Chapter 4
Disclaimer: read the beginning
Lily regained conscious, feeling nothing but pain and soreness. Her vision was a blur, no doubt her glasses were taken from her, again.
She groaned heavily, forcing herself to sit up. Immediately, her elbows weakened, and her shoulder tumbled down on the bed, resting her splitting headache.
She didn't exactly remembered what happened the last few minutes or more. Though, she could feel long nails raking up and down her tangled hair. She gasped at the sharp but soothing touch.
"Lily, it's me! It's okay!"
The farm girl gasped for breath, her heart raced. Her hand reached out for her friend's fingertips.
"Marci," she whispered. "What... What happened?"
"You don't remember? My God, he did hit you - damn it."
He? Lily's mind spaced out, trying to find the bits and pieces of her memory. She last remembered waking up again, only to come face to face with a nine-year-old in a thirty-something-year-old man's body. The cramps indicated that she was indeed on her period. She remembered sitting on the toilet to prevent any messes.
Claire. Her best friend. Lily remembered her friend providing a pair of her own panties, so she won't suffer as much with Dennis.
Lily remembered her captor's face - Dennis. The pinched brows, the piercing blue eyes that held rage and hatred. This time the surgical mask wasn't hiding his mouth; it was a thin, tight straight line. His face was the last she saw before it was lights out.
Lily gasped, "He came back. He came back!" She slowly sat up, ignoring the pounding headache and cramps. Her hand roamed over the bed to find her pair of specs.
"We found a way out, until he showed up." Marcia explained shakily. It sounded as if she previously had an emotional breakdown. The grip around the hem of Lily's sweater showed.
Lily remembered. She was the one who was right behind Claire. She helped her friend up the vent to escape. Lily was close to joining her friend, until Dennis pulled her back. No doubt, he got mad and went after Claire.
"I told you it won't work, but you idiots didn't listen."
Lily wanted to punch the hooded girl's face for talking so negatively. They had a way out. Claire was the first to take the chance to leave. Did Claire make it out to get help? She took karate classes at the mall. Surely, she could kick the man's ass and escape, right? She's a fighter. She's the alpha. She'll make it out.
Lily can't say the same about herself. Dennis caught her and knocked her out cold. No doubt that he's mad, and would return for punishment.
"Where is he?!" Lily demanded.
"He is still out there," Marcia whimpered, tightening her grip.
"Did he close the vent?" Lily pushed herself off the bed, still searching for her glasses. She felt a pair of arms grasping her biceps. Lily let out a screech, until she was turned to meet white and black. The wicked witch herself..
The hooded girl shoved an item in Lily's hand. Her glasses. Lily put them on to see the lens cracked. Dennis must've stepped on them when he threw the punch. This was a nightmare. Now the farm girl lost sight, once again.
Lily growled in frustration, throwing the glasses across the room. Her eyes glanced at the ceiling - the black blur above. The vent. "We need to get out! Why didn't you all leave?! We must follow Claire, so we could escape like she did! Come on! We still have a chance before he comes back!"
Lily stepped on the bed, reaching her eyes out towards the vent, ready to make the jump.
"Claire didn't make it," the hooded girl stated bluntly.
Lily paused, whirled over the shoulder to face the girl in the corner. Did Lily hear that right?
"W-What?" Lily asked.
"Claire didn't escape," the hooded girl repeated. "He has her."
What did she mean 'he has her'? Lily refused to grasp the words, until she got the facts straight. Was she alive still? Did they not feed her to this 'he'? Did her companions see her?
"H-How did you know? Did you see her? Did you talk to her?"
"Lily..." Marcia was hesitant. Lily could tell by her friend's tone of voice that she had been crying, and trying not to cry now. "We... We heard her scream." The second she said that the emotions became overwhelming. "It was horrible."
Lily dropped down onto the bed in once bounce. Her friend. Her best friend was in the monster's claws. The fact that Claire wasn't here with her pack showed that she wasn't coming back. She was the monster's first course. Never to be seen again.
Lily let out a wailing cry, burying her face into her hands as she sobbed. She felt Marcia's arm around her, pulling her close. They both cried at the loss of their friend, their leader, their musketeer, their sister. Lily cried, regretting the things that were or weren't expressed. Worse, she didn't have the chance to tell Claire goodbye, or give her a hug before she went up the vent.
