Their Runaway bride

Chapter 13

A week had passed since we arrived here and I had gotten used to living here already.
All were friendly to me and I did my best to avoid Lily all the time.
We shared all the chores and do it. They had even insisted that I shouldn't be doing but I insisted. It was not like I was a princess. I was also poor once upon a time.
I have also taken one of the couch as my sleeping place for I did not want to be much of a stress to them.
I could clearly remember that day, like it was just yesterday. We were all sitting in circle, holding each other's hand.
Naeemi told me that they usually have this group meeting where everyone would share his pain to the others and they would empathize with him.
As usual, Naeemi was the one to start since she was the eldest. Turned out she was thirty years of age at that time.
"Uhmm, it's always weird whenever I do that" she started while laughing nervously.
Taty placed her hand on her shoulder, as if she was trying to assure her everything will be alright.
"I was a child of about seven years old when it all started" she said.
"We were living peacefully with my family which included me, my father and I, all was well until one day, some people barged in and took my mother away" she stopped to take a deep breath.
"Even till today, I still don't know who they were, none of us did, I could still remember how I kept on crying and grabbing my mother away from them, till they finally got tired and knocked me out and when I woke up, she was already gone" she continued.
She took a deep breath before she continued.
"When my father came back, we went searching for her but there was no trace of her and that's when my father started drinking and whenever he was drunk which was all the time, he always used to hit and blame me for the disappearance of my mother, that they should have taken me instead of her" she stopped for a while.
I could see the tears forming in her eyes already. That was the reason why I do not like sharing my pains, they just make the wounds reopen more and more.
"We were living like that until one day, the police came to us and told us that they have found a woman who looked exactly like my mother" she paused again.
"We were so happy that we have finally found her, only for it to turn out that she was actually dead, murdered even and in the most cruelest way imaginable, for her eye balls and some of her vital organs were reported missing" she stopped and take a deep breath.
All was silent for a while.
"Even though it was sad, I was still glad that her body was found, at least we knew that she is safe, but that wasn't the case for my father" she said.
All were just looking at her calmly, like they have heard the stories a million times but I on the other hand, was tensed.
I never knew that she had had to suffer this much. She looked just fine to me.
"A few days after the funeral, he was found dead from too much drinking and he committed suicide I think" she continued.
Oh! That's so sad, I thought.
I just couldn't believe she became an orphan at such a young age.
"I didn't want to end up in the foster system as I have heard just horrible it was and so, I ran away from home that same night, leaving my father all behind and that is how I was marked a murderer for the next thing I knew, my picture was all over the newspaper, that I had killed my own father and ran away" she continues.
Really, could this get any worse.
"All juvenile institutes were on my back for months and I did nothing but hide, some days, I couldn't even come out to find something to eat and so, I had to stay hungry" she said.
"This went on for a year till I finally decided to run away from the town all together and came over here" she said, indicating to this particular town.
"I was here when this town started to fall over because of the selfishness of the authority and that's why I decided to form this group, so that we can all stay together and share our pain" she said.
She was silent for a while.
"Yeah, I think I'm done, thanks very much you guys for having such a good listening ear" she thanked us all.
All gave her their comforting words, well, except for me because I didn't know just what to say to her at that moment.
Then next was Taty, who was twenty six years old then.
"Well, mine's not as gruesome as our dear Naeemi here"she began.
"I grew up and found myself in this town, with no relatives whatsoever of course, but I didn't seem to mind about that though, since I never had any connections to them, all I knew was that I was named Tatyana" she continued.
"But the other people around me did seem to mind and they do not miss an opportunity to tell me how dark and dirty my skin was" she said.
"I didn't know if it was hereditary or a disease but the people around me made it a disease, and they asked everyone to stay away from me and so, I had nobody to call my friend, I was even given a separate room in the orphanage" she said.
"As I grew up, I came to realize that these people really did dispice me and I knew I had to find my way out then and so, one day, I managed to escape and I didn't regret doing that at the moment" she paused to take a deep breath.
