Broken (Broken #1) SVU

Twelve.

Olivia's POV.

Sky rushed off to school without so much as a word to me. Her state of mind worried me.

I sat at my desk, filling in paperwork and sipping hot coffee. Soon we had to head off to a basement raid where a perp was keeping his girls.

I headed over to where I saw Amanda strapping on her bulletproof vest. I grabbed mine and did the same.

"I'm nervous." Amanda said. "I hope it's the right place."

"Surveillance has watched them since we discovered it and they're sure it is." I replied, slipping my gun into its holster. "They couldn't get too close but they saw them bringing the girls in and out."

"Oh god. This is awful. I hate cases like this."

I nodded in agreement. Since last night, there were unspoken words between us. I couldn't help think about Sky and how easily her rape could have ended up so much worse.

                  **************

The SVU and swat team unloaded out of various vehicles. I drew my gun out of my holster.

Me and Amanda stayed together and made no sound as we headed down a dark, dingy hallway. The darkness unsettled me and I couldn't see where I was going. Silence surrounded us, except the faint drip, drip, drip on the rooftop.

We rounded a corner and suddenly cries and shouts echoed around us. We crept down the hall, assessing our surroundings.

We found young girls imprisoned behind bars, wearing nothing but rags. Cuts and bruises covered their bodies, and blood stained the stoney floors. The echoes of the cries bounced around the hallway and I fought not to be sick from the smell.

"Help me." A girl that looked no more than 13 years old uttered. "Please."

She extended her arms out of the bars, I knelt down and took her hand. My heart breaking in two for her.

"We're gonna get you out of here." I whispered.

The girl who gripped my hand seemed the only one fit to speak. The others cried and mumbled words I couldn't understand. I heard the echo of gunshots in the distance, but focused my mind on the girl in front of me.

"What's your name sweetie?" I asked the terrified girl.

"Carolyn."

"Okay Carolyn. It's gonna be okay."

"They have my sister. They took her away. They said someone bought her."

Bile coated my throat. The likelihood of finding a child safe was nearly impossible when they'd moved on.

Nick came running down the hallway, sweat dripping down his face. 

"Suspects arrested. Start getting these girls out." Nick shouted, waving a set of keys at me. "I found these in a suspects pocket."

I took the keys, and tried the them in Carolyn's lock. After the fourth attempt, the lock popped open. I opened the rusty gate and Carolyn threw herself into my arms.

I stroked her head and took her out of the building to a waiting ambulance. As I comforted her, I couldn't help but think of Sky. I shook the thoughts away and carried on. I couldn't let Sky creep into my thoughts at work or I'd never manage the task at hand.

Sky's POV.

I finished school and decided to sit in the library. I couldn't face going home. Mom would still be at work, and the thought of been home alone was too overwhelming. After telling my mom yesterday, I still couldn't talk to her about it, even though it's all I wanted to do.

I pulled one of my favourite books off the shelf and found myself a quiet corner. Sylvia Plath's 'The Bell Jar'.

I tried to force myself to read the words, to bury myself in the pages of a book but I couldn't concentrate. The rape kept flitting in front of my eyes, taunting me, laughing at me.

My phone vibrated and I tensed up with dread.

'Your mother is treading on thin ice.
What she doesn't know is that her own daughter is in danger.
Jakthelad'

I resisted the urge to throw my phone across the library floor. Why couldn't he leave me alone? Isn't what he'd already done enough?

I put the book back on the shelf and stomped out of the library.

I ended up outside a pharmacy, the bell jangled as I entered. I needed something to take away the pain. I couldn't cope with these feelings and fears bubbling inside me. I scanned the shelves until I found what I was looking for.

Co-codamol.

I scanned the shop and saw the workers were busy. I slipped the pills into my bag and walked out the shop. I quickened my pace until I was sure no one had followed me. I held the packet in my hand for a while before slipping 5 into my mouth.

When I got home, I headed straight for my room and barricaded myself in the bathroom. I took out my razor blade and cut 3 straight lines into my leg. I wiped them up with a tissue and headed to bed.