I feel like a jackass for not updating for long than usually. Sorry.

-NJCD

Chapter Eleven.

Better.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

A mile off the coast of Woods' Bay sat a small, around 1-mile long, island. Chiefs' island sat next to snake island, an even smaller island. In the middle of small Chiefs' island sat 2 friends. Between these 2 friend was a 2-pound bag of tobacco and a box of cigarette filters.

Elijah Goldsworthy and his long-time friend, Phillip were laying down on withered glass, smoking cigarette like no ones business. Beside each of them were a pile of already-smoked cigarettes and to their other side were a pile of to-be smoked ones.

Smoke was floating out of their mouths and, occasionally, one of them would lift their head and blast the other with smoke. They'd been out there for hours, talking and smoking. "Do you ever worry about getting cancer?" Eli asked.

"I'm gonna die anyway." Phillip sighed. "We're all going to. But, don't you worry about dying young?" Phillip scoffed, "Eli, I'm going to die young. I have 15 years at the most." It felt like he was talking to a little kid. "Why?" It seemed like nothing could shock him. He didn't glance up, didn't feel sad...he just wanted to know why his firned would die much sooner than him.

Phillip dug through his pockets and pulled out a canister of pills. He handed it to Eli, who struggled to pronounce it, " Tri...zi-"

"Trizivir, dude. Trizivir. I have HIV." Phillip said, taking a long drag from his cigarette. He discarded it and lit another. "Oh." He didn't know what to say, just handed back the medication. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You have nothing to be sorry for. You're the only reason I'm alive and free." He said. And it was true. At first, Justin had denied knowing anything else about the underground sex ring that ran across California. After weeks of Eli not shutting up about a boy named 'Phillip' who was locked up somewhere, they finally, with the names Eli listed, found him locked in an attic of a convicted pedophile's house.

"I don't have that. I'm surprised. I would expect myself to, after everything, but I don't and-"'

"Don't think about it. How's...Clare, right?" Eli threw down his cigarette and grabbed another. "She's fine." He smiled, despite the grim topic spoken of before, "She's perfect. She makes me nervous." Phillip nodded, "She's a keeper, huh? What have you guys done?"

"We just kiss." Eli said, then, randomly, asked, "Do you ever think of Michael? Or Jacob? Or Jason or Alex or-" Phillip shushed him, "Stop." He stared up at the sky, clearly disturbed by the names Eli'd mentioned.

Michael was a, at the time, 7 year old boy who Eli and Phillip had known for a mere 2 weeks. Justin's house was one of the many 'hubs' that other slaves would go in and out of. Usually, one would move from house to house if their own living quarters were under investigation or could be. Michael was very energetic and creative, making up stories and running around the small dirty room where they had to sleep.

Jacob was a boy who Eli actually hadn't met, but who Phillip talked about. He was rather chubby and had long, disheveled brown hair. He was 13, irritating and violent, but took any beating that Phillip's superior delivered when he was angry, sad or anything out of the ordinary. He had lived with Phillip for 5 months.

Jason was a lot older, 17, who Eli met the first few months he was inside. He hardly talked, and just stared blankly at the wall often.

And Alex was only 4 years old. He died when he was 5, after being bludgeoned to death as punishment for not complying. He was energetic at first, but his spirit was soon crushed by the harsh punishments and habits of the disturbed men.

"But don't you ever think about them?" Eli pressed. Phillip suddenly sat up and swung his fist at Eli, hitting him in the jaw, but not stopping there. They wrestled on the ground, crushing their cigarettes, and clawed at each other, until Eli rolled away and stood up. "Fuck you." Phillip spat, "Let's just go back." He stood up and gathered the cigarettes they hadn't smoked. "Okay."

Eli followed him, feeling strangely numb. He didn't feel regret for bringing up the others, because he felt so strongly for it. The police couldn't find significant evidence and never found the others that Eli went on about. No one listened. Eventually, he just stopped talking and fell into a phase of silence.

He ignored the police's questions, sometimes just telling them he wouldn't give the answers they wanted if they wouldn't pay attention to his persistent claims.

