Disclaimer: This Story is based on the characters and situations created by
Saban entertainment for the Power Rangers Time Force. The copyright of the
characters and some situations belongs to them, some others are mine.
Warning: This story contains descriptions, although not graphic, of Incest and rape. If you are not comfortable with these situations, don't continue to read.
Treacherous Love Story
By: Shirley Chong
Part 1: Rescue
From the essay sent to the Time Force recruiting division by Jennifer Smith, in January 2995, as part of the application to be part of the Force.
"My name is Jennifer Smith. I'm seventeen years old and I just won't
lie. I don't want to join Time Force for any other reason but to get
out of my house. Here's the thing, my father hates me, because I don't
behave perfectly, like my brother and sister, so he wants me out as
much as I want to get out. I don't want to become a delinquent, I have
great genetic enhancements and I want to use them on the right side of
the law. I think I can get discipline in Time Force, a kind of
discipline my home lacks. I met one of your officers the other day, I
don't know if this will get him in trouble so I won't mention his name,
but he talked to me about your program and I love it (...) please let
me join your ranks, I promise I'll become one of your best officers, a
role model. And think about this, how many teenagers want to willingly
join your ranks these days?"
"Jennifer, we are waiting for you for breakfast," called Christy Smith to her daughter. Jennifer was sitting on her bed, staring at her face in the mirror. She was 20 pounds beneath her ideal weight and was growing pale and depressed. She tore her eyes away from the mirror and put on her shoes. She was wearing a pair of black pants, a white tank top over them and a leather jacket. She combed her hair, again losing her consciousness to her reflection in the mirror. Unnoticed, a tear ran down her cheek. "Jenny!" called her mother again. She had lost 40 pounds, gotten sick, dyed her hair black and her parents hadn't noticed anything but the fact her grades weren't as good as Kyra's and Bobbie's. She heard a siren and looked out the window; a Time Force patrol was separating the traffic as it went after a criminal mutant. She smiled, excited, she so wanted to be part of Time Force, she stared after them, when they left her visual field. Then she heard a loud bang behind her; it was her father's fist against her bedroom door.
"Come out, NOW!!" he yelled. She walked towards the door and right before she opened it, her father opened it and pulled her by the hair all the way down to the kitchen.
"Alan! What are you doing?! Let her go!" cried Christy. Alan let go of his daughter's hair to discover he had pulled a handful of hairs from her head.
She ran her fingers through her hair and said, "I was about to come down." She ran upstairs, grabbed her bag and ran out of the house, with tears in her eyes. Her father's yells followed her for a couple of houses, then they stopped and she slowed to a walk.
She was shaking with her tears and had her head hanging low. She wasn't paying attention to where she was walking and someone else had the same problem. A dark-haired, tall, muscular young man, about twenty, who crashed against her while power walking, and threw her to the ground.
"Sorry," he said, giving her a hand. She looked up at him. He had a pair of piercing and bright green eyes. He looked at her and worry displayed over his face. He put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you ok?" he asked. Jen tried to say something but couldn't make any sound, she lowered her head again and tried to nod, but she couldn't do that anymore than saying 'Yes'. Finally she shook her head 'no' and tried to keep on walking. "Hey, where are you going? Do you need help? What happened?" he asked. She shook her head 'no' again and tried to walk away, but he held her right arm.
".Late for school," was all he could catch from her barely audible whisper.
"You can't go to school like this. Did someone hurt you?" he asked further.
"No. Thanks. I really need to go to school," said Jen who felt calmer now. This guy gave her a sense of security that was weird; she didn't feel in danger talking to a complete stranger.
"Why are you so thin? Are you sick?" he asked. Jen felt he was asking too many questions.
"Why should I answer?" she asked, her tone a bit bitchy.
"I'm trying to help you," he answered.
"Why?" she asked.
"Because I'm a Time Force officer," he answered. Jen was left wordless.
From the January 10th 2995 entry of Jennifer Smith's diary:
"Today I met a Time Force officer, he helped me to calm down when I ran
away crying this morning. His name is Alexander Collins and he's the
most handsome man I've ever seen. I mean he's really gorgeous, not to
mention he has a heart of gold. I know I've always said I don't believe
in love at first sight, and I swear I never believed in it. Until I met
Alex and his sweet voice and bright eyes. He asked me a lot of
questions; I think he was trying to really help me to get out of my
house. I hope he can save me, before I decide to let go of myself."
They sat down on a bench, by the side of the street. Jen stared at a blank point. Alex just sat there, waiting.
"I always wanted to be a Time Force officer," she said.
"Really?" he commented. It's not all fun, you know."
"I know, that's why I always wanted to be a Time Force officer."
"Are you going to tell me what happened? Or are you just going to keep on changing the subject?"
"What happened was you had the bad luck of crossing me in the morning, while power walking," she told him.
"You mean you walk to school crying everyday?" he asked.
"Almost," she admitted.
"Why are you so thin?" he asked, looking down at her body.
"My mom's not a great cook. And I don't really get a lot of money to eat."
"Why don't you eat at home?"
"Because my mom's not a good cook, I just told you," she said, looking away.
"Why don't you cook yourself? Your parents, they don't keep you from eating, do they?" he asked, with a sudden suspicion.
"No, it's a genetic malfunction, I suffer from a disease that has attacked my family for generations. It's called Anorexia; I'm anorexic, meaning I feel repulsion towards eating."
"You need treatment. what did you tell me your name was?"
"I haven't told you my name," she said. "I'm Jennifer, you can call me Jen." She presented him a hand he gladly shook.
"I'm Alexander, you can call me Alex. Your hand feels as if it was made of crystal."
"It's skin and bones," she told him.
"Jen, why haven't you gotten any treatment for your disease?"
"I talked to the school psychologist, he wasn't really helpful."
"You need to see a nutritionist first."
"I didn't know that."
"Your parents know you suffer from this?" he asked.
"I don't know."
"You are dying, did you know that?" he told her.
"You are the second one to notice that," she said.
"Who was the first one?"
"I was."
From the January 10th 2995 entry of Alexander Collins' journal:
".I really don't know how to describe her. She looked like a little
mouse. She was dying. And she knew it. I asked her about her parents,
but she kept avoiding the subject. I think she has problems with her
parents, and needs to get out of that house. Really soon. Before she
makes a decision that can't be reversed."
"How is it in Time Force?" she asked. He smiled.
"You really don't want to tell me about your parents, do you?"
"No, I don't. What about yours?" she inquired
"They are fine, thanks," he said simply.
"Oh, good. So, how is it in Time Force?" she repeated.
"Well, if that's how it's going to be." he said, smiling. "We have to wake up really early and then workout most of the day. But the food is good, the showers are private and the beds are comfortable. Most of our superiors are nice people, although they appreciate discipline very much. We have some free time; we usually play sports or read. Some classes of history and stuff. But it's great training, and if you are good at your work they pay you a lot of money."
"I certainly won't do it for the money. Is there a way an underage person can enter the force?" she asked.
"Do your parents hurt you?" he asked back. She was about to answer when there was a horn from the street.
A car pulled over and Jen, fear across her face, ran away, leaving her backpack, and her new friend behind. Alan Smith stepped on the accelerator and his car sped after his daughter. Alex ran right behind them. Jen hid behind some bushes, crying in terror. She covered her head protectively. She heard the car door close and closed her eyes, she heard footsteps and felt her father's hand pulling her up. She kept her eyes closed and her hands protectively up.
"You'll never, EVER talk back to me again!" he yelled at her and as he stopped talking, Jen felt a bold pain in her face and she knew no more. Alan grabbed his unconscious daughter's body and dragged it all the way to the car. He was about to get her in, when he heard a voice behind him.
"Time Force, you are under arrest!" It was Alex. Alan turned around and looked down at him.
"She has a big bruise on her face and on her arm, she's knocked out. I'm her father, a respected member of society. You are a stranger to her. It would be your word against mine. Who would win if I said I rescued her from you?"
"It would be our word against yours," he said, pointing at Jen.
"She won't talk. And if she did, she's not reliable, she has expressed her hate for me around the city. All I need to say is that even if she knows I didn't do it, she is blaming me because she hates me. Either way, I win." Alex watched helplessly as Alan got back inside his car and drove away. Staring after them, he wondered if he'll ever see Jen alive again.
From the January 11th 2995 entry of Jennifer Smith's Diary:
"I blacked out after he slapped me. I woke up in pain in a dark room.
He did to me things no father should ever do to a child. He hit me,
yelled at me and tortured me. He cut my hair and the last thing I
remember is when he pulled off my pants. Then I let my mind fly like
all the other times, but I know what happened. I know what he did to
me. But I just can't write it down anymore than I can say it. He did it
over and over, I lost consciousness twice, and I know that while I was
passed out, he kept on doing it. Or doing me, whatever. When I woke up
again, he told me he was never going to be blamed for anything. I cried
myself unconscious again, and I woke up in the hospital, where a doctor
asked me if I remembered anything of my attacker. I told him I didn't.
I felt pain through out my body and I was dizzy. And I wished, with all
of my heart, I could die in that very moment."
Looking out the hospital window, Jen cried her eyes out. For how long was she going to be forced to take it? She wanted desperately to get out of her house, but she couldn't find a way out. She felt her hair. Two weeks after he cut it, and it was still too short and uneven. She had been left alone in the hospital room as soon as she was out of immediate danger. Her family hated her. She wished she could see Alex again. Or just die. She wanted to run through the window and jump to nothingness. She got up, and looked at her reflection in the mirror. The bruises were getting smaller and her nose had been reconstructed quite well. She looked down at her body.
"How am I supposed to get good grades if I can't go to school?" she asked to her reflection.
"I'm sorry I couldn't do anything," said a voice behind her. She turned around and ran towards the speaker.
"Alex!" she said, holding him, totally forgetting about her broken ribs and all the bruises. "God, I prayed so much to see you again."
"I brought you some flowers, but I didn't know if it was right to bring them over, I thought your father would be here," he said.
"I've been alone here for almost two weeks," she said. Then she lowered her head and added, "Waiting for a miracle."
Alex pushed her face up softly. "Jen, what did he do to you?" he asked.
"Nothing you can prove," she said, walking out of his embrace and staring out the window again. The sunset was reflected in her eyes.
"Jen, what did he do to you?" he asked again, slowly, as if afraid of the answer.
"That very same thing you are thinking. Over and over and over again. He knows I'm too weak to fight back. But, I guess it was as a favor, he knocked me unconscious before he did it. But I woke up, and I felt it. I felt it over and over." She said all of this as if in a trance. "And I will always remember that," she added and broke down in a torrential cry. "No father should do these things to a child. No man should do these things to a woman," she said between sobs. Alex held her, and she rested her head on his shoulder.
"That's it. You are moving in with me, Jennifer. You are not going back to that house. Ever again," he told her, but she shook her head.
"I have to stay there, he'll accuse you of what he did to me and he'll accuse you of kidnapping. I have to go back," she lamented.
"No, you don't. I don't care what happens to me, Jen-"
"I do," she said and did something she had been yearning to do ever since she met him. She pressed her lips against his, for just a second, like a parody of a kiss. "I'm not moving in with you, Alex, not because I don't want to, but because it would be giving him the chance to hurt you. And I just won't do that."
"Then, what are you going to do?" he asked.
"I will join Time Force," she said. He looked at her, worried. He felt, deep within his heart, an unmeasured fear that she might just get killed long before she was old enough to join.
From the response letter Jennifer Smith got from the Time Force recruiting division, in January 2995.
".You are not old enough to join our ranks. We appreciate your desire
to join our ranks and hope you will keep that desire until you are
eighteen years old. We also would like you to consider talking to a
therapist about your problems at home, especially the ones you seem to
have with your father.
We must regretfully give a negative answer to your petition to join our
ranks this year, and sincerely hope to include you next year."
