C.C. McKenna

Blood on the Field

Chapter Twenty-Five

Darkness

"Ok everybody, this is an important announcement; Next Saturday we are going to have our annual sport competitions; all of you must be registered by the end of the day, with no exceptions. You can choose one favorite sport, or you can sign for all of them. Choices are: Swimming, Softball, Soccer, and Basketball. Registry sheets can be found in the library"

"Shit!... I hate these competitions" Sophie muttered angrily when she heard the announcement made by the Warden. She was having breakfast with Lexie and a few other noisy girls.

"That sounds like fun" Lexie's face gleamed. "Why do you get so upset? ... Don't you like sports?

"Yes, of course I do, but these competitions always get rough and dirty" She sipped her milk. "They last about four or five Saturdays, and the warden simply enjoys the violence inflicted among us"

"Oh" Lexie frowned disappointedly. "But for what I heard, it's obligatory to register in at least one of the different categories, right?"

"Uhu" Sophie nodded. "It's definitely a 'must'; and we have to take some extra precautions here, 'cause I'm sure they will be coming strong on you"

"Me?!" Lexie gasped. "But why me?... what did I do?" She dropped her fork on the plate.

"You're the new girl... that happens to every new arriving 'guest' at Sylmar". Sophie didn't want to smile, but she did anyway, she just couldn't help to ignore Lexie's eyes, they were ready to pop out. "Don't worry 'Bond', I'll take good care of you; come on, let's go to class". Sophie kept smiling.

"Yes, oh yes, that's easy for you to say, now I'm going to be afraid to play soccer, and I love playing soccer dude!" Lexie walked angrily out of the cafeteria.

"Sophie... go to my office, now" The warden ordered the girl before she entered her classroom.

"No..." Lexie held her friend's arm tightly, afraid of letting her go, but Sophie wiggled free.

"It's ok dude, I'll be fine, she just wants to talk, that's all; and please, I mean it Bond, don't look for me, I'll find you later" Sophie whispered. "Did you get that? I'll find you later!"

Lexie stood still, staring angrily into the warden's obnoxious eyes, rage boiling inside her veins. "Ok, I'll wait" she mumbled without taking her eyes off the sweaty, corpulent woman.

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"That was fun, Sophie, but tell me, what do you think of the new crystal? Do you like it?" The warden chuckled, walking around the sweaty girl. She ran her fingers slowly through her hair. Sophie didn't even blink, her sight was distorted and she couldn't articulate a word; she tried to speak but she only managed to garble a few sounds. The warden didn't seem to care though; she kept talking to the struggling youngster as if everything was ok. "I confiscated this ice to one of the older girls... I still don't know how she got it, but I'll find out" The warden smiled scornfully glancing at the girl's limp body. "Well, Sophie, get up, come on" She pulled her arm. "Come on, I need you to wait outside, 'cause I'm having a staff meeting" Rose opened the door and annoyingly dragged the girl outside her office. "Sophia, work with me, you're too heavy, damn it!!" Rose unkindly dropped the girl's flaccid body on one of the sofas and quickly went back inside. The latter remained there; her body uncontrollably shaking and her mind lost in a sea of nothing.

Lexie was nervous, unable to concentrate in her classroom; after several hours of desperate wait, she finally decided to go find her friend. She skipped her lunch and started searching, but this time the first place she chose to look was the Warden's office.

"Sophie!" Lexie was startled to find her friend unconsciously resting on the sofa; She hastily knelt beside her and gently slapped the girl's face to wake her up but unfortunately, it didn't do any good. "Come on Sophie, wake up, open your eyes and talk to me, Sophie please" The latter slowly opened her eyes for a fraction of a second but quickly shut them back again.

"Sophie!" Lexie insisted by slapping her again.

"H-he-y L-lxx" Sophie softly mumbled, drawing a weak smile on her face.

"My God, why did she do to you? ... What..." Lexie didn't wait for an answer; she got up and quickly burst herself inside the warden's office.

"What did you do to her?!" She stopped in front of the warden's desk. "What kind of bloody place is this?!?!?!" Lexie started breathing heavily.

The warden smiled staring surprisingly at the girl in front of her. "My, my, feisty little one, I like that!" She smiled even widely.

