Title: Only Slightly Tarnished, Chapter 2: "Oh Love"
Authors Notes/Disclaimer: The muse is responsible. She latched on to this song, again, like a Papay on fresh meat. The song is "Oh Love," written by Aimee Mayo, Gordie Sampson, and Hillary Lindsey, and recorded by Brad Paisley, featuring Carrie Underwood. It's dripping with angsty goodness, and I'm sure that those who know the song will agree. Warning: angst lies within, in the form of implied rape, pedophilia, and homosexuality. If you can't take the heat, stay out of the kitchen. :D
Many thanks to my wonderful betas and editors: PalisDelon, chichuri, verilyverity, and caroly214 (all on LiveJournal).
Summary: Adora Cain had plenty of time for reflection in her new "home…"
Adora Cain had plenty of time for reflection in her new "home," as her captors had fondly referred to it. Her first few days were filled with abuse, in all its hideous forms, at the hands of Zero and his lackeys. Bruised skin, bleeding lips, and excruciating pain were only the physical signs. She had yet to experience the full force of the emotions that would arise out of it.
Not that they hadn't already begun to rear their ugly heads. Just days into her imprisonment, she'd come out of her initial stupor only to find herself hating her husband. And it wasn't just a fleeting, superficial spite born of anger. It was a hate that bit at her bones and caused her stomach to churn with bile.
It had been all too easy to blame Wyatt after Zero locked them up in the tower. He was the one who had insisted on doing what he thought was the right thing. Joining the resistance had been his idea. She'd only reluctantly agreed, especially after the Last Stand when Zero had vowed to hunt them down. Wyatt had known how vicious and sadistic Zero could be, but that hadn't persuaded him to change his mind.
And now…
Now all that was left of their life together was the ring on her hand.
Or, at least it had been the only thing left. In a fit of rage, she'd ripped it from her finger and thrown it through the tiny barred window of the dank cell. That was after one of the longest periods of humiliation and degradation she'd ever had to endure. Zero had grown tired of her after only a week and had given her over to his men for their entertainment. Her bitter tears had terrified her son, who had been left mercifully untouched to that point.
She had more reason to hate and blame her husband a week later. Zero came again. Jeb, in a manner that would have made his father very proud, had placed himself in front of his mother. Zero had only smirked. Adora's heart sank like lead into her stomach at the evil and malicious intent in that smirk. She flew to her son, trying to keep him from the same horrors to which she had been subjected.
Adora had screamed, pleaded, and begged, all to no avail. The men were so much more powerful than either of them. They had dragged Jeb, kicking and screaming, out of the cell and down the dark corridors. His cries had echoed through the halls long after they had disappeared from sight. Hearing them rent Adora's heart even further. She sank down against the wall, tears streaming down her face, tears that had she had not allowed herself to cry since they had been brought here.
Hours passed, hours filled with worry, anxiety, and crushing fear. Adora soon realized that she was ashamed of herself for her anger and resentment. It wasn't going to help her and her son endure this hell-hole. It wasn't going to help her husband survive the hell she knew he was enduring.
She staggered a little as she paced back and forth in the filthy cell. For the first time, Adora let herself think of what happened at the cabin. She remembered the chilling sight of the Iron Maiden in their lawn, a vision she had suppressed until that moment. Fresh tears came to her eyes.
Oh Wyatt! Why? Why did you have to be so noble? Why couldn't you have just…
Adora couldn't finish that thought; she knew why. His love for her and their son was only one reason, though certainly not the least, he'd had to make a stand.
Adora heard the heavy stomping of boots approaching down the corridor and watched helplessly as the Longcoats carried Jeb back to their shared cell. They threw him through the door to the ground. She was dismayed over the bruises she could see through the tears in his clothing. The state of his trousers, which had been haphazardly pulled over his hips, spoke of the exact nature of the torture he'd endured. She put her hand on his shoulder to pull him into an embrace. Jeb resisted at first, recoiling in horror. He ended up in her lap, anyway.
Adora sat on the floor of the cell, her resisting son wrapped tightly in her arms. She felt all traces of hatred and rage toward her husband melt away, replaced by brokenness and sorrow. This was her little boy, the same one she had rocked to sleep while she sang
lullabies to him. This was the little boy who had idolized his father, had played cops and robbers with his best friend in the back yard, had come home every day from school and play with a new scrape on his knees or elbows. He would never be that little boy again, and that thought chilled her to the bone.
Jeb's violent sobbing slowly subsided to quiet sniffling but his tears continued to fall onto the tattered fabric of her bodice. She whispered reassurances, what little she could, until the shaking boy turned into her arms and buried his head in her bosom. At first, his words were incoherent and his shoulders quaked. In between hiccups, he told her all that she needed to know.
"Mom, it hurts!"
"Shhh…" she whispered as she stroked his tangled hair. She gently rocked him, her thoughts straying to her husband. Her own tears fell to join those of her son.
Oh, Wyatt…
She held Jeb tighter and began to sing:
"Oh love, oh love
Oh the many colors that you're made of
You heal, you bleed
You're the simple truth and you're the biggest mystery
Oh love, oh love"
It was a simple song that she'd heard a long time ago, one that she'd started using as a sort of lullaby just shortly after things in the Outer Zone had started to go all to hell. Her voice wasn't trained or beautiful; it was simple and fair, the notes ringing clearly in the small confines of the dank cell. As she sang the words again, Jeb began to calm. After a few more minutes, he was asleep.
The heart-broken mother slumped against the cold stone wall, her son still nestled in her lap. Even though Jeb was asleep, Adora kept singing, allowing the words to infuse her with a quiet strength. She was broken, bruised, and battered, but she'd be damned if she'd just lie down before the wolves.
She'd never been a soldier. That had always been Wyatt's job. She'd always been the rock, the support, the one from whom others had drawn strength. Her strength had always been given to others. Now she had to find a way to harness that strength for herself.
"Oh love, oh love
Oh the many colors that you're made of
You heal, you bleed
You're the simple truth and you're the biggest mystery
Oh love, oh love"
Adora sang the words again. This time, her thoughts turned toward her husband. She closed her eyes, focusing all of the love she had for him and hoped he could feel it.
It's not going to be easy, Wyatt, but I'll be strong for you. We'll find you, somehow. We will find you!
Full Lyrics for "Oh Love:"
Strong, like a mother holds her child
Free as horses running wild
And real as a prayer on a lonely night
As sure as the ocean tide
Oh love, oh love
Oh the many colors that you're made of
You heal, you bleed
You're the simple truth and you're the biggest mystery
Oh love, oh love
Deep as the life from God's own breath
Endless even after death
Gone like the sunset
You can break a heart in pieces
Put it back together again
You can break down sweet forgiveness
You're the one that never ends
Love
Oh love, oh love
Oh the many colors that you're made of
You heal, you bleed
You're the simple truth and you're the biggest mystery
Oh love, oh love