"I was only twelve at that moment and had no idea how the outside world was faring and to make matters worst, I escaped during the crisis, at the peak of it" she continued.
"So, here I am now, living my life with all of you guys" she added and from that, she stopped.
"Well, that's all" she said.
"And that's the being there for me, I'd never forget that" she added.
After that, Flora went.
"Uhmm, I don't have much to say and I've said like a million times" she said shyly.
"Don't worry, you should not feel shy, we are all family here" Naeemi said.
She nodded.
"Uhmm, my family had always treated me like I was a garbage because... because well, uhmm, my mother died while I was young and so, my step mom treated me bad" she said.
"And even my father was onto it as well and they used to make me do all the hardwork and making horrible comment at my body, saying that I inherited it from my mother" she said.
Well, she looks so beautiful to me and whoever is trying to body shame her, was obviously jealous of her gorgeous body.
"But I never cared about that since they are always providing me with shelter and all" she said.
She stayed silent for a while, as if she was hesitant, like someone was going to judge or reprimand her.
Taking a deep breath, she continued.
"But one day, my step mom accused me of stealing her expensive jewelry and without any evidence to prove I did, my father hit me so hard and then he threw me out of the house, just like that" she continued.
Just then, she started crying and all went to console her.
It's like I said, she was only opening her wounds by doing this.
"It's ok, just relax, everything is ok, you can rest assured that we won't let anything like this happen to you ever again, screw them for not seeing just how amazing and kind you are" Naeemi says.
After that Frida took over and just by the way she was telling her own story, it was she has come to accept it as part of her and is not pain or ashamed of it anymore.
"Well, I grew up in a family of five and I was the youngest child" she started.
"In other families, the youngest was always considered to be special but in my family, it's the opposite as they treated me like their own dust bin and punching bag, but I never cared" she said and shrugged.
"My father was the abusive type and he is always drinking and most of the time, never around as he would just drink himself in a bar or something while my mother, that bitch, was always whoring around with billions of men" she said.
"I'm even sure she even fucked her own son whom she gave birth to" she added.
Well, that's harsh.
"But I never cared about all that as all I wanted was to study hard and get out of there as soon as I reached eighteen, but eighteen didn't come fast enough for me" she said.
"One, I was sitting in my room, which I have finally gotten to myself as my two sisters have decided to move out the house to God knows where and then, my father barged in and without any warnings, he dragged me by my hair and pulled me out the room" she said.
"I was only fifteen at that time and had no idea what was going on but it turned out that my father had gotten himself into a huge dept with one of the dangerous men in town and the man demanded for payment for which he gave me out" she continued.
"For days after he sold me out, I was treated badly by those men, raped repeated till I could no longer walk on my own, but that did not stop them, for they kept me to come back to life and then continued from where they stopped" she paused.
"I would pray every day that I would be saved or death comes and envelops me for I know my family will never save me" she said.
"Life kept on getting hard and one day, I fell seriously ill and on the first test, they found out I was pregnant and at first, I was happy that they would let me go for the time being but they did the unthinkable to me" she said.
"I could still remember the pain I felt when they were operating on me to remove my poor baby as well as my uterus" she said in a strained voice.
I didn't know when the tears started falling off my face from all these stories.
Sure they have gone through a lot of torture that I couldn't even think about even in my dreams.
"For days, I kept on crying and cursing them for taking away my womanhood for I did not feel like a woman anymore, any woman dreams of the day she would see her child comes to this world and they took that away from me, forever" she continued.
"That's when I became aggressive and whenever any of the men tried to come close to me, I fought them off and that infuriated them and they beat the hell out of me, causing all the scars in my body" she paused.
She took a deep breath before continuing.
"And when it became evident to me that I had no other options as death has seemed to abandon me as well, I gave in to my life and became their sex doll and punch bag as well" she continued.
"And then, one day, they were attacked by their enemies and a war broke out between them and I managed to escape from their even though I had no other place to go, but I still did" she said.