"Cut the crap!" Lexie shouted. "You drugged her!... you... you fucking drugged her!" Lexie placed both hands on the warden's desk and leaned down to make eye contact with the obese, still shocked custodian. "You're crazy! And you have to be stopped!"

"That's enough" The warden spoke through clenched teeth and held out her hand to one of the guards beside her. The guard quickly handed the baton to the angry warden and got up to hold Lexie from behind. Lexie struggled to free herself from the guard.

"Somebody help me get this girl under control!" The guard shouted with desperation.

Karla also got up and helped the guard to keep Lexie still.

The warden walked slowly to the briskly girl and cruelly slapped her across the face. The violent blow caused Lexie's head to unexpectedly whip around; she returned her face to meet the warden's eyes and, for everyone's surprise, Lexie spat on her face. Rose slowly wiped the mixture of saliva and blood from her cheek and hit the girl's stomach with such force, making the girl release a painful scream.

Her knees quickly buckled but the guards held her up in place. Rose smiled and tightened the grip on the heavy club, patting it softly a couple of times on the opened palm of her left hand before violently striking it again on the girl's stomach. Lexie´s painful scream again filled the room while she fell harshly on her knees. "Get her up!" Rose shouted with anger, and as soon as the girl was lifted from the floor, she banged the baton behind her knees. Lexie screamed, almost passing out in pain, but this time the guards let her reach the floor.

"Take her to the SHU (special handling unit) and leave her there until I fucking say so!"

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Meanwhile, in campus.....

"Hello Leslie... looking good today" Kevin wrapped his arm around the shoulders of the captain of the cheerleaders. "You're hot baby!" He rudely turned her around and kissed her lips.

"Kevin!" Leslie's jaw almost fell to the ground. "But...h.."

Kevin didn't let her speak. "What did you do to yourself? ... Loose weight or something?" He kissed her again.

"Oh,... yes, as a matter of fact I..."

"Come on, buy me some lunch" He grabbed her hand and pulled her to the cafeteria. Leslie had always been after Kevin; everybody knew that she was madly in love with him, but he had always ignored her. He was a great catch, handsome, single, and wealthy; but he was a loner.

They arrived at the cafeteria, and everybody stared at them. He shook his head with annoyance and guided Leslie to a nearby table.

"Uhm... Kevin, can I ask why?... I mean..." Leslie pulled out her own chair and slowly sat down. She wanted to know why all of the sudden Kevin was noticing her, but he was never going to reveal the truth. He was helping Phoebe Halliwell, and her gorgeous sister.

"No" Kevin answered coldly while sitting down in front of her. "Let's just enjoy our meal and have a good time, ok?"

"Sure... sure, whatever you say Bud" She smiled at him.

Kevin rolled his eyes and managed to draw a fake smile. "Uhm... Leslie" He strongly struggled against himself but he finally popped the question. "You... you wanna go out with me tonight?" He swallowed hard, not believing what he just asked.

"Yes!" Leslie shouted loudly, almost falling off her chair. "Of course I will" She smiled widely and glanced around the cafeteria, hoping that everybody had listened to Kevin's words.

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Piper closed the door to the attic and glanced at Phoebe. "Come on... sit down and tell us how your plan is doing"

"Ohhoho... it's going on smoothly, you have no idea" Phoebe laughed.

"Well, spit it out" Prue asked with desperation. "And let us know if it's time for us to go and kick Leslie's fat ass!"

"Take it easy sis, not yet, but I'll tell you when is the right time to do it" Phoebe tried to calm her sister down.

"Phoebe, this is not a game, you have to understand this; that bitch framed our sister, and Lexie is in jail because of her: She has to pay, and she has to take our sister's place in that joint now!"

"I know that Prue; I'm just doing things my way, believe me, this will work out, you just have to be patient"

Prue shook her head, biting her lower lip. "Well, try telling that to Lexie, 'cause I don't think she's a patient kid; and lets just hope your plan doesn't take too long to work, 'cause I don't think our little sister could take it"

"I know Prue, I'm doing my best" Phoebe started feeling guilty.

"Lexie was sad... and quiet... she just doesn't belong there" Piper added softly.

