Heya, folks! I'd just like to let you know that there's some…unpleasantness in this chapter. So, if you're queasy, I suggest skipping that part (you'll know which part). Enjoy!
I sat, leaned up against a wall, scowling at the person standing across from me. Cyrus hadn't moved from his spot but had inflicted a few light slash marks upon Stone. This put me in a foul mood.
"You suck." I grumbled, sticking my tongue out at him as he rolled his eyes.
"Don't you have a baby to drown or something?" He asked smugly, earning himself another death glare from me.
"Don't you have another sister to go push off a cliff?" The silence that followed was dense with tension. I huffed with boredom and tried not to make faces at my brother. Royce had gone to check out the rest of the living guests of the house-all 12 of the Black Zodiacs were curious to see who the 13th ghost was-so I was on my own, for a while. The silence suddenly broke as demented giggling, followed by a percussion of screaming, sounded from very close by. I stood and rushed towards the source of the noise. I spotted a young woman pinned against a wall with the Jackal being the one pinned up against her and slashing at her skin. A man then came into my line of vision and began pulling at the screaming girl's legs in a panic.
Stupid, brave, stupid man. I mused to myself, catching the blue eyed maniac's attention with both my inner monologue and the fact that I was charging, head on, towards the three of them. Before he could move, I barreled into the other ghost and let out a peeved growl. I was not in the mood to have to babysit him.
What ever happened to keeping guard of my cell? I mentally asked him, becoming irate when he only responded with a grin that was not amused in the slightest. He seemed hell-bent on keeping a firm grip on the girl, even with her father and I struggling to separate them. That being said, I was unreasonably grateful when Kalina appeared from around a corner and chucked a flare at us. I instantly dodged just far away enough from the sparkling light of fear and looked back. My counterpart was standing in the intersection between the hall the living had escaped down and the hall I was still lingering in. He was obviously confused and silently calculating as he feverishly gazed down both halls. I couldn't let him attack that poor girl, again. I slowly took a step backwards, knowing he wouldn't be able to resist jumping at a string dangled above his head.
I was right.
I tore down the halls, to the best of my ability, faking turns and stumbles to slow him down. However, I was already drained from dragging the boy named Bobby halfway across the basement, so I felt freezing hands graze my arms and sides, quite often.
Crap, crap, crap! I thought to myself, panicked and knowing that he would not relent if he caught me, this time.
"Come on, girly, I wanna' see those scars!" He howled after me, the sureness in his voice unnerving. I glanced back-from a route I could have sworn was clear-to see how painfully close he was. This was a big mistake, on my part; a glass panel slid out in my path while I wasn't looking. I was going so fast, at that point, that I rammed into the glass with a force that sent me sprawled across the floor. I instantly scrambled to my feet and began to avidly curse to myself when I was once again pinned to the nearest wall. I glared mutely at Hell's Winter, showing irritation while hiding my fear. The smug look in those icy blue eyes of his didn't help ease my worries, either.
"You really can't come up with anything more constructive to do, than to constantly torment me?" I asked, disappointed in my own negligence. A shriek of outrage began to form in my throat and I did my best to quiet it as those maddening eyes stared openly at me.
"Not really. Besides," he said, slithering his body up to mine and letting out a little moan, "You're the only one I can really hurt." I was barely fazed by the display because my focus was fully trained on the scenes playing out in my head.
A small grunt sounded in my throat as he dove into the memory of the dog attack.
I watched, preoccupied, as my living form let out one cry after another. The dog ripped through layers of cloth and flesh, blood reddening its face as my past-self screamed and kicked at it. My father then came barreling out of the house, shotgun in hand, and fired. The bullet grazed my upper thigh then plummeted into the dog's skull. Blood stained the grass and most of my body, and in the distance, Cyrus could be seen cruelly smirking to himself.
