The Runaway Sister

twenty-nine | far gone

A/N

You may hate me after this... may not. 

Just be rest assured the contents of this chapter happen for a reason. 

Blood, all over. It's almost engraved into my body by now. I don't know what happened, but I am being beaten randomly and constantly by the guards. 

They enter the cell without warning. They rip me from my bed and throw me onto the floor. The kick my bones and laugh at me vulnerable position. 

I have, however, been given food. It was a small tin of sludge that smelled revolting and tasted even worse. I ate it anyway. I haven't received anything since. 

Every minute of every hour of every day is spent in true agony. Aurora has come to see me once more, and advised me to stop being stubborn and kill the boy. 

She sat next to me on the bed, keeping reasonable distance. "Evelyn," She said, "this is pointless effort. If you want to survive, kill him. He is hurting because of you." 

I will never kill Benny. He's just a child— a poor, innocent child thrown into this terrible world like I was the moment I was born. 

Children shouldn't have to live through this. They shouldn't have to experience all of this pain and bloodshed; this sickness that settles in your soul overtime. 

The door to my cell opens, and a guard enters. He holds a bucket. I sit up from the floor and inch away. He only walks closer, a smirk growing on his lips. 

"Time for a bath," He exclaims, throwing the contents of the bucket onto me. A scream rips itself out of my throat as the ice cold water soaks deep into my bones. 

He lets out a small laugh, kicks me hard in the ribs, and watches as I fall over myself and slump into a small ball on the floor. 

I barely hear the cell door slam shut as my body is racked with uncontrollable shivering. If I was thrown into the Arctic, I wouldn't have noticed any difference. 

The temperature in this cell must have plummeted by ten degrees. I'm so cold I'm almost burning up. Every surface around me is hazy and freezing.

Tears slide down my face, but they are frozen onto my cheek. My breaths come out in shaky puffs. The air is so sharp, so brisk. It hurts to breathe. 

I can almost hear angels calling out to me. I can sense that Mum is among them, trying to hold them back, trying to prolong my miserable existence. 

———

I am surprised that I wake up. I would have thought that my death would have already arrived. And honestly, what would I have been missing out on? 

If I am ever saved from this place, I will forever be haunted. I will spend the rest of my days paranoid and afraid, every waking hour. 

But Mum. I can feel her staring down at me. I can feel her arms wrap around me, hugging me tightly. I can smell her sweet scent and her words of encouragement. 

If Mum were still alive, if Mum was with me right now, in this cell, she would cup my face in her hands and whisper, "Stay alive for me, darling girl."

The door opens, but my eyelids are practically frozen shut. I can feel a heavy, heated presence walking towards me. I make no effort to move from my position on this cot. 

"You are a resilient young girl, Miss Rhodes. Tell me, are you in pain? Do you wish this torture would be over, promptly? Please, do tell. I have a solution." 

My body is weak. 

My mind is numb. 

My heart is still.