"Piper is right Phoebe, you better hurry up with that plan of yours, or I'll take care of it myself, and in my own way."

"Ok... ok, I understand, it will be over soon, I promise" Phoebe softly nodded.

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"Come on, Rose, please." Sophie was in the warden's office, begging for her friend's freedom. Sophie hated the solitary confinement; she had spent a lot of time there before, so she knew how it was. Her friend just had to be released from the SHU immediately. She knew for a fact that there was no light in that room; that it was a dark, cold place; and that nobody was properly nourished in there. "I'll do anything, just get her out, please Rose" Sophie insisted.

"She has to learn her lesson well Sophia" The warden spoke coldly without looking at her. "No one had ever spoke to me like that, she deserves punishment" Rose kept reading the papers in her desk.

"But Rose... She's had enough; please, please get her out!"

Rose paced around the upset girl for a while until she finally spoke. "All right, I'll get her out, but you and I are going to talk about it later" She walked to the door and opened it wide. "Now, get out and send Karla in" She hissed. "If it weren't for you, I'm sure as hell I'd leave that little bitch for another week or so"

"Thanks Mrs. Vasques; I won't forget this" Sophie smiled gratefully and left the office.

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Lexie was taken out of the SHU unconscious; the guards took her to the infirmary, and ordered the nurse in charge to keep her there for the night. Karla visited Lexie's room late that night and injected her the usual dosage of cocaine. Saturday morning Alexia finally opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was her friend Sophie's caring gaze.

"Hey, welcome back Bond" Sophie smiled weakly. "Open your mouth, I have your medication" Lexie barely smiled and closed her eyes again. "No, no, no, no, no... here, take this" Sophie carefully placed the small pill under Lexie's tongue. "Come on, try to stay awake" Lexie opened her eyes again and whispered a soft thank you. "That's better dude, I was so fucking worried about you" Sophie gently smacked her friend's head. "I specifically asked you to 'Do not go look for me' ... why did you do it?" Sophie shook her head. "I said I was going to look for you, not the other way around... I insist, Bond, you must have a death wish going"

"Sorry" Lexie whispered.

"I bet you are, tell me if something hurts" Sophie asked with concern.

"Ev-very-t-thing hurts" Lexie squinted.

"I don't know what can I do...I wouldn't want to give you any pain killers, but if you need them I can get them for you"

"No, it's ok, I can bear the pain" Lexie took a deep breath and smiled.

"Why didn't you listen to me Bond? I meant what I said"

"I know, I'm sorry, it's just that I was so worried, and I just couldn't stand there and do nothing, so I went looking for you, and when I found you outside the warden's office I went crazy; I just couldn't control myself." She gently moistened her lips. "What did she give you anyway? ... You were out cold"

"You don't want to know" Sophie grabbed a glass of water, bent the plastic straw and placed it in her friend's mouth. "Here, have some water dude, and try to eat so you can feel better, that is if you want to see your sisters tomorrow."

"What?... don't tell me tomorrow's Sunday" Lexie slowly sit up. "I was locked in there for five bloody days?!"

"Sshhh" Sophie turned to the door and quickly returned her gaze to her friend. "You better not say a word about this to anyone, or it'll only get worse" She grabbed a plate from the table and started feeding the hot soup to her friend. "I mean it dude, for your sake and mine, just keep your mouth shut"

"Ok" Lexie nodded. "But I promise I'm going to get her; I don't know how and I don't know when, but I'm going to get that bloody bitch!"

"Ok Bond, ok... now, shut up and eat!"

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Sunday Afternoon......

"Your sister will be down in a moment" Dorothy smiled. "You can go to the recreation room and wait, it's a lot more comfortable in there; come with me, I'll take you"

"Thank you" Piper grabbed Phoebe's arm and followed Dorothy. Prue stayed behind, carefully scrutinizing the place. "Coming Prue?" Piper raised her voice.

They sat near the pin-pong table and impatiently waited. "Why isn't she waiting here like everybody else?" Piper whined. "We are wasting valuable quality time"

"There she is" Prue placed her hand on Piper's shoulder and made her turn her eyes to Lexie.

"Is she limping Pipe?" Prue slowly lifted her sunglasses and cocked an eyebrow.

