Soul Mates, Part 1 Ch 5:
Nightmares

I'm here, love. What's happened?

Ailia stumbled backwards. She fell, falling onto her back, and crawled into the closest corner. She closed her eyes, but the image of Carrie and Oreo, lifeless in front of that creature, was burned into her eyes. She wrenched them shut until she was seeing spots behind her eyes.

Please...I'm at home. I need you.

I'll be there in five minutes. Stay with me, love.

He drove, not caring about speed limits or stop lights.

It was early in the morning. His car clock blinked 6:28 at him. The streets were devoid of vehicles, mostly early-shift people only just waking up with the sunrise. It was chilly, but not unbearable. Fog and dew covered the ground still, not yet burned away.

She was still with him in his mind, but no longer responding to the thoughts he sent her. Whatever had happened was a nightmare, and she was in shock. Her fear had woken him, but once again he could do nothing to protect her. He slammed on his steering wheel in frustration. Why was he so goddamn useless? First the Mustang, now whatever this was - which was worse. He made a vow to himself that she would not leave his side after this. She was a magnet for trouble on her own.

He drove up the road and pulled into her driveway. He got out of the car and ran up to the door. "Ailia?! Ailia!" He twisted the door handle. It was locked. "Ailia, please, let me in!" His lupine hearing picked up a soft whimper coming from inside.

He stepped back from the door, and kicked it. The flimsy, ancient lock seat tore from the door frame, and the door swung open.

He was in her kitchen. Pots and pans littered the floor, and in the back corner, Ailia was curled into a ball. She didn't give any sign of acknowledging him coming into the house. He looked around, and his eyes quickly found the two bodies in the doorway to the next room. He walked over to them, and quickly took in the pale, tight skin and the bite mark on the old woman, which instantly told him that a vampire had been here. Looking over the cat, he found its spine broken and a bite mark in its neck, just above the chest. His face filled with anger and disgust.

Vampires were beings of pure darkness. Born of shadow, most of them had to avoid direct sunlight or risk burning to death. A few of the ancient ones could survive the sunlight, and those specific ones, known as Daywalkers, wielded powerful magic. They were constantly on the hunt for victims, and had an attraction to those who had magic in their blood. They were incapable of love, and very rarely showed mercy. Those who found themselves lucky enough to survive an encounter with a vampire were forever scarred, a darkness forming in their hearts from being with such creatures.

He walked back to the kitchen and sat next to Ailia, pressing himself gently against her side. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, leaning her against him, and rubbed her arm gently. She gave another whimper. He looked at her; dull, unfocused silver blue stared back at him. His heart broke for her, understanding the pain she was experiencing.

Ailia lowered the wall between their minds.

He was overwhelmed as a tidal wave of emotion crashed into his mind. Something in her, something desperate, had given way, and whatever reservations she had had before didn't seem to matter anymore. All of her memories and emotions played before him. Slow and scattered at first, they eventually increased in both clarity and frequency.

She was surrounded by her little brother and their foster family. Her foster mother, her foster father, and all of the other foster siblings old enough to walk, were all around them. A camera flashed once, and then again. She gave everyone a hug, and then hopped into the red minivan her grandparents had brought. She knew she was leaving for good. She only hoped that she and her two-year little brother, Nick, would be able to make a lot of awesome, super fun memories with their grandparents like they had done when they had come to visit them. She waved at the foster family as the car backed out if the driveway.

Time had passed. Her three-year older brother, Reiley, had been reunited with them at her grandparent's house. She was in the kitchen with Nick when their grandfather stormed in. Someone was in trouble, for something he hadn't liked. He went straight for the young boy, who could not have been older than eight. The old man's large hand came down, slapping him in the back of his head in rage and knocking his glasses clean off his head. As Nick started to cry from the sheer pain, their grandmother walked into the room. The kids had quickly learned by this time that the old couple cared nothing for them. And, true to form, she yelled at her husband for knocking his glasses off - because she didn't want to spend the 300 it would cost to get him new ones if they broke. Ailia watched from the corner of the room, unable to do anything to help her little brother without getting a beating herself. For over a decade, the children lived in fear of their grandparents.

More time passed. Reiley cared nothing for his younger two siblings, and often spent his time shut in his room. He would spend his time playing video games or on a laptop computer, staying away from the two old crones as much as possible. He was slightly annoyed when the younger two joined him in learning karate with him at the martial arts academy of their neighborhood in Connecticut. Ailia found the venture exciting, and was old enough to realize the importance of a girl learning self defense. Nick didn't approach it with as much vigor, but still dedicated himself just as well. Their father often took them to and from classes, on the days he was allowed to visit them, and even went as far as to join them in learning and make the kids custom bo staffs. It was almost a family event.