"We need to get out of here," Marcia whispered. "Please, God, let us leave!"
"We need to go up there," Lily gestured the vent. "We need to leave before he comes back."
"If we escape through that vent, our heads will be joining Claire on a pike!" The hooded girl broke the cries and mourn, putting her own insensitive two-sense into it. "They will find us, and hurt us with one punch, Lily."She hissed the name like it was a bitter taste to her mouth. As cruel as it sounded, the girl was right. Lily could feeling her cheek throb from where Dennis punched her.
"He knows that we know about the vent. He is expecting us to escape through there... Claire is not here! Do you want to join her on this guy's silver plate?"
Lily couldn't help but notice that the girl's tone of voice was almost as similar as theirs. Had she been crying too? Not that the girl would acknowledge it for she needed to take charge. Claire was gone, and somebody needed to take control of the pack. Marcia and Lily feared the girl in the corner, but was the reason that they found the vent in the first place. Even though, she risked punishment by intimidating the nine-year-old, the hooded girl proved that she wasn't afraid like the others.
Without saying the words alone, the two musketeers reluctantly declared the hooded girl as their new leader.
It seemed like an eternity until the lights switched back on, indicating that their captor has returned.
Lily saw the colors of navy and white. Dennis. He came back with a broken promise. She noticed that he was holding something. A large, brown square in one hand, and a red rectangle in the other.
"Huh. It seems like you three are smart, after all." He set the brown square down, causing a loud bang that made the girls jolt. Marcia and Lily held onto the other tightly, while the hooded girl was somewhere. In the corner, far away from her captor, maybe.
From the way he said the words, it's almost he was mocking them. Lily could picture him smirking at them, clearly amused by the sight before him. He felt the intoxicating power of fear. He felt like he was in control of them. He was the one who was holding the cards. Let the bastard and his loons think that... for now.
"W-Where's Claire?" Marcia asked in a quiet whisper, earning hushes from her companions.
The man took a dramatic huff, silently thinking of a response to the girls. Or he paused on purpose to keep the girls in suspense. Neither girl knew what's going on inside his head.
"Let's just say... that you won't see your friend again."
Just as everyone suspected and feared. Lily wanted nothing more than to scream at Dennis. Say that he was a son of a bitch; he should rot in hell; screw himself. No words escaped from Lily. All the words she wanted to say were trapped in her mind. She feared if she uttered a single word, she would join Claire's sealed fate. If Claire was here, she would want her friend to keep her mouth shut. That's what Lily did. She stayed quiet. All she could do was hold onto her friend sitting next to her, and join her in another round of sobs.
Lily's ears perked at the click, indicating that he locked the door behind him. It was clear that he was going to be here for a while.
"Think of her mistake as a lesson to not cross us. You all like to make fun of us, but we are more powerful than you think."
Shivers ran up and down the girls' spines at the man's husky words. Nobody dared question the meaning of his words. How many more personalities were inside the loon's mind?
Lily and Marica merely held each other's hands as they listened to the clang of the red rectangle (turned out to be a ladder for Dennis to climb on) and a grazing drill. They watched Dennis applied the brown square (that was actually thick dry wood) on the ceiling, sticking the nails on the ceiling, blocking their big chance of escape. Now the girls were back to square one: creating a plan to escape.
Lily groaned at the obnoxious drill. She held her ears and rested her head against Marcia's shoulder. It seemed like an eternity until Dennis finally covered the hole, and stepped down the ladder.
"What happened to the bed?"
There it was. Just as Lily feared. Dennis returned and questioned the missing fleece. The girls stayed quiet.
"Hello? Did I stutter?" he demanded. "What. Happened. To. The. Bed? Hm?" He approached the hooded girl, but no words were spoken. His stern face alone was intimidating. Lily was slightly thankful that she couldn't see him, but there was that fear of the unknown.
Finally, he turned away from her, moved towards the two huddled girls on the other bed. Lily averted his gaze back to the cold floor. The girls' grip on each other tightened as the footsteps grew louder, closer.
"Something happened to it. If someone doesn't come clean now, then you all will suffer a worse fate than your friend."
Tears continued to fall from Lily's eyes, soothing her throbbing cheek from where Dennis hit her. A pair of black appeared through Lily's blurred vision. He was standing before them.
