Deck of Cards

Day 24- Hannah

Ace of clubs- whipping for 7hrs

Hannah's POV

The cell was driving me mental, I kept seeing light. Some would say that it was light from hope but it was literal light that I found circling me. The plan to escape had done nothing to help me, neither had Ava's words. I felt incurable, like nobody could save me from my slow demise into insanity.

Ava had told us what all the cards meant- an ace meant a whipping. She said that there were many forms, there was: whipping in a grimy cell, sexual whipping, whipping outside or whipping in front of a crowd. I guessed that I would end up getting the worst one, bad luck was attracted to me.

For me, as I considered it, whipping in front of a crowd would be the worst. I knew that I would crack and look deranged which would only encourage them. It would only increase the pleasure they got from it. Nobody would speak out against it, nobody cared enough to think of my human rights. Seven hours was a long time as well.

My guard came and pushed me through the corridors which I had become accustomed to; I thought of the girls behind the walls and placed my palms against the surface. They would be my sisters when we left, we would go through so much together. I knew that I would be safe with them. They gave me a glimmer of hope, a glimmer. Not enough to create a beacon, but it was enough to keep me going. Going through each day.

As I predicted I was led onto a stage like I was about to be executed; people were standing everywhere. They were all there to see me fail, to see me break. To see my pain. All men. I had noticed that before. That made it seem more sexual, everything that they did; it was like it was some weird fetish which they got turned on by. I wouldn't let them get satisfaction from me.

They stripped me down to my underwear but I was too far gone to even be humiliated. A few wolf whistles filled the void of space but I kept my face expressionless. I got slightly panicked when I thought of Scarlett, had her guard given her the button yet? Where would she hide it? They were taking away my clothes, would they find it when they took her clothes? It was our best bet to fully succeed our plan as it would mean total coverage. Frantically, I looked around and sighed in relief when I couldn't see the blond guard she had described and I could see her regular guard. He would be with her, the secret would be safe.

I realised how dumb I was being- why would he risk his life to get it if it was going to be found the next day? He would do everything in his power to stop that from happening. A bit calmer, I kneeled down and prayed to God that it wouldn't hurt too much. I hoped that the pain would become dull and I would get used to it.

The first lash caused fire to erupt from me, I couldn't hear the applause which echoed in the room. I was only focusing on the searing pain which ripped through my back and ignited my skin. The second one came down before I could relax and had exactly the same effect as the first one except it was 10 times worst. Tears ran down my face freely and my lip was bleeding from where I had bit it.

He kept going, the crowd went wild and I...I sat there and took it. No screams, no wild tantrums; they stopped after a while in fear of seriously damaging me. What fun could you have with a dead person- right? They took me to a sterile room where a doctor was sat at his desk. It made me sick. Weren't doctors supposed to be good people?

He placed some stuff on my back which stung causing me to hiss in pain but it soon felt better. He worked very carefully, obviously very skilled and knowledgeable about the procedure. It made me wonder how many girls he had treated? How many girls had there been? Was it just annually? Or did they take individual girls sometimes?

I pondered over my feelings and thoughts as he worked ,stitching me up ,and finally I was allowed to relax. He left me to my thoughts as he grabbed some bandages which he wrapped around me. Everything felt so much better, it was like the fire had been put out in my back. My muscles relaxed, my head cleared as I sank into the bed.

"So why'd you do this doc?" I asked with curiosity as he went to sit back on his seat. This caused him to chuckle as if I had made a comment about the weather. Or a football game.

"Guess," he asked before leaving me to my own thoughts. I guessed within a minute that he was doing it for money. People would do horrible things for money, things unimaginable to a sane human being. Money was corrupt.