Note: Okay I am really sorry about the lateness of this chapter, but there
are reasons. The main one being that I had to make a major plot decision
that dictates the entirety of this story. The original problem was that I
had no ideas, and then I wound up with two separate ones that I wanted to
do, so I chose what I thought you guys might enjoy best. I have to thank
all of you again for the reviews, you guys are a large part of my drive to
write, so thank you.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Dedication: I actually have to dedicate this to helenakyle1 who gave me my very first review, and was a very large part of the reason that I started writing fiction for the birds of prey. Not only that, but also introduced me to the couple of Dinah and Helena. So, this chapter is for you.
"Dinah!" Came Helena's pained cry. It seemed to happen in slow motion. Dinah had spoken to her, and she almost felt like everything would be all right again, that it would all go back to normal, but the illusion was shattered. Instead of running into her arms, Dinah had collapsed, falling to the unyielding ground. A small whimper of pain escaped Dinah's lips as her back came in contact with the dirt and leaves. Helena was by her side in an instant, cradling Dinah's head in her lap. "Oh shit, Dinah."
"It hurts." Dinah whimpered. The pain wasn't horribly bad as of yet, and Dinah chalked that up to the adrenalin that was still remaining in her system. Sure, it still hurt, but she was more tired than anything else, her eyes begging her to close, but she refused to let them drop.
"I know Dinah, I know." Helena said softly as she brushed some of Dinah's hair off her face. Never before in her life had Helena felt so inadequate, so out of her league. She'd hurt Dinah so many times in one day, and she had no clue how to fix it. "If I didn't have such a friggin motor mouth than none of this would've happened. How am I ever going to make this up to you?" She thought softly. "What if she dies? It'll be my fault; I'll have killed her. I don't think I could live with that, knowing that I killed the one I lo. . . Okay, really not wanting to go there right now."
While Helena was lost in her thoughts, Dinah had been watching her face intently; so when Helena's turned to one of panic, she to began to panic. "Helena, am I going to die." She stumbled over the last word, afraid to actually get it out.
"What? No, no. I wouldn't let that happen, not to you." Helena comforted. "I need to say this Dinah. I'm sorry. About everything, about suggesting this trip, about having your first vacation be a plane crash, and about all my words and actions. I've been a major bitch to you."
Dinah tried to listen, she really did, but all of Helena's words were beginning to jumble together. The adrenalin had finally been flushed from her system as well, so the pain was coming on fierce and strong. Much of her concentration was diverted to deal with that aspect. "Hel, I need help." Dinah forced out between pain breaths.
"Right." Helena nodded. She moved Dinah, so that she could be picked up and then did so. Dinah's face was a grimace of pain, but she impressed Helena by emitting no sounds of pain. It wasn't until Dinah was safely nestled in her arms that Helena noticed how much she was bleeding. Her leather pants were slick with it, and it was now seeping into the fabric of her shirt. "Don't worry Dinah, I won't let you die."
Trying not to jostle Dinah too much, Huntress ran through the trees as quickly as she could. Small twigs were scratching at her skin, opening small cuts, but she found herself unable to care about that, all that mattered was Dinah's safety. Almost automatically her feet found the path, jumping over logs while barely having to think about it. Instead her attention was focused on Dinah, listening for any signs that something was going wrong. Every now and again she heard a whimper or a hiss, but she could deal with that, at least it meant that Dinah was still among the living.
"So, what was it that you wanted to talk about?"
"I have some news to tell you Reese, I didn't think it was fair for you to hear this over the news or anything. You know that Helena was going on a small vacation to get away from being Huntress for a while. Well, she took Dinah with her, and. . ." Barbara was beginning to tear up just thinking about it, but Reese needed to hear this, so she stayed strong. "The plane crashed Reese. They're missing and I don't know how to find them."
Reese looked dumbstruck. "Wait, what?"
"The plane crashed, I don't know how to find them, and I don't even know if they're alive." Barbara reiterated.
"That can't be right. I mean, it's Helena." Said Reese.
"Just because she's a person that we know doesn't mean that it can't happen. I just thought that you might like to know."
She moved to leave, but Reese stopped her. "Wait. Is there anything I can do?"
"I don't know. Not yet anyway. I'll phone you if I think of anything." Barbara said with a sigh. "Don't worry too much Reese. Without the girls, this city is going to need you more than ever." With that she wheeled away.
"How are they?"
"Vitals are holding steady, and the Growth process is nearly completed."
"That's good news. The boss will be happy to hear it."
"Do you know why boss wanted those two girls out of the way?"
"No, I guess they might have been a problem."
"They're just two girls though, the one wasn't even eighteen."
"Yeah, well what the boss wants the boss gets."
