Status: About once or twice a week. More if I ever get a break from school. :)
The Damned
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Eleven
Easter's POV
I couldn't help but be excited when I woke up the next morning. It was all I could do not to dance around the room singing. I didn't want Seven and Haven to know how happy I was though. They would be worried about me. I lay still until it was time to wake them up. I shook them awake and we went through our normal morning routine, me trying to hide how I was feeling. I know Seven and Haven didn't buy it, but I guess they didn't want to get into an argument because they didn't say anything.
We said our good-byes and I hurried down to the front garden where Micah was supposed to meet me. I was practically having a panic attack the entire way there. What if he isn't there? What if he thought it over and doesn't want to talk to me anymore?
I finally saw him as I ran down the front steps and my heart almost leapt out of my chest. He came! I shot across the grass, not even caring about how desperate I must look to him.
"Hey!" Micah laughed, as I slid to a stop in front of him.
"Hello," I replied, quietly. I don't know how I suddenly managed to feel so nervous when I'd been so excited a moment ago. Now that he's in front of me, I have no clue what to say. It felt like my mouth was glued shut…Which was made worse by the fact that I felt like throwing up.
"Where are we working today?" Micah asked.
"Uh, um…around the lake? Where is that, by the way? I haven't been given a tour ," I said, embarrassed at how I'd stuttered.
"I'll show you around sometime," Micah offered. "Let's go to the lake now though. What are we supposed to do today?"
"I think it's grown over, like everything else is around here. Did you guys just wait for me to come here, so I could redo everything?" I asked. I seriously don't know why it has to look this bad. Shouldn't someone have been taking care of this before me? "I think Ms. Diana goes home at night and brainstorms ways to irritate me. It's too cold to go swimming! Are there any animals in the lake? I don't think we want to get eaten by an alligator today," I complained.
"We'll figure that out when we get there," Micah assured me. "As for why it got so bad, I've noticed that things aren't taken care of that well when my family is gone. That's why it takes so long for some of the slaves here to earn their freedom."
"I'll work hard. I promise," I murmured. I meant it, too. Even if I don't want to be here, the people here do feed me and have a place for me to sleep. I guess they could make me sleep outside and not feed me at all…I guess I'd die real fast and they probably don't want that, so they have to feed me something. Well, they could make the food crappy. I guess the work hard, get good food trade off