“What… what happened?”

“Good morning, Select,” Freya replied with a diabolical smile.

“What the hell? You again! What do you want?”

“You’re here for the Horseman, aren’t you?”

Select was somewhat confused.

“What are you talking about? I’m just here to handle a private matter.”

“Don’t play dumb, Select. I don’t want an archaeologist getting in the way of my investigation.”

“Are you investigating Sleepy Hollow too? Kidnapping us seems a bit extreme…”

“Shut up!”

Select looked around. He was tied to a chair, sitting awkwardly with his arms bound behind his back. They seemed to be in a truck.

“Hey, listen, we can help each other, there’s no need for all this drama…”

“I don’t want your help,” Freya replied firmly.

Behind the truck, Kate followed them in a car she had “borrowed.”

“Damn it! First the Horseman, and now this.”

She didn’t recognize the kidnappers, but fortunately arrived just in time to see them being loaded onto the truck.

“So, I don’t understand anything. Why are we a threat to you?” Select asked.

“It’s none of your business, but the Headless Horseman is my research. Mine alone.”

“You have serious trust issues.”

“If you don’t shut up, you’ll wish you had.”

Freya noticed Maxine, still unconscious.

“Let’s avoid unnecessary deaths, okay?”

“And what exactly are you investigating? How to threaten fools or what?”

“Enough!”

Freya looked somewhat irritated but remained calm.

“Okay, enough with the games. You saw it, right?”  Freya looked ecstatic. “The Horseman.”

“That’s just a tale.” Select lied. He didn’t know why he wanted that information, but he wasn’t willing to risk it.

“Don’t lie. You saw it, didn’t you?”

Maxine suddenly woke up, confused about where they were.

“What’s this?” She asked.

Maxine looked at Freya, causing a silence that lasted a few minutes.

Finally, Maxine broke that silence.

“Mother?”

“Hold on, how?” Select interjected.

Freya was speechless.

“Max?”

From Maxine’s gaze, Select gathered that things were about to get tense.

“Yes, I’m surprised you haven’t forgotten about me.”

“What… What have you done? What have you become?”

“I haven’t done anything to myself.”

“I know you needed the electroshock therapy to remove those nonsense from your head!”

Select’s expression changed suddenly.

“What?”

Maxine looked furious, brimming with anger.

“Every day of my life, every time I sleep, I couldn’t forget you. Your horrendous words, your terrible attitude, your monstrous thoughts.”

“What do you mean by electroshock?” Select insisted.

“I’ve always done it for your own good, to steer you in the right direction, son.”

“I’m not your son!”

“I’M TALKING TO YOU!!!” Select shouted.

Freya turned around, surprised.

“This isn’t your business.”

“It is! Answer the damn question.”

Select was angry. Was Maxine…?

“It was a way to stop those thoughts, to make her realize it’s not what she thinks it is.”

“You have no right to decide about her life.” Select was about to explode.

“I’m her mother.”

“Do I look like I care?!”

Maxine was surprised by Select’s attitude.

“Don’t waste your time with her, Select. My hatred is enough.”

Freya laughed.

“You don’t know what’s right, but it can be fixed.”

She picked up a metal rod and a lighter.

“Are you going to torture me? It won’t work, believe me,” Maxine replied.

“Not you.”

The smile vanished from her face.

Freya approached Select, with the metal rod burning.

“What if I put this in his eye? Will it burn?”

“Stop!” Maxine shouted.

In anger, Maxine cast a spell that halted the truck.

Kate watched as the truck came to a sudden stop.

“Oh sh…!”

CRASH!

The impact caused the truck’s door to swing open. After recovering from the shock, she saw Select hit the windshield.