He eventually started talking again, right before the trial, but even today, months and even years later, dreams of the still-tortured boys.

Eli and Phillip paddled their rental boat back, returned it and got into their own cars. They hugged each other, a hug lasting an entire minutes, knowing it'd be a long time before they ever saw each other again.

Eli hadn't even driven 5 minutes before crying. He couldn't stop, and it was hard to focus on the road. Luckily, it wasn't that long a ride to Adam's house, where he would pick up Clare and take her home. He was still sobbing when he parked in front of Adam's house. He waited for 10 minutes until Clare came out. He waved to Adam, who had a stereotypical cone shaped party-hat on, and walked down the walk to the car.

She kissed him when she came into the car, but recoiled her head, "You taste like cigarettes."

He shrugged, "Sorry."

"I saved you some cake." She handed him a piece of strawberry cake, wrapped neatly with saran wrap. "Thanks." His voice cracked sharply. He took the cake and placed in on his lap, "How was the party?"

"Fine. What's wrong? What happened?" His eye was slightly swollen, but Phillip hadn't done much damage. "Everything. Nothing." He sighed, feeling so defeated. He didn't even care that he and Phillip had fought; they'd hugged in the end, so it was okay.

He unwrapped the cake and picked up the fork that came with it. "Do you smoke?" She asked as he ate the frosted cake. "Uh, yeah."

"Why? What if you die?" This topic was fresh in his mind and he shrugged, "I don't car, honestly." He ate another bite of cake and swallowed it quickly, "I don't know."

He placed the plate back on his lap and started the car, "To your house?" She nodded, "Yeah...so what happened to your eye?"

"Oh." He waited for a car to pass, then pulled out, "My friend and I were just messing around. It's nothing."

"Then why were you crying?" Eli scooped the last bit of cake from the plate and ate it, "A lot of reasons. I'm just thinking. Thinking is dangerous, you know? I think it'll be the death of me." He was almost at Clare's house now, and started to slow down. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" Eli nodded, "Sure." Clare leaned over and kissed Eli on the cheek, "Bye." He waited until she was inside her house to leave. He wanted her to be safe.

He drove off then, but stopped at McDonalds to get an ice cream cone. It didn't matte that it was nearly winter, he just wanted ice cream. He hadn't had it in a long time.

Once home, he went upstairs and pulled the blankets from his bed onto the floor and curled up in them.

"Tell me, in your own words, what happened the day the Mr. Kimball abducted you."

"I-I-I was, uh, changing in the b-bathroom. Uh, the one by the-the parking l-lot. And I-I came out and there was this van and this-this-this guy-"

"Justin Kimball." It wasn't phrased as a question, but it was made to be answered.

"Yeah. He-he was a-a lot older, then, and-" Justin's lawyer stopped her pacing in front of the stand, "He was older? What do you mean 'he was older'?" Eli suddenly felt like an idiot for not being clear. He was an idiot, "He had hair dye and, um, like, make-up on. I didn't know."

"Alright, proceed." She said. He nodded and continued,

"And he-he said he needed help. With this light-thing. And I go over to the car-"

"You said it was a van." He looked up at the lawyer. Previously, he had his head hung and was staring at the wooden intranets of the podium, but now he stared at the lady, stunned by the absurd interruptions the lady was throwing around. "Y-Yeah, it was a-a van. And these other guys pulled me into the-the van and-"

"Did they sexually assault you?" The lawyer gave no time for Eli to even answer before saying, "Did, at any point in the captivity, anybody sexually assault you?"

Eli's lawyer stood up and shouted, "Objection!" Mrs. Angelo, Justin's lawyer, turned to him and crossed her arms. The judge coughed to gather the attention of everyone in the court room and then awkwardly said, as he knew it was a sensitive topic and he was a sensitive man, "It is an important issue in the case."

"I...I plead the fifth." Eli coughed, peeking up at the jury. "You just have to say yes or no." The lawyer said gently. "...Yes." Even though she'd just said he'd only have to say yes or no, she continued to question him. "When did it begin?"

