CHAPTER 12

Leon never reappeared.

His body was still in front of me but his soul had never returned.

Jack wouldn't have let him go…

So where was he?

I carefully stood and wiped my bloody hands down my dress. Jack would be angry, but I don't care.

"Anna." With a sigh I turned my body around and faced my tormentor. He had no expression on his face. His voice was emotionless and I found that more intimidating than when he shouted. "What have you been up to?"

"Nothing." I stood my ground as he made his way closer to me.

"Really?" He twirled a strand of my hair as he looked down at me with those piercing eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"So what spooked those pathetic humans earlier? Just how did they find the rotting body of little Anna-Louise McArthy?"

"I don't know. Perhaps they got a bit nosy-" That seemed to be the last of his patience. Within a flash I was thrown across the deck. My back crashed into the metal railing before I fell forward onto the cold wood.

"Or perhaps a little girl couldn't do as she was told? Do you want to know what happens to naughty girls?"

"What?" I wiped the blood from my mouth and stood.

"Oooh, little Anna is getting a backbone, isn't she? This isn't good Anna-Lou, not good at all."

"Please, don't call me that." Only my father can call me that. I was his darling Anna-Lou and no-one else was allowed to call me that name.

"Aw, memories of your past life coming back to haunt you?" A shriek left my lips as he appeared in front of me and pulled my hair so my head was tilted to the side. "That's the biggest weakness of those that have only just died. Their families are still fresh in their mind but, don't worry, when you live for as long as I have, their faces fade away and you don't even remember their connection to you."

"Let me go." Hot tears built up in my eyes as he carried on hissing at me.

"I don't even remember what it was like to have a heartbeat. I can't even remember how I died. I doubt anyone mourned me though. You're the closest thing to a family I have had in centuries… so I will not be letting you go anytime soon. Even if you could leave me, I wouldn't allow it…" His eyes snapped back to mine and the familiar anger filled them. "Now, I promised you a punishment, didn't I?"

"Yes, and we all know how much you like to keep your promises…"

"Indeed." Once again my feet left the floor and my body hit the floor like a ragdoll. I slid across the polished wood and through the pool of blood that had begun to dry its surface. I choked down my sobs and looked at the red liquid that stained my body. "Come on." I cried out as he gripped my upper arm and dragged me back down the stairs. "What was that boy's name?"

"Leon."

"Yeah, that's right! I thought you might know…" His hand tightened against my skin. "Wanting to make friends with little Leon, are we?"

"I just wanted to comfort him. He was still alive when I found him and he was frightened."

"I'm sure he was." He mocked. "You're too nice, Anna… You need to stop thinking of others and try to help yourself." He pushed me through the door of the cabin and shut it behind him.

"You're right. I should start thinking of myself." With that I launched myself at Jack and we both crashed to the floor. I blindly hit out at him and screamed as he began to laugh. One tug at the back of my neck was all it took for me to be thrown off him. I scrambled backwards and pulled myself up as he pretended to dust off his shirt.

"What on earth made you think that that would be a good idea?" He wiped some blood from the corner of his mouth and smiled. I'd barely scratched him. "Did you expect for that to be effective? Look at you! You're a worthless little girl!"

"Then why do you insist on keeping me?!"

"Because I can!" I saw something flash in his eyes before they returned back to their usual emotionless state. He lunged towards me and held me against the wall. "Do you know what it's like to be something like me?! Do you?! It's not all fun and games like your pathetic life was!"

"What happened to make you be like this, Jack?! No one is born a monster! You chose to go down this path!" The slap echoed around the room.

It was silent apart from Jack's heavy breathing.

I held a hand against my burning cheek and sniffed back my tears. I wasn't going to keep crying. I wasn't that weak.

"Don't talk about things that you will never understand!" I was expecting some kind of physical altercation but was surprised when he disappeared before my very eyes.

"Jack?!" I let out a shriek and kicked my bed against the wall.

What the hell just happened?

"Jack!" The girl's hair swung around in the breeze as she let out a giggle. The boy chasing her wore a grin that showed all his teeth.

"I'm going to get you, Rosie!" The siblings raced around the park for hours before the boy finally caught his sister and threw her into the lake. Their parents looked on in disapproval but knew that this was how their children were. They were both like little hurricanes just tearing through every place they went.

"Ugh!" The 8 year old girl rang out her hair and glared at her brother. "It's not funny!" The 10 year old boy fell onto the floor in laughter and ignored his sister's glare as usual. "I hate you!"

"Now, Rosie, calm yourself, child." The nanny scolded the girl for acting out in public and went to give the boy a swipe across the head. Neither child took notice of the older woman and began to run after each other once more. With a sigh the greying woman went back over to stand in the shade. She shook her head as the boy swung his sister around and laughed as she shrieked. The fun all ended as his grip was lost and the girl went tumbling to the ground with a thud. Immediately she began to choke back her tears as her knee began to bleed.

"You're too rough, Jack!" She shouted before limping in another direction. The boy sighed and looked at the ground. He hated it when his sister was hurt, especially when he had accidentally caused it.

"Rosie, I'm so-" The boy was cut off when a loud bang was heard and a strangled scream made him freeze.

"No!" All 4 of the group ran to where the girl now laid, crushed under the wheel of an automobile. The driver was frozen behind the wheel as Jack crouched down by his sister. He knew enough to know that he wouldn't get to play with his best friend again. Her neck was twisted in an awkward angle and blood began to pool around her head.

"Get away!" His father pulled him backwards and turned his attention to his little girl. "Frieda, escort Mary over to one of the benches." His tone of voice said it all and the nanny immediately helped her friend back to the park. Jack hadn't moved. He was sat on the ground with a blank stare. "Do you see what you've done, boy?"

Jack didn't even flinch as his father glared back at him with tears in his eyes.

From that day on he wasn't treated like a son. He was ostracized due to the terrible incident.

Not that it mattered though, the young carefree boy was forever changed into a short-tempered and abusive young man.

There was no innocence left in him…

Not when his sister was ripped away from him in such a cruel way.

AN:

So what did you think? A bit of a look into why Jack became what he is today.

I was going to do the cliché boy fell in love, his love died and he went mad but, I thought that this would be a more unique and original way of starting off Jack on his pathway to destruction.

Did you like the fight that came back in Anna?

Also, I think that the next chapter shall begin in 2002 when Epps and the gang arrive!

Please review and let me know what you like/what you want to happen xx