Chapter Four

Almost four weeks. Liv Benson had miraculously managed to survive four weeks of nonstop beatings. To Olivia, of course had no idea how long it had been. To her, it felt like a lifetime. Her captors stopped feeding her after about the fourth day in this hell hole and they stopped giving her water about three days ago. Not only that, but they still continued to beat the information they wanted out of her.

Her torture wasn't just physical, it was mental also. She was forced to watch as the prisoners around were murdered in cold blood before her very eyes. When that didn't break down her defenses and make her talk, they continued the beatings. She couldn't even move without her wounds causing unbearable amounts of pain.

She constantly tasted blood, due to the fact that many of her teeth had been knocked out. At first, when she was first taken prisoner, she kept telling herself that it wasn't that bad, and that it could be a hell of a lot worse. She kept herself alive by telling herself that she was going to get through this, and be back with her loved ones in no time. She could get through this, despite the fact that every bone in her body hurt like hell and she couldn't take a breath without the unbearable pain from her broken ribcage.

About seven days later, however, she gave up that notion. The men that had taken Liv captive moved from breaking her bones to stabbing and whipping. She had a long gash up her back that wouldn't quit bleeding no matter what she did. The bleeding eventually slowed down, but it always bled fresh each time she moved.

Lately, however, there was no movement from the detective. She lay on the cement ground bloody, broken, and shaking. She was breathing, but it as ragged, and could only be heard if you were standing close to the cell. Other than her jagged breathing, she hadn't moved for almost two days. Her captors tried waking her up by throwing chips of dry ice at her, but that didn't work. She was as good as dead, so, they left her where she lay to die.

Later that night, the sound of running and shouting could be heard for miles. "Check every room in this god damned building! Arrest anyone you find and tell me ASAP if you find her," shouted Elliot, as the men scattered. The orders sounded strange to his ears, but at the same time, sounded so familiar. He prayed to no god in particular that they would find Olivia and, if it came to it, give her the proper burial she deserved. He hoped and prayed that wouldn't be the case, that they would find her alive, but, with the ways things looked, he wouldn't get his hopes up.

"CAPITAN! ELLIOT! WE FOUND HER!" Fin yelled. He ran down a particularly dark cell block, his flashlight waving like mad between each cell. He almost ran past her without a second thought (everyone else in the cellblock was dead.) He was certain the person in this cell was dead also, but, when he went up closer, and turned the body over gently, to his horror, he realized it was the bloody, broken body as Liv Benson. She was alive, thank goodness, she looked like hell, she was shaking badly, and her breath was jagged and labored and her pulse was very weak, but she was alive.

Hearing the news, Elliot turned and ran up the cell block he was in towards the next one where Fin had made his gruesome discovery. He skidded to a halt, almost knocking Cragen over when he saw the condition of his partner. Tears burned in his eyes as Fin looked up at him in horror.

"My god, Liv. What have those bastards done to you?" Elliot whispered as he looked down at Liv's almost unrecognizable body. She was very thin, pale, bloody, and broken. Elliot saw the marks where the whip tore away at her skin and he also saw how badly she was shaking.

Elliot picked her up bridal-style, earning himself a groan from the dying detective as his hands grabbed at her broken bones. He tried shifting her in his arms, but it didn't do much good. Fin tried to take her from him, but he was met with a mixed look of determination, grief, horror, and anger.

"We need to get her out of here now. She needs to get medical help fast or she's not going to make it," said Elliot as he ran as fast as he could with Liv in his arms. There was an ambulance outside waiting for them, ready and waiting to take the dead or dying to the hospital or morgue (whichever was appropriate.)

"She's cold," said Elliot, as he climbed in the back of the ambulance. He rested Liv's head on his lap and stroked her bloody cheek. Fin, who had also climbed in with Elliot handed him a nearby blanket as the ambulance jerked to life. One of the medic who was standing by, looked down at Liv with a look of admiration, his young face pale. He had heard of the brave Olivia Benson, but it was such a pity she had to be seen this way. The tech moved what remained of Liv's shirt aside to begin cleaning her wounds. As much as he wanted to help, there was little he could do in the back of an ambulance.

"I don't think she'll make it through the trip to the hospital," the tech said to Elliot, who was still holding on to Liv's body. He wasn't about to let her go. He made that mistake once already. She couldn't die, not now, not here when he could have stopped this whole fucking thing from ever happening. He held her in his arms against the bumps in the road. She looked so frail and fragile, and he could do nothing to help her. "Don't leave me. Don't leave me, god damn it. You say with me, ok?" Elliot whispered into her ear, hoping that she would hear what he said.

"Don't you even think about leaving me. I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you," he said as tears fell onto her battered bloody face.

Her eyes opened for a few seconds, looking up at Elliot and over at Fin. He didn't think he'd ever see her dark eyes open again, but she was looking at him. "Hang on a bit longer, Liv. Hold on for the SVU, hold on for me," he whispered again, as she violently shook in his arms.

They hit a nasty hole on the road and she gave a yelp of pain as she closed her eyes, leaving the conscious world behind her again. He held her tighter, brushing her matted hair out of her eyes. "Don't worry, everything will be alright," he whispered. He said it, not only to comfort her, but also to comfort himself.