Author's note: this chapter contains a very serious trigger warning for scenes of torture, as well as mentions of rape. If you do not wish to read the paragraphs that mention rape, please stop reading at, "[...] accompanied by Darshavin and another guard." and continue at, "It was nothing short of a miracle..." To avoid the torture scene altogether, stop reading at, "'This is what you get for fighting'" and continue reading at, "Her body was getting to its limits." As usual, look for the three asterisks (***) to double check where to stop and continue.
"All of my memories keep you near, in silent moments, I imagine you here. All of my memories keep you near, your silent whispers, your silent tears." -Within Temptation
Jasmine had been returned to the cell a few hours later, accompanied by Darshavin and another guard.
***Lucas tried as hard as he could to repress the conclusion that his mind kept coming to as to where she had been all this time, but the image of her screaming kept replaying in his head. The scenarios only worsened when he suddenly remembered that she had been knocked unconscious just before...just before...
He suddenly toppled over, dumping whatever contents remained in his stomach on the floor, completely disgusted.***
It was nothing short of a miracle that he didn't simply run over and kill Darshavin when he entered the room. However, these feelings of revenge immediately silenced themselves when he saw Jasmine being hauled in.
In the back of his mind, the idea of her being subjected to a worse fate nagged at him as the hours ticked by. Seeing her alive, lifted a weight off of his shoulders.
Darshavin glanced over at Lucas, sneered, and then dragged Jasmine to one of the pipes lining the ceiling. He found one relatively low to the ground, and with the help of the other guard, he hung her from there with some rope.
It appeared as though she wasn't enduring this solo, as they quickly made for Lucas next and eventually had him hanging from the pipe as well.
"You think we were going to let you go off easy?" This was more of a statement than a question, Darshavin glaring at Lucas, who didn't respond.
Darshavin turned to the guard and said something to him in Russian, which caused him to temporarily leave the room. Lucas tried to figure out what exactly was going on by observing their actions, but this only furthered to confuse him even more.
Not much time had passed before the guard reappeared with two buckets of water in either hand, and an electric battery and wires slung under his arm.
He placed the equipment on the ground, and Darshavin came to help with the set up. He flicked on a switch and the battery hummed to life, electricity coursing through the two clamps currently hooked up.
Darshavin clacked the two together, which caused a loud, and fiery hiss to echo through the quiet cell. A sadistic grin spread across his face, but before he made a move with his new toys, he took one of the buckets and dumped it on Jasmine.
Lucas watched as the water seeped through her grimy hair and clothes, each greedily soaking it up, causing her to be completely drenched within a minute or so.
"This is what you get for fighting," he hissed, before clamping the prongs on either of her arms.
***Jasmine was suddenly pulled back into reality by this unexpected surge of pain. Her body jerked upwards at an awkward angle, which caused the clamps to further dig into her skin.
Her brain was trying to compensate for what she had endured earlier, as memories of previous events flashes behind her eyes, all the while attempting to signal the nerves and muscles to move, to try and get out of the situation.
But her muscles were shocked to a painful standstill, and all she could do was fidget in place as jolts of electricity surged through her body.
She felt like her entire core was on fire. Jasmine could literally feel each individual current as it danced across her wet form, while hungrily attacking the molecules that threatened it.
It wasn't until this point, that the culmination of all the events of this day came to the forefront of her mind and senses, did she let out a primal scream of agony.
She didn't know how long it lasted, but it seemed that she couldn't stop herself. It was a never ending cry of pain, sorrow, anger, frustration, from the very depths of her fractured soul.***
Her body was getting to its limits. It had already endured so much for her, and its external barrier was beginning to crack and crumble, despite all of the warnings the brain was giving it.
"Please! Stop! She's endured enough! Please!"
Someone was pleading for her, ordering for her torture to stop. Who could that be? Was it just her imagination?
Her widened eyes desperately tried to search for the source of the voice, straining against the tugging and spazzing of her muscles.