Jen angrily threw the letter she had crushed to a ball. She felt so frustrated. She had to live six more months in that house. As she usually did, she stared at her eyes in the mirror. Mentally she traced the goal of being the best she could for these six months, so she could live long enough to join Time Force.
"Jenny, breakfast," called her mother.
"Coming!" she cried back. Her hair was still short, so she put on a black hat. She walked down the stairs and entered the kitchen. "Morning," she said.
"What has gotten into you?" said Kyra, surprised.
"So now I can't say hi to my family?" Jen asked. She felt like yelling she was going to eat in the backyard like the family dog, but contained herself.
"Of course you can, dear," said Christy sweetly, she had been treating Jen as if she was made of crystal since the attack. "What do you want for breakfast?"
"I'll have some waffles," Jen said, thinking the reason her mother treated her so nicely was because she felt guilty.
"Good," said Christy and moved to make the waffles. Alan poured himself some juice.
"Do you want some juice, Jen?" he asked.
"Please, Dad," she answered. Kyra and Bobbie looked at each other sideways.
"What was the letter you received about? It was from Time Force, I trust you are not in trouble?" Alan asked.
"No. I requested information to enter next year," Jen said. "You know my dream is to become a Time Force officer."
"Yes, I never really understood why," Alan commented. Jen gazed into his eyes, and he could see hate and anger repressed inside her soul.
When they finished their breakfast, Jen got up and left for school. She was walking distractedly again, and crashed again against a certain Time Force officer.
"Hey you," he said, helping her up from the ground.
"Hey," said Jen. Then came a weird moment for neither one of them knew quite what to say or do. Alex picked a light, obvious subject.
"Going to school?" he asked.
"Yes. I'm quite late, because I stayed to have breakfast with my family," she said lightly.
"How's your dad?" he asked; in response, her eyes went black.
"He's quite good if you don't provoke him," she said truthfully.
"Oh." He strained to change the subject. "You better get going to school, I'll see you later," he said. She nodded and walked away. "By the way, nice hat," he added with a smile. She showed him her tongue mockingly.
From the report written about Jennifer Smith by the school principal to her parents, February 1st 2995.
". I'm personally inclined to state this girl's mental status isn't
stable enough for her to carry on with her education properly. Her
constant absences, her lack of attention and her extremely low grades
are proof of that, and are also the cause of her failure. Jennifer
Smith has no friends, has no special affection for any of the faculty
members and refuses to accept the help the student support department
is offering her. It is with great sorrow - for I have no doubt Jennifer
is an exceptionally capable and smart young woman - that I expel
Jennifer from this school, prompting her to find the help she needs so
much to become an active and productive member of society."
The principal had given her the news personally. She had been called to the principal's office and she could feel the eyes on her as she left the classroom. When she had entered the office, the principal asked her to sit down and had told her she was expelled, and that she was to pick up her things from her locker and go home.
But nothing of this worried Jennifer as much as discovering she had mailed a letter and a report to her father's office a few minutes before, this meaning he must have been receiving it in that very moment. Jen tried to look sad and somewhat worried but she hid how she was truly feeling- totally panicked and distressed, this was the end of her life. Literally. Jen knew that if her father found her she was dead.
The principal went on about how good she had been, and how she was sure she was capable of great things, but Jen wasn't listening. She could only think about her father, reading that report, finding out she had been expelled from school, she could almost hear his yells; she could almost feel his belt on her back, as he used it as a whip. She had to run away, somewhere really far, where he couldn't find her, or hurt her.
She had to find Alex, before her father found her. The principal told her she could leave, and she literally ran out of the building, towards Time Force Headquarters. The obvious place to find Alex.
Jen entered the big, bright white building somewhat intimidated by its presence. "Excuse me," she asked a young male officer who was standing near by. "I-I'm looking for Alexander Collins, do you know where I can find him?"
"Is something wrong?" he asked.
Jen wondered if she should tell him. But what if he didn't believe her? What if he called her parents? No, she'd better kept it to herself. "I really need to talk to Alexander Collins," she insisted. "It's something personal."
"Wait here," the officer told her and walked towards a counter. She stood there, looking out the window. After a little while, he was back. "I'm sorry, but Alexander Collins is out doing his morning round," he told her. "If you want to leave a message, I'll be more than glad to give it to him."
"Please, tell him Jen was here, and that I'll see him on the first bench before noon," she told the officer and walked away before he could say anything.
"But, Miss..." The officer tried to call her attention, but she kept walking. "Alex won't come back until after noon."
Sitting in a corner, Jen took out all the money she had, it wasn't much, but it was enough. She walked into the mall, and entered the supermarket. She had her black hat and a jacket on, so changing herself to hide long enough from her father wasn't going to be a problem. She looked at her watch. 10:52 am. She wandered around the store as long as she could. She felt somewhat safe there because it was full.
She entered aisle number eight. She glanced at her watch. 11:15 am. She had to hurry if she wanted to meet Alex before noon. She looked around and grabbed a can of bug spray from the shelf and took it to the register. The cashier seemed surprised at her only item, but she took her money and gave her one of those paid-for smiles. Jen glanced at her watch again, before leaving the store. 11:25 am. She took her hat and jacket off, and put them inside her backpack, along with the item she had just bought.
When she sat down on the bench it was 11:48 am. She took a book out and pretended to read, so she could keep her face lowered and go unnoticed by anyone on the street. She counted down the twelve minutes to noon. "Alex, where are you, baby?"
Meanwhile, Alex finished his morning round and returned to Time Force headquarters. He entered the imposing building and checked his credentials at the gate. A message appeared for him on the screen. Officer Walter Jackson has an urgent message for you. Alex was intrigued. He walked towards the elevator wondering what this 'Urgent message' could be.
From "Together Forever" by Nadira. (Page 29, Broken Hearts edition):
"Jen didn't really intend to commit suicide. Suicide was more of her
Plan B. She planned to do something a bit more romantic, she wanted to
run away with Alex - Like in a movie. She planned to meet Alex on that
bench and then see what they could come up with, maybe he'd give her
money to leave town or some sort of protection.
But if Alex didn't appear in time, or her father found her first, Jen
had made up her mind. She was taking the poison. She chose the poison
because it was - in her opinion - less painful and messy than all the
other forms of suicide. She had a poison with slow action in humans,
after all, she did wanted to stay alive, to be happy with Alex. She
wanted to have the chance to change her mind, not to mention the bug
spray was the best she could afford.
Jen read the entire can before taking it. She wanted to be sure it was
going to work slowly, but not too much; the can promised the spray
could kill insects really fast. But, then again, humans have this
tendency to be bigger than insects."
"Alex, where are you?" Jen wondered exactly at noon. She let another minute go by. At 12:05 pm she decided it was too late. Alex had let her down. "Oh, Alex. How could you let me down today?" she said, getting up, she didn't think that was the right place to commit suicide, but she had nowhere else to go, so she sat back. She opened her mouth and sprayed the poison down her throat. The flavor was so disgusting, she vomited the first time she tried to swallow it. How could he leave me alone right now when I need him the most? I thought he loved me. I thought he cared about me. But I was wrong. That was the thought that crossed her mind in that very moment.
With tears, knowing her father was looking for her all over the city, and thinking Alex wasn't, she sprayed again. And swallowed deep. She did it again. She began feeling dizzy, and she wanted to vomit again. She sprayed inside her throat again. She was crying even more now, as her throat hurt as if it had been cut with a knife. She threw up again, feeling dizzier, and knowing she was about to faint. She lost all sense of equilibrium or knowledge of her location. Her vision was blurred by the tears, and darkened by the approximating loss of consciousness. She heard a voice calling her name, but it sounded so distant, so unreal, she thought it came from her own mind.
"Alex."she whispered as her very last word. She fainted. And Alex caught her right before she hit the ground.
From the February 1st 2995 entry of Alexander Collins's journal:
"I thought my heart was stopping when I saw her there. Walter Jackson
told me this really thin and pale girl had come to see me. And that she
had asked him to tell me she wanted to see me on 'the first bench'
before noon. It was a minute past noon when he told me. He couldn't
remember her name, but I knew it was Jen. I wondered what had happened
and on my way to the only place she could have called 'the first bench'
- the one where we sat the day I met her - I feared she might have done
something stupid like what she did and as anyone can imagine, for me to
see her there, with all the vomit down her front and that can of bug
spray in her hand, was unbearable. I knew it was my fault and I had to
fix it, she had tried to take her life because I hadn't met her in
time. I rushed the patrol all the way to the hospital with the siren
on. I feared we weren't going to make to the hospital but she was
stronger than I could have ever imagined. She was admitted into the ER,
they attended her and saved her life. I'm so relieved. God, I don't
know what I would do if my little mouse died on me."
Jen opened her eyes the smallest of bits. She closed them again. The light hurt. She felt a hand in hers. And then, she heard the sweetest of sounds; Alex's voice, caressing her ears. He was whispering, encouraging her to open her eyes, to go back to him. She felt her throat ache - it was really painful - as if someone had made her swallow knifes.
"Little mouse, please, come back. I can protect you from him until you enter Time Force," he told her. Jen wanted to smile, but she felt her body heavy, as if it was made of lead.
"Light," she finally mouthed. Alex started breathing as if he was excited. He walked away from her and turned off the light.
"Better?" he asked. Jen tried to open her eyes again. She could open them some more, she saw Alex's silhouette, but she couldn't see him clearly.
"Dad?" she whispered, she wanted to know she was safe. She was so afraid.
"Sshh. Don't try to talk yet. I'm so glad you're back," he said, caressing her head. "Your hair grew back, is as beautiful as always," he told her. She smiled weakly. "I love you little mouse." He kissed her forehead. "Don't ever do this to me again, Jennifer. Please."
"Never again," she mouthed. He held her hand a little stronger and knew she was going to be okay now.
"Do you know how long you have been in the ICU?" he asked. She shook her head. "Want to know?" She nodded, barely moving her head. "Three weeks. I bought a bigger bed, bought you some clothes and a new computer. You are moving in with me, and he won't find you," he told her. Jen smiled looking at his eyes, and hoping he was for real.
From the February 25th 2995 entry of Jennifer Smith's diary:
"Alex is such a sweetheart. He bought me everything I needed, including
new underwear. I'm very happy. His apartment, I mean, our apartment, is
really comfortable. I've never felt this safe in my life. He took care
of me when I needed him in the hospital. And he's helping me to pay the
bills. I wish I didn't know Dad has ways to find me anywhere in this
city. I wish I could just get lost in this fantasy of freedom and
happiness, in the arms of my big lion - I call him that because he
calls me little mouse - but I know I can't. I know it won't be long
before Dad finds me and I know I probably won't make it to Time Force
ever; I guess I'll try to be as happy as I can with Alex before it's
over."
"Did you find her?" Alan asked his employee.
"No, sir. We've looked up and down the city and we haven't seen her," the man answered.
"Wherever he's hiding her, it won't last long. Put some more men into it. It's been over three weeks since she escaped and you haven't found her. You have one more week to do so," Alan menaced.
"Yes, sir," said the man. "Guess it's time to go after Alex," he commented to himself as he walked away.
"I don't know who she thinks she is, but she is not getting away from me," Alan said to no one in particular.
From "Together Forever" by Nadira. (Pg. 56, Broken Hearts Editions.):
".What Little Mouse and Big Lion didn't know is how far Jen's father
would go. He was like a giant octopus whose tentacles could embrace the
whole city. He was an ever existing shadow, who was right above them,
so big and so unstoppable they couldn't see him, much less run away
from him. And now this monster had a surprise for his daughter, and
Alex could only hope he was big enough to save her, he tried to get her
into Time Force before her time, by telling the recruiting division
about her situation, but there was nothing he could do, and when Alan
Smith found her, Alex found himself wishing he had let her die the
other day."
