Jupiter

C H A P T E R|| E I G H T E E N

My dear mother left me
When I was quite young
She said, "lord have mercy on my wicked son."

J u p i t e r

This was nothing like the memories that clouded my vision, dooming me to the impending fate that I was never going to escape the nightmare that was my past, no matter how hard I tried to outrun it. It was worse, a lot worse than I had remembered it being. Last time I had bled at the hands of my mother I was young and impressionable. The love I still had for her ran deeper than any cut she'd enforced upon my already broken skin.

Now all I had was a burning anger within me the second she forced the needle into the protruding vein in my arm— courtesy of the dehydration she had forced. The second her eyes shimmered with hope when my blood started pooling within the bag. Kali was far from done with me. She had taken it away like it was the cure for mankind— the irony caused a wicked smile to pull at my lips—leaving me here in the darkness yet again while she fled the room, holding the thing most important to her—That was meant to be me. In reality, she only cared about what I had to offer her. In Kali's case, it was her antidote. For a short while anyway, until she inevitably needed more.

Beatrice and a man I didn't recognise entered the room to fed me, almost in desperation for the next few hours. Almost like they were fattening a cow for slaughter. I had witnessed a few slaughters in Jackson. I had also participated in one too. It was a regular occurrence to keep us well fed when all the other food had run dry. Tommy didn't like killing our cattle for nothing. It has to be done, he had told me. But the way his grip faltered on his knife told me otherwise. I grabbed it myself and left him outside. The job was done in less than an hour, and Tommy had never looked more grateful. I wondered if it was as easy for my mother and her companions to do this to me, as it was for me to drive the knife into that cows neck. Maybe I had my mother to thank for that part of me.

Neither of them spoke as they lifted blood and dirt soaked hands to spoon feed me various foods. Green vegetables, potatoes, meats that I wasn't too fond to know the origin of. I hadn't eaten like this in Jackson for weeks, so by the end of my first plate and the start of my second, my stomach was in tight knots. I started shaking my head vigorously when the man I didn't know lifted a bread roll to my mouth. It looked fresher than what they had been giving me before, and my mouth almost salivated. But I knew if I ate that then I'd burst wide open and spill on the floor. Maybe Kali would slurp me up by the time I was too far gone.

"I can't," I whispered, turning my head away from the bread. He pushed it closer to my mouth, hitting the side of my cheek in the process. My eyes caught a glimpse of my arm, the needle, the throbbing, protruding vein they were drawing blood from. I almost hurled. The man pulled away.

"You have to eat to keep your strength." He said simply, the words spilling from his pouted lips, contradicting his actions as he dropped the bread onto the almost empty second plate of the night.

"Why would I need strength?" I said indifferently, I tried to shrug, but my shoulders were too weak to lift. I opted for staying completely still. Whoever the man was— more like a boy— he was right. Even though my stomach was full, my body was sluggish and useless. I needed to try to fight. I'd die trying to fight.

He didn't say a word, just flickered his eyes to the other side of my body of where the girl was sat. Him on the left, Beatrice on the right. Still, she hadn't spoken a word to me, still, she stared at me like I was prey and she hadn't tasted flesh in years. Still, I was just as terrified as I was intrigued by her presence. I didn't know why, but she was the most familiar person I'd seen in days.

"To fight." She whispered softly, as if there were ears and eyes everywhere in the room,"She told me you could fight."

"Who?" I asked forcefully.

It was the man who spoke, his gaze still on Beatrice,"Our sister."

My face scrunched in confusion, but my lips ceased movement as I began to speak. My vision cutting in and out as blood was drawn from my arm yet again. I hadn't realised Beatrice returned the needle to its previous position in my arm. I could've sworn at her, but something told me it pained her just as much to enforce it.

My skin burned where her fingertips poked and prodded, but I did not cower. What she had said was true. Kali would stop at nothing to get what she wanted. I just had to fight harder. Dirtier. I had to find Ellie. Joel. Tommy. I had to find my Family.

Darkness clouded my vision. The empty void singing my name as Beatrice and the man left once again. The plate of half eaten potatoes and bread still left in their wake. I could hear it calling me—the place we go, wherever we go, when we die. I had heard it all before. I had been young and broken when death whispered my name like this. I had willed it to pull me under and to make all the hurting stop.

I didn't want it now— no. Now I had something to fight for. I had a home and friends and a family waiting for me. I had Ellie waiting for me.

My eyes felt like sandpaper as I forced them open just once more. I could try just once more.

I hadn't moved my body in what felt like weeks. Maybe it had been weeks. My legs screamed in agony when I twisted my hips and scooted by body closer to the wall I was propped against. My burning eyes flickered to my arm and I fought the churning in my gut at the sight of it. Bruises littered where Beatrice had forced the needle through my flesh. Dry blood littered the area. I gulped down a quick breath to steady the food threatening to expel from my body once more and then— a knife. The knife the man had used to cut the potatoes laid on the ground in plain sight. Blood pounded in my ears. Tears pooled in my eyes.

The whisper of death stopped.

Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow.
I'm honestly shocked at how many people have been liking this and all I can say is THANK YOU!!

It's hard to admit but I honestly lost all inspiration to continue writing JUPITER..... actually I haven't even been on Wattpad in what feels like years but when I opened it back up and saw how much y'all are enjoying...... it made my heart burst and the inspo just came flooding in.

All I can say is— thank you, again lol— and get fucking ready because the amount of updates coming your way is going to be borderline ANNOYING.

love ya, mean it. Xoxo