"I was lucky enough to have been saved by some police men who took me to the hospital until I recovered and when they asked me about who I really am, I told them I couldn't remember and that was how the doctor diagnosed me with amnesia" she said.
"So one of the police men took me in and I was finally free for a while but then it all changed again" she paused.
Gosh! She really has suffered through a lot, I just couldn't imagine ever being in a situation like hers, I'll eventually die in a minute.
"The man started to make advances at me but I just ignored them and them one day, he decided to lock me up to my bed and had his way with me, leaving me laying there, lifeless and that was how my old life continued" she continued.
"I kept on pleading with him to just let me go and I won't tell anyone about any of his acts but he would just hit me and rape me again and again" she said.
"One day, some of his friends came by and one of them happened to be amongst the ones who helped me out, and when he inquired about me from him, he just told him that I was out with some new friends that I made and there was no way for me to call out for help and so, I decided to keep on shaking the bed and soon, something fell to the ground and they heard it" she said.
"But my hope of being saved shattered again as he told them that it was probably a rat and they all went on with their chats and after they left, he gave me another beating of my life and warned me that if I ever to any stunt again, he will kill me, not that death was not something I longed for but I knew he just wouldn't do it instantly but slowly and that scared me" she said.
"One day, he was away for a mission and I heard someone come into the house and to say I was panicked was an understatement of the year for all I was thinking was that one of the men from my previous life had come to find out where I was and they would take me back and torture me, maybe even more than he did but then, it turned out to be only Frank, he was the guy who was asking about me the other day" she explained.
"He was shocked to see me tied up in a bed and he rushed to save me and took me to the hospital again and I told him the whole truth about me this time around and they also caught the other guy, Mike" she said.
"Well, my life started becoming better as Frank nursed me back to life and never once has he made advances at me or treated me badly" she said.
"And then one day, he proposed to me and I was so happy about that and scared as well and so, I rejected but he still didn't give up and soon after, he managed to convince me into saying yes" she paused.
Well, at that time, I really did thought she had finished the story and I was wondering what she was doing here then but then she continued.
"Things were normal for a few days and we dated like every couple did and he even took me to meet his mother but upon seeing me, his mother said that her son would never marry a slut like I" she continued.
"I never felt hurt being called names like I did that day but Frank consoled me and tried to reason with his mother who later on showed that everything was normal but little did I know, that she was only trying to get rid of me" she said.
"One day, she invited me to her house and I was happy that she wanted to get along with me" she said.
"I could remember vividly what happened that day, first, she went out to get some groceries and then next thing, I started feeling weak and passed out and then when I woke up, I was laying on bed naked and a man on top of me and when I tried to push him away, I saw Frank by the door, looking all devastated" she continued.
"Without even asking for my explanation, his mother started telling him how right she was that I was really a slut and had even brought a lover to her own house and that was how I found myself out in the streets with no one to turn to and my chance of having a nice life gone" she paused.
"It was pretty hard being alone after having a shot at a good life and I struggled a lot to fit in but lucky for me, I got to meet you guys and here I am, after three years and I've never seen so grateful for anything in my life than the day I met you two" she said, pointing at Naeemi and Taty.
"Well, I think that's all" she said.
"You two are next" Naeemi said, motioning for the twins.
"I'll do it since last time Lily did" Lana said.
"Well, we grew up in a very rich family and we were pampered like crazy, believe me but then one day, we were kidnapped and taken far away and the most disappointing thing was that our family didn't even bother to find us but maybe they did but I still find that hard to believe" she paused.
"We were five years old then and it was really hard for us to fit into a hard life an that earned us a lot of beatings, most especially my sister here" she said, pulling Lily to her and she just huffed.
"And one day, our employer was having a bad mood, oh, I forgot to tell you that we were made into house maids at the age of ten, lucky for us they didn't sell us as sex slaves" she said.
"Sorry, no offense" she said, directing at Frida.
"None taken, you are really lucky, believe me" she said and tapped her shoulder.