"Heard that the boss doesn't want them dead though. What's going to happen if they are?"
"Don't know, and I don't want to know."
"What about our guys, what do you think happened to them?"
"No matter what the outcome, they'll be fine. After all, they're supposed to make sure that those girls stay alive, no matter what."
"It's time for the injections again."
"Do it."
Helena had broken the plane seat so that it would now lay fully back. Dinah was currently laying on it, her body raging with the pain from her back and shoulder. Her breath was coming in pants, anything larger seemed too painful, or made her feel like she would scream. The only good thing that had happened in the last few moments, was that her mind had regained some clarity. Blood still ran freely from her wounds, its flow only being lessened by the fabric of her clothing. Earlier, Helena had positioned her so that her back wouldn't be pressing into the seat; it brought only a small amount of comfort since she was positive that it would've hurt more to be laying face down.
"Why did I do that? I'm so stupid. I should've never left, I just should've toughed it out or something. I'll bet Helena hates me now, having to take care of me constantly. Why did this have to happen, isn't there some code where things like this can't happen to super heroes. It's not fair." She released a hiss of air after moving her shoulder, straining a few of the muscles. "Fuck this hurts. I can't even fend off some stupid wolves. I'm so useless, why does Helena even care if I live. I don't."
"Hey, I'm back. How are you?" Helena asked gently. She had just been outside collecting up everything she thought she'd need to treat Dinah. "Sorry, stupid question." She said after receiving a pained grunt in response. "I need to take off your shirt again."
"Al-always trying to get me out of my clothes aren't you?" Dinah joked. She knew that it wasn't really appropriate in the given situation, but it made her feel better emotionally.
"You know it." Helena returned. "But seriously now, I'm going to cut it off. I don't think that you should be moving too much." Helena pulled out the small knife that she had set aside and began her work. "I'll be honest with you Dinah, I don't really know how to treat something like this properly. I'm just sorry."
"Don't be so h-hard on yourself. It was my choice t-to l-leave." Dinah was trembling now her voice was unsteady. "It's my f-fault."
"That's not true and you know it." Helena said. The shirt was now off, but now a pesky bra blocker her. With a large, and very audible gulp, Helena cut the straps. "Chill Helena. It's not like it's the first time you've removed a bra, this shouldn't be any different." Helena mused.
"It is t-true. I'm being p-punished for my actions, just l-like they always said I would." Dinah stated as though it were a fact.
"Damn it Dinah! Stop saying that. Who said that you'd be punished? And who'd they say would punish you?" She paused in her work, wanting, or maybe needing to hear this.
"God. The Redmonds said that G-God would p-punish me." Dinah admitted quietly.
"What? Why?"
"I don't want to t-talk about it."
"Alright, I'll leave it alone. For now." Helena added silently. "Brace yourself, I'm going to need to move you a little to get your shirt and b- bra off." She stumbled a little over the word, almost oblivious to why, but now wasn't the time for an internal argument.
Lifting her uninjured side slightly, causing Dinah to wince, Helena pulled out the remnants of the clothes as quickly as she could. Dinah yelped in pain, squeezing her eyes shut to try and block out some of the pain. The bright colors that would burst from behind her eyes seemed to do a good job distracting her from the hurt. "Did I hurt you?" Helena asked.
"Yes, but I can d-deal with it." In truth, Dinah didn't know how much longer she could stay conscious. The constant fatigue that was plaguing her had finally started to win. Then she felt the cool water running over her back, it helped cool the fire burning on her skin. The cloth that came next, did not feel nearly as good. The rag felt rough, and scarped against her wounds. No matter how hard she tried to stop them, tears sprang from her eyes; it was getting to be far too much.
"Dinah, you don't have to be brave all the time. Cry, scream, or even pass out, just do whatever you need to help with the pain. I would give you some pain killers, but I don't know if it's a good idea right now." Helena's soothing voice, allowed Dinah to fall into slumber. Now Helena could continue working without too much fear or causing Dinah pain.
"Have you come across any new ideas, Miss Barbara?" Alfred asked politely.
"No. I've got nowhere to turn Alfred. There's nothing to even go on. They could've changed the flight path, speed, maybe they were turning when the storm hit, and there's nothing conclusive." Barbara sighed, covering her face with her hands.
"Perhaps, you're just not looking in the right place. Usually what one is looking for, is in the last place one expects it." Alfred spoke cryptically.
Barbara's head perked up. "What do you mean?"
"That you might try looking else where." Alfred answered.
An idea seemed to strike Barbara. "I think that I just got the craziest idea. Thank you Alfred."
"I do what I can, Miss Barbara."
