Endless

19 Days Before

19 DAYS BEFORE

I can feel a massive pounding in my head, that feels like someone has hit me with something hard. I start to regain conciousness but the events that have occurred over the past few hours are a little fuzzy. The floor beneath me is hard, cold and damp. I smell mold and urine hitting me from every corner of the room. A constant dripping noise, quickly becomes annoying. I open my eyes to an old room, it looks like an abandoned class room of a school or something. I sit up and rub my head and find i am not alone. I see many boys and girls of many different ages scattered around the edge with me in the centre.
"Zara," i say softly, "Zara honey are you here." I look around the room and become a bit more paniced each time i see a face that isn't hers. "Zara!" i call a little more agitated.
"Peyton I'm here," a quiet voice matches a small hand that waves too me from behind an older girl.

I slowly move towards her, when i feel the soreness between my legs. I look down and notice my legs are bare and bruised. My oversized t-shirt and lace panties are the only things covering my small frame. My chest hurts, along with my pelvis and my right ankle is bend out of shape. I'm pretty sure it is broken.
"Zara honey have they touched you?" i whisper so scared of the answer, I can't remember anything which means i would have been knocked out and unable to shield her from them.
"No, you stopped them. You told me to stay here and when they asked you where is was, you didn't tell them so they broke your leg," she sobs quietly before slowly moving from behind the older girl.

"No Zara go back, if you are safe there you don't move." She nods and does as she's told. I can feel everyone's eyes on me as i curl in on myself, and let go. I'd rather my demons kill me, than those men waiting outside for me to break.

*        *        *

Noah is sitting on my office floor, wrapped around Marcus' leg. I watch the grown man silently cry into his hands. 20 minutes he has been like that, i told him what happened and he broke down instantly, my attempts at reassuring him failing miserably.

"We will find her Marcus i promise you that." I move towards him and crouch down, placing my hand on his knee and ruffling Noah's hair. I see Noah bury his face in Marcus' leg, his shoulders shake as he cries for his sister.
Marcus lifts his head, dry tear stains down his cheeks. He stares me straight in the eyes before answering. "I don''t doubt that Liv," he breathes out, shaking his head and raising his eyes to the celing, "She's just not coming out alive."

I hear the door to my office open and the footsteps of my detectives filing into the room. I don't turn to them, I don't speak and neither do they.
"What makes you say that?" my voice breaks as part of me already knows the answer. My heart already knew what this outcome would be. Marcus turns his focus on Nick who is broken and leaning against my desk, Marcus smiles weakly, a little bit of pride in his smile.
"Because she will die before she lets any one of those disgusting pigs lay a hand on Zara," his eyes return to mine, "and how long do you think it will take them to get rid of the uncooperative merchandise." His eyes shift between mine, as he watches all the hope drain from my eyes.

From my soul.

There it goes.

My heart shatters into a million pieces as the truth settles into its empty space. She's not coming back, because in her eyes her life means nothing, and she will rest at nothing to keep Zara and any other children they have safe. My eyes fill with tears as i stand and i feel them flow down my cheeks before i turn to my detectives.

"Do we have anything?" I shoot angrily.

*        *        *

 I wake up on the cold floor after what seems like hours, but i am unsure as there is no light coming into this room from anywhere. My body involuntarily shivers due to the cold, my lack of clothing and the lack of fat on my body. For the first time though i am thankful for my weight gain as i don't know how i would have managed this 20lbs ago.

I try moving my leg again, only to feel this imense pain shoot from my toes to my hips. I stifle my scream as not to wake any of the others who are sleeping around me. I also can't alert the men i believe to be standing outside the door. The dripping sound is continuous and it's beginning to drive me insane, the constant dripping echoing throughout my head.

I hear the scrape of metal as the heavy door is pushed open, the laughter and voices of the men outside sending chills down my spine. The silence desends around me as i hear their footsteps one after the other as they enter the room. I keep my head down as to not draw their attention, but as i hear their footsteps getting closer i know i am their target. Two, maybe three of them, thats what my ears and body are telling me.

"It's this skinny thing here huh?" One of them says, their voice deep with a low growl. Another's boot hits my square in the back, rocking my kidneys.
"Yip she's the fighter," that voice. I know that voice, i've heard that voice multiple times before since i moved in with Liv. I dare not look to check just incase it's not him; or worse that it is.

I hear the sound of chains being dragged along the floor before the icing cold sensation of them being wrapped around my ankles, sends waves of terror through every inch of my body. Tears fall from my eyes as their evil laughs engulf me, as i hear them leave with chains still dragging on the ground. I don't understand why they are leaving or why i can hear the chain leaving.

Then the pain hits me fast and all at once, i scream out in agony as my legs are pulled behind me. My scream bouncing off every corner of the enclosed room. They are dragging me, covered in chains, from the room, my broken ankle being pulled in every directon. The pain increasingly becomes more and more painful until its unbearable, and then just as quickly as it started, it's numb.

Then all i can see is the shocked expression of the children as i am dragged backwards out of the room and into the darkened hallway. The damp floor soaking into me, i am dragged through puddles and puddles of water, mud and urine as i am taken to the last room at the end of the hallway. We stop and my body is half in the room and half in the hallway. I can not turn around or move or shift, all i hear is the sound of chains being hung up.

I feel the last piece of hope i was clinging to disappear, as i am dragged backwards, listening to the pulling of the chain, as i am strung up like a piece of meat.