Alex went home to pick up Jen. She was wearing one of the new outfits he had bought for her, and he was delighted, except for the fact that no matter how much he made her eat she was getting thinner and thinner everyday. He was taking her to the doctor. In her sky blue dress she waited for him in the living room. She was trying to force her hair into a ponytail, but it was still too short for that. She let it loose when he walked in. She blew him a kiss and he motioned her into walking to the door. She did as she was asked, and as she walked next to him he hugged her and kissed her deeply. While they were kissing they were happy, in a momentary total bliss. And for a long time, it was going to be the last time they felt that way.
From the March 2nd 2995 entry of Alexander's journal:
".And the last thing I remember was kissing her while she was wearing
that beautiful blue dress, that covered her body, which felt barely
there inside my arms. She was like a ghost, in that second. I remember
when I woke up I thought for a moment she had died the other day, that
it had been just a dream, that she wasn't real. She had always felt
like that, like a ghost, like an illusion of my mind trying to torture
me with her memory, as if my mind made me believe I was holding her, or
kissing her, or drying her tears.
She was so weak and fragile all along, and the very second I opened my
eyes, on the floor, with that great pain in my head, I thought I was
lying in the street, waking up after fainting from the shock of finding
her dead. But I was in my apartment. And I knew it had been no dream. I
knew I had lived with her during this time and had been totally happy,
going to bed with her at night, waking up next to her in the morning.
It was in that surreal moment I realized how deep my love for Jennifer
was, but right after that, the reality hit me, and tears filled my
eyes, when I realized what had happened, and who Jennifer was being
taken to."
"No, no, no, no." Jennifer kept begging curled up in a ball in a dark cold room. She knew who had locked her there. And she knew it was a form of torture, making her wait there, in the cold darkness for whatever he was preparing to do to her. "Alex." she called as tears ran down her cheeks, making her colder. She trembled, feeling her body freeze more and more. Her body was frozen and her mind was petrified, she kept staring in all directions, and she started crying and wailing. She covered her head with her arms, so skinny and little she felt even more vulnerable in that position. She heard a noise somewhere around her, and she felt herself being lifted of the floor, she closed her eyes, not daring to see what was coming. Blind pain was next, followed by a blank mind.
As she laid there, unconscious and vulnerable, he felt mixed emotions. He hated her, yet he loved her. She was his daughter, but also she was the reason of a downfall he had recovered economically from, but he could never recover spiritually from. Jennifer's birth had caused his marriage to freeze. He had loved Jennifer for the first few years, as he had never placed the blame on the little girl. But as she grew, he had more and more problems, and it was easier to put the blame on her. In time he had started to somehow hate his daughter.
He had thought of many ways to hurt her, to make her pay for what she had caused in his life. He treated her coldly and turned the family against her. But as Jen grew up, she became more and more beautiful. And he had gone head over heels over his own daughter. Looking at his wife and touching her no longer gave him any pleasure; but just looking at Jen made him feel young and powerful again.
Right now she was unconscious.
But the first time he had done it, she hadn't been. She had been petrified, but not unconscious. He had talked her into keeping it secret. He could remember everything, and had no regrets at all. He could remember Jennifer's tight little body trapped under his. Her chest trembling as she tried to catch a breath between her sobs. The tears falling from her lost eyes. Having her right there, lying helplessly in his claws again right after she thought she had escaped forever, blew his sick dirty mind.
Jen woke up. Her eyes were covered so she couldn't see anything, but she felt the presence of her father, for it was powerful. "You're awake," she heard him say, it wasn't a question. She said nothing, nor did she move a muscle. But it didn't matter, he began.
In Time Force headquarters, Alex was doing everything he could to try to locate at least the area Jen might be in. He wasn't having much luck, as nerves and fear had taken over his mind and he wasn't at his best. He tried to calm down, but every breath he took brought him images of what Jen could be going through. He had to hurry if he wanted to save her. He kept typing, frantically. He stopped again, and started thinking. How had they found her? Surely they were following him. Now, where would they start following him? Somewhere where they knew he was going to be for sure; that was Time Force headquarters. Fine, so now he knew it was his fault, whatever Jennifer was going through. No. It was his mind, trying to make him lose control again. He had no time for that, he had to find her.
The hopelessness she was feeling overpowered everything else she might have been feeling at the moment. It overpowered the fear and the pain. Blind- eyed, Jen had to trust her body and what she was feeling to make a statement. But her mind was numb. It was numb with fear and pain, and that hopelessness so powerful. That hopelessness that kept her thinking it wasn't worth it because she was going to die that very same day. The sensations her body was sending her mind were disgusting, painful, but they got lost in the immensity of her mind. She thought she was going to be unable to remember what was happening. She wanted to drift away, to imagine herself somewhere else, but she couldn't. It wasn't worth it. She was going to die that day.
From the May 30th 2995 entry of Jennifer Smith's diary:
".Against everything I had thought, I had very good memories of what happened. Vivid, powerful memories that haunt me when I'm asleep and when I'm awake. I have memories that cause me nightmares and tears. Memories that make me fear the slightest touch, but I won't let them go. I need them. I need them to put him in jail. I write down my dreams, because I remember details in my dreams. Not only from this last attack but from all of the previous. This memories are hurting but I don't want to give a weak statement. I know how important my statement is and I won't let go of these memories. Not until after the trial, because when I enter that courtroom I WILL prove I'm not making this up. And he'll rot in jail, that bastard."
Jennifer woke up. She didn't know how long ago it had been since she had passed out. She still had the rag over her eyes. She heard voices around her. Men's voices. In her pain, she tried to focus in on what they were saying.
"I don't agree, but what can I do? He would kill me, you know. Better her than me," said one of them, he sounded near her.
"I don't know. She is kinda hot, but still, she is his daughter, he said he does it because she is a bad daughter, but that's not true. I think he's just messed up in his mind. And the Time Force is looking for mutants..." said another one, the last lines as if he couldn't believe what he was saying.
"Yeah, I mean some of the things this guy did to his daughter not even a mutant would do. Some of them are very cruel, but not like this. I mean, look at the poor thing, she's practically dead."
"Yeah, I- -" They shut up. The door had opened and he was back.
"Oh, she's awake," he said, touching one of her legs. The touch made Jen tremble from head to toe. "Guys, want some?" he asked the two men.
"No, thanks," said one of them.
"Me neither," said the other.
"Oh, come on! It's not like she isn't used to it. She's been going through this since she was fifteen." Jen felt a tear down her cheek. In her mind she begged the men to stop him. To help her. "Fine, if you guys don't want some, I do," he said and got started. The two men turned away from the scene. How could they work for a man so cruel? How could a father be so proud of doing this kind of thing to his daughter? Was the money worth it? Jen kept begging mentally the two men would help her. Their conversation had given her back a bit of hope. THEY were just a bit away from helping her. If only she could muster up the strength to ask them for help.
But why wouldn't they help her now? If they didn't want to hurt her, why did they let him hurt her? Her body was beyond her control. It wouldn't respond to her brain's orders. She was lying there, condemned to feel what her father was doing to her until she died. She was mute and helpless. Helpless under his command she had to do whatever he wanted, she had to feel whatever he wanted her to. She belonged to him. At that thought a spark seemed to burn inside her mind.
'THAT'S NOT TRUE! YOU DON'T BELONG TO HIM, JENNIFER!' she heard a voice inside her mind say. It wasn't Alex's voice. It was her own. 'THIS IS ENOUGH, JEN! YOU DON'T HAVE TO TAKE ANY MORE OF THIS!'
"You know you are going to die here, don't you?" he told her. Jen felt her anger giving her strength. Strength and HOPE. That hope she so needed. "Your beloved Axel won't save you. He's too much of a coward to come here and get you out," he said.
'DON'T LET HIM TALK LIKE THAT ABOUT ALEX!' Jen's mind told her.
"He never felt anything real for you. Anything but pity." Alan kept going.
Jen was so filled with rage she stopped feeling the pain of her body. 'THAT'S NOT TRUE! STOP HIM!'
"Aren't you going to cry? Dear Axel, please, please save me." he was mocking her.
Why did she have to take it? Alan kept mocking her and filling her with that rage, so amazing, so strengthening. 'STOP HIM!' her mind's voice told her. 'HE WON'T STOP ON HIS OWN. YOU HAVE TO STOP HIM.' He kept hurting her, but now he could only hurt her physically. Not emotionally. She was temporarily protected against that. 'STOP HIM NOW JENNIFER! NOW!!!'
"Why don't you call Axel?" he kept saying his name wrong. That last time triggered her.
"His name is Alex!!" she told him aloud, much to the surprise of Alan and his henchmen. "HIS NAME IS ALEX AND HE WILL SAVE ME!!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.
"Shut up!" he yelled at her and he slapped her across the face. But Jen had had it. Her face was the only part of her body she could move so she spit at him. If her eyes hadn't been covered, Alan would have seen the anger burning in her eyes. "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Alan repeated. She spit at him again.
"No, I won't shut up! You can't shut me up anymore!" she said. She turned to the direction she had heard the men talking. "Stop him," she asked them. "He's hurting me, please stop him!" she begged. She felt her father's fist against her mouth, but she kept on calling for help. "Please, I don't deserve this, stop him."
*********************
"Sir, I've checked all of Alan Smith's properties and I've got a couple where he can be keeping his daughter kidnapped. If you would give me four men I'll go and check them out," Alex told the captain.
"Go, take anyone you want," the other agreed.
'I'm coming after you, Jen. Hang on a bit more,' Alex thought. He got four men, and a patrol, and set out to the one place he knew her father could be keeping her.
From Nadira's Together Forever (pg. 70 Broken Hearts Editions):
"Jen could have given up in that moment. She could have forgotten about Alex, about Time Force, about her dreams. She could have forgotten about herself. But she found her fire, her strength, in anger. She stood up to herself. She decided she didn't have to take that, she decided to stand up for herself, for her dreams, for her life. Of course Alan didn't like this new attitude his victim had. He tried to beat it out of her, and if the miraculous facts that followed her plea hadn't happened, Jen would have died. But at least she would have died full of hope. Clinging with her teeth and fingernails to her future and to her life. She had decided her happiness was possible. She had chosen Alex over Alan, and her dreams over her death, which didn't seem so imminent anymore."
The door exploded, and three Time Force officers entered the room, followed by Alex. The scene he found was quite incredible. Alan Smith was tied and pointed at by the guns he had given his henchmen. Jennifer was crouching in a corner, crying, beaten up and covered in bruises. The two men gave up willingly to the officers and Alex took care of Jen. He lifted her in his arms, noticing the blood that ran between her legs. He kissed her cheek and walked out with her.
As he passed, one of the henchmen, who was sitting inside the patrol car said, "Hey, dude, she needs immediate medical attention, not only for the bruises, but for her anorexia. She's dying."
"Thanks," Alex said. "For saving her."
"Hey, she's kinda tough, not every girl in her condition would have put up with all of this."
"Yeah, she's stronger than any girl I've ever met," he said, and that was the last thing Jen heard him say before she fainted in his arms, finally feeling her nightmare was over. Unfortunately, she was wrong.
From the March 3rd 2995 entry of Alexander Collin's journal:
"We got safely to the hospital and the doctors took care of her. We had
been there for two hours, when her mother appeared in the ER. She
walked to me and asked me where Jen was. When I told her I didn't know,
she called me a liar and asked again. How did she know I didn't want to
tell her is something I may never know. I had to tell her Jennifer was
being operated on that very minute. Her son and other daughter were
there too. Bobbie asked a couple of people about his sister, as if to
give the idea of a concerned brother; Christy just wanted to wake up
from the nightmare, she kept saying that out loud; but Kyra looked
angry. I tried to talk to her but she evaded me. I just wished for Jen
to make it through, and came back home with me, until she joined Time
Force. In my heart, I wish I could spare her all the pain that's coming
now, but in my mind I know I can't. She will be forced to relive it
over and over, and this will have consequences on her that nobody will
believe. And I've seen her family, though they want her to be ok, they
won't support her, like always."