Before Alfred had even left, Barbara began calling up the flight path given along with all the weather reports for that area. Something wasn't adding up, Barbara could see that right away. The flight plan that the company had given her, stated that a storm would be happening in that area, but all the weather reports said otherwise. "The path they gave me flies over several tropical islands, and they told me that the plane crashed because of a storm. All the weather reports say that it was bright and sunny. They've lied to me, there's no way that any of the information from the company is right." Barbara thought internally. "Alfred!"
"Yes, Miss Barbara?"
"Could you get Reese on the phone?"
"Of course."
Moments later, Barbara was having a serious discussion with Reese. "I need a favor."
"What for?"
"It has to do with the crash. I can find out all of the technical information myself, but I was wondering if you might help me out."
"Name it."
"I need some one trailed, Dr. Hector Freedman."
"I'll handle it personally." Reese assured. "Goodbye."
"Thanks Reese."
"You really do know how to fuck it up with the best of them Helena. You may as well have fed her to the wolves yourself." A quick glance at her hands told her that they were still covered with Dinah's blood. "Look at what you did, it's all your fault. I shouldn't have left damn it." She pounded her fists against the side of the plane, immediately pulling them away afterward, afraid that she might have woken Dinah. She slid down the hall till she was sitting with her back to it. "God, why do I have to be such a bitch? She's already got so much baggage at seventeen, and here it go adding some of my own to it. At least she did something while you just sat there twiddling your thumbs." Helena thought depreciatingly.
As her thoughts began to grow darker and darker, so did her mood. The bloodstaining her hands was maddening, a reminder of the guilt that she couldn't shake. " Reminder of what I did to her. She's going to hate me." That thought bothered Helena most of all. "I don't want her to hate me, but I don't deserve her love. All I've done is ignore her and yell at her, there's no way that she'll love me like I do her. Stop it stop it stop it! I need to stop thinking about that, it's not true, it can't be." A noise from inside brought her out of her thoughts, and she went to investigate.
"Dinah? Shit Dinah." Helena was now officially worried. In her sleep, Dinah had curled into a fetal position, and had begun to sweat and shake; the noise Helena heard was several of Dinah's whimpers and moans. Helena went in to try and rectify the situation. "Dinah it's okay, just calm down." Helena continued to soothe, but it had no effect on Dinah who was growing increasingly distraught. Their hands drew together, and Dinah clasped Helena's in a death grip, then, everything changed.
No longer was Helena in the jet, she was now in a house, it seemed to be one of those ranch style ones with only one floor. "Dinah?" She took a cautious step forward, unsure as to what would happen in this mindscape.
"What are you doing here? Get out of my head, you're not invited." Dinah insisted. Her response completely surprised Helena causing her to spin around, her breath a little harsh.
"You scared me half to death. I don't know what I'm doing here, you're the one that brought me." Helena accused.
"I did no such thing." Dinah stated angrily, and then more quiet with a scared undertone she said, "You have to get out, they're coming." Her eyes showed her terror, scarring Helena in turn.
"Who's coming?"
"Them." Was her only answer. She turned from Helena, her eyes wide, and then she vanished.
"Where'd you go?" Helena asked confused and annoyed.
"What did you do you little devil spawn?" Came an angry voice.
"I didn't- I didn't meant to. I'm sorry I'll do better just please don't, please." A small voice begged. It sounded familiar, and all at once, it hit Helena. That was Dinah.
"Don't you tell me what to do. This isn't my fault; I do not bring this upon you. God is punishing you, not me, and it's your fault that God is punishing you." The angry voice came again. Helena raced towards it, being confronted with an ugly sight.
There, right in front of her very eyes, was a young Dinah, and who she assumed was Mr. Redmond. That wasn't the ugly part though, oh no, it was worse than that. Dinah's eyes were red rimed, tear tracks staining her cheeks as Mr. Redmond continued to yell at her. Her body wore old bruises, and she looked far too thin for someone her age and height. Mr. Redmond towered over her, over this little, broken girl who was clearly terrified and ashamed, yet still he continued to yell while preaching.
"You have angered God, and as one of his loyal followers, it is my duty to punish you. Now come with me." He ordered.
"I didn't do anything wrong, honest. I can't help it please." The young Dinah continued to plead.
"Don't make this difficult girl. There is a reason you were left on my doorstep, and that was so that your stepmother and I could cleanse you of the evil that plagues your body and mind. Now you come with me, obviously the devil still possesses you." He grabbed her arm forcefully, dragging the small girl down the hallway, and into a room. Helena followed behind.
"Hey, stop it you asshole! She's just a little girl." Helena shouted at the man, but quickly realized that her voice could not e heard, it was only a memory.