I snapped myself out of it, going to push away from my captor, only to find my hands pinned above my head. I thought fast and kneed him where the sun doesn't shine, but the Jackal only bent over a bit with an irritated look on his face, his grip as secure on me as ever.
Uh-oh, a small voice whispered in my head, letting out a little groan of despair as my captor meticulously inched the hem of my dress up. Several scenes simultaneously flashed in my mind's eye.
The time my first crush rejected me; Flash. When I had punched a classmate in the face for mocking my accent; flash. One of the periods of my life when I had starved myself for months; Flash.
Some of my scarred over slash marks were visible from just beneath my skirt. I was confused and increasingly disgusted by the fact that the Jackal was taking his own sweet time intimidating and violating me. It wasn't exactly normal behavior for a serial rapist and I honestly would have felt more certain if he had been trying to rip my dress to shreds. An uncomfortable squirming sensation ignited another bout of struggling in me. When I kicked at him this time, he easily wedged his hips between my legs, proving for an even more awkward predicament. When I tried to reverse the movement, the Jackal pressed closer and growled in a husky tone as he grabbed my thigh, his nails tracing down the length of my leg. The look in his eyes was one of possessiveness and I felt another fresh wave of fear wash over me. I tensed and felt the unbearable urge to scream burning inside me.
The Jackal let out another little moan that held some traces of purring in it as he pressed his hips into mine. Stone was frantically trying to reach me, but a thick layer of ice had formed throughout the entire hallway, causing it to smash into a series of walls. I was glad, in a way; I had already caused my toy so much pain.
This is not right…Something else isn't right. The tiny voice muttered as I let out a whimper of trepidation for what was to happen next.
"Why won't you leave me alone?" I hissed urgently as my lips began to tremble. I felt the rest of my body follow their example as another image flickered to life.
It began in an uneasy car ride, sitting next to my brother, down to the coast-
The Jackal hovered next to my ear as he pressed himself flat against me. The freezing sensation swarmed over me as he lingered there-
We got out of the car, Mother carrying the picnic blanket and Father holding the basket. We settled by the cliff-
He whispered the words with such an assurance and positivity that I didn't immediately understand them.
"You belong to me, not to that little snitch who wouldn't know what to do with you, if he had you."
-We finished our lunch and I followed my angel of death to the edge. In one simple motion, I was being pushed-
With a cocktail of laughter, purrs and moans, he plunged himself into me-
And I was falling, falling, falling. Damn those cold brown eyes to Hell. Oh, I'm scared; How did this happen? Mommy…Daddy…anyone, save me. Please, save me. You can't reach me? Smash-pain and yet numb. I feel everything and nothing. It's cold, cold. Help, I can't move my legs. Predators are ripping flesh-
And tore open every inch of flesh he could find, exposing muscle and vein and bone-
And their little teeth ripped and ripped at me, and darkness clung to the edges of my sight. Death kissed my lips and it was my brother who had pushed me into its embrace…
-A scream tore from me, loud and radiating through the halls. From that scream came another, then another, as the succession built up to a high soprano of anguish. I lost my focus completely and let the noise belt out from me, shrill and telling of my misery as I was repeatedly defiled and slashed at. I screamed as he turned his wicked gaze from me to see who was approaching. I screamed as he was pried off of me. I screamed as a pair of jacket clad arms held me to their owner, and let my screams dissolve into blatant sobbing as I clung desperately to Royce.
"I hate him, goddammit, I hate him!" I shrieked into his chest, taking some gratification in the fact that he was lightly stroking my hair in his best attempt at comforting me.
"I know, Iris, I know; I'm gonna' kill the bastard-again -the first chance I get." He promised softly, looking up to see the source of the nearby crashing noises.
Why does he care? The voice mused silently. I turned my tearful gaze to the side to follow his example and gasped quietly.
The Juggernaut had a firm grip on the top of the Jackal's head cage and held the struggling form away from him with little to no effort. The significantly shorter spirit was trying his damndest to reach me. I flinched into Royce, which earned me an enraged howl from the monster, but I refused to look at him.