Jen looked straight at the ceiling, thinking that if she ignored the officer he would stop and walk away. But he just kept asking her. Tears were forming in the backs of her eyes; she wanted it to stop that very second. Why didn't he just leave her alone? Could anyone tell her that?
"Ms. Smith, I'm sorry for driving you to tears, but I'm afraid I must insist, considering the importance of your answer," he said. Jen felt the tears running down her cheeks, but didn't look away. She heard the door, and thought it was Alex, come to kick that guy out.
"Please, leave me alone with my sister," Bobbie asked the officer. "It might be useful," he told the officer but Jen couldn't hear it. The officer left the room and Jen, still staring at the ceiling, was left alone with her brother.
"What do you want, Bobbie?" she asked, finally looking at him. He sat next to her bed.
"I want to talk to you. Jenny, you don't have the right to do what you are doing to us," he said. Jen felt as if he had slapped her across the face.
"What?" she spat.
"What you are doing to Dad and to us, you don't have the right to do it," he repeated.
"And he had the right to do what he did to me?" she asked. "I had to take it, but he can't be punished for it?"
"He didn't mean to hurt you, Jennifer," he explained. Jen looked away from him in total disbelief.
"Get out of my room," she said, angry and hurt. How could he think Alan hadn't meant to hurt her?
"He's a great father," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. She pushed it away.
"He wasn't a great father to me. I owe him nothing."
"You owe him your life."
"And I owe him the hell he turned it into," she added. "Get the hell out of my room. I need to rest. And I need to testify for the Time Force officer." Now she felt it was worth remembering everything she could.
"If you send him to trial, you will send him to his death," Bobbie told her dryly.
"He should have thought of that before he raped and tortured me, shouldn't he?" she answered in the same tone.
Bobbie got up and walked towards the door. "I will always remember you as the bitch who killed my father," he promised. "So will Kyra, and Mom."
"And I will always remember you as the accomplices of the man who turned me into this," she told him, opening her arms, so he could see what was left of her.
"Damn you. I hope I never see you again."
"I know I'll never see you again," she said and he walked out of the room.
From the April 14th 2995 entry of Jennifer Smith's Diary:
". Today I gave my first statement to Time Force about what happened. I
should have done it two weeks ago when I woke up, but Alex delayed it
for me, he's such an angel. Bobbie came to talk to me. But he didn't
say the things you'd think he would say. He had the balls to say Dad
didn't mean to hurt me, and begged me to stop, because I was sending
him to his death. What he doesn't know is that, if I could, I would
kill him myself. I would push that poison right into his veins myself.
And I'd watch him die without a single tear or regret. I hope he
doesn't get the death penalty, though. It would be a relief to him. I
want him to suffer a proper punishment. I know I will see Christy, Kyra
and Robert the day of the trial. But after that I will never see them
again. Ever.
Thank God, I'll live a normal happy life with Alex. Yes, I will be very
happy with Alex from now on. Very happy. Maybe after the trial the
nightmares, the fears and the tears will be gone. Maybe after the trial
I won't need sleeping pills anymore; I won't need pain killers or
tranquilizers... Maybe I will forget his face, his breath and his touch
by the time the trial is over. Maybe entering Time Force will be more
welcome now, if it can help me forget the pain. I need to keep this
shut somewhere in my mind, somewhere where I can't get to it, that way
it won't affect me."
Jen entered when the door opened. She felt the eyes on her but kept her head high. The group of judges was there, looking down at her with their black robes, looking more threatening than what she had imagined. She sat down, her head high. Christy, Kyra and Bobbie were there, looking at her with anger in their eyes. She waited as the defense lawyer arranged some papers. He was there, he looked at her cynically for a moment, but she didn't respond.
"Ms. Smith, we have already heard what the Time Force officers have to say," said the chief judge. "Now, the defense and we will ask you some questions, and please, don't try to keep it short. It's not necessary. You can talk for as long as you want, as give as many details as you can. Is that okay?"
Jen moved closer to the microphone and felt a knot in her throat. "Yes," she said in a small voice. She didn't feel emotionally capable of giving many details, but she was going to try, after all, she had kept the memories fresh for this moment.
"Fine. The defense shall start," said the man. The defense lawyer came to her.
"You are the youngest, right?"
"Yes," Jen said.
"You are aware that both of your parents consider you a mistake that shouldn't have happened, don't you?"
"Objection, he's attacking and insulting the witness," said one of the judges.
"Sustained, please treat the witness more kindly."
"I'm sorry, your honor," the lawyer said. "What genetic enhancements do you have?"
"I have perfect vision, a perfect ear, great mental agility, and strength to survive many days without food," Jen said.
"You dream of becoming a Time Force officer, don't you?"
"Nothing would make me happier," Jen said.
"Why?"
"Because I would be able to stop in other families what happened to me."
"Yes, about that. Um, you have expressed an unjustified hate towards your father since a couple of years ago, right?"
"Since I was fifteen, when he raped me the first time."
"You have?"
"Yes, I hate my father."
"You have a genetic malfunction, don't you, Ms. Smith?"
"For some reason my parents wouldn't remove the genetic predisposition I have towards eating disorders and other psychological diseases such as depression," Jen admitted.
"Do you think Time Force would want a depressed officer?"
"I'm very stable. I have to be pushed really hard to break."
"But you are under medication for your depression now, aren't you?"
"Yes."
"Do you know what your chances are of entering Time Force, Ms. Smith?"
"Objection, relevance."
"Sustained. Prove the relevance or change the line of questioning."
"When did your problems with your father start?"
"When I was fifteen, he started to sexually abuse me."
"Why didn't you tell anyone back then?"
"Because he convinced me not to. He said I had to be a good daughter and make him happy while Mom couldn't, he said she was cheating on him."
"Was she?"
"I don't know."
"Your family is prominent in this city. Why should we believe that the father of the year rapes his own daughter? Your sister never complained of anything like it."
"Maybe he never attacked my sister," was all Jen could say.
"That's highly improbable."
"Yet possible," Jen said.
"Why do you think he attacked you and not your sister?"
"Because I look more like my mom than Kyra does."
"Interesting." the man said, he seemed to be looking for a hole in Jen's declaration. "Did you see your father doing this to you?"
"Yes," she said.
"I thought you stated there was a rag around your eyes," he said with a gleam of triumph in his eyes.
"The last time, so I wouldn't know where I was, but all the other times I knew it was him, the other times I saw him," she explained.
"How do you know it was your father, this time?" the lawyer asked, somewhat desperate.
"Do you think he kept quiet all along? He talked to me. I recognized his voice."
"Could it have been a voice duplicator?"
"Why would someone use a voice duplicator? That's highly improbable," Jen said.
"Yet possible," the man told her. In that moment, Jen took the determination to give answers so detailed they knew she couldn't be making this up, even if that meant breaking down and crying in front of the people who might decide if she entered the Time Force or not.
From the May 5th 2995 entry of Alexander Collins' journal:
".I can't see how somebody can be this cruel to a poor girl. Both
lawyers asked her insensitive questions, as if they thought she was
over it like he was. They acted as if she was there because he gave her
a wrong flavored ice-cream. Well, he raped her, she's traumatized. I've
heard her scream; I've felt her shake in my arms when I hold her. Jen
is not okay, no matter what she says, I know she isn't! and she
wouldn't go to therapy or at least talk about it. I wish she trusted me
enough to share these feelings with me, so I could help her, because
nothing would make me happier than seeing her happy."
"I think that with the statements the two men gave, your father is going to be condemned," Alex told Jen. He wanted to caress her hair, but knew it wasn't a good idea.
"That's great," she said, with a single tear running down her cheek. "Alex, I want to be happy. But I don't know how anymore."
"Don't worry, I'll show you," he said. He kissed her forehead, only touching her with his lips. It was the only way she could stand to be kissed.
"I'll be eighteen in a month," she said. "You know what that means?"
"You'll be joining Time Force soon," he said.
"Alex, I want to thank you for everything you've done," she told him, putting her hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, that was nothing," he said. She started to cry again. Angry and frustrated, she tried to stop and swallow the tears. "Hey! What's wrong, Mouse?"
"I'm just tired of crying," she told him looking into his eyes. "I want this trial to be over so I can let go of these fears and memories. I had to keep them for my statement, but I want to forget, I want to forget it all," she said with tears in her eyes.
"You will, Mouse," he said. "I'll make sure you don't remember this anymore."
"I have to forget, to let this go or I'll never make it inside Time Force. I don't think I'll make it TO Time Force."
"You will. Trust in me, you will enter with flying colors," he told her, looking her in the eyes.
A man approached them and told them, "They have a verdict."
Jen instinctively held Alex's hand tightly. He grasped hers with both of his. She looked at him, somewhat lost and uncontrolled in her panic.
"Hey, it's okay," he told her. She was shaking softly and he wanted to take her in his arms and make her feel safe, but knew that would only make her feel worse.
They walked inside the room, all eyes on them, tears of fear running down Jen's cheeks.
"We, the jury, have reached a unanimous verdict," the foreman said. Jen grasped Alex's hand harder, and started to shake violently. She knew that if her father ever went free, he was going after her, this time to kill her. And she was afraid he might have bought the jury. "We sentence the defendant to death, by lethal injection to be scheduled in seven years. In the meantime, he will remain under custody in a maximum-security prison. We deny the defendant the rights of an appeal and all reduced and suspended sentence, probation and bail. He is to be taken into custody right now, and Ms. Jennifer Smith is to be protected by Time Force around the clock." The hologram of the jury disappeared and Jen started crying, for the first time in a long period, of happiness.
She hugged Alex and stayed in his arms for a while since neither one wanted to let go. Alan was taken into custody immediately. Jen felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around, it was her mother. She said nothing, slapped her and walked away. Behind her was Bobbie, who just shook his head and said, "I trust you are happy."
"I am," she said, and Bobbie walked away. Kyra walked closer to her and spit in her face, Jen kept her head high, even as she felt her soul giving in.
"We don't ever want to see you again."
"I don't want to see any of you again either, but we'll see each other again in seven years."
From the May 31st 2995 entry of Jennifer Smith's diary:
"It's been almost a month since the trial. Alex has been worried sick
about me and he's been missing days of work because of me. He almost
got fired the other day. I don't want him to, I'm not good for him. I'm
leaving his house and his life, because I love him so much, I want the
best for him. I took some of the things he bought for me and put them
in a suitcase. I'll spend a week changing my name and getting settled
and I'll join Time Force. I wrote Alex a letter, I hope he reads it and
forgives me, and I hope to see him again."
Alex walked into his apartment but when he called for Jen, there was no answer. He called again, and walked into the living room. He couldn't help but feel a bit scared. There - on the dining room table - he found a white envelope with his name written on it and with shaking hands he opened it.
"Dear Alex;
Oh, my love, please, please forgive me. I know I should have told you
this to your face, but you wouldn't have let me go. I love you Alex,
you have no idea of how much I love you. With tears in my eyes, I walk
out of this home you gave me, to transform into someone worthy of being
with a man like you. I'm not leaving you for any other reason but
because I care about you. I owe you some money and some clothes, but
I'll pay them back, some day ."
It went on about all the things he had done for her, but said nothing about where she was, and where she was going. Brokenhearted, Alex fell to his knees and broke down in a torrential cry, just like a child.
Jen walked all the way to the documentation office and entered. She stood in the line and looked ahead, to her new identity. Two hours later, she had updated her information; Jennifer Smith had vanished from existence. Now she was Jennifer Scotts, and was enlisted to join the Time Force training program in one week.