"I didn't mean to go into mama's mind, I didn't."
"You get down on that bed girl, you know that you need to be punished." He ordered, and the young Dinah, although hesitantly, complied.
He opened the armoire, from it, pulling a worn leather belt; he snapped it, watching Dinah flinch. Helena knew what was coming, and she felt sick. "Take off your shirt girl." Once again, Dinah complied her hands shaking badly, then, she lay back down as if this routine was so familiar, she didn't need to be told.
The first lash was harsh, and unexpected, causing a resounding smack. He continued to flail Dinah with the belt, and Helena could only stare on in horror. Each hit left her feeling disgusted with these people, especially since they claimed that their work was divine.
Dinah was crying and screaming with pain from every blow. Her back was red, raw, and bleeding, the wide belt marks marring her young, pale skin. Then Mr. Redmond did something that Helena didn't think that even he, was capable of; he switched the side of the belt he was using. Now, he was laying into a little girl, with the buckle of his belt, reading off quotes from the bible (as near as Helena could figure, not having actually read it). After only two blows, Helena found herself unable to keep watching.
At last, the blows tapered off, finally stopping all together. The belt was returned to its place, and Mr. Redmond left the young, broken, bleeding, crying little girl alone. "Do you see why I don't want you to be here?" A soft voice asked from behind Helena.
She turned coming face to face with the Dinah she knew. "How can you deal with that? What he did to you in there was. . .unthinkable. How can you be so bright and happy all the time, after coming from," Helena gestured to the bed, "this?"
"I have to, it's the only way I know how to survive, to forget that it happened, and to erase it with better memories. I have to go now." Again, Dinah disappeared.
"Wait Dinah, please don't go." Helena called. "I don't want to be here alone." She whispered almost silently.
It wasn't over yet, after only a few minutes, Mr. Redmond came back. "Alright, it's time to get back up." The young girl moved as fast as she could, sliding off of the bed, and, to Mr. Redmonds insistence, put her shirt back on. "Let's go." They walked out of the room, and after a few seconds debate, Helena followed.
"Now you be a good little girl, so that Satan will leave you." He shoved her into the closet that they had stopped outside of. It was tiny, merely a broom closet with no light, and the only opening being that of the crack under the door. It broke Helena's heart to see Dinah being treated in this manner.
Muffled sobs came from inside the closet. Mr. Redmond had left long ago, but Helena stayed behind, hoping against hope, that the memory would know she was there, and would thusly, take some comfort in that. "I didn't want either of you to know."
"You're back." Helena stated plainly.
"Yeah, I am. I never really left, she is me after all."
"Right. I'm sorry Dinah."
"Don't do that, I don't want your pity. That's the last thing I've ever wanted from you or Barbara."
"How can I not? Sure, my mom died, but you've had it ten times worse than I ever did."
"Don't pity me, because I survived. I suffered through this, and I came out strong, in the end, I won, not the Redmonds. That's the one memory that I like to keep with my, my victory." Dinah explained.
"I suppose you're right. Is it over?"
"No. It never ends, not as long as I have the memories." Mr. Redmond came down the hall again. "Stay strong, if only for me."
"You can come out now." The door opened and Dinah stepped out. "God see your mama." He slapped her on the ass intending to make her move faster Helena followed in the little girl's wake, but not before sending a glare in Mr. Redmond's direction.
"Dinah you come in here now and lay down, but remember to take off your shirt." It was Mrs. Redmond. At first Helena thought that Mrs. Redmond intending to beat the girl as well, as it turned out she meant to clean Dinah's back. "Now if you would just stop letting Satan control you, this wouldn't be happening."
"Yes mama."
Rubbing alcohol was poured liberally onto Dinah's back causing her to scream, and Helena to coil in anger. Mrs. Redmond may have been cleaning the wounds, but that did not necessarily mean that she was not causing pain intentionally. "You're a dirty girl Dinah, and you need to be cleaned, but nothing we do seems to work. We think that we'll just have to try harder until God decides you're worthy to save." Mrs. Redmond continued to spout this nonsense the entire time she cleaned Dinah's back. Then she to left, leaving Dinah alone mumbling to God to save her from this.
Finally it ended, and Helena was transported back to reality, coming face-to-face, eye-to-eye with Dinah. "I'm sorry you had to see that."
"Don't be, it's nothing to be ashamed of Dinah. Like you told me, you survived, and that's something to be proud of." Helena praised. "Whatever the Redmonds said, I want you to know that it's not true, and that neither Barbara nor I will ever think that of you."
