Emily fought to control the butterflies that fluttered constantly in her stomach, although in spite of her anxiousness she could feel a creeping sense of excitement; JJ would be awake soon. Hopefully in the next couple of hours.
Since the nurses had taken JJ off the sedatives that were keeping her unconscious, she had slowly begun to show more signs of life. Her eyes had flickered open for the briefest of seconds about an hour ago. Emily remembered how her heart had soared with hope at the exact same moment that her stomach had turned sick with dread.
A little while later, her fingers had twitched and then flexed but she still remained asleep. Her face began to show traces of emotion every now and then, as if she was dreaming. When she had been fully sedated, she had looked peaceful but right now her brow was ever so slightly furrowed and she seemed tense, as though bracing herself for something. Her eyes darted frantically around beneath their lids, and then as quickly as they started, they stopped.
More than anything, Emily wanted to talk to JJ, to apologize for everything. To tell her how gladness and relief didn't even come close to describing the extreme levels of emotion she felt at knowing that she was safe, and free. But somehow she couldn't find the words, and even if she had, it wouldn't feel right telling her all that without her awake to hear it.
So she settled for stroking her thumb across the back of JJ's hand, trying not to focus on the vivid scars that encircled her wrists. She sighed. "What did they do to you?"
2 years, 11 months and 18 days ago. Unknown location in Washington DC.
JJ groaned as she opened her eyes. Or at least, she thought she opened her eyes. She blinked a couple of times. There was no difference between eyes open and eyes closed: she was surrounded by total darkness.
She shifted slightly and noticed a small blinking red light on what she assumed as the ground by her feet. The light shifted with her. Oh, it was attached to her. She flexed her ankle and twisted it a bit; there was something strapped around it. It was tight, but not uncomfortably so. The light kept blinking, laughing at her. She went cover it up, or switch it off or something but found that her wrists were zip-tied together behind her back and around what felt like a metal pipe.
She fought to calm her heart rate for a moment and focused on her breathing. After a minute or two she worked her way through her memories to the last thing she could remember. Doyle. She fought back the guilt that pulled at her- guilt was not her priority right now. She had to get herself out of this mess, and then she could worry about guilt.
The men who Doyle had given her to, they put her through some kind of test. She shuddered at the memory. They treated her like livestock; checking her teeth and her gums, testing her physical capabilities, the whites of her eyes. They took her blood and… and checked her sexual health. They didn't… touch her though, and for that she was grateful.
After that they tattooed something on her wrist and shaved her head. Somehow that had been the worst bit. She refused to cry as they cut away her blonde locks but the stubble that remained made her feel vulnerable and… not herself. Even when they stripped her of what remained of her clothing she kept the tears at bay.
She was clothed now. She could feel the coarse material scratching slightly against her skin, in places stinging where her burns and cuts from the last few days had not healed. Damn that little red light was annoying. She remembered how relieved she had been when one of the men who had 'bought' her had thrown a pair of leggings and a tank top at her and told her to get dressed.
When the brakon'yery finished shaving her head they chained her up in the back of a truck with 3 other people. They were also naked and clean shaved, covering themselves as best they could. A little after that the truck rolled into motion. It was a long and uncomfortable journey. No one said a word. JJ just curled into a ball, trying to conserve her body heat.