Warning: This story contains descriptions, although not graphic, of Incest and rape. If you are not comfortable with these situations, don't continue to read.
Treacherous Love Story
By: Shirley Chong
Part 1: Rescue
From the essay sent to the Time Force recruiting division by Jennifer Smith, in January 2995, as part of the application to be part of the Force.
"My name is Jennifer Smith. I'm seventeen years old and I just won't
lie. I don't want to join Time Force for any other reason but to get
out of my house. Here's the thing, my father hates me, because I don't
behave perfectly, like my brother and sister, so he wants me out as
much as I want to get out. I don't want to become a delinquent, I have
great genetic enhancements and I want to use them on the right side of
the law. I think I can get discipline in Time Force, a kind of
discipline my home lacks. I met one of your officers the other day, I
don't know if this will get him in trouble so I won't mention his name,
but he talked to me about your program and I love it (...) please let
me join your ranks, I promise I'll become one of your best officers, a
role model. And think about this, how many teenagers want to willingly
join your ranks these days?"
"Jennifer, we are waiting for you for breakfast," called Christy Smith to her daughter. Jennifer was sitting on her bed, staring at her face in the mirror. She was 20 pounds beneath her ideal weight and was growing pale and depressed. She tore her eyes away from the mirror and put on her shoes. She was wearing a pair of black pants, a white tank top over them and a leather jacket. She combed her hair, again losing her consciousness to her reflection in the mirror. Unnoticed, a tear ran down her cheek. "Jenny!" called her mother again. She had lost 40 pounds, gotten sick, dyed her hair black and her parents hadn't noticed anything but the fact her grades weren't as good as Kyra's and Bobbie's. She heard a siren and looked out the window; a Time Force patrol was separating the traffic as it went after a criminal mutant. She smiled, excited, she so wanted to be part of Time Force, she stared after them, when they left her visual field. Then she heard a loud bang behind her; it was her father's fist against her bedroom door.
"Come out, NOW!!" he yelled. She walked towards the door and right before she opened it, her father opened it and pulled her by the hair all the way down to the kitchen.
"Alan! What are you doing?! Let her go!" cried Christy. Alan let go of his daughter's hair to discover he had pulled a handful of hairs from her head.
She ran her fingers through her hair and said, "I was about to come down." She ran upstairs, grabbed her bag and ran out of the house, with tears in her eyes. Her father's yells followed her for a couple of houses, then they stopped and she slowed to a walk.
She was shaking with her tears and had her head hanging low. She wasn't paying attention to where she was walking and someone else had the same problem. A dark-haired, tall, muscular young man, about twenty, who crashed against her while power walking, and threw her to the ground.
"Sorry," he said, giving her a hand. She looked up at him. He had a pair of piercing and bright green eyes. He looked at her and worry displayed over his face. He put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you ok?" he asked. Jen tried to say something but couldn't make any sound, she lowered her head again and tried to nod, but she couldn't do that anymore than saying 'Yes'. Finally she shook her head 'no' and tried to keep on walking. "Hey, where are you going? Do you need help? What happened?" he asked. She shook her head 'no' again and tried to walk away, but he held her right arm.
".Late for school," was all he could catch from her barely audible whisper.
"You can't go to school like this. Did someone hurt you?" he asked further.
"No. Thanks. I really need to go to school," said Jen who felt calmer now. This guy gave her a sense of security that was weird; she didn't feel in danger talking to a complete stranger.
"Why are you so thin? Are you sick?" he asked. Jen felt he was asking too many questions.
"Why should I answer?" she asked, her tone a bit bitchy.
"I'm trying to help you," he answered.
"Why?" she asked.
"Because I'm a Time Force officer," he answered. Jen was left wordless.
From the January 10th 2995 entry of Jennifer Smith's diary:
"Today I met a Time Force officer, he helped me to calm down when I ran
away crying this morning. His name is Alexander Collins and he's the
most handsome man I've ever seen. I mean he's really gorgeous, not to
mention he has a heart of gold. I know I've always said I don't believe
in love at first sight, and I swear I never believed in it. Until I met
Alex and his sweet voice and bright eyes. He asked me a lot of
questions; I think he was trying to really help me to get out of my
house. I hope he can save me, before I decide to let go of myself."
They sat down on a bench, by the side of the street. Jen stared at a blank point. Alex just sat there, waiting.
"I always wanted to be a Time Force officer," she said.
"Really?" he commented. It's not all fun, you know."
"I know, that's why I always wanted to be a Time Force officer."
"Are you going to tell me what happened? Or are you just going to keep on changing the subject?"
"What happened was you had the bad luck of crossing me in the morning, while power walking," she told him.
"You mean you walk to school crying everyday?" he asked.
"Almost," she admitted.
"Why are you so thin?" he asked, looking down at her body.
"My mom's not a great cook. And I don't really get a lot of money to eat."
"Why don't you eat at home?"
"Because my mom's not a good cook, I just told you," she said, looking away.
"Why don't you cook yourself? Your parents, they don't keep you from eating, do they?" he asked, with a sudden suspicion.
"No, it's a genetic malfunction, I suffer from a disease that has attacked my family for generations. It's called Anorexia; I'm anorexic, meaning I feel repulsion towards eating."
"You need treatment. what did you tell me your name was?"
"I haven't told you my name," she said. "I'm Jennifer, you can call me Jen." She presented him a hand he gladly shook.
"I'm Alexander, you can call me Alex. Your hand feels as if it was made of crystal."
"It's skin and bones," she told him.
"Jen, why haven't you gotten any treatment for your disease?"
"I talked to the school psychologist, he wasn't really helpful."
"You need to see a nutritionist first."
"I didn't know that."
"Your parents know you suffer from this?" he asked.
"I don't know."
"You are dying, did you know that?" he told her.
"You are the second one to notice that," she said.
"Who was the first one?"
"I was."
From the January 10th 2995 entry of Alexander Collins' journal:
".I really don't know how to describe her. She looked like a little
mouse. She was dying. And she knew it. I asked her about her parents,
but she kept avoiding the subject. I think she has problems with her
parents, and needs to get out of that house. Really soon. Before she
makes a decision that can't be reversed."
"How is it in Time Force?" she asked. He smiled.
"You really don't want to tell me about your parents, do you?"
"No, I don't. What about yours?" she inquired
"They are fine, thanks," he said simply.
"Oh, good. So, how is it in Time Force?" she repeated.
"Well, if that's how it's going to be." he said, smiling. "We have to wake up really early and then workout most of the day. But the food is good, the showers are private and the beds are comfortable. Most of our superiors are nice people, although they appreciate discipline very much. We have some free time; we usually play sports or read. Some classes of history and stuff. But it's great training, and if you are good at your work they pay you a lot of money."
"I certainly won't do it for the money. Is there a way an underage person can enter the force?" she asked.
"Do your parents hurt you?" he asked back. She was about to answer when there was a horn from the street.
A car pulled over and Jen, fear across her face, ran away, leaving her backpack, and her new friend behind. Alan Smith stepped on the accelerator and his car sped after his daughter. Alex ran right behind them. Jen hid behind some bushes, crying in terror. She covered her head protectively. She heard the car door close and closed her eyes, she heard footsteps and felt her father's hand pulling her up. She kept her eyes closed and her hands protectively up.
"You'll never, EVER talk back to me again!" he yelled at her and as he stopped talking, Jen felt a bold pain in her face and she knew no more. Alan grabbed his unconscious daughter's body and dragged it all the way to the car. He was about to get her in, when he heard a voice behind him.
"Time Force, you are under arrest!" It was Alex. Alan turned around and looked down at him.
"She has a big bruise on her face and on her arm, she's knocked out. I'm her father, a respected member of society. You are a stranger to her. It would be your word against mine. Who would win if I said I rescued her from you?"
"It would be our word against yours," he said, pointing at Jen.
"She won't talk. And if she did, she's not reliable, she has expressed her hate for me around the city. All I need to say is that even if she knows I didn't do it, she is blaming me because she hates me. Either way, I win." Alex watched helplessly as Alan got back inside his car and drove away. Staring after them, he wondered if he'll ever see Jen alive again.
From the January 11th 2995 entry of Jennifer Smith's Diary:
"I blacked out after he slapped me. I woke up in pain in a dark room.
He did to me things no father should ever do to a child. He hit me,
yelled at me and tortured me. He cut my hair and the last thing I
remember is when he pulled off my pants. Then I let my mind fly like
all the other times, but I know what happened. I know what he did to
me. But I just can't write it down anymore than I can say it. He did it
over and over, I lost consciousness twice, and I know that while I was
passed out, he kept on doing it. Or doing me, whatever. When I woke up
again, he told me he was never going to be blamed for anything. I cried
myself unconscious again, and I woke up in the hospital, where a doctor
asked me if I remembered anything of my attacker. I told him I didn't.
I felt pain through out my body and I was dizzy. And I wished, with all
of my heart, I could die in that very moment."
Looking out the hospital window, Jen cried her eyes out. For how long was she going to be forced to take it? She wanted desperately to get out of her house, but she couldn't find a way out. She felt her hair. Two weeks after he cut it, and it was still too short and uneven. She had been left alone in the hospital room as soon as she was out of immediate danger. Her family hated her. She wished she could see Alex again. Or just die. She wanted to run through the window and jump to nothingness. She got up, and looked at her reflection in the mirror. The bruises were getting smaller and her nose had been reconstructed quite well. She looked down at her body.
"How am I supposed to get good grades if I can't go to school?" she asked to her reflection.
"I'm sorry I couldn't do anything," said a voice behind her. She turned around and ran towards the speaker.
"Alex!" she said, holding him, totally forgetting about her broken ribs and all the bruises. "God, I prayed so much to see you again."
"I brought you some flowers, but I didn't know if it was right to bring them over, I thought your father would be here," he said.
"I've been alone here for almost two weeks," she said. Then she lowered her head and added, "Waiting for a miracle."
Alex pushed her face up softly. "Jen, what did he do to you?" he asked.
"Nothing you can prove," she said, walking out of his embrace and staring out the window again. The sunset was reflected in her eyes.
"Jen, what did he do to you?" he asked again, slowly, as if afraid of the answer.
"That very same thing you are thinking. Over and over and over again. He knows I'm too weak to fight back. But, I guess it was as a favor, he knocked me unconscious before he did it. But I woke up, and I felt it. I felt it over and over." She said all of this as if in a trance. "And I will always remember that," she added and broke down in a torrential cry. "No father should do these things to a child. No man should do these things to a woman," she said between sobs. Alex held her, and she rested her head on his shoulder.
"That's it. You are moving in with me, Jennifer. You are not going back to that house. Ever again," he told her, but she shook her head.
"I have to stay there, he'll accuse you of what he did to me and he'll accuse you of kidnapping. I have to go back," she lamented.
"No, you don't. I don't care what happens to me, Jen-"
"I do," she said and did something she had been yearning to do ever since she met him. She pressed her lips against his, for just a second, like a parody of a kiss. "I'm not moving in with you, Alex, not because I don't want to, but because it would be giving him the chance to hurt you. And I just won't do that."
"Then, what are you going to do?" he asked.
"I will join Time Force," she said. He looked at her, worried. He felt, deep within his heart, an unmeasured fear that she might just get killed long before she was old enough to join.
From the response letter Jennifer Smith got from the Time Force recruiting division, in January 2995.
".You are not old enough to join our ranks. We appreciate your desire
to join our ranks and hope you will keep that desire until you are
eighteen years old. We also would like you to consider talking to a
therapist about your problems at home, especially the ones you seem to
have with your father.
We must regretfully give a negative answer to your petition to join our
ranks this year, and sincerely hope to include you next year."
