yep it sure is easy to do that in there, damned dangerous too, lots of bears and other wild animals in there too. You can’t be too careful in the forest.”
“Oh Yeah, you got that right” said Andre as he looked at Paul and winked at the women.
“Where can I drop you folks? Do you have a particular hotel in mind – I can take you there directly if you like. It wouldn’t be out of the way for me.”
“That’s very kind of you sir”, said Paul, “but could you drop us off at the police station, we have something to report first?”
“My pleasure folks, that’s right around the corner from my depot, that’s no trouble at all.”
He did not question what they had to report? That was their business not his and he was not about to enquire. They continued on their way with the driver telling them what had been happening in the world while they had been in the forest. When they ran out of conversation the driver turned on the radio – something they had not heard in a long time. The two women were snuggled up against their men and fell fast asleep in no time having been soothed by the music on the radio.
“I guess the ladies are tired out, eh”, said the driver.
“Yes it was quite the trek for them the last day.”
“Yes, I’ll bet”, he said and left it at that.
Andre and Paul dozed off a little enroute, but it was spasmodic at best but the women had to be woken up when they arrived at the police station.
“Thank you very much, Sir, for your kindness” said Paul. “It was very much appreciated and desperately needed.”
“No trouble at all folks, glad to
be of service to you all, have a good evening and enjoy your stay in Thunder Bay.”
With that he drove away and the four of them went into the police station to give them their story.
***
When they entered the police station and went up to the desk a young constable greeted them.
“Good evening folks can I help you.”
“Yes you most certainly can, is your Watch Commander available?”
“I can get him, Sir, but can you first tell me what it is regarding as I may be able to help, you?”
“It’s about Rape and Murder on a grand scale and it’s still ongoing - the rape part as we speak.”
The young office paled a little as he looked at them and asked – “Is this for real, Sir?”
“Yes officer it damn sure is and when I tell this story it will make your hair curl, well when these ladies tell you their story that is – they lived it.”
“Please have a seat folks, I’ll go and get the watch commander.”
A few minutes later and police sergeant and a man in plain clothes came out.
“I’m Inspector Evans and this is Sergeant Jeffries, I believe you wish to report a rape and murder.”
“Well multiple actually”, said Paul “and what we are about to reveal will stagger you, well it did us anyway. These two ladies will tell you the story, but I suggest we do so in an office with the door closed if that’s okay with you, guys?”
“Yes that will be just fine, lead them to my office, Tony. Just follow Sergeant Jeffries if you would please and make yourselves comfortable.”
They then followed the sergeant into the inspector’s office, sat down and made themselves comfortable. When everyone was seated the story was then told.
“Why don’t we all introduce ourselves first and then we can start at the very beginning and go on from there” said the inspector.
Maureen then started to explain her story and how she had become involved with a fictitious man supposedly named Robert Graham who had wooed her and provided plane tickets to and from Toronto in order to meet him. That then led her to the logging camp. Gwen then related a similar story of how she ended up in the logging camp.
“Our daily routine was one of sexual slavery basically”, said Maureen. “We were obliged to cook clean and perform all manner of sexual favors for these men or be punished if we failed to please them. We would be whipped, beaten or raped by any number of different men depending upon the offence. That could be for trivial things like, not making his coffee hot enough or not pressing his underpants – yes his underpants. It could be even be just for the hell of it. Then at the weekend parties we could be shared or made to perform in contests. Who was the sexiest, who performed best and who gave the best blow jobs? Some of those contests were just sick, but we had to go along or else. The losers would be whipped or beaten – so they more or less forced all the women to put forth their best effort or else get whipped and beaten.”
The Inspector and the Sergeant just sat there aghast listening and taking it all in. Gwen then added her two cents worth, but she also lifted up her dress and showed them the evidence and both men winced when they saw those welts. The just looked at each other, this was no fabrication, this was true. These women had actually lived this nightmare – but it was not over yet. The sex orgies the police were used to, they had seen all manner of them in their careers. Perhaps not as brutal as these were, but some were pretty gruesome. However, they soon pricked up their ears when Gwen told them about the Hunting Lodge and what went on there.
“We were told we were all going home the next day, but we had to provide sexual favors to their guests first. They would wine and dine us first, but we had to screw them and satisfy their needs one more time. We were also advised to forget that we had ever been up there. In addition we were told we would be taking a scenic canoe trip prior to our flight back down to Thunder Bay. This we did, and then it really started. We were told that these hunters had paid a lot of money to hunt up there. On their last weekend they would get to screw us and then hunt us with crossbows and kill us so we couldn’t tell their wives. We were given a one hour start and that was it. Once that gun went off we had to run for our lives and we did.”
The two police officers were dumbstruck. They had heard some tales in their time, but this one was something else. This was totally insane, and yet they seemed like genuine people, surely they couldn’t be making this up. Having seen Gwen’s injuries up close they had no doubts what they were hearing was true. Andre and Paul then told their side of it and how they had heard that rifle shot and gone towards it.