"A-A few weeks i-in." He looked over at his parents, who met his gaze, and instantly, Eli looked back down. "And how often did this occur?" Eli shrugged, "I-I-I don't know..." He did know. "But take a guess. Once a week, more, even?"

"It was always random, okay?!" He snapped. He rested his head in his arms and started crying. He'd been on the stand for over an hour and the stress was getting to him. He simply couldn't handle it anymore. The judge called for an intermission, and the court room was emptied. Eli stayed inside.

"Eli, come downstairs for dinner." Eli's father called, waking him from his nap. He stood up and walked downstairs, nearly tripping on the steps. Spaghetti was laid out on the table, along with garlic bread. He suddenly took it all in at once.

He could eat all he wanted. There was no one that was going to take his plate or kick him away from it. He could eat and there would be no one to stop him. Eli didn't wait for his parents to serve the food; he pulled the bowl of spaghetti towards him and scooped several spoonfuls onto his plate. In 5 minutes, he'd eaten the biggest meal he had in years.

Half the pasta was gone when Eli set down his fork and chugged a glass of milk. And then he burped. "Thank you." He said and took his plate to the sink. He ran upstairs, leaving his parents surprised at the amount he'd eaten.

Eli curled up on the floor in the huge bundle of blankets and fell asleep, surprisingly dreaming not of Justin but of Clare.

He dreamed of them in Justin's basement. He was on a titled table in the east part of the room. The table was on an axle and was bent and locked slightly at a 160 degree angle. Clare was standing there, leaned against the joining wall, staring at Eli with an amused face.

He tried to stand up or even more, but he was tied down. "Untie me." He said, and she laughed. "Clare, please. Justin will be back soon." He begged. "Justin didn't tie you up. I did." He struggled more, then looked up at her, "I can't move." He said, though it was obvious. "I know...you can't fight back." She taunted, pushing herself from the wall and walking over to him.

Suddenly, he was naked. Or, maybe he was already naked. He didn't know, but only now did he notice. He, at least, had underwear on. She stopped next to him and stroked his face with her nails. She didn't stop there, though, and trailed to his neck and down his chest. "S-Stop it." He stuttered, "Just please untie me. Justin will come down and-"

"He's not here, Elijah...I tied you up." He swallowed a constricted breath, "Why?" Clare laughed, but Eli didn't see what was funny. She sat on a stool that hadn't been there before and ran her fingers through his hair, "You're so naïve, Eli." She smiled a dark smile and lifted his head up to kiss him. He tried to recoil his head, but she head him in place and roughly kept her lips against his.

Eli tried to speak, but she wouldn't let go of him. Finally, she let go of him and smiled, "You're so cute, Elijah. Or should I say 'Eathan'?" Eli looked at her in disgust, "Don't-Don't call me that." He tried to sound fierce, but his voice cracked, and Clare laughed, "You're so cute, Elijah. I just want to do everything to you."

"Stop it!" He screamed now, struggling harder than ever, "Let me go!" He tried to hit her, but he couldn't move. She climbed onto the table and straddled him. And, suddenly, Eli noticed that she was just in her underwear. Laying down, she kissed him again, but he twisted his head away, "Get off me!"

But she didn't. Since she couldn't kiss him, she sat up and began to rub him through his underwear. He froze for a second and then twisted his body, trying to make her stop. She didn't.

She just kept touching him and soon pulled down his underwear to his ankles. She was stroking him now and he was crying. She kept touching and kissing him, and then Justin appeared in the corner. He was just shaking his head, shamed of Eli.

Clare took her clothes of and climbed on top of him. He cringed as he felt her surround him and move up and down. Her breast slapped against his chest and moans were escaping her mouth loudly. But not louder than his sobs.

The hardest part
This troubled heart
Has never yet been through now

Was heal the scars
That got their start
Inside someone like you now

-Better, Guns N' Roses.

What do you guys think? I tried not to make it too graphic. Leave your comments and ideas in the review section.

-NJCD