Jen angrily threw the letter she had crushed to a ball. She felt so frustrated. She had to live six more months in that house. As she usually did, she stared at her eyes in the mirror. Mentally she traced the goal of being the best she could for these six months, so she could live long enough to join Time Force.
"Jenny, breakfast," called her mother.
"Coming!" she cried back. Her hair was still short, so she put on a black hat. She walked down the stairs and entered the kitchen. "Morning," she said.
"What has gotten into you?" said Kyra, surprised.
"So now I can't say hi to my family?" Jen asked. She felt like yelling she was going to eat in the backyard like the family dog, but contained herself.
"Of course you can, dear," said Christy sweetly, she had been treating Jen as if she was made of crystal since the attack. "What do you want for breakfast?"
"I'll have some waffles," Jen said, thinking the reason her mother treated her so nicely was because she felt guilty.
"Good," said Christy and moved to make the waffles. Alan poured himself some juice.
"Do you want some juice, Jen?" he asked.
"Please, Dad," she answered. Kyra and Bobbie looked at each other sideways.
"What was the letter you received about? It was from Time Force, I trust you are not in trouble?" Alan asked.
"No. I requested information to enter next year," Jen said. "You know my dream is to become a Time Force officer."
"Yes, I never really understood why," Alan commented. Jen gazed into his eyes, and he could see hate and anger repressed inside her soul.
When they finished their breakfast, Jen got up and left for school. She was walking distractedly again, and crashed again against a certain Time Force officer.
"Hey you," he said, helping her up from the ground.
"Hey," said Jen. Then came a weird moment for neither one of them knew quite what to say or do. Alex picked a light, obvious subject.
"Going to school?" he asked.
"Yes. I'm quite late, because I stayed to have breakfast with my family," she said lightly.
"How's your dad?" he asked; in response, her eyes went black.
"He's quite good if you don't provoke him," she said truthfully.
"Oh." He strained to change the subject. "You better get going to school, I'll see you later," he said. She nodded and walked away. "By the way, nice hat," he added with a smile. She showed him her tongue mockingly.
From the report written about Jennifer Smith by the school principal to her parents, February 1st 2995.
". I'm personally inclined to state this girl's mental status isn't
stable enough for her to carry on with her education properly. Her
constant absences, her lack of attention and her extremely low grades
are proof of that, and are also the cause of her failure. Jennifer
Smith has no friends, has no special affection for any of the faculty
members and refuses to accept the help the student support department
is offering her. It is with great sorrow - for I have no doubt Jennifer
is an exceptionally capable and smart young woman - that I expel
Jennifer from this school, prompting her to find the help she needs so
much to become an active and productive member of society."
The principal had given her the news personally. She had been called to the principal's office and she could feel the eyes on her as she left the classroom. When she had entered the office, the principal asked her to sit down and had told her she was expelled, and that she was to pick up her things from her locker and go home.
But nothing of this worried Jennifer as much as discovering she had mailed a letter and a report to her father's office a few minutes before, this meaning he must have been receiving it in that very moment. Jen tried to look sad and somewhat worried but she hid how she was truly feeling- totally panicked and distressed, this was the end of her life. Literally. Jen knew that if her father found her she was dead.
The principal went on about how good she had been, and how she was sure she was capable of great things, but Jen wasn't listening. She could only think about her father, reading that report, finding out she had been expelled from school, she could almost hear his yells; she could almost feel his belt on her back, as he used it as a whip. She had to run away, somewhere really far, where he couldn't find her, or hurt her.
She had to find Alex, before her father found her. The principal told her she could leave, and she literally ran out of the building, towards Time Force Headquarters. The obvious place to find Alex.
Jen entered the big, bright white building somewhat intimidated by its presence. "Excuse me," she asked a young male officer who was standing near by. "I-I'm looking for Alexander Collins, do you know where I can find him?"
"Is something wrong?" he asked.
Jen wondered if she should tell him. But what if he didn't believe her? What if he called her parents? No, she'd better kept it to herself. "I really need to talk to Alexander Collins," she insisted. "It's something personal."
"Wait here," the officer told her and walked towards a counter. She stood there, looking out the window. After a little while, he was back. "I'm sorry, but Alexander Collins is out doing his morning round," he told her. "If you want to leave a message, I'll be more than glad to give it to him."
"Please, tell him Jen was here, and that I'll see him on the first bench before noon," she told the officer and walked away before he could say anything.
"But, Miss..." The officer tried to call her attention, but she kept walking. "Alex won't come back until after noon."
Sitting in a corner, Jen took out all the money she had, it wasn't much, but it was enough. She walked into the mall, and entered the supermarket. She had her black hat and a jacket on, so changing herself to hide long enough from her father wasn't going to be a problem. She looked at her watch. 10:52 am. She wandered around the store as long as she could. She felt somewhat safe there because it was full.
She entered aisle number eight. She glanced at her watch. 11:15 am. She had to hurry if she wanted to meet Alex before noon. She looked around and grabbed a can of bug spray from the shelf and took it to the register. The cashier seemed surprised at her only item, but she took her money and gave her one of those paid-for smiles. Jen glanced at her watch again, before leaving the store. 11:25 am. She took her hat and jacket off, and put them inside her backpack, along with the item she had just bought.
When she sat down on the bench it was 11:48 am. She took a book out and pretended to read, so she could keep her face lowered and go unnoticed by anyone on the street. She counted down the twelve minutes to noon. "Alex, where are you, baby?"
Meanwhile, Alex finished his morning round and returned to Time Force headquarters. He entered the imposing building and checked his credentials at the gate. A message appeared for him on the screen. Officer Walter Jackson has an urgent message for you. Alex was intrigued. He walked towards the elevator wondering what this 'Urgent message' could be.
From "Together Forever" by Nadira. (Page 29, Broken Hearts edition):
"Jen didn't really intend to commit suicide. Suicide was more of her
Plan B. She planned to do something a bit more romantic, she wanted to
run away with Alex - Like in a movie. She planned to meet Alex on that
bench and then see what they could come up with, maybe he'd give her
money to leave town or some sort of protection.
But if Alex didn't appear in time, or her father found her first, Jen
had made up her mind. She was taking the poison. She chose the poison
because it was - in her opinion - less painful and messy than all the
other forms of suicide. She had a poison with slow action in humans,
after all, she did wanted to stay alive, to be happy with Alex. She
wanted to have the chance to change her mind, not to mention the bug
spray was the best she could afford.
Jen read the entire can before taking it. She wanted to be sure it was
going to work slowly, but not too much; the can promised the spray
could kill insects really fast. But, then again, humans have this
tendency to be bigger than insects."
"Alex, where are you?" Jen wondered exactly at noon. She let another minute go by. At 12:05 pm she decided it was too late. Alex had let her down. "Oh, Alex. How could you let me down today?" she said, getting up, she didn't think that was the right place to commit suicide, but she had nowhere else to go, so she sat back. She opened her mouth and sprayed the poison down her throat. The flavor was so disgusting, she vomited the first time she tried to swallow it. How could he leave me alone right now when I need him the most? I thought he loved me. I thought he cared about me. But I was wrong. That was the thought that crossed her mind in that very moment.
With tears, knowing her father was looking for her all over the city, and thinking Alex wasn't, she sprayed again. And swallowed deep. She did it again. She began feeling dizzy, and she wanted to vomit again. She sprayed inside her throat again. She was crying even more now, as her throat hurt as if it had been cut with a knife. She threw up again, feeling dizzier, and knowing she was about to faint. She lost all sense of equilibrium or knowledge of her location. Her vision was blurred by the tears, and darkened by the approximating loss of consciousness. She heard a voice calling her name, but it sounded so distant, so unreal, she thought it came from her own mind.
"Alex."she whispered as her very last word. She fainted. And Alex caught her right before she hit the ground.
From the February 1st 2995 entry of Alexander Collins's journal:
"I thought my heart was stopping when I saw her there. Walter Jackson
told me this really thin and pale girl had come to see me. And that she
had asked him to tell me she wanted to see me on 'the first bench'
before noon. It was a minute past noon when he told me. He couldn't
remember her name, but I knew it was Jen. I wondered what had happened
and on my way to the only place she could have called 'the first bench'
- the one where we sat the day I met her - I feared she might have done
something stupid like what she did and as anyone can imagine, for me to
see her there, with all the vomit down her front and that can of bug
spray in her hand, was unbearable. I knew it was my fault and I had to
fix it, she had tried to take her life because I hadn't met her in
time. I rushed the patrol all the way to the hospital with the siren
on. I feared we weren't going to make to the hospital but she was
stronger than I could have ever imagined. She was admitted into the ER,
they attended her and saved her life. I'm so relieved. God, I don't
know what I would do if my little mouse died on me."
Jen opened her eyes the smallest of bits. She closed them again. The light hurt. She felt a hand in hers. And then, she heard the sweetest of sounds; Alex's voice, caressing her ears. He was whispering, encouraging her to open her eyes, to go back to him. She felt her throat ache - it was really painful - as if someone had made her swallow knifes.
"Little mouse, please, come back. I can protect you from him until you enter Time Force," he told her. Jen wanted to smile, but she felt her body heavy, as if it was made of lead.
"Light," she finally mouthed. Alex started breathing as if he was excited. He walked away from her and turned off the light.
"Better?" he asked. Jen tried to open her eyes again. She could open them some more, she saw Alex's silhouette, but she couldn't see him clearly.
"Dad?" she whispered, she wanted to know she was safe. She was so afraid.
"Sshh. Don't try to talk yet. I'm so glad you're back," he said, caressing her head. "Your hair grew back, is as beautiful as always," he told her. She smiled weakly. "I love you little mouse." He kissed her forehead. "Don't ever do this to me again, Jennifer. Please."
"Never again," she mouthed. He held her hand a little stronger and knew she was going to be okay now.
"Do you know how long you have been in the ICU?" he asked. She shook her head. "Want to know?" She nodded, barely moving her head. "Three weeks. I bought a bigger bed, bought you some clothes and a new computer. You are moving in with me, and he won't find you," he told her. Jen smiled looking at his eyes, and hoping he was for real.
From the February 25th 2995 entry of Jennifer Smith's diary:
"Alex is such a sweetheart. He bought me everything I needed, including
new underwear. I'm very happy. His apartment, I mean, our apartment, is
really comfortable. I've never felt this safe in my life. He took care
of me when I needed him in the hospital. And he's helping me to pay the
bills. I wish I didn't know Dad has ways to find me anywhere in this
city. I wish I could just get lost in this fantasy of freedom and
happiness, in the arms of my big lion - I call him that because he
calls me little mouse - but I know I can't. I know it won't be long
before Dad finds me and I know I probably won't make it to Time Force
ever; I guess I'll try to be as happy as I can with Alex before it's
over."
"Did you find her?" Alan asked his employee.
"No, sir. We've looked up and down the city and we haven't seen her," the man answered.
"Wherever he's hiding her, it won't last long. Put some more men into it. It's been over three weeks since she escaped and you haven't found her. You have one more week to do so," Alan menaced.
"Yes, sir," said the man. "Guess it's time to go after Alex," he commented to himself as he walked away.
"I don't know who she thinks she is, but she is not getting away from me," Alan said to no one in particular.
From "Together Forever" by Nadira. (Pg. 56, Broken Hearts Editions.):
".What Little Mouse and Big Lion didn't know is how far Jen's father
would go. He was like a giant octopus whose tentacles could embrace the
whole city. He was an ever existing shadow, who was right above them,
so big and so unstoppable they couldn't see him, much less run away
from him. And now this monster had a surprise for his daughter, and
Alex could only hope he was big enough to save her, he tried to get her
into Time Force before her time, by telling the recruiting division
about her situation, but there was nothing he could do, and when Alan
Smith found her, Alex found himself wishing he had let her die the
other day."