"Patricia says you can't touch us," the unexpected voice retorted quietly. The voice that Lily didn't expect to here. Her new alpha leader.
She heard the man sighed, knowing that the girl's point was well made.
"Yes... she did. But taking away some privileges should suffice. How about no food for the night and morning? Hm?"
Lily's eyes widened, feeling the continuing throb of her cheek. No food? For tonight and tomorrow? She might as well die in this bed and let Dennis feed her to this Beast. Lily was thankful that her companions didn't throw her under the bus, but her stomach clenched with pain and starvation. There was a chance Marcia to die first, judging by the growls of her stomach. Miss Patricia's sandwich didn't satisfy, both quality and quantity. Though, it was food. Better than no food at all.
Dennis huffed his warm breath to the top of Lily's head, "Last chance, ladies. I will give you all the count to three."
Lily could feel his cold steel gaze on her. Did he notice the spot on her pants? She suppressed the urge to cover the evidence with a tug of her sweater, trying to avoid suspicion. If he did notice, he would've reacted in utter disgust, the same way when Marcia peed on herself. She was surprised that he didn't ask for Marcia's skirt. Maybe he might not ask for Lily's pants either.
"One..."
Lily took a deep, shaky breath. Her heart pounding loudly against her ears. Her empty stomach churned with unease. Her brain was screaming out the truth, but her mouth didn't utter a word.
"Two..."
'Just face the punishment, and get it over with!' Lily's mind screamed. 'Your friends will be with you, no matter what. Just say it, Lily!'
No matter how many times she wanted to tell the truth, the words didn't come out. Her throat was clogged by the burning, overwhelming emotion. Fear, sadness, pain. She couldn't. She remembered the last time when Dennis's undivided attention was on her. He yelled at her. She didn't want to hear him raise his voice, especially at her.
"Last chance," he uttered tauntingly.
But the unknown consequence haunted Lily's mind. What if she didn't confess, and Dennis knew that he lied to her? What sort of punishment could he do that was far worse than Claire's? Lily could easily write a list of the possibilities.
She took in another deep breath, physically ready to face the music. Her mouth opened about to exhale the words.
"Me."
Lily gasped back into holding her breath. She blinked a couple times, trying to figure out if she actually said the words or not.
"What?" he demanded.
Lily stayed quiet. Her lips tightly shut. Her lungs were burning. Her mind and vision was growing more fuzzy from the lack of oxygen.
"It was me."
This time Lily knew that she didn't say that. The voice uttered to her right. Lily swiftly gazed at her friendly sharply. Did Marcia said that? She didn't, did she?
"You?" Dennis asked the skimpy girl for confirmation.
"I-I'm sorry," Marcia's voice was hoarse, still crying. "I-I didn't know what to do... I... I'm on my period."
There was a pause. The girls waited for Dennis to react. Lily couldn't believe it. Marcia was taking the fall for Lily's mess. That was big from Marcia, the follower. The thoughts of what Dennis could do to her, after what he almost made her do, made Lily feel worse about herself. The girls around her were brave, while she was a mere coward.
"What?" Dennis asked. His tone changed. He was the demanding, disciplined leader, but a hesitant follower. He must not understand a woman's needs, nor experienced living with a woman before. This was the price for kidnapping young girls. A big mess.
No doubt Marcia's cheeks were burning. Talking about these kind of womanly things to a clueless, perverted guy was awkward enough.
"I'm on my... period," Marcia repeated with hesitation. "I bleed every month. This week was the time, I... I didn't want you to see the mess. I'm... I'm sorry! I'll clean it! I'll try and clean it! I-It's behind the shower curtain! Please! Please! Don't be angry! Please! I'll try to make it right! Please!"
There was another moment of awkward silence, waiting for Dennis to react. All they could hear was their breathing and his groans in utter disgust. What was he going to do next? No doubt Marcia was mentally preparing for the worse to come, worse than Claire's sealed fate.
Finally, the man made a response, after processing the information and plea from Marcia.
"I suppose you bled on your friend's pants as well, young lady?"
Lily held her breath, gazing down at where her red spot was supposed to be. He noticed. She was busted.
Suddenly, Lily felt her hair yanked upward, causing her to squeal and hold the tight grip. She was forced upright and dragged across the room.
He shoved her inside the bathroom, her body slammed against the sink and circular mirror, knocking down the flower vase. Luckily, no glass was shattered.
