Hurt

2

A/N last long one for now. Naomee2309 here's your mention! Also thank you to Alex379  , AngeliqueRavenswood Out0fMyHead and WinglessAngelica for inspiring this story!
Trigger warnings in place. Suicide here and implications of rape and abuse.

January 12, 1986.

"Let us go! We want to go home!" A young girl cried as she and her twin sister were thrown on the floor of the tavern. "Yeah yeah, crying for momma is only going to get you killed." Said a voice from the bar. The girls looked up to see a girl in her early teens drinking at the bar. "What do you mean?" Asked one of the twins. Jessica turned to the girls. "The boss doesn't like girls who cry and complain. If you're soft you won't survive 24 hours here. He'll bludgeon you to death. You won't even get to see the arena or work a night in the bar as a call girl." She replied, blue eyes hard. Her long blonde hair was in a French braid and she was wearing a black tank top, shorts and boots.

"What are your names anyway?" She asked with her arms folded and one foot on the floor and the other resting on the bar in the barstool she was sitting on. "I'm Elizabeth, and this is my sister Jane." Said one girl. They both had long dark brown hair and brown eyes. They were petite and short. Jane had freckles but Elizabeth had none. "Jessica" she replied with her hand outstretched. They all shook and Jessica finished her drink at the bar. "That's not alcohol, is it?" Jane asked timidly. "And if it is?" Grinned Jessica as she walked off.

The twins looked at each other and shrugged. "So how old are you squirts exactly?" Jessica asked as she lead them to a large sitting room where there were several girls, of varying ages sitting, talking, laughing, drinking and smoking. They were all skinny with some sort of injury. "We're eight" Elizabeth replied, looking around. "So a year older than i was when i was taken. I was seven. Managed to get past my four brothers, three sisters and my parents. These guys know what they're doing. I've been here six years, and let me tell you, most girls don't survive." Jessica explained.

"Why?" Asked Jane in fear. "I'm going to be honest it's not a funhouse here. They get thrown in the arena and die there or after as a result of their injuries. You fight there every day against 14 other girls. You guys will be in separate batches. The only exception is pregnancy. But most only find out they were pregnant when they miscarry. I've never seen a baby born here. You get two days to recover after the miscarriage and it's back to work." Jessica explained.

"Who's the eldest?" Asked Elizabeth. "Harleen and Kim are in their twenties. But they don't do the same work as us. They help Lex and Arthur on heists. If you hit 20 you get to help them out with robberies and stuff like that. But no one's managed to live that long." Jessica looked them up and down. "Ok let's get started. We'll head to the gym, I'll teach you some self defence techniques and how to use some weapons. Guns aren't allowed but knives, axes, swords, bows and arrows are." She continued and led them down a set of steps to a large gym area with racks of fake weapons. "So traditional weapons are allowed but modern aren't." Elizabeth said, looking all around her. She was scared but she realised this was her life now. If this Jessica girl had been here since she was seven, what hope did she and Jane have of being rescued?

"Exactly. You'll spar with fake weapons here. Swords and axes are a lot heavier when you use the real thing. As are the arrows. The boss made them lighter on purpose so it's tougher in the arena." Jessica said over her shoulder. "Tie up your hair, there's brushes and ties over there." She ordered. The girls scurried off to do as they were told, then stood on the mat with Jessica, them in their shorts and t shirts and no one had shoes on. "Show me the fist you would punch with." She instructed, circling them as they both settled into a natural stance. "Very good Jane. Elizabeth don't wrap your fingers around your thumb. The impact will break it."