Chapter XVII: Sweet Memories
FD: Thanks for all the reviews, everyone. I really appreciated it, and still do. If you like this chapter, which is dedicated to the memories of Sarah, please, feel free to send your reviews and, if I can, I'll send a thanks and shout out for you. There is a small surprise waiting along the future for you guys who review, so, don't think this will end.
Consciousness soon faded from Sarah as she laid there, her body limp, weak, and exhausted. Malik had taken great pride on his capture, and had enjoyed his alone time with her, forcing her to do things she didn't want to do. It was as if she was his slave, forced to do everything he wanted her to do. His… her throat tightened as she thought this… sex slave….
Even as she drifted into unconsciousness, she felt her own mind drifted into a distant memory of hers. She was eight-years-old, sitting on the enormous maroon couch that her mother had owned. It had been two years since her parents divorce, and everything was weird to her. She was so innocent then, so carefree, yet so naïve. Her mother was going out on a date, and someone was going to watch Sarah for the night. Problem was that person had not arrived yet. Her mother was pacing back and forth in the living room, her long, curly red hair bouncing off her shoulders, her green contact eyes scanning from the clock of the kitchen wall to the phone to her own watch and back. Her sparkly red dress glistened in the light of the living room lamp.
"Where is he!" she asked repeatively.
"Calm down, mama, I'm sure they'll be here soon," said Sarah innocently. Her mother smiled sweetly at her and then the sound of harmonious music rang through the house. Her mother rushed to the door and opened it quickly. Standing in the doorway, illuminated by the sunset, was a boy who looked much older than Sarah with blonde spiky hair, dark, amethyst eyes, and dark skin. His eyes scanned the living room, paused on Sarah, and a smile crossed his face before he looked at Sarah's mother.
"Hello, Ms. Lavigne. Please, is that the one I'm supposed to watch after?" asked the boy with an innocent smile and innocent, carefree voice.
"Yes, my daughter, Sarah. I already fed her, so you just have to keep her company and put her to bed when she's tired. No ice cream, Sarah!" her mom criticized her before filling the boy about the usual numbers near the phone and how to reach her and such. Soon she left and Sarah was left alone in the living room with this guy, whose smile had changed from sweet, sincere to evil, and malevolent, while Sarah was still smiling innocently.
"Hi, I'm Sarah. What's your name?" she asked. His smile increased.
"I'm Malik. You want to play a game?" he asked.
"Sure!" Sarah said, jumping up from her spot on the couch. He smiled and, to her surprise, he went down on all fours, like as if he was crawling on his knees and hands. He looked up at her with a smile.
"You wanna play horsy?" he asked. Sarah's eyes filled with excitement. She and her daddy used to play horsy when her mother and he were together. Now she hardly ever has to see him.
She approached Malik, he helped her onto his strong back, and he acted like a horse, jumping up with her on his back, having her arms tightly around his neck when he did. She laughed and giggled, and so did he, but eventually he became low on breath, and, without him asking her to, she jumped off him and ran into the kitchen to get a cup of water.
"Thanks," he told her, taking the glass and drinking it all down. He took a seat on the couch and she sat down next to him.
"Malik," she spoke. He looked up, as if she had asked his name. But turned out she was thinking with a smile.
"What?" he asked.
"That's a funny name," she said. He smiled and closed his eyes.
"You think my name is funny, huh?" he asked.
"Yeah. What does it mean?" she asked.
"What does yours?"
"Mama says it means angel," she spoke.
"My name is kinda Egyptian, where I grew up," Malik spoke, his eyes opening slightly, darkness swimming inside them.
"You grew up in Egypt?"
"Yep. I was born there, too. Grew up there until I was pretty much your age. Then my mother died, and my dad brought me here," he said. "Then my dad died, and now I live alone."
"That must be pretty lonely," said Sarah sadly. The smile widened slightly on Malik's face.
"Yeah, it is."
Malik had this weird expression on his face though they were talking about something quite sad and depressing. He smiled at Sarah, who kind of backed off. He then stood up and approached the counter of the kitchen's that stuck out into the living room. Sarah's mother would make drinks and wines for visitors that would come over. He reached behind the counter and pulled out a small bottle that her mother would always flash off at visitors when she wasn't sober. Sarah was kind of ashamed of her at times.
"What's this?" Malik asked. He pulled the top off and sniffed it. His nose wrinkled in disgust and pulled it away.
"I would have told you if I knew," Sarah laughed. The smile widened even more on his face.
"Listen, I just made up a new game. You want to play?" he asked.