Her vision was blurring, and it seemed as though she were going in and out of consciousness. All she managed to make out was a fuzzy figure, with a glowing white light emanating above them.
An angel...? she thought, as tears began to spill from her eyes.
"Jasmine...Jasmine! Oh god, please stop!"
That voice...it sounds like...
"Lucas," she hummed softly, before darkness swallowed her whole.
A memory:
Jasmine could feel the sand between her toes, she could feel the heat of the sun upon her neck, and she could hear the cawing of the seagulls that flew above her.
She instinctively ran towards the sound of water, skipping over rocks, and occasionally spinning around; her crooked smile lighting up her face.
She was out of breath when she finally arrived, to the water, to the ocean.
Jasmine placed her hands on her hips, and looked thoroughly pleased with herself. It felt like ages since she had last been here, and seeing all of this gave her a sense of nostalgia.
The environment was so comforting, so welcoming. She felt so relaxed, so at ease...this seemed so strange, but yet, had an alluring air of familiarity around it.
She heard a call, a voice, one that she couldn't pin point, but regardless, she turned and have the small group an arching wave.
They called for her attention again, as if trying to signal something, but she couldn't hear them. Someone finally waved a pizza box in the air, and a high pitched giggle escaped her lips.
"I'll be over in a few!" her voice was so loud, so strong, so young.
Jasmine turned back to face the vast expanse of sparkling blue that was the sea, and as if on cue, her legs began to propel her body towards it. The small waves began to lap at her dry feet, and without hesitation, she dived into the water, allowing this blanket of creation to envelop her.
A memory:
"Freak!"
"Loser!"
"Jerks!" she growled, and tackled the instigators to the ground. "You think you're tough guys or something, picking on a girl?"
The boy and the girl that she had currently pinned down gave her the evil eye.
"It's not my fault, she was asking for it! Wearing those horrible clothes, she's not a boy!"
Crunch.
The sound of a boot slamming down on fingers echoed through the dingy hallway. "I'm sorry, are clothes gendered now, asshole?" she snarled, before grabbing the boy by the collar, as he tried feebly to escape.
"Ack! Come on, Jasmine, let me go!" he shouted, before he was slammed against some nearby lockers.
"Why do you feel the need to make fun them, huh?" she said, and pulled his arm behind his back.
"Ow! Ow, ow! Hey, stop! I didn't mean to!" he wailed, several kids in the crowd cheering as they noticed a fight beginning to brew.
"What kind of lame ass excuse is that? Now get over there and apologize, or I'll bruise your precious symbol of manhood." she spat, and tossed the boy to the feet of a much smaller classmate.
"U-um," they stammered, clearly nervous about the situation, but adoration shone in their eyes as Jasmine stomped over and picked the bully up by his hair, forcing him to look up.
"Now, apologize punk,"
"Okay, okay! I'm sorry!" he wailed, Jasmine releasing her grip on the boy so he could scurry off somewhere.
"Are you okay?" she asked, a much calmer and softer disposition coming over her, as she walked over to them.
"Yeah, I'm okay, I'm used to it," they mumbled, and jumped when they felt a hand on their shoulder.
"What's your name, kid?"
"Tommy...for now. But, somedays I like to go by Lizzy."
Jasmine smiled, her right incisor popping out slightly as she did so; not even braces could solve that problem child.
"So you're Tommy? That's a cute name. Wanna go out sometime?" she asked, a small chuckle escaping her as she watched him become flustered.
"W-what? You want to go on a date with me?" he stammered, completely flabbergasted.
"Yeah." Was her simple reply, before she intertwined her fingers with his. "Schools almost out, lemme walk you there."
"O-okay, sure," Tommy said, a smile on his face.
Jasmine winked at him, as she began leading him out the door. "You know, you're really cute when you smile."
A memory:
"Are you sure that it's good news?"
"I'm certain. At least, I think I am. I've been here for long enough. I'm just happy that they've finally started taking my abilities seriously."
"I think it might have been after you helped find Shulman that they've seen you can do more than sit behind a desk and interrogate random s.o.b's."