The kids grew older. Suddenly, Ailia found herself dealing with a rapidly growing body that she couldn't control. Her breasts developed rapidly, and her butt filled out. She accelerated into puberty at a rapid pace. Doctors tried to slow her growth rate, with seemingly mixed results. She struggled to complete the athletic tests the school administered to the kids, unable to complete push-ups or run the mile in an acceptable average time without being in pain. She knew the kids whispered behind her back about her every time she had to complete these tasks. "Chubby." "Gross." "Pathetic." Their words stung, but she shut them out. All of them. She didn't need them, or their approval. And so, she became a loner. Those who did interact with her were kept at an arm's length, and stopped coming over to her house to play. It was better this way.

Someone else had taken notice of her rapidly developing body as well. Reiley, once indignant about having nothing to do with his two younger siblings, took a sudden interest in his sister's growing body. He, being three years older, was already more aware of the changes happening, and her growth served as an outlet for his ongoing sexual frustrations. At first it was just a grope here and there, to cop a feel of her body, in exchange for spending time with her and helping her out with her own video games. He quickly progressed to sitting behind her as she played, grinding his insatiable, hard dick against her ass. He got caught by his grandfather and yelled at multiple times, but none of the kids cared about their opinions anymore. If anything, it served to make them defiant, and Reiley would eventually get right back to it. He began to pull their pants down and grind himself on her bare ass, while grabbing a breast in each hand. Ailia never knew it was taboo, and Reiley never told her.

And finally, one day he couldn't hold himself back any longer. She was about twelve, and he was fifteen. He lay behind her in her bedroom as she focused on her GameBoy. He ground his hard cock against her petite ass. He needed her to be full of his cum, to be spoiled by him before anyone else. He ran his hand down her leg, and grabbed her thigh, lifting it into the air. Ailia looked back over her shoulder at him, curious as to what he was about to do. Holding her right leg in the air, he ground his cock against her small slit. He was rewarded with a wetness that seeped out of her body, responding to his touch instinctively. She wasn't aroused, by any means; she hardly knew what he was doing. He guided his cock, dripping pre-cum all over, and pressed against her vagina. Her virgin hole resisted desperately, but he was persistent. He saw the tears form in her eyes and knew she was in pain from an improper preparation. He didn't care. He kept up, and eventually it gave. He moaned into her hair as he slid into her, taking her virginity. He wrapped his arms around her, grabbing her breasts, and held her in place as he began to thrust. She whined as her young sex stretched to accomodate his cock. He buried himself to the hilt, and held it there as she began to silently cry. He pulled back, leaving just his head inside her. It was streaked with blood. He had broken her hymen in one go. He thrust forward again, another whimper as he bottomed out inside her. But it had gone smoother than the first thrust. He pulled back, and thrust again, not harder but faster. He gradually picked up the speed until he was full-on fucking his little sister. It seemed to never end. Over and over, he pounded into her. Ailia lay there, limp and unmoving, pain in her hips and vagina. Finally, with a few thrusts and soft grunts, she felt him bury himself to the bottom, twitching and pulsing inside her. They both laid there for a few minutes, until he stopped twitching. He pulled himself out of her, covered in his cum and her blood. He got up and headed to the bathroom to clean himself off, leaving her alone on her bed cold, bleeding, in pain, and confused.

He continued to touch her sexually after that encounter, but he never tried to have sex with her again. Not that it mattered; the damage had been done. Ailia avoided almost everybody. Even when the three kids were removed from their grandparents' house the next year, she said nothing of it. Someone must have said something, however. All the adults ended up in court. She learned that her grandparents had been charged with abuse and neglect of the three children, but had been found not guilty on the grounds that they "looked like upstanding, proper old people." Reiley was charged as an adult at the age of sixteen, and was given thirty years' probation and a permanent sex offender mark on his record. Ailia herself was put on probation for two years, but let off nine months early due to her good behavior. Reiley was sent to an institution, Ailia was sent to live with her mother she barely knew, and Nick went back to their foster family. She never saw Reiley again.

Time fast forwarded again. Ailia had had three years of intense therapy and reintegration, learning how to do simple chores and care for her kitten she named Oreo. Her mother, a dwarf like her, was incredibly warm and loving, and provided for her as best she could alongside her transgender partner, Carrie. Her mother told her of how her father also had a sex offender record, after her mother had reported him at a women's shelter. He apparently had a history of abuse, harassment, stalking, and rape, and didn't matter if any of it occurred in front of his infant children. It was almost like it was passed down through the family on her father's side. He had been caught with child pornography on his computer after the Department of Child Services had come to investigate a photograph he had taken of Ailia and her mother. The incident resulted in her divorcing him, which led to Ailia and her siblings being in foster care in the first place. Ailia grew to resent her father, who was intent on using her instead of protecting her.

