The Second Spencer
AJ was yanked up violently, her hair pulled down so she was forced to look up. The man's hands were tied to two different poles, his ankles bound to the ground. He hung there; almost limp.
"Eliot?" She softly asked. Her older brother's head jerked up at the sound and he strained to turn around. Upon seeing her he struggled against his bindings.
"Get her out," He growled, "You said she wouldn't be here."
There was a soft chuckle behind them. Eliot and AJ both braced themselves, as if preparing for a blow. "Changed my mind, I guess." The voice said. She knew the voice. It was one of the only ones she had heard for the past 3 years.
"If you even think about hurting her, Jack-" Eliot began, but was rode over.
"I'm afraid that is an empty threat. You see she's already had her turn in this situation; almost once a month for the past 3 years, all in different places of course. And thanks to you, she's been here alone." Eliot's head dropped again, as if in shame. Jack's voice filled with sudden satisfaction. He continued, "Some sort of brother you are. It's all basically your fault."
"El, no. It isn't; you couldn't do anything," AJ blurted, "Jack's lying to you."
"Oh, 'El', Jack's lying to you." Jack's voice rose in pitch, mocking AJ. He laughed. "When did you get your voice back, AJ? You're normally so shy."
"I'm not shy. I just don't like talking to people I don't like." She flung the words at him, trying to throw him off. And she knew it wasn't a great idea.
He moved in front of her, finally showing himself. He then got quite close to her face. She braced herself, but his face broke into a smirk. "Next time," He said, straightening, "I wouldn't be so bold. I thought you learned that 3 years ago. Or shall I re-teach you?"
"Don't touch her!" Eliot warned. Facing away, he couldn't see them. But he could hear them.
"Oh. Hello, Eliot. I'd almost forgotten you were still here," Jack walked around to move in front of him now, his voice dropping to a low growl, "She's staying until you're finished here. Depending on how you behave, longer."
Eliot again struggled against the ties to no avail. Tired of his situation, he spat in Jack's face.
In return, Jack wiped it off and spun around, slapping Eliot hard. "Let's begin!" He yelled.
A man with a bullwhip stepped forward. He then proceeded to rip the back of Eliot's shirt open, revealing his bare back that was covered in bruises and scars. The man raised the whip.
"No!" AJ screamed, trying to get away from the men who held her back.
"Shut up!" Jack screeched back, "Shut up and hold still! Gag both of them."
As soon as the deed was done, he waved his hand and the whip came down hard. AJ tried to scream through the cloth, tears streaming down her cheeks.
The whip came up and down 10 times. Eliot's back soon became a bloody crisscross. Somewhere in the process AJ went limp, but her head was held up and she was forced to watch until she was finally dropped. Her hands were tied but she scrambled on her knees to Eliot. His head lolled to one side. He wasn't moving. AJ looked up at Jack, whose face was twisted in angry satisfaction.
"That's enough. Take her away." Jack ordered.
She was dragged to the small, dimly lit storage room where she had stayed for the past 2 weeks. She had been moved to 36 different locations, once a month for 3 years. No wonder why she was never found.
She wondered what was going on with El. Where would he be staying? When would she see him again? Would she ever see him again…? No. She forced the ugly thought away. But it lingered somewhere in the back of her mind, desperately trying to drown out her hope.
She mentally shook herself and moved to the corner of thin blankets and flat pillows that was her bed. She tried to fight the sleep that tugged at her eyes and relaxed her body. Finally, unable to fight it, she gave in, falling into deep and troubled dreams, filled with the sacred memories of her past life; the things that kept the tiny thread of sanity in her intact.