Lily tried to gain the ability to move and speak. She couldn't do either. She was still in shock of what was happening, about to happen.
Her fingers gripped on the edges of the sink until they turned ghostly, pale white. Her breathing shallow and heart raced as she could hear Dennis fumbling with the shower curtain and Marcia in the background screaming and begging him to leave her friend alone.
Lily screeched as she was forced to turn and face him. Luckily, her vision was a blur, couldn't make out the details of the horrifying beast before her. She refused to picture his face again, only the task was impossible. Her eyes closed, creating a vision of her captor crystal clear. That first day they met in the car. The surgical mask, the steel pair of eyes - all of it.
"Look at me," he commanded. His voice was hoarse and gritty, almost like he was in pain. No doubt the sight of the red spot on the fleece nearly gave him a heart attack. The dark part of her mind wished it did.
She winced as he dug his thumb and forefinger into her jaw, forcing her to look at him.
"Look at me, please." He firmly repeated with warning. Just like a scolding father.
Refused to know of Claire's sealed fate, Lily reluctantly opened her blurred, puffy red eyes.
"You are horrific, filthy impure, do you know that?"
Lily didn't understand the term he used. Impure. What did that mean? Someone who wasn't perfect? Wouldn't that make him 'impure' as well?
"Always make a mess wherever you go! Do you know how long it took me to keep this place for you all tidy? Can't you all show a little appreciation? Honored with this golden opportunity of meeting him?"
"I...I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Lily pleaded, holding onto the sink for balance. Her ears tried to close off the man's yelling. She can't stand the yelling. "Please! Please don't-"
"Let Lily go, you bastard!" Marcia cried, banging on the closed bathroom door. The door knob rattled, protests screeched, but Dennis didn't pay mind. He merely stood there, grazing his thumb across Lily's swollen cheek.
"Lily?" he whispered. "So that is your name?"
She winced at the cold contact. Tears dropped from her puffy eyes, once more. Her empty stomach twisted in a big knot while her heart was pounding when he said her name. The way he said the name was strange, different - compared to Benny whispering her name. Though his touch was similar to Benny's. It made her sick to her stomach. How dared Dennis to do this? Touched her like a handsome lover, when he was nothing but a monster underneath.
"How can someone like you can be named with something so... pure?"
The second his hand lowered, when his fingers glided across the chain around her neck, she slapped his hand away.
"Don't touch me!" She screeched, throwing slaps and kicks, doing everything she can to keep him away, while fighting the urge to throw up once more.
Dennis growled, backing away a few steps, much to the teen's relief.
"You are a mess, young lady," Dennis scolded. "Both soul and body."
The words alone held no comfort to the girl's moment of hope. Hope that she won't be punished, tonight. But the door was closed and locked. She was alone with him. The air was sucked from her, and the small space of the bathroom didn't help her recover.
Lily shut her eyes tightly again, turning her head from him, refusing to see his next move. A part of her regretted ever kicking him. What could she do? She had enough of his touches that should belong to the man she loved very much, especially the pendent she's wearing.
She heard him open the shower curtain and the water pouring from its head. She didn't like where this was going. He can't do this. Patricia said that he couldn't touch her, right? Wasn't she supposed to be the leader of this circus? What would she say when she hears about this? If she hears about this.
"We can't clean your soul, but that doesn't mean your body has to suffer."
Lily shook her head, while her knees tumbled onto the tile floor, "Please don't! I'm a virgin! I'm on my period!"
"Get up."
She yelped as she forced up on her feet, gripping onto Dennis's sleeves. Her hands wrapped around his wrists. Her mind focused on the muscles of his forearms. They flexed when his grip clenched with hers. She didn't need her glasses to see that Dennis works out. They were muscular and toned - like Benny's. The thought of her boyfriend's reaction when he finds out her death and suffering made her shake once more.
"Take off your clothes."
Lily gasped, completely horrified at his request, "No! I can't-"
"Don't make me ask again."
"N-Not with you watching." Lily's eyes lowered to see the flower and vase on the floor. She was tempted to pick up the vase and throw at him. She was stupid at times, but knew better than to tick the man off once more with another physical attack. Her throbbing cheek reminded her of the consequences.
The idea of causing harm was out the door, when Dennis picked up the flower and vase, placing back to its original spot exactly.