"Not really. I'm getting kind of tired," Sarah said. Her eyes were drooping slightly. Malik approached her, and, in a shock of pain, Sarah was struck hard across the face. Tears fled from her eyes as blood dripped from her cheek. Her dress splattered with droplets of it. Then Malik grabbed the collar of her shirt and shook her violently. Then he threw her onto the ground, and he pinned her under him. She screamed, not being able to breathe under him, but he beat her so viciously and each strike caused her to scream, choking on the air that she sucked in.
"So, who's this Malik guy?" Alister asked, rushing into the room, pushing past Robert and Enrique to get a closer look at the laptop Tiffany had popped up.
"A transfer Egyptian psychopath who loses touch with reality. He beat and raped Sarah when she was little and we believe he's come back to finish the job," said Tiffany.
"That means she's in more trouble now more than ever. He killed his own mother and father and pretended to be a baby-sitter so as to get closer with Sarah. Robert, Sarah's life is in danger!" Yuji yelled, jumping out of her chair.
Robert's face was so pale he looked like a ghost. Yet he shrugged it away and looked at them. "How do we find this guy?"
"I know," came a sincere, Irish voice.
Everyone turned to see Jin standing on an open windowsill, his red hair billowing wildly around his face. His wild blue eyes sparkled with excitement like diamonds in the snow. He seemed so excited for some reason, balancing on one leg while staring at them with his arms crossed over his bare chest.
"Jin! What are you doing here?" Yuji asked, her cheeks growing red.
"What? An old friend can't swing by and help all of yall out?" Jin asked in his crazy, Irish, fast-speaking voice. Robert and the boys got caught off guard by what he said.
"Jin, you said you knew. What do you know?" Alister asked.
"The whereabouts of the little Malik psychopath, that I do, eh?" Jin spoke. It was weird how he talked, but the way he did left the girls falling for him.
"You know where he is?" Robert asked.
"Aye, mate. You must be Robert. Sarah girl has been fancying you, that she has. Master Malik has had his eye on you!" Jin said.
"Master Malik? You mean you worked for him?" Johnny demanded. Jin's precarious smile vanished quickly.
"Used to work for him, mate. Now he's gone off the deep end when once she shot that Ines girl. And she was quite the looker, no?" Jin asked.
"You mean he's the one who shot Ines!" Tiffany cried.
"Not him. One of his goons. He blackmailed me into working for him so he could capture your Sarah girl and use her. Luckily, I stopped when he killed an innocent person. Now, I know where he has Sarah, but my question is if you're willing to trust me," Jin spoke. Robert groaned and then nodded.
"Alright, we trust you for now, but we'll need your help," Alister spoke.
"Yeah, so no funny business!" Valon accused Jin. He smiled playfully.
The sunlight was warm and bright as Sarah opened her eyes. Where was she? Green spread across the ground, small blurs of pink, yellow, and red spreaded in small groups. Hard to recognize them, she touched one and felt the soft pedals and the cool dew. Flowers. Everywhere. She was in a field of flowers. But how'd she get there? The last thing she remembered was being chained to a bed, tired and exhausted, in a dark room with one door and a window that she couldn't look out of.
"Morning, sleeping beauty," came a voice. Sarah looked up to see Eotos smiling at her. She smiled back and stood up. He helped her up and pulled her down into a part of the field with more flowers.
"Eotos, what is this place? How'd I get here? And what happened to Malik?" she asked.
"This is the place where you escape, remember? Whenever something bad is happening, in order to escape the pain and horror, your mind automatically allows you to escape to your dreams where you're safe with me," he explained. "Truth is, you're still chained to that bed, and Malik is not gone, but your spirit is free, my dear. He's trying to cage you in horrors, but your spirit and heart are pure, which allows you to create these kinds of worlds where there is no such thing as chaos."
Sarah smiled at him. "Eotos, there's something else, isn't there? Otherwise, you wouldn't be here right away, but later on to see me," Sarah said. "After all, we do have a bond."
Eotos smiled. "I'm afraid, in order for you to break free from Malik, you'll have to awaken that power within you," he said.
"But, I don't-"
"That power is me, and your dreams. Believe it or not, your dreams are the power source that has kept you alive and happy all these years. You must release that power. But when you do, I will no longer be here," he said.
"No. Don't go!" Sarah cried, wrapping her arms around his waist. He hugged her back, tears reflecting in the sunlight.
"I have no choice. It is the only way to save you. Please, Sarah, for your dreams, for your friends, for me, use your dreams and break free," Eotos said. He let go of her and drifted into darkness.
Tears blinded Sarah to no extent and she fell into the darkness.
"I'll always be there for you, Sarah….Never let go of your dreams…."
FD: Well that's all for now. This is not the ending, though. There's plenty more. If you like, review, if not, oh well. Thanks again for reading and those of you who have reviewed, I really appreciate it.