“We were out exploring our surroundings when we heard a rifle shot. We set off in the direction and then suddenly this lady goes hurtling by; she looks over her shoulder and trips over a tree root. As she fell this arrow zips by and lodges in a tree beside her. Then this guy walks up casually and says he’s sorry but he has to kill her. He put his finger on the trigger, but Paul felled him before he could fire that arrow.”
“Now it makes sense” said the sergeant – “the hunter we brought in last week, the one with the broken neck, we thought a bear had swiped him.”
“Well I didn’t mean to kill him, but I guess I hit him too hard.”
“Oh I’m quite sure that can be regarded as self-defense” said the inspector – “you saved that young woman’s life. That is correct is it not ma’am?”
“Yes sir it most certainly is.”
“Well that’s the end of that then.”
He was more or less implying that the police would not be pursuing that aspect at all.
“You say that there were four other women with you who were being hunted by men with crossbows and as far as you know they would have been killed if they were caught, is that correct?”
“Well that guy was most certainly going to kill Gwen if Paul hadn’t dropped him first. There was no doubt whatsoever about that –we saw that first hand. If those other women were found you can be sure they are dead now” said Andre. “These guys are sick.”
“Yes they are” said the inspector. “I have encountered sex-trafficking, with girls from European countries, and some kiddie porn too on a limited basis, but this is just unreal. This I have never heard of before, this one goes right off the scale. People might write books about this stuff – but in real life? Based on what you have told us we shall have to move quickly on this. We can’t leave those poor women out there any longer than we need to. I’ll need to get some extra officers up here to lend us a hand in paying an unexpected visit to that logging camp and also that Hunting Lodge. I’ll get right on that. Sergeant, can you make sure these good folks are suitable accommodated for the night?”
“Yes Sir, I’ll take care of that.”
“We’ll keep you up to date on our activities and any and all developments. We shall of course need your testimonies – they will be vital in sending all of these men to jail and for a very long time too hopefully.”
As the four of them left his office with the sergeant, the inspector was already on the phone to the Provincial Police asking for their assistance and organizing helicopters and buses for transportation. Paul and Andre were very impressed by the speed the inspector was moving at in this matter. He was certainly taking it very seriously and he was getting all his ducks in a row very quickly. He wanted those women out of there as soon as humanly possible. He would wake up judges and whoever he had to, including the Provincial Premier if necessary in order to get the necessary authority to raid those two sites. He wanted these bastards behind bars yesterday after hearing these stories – and he was hell bent on doing it too.
***
As they were leaving the police station to go to their hotel the inspector came out of his office. “Hicks” he said to a nearby police officer. “When they have had something to eat I want you to take Mrs. Holt and Mrs. McLeod to the E.R. and have those injuries taken care of. Tell the E.R. Doc that I want a full and complete report on the severity of those injurie
s so we can nail these bastards. Explain that too him and tell him not to hold anything back, okay?”
“Yes Sir, I’ll make sure the doc. gets the message.”
“Good man: Ladies once you have eaten, Officer Hicks will take you to the E.R. and then drive you back once you have been treated.”
The four of them then went to McDonald’s for a quick bite to eat. Junk food it may have been, but it tasted pretty good to them right now. After that they all hopped into the back of the police Land Rover and went to the hospital. They had to wait for an hour as the more urgent cases were obviously seen first. Finally Dr. Raymond was free and a nurse came and took them from the waiting room into the treatment rooms. Both women were told to strip and put on those ever glamorous and fashionable hospital gowns. Photographs were then taken of their injuries from various angles. They were then seen by the Doc.
“My God” he said to Gwen, “what the hell happened to you, who did this to you?”
Gwen then told him the story, well some of it anyway. The doctor could certainly put two and two together after that just by looking at the injuries. He took the gown off Gwen and gently laid her flat on her back totally naked. He then examined every inch of her, probing very gently and carefully to establish the severity of her injuries. Gwen said later it felt like a feather was stroking her he was so gentle. She still winced in places though and Dr. Raymond noted every twitch. He then told her to roll onto her tummy and he started on her neck and went south from there. These injuries were more severe and certainly more painful. At one point he gave Gwen a local anesthetic in several places, re-opened the wounds and then stitched them back up again.
“When they heal Gwen, the scarring will be minimal now. I am going to give you some cream to put on these wounds together with some freezing agents and analgesics for the pain. What I have given you tonight will sting a little for a few hours, but after that you should feel no pain whatsoever. If, in the morning, you are still in pain come back in – I’ll still be on duty and I can give you a little extra if it’s needed. You should be fine though, Gwen, and I am so sorry that you have had such a horrendous experience. I will be delighted to testify on your behalf as and when necessary and I will certainly forward my report to the police as soon as I can.”
Maureen's Journey Home Page 7