Notes: I hope you all liked it. If you noticed, it's about twice the length of normal, which is my way of making up for the long wait. This was supposed to be two chapters, but it works well as one. Please send reviews, I know that I'm not really worthy right now, but if you all could find it within the goodness of your hearts, I would really appreciate it. Once again all the readers kick ass even if you don't review, I just hope that you like reading my story.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Dedication: I actually have to dedicate this to helenakyle1 who gave me my very first review, and was a very large part of the reason that I started writing fiction for the birds of prey. Not only that, but also introduced me to the couple of Dinah and Helena. So, this chapter is for you.
"Dinah!" Came Helena's pained cry. It seemed to happen in slow motion. Dinah had spoken to her, and she almost felt like everything would be all right again, that it would all go back to normal, but the illusion was shattered. Instead of running into her arms, Dinah had collapsed, falling to the unyielding ground. A small whimper of pain escaped Dinah's lips as her back came in contact with the dirt and leaves. Helena was by her side in an instant, cradling Dinah's head in her lap. "Oh shit, Dinah."
"It hurts." Dinah whimpered. The pain wasn't horribly bad as of yet, and Dinah chalked that up to the adrenalin that was still remaining in her system. Sure, it still hurt, but she was more tired than anything else, her eyes begging her to close, but she refused to let them drop.
"I know Dinah, I know." Helena said softly as she brushed some of Dinah's hair off her face. Never before in her life had Helena felt so inadequate, so out of her league. She'd hurt Dinah so many times in one day, and she had no clue how to fix it. "If I didn't have such a friggin motor mouth than none of this would've happened. How am I ever going to make this up to you?" She thought softly. "What if she dies? It'll be my fault; I'll have killed her. I don't think I could live with that, knowing that I killed the one I lo. . . Okay, really not wanting to go there right now."
While Helena was lost in her thoughts, Dinah had been watching her face intently; so when Helena's turned to one of panic, she to began to panic. "Helena, am I going to die." She stumbled over the last word, afraid to actually get it out.
"What? No, no. I wouldn't let that happen, not to you." Helena comforted. "I need to say this Dinah. I'm sorry. About everything, about suggesting this trip, about having your first vacation be a plane crash, and about all my words and actions. I've been a major bitch to you."
Dinah tried to listen, she really did, but all of Helena's words were beginning to jumble together. The adrenalin had finally been flushed from her system as well, so the pain was coming on fierce and strong. Much of her concentration was diverted to deal with that aspect. "Hel, I need help." Dinah forced out between pain breaths.
"Right." Helena nodded. She moved Dinah, so that she could be picked up and then did so. Dinah's face was a grimace of pain, but she impressed Helena by emitting no sounds of pain. It wasn't until Dinah was safely nestled in her arms that Helena noticed how much she was bleeding. Her leather pants were slick with it, and it was now seeping into the fabric of her shirt. "Don't worry Dinah, I won't let you die."
Trying not to jostle Dinah too much, Huntress ran through the trees as quickly as she could. Small twigs were scratching at her skin, opening small cuts, but she found herself unable to care about that, all that mattered was Dinah's safety. Almost automatically her feet found the path, jumping over logs while barely having to think about it. Instead her attention was focused on Dinah, listening for any signs that something was going wrong. Every now and again she heard a whimper or a hiss, but she could deal with that, at least it meant that Dinah was still among the living.
"So, what was it that you wanted to talk about?"
"I have some news to tell you Reese, I didn't think it was fair for you to hear this over the news or anything. You know that Helena was going on a small vacation to get away from being Huntress for a while. Well, she took Dinah with her, and. . ." Barbara was beginning to tear up just thinking about it, but Reese needed to hear this, so she stayed strong. "The plane crashed Reese. They're missing and I don't know how to find them."
Reese looked dumbstruck. "Wait, what?"
"The plane crashed, I don't know how to find them, and I don't even know if they're alive." Barbara reiterated.
"That can't be right. I mean, it's Helena." Said Reese.
"Just because she's a person that we know doesn't mean that it can't happen. I just thought that you might like to know."
She moved to leave, but Reese stopped her. "Wait. Is there anything I can do?"
"I don't know. Not yet anyway. I'll phone you if I think of anything." Barbara said with a sigh. "Don't worry too much Reese. Without the girls, this city is going to need you more than ever." With that she wheeled away.
"How are they?"
"Vitals are holding steady, and the Growth process is nearly completed."
"That's good news. The boss will be happy to hear it."
"Do you know why boss wanted those two girls out of the way?"
"No, I guess they might have been a problem."
"They're just two girls though, the one wasn't even eighteen."
"Yeah, well what the boss wants the boss gets."
"Heard that the boss doesn't want them dead though. What's going to happen if they are?"
"Don't know, and I don't want to know."
"What about our guys, what do you think happened to them?"