Alex went home to pick up Jen. She was wearing one of the new outfits he had bought for her, and he was delighted, except for the fact that no matter how much he made her eat she was getting thinner and thinner everyday. He was taking her to the doctor. In her sky blue dress she waited for him in the living room. She was trying to force her hair into a ponytail, but it was still too short for that. She let it loose when he walked in. She blew him a kiss and he motioned her into walking to the door. She did as she was asked, and as she walked next to him he hugged her and kissed her deeply. While they were kissing they were happy, in a momentary total bliss. And for a long time, it was going to be the last time they felt that way.
From the March 2nd 2995 entry of Alexander's journal:
".And the last thing I remember was kissing her while she was wearing
that beautiful blue dress, that covered her body, which felt barely
there inside my arms. She was like a ghost, in that second. I remember
when I woke up I thought for a moment she had died the other day, that
it had been just a dream, that she wasn't real. She had always felt
like that, like a ghost, like an illusion of my mind trying to torture
me with her memory, as if my mind made me believe I was holding her, or
kissing her, or drying her tears.
She was so weak and fragile all along, and the very second I opened my
eyes, on the floor, with that great pain in my head, I thought I was
lying in the street, waking up after fainting from the shock of finding
her dead. But I was in my apartment. And I knew it had been no dream. I
knew I had lived with her during this time and had been totally happy,
going to bed with her at night, waking up next to her in the morning.
It was in that surreal moment I realized how deep my love for Jennifer
was, but right after that, the reality hit me, and tears filled my
eyes, when I realized what had happened, and who Jennifer was being
taken to."
"No, no, no, no." Jennifer kept begging curled up in a ball in a dark cold room. She knew who had locked her there. And she knew it was a form of torture, making her wait there, in the cold darkness for whatever he was preparing to do to her. "Alex." she called as tears ran down her cheeks, making her colder. She trembled, feeling her body freeze more and more. Her body was frozen and her mind was petrified, she kept staring in all directions, and she started crying and wailing. She covered her head with her arms, so skinny and little she felt even more vulnerable in that position. She heard a noise somewhere around her, and she felt herself being lifted of the floor, she closed her eyes, not daring to see what was coming. Blind pain was next, followed by a blank mind.
As she laid there, unconscious and vulnerable, he felt mixed emotions. He hated her, yet he loved her. She was his daughter, but also she was the reason of a downfall he had recovered economically from, but he could never recover spiritually from. Jennifer's birth had caused his marriage to freeze. He had loved Jennifer for the first few years, as he had never placed the blame on the little girl. But as she grew, he had more and more problems, and it was easier to put the blame on her. In time he had started to somehow hate his daughter.
He had thought of many ways to hurt her, to make her pay for what she had caused in his life. He treated her coldly and turned the family against her. But as Jen grew up, she became more and more beautiful. And he had gone head over heels over his own daughter. Looking at his wife and touching her no longer gave him any pleasure; but just looking at Jen made him feel young and powerful again.
Right now she was unconscious.
But the first time he had done it, she hadn't been. She had been petrified, but not unconscious. He had talked her into keeping it secret. He could remember everything, and had no regrets at all. He could remember Jennifer's tight little body trapped under his. Her chest trembling as she tried to catch a breath between her sobs. The tears falling from her lost eyes. Having her right there, lying helplessly in his claws again right after she thought she had escaped forever, blew his sick dirty mind.
Jen woke up. Her eyes were covered so she couldn't see anything, but she felt the presence of her father, for it was powerful. "You're awake," she heard him say, it wasn't a question. She said nothing, nor did she move a muscle. But it didn't matter, he began.
In Time Force headquarters, Alex was doing everything he could to try to locate at least the area Jen might be in. He wasn't having much luck, as nerves and fear had taken over his mind and he wasn't at his best. He tried to calm down, but every breath he took brought him images of what Jen could be going through. He had to hurry if he wanted to save her. He kept typing, frantically. He stopped again, and started thinking. How had they found her? Surely they were following him. Now, where would they start following him? Somewhere where they knew he was going to be for sure; that was Time Force headquarters. Fine, so now he knew it was his fault, whatever Jennifer was going through. No. It was his mind, trying to make him lose control again. He had no time for that, he had to find her.
The hopelessness she was feeling overpowered everything else she might have been feeling at the moment. It overpowered the fear and the pain. Blind- eyed, Jen had to trust her body and what she was feeling to make a statement. But her mind was numb. It was numb with fear and pain, and that hopelessness so powerful. That hopelessness that kept her thinking it wasn't worth it because she was going to die that very same day. The sensations her body was sending her mind were disgusting, painful, but they got lost in the immensity of her mind. She thought she was going to be unable to remember what was happening. She wanted to drift away, to imagine herself somewhere else, but she couldn't. It wasn't worth it. She was going to die that day.
From the May 30th 2995 entry of Jennifer Smith's diary:
".Against everything I had thought, I had very good memories of what happened. Vivid, powerful memories that haunt me when I'm asleep and when I'm awake. I have memories that cause me nightmares and tears. Memories that make me fear the slightest touch, but I won't let them go. I need them. I need them to put him in jail. I write down my dreams, because I remember details in my dreams. Not only from this last attack but from all of the previous. This memories are hurting but I don't want to give a weak statement. I know how important my statement is and I won't let go of these memories. Not until after the trial, because when I enter that courtroom I WILL prove I'm not making this up. And he'll rot in jail, that bastard."
Jennifer woke up. She didn't know how long ago it had been since she had passed out. She still had the rag over her eyes. She heard voices around her. Men's voices. In her pain, she tried to focus in on what they were saying.
"I don't agree, but what can I do? He would kill me, you know. Better her than me," said one of them, he sounded near her.
"I don't know. She is kinda hot, but still, she is his daughter, he said he does it because she is a bad daughter, but that's not true. I think he's just messed up in his mind. And the Time Force is looking for mutants..." said another one, the last lines as if he couldn't believe what he was saying.
"Yeah, I mean some of the things this guy did to his daughter not even a mutant would do. Some of them are very cruel, but not like this. I mean, look at the poor thing, she's practically dead."
"Yeah, I- -" They shut up. The door had opened and he was back.
"Oh, she's awake," he said, touching one of her legs. The touch made Jen tremble from head to toe. "Guys, want some?" he asked the two men.
"No, thanks," said one of them.
"Me neither," said the other.
"Oh, come on! It's not like she isn't used to it. She's been going through this since she was fifteen." Jen felt a tear down her cheek. In her mind she begged the men to stop him. To help her. "Fine, if you guys don't want some, I do," he said and got started. The two men turned away from the scene. How could they work for a man so cruel? How could a father be so proud of doing this kind of thing to his daughter? Was the money worth it? Jen kept begging mentally the two men would help her. Their conversation had given her back a bit of hope. THEY were just a bit away from helping her. If only she could muster up the strength to ask them for help.
But why wouldn't they help her now? If they didn't want to hurt her, why did they let him hurt her? Her body was beyond her control. It wouldn't respond to her brain's orders. She was lying there, condemned to feel what her father was doing to her until she died. She was mute and helpless. Helpless under his command she had to do whatever he wanted, she had to feel whatever he wanted her to. She belonged to him. At that thought a spark seemed to burn inside her mind.
'THAT'S NOT TRUE! YOU DON'T BELONG TO HIM, JENNIFER!' she heard a voice inside her mind say. It wasn't Alex's voice. It was her own. 'THIS IS ENOUGH, JEN! YOU DON'T HAVE TO TAKE ANY MORE OF THIS!'
"You know you are going to die here, don't you?" he told her. Jen felt her anger giving her strength. Strength and HOPE. That hope she so needed. "Your beloved Axel won't save you. He's too much of a coward to come here and get you out," he said.
'DON'T LET HIM TALK LIKE THAT ABOUT ALEX!' Jen's mind told her.
"He never felt anything real for you. Anything but pity." Alan kept going.
Jen was so filled with rage she stopped feeling the pain of her body. 'THAT'S NOT TRUE! STOP HIM!'
"Aren't you going to cry? Dear Axel, please, please save me." he was mocking her.
Why did she have to take it? Alan kept mocking her and filling her with that rage, so amazing, so strengthening. 'STOP HIM!' her mind's voice told her. 'HE WON'T STOP ON HIS OWN. YOU HAVE TO STOP HIM.' He kept hurting her, but now he could only hurt her physically. Not emotionally. She was temporarily protected against that. 'STOP HIM NOW JENNIFER! NOW!!!'
"Why don't you call Axel?" he kept saying his name wrong. That last time triggered her.
"His name is Alex!!" she told him aloud, much to the surprise of Alan and his henchmen. "HIS NAME IS ALEX AND HE WILL SAVE ME!!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.
"Shut up!" he yelled at her and he slapped her across the face. But Jen had had it. Her face was the only part of her body she could move so she spit at him. If her eyes hadn't been covered, Alan would have seen the anger burning in her eyes. "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Alan repeated. She spit at him again.
"No, I won't shut up! You can't shut me up anymore!" she said. She turned to the direction she had heard the men talking. "Stop him," she asked them. "He's hurting me, please stop him!" she begged. She felt her father's fist against her mouth, but she kept on calling for help. "Please, I don't deserve this, stop him."
*********************
"Sir, I've checked all of Alan Smith's properties and I've got a couple where he can be keeping his daughter kidnapped. If you would give me four men I'll go and check them out," Alex told the captain.
"Go, take anyone you want," the other agreed.
'I'm coming after you, Jen. Hang on a bit more,' Alex thought. He got four men, and a patrol, and set out to the one place he knew her father could be keeping her.
From Nadira's Together Forever (pg. 70 Broken Hearts Editions):
"Jen could have given up in that moment. She could have forgotten about Alex, about Time Force, about her dreams. She could have forgotten about herself. But she found her fire, her strength, in anger. She stood up to herself. She decided she didn't have to take that, she decided to stand up for herself, for her dreams, for her life. Of course Alan didn't like this new attitude his victim had. He tried to beat it out of her, and if the miraculous facts that followed her plea hadn't happened, Jen would have died. But at least she would have died full of hope. Clinging with her teeth and fingernails to her future and to her life. She had decided her happiness was possible. She had chosen Alex over Alan, and her dreams over her death, which didn't seem so imminent anymore."
The door exploded, and three Time Force officers entered the room, followed by Alex. The scene he found was quite incredible. Alan Smith was tied and pointed at by the guns he had given his henchmen. Jennifer was crouching in a corner, crying, beaten up and covered in bruises. The two men gave up willingly to the officers and Alex took care of Jen. He lifted her in his arms, noticing the blood that ran between her legs. He kissed her cheek and walked out with her.
As he passed, one of the henchmen, who was sitting inside the patrol car said, "Hey, dude, she needs immediate medical attention, not only for the bruises, but for her anorexia. She's dying."
"Thanks," Alex said. "For saving her."
"Hey, she's kinda tough, not every girl in her condition would have put up with all of this."
"Yeah, she's stronger than any girl I've ever met," he said, and that was the last thing Jen heard him say before she fainted in his arms, finally feeling her nightmare was over. Unfortunately, she was wrong.
From the March 3rd 2995 entry of Alexander Collin's journal:
"We got safely to the hospital and the doctors took care of her. We had
been there for two hours, when her mother appeared in the ER. She
walked to me and asked me where Jen was. When I told her I didn't know,
she called me a liar and asked again. How did she know I didn't want to
tell her is something I may never know. I had to tell her Jennifer was
being operated on that very minute. Her son and other daughter were
there too. Bobbie asked a couple of people about his sister, as if to
give the idea of a concerned brother; Christy just wanted to wake up
from the nightmare, she kept saying that out loud; but Kyra looked
angry. I tried to talk to her but she evaded me. I just wished for Jen
to make it through, and came back home with me, until she joined Time
Force. In my heart, I wish I could spare her all the pain that's coming
now, but in my mind I know I can't. She will be forced to relive it
over and over, and this will have consequences on her that nobody will
believe. And I've seen her family, though they want her to be ok, they
won't support her, like always."