"D-D-Do you remember what Miss Patricia said? Y-You can't touch me. You t-tried to be good. Remember?" She let out a nervous, hysterical laugh, "Y-You said that, right? Being g-good? Right?"
"You are trying my patience, young lady!" he growled. "Take them off, or I will rip them off."
Lily's laugh subsided, turning into heaving breaths. She placed a hand on her chest, trying to calm herself. She squealed when he forced her hand away, placing both on the sink, back to her second position.
"I promise not to touch you." Dennis released her wrist to prove his assurance. He promised not to touch her? He already did touch her. More than once. Lily used the sink as leverage to keep herself steady. The cramps were unbearable. She could feel the wetness leak between her legs, staining her jeans, once more. No doubt Dennis noticed for she could hear him curse under his breath. It must've taken all his might not to scream and rip her clothes himself.
"I'll step outside. I expect you to come out clean with the sheet and jeans in your hands. Understood?"
Lily panted heavily, nodding her head immediately, refusing to upset him more. She was relieved to hear the door unlock with a click, but not before she heard Dennis's last words.
"Oh... and bring me your underwear as well."
Her eyes widened in horror. Her pants and her panties? No! Was she really supposed to go out there with her lower half exposed? Of course, he expected her to. He tried to make Marcia dance for him, after all.
The door opened. Lily listened to raging roars of her friend, who attempted to drill a hole on his skin with his tool. Unfortunately, Dennis was much stronger and faster than her. She watched the door closed and Dennis's navy body disappear, though jumped at the slap from Dennis and Marcia's cry of pain.
Without wasting any time, Lily stripped off her clothes and flushed away the bloody, toilet paper that was her pad. She stepped inside the shower with the fleece under her.
She hurried to clean herself up, noticing there wasn't any bottles in the shower, only a dispenser with two, different colored liquids on each vial - brown and white - shampoo and conditioner. It was hard to tell which was which.
She pumped the dispenser to the right, the brown liquid, assuming it was shampoo. She carefully tried not to let the warm water touch her face. Though, the task was impossible for streaks of water sprinkled on her bruised cheek, creating an inflamed, pounding sensation. She fought through the pain as she lathered her hair with both liquids.
Once her hair was washed, she moved onto her body, using the brown 'shampoo'. She took the opportunity to wash away the feeling of where he touched her. The arms, her face, her neck, and her chest. She shivered in the warm water at the thought of his fingers grazing close to her cleavage, her pendent, even though she was wearing a sweater.
No matter how much she suds her body, the feeling of him was still there. She tried to think of Benny's touch, how they spent their night at his senior prom, but it was replaced by him. Dennis was an absolute monster for twisting her mind, emotions, and body against her. It was sickening. She silently took a moment to cry with water overpowering her sobs.
What felt like forever that turned out to be five-ten minutes, a fist knocked against the door, making her jump.
"Hurry up in there! I don't have all day."
Refusing to thin Dennis's patience, Lily reluctantly turned off the shower. Blood was still dripping between her legs, unfortunately. She swiped the towel that was hanging next to the shower to dry herself. She folded the soaking wet fleece and her jeans, thinking she could show him that she was more than a messy farm girl, that she could be clean if she wanted to.
As she was folding her belongings, she noticed a thin cloth in the shower. She held it up in the light to see that it was her own panties. The faded red spot in the backside. Her eyes brightened with an idea in mind. Dennis wanted her underwear, she will give it to him; but Claire's panties stays.
She put on Claire's panties, ripping off squares of toilet paper to use as a pad. Once her hair was damp, no longer dripping wet, she wrapped the towel around her waist as a skirt. She dressed her sports bra, white camisole, and light green sweater.
She picked up the required, folded items from the shower, facing the door with anxiety. She was ready to face off her captor again.
Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and exited the bathroom with her head high but eyes low.
Nobody uttered a word of her presence, but Lily could feel heated eyes on her. She felt like the queen who walked into the king's court with a mix of fear and courage. Will the king have her head or spare her life?
She stopped her mid-step when she spotted the familiar pair of black. She reached her arms out, presenting the bloody mess for him to take.
"You have a towel as a skirt," he breathed out with amusement. "Shame. I thought I would see more."
"Sorry to disappoint," she grumbled quietly.
"What was that?"