Seven years later. She was 20 years old at the time. She, her mother, and Carrie had moved into their current house, a 150 year old antique in the historic Victorian section of the city. She commuted to and from college by bus, slowly learning to be more independent. But at this point in time, it was the middle of summer. July was just around the corner. Ailia woke up one morning, later than she had expected. Her mother had taken to waking her up around 8am to go out and enjoy the summer, but at this point in time it was already 10am. Ailia got up groggily, making her way down the stairs to the kitchen. A glance through the kitchen window told her that her mother's car was still in the driveway. A survey of the downstairs floor showed that her mother wasn't there. She wasn't in either of the spare rooms upstairs, either. She must be busy in her room, Ailia decided. She left it alone. They had an unspoken rule in the house - she didn't go into their room, and neither her mom nor Carrie came into her room. She went back to her room, and spent the next few hours on the internet chatting on social media. Hours later, Carrie came home. She must have shed her purse, backpack and coat. She made her way up the staircase past Ailia's room towards her own. And a minute later, Ailia heard Carrie scream. The older woman had come home to find her spouse dead. It was unclear as to why or how, but Ailia's mother had hanged herself from the four-poster bed using a BDSM collar and some chains. There had been no signs, no red flags, no indication that anything had been wrong. She was simply there one day, and gone the next. It was ruled as an accidental suicide.

Ailia was sobbing in his grasp. Still silent, except for an occasional whimper, but her tears could not stop and her breaths came in heaves.

She found a gentle soul online named Liisma. She kept in touch with him, and they slowly fell in love with each other. It was difficult, as she was in America and he was Estonian. But she made sure to keep in touch with him as much as possible. She started learning Estonian, alongside other languages. He promised to provide for her, and started studying intensely. His communication started dwindling. She would hear from him every other day...every few days...and then once a week. She held out hope, and excused it as him just being busy. She told him how much she missed him, and how much she wanted him, leaving him messages day after day. He would answer her once every few weeks, and then maybe once a month. She couldn't take this weird, non-relationship. Nine months after they had first confessed their love to each other, she confronted him about his constant absence. And he screamed at her. He screamed at her for not having faith. He screamed at her for not being able to be patient and wait for him, while he got a job in America to be with her. He screamed at her for not being there and recognizing all he had sacrificed for their relationship.

She had cut Liisma off after that. She no longer cared, no longer wanted or desired him. He had broken her. She was highly suicidal, and was always cutting her skin, to bandage a physical wound for an emotional one she could not withstand. She wanted to die. She almost got run over by oncoming cars, a few times. Something kept her from committing to death, however. She didn't know what exactly it was, but there was a flicker of hope still inside her. So she just kept cutting herself, letting it heal, and cutting again.

She eventually found another man named Daniel. He was like Liisma, older than her by a good gap, but he was American. Still long-distance, as he was halfway down the coast of the country from her. With Carrie's help, she was able to visit him in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina twice, staying a week each time. He was a metalhead, and they shared a love of music. But, like Liisma, his life was leading him in another direction. He eventually decided after a year that he wanted to get back together with his ex-girlfriend over Ailia, and get married. And so he dumped her, and left her alone again.

That final rejection gave birth to her alter egos. Loathing was born of her pain and anger, and wanted to lash out at everyone and everything. She wanted nothing more than to see everything around her burn, and trusted no one but herself. Loathing didn't even trust Ailia, and Ailia's hope and trust in others angered her immensely. Loathing knew what was best for them, and would do whatever it took to get revenge and power. Her other ego was also Ailia, but an infantile version of her. At about five years of age, this Ailia was innocent. This Ailia wanted kindness, peace and happiness for everyone. She despised anger and fighting, because she knew it would only make her and the ones around her sad and frightened. This Ailia knew of the bad things in the world; after all, she had seen them too. But she chose to hope and believe in the goodness of people, and this little Ailia is what had kept her alive through all those years. This Ailia desperately needed comfort and love, and always sought it out.

The mad stream of thoughts and memories ended abruptly. Luke turned to see Ailia leaning against him, having passed out in his embrace. She had exhausted herself, and her brain had shut down to let her rest.

He found tears in his own eyes. She had been through two decades of abuse, sexual assault, death, and heartbreak, all on her own. She was a survivor, and he was proud of her. He lifted her gently onto his lap, holding her to his chest, running his fingers through her short hair and letting his own emotion wash through him. He cried for her pains, her losses, and her self. She would be work. He would have to work within her boundaries, and gain her confidence one piece at a time. But he was ready to give her the world, and he had all the time he would ever need. He wasn't too sure about the alter egos, but he'd have to deal with that when it came to it.

He pulled his phone out and speed-dialed a number. "Garrett? It's Luke. Yeah, I have a favor I need of you. I've got two bodies at 1203 Cherry Street. Yes, Ailia Weiss's home. She's fine, it's her aunt and her cat. Vampire got to them," he glanced at his watch, "about twenty, twenty-five minutes ago. I'm taking her with me. She won't be alone again."