"Well, the woman was rather cruel and she always finds one reason or another to hit us and she one day hit my poor sister on the head, making her have a split personality and anger management issues, meaning, she would be nice one minute and mean the other and little things can make her angry" she said.
I nodded my head, understanding her situation.
"And then one day, Miss Naeemi was visiting the lady and she saw how she was treating us and that's how she saved us and we have been living here for over a year now and life has just been better" she said.
All was silent for a while.
"What about you keethana, what's your story?" Lana asked.
I didn't feel like my story was worth telling as I haven't gone through half of the hardship they went through.
I would sound like a spoilt brat if I told my story.
"Come on, tell us, we won't judge" Frida insisted.
I looked up at Naeemi and she nodded at me.
I told them all that had happened to me till recent.
"Oh my goodness! You mean to say that you are married?" Flora asked.
I nodded at her.
"And you are technically immortal as well, that's insane" Frida added.
Well, I technically ommited the part where my husband, his uncle and son were all trying to get it off with me as I was just not comfortable with telling them that right now.
"So why did you leave such a luxurious life after all this props you got?" Taty was the one who asked.
I just lowered my head, not knowing what to tell them.
"Uhmm, haven't I mentioned to you how they used to kill thier wives, well, I saved her from that" Naeemi jumped in and saved my ass.
"Ohh! That's so bad" Lana choked in.
Real bad, except the part where I was immortal.
"But you are immortal, right?" Lily asked.
I nodded.
"So how are they going to kill you?" she asked.
"Uhmm..."
"Guys, please do not overwhelm her, she just came out from an almost death situation and you are bombarding her with questions" Naeemi interrupted.
Yes, that reminded me, they haven't seen my skin that was still yet to go back to it's normal feature.
"I'll... I'll show you something" I stammered, still unsure.
I pulled on my long sleeve shirt, hoping they won't laugh at my skin for being like that.
"Oh holy mother of..." Flora, the shy one started.
"What is this, it's like your skin and veins had been interchanged and..." But she didn't finish.
Because trouble came.
A trouble that I still blamed myself for putting them into.
Before my eyes, something sharp just went through Frida's head and she fell dead on the ground.
All of them stood in silence, as if they have seen something like that before while the weak little me, started screaming.
"Oh my goodness! They have found us" Naeemi panicked.
Well, if Naeemi was panicked, them I knew it was the end.
"But how?" Taty was the one to ask again.
But before she could get an answer, she was brought down to the ground and a knife went through her head, severing her into two.
To say that I was out of my mind was an understatement statement of the year.
"The ring" Naeemi said.
She quickly pulled me to her and pulled out the ring from my finger and threw it on the floor.
"Come on, let's move" she screamed and we all followed her, at least the three of them did for I was just pulled away by her.
Soon, we were back into our safe place.
"Who are these people?" Frida asked.
"Monsters, and they won't stop until they get what they want, so we better hurry and leave" Naeemi answered.
"This had something to do with you, right?" Lily asked, through daggers and me and I didn't blame her.
"Have you stolen something from them?" she accused.
"What! No" I said, finally finding the strength to speak.
"So the tell us why they are after you" she screamed at me.
I still couldn't get myself to say it.
"They want to have her power of immorality and if they did, they would become the most powerful and most ruthless people around" Naeemi answered for me.
"Then we must not let them get to her, no matter what" Frida said.
They look both at the twins who were hesitant.
"We are in, we'll both guard her with our lives but we won't let these monsters have her" they said.
I was so elated with how they were trying to protect me even if I didn't mean nothing to them.
That night, we all set out and left the building, thinking we have escaped them, but little did we know, we haven't seen nothing yet.
For the moment we entered our new hiding place, Frida and Lana were blasted, like their heads literally blasted.
And when Lily went to her sister, she also suffered the same fate and right before my eyes, Naeemi was pulled in to the wall by something that pummeled right through her stomach.
"Rrum... Use the... Transporter" that was her last words to me.
I didn't even have time to ask how to operate it as I just did what I thought was right and lucky for me, it worked.
Soon, darkeness surrounded me and it felt like I was hit in the head.