Lily pressed her lips together, refusing to have another argument with him - if it was an argument, since Dennis did most of the talking and demanding.
"S-Sir," the hooded girl spoke. "I know we are not in the position to ask favors-"
"You're not," Dennis responded firmly.
"But at least, be reasonable. Please. Lily just started her period today, and it will only last for a week. Toilet paper isn't going to do much for her. At least provide her pads or tampons, and maybe a clean pair of panties for her. That way everyone will be happy, and the sheets and towel will be clean."
Lily gazed at the hooded girl by the mattress-less bed. She never thought that the girl would help her aid, only stand and stare. But she was thankful that the girl talked reason to their captor.
"Fine," Dennis declared.
Lily breathed out with relief, still not looking at her captor.
"But before I go..." he continued.
Lily shook her head, suppressing the urge to make a noise. What does he want now?
"You... Take off your shirt. And you take off your skirt. Clothes you got all dirty from the dust."
Lily's head perked with widened eyes. Was he talking to her? It was answered when she spotted reluctant movement in the corner of her eye.
"And you, young lady, peed yourself once." Dennis was now referring to Marcia. "I had to clean up your mess, because of you. I should've asked you to remove it from the start."
Lily listened to her friend's whimpers as she took off her skirt and stockings. The hooded girl didn't complain as much, handing Dennis her plaid buttoned shirt. Marcia handed her belongings to him, while covering her nether regions modestly.
Lily waited for him to leave, but that was just wishful thinking. Once again, he approached her, clearing his throat for her attention.
"Yes?" she asked quietly. He didn't say anything, or see him make any movement. "What? I can't see what you're thinking. I can't see at all!" Thanks to him breaking her glasses. She gasped and jumped back when she felt his fingers tug the hem of her sweater.
"I would like to have your sweater. You tried to escape through the vent, getting it all dirty. It's ruined. Remove it, please."
Lily bit her tongue, fighting the urge to cry again. How much more was she going to take from him. Her boots, her jeans, even her underwear, and now her sweater. Why couldn't he stop being a clean freak for one minute and let stuff go? He didn't ask for Marcia's underwear, why did he take hers?
She reluctantly grabbed the hem of her sweater, peeling it off from her body. Once she felt the cold air meet her skin, she immediately covered her chest protectively while rubbing her arms that developed chill bumps.
The camisole underneath covered her cleavage, but it was see through and short on the hem, exposing her bloated stomach and her white sports bra. She could hear her pants become frantic, but deeper. She took a moment to realize that she wasn't the only one who's heaving breaths. Dennis must be in heat of her half naked sight. She tossed him the shirt, and swiftly turned her back on him. She prayed quietly for him to leave.
Thankfully, he did without saying a word.
The second she heard the door close and the lights go off, gravity took over. Her knees stumbled on the ground, she clutched her abdomen, sobbing uncontrollably. She welcomed the comfort of her best friend - her only friend with opened arms.
"Are you okay?" Marcia whispered. "Did he hurt you?"
"He... He touched me..." Lily spoke frantically, attempting to catch her breath. "He can't touch me! Only Benny can touch me! He loves me! He doesn't! He can't... He can't..."
"Lily, it's alright! He can't hurt you now!"
"He did, M-Marci! He yelled at me! He yelled at me! He t-touched me!"
CLAP!
Lily yelped at the clap, holding onto her friend for dear life, shaking like a shivering pup.
"Shut. The fuck. Up."
Lily's eyes widened at the direction of the voice. The girl in the corner's voice.
"Can't you see the obvious to what's happening?" she asked the huddled friends.
"Y-Yeah," Marcia replied. "He killed Claire, and he took half our clothes!"
"He is trying to breakdown the barriers of our attempt to escape." The black jacket girl declared. "He is trying to intimidate us. Make us submit him both physically and emotionally."
"Wasn't that suppose to be part of our plan?" Lily asked. "Let him think that?!"
"Yeah, without actually doing it! We need to keep our guard up at all cost. If we become damaged now, we have no chance of escape. Claire made a mistake. We had an opening, but our timing is off. We need to be smart and find the right time to run."
"How?!"
"First, shut up!"
Lily closed her jaw shut.
"Two, I'll let you know. Just do what Claire would do... Pick your ass up and fight with everything you have. Don't let him break you... again."
