Free March Into Hell by M.P. McDonald

see you."
    The volunteer looked Mark up and down. "Yes, he's kind of tall...no...no, not that tall."
    Mark shuffled his feet, feeling a flush of embarrassment as the older woman continued to relay his description to Judy Medea. "He's a very nice looking young fellow."
    His face heated with a full-fledged blush. "Um...just tell her it's Mark Taylor; the guy from last night."
    The woman's mouth dropped open as her eyebrows shot up. Mark straightened and shook his head with indignation. "Not like that !" Sheesh.
    The woman relayed the information and finally hung-up. "She's in room 207. Second floor."
    Mark found the room without any trouble and knocked lightly on the open door as he entered. Judy looked a lot better now than the last time he had seen her. Her blond hair hung limply around her face and dark smudges stained the skin beneath her eyes, but her smile was bright.
    He stopped a few steps inside the door, feeling awkward now that he was here. "Hi. I just wanted to stop by and see how you're doing. "
    Judy pulled the covers up to her chin and swept her hands through her hair. "Hello. I'm doing okay." She shifted in the bed and bit her lip. "Mark...your name is Mark, right?"
    He nodded and stepped to the side of the bed, his hand out. "Mark Taylor. Nice to meet you."
    She shook his hand. "I'm Judy, nice to meet you too." Judy smiled, then burst into giggles and covered her face with her hands. The gesture made Mark realize just how young she really was. She couldn't be more than twenty-two years old. After a moment, she stopped laughing, but her smile remained. "Gosh, this is so embarrassing. You've seen me in the altogether, and we're just now introducing ourselves."
    Mark dipped his head and jammed his hands in his pockets. "I wasn't looking... I mean, I don't really remember any details or anything." His face heated, and he was sure even his ears were red.
    Her face became serious, and she averted her eyes for a moment before meeting his gaze. "I didn't get a chance to thank you last night for what you did. For saving me."
    "I'm just glad I was able to help, and that you're okay."
    "Are you okay? I sort of remember you got hit with the staff." She grimaced and rubbed her temples. "It's all kind of fuzzy in my mind."
    "I'm fine. Couple of stitches is all." Mark glanced around the room, noticing a lack of cards or flowers from anyone. "I was just wondering if you need anything. One of the detectives said that you used to be part of that cult--"
    "It's not a cult." Her chin rose and she glared at him. "It's a guild."
    Mark snapped his mouth shut in surprise and rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh. Sorry. I just thought--well, that's what I was told." He took a step backwards. "I guess I'll get going. Take care now."
    "Wait, don't go yet. I'm sorry I snapped at you."
    He paused at the doorway and looked over his shoulder to see Judy sit up and swing her legs off the bed as though to stop him.
    "Don't get up." Mark stepped back into the room and held his hand up in a stop sign.
    "It's just that our leader is normally so wonderful. Last semester, I was struggling at school. I had no money, I was behind on my tuition payments, and the leader paid for it all, and gave me a place to stay. I was treated like family."
    Mark bit back a response about how if that's how they treated family, he'd hate to see how they treated their enemies, but he didn't come to upset the girl, so he kept his thoughts to himself. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that the group wasn't a cult, and it's great they helped you out. All I was trying to say is that if you need anything, just give me a call." He pulled a business card out of his wallet. "Here's the phone number of the studio."
    "Thanks." She glanced down at the card and then up at him, her eyes wide with hope. "Are you hiring?" Her voice held a note of desperation. "As much as I love the guild, I'm not sure I can go back there, but I don't have a job."
    Mark scratched his cheek as he tried to hide his