"No matter what the outcome, they'll be fine. After all, they're supposed to make sure that those girls stay alive, no matter what."
"It's time for the injections again."
"Do it."
Helena had broken the plane seat so that it would now lay fully back. Dinah was currently laying on it, her body raging with the pain from her back and shoulder. Her breath was coming in pants, anything larger seemed too painful, or made her feel like she would scream. The only good thing that had happened in the last few moments, was that her mind had regained some clarity. Blood still ran freely from her wounds, its flow only being lessened by the fabric of her clothing. Earlier, Helena had positioned her so that her back wouldn't be pressing into the seat; it brought only a small amount of comfort since she was positive that it would've hurt more to be laying face down.
"Why did I do that? I'm so stupid. I should've never left, I just should've toughed it out or something. I'll bet Helena hates me now, having to take care of me constantly. Why did this have to happen, isn't there some code where things like this can't happen to super heroes. It's not fair." She released a hiss of air after moving her shoulder, straining a few of the muscles. "Fuck this hurts. I can't even fend off some stupid wolves. I'm so useless, why does Helena even care if I live. I don't."
"Hey, I'm back. How are you?" Helena asked gently. She had just been outside collecting up everything she thought she'd need to treat Dinah. "Sorry, stupid question." She said after receiving a pained grunt in response. "I need to take off your shirt again."
"Al-always trying to get me out of my clothes aren't you?" Dinah joked. She knew that it wasn't really appropriate in the given situation, but it made her feel better emotionally.
"You know it." Helena returned. "But seriously now, I'm going to cut it off. I don't think that you should be moving too much." Helena pulled out the small knife that she had set aside and began her work. "I'll be honest with you Dinah, I don't really know how to treat something like this properly. I'm just sorry."
"Don't be so h-hard on yourself. It was my choice t-to l-leave." Dinah was trembling now her voice was unsteady. "It's my f-fault."
"That's not true and you know it." Helena said. The shirt was now off, but now a pesky bra blocker her. With a large, and very audible gulp, Helena cut the straps. "Chill Helena. It's not like it's the first time you've removed a bra, this shouldn't be any different." Helena mused.
"It is t-true. I'm being p-punished for my actions, just l-like they always said I would." Dinah stated as though it were a fact.
"Damn it Dinah! Stop saying that. Who said that you'd be punished? And who'd they say would punish you?" She paused in her work, wanting, or maybe needing to hear this.
"God. The Redmonds said that G-God would p-punish me." Dinah admitted quietly.
"What? Why?"
"I don't want to t-talk about it."
"Alright, I'll leave it alone. For now." Helena added silently. "Brace yourself, I'm going to need to move you a little to get your shirt and b- bra off." She stumbled a little over the word, almost oblivious to why, but now wasn't the time for an internal argument.
Lifting her uninjured side slightly, causing Dinah to wince, Helena pulled out the remnants of the clothes as quickly as she could. Dinah yelped in pain, squeezing her eyes shut to try and block out some of the pain. The bright colors that would burst from behind her eyes seemed to do a good job distracting her from the hurt. "Did I hurt you?" Helena asked.
"Yes, but I can d-deal with it." In truth, Dinah didn't know how much longer she could stay conscious. The constant fatigue that was plaguing her had finally started to win. Then she felt the cool water running over her back, it helped cool the fire burning on her skin. The cloth that came next, did not feel nearly as good. The rag felt rough, and scarped against her wounds. No matter how hard she tried to stop them, tears sprang from her eyes; it was getting to be far too much.
"Dinah, you don't have to be brave all the time. Cry, scream, or even pass out, just do whatever you need to help with the pain. I would give you some pain killers, but I don't know if it's a good idea right now." Helena's soothing voice, allowed Dinah to fall into slumber. Now Helena could continue working without too much fear or causing Dinah pain.
"Have you come across any new ideas, Miss Barbara?" Alfred asked politely.
"No. I've got nowhere to turn Alfred. There's nothing to even go on. They could've changed the flight path, speed, maybe they were turning when the storm hit, and there's nothing conclusive." Barbara sighed, covering her face with her hands.
"Perhaps, you're just not looking in the right place. Usually what one is looking for, is in the last place one expects it." Alfred spoke cryptically.
Barbara's head perked up. "What do you mean?"
"That you might try looking else where." Alfred answered.
An idea seemed to strike Barbara. "I think that I just got the craziest idea. Thank you Alfred."
"I do what I can, Miss Barbara."