'Don't let him break me,' Lily mentally scoffed at the idea. It was easier said than done. The hope that she once had was withering away. Dennis took a lot from her body and mind. How much more will he be willing to take before the Beast comes?
~000~000~000~
Hours later, the girls realized that Claire's death and sacrificing their clothes was just the beginning of their lesson. Their tummies rumbled and heads spun from starvation. It was clear that they would not be presented with sandwiches tonight. Lily felt terrible for her companions had to suffer for not coming forward with the truth sooner. Because of her lie, she was suffering far more than the other two. Her cramps made the torture worsen.
Couldn't their captors at least give her medicine or a TV to distract her? No. All Lily could do was curl into a ball on the bed, while having a conversation with her peers. The positive side of this situation was the amount of company. If she was locked in the room alone, she would go insane. She didn't want to be alone, she couldn't survive it. Her family, friends, Benny, and animals from the farm were all she ever needed in life. Without them, she was nothing.
She wondered how they were coping with her absence. Were they still searching for her? Was they all in the news? Did her parents get the FBI involved? Her head was pounding with all of the possibilities. Even in her torturous sleep.
...
After the fall down the hole, She was trapped in the Underworld, surrounded by cold and darkness when hell should be burning hot as the Bible described it.
She was dressed in rags the could come undone at any moment.
A shadow emerged from behind her, towering over her own. She didn't utter a word or make movement as hands roamed over her body. Her hips, the torso, the rib cage. Her breathing heaved when the hands reached higher towards her breasts. Her stomach churned with unease, clearly sickened by the touch of the grim reaper.
Though, she said nothing or did nothing to get away from him. In fact, her body responded to his freezing touch. She exhaled and opened her eyes to find that the hands snaked past her chest and up towards her neck, where the horse pendent took place. He grasped it tightly in his clenched fist. The stranger's head peered beside hers. His warm breath blew against her ear as he quietly commanded.
"Remove it, please..."
...
Lily jumped wide awake, seeing herself still in the dark, but the shadow dispersed. What happened was a dream, only it wasn't. It was a reenactment of what happened today.
She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to soothe the chill bumps from her skin. The warm breath of her sleeping friend, lying behind her, brought in the heat.
She scanned through the dark to find the girl in the corner, only to see a pale body by the foot of the bed. Since the other bed held no mattress or sheets and this bed can hold two people, the girl volunteered to sleep in the floor. She wasn't sleeping. Her body was sitting upright, staring at the wall to the bathroom.
Lily could hear her mumbles. She quieted her breathing, trying to make out what the girl was saying.
"We're not going to die... Bad things happen... but not like this."
The words alone proved, once again, that the girl in the corner was human. Not a monster. She maybe be emotionless with other people, show she doesn't care. But this was the first time that Lily has a chance to witness a different side of her, when she was alone.
Lily wondered more of the girl's story than the freak façade. No doubt in the morning, the girl will be calm and brave as normal. Maybe in time, the girl will open up, explaining why she acted the way she does. Before the Beast will come.
A click echoed in the room. Lily and the girl quickly returned in a sleeping position. Lily's eyes opened slightly, trying to make out the figure in the room. Was it the perverted, clean freak - Dennis, the properly dressed woman - Patricia, the lisp-voice child - Hedwig, or a new persona.
Judging by the posture and clothing, Lily assumed it was Dennis. There was no way she was going to get caught awake by him. She closed her eyes, attempting to calm her breathing. She waited patiently for him to close the door, but she could hear ruffles of a plastic bag, creaks of the springy bed, and moans from the girl.
Lily silently prayed that he won't come over to her. She repeated the words in her mind. The blood was pumping from her chest to her ears. Fortunately, her acting was better on the outside than the loud beating drums inside. She could hear his footsteps grew faint as the door closed with a silent click.
She opened her eyes slightly to find that her keeper was gone. She opened her eyes to see the changes in the room. A mattress was replaced on the bed with the pale girl's body resting on it. Two grocery bags were set on the floor. Lily slipped out of Marcie's embrace, ignoring the moans behind her. She took the bags into the bathroom to see what her captor provided.
Tampons and pads, everything a girl needs to survive a blood bath. Unfortunately, there was no medicine. That was the girl in the corner's mistake for not mentioning it, but to be fair, Lily didn't mention it either. Now she had to pay the price for her silence. She noticed something else in the bag. A box. Was it ibuprofen?