Jen looked straight at the ceiling, thinking that if she ignored the officer he would stop and walk away. But he just kept asking her. Tears were forming in the backs of her eyes; she wanted it to stop that very second. Why didn't he just leave her alone? Could anyone tell her that?
"Ms. Smith, I'm sorry for driving you to tears, but I'm afraid I must insist, considering the importance of your answer," he said. Jen felt the tears running down her cheeks, but didn't look away. She heard the door, and thought it was Alex, come to kick that guy out.
"Please, leave me alone with my sister," Bobbie asked the officer. "It might be useful," he told the officer but Jen couldn't hear it. The officer left the room and Jen, still staring at the ceiling, was left alone with her brother.
"What do you want, Bobbie?" she asked, finally looking at him. He sat next to her bed.
"I want to talk to you. Jenny, you don't have the right to do what you are doing to us," he said. Jen felt as if he had slapped her across the face.
"What?" she spat.
"What you are doing to Dad and to us, you don't have the right to do it," he repeated.
"And he had the right to do what he did to me?" she asked. "I had to take it, but he can't be punished for it?"
"He didn't mean to hurt you, Jennifer," he explained. Jen looked away from him in total disbelief.
"Get out of my room," she said, angry and hurt. How could he think Alan hadn't meant to hurt her?
"He's a great father," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. She pushed it away.
"He wasn't a great father to me. I owe him nothing."
"You owe him your life."
"And I owe him the hell he turned it into," she added. "Get the hell out of my room. I need to rest. And I need to testify for the Time Force officer." Now she felt it was worth remembering everything she could.
"If you send him to trial, you will send him to his death," Bobbie told her dryly.
"He should have thought of that before he raped and tortured me, shouldn't he?" she answered in the same tone.
Bobbie got up and walked towards the door. "I will always remember you as the bitch who killed my father," he promised. "So will Kyra, and Mom."
"And I will always remember you as the accomplices of the man who turned me into this," she told him, opening her arms, so he could see what was left of her.
"Damn you. I hope I never see you again."
"I know I'll never see you again," she said and he walked out of the room.
From the April 14th 2995 entry of Jennifer Smith's Diary:
". Today I gave my first statement to Time Force about what happened. I
should have done it two weeks ago when I woke up, but Alex delayed it
for me, he's such an angel. Bobbie came to talk to me. But he didn't
say the things you'd think he would say. He had the balls to say Dad
didn't mean to hurt me, and begged me to stop, because I was sending
him to his death. What he doesn't know is that, if I could, I would
kill him myself. I would push that poison right into his veins myself.
And I'd watch him die without a single tear or regret. I hope he
doesn't get the death penalty, though. It would be a relief to him. I
want him to suffer a proper punishment. I know I will see Christy, Kyra
and Robert the day of the trial. But after that I will never see them
again. Ever.
Thank God, I'll live a normal happy life with Alex. Yes, I will be very
happy with Alex from now on. Very happy. Maybe after the trial the
nightmares, the fears and the tears will be gone. Maybe after the trial
I won't need sleeping pills anymore; I won't need pain killers or
tranquilizers... Maybe I will forget his face, his breath and his touch
by the time the trial is over. Maybe entering Time Force will be more
welcome now, if it can help me forget the pain. I need to keep this
shut somewhere in my mind, somewhere where I can't get to it, that way
it won't affect me."
Jen entered when the door opened. She felt the eyes on her but kept her head high. The group of judges was there, looking down at her with their black robes, looking more threatening than what she had imagined. She sat down, her head high. Christy, Kyra and Bobbie were there, looking at her with anger in their eyes. She waited as the defense lawyer arranged some papers. He was there, he looked at her cynically for a moment, but she didn't respond.
"Ms. Smith, we have already heard what the Time Force officers have to say," said the chief judge. "Now, the defense and we will ask you some questions, and please, don't try to keep it short. It's not necessary. You can talk for as long as you want, as give as many details as you can. Is that okay?"
Jen moved closer to the microphone and felt a knot in her throat. "Yes," she said in a small voice. She didn't feel emotionally capable of giving many details, but she was going to try, after all, she had kept the memories fresh for this moment.
"Fine. The defense shall start," said the man. The defense lawyer came to her.
"You are the youngest, right?"
"Yes," Jen said.
"You are aware that both of your parents consider you a mistake that shouldn't have happened, don't you?"
"Objection, he's attacking and insulting the witness," said one of the judges.
"Sustained, please treat the witness more kindly."
"I'm sorry, your honor," the lawyer said. "What genetic enhancements do you have?"
"I have perfect vision, a perfect ear, great mental agility, and strength to survive many days without food," Jen said.
"You dream of becoming a Time Force officer, don't you?"
"Nothing would make me happier," Jen said.
"Why?"
"Because I would be able to stop in other families what happened to me."
"Yes, about that. Um, you have expressed an unjustified hate towards your father since a couple of years ago, right?"
"Since I was fifteen, when he raped me the first time."
"You have?"
"Yes, I hate my father."
"You have a genetic malfunction, don't you, Ms. Smith?"
"For some reason my parents wouldn't remove the genetic predisposition I have towards eating disorders and other psychological diseases such as depression," Jen admitted.
"Do you think Time Force would want a depressed officer?"
"I'm very stable. I have to be pushed really hard to break."
"But you are under medication for your depression now, aren't you?"
"Yes."
"Do you know what your chances are of entering Time Force, Ms. Smith?"
"Objection, relevance."
"Sustained. Prove the relevance or change the line of questioning."
"When did your problems with your father start?"
"When I was fifteen, he started to sexually abuse me."
"Why didn't you tell anyone back then?"
"Because he convinced me not to. He said I had to be a good daughter and make him happy while Mom couldn't, he said she was cheating on him."
"Was she?"
"I don't know."
"Your family is prominent in this city. Why should we believe that the father of the year rapes his own daughter? Your sister never complained of anything like it."
"Maybe he never attacked my sister," was all Jen could say.
"That's highly improbable."
"Yet possible," Jen said.
"Why do you think he attacked you and not your sister?"
"Because I look more like my mom than Kyra does."
"Interesting." the man said, he seemed to be looking for a hole in Jen's declaration. "Did you see your father doing this to you?"
"Yes," she said.
"I thought you stated there was a rag around your eyes," he said with a gleam of triumph in his eyes.
"The last time, so I wouldn't know where I was, but all the other times I knew it was him, the other times I saw him," she explained.
"How do you know it was your father, this time?" the lawyer asked, somewhat desperate.
"Do you think he kept quiet all along? He talked to me. I recognized his voice."
"Could it have been a voice duplicator?"
"Why would someone use a voice duplicator? That's highly improbable," Jen said.
"Yet possible," the man told her. In that moment, Jen took the determination to give answers so detailed they knew she couldn't be making this up, even if that meant breaking down and crying in front of the people who might decide if she entered the Time Force or not.
From the May 5th 2995 entry of Alexander Collins' journal:
".I can't see how somebody can be this cruel to a poor girl. Both
lawyers asked her insensitive questions, as if they thought she was
over it like he was. They acted as if she was there because he gave her
a wrong flavored ice-cream. Well, he raped her, she's traumatized. I've
heard her scream; I've felt her shake in my arms when I hold her. Jen
is not okay, no matter what she says, I know she isn't! and she
wouldn't go to therapy or at least talk about it. I wish she trusted me
enough to share these feelings with me, so I could help her, because
nothing would make me happier than seeing her happy."
"I think that with the statements the two men gave, your father is going to be condemned," Alex told Jen. He wanted to caress her hair, but knew it wasn't a good idea.
"That's great," she said, with a single tear running down her cheek. "Alex, I want to be happy. But I don't know how anymore."
"Don't worry, I'll show you," he said. He kissed her forehead, only touching her with his lips. It was the only way she could stand to be kissed.
"I'll be eighteen in a month," she said. "You know what that means?"
"You'll be joining Time Force soon," he said.
"Alex, I want to thank you for everything you've done," she told him, putting her hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, that was nothing," he said. She started to cry again. Angry and frustrated, she tried to stop and swallow the tears. "Hey! What's wrong, Mouse?"
"I'm just tired of crying," she told him looking into his eyes. "I want this trial to be over so I can let go of these fears and memories. I had to keep them for my statement, but I want to forget, I want to forget it all," she said with tears in her eyes.
"You will, Mouse," he said. "I'll make sure you don't remember this anymore."
"I have to forget, to let this go or I'll never make it inside Time Force. I don't think I'll make it TO Time Force."
"You will. Trust in me, you will enter with flying colors," he told her, looking her in the eyes.
A man approached them and told them, "They have a verdict."
Jen instinctively held Alex's hand tightly. He grasped hers with both of his. She looked at him, somewhat lost and uncontrolled in her panic.
"Hey, it's okay," he told her. She was shaking softly and he wanted to take her in his arms and make her feel safe, but knew that would only make her feel worse.
They walked inside the room, all eyes on them, tears of fear running down Jen's cheeks.
"We, the jury, have reached a unanimous verdict," the foreman said. Jen grasped Alex's hand harder, and started to shake violently. She knew that if her father ever went free, he was going after her, this time to kill her. And she was afraid he might have bought the jury. "We sentence the defendant to death, by lethal injection to be scheduled in seven years. In the meantime, he will remain under custody in a maximum-security prison. We deny the defendant the rights of an appeal and all reduced and suspended sentence, probation and bail. He is to be taken into custody right now, and Ms. Jennifer Smith is to be protected by Time Force around the clock." The hologram of the jury disappeared and Jen started crying, for the first time in a long period, of happiness.
She hugged Alex and stayed in his arms for a while since neither one wanted to let go. Alan was taken into custody immediately. Jen felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around, it was her mother. She said nothing, slapped her and walked away. Behind her was Bobbie, who just shook his head and said, "I trust you are happy."
"I am," she said, and Bobbie walked away. Kyra walked closer to her and spit in her face, Jen kept her head high, even as she felt her soul giving in.
"We don't ever want to see you again."
"I don't want to see any of you again either, but we'll see each other again in seven years."
From the May 31st 2995 entry of Jennifer Smith's diary:
"It's been almost a month since the trial. Alex has been worried sick
about me and he's been missing days of work because of me. He almost
got fired the other day. I don't want him to, I'm not good for him. I'm
leaving his house and his life, because I love him so much, I want the
best for him. I took some of the things he bought for me and put them
in a suitcase. I'll spend a week changing my name and getting settled
and I'll join Time Force. I wrote Alex a letter, I hope he reads it and
forgives me, and I hope to see him again."
Alex walked into his apartment but when he called for Jen, there was no answer. He called again, and walked into the living room. He couldn't help but feel a bit scared. There - on the dining room table - he found a white envelope with his name written on it and with shaking hands he opened it.
"Dear Alex;
Oh, my love, please, please forgive me. I know I should have told you
this to your face, but you wouldn't have let me go. I love you Alex,
you have no idea of how much I love you. With tears in my eyes, I walk
out of this home you gave me, to transform into someone worthy of being
with a man like you. I'm not leaving you for any other reason but
because I care about you. I owe you some money and some clothes, but
I'll pay them back, some day ."
It went on about all the things he had done for her, but said nothing about where she was, and where she was going. Brokenhearted, Alex fell to his knees and broke down in a torrential cry, just like a child.
Jen walked all the way to the documentation office and entered. She stood in the line and looked ahead, to her new identity. Two hours later, she had updated her information; Jennifer Smith had vanished from existence. Now she was Jennifer Scotts, and was enlisted to join the Time Force training program in one week.