"Uhm... as a matter of fact, she is... yes, I think she is"

"What?!" "Limping?!" Phoebe asked worriedly. Where is she?... I want to ask her why!"

Lexie smiled and waved enthusiastically from the entrance door; she headed for the girl's table, trying hard to hide her pain. "Hi guys... I've missed you so much" She stood by the table and gently kissed her sisters. "You just don't know how much" She whispered in Phoebe's ear.

"Hey kiddo!" Prue pulled her sister away from Phoebe. "Come here" The eldest Halliwell kissed her sister's forehead and hugged her tightly. "We've missed you too" Prue kissed her again. Lexie winced and slowly drew back.

Prue immediately noticed her sister's reaction. "Are you ok Lex?" She asked worriedly. "Are you hurting or something?"

"I'm fine" Lexie tucked her hair behind her ears and sat beside Phoebe, trying to divert her sister's scrutiny eyes. "Hey you... how's school?" She grabbed Phoebe's hand and gently squeezed it.

"Good, school is good and everybody sent their love" Phoebe smiled weakly. "They all miss you"

Lexie nodded. "I miss them too"

"Sweetie, please, you have to tell us if you're hurt" Piper sat beside Lexie. "We want to know if they've hurt you in any way, stop being as stubborn as your older sister"

"No they haven't; I'm fine... and I'm not stubborn" Lexie lowered her head to avoid her sister's gaze. "I was playing soccer yesterday and... and I fell... and... I hurt myself, that's all"

"Sure, uhu... Lexie, sweetheart, you know you can trust us, right?" Prue held her sister's chin in her hand and slowly lifted her face to meet her eyes.

"I know" Lexie got up and turned her back on her sisters. "I... I... can't, I'm sorry" She started crying but quickly wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm ok, please drop it"

Prue walked to Lexie and gently turned her around. "Baby... you're scaring us; it's obvious that you're afraid of something..."

"Or someone" Piper added.

"Let's go outside so we can talk" Phoebe got up and unfolded her blind stick. "Come on Prue, let's fix this mess"

Prue took Phoebe's hand in hers and guided her to the garden. Piper pointed the door to Lexie and took a deep breath. "Come on sweetie, let's go outside"

Once they were all outside, Prue walked towards Lexie and grabbed her shoulders. "Ok, that's enough, either you tell us what's going on, or I promise I'll raise hell!" Prue spoke with anger.

"Back off Prue" Lexie shouted. "I said I was fine, why do you insist on finding out something that doesn't exist" She placed her hand on her stomach and took a deep breath. Her ribs were still a little sore and they hurt a lot when she breathed.

"Take it easy baby" Piper soothed her sister. "We're just trying to help you, that's all"

"Well you're not helping!" Lexie pulled back her hair and shook her head. "If you want to help me... don't ask any more questions, please"

Prue nodded and walked slowly to her sister. "Ok, just one more thing" Prue rubbed her hands together and walked slowly to her baby sister.

"What?" Lexie asked nervously.

With a swift movement, Prue lifted her sister's shirt and gasped when a big, multi-colored bruise was revealed on her sister's stomach. "What the hell is this?" Prue was astounded; she never expected to see that kind of contusion on her sister's frail body.

"I fell" Lexie replied coldly, pulling down her shirt. "Damn it, why don't you just mind your own business and leave me alone?"

"Everything ok?" Dorothy slowly approached the upset girl. "Do you need anything Alexia?"

"No, thank you, everything is fine, my sisters were just leaving" Lexie answered tensely.

"No we are not!" Phoebe snapped. "We need to straighten out some things first, so can you please leave us alone?" Phoebe turned to where she thought the guard was supposed to be standing.

"Sure, no problem" Dorothy answered politely. "Just call me if you need anything" She smiled, and slowly walked away, supervising the rest of the area.

"Ok, missy, listen up, and listen up good" Phoebe was now fuming. "If our big sister here says you are not being honest, then you are obviously not being honest, believe me, she's never wrong, and I trust her better judgment" Phoebe paused for a moment. "So you better start spilling your guts out"

Lexie found a spot on the ground and fixed her eyes on it.

Tbc

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