She held the box into the light, trying to read the bold print.
"Those are contact lens."
Lily yelped with fright, whirling around to face the girl in black.
"Scream any louder, and somebody might come and find us," the girl grumbled.
"I-I'm sorry. I-I thought-"
"I get it," the girl approached Lily, taking the box from her. "It says these are contact lens for night and day."
"How generous of them," Lily grumbled. She tried to wear contacts one time, but they were a pain to put in then take out. She stuck wearing glasses, because she believed them to be easier.
"I don't know how to wear them."
The girl next to her sighed, and Lily perked at the box being torn up.
"What are you doing?" Lily asked.
"I'm going to help you put them on. All three of us need to see to escape, right?"
Lily nodded, still unease of the girl, who tried to kill her with a paint bucket, would actually want to help her.
"I get it," the girl grumbled. "You're scared of me."
"No!" Lily denied. "No, I'm not."
"Sure. Okay. Bullshit."
Lily rolled her eyes, "To be fair... you come off as alienating at school. Like you don't want to be friends with anyone."
"Hmph, maybe that's what I want in the first place."
Lily furrowed her brows in confusion, "Why? Everyone needs friends."
"Well, everyone needs space, too. You, on the other, are an exception. You are the one who would die if you stay home alone for under five minutes."
Lily scoffed, "Hey! I never said anything mean to you! You can't judge me if you don't even know me!"
"Huh... maybe you should take your own advice."
Lily opened her mouth to argue, but no words came out. The girl was right. Lily can't judge her, if she doesn't know the person. She learned that ten minutes ago. There was more to Casey Cooke than meets the eye.
Instead of waiting for a response, Casey instructed Lily to sit down on the toilet, so she could put the contacts in. Not before she washed her hands, of course.
"Casey..." the name alone was strange to say. It was taboo, forbidden. Lily was almost reluctant to say it again. "Do you have any idea how to get out of here? Surely there is a passageway, or a door, or window-"
"Like I said," Casey widened Lily's lid making her eye twitch with discomfort. "I'll let you know... when the time is right." With that Casey applied the first, moisturized lens on Lily's eyeball. Lily yanked her head back, using her lids to move the lens till it reached its appropriate spot in the center.
"How does it feel?" Casey asked.
Lily noticed that half her vision was crystal clear. She couldn't feel the lens. It didn't hurt at all.
"I'm okay." Lily allowed Casey to work on the other eye. She couldn't help but smile, relieved to see everything again. "Thank you."
Casey didn't reply, only to hand her a box of pads for her to change out.
Lily took the bag, ready to kick Casey out so she could change. Her eyes took notice at the change of details on the sink. The flower in the vase. It was supposed to be carnation flower. Instead, a white lily flower took its place. Why?
"Look," Casey cooed. "Your name is in the vase. Your favorite."
Lily scoffed, "You don't know me either. I hate lilies."
"I know."
Lily furrowed her brows. How could Casey know her favorite flower. Lily offered a challenging brow. She didn't know it was her imagination, but she thought she saw a smile from the girl.
"It's sunflowers."
It's official. Casey was a witch. She looked at the other bag, widening her eyes to see what was inside.
"What?" Lily asked.
Casey lifted her arm from the bag, exposing a red thin, lace thong inside the bag. Lily didn't know whether to laugh or scream in horror, all she knew was that she wasn't wearing that under her towel skirt.
"I think those are for you," Lily declared sheepishly.
This time it wasn't her imagination.
Casey Cooke actually smiled.
A/N: Finally, Lily said her name! From now on, Casey won't be referred as 'the girl in the corner' or 'the girl' or 'the art freak'. What's going to happen in the next chapter? Did Claire actually died before the Beast emerged? You'll see.
Before I utter my thanks, I will to make a disclaimer: the idea of the period and Dennis getting Lily lingerie was actually inspired by another Split fanfic - Captured - written by Keirayoruici. Available only on Wattpad and archiveofourown. It is a great story, one of the best split fanfics I have read! For those who haven't read her story, I recommend that you go check it out.
Now I would like to thank: selenastarsparow1230 and Alyce DreamEater for reviewing. Also special thanks to the readers for taking the time to read and/or add this list to favorite and/or alerts. You guys, Rock!