Before Alfred had even left, Barbara began calling up the flight path given along with all the weather reports for that area. Something wasn't adding up, Barbara could see that right away. The flight plan that the company had given her, stated that a storm would be happening in that area, but all the weather reports said otherwise. "The path they gave me flies over several tropical islands, and they told me that the plane crashed because of a storm. All the weather reports say that it was bright and sunny. They've lied to me, there's no way that any of the information from the company is right." Barbara thought internally. "Alfred!"
"Yes, Miss Barbara?"
"Could you get Reese on the phone?"
"Of course."
Moments later, Barbara was having a serious discussion with Reese. "I need a favor."
"What for?"
"It has to do with the crash. I can find out all of the technical information myself, but I was wondering if you might help me out."
"Name it."
"I need some one trailed, Dr. Hector Freedman."
"I'll handle it personally." Reese assured. "Goodbye."
"Thanks Reese."
"You really do know how to fuck it up with the best of them Helena. You may as well have fed her to the wolves yourself." A quick glance at her hands told her that they were still covered with Dinah's blood. "Look at what you did, it's all your fault. I shouldn't have left damn it." She pounded her fists against the side of the plane, immediately pulling them away afterward, afraid that she might have woken Dinah. She slid down the hall till she was sitting with her back to it. "God, why do I have to be such a bitch? She's already got so much baggage at seventeen, and here it go adding some of my own to it. At least she did something while you just sat there twiddling your thumbs." Helena thought depreciatingly.
As her thoughts began to grow darker and darker, so did her mood. The bloodstaining her hands was maddening, a reminder of the guilt that she couldn't shake. " Reminder of what I did to her. She's going to hate me." That thought bothered Helena most of all. "I don't want her to hate me, but I don't deserve her love. All I've done is ignore her and yell at her, there's no way that she'll love me like I do her. Stop it stop it stop it! I need to stop thinking about that, it's not true, it can't be." A noise from inside brought her out of her thoughts, and she went to investigate.
"Dinah? Shit Dinah." Helena was now officially worried. In her sleep, Dinah had curled into a fetal position, and had begun to sweat and shake; the noise Helena heard was several of Dinah's whimpers and moans. Helena went in to try and rectify the situation. "Dinah it's okay, just calm down." Helena continued to soothe, but it had no effect on Dinah who was growing increasingly distraught. Their hands drew together, and Dinah clasped Helena's in a death grip, then, everything changed.
No longer was Helena in the jet, she was now in a house, it seemed to be one of those ranch style ones with only one floor. "Dinah?" She took a cautious step forward, unsure as to what would happen in this mindscape.
"What are you doing here? Get out of my head, you're not invited." Dinah insisted. Her response completely surprised Helena causing her to spin around, her breath a little harsh.
"You scared me half to death. I don't know what I'm doing here, you're the one that brought me." Helena accused.
"I did no such thing." Dinah stated angrily, and then more quiet with a scared undertone she said, "You have to get out, they're coming." Her eyes showed her terror, scarring Helena in turn.
"Who's coming?"
"Them." Was her only answer. She turned from Helena, her eyes wide, and then she vanished.
"Where'd you go?" Helena asked confused and annoyed.
"What did you do you little devil spawn?" Came an angry voice.
"I didn't- I didn't meant to. I'm sorry I'll do better just please don't, please." A small voice begged. It sounded familiar, and all at once, it hit Helena. That was Dinah.
"Don't you tell me what to do. This isn't my fault; I do not bring this upon you. God is punishing you, not me, and it's your fault that God is punishing you." The angry voice came again. Helena raced towards it, being confronted with an ugly sight.
There, right in front of her very eyes, was a young Dinah, and who she assumed was Mr. Redmond. That wasn't the ugly part though, oh no, it was worse than that. Dinah's eyes were red rimed, tear tracks staining her cheeks as Mr. Redmond continued to yell at her. Her body wore old bruises, and she looked far too thin for someone her age and height. Mr. Redmond towered over her, over this little, broken girl who was clearly terrified and ashamed, yet still he continued to yell while preaching.
"You have angered God, and as one of his loyal followers, it is my duty to punish you. Now come with me." He ordered.
"I didn't do anything wrong, honest. I can't help it please." The young Dinah continued to plead.
"Don't make this difficult girl. There is a reason you were left on my doorstep, and that was so that your stepmother and I could cleanse you of the evil that plagues your body and mind. Now you come with me, obviously the devil still possesses you." He grabbed her arm forcefully, dragging the small girl down the hallway, and into a room. Helena followed behind.
"Hey, stop it you asshole! She's just a little girl." Helena shouted at the man, but quickly realized that her voice could not e heard, it was only a memory.
"I didn't mean to go into mama's mind, I didn't."
"You get down on that bed girl, you know that you need to be punished." He ordered, and the young Dinah, although hesitantly, complied.