"I trained for this damn job and worked as hard as anyone else in here. Just because I'm smaller and didn't go to some Ivy League school, shouldn't mean that I'm less of an agent than any of these people."
Jasmine was conversing with a friend...she couldn't make out her name though. She merely shook this off and continued walking to where she needed to go.
"Ah Jasmine, there you are, I was just about to send for you," he exclaimed, and patted the chair in front of his desk.
She followed the instruction and sat before him, awaiting what he had to say with anticipation.
"As you know, you were a big help with the Shulman case...it's why that now, considering your skills that you have shown...that I have reviewed...you will be taking part in a high-profile case in Russia..."
The conversation came in bits and pieces, but the final verdict was clear: she was going to Russia for her own private mission.
Jasmine groggily awoke in her damp cell, and tried to sit up, instead this only resulted in more moaning and more pain.
Her hands scrambled across the floor to try and reaffirm where she was, which was on the ground. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to look for the bar she had been hanging from earlier. Sure enough, she found tattered rope hanging not too far from where she currently sat.
She groaned as another wave of discomfort swept through her, and this is when she decided to look at her newest injuries.
She lifted her right arm and began to inspect its surface. Jasmine noticed that wherever the clamps had been placed, was where the greatest damage had been done. The skin was charred and rough, and bright pink streaks stemmed from the origin point.
Both of her arms had this injury, and she began to feel a sting all the way down to her muscles whenever she moved.
"Dammit...looks like the nerves might be irreversibly damaged now," she grumbled, a gasp escaping her as tried to adjust her arms up a little higher. It appeared that moving was out of the question at the moment.
"Jasmine?"
The brunette jumped, surprised at the sudden noise, and she slowly turned her head in the direction of the speaker.
A relieved sigh escaped her lips, as it was only Lucas. "Hey. How long was I out for?" she questioned, carefully scooting back into a wall so she could rest her head.
"A couple hours, I think. What you went through...it must have been horrible. They just made me watch...as they continually increased the—" he had to stop himself, otherwise the memories would have just made him sick again.
A chord struck within Jasmine, as she realized how concerned Lucas was over her well being. Poor thing, this was more of a mental attack on him than a physical attack on her.
Jasmine's eyes widened when it finally clicked. What the Woman had been saying earlier in regards to using 'other methods', she must have been talking about this.
Lucas noticed that Jasmine was well into her own train of thought, and he gave her another glance before his bright eyes froze on the horrible burns she received on either arm.
"Oh god," he said, and got up quickly to more closely inspect her wounds.
Jasmine glanced up just as he was sitting down, her face furrowing in confusion. "What's wrong?"
"D-doesn't it hurt?" he questioned, and gingerly placed his hand below her abrasions.
Jasmine flinched at his touch, her earlier thoughts on receiving some serious nerve damage only being supported by these jolts of pain.
"Yes," she said, and suddenly felt very guilty for the confession, as Lucas' eyes suddenly became filled with the utmost terror.
"But," she stammered. "I've received worse," she said, and maneuvered herself around so her back was facing him.
"You see that?" she asked, in regards to a fairly wide scar protruding from the base of her neck. "That goes down the entire length of my spine," she informed, like this was some form of consolation.
Lucas visibly paled when she told him this, and tentatively, he grazed the area with one of his fingers.
A shiver ran down Jasmine's back, and she whirled back around in response. Her eyes went cross for a second when she noticed Lucas' hovering hand, but after several quiet minutes, it flopped to the floor.
"Jasmine...what's happened to you in here?" he looked visibly shaken, and considering everything he had seen that day, it was no surprise.
A sad expression glazed over her, as memories of the torture she's faced, and the captivity she had been living in, flooded her mind. However, she shed no tears, and she said no words.
She merely gave him a solemn smile.
"I think," she finally uttered. "That those stories will be shared someday," she gave him one last glance before carefully lowering herself down to the floor to get some rest.
Someday...