Why does he care? This time, a panic sounded from the voice as I began to shake again. I kept perfectly still, until the noises of struggling ceased, as which point I felt composed and safe enough to inch away from my savior. I wasn't able to, however, as the James Dean wannabe stubbornly maintained his hold on me. I had felt a not unpleasant warmth radiating through me and I had a suspicion that he was feeling the same thing.
"Royce? You can let go, now. I'll be fine…Royce?" I said, my voice muffled from being pressed into his shoulder. I then came to the sudden realization that, if I were to be let go, I would have collapsed to the ground; so I held on tighter.
I used to be strong…What happened? I wondered to myself, allowing the warmth to envelope me as my senses eased into a sort of bliss. I allowed myself to relish the sensation, for just a moment, before maneuvering my tactic to get him to let me go.
I traced my fingers up his sides, over his shoulders, past his neck. I did this slowly and compared either side of his face-the torn, burned side and the smooth, handsome side.
"Ya' wanna' know why I got into that race that greaser?" He asked while I traced his features with my fingertips, his eyes burning into mine. I absolutely did; I nodded with my eyes wide and unblinking.
"I wanted to impress a girl," he admitted, looking away and then back at me, "I regret feeling anything for that broad. She was rich, pretty…not worth it. Everyone's got hang-ups-could be why we're all here-and mine's having to impress everyone. I haven't felt like that in a long time; not until I met you. This is gonna' sound real sappy…you kind of intimidate me, Doll-" I placed a finger to his lips and placed a light kiss on the torn side of his face, then on the unmarred side.
"You don't have to impress me." I stated while maintaining eye contact with him, trying not to smile too much when his expression wavered. He didn't say anything; he didn't need to. Another dull pain throbbed in my chest, but it abruptly smothered itself out as our lips met. It was just a shy, tentative peck, but it still had soothing warmth spreading through me.
-Now, don't get me mixed up with any other raging-hormone-induced, ditzy teenage girl who turns into a helpless maiden, at the first sign of danger; who goes to run and hide behind her main love interest, just because the opportunity arises. That's just not how to deal with things. I once punched someone out for saying I (probably) hit like a girl. Well, I don't, and that poor sap had to deal with the broken nose I had bestowed upon him. On with my story, then…
I pulled away from Royce, not having to use much force to do so, as he seemed to be in some kind of daze. I-literally-smacked him out of it, though, tugging him along with me before he could fully recover.
"Hurry up; I need to stop Cyrus and you're going to distract Rafkin and that other guy from interrupting me." I instructed, grinning coyly when I turned to see the un-amused expression on his face.
"C'mon, Clayton, do it for me." I pleaded, casting him the biggest doe eyed expression I could manage. My pout turned into a grin of victory when his expression wavered.
"Fine." He muttered, taking the lead and dragging me down a series of halls. Stone, who had been hovering near me protectively since the moment I had been saved, rolled behind us at a clingy yet welcome distance. When we finally stopped, I noticed that we were in front of a fork in the paths branching towards the control room and where Rafkin and the other guy were. I smiled, knowing I would have gotten lost, if not for Royce. After being pulled into another brush of the lips, I playfully punched him in the arm.
"Go get 'em, tiger." I encouraged, moving a few feet down the hall and turning back to glance at him. He looked about ready to run at and tackle me, but at that precise moment, the house shifted and cut our hallways off from each other. I timidly waved as he stood with his forehead pressed up against the glass, mock pouting. Before a wave of empathy could hit me, I turned back around and ran down the hall, only needing to make a left turn to reach my destination.
I will say that this chapter was not easy to write(I think I should bump the rating up). Certain acts of violence are unacceptable, but when you have to deal with a character that's an ex serial rapist, what ya' gonna' do? It also was necessary, for later developments, so please hang in there!
'Til then,
Jess