He opened the armoire, from it, pulling a worn leather belt; he snapped it, watching Dinah flinch. Helena knew what was coming, and she felt sick. "Take off your shirt girl." Once again, Dinah complied her hands shaking badly, then, she lay back down as if this routine was so familiar, she didn't need to be told.
The first lash was harsh, and unexpected, causing a resounding smack. He continued to flail Dinah with the belt, and Helena could only stare on in horror. Each hit left her feeling disgusted with these people, especially since they claimed that their work was divine.
Dinah was crying and screaming with pain from every blow. Her back was red, raw, and bleeding, the wide belt marks marring her young, pale skin. Then Mr. Redmond did something that Helena didn't think that even he, was capable of; he switched the side of the belt he was using. Now, he was laying into a little girl, with the buckle of his belt, reading off quotes from the bible (as near as Helena could figure, not having actually read it). After only two blows, Helena found herself unable to keep watching.
At last, the blows tapered off, finally stopping all together. The belt was returned to its place, and Mr. Redmond left the young, broken, bleeding, crying little girl alone. "Do you see why I don't want you to be here?" A soft voice asked from behind Helena.
She turned coming face to face with the Dinah she knew. "How can you deal with that? What he did to you in there was. . .unthinkable. How can you be so bright and happy all the time, after coming from," Helena gestured to the bed, "this?"
"I have to, it's the only way I know how to survive, to forget that it happened, and to erase it with better memories. I have to go now." Again, Dinah disappeared.
"Wait Dinah, please don't go." Helena called. "I don't want to be here alone." She whispered almost silently.
It wasn't over yet, after only a few minutes, Mr. Redmond came back. "Alright, it's time to get back up." The young girl moved as fast as she could, sliding off of the bed, and, to Mr. Redmonds insistence, put her shirt back on. "Let's go." They walked out of the room, and after a few seconds debate, Helena followed.
"Now you be a good little girl, so that Satan will leave you." He shoved her into the closet that they had stopped outside of. It was tiny, merely a broom closet with no light, and the only opening being that of the crack under the door. It broke Helena's heart to see Dinah being treated in this manner.
Muffled sobs came from inside the closet. Mr. Redmond had left long ago, but Helena stayed behind, hoping against hope, that the memory would know she was there, and would thusly, take some comfort in that. "I didn't want either of you to know."
"You're back." Helena stated plainly.
"Yeah, I am. I never really left, she is me after all."
"Right. I'm sorry Dinah."
"Don't do that, I don't want your pity. That's the last thing I've ever wanted from you or Barbara."
"How can I not? Sure, my mom died, but you've had it ten times worse than I ever did."
"Don't pity me, because I survived. I suffered through this, and I came out strong, in the end, I won, not the Redmonds. That's the one memory that I like to keep with my, my victory." Dinah explained.
"I suppose you're right. Is it over?"
"No. It never ends, not as long as I have the memories." Mr. Redmond came down the hall again. "Stay strong, if only for me."
"You can come out now." The door opened and Dinah stepped out. "God see your mama." He slapped her on the ass intending to make her move faster Helena followed in the little girl's wake, but not before sending a glare in Mr. Redmond's direction.
"Dinah you come in here now and lay down, but remember to take off your shirt." It was Mrs. Redmond. At first Helena thought that Mrs. Redmond intending to beat the girl as well, as it turned out she meant to clean Dinah's back. "Now if you would just stop letting Satan control you, this wouldn't be happening."
"Yes mama."
Rubbing alcohol was poured liberally onto Dinah's back causing her to scream, and Helena to coil in anger. Mrs. Redmond may have been cleaning the wounds, but that did not necessarily mean that she was not causing pain intentionally. "You're a dirty girl Dinah, and you need to be cleaned, but nothing we do seems to work. We think that we'll just have to try harder until God decides you're worthy to save." Mrs. Redmond continued to spout this nonsense the entire time she cleaned Dinah's back. Then she to left, leaving Dinah alone mumbling to God to save her from this.
Finally it ended, and Helena was transported back to reality, coming face-to-face, eye-to-eye with Dinah. "I'm sorry you had to see that."
"Don't be, it's nothing to be ashamed of Dinah. Like you told me, you survived, and that's something to be proud of." Helena praised. "Whatever the Redmonds said, I want you to know that it's not true, and that neither Barbara nor I will ever think that of you."
Notes: I hope you all liked it. If you noticed, it's about twice the length of normal, which is my way of making up for the long wait. This was supposed to be two chapters, but it works well as one. Please send reviews, I know that I'm not really worthy right now, but if you all could find it within the goodness of your hearts, I would really appreciate it. Once again all the readers kick ass even if you don't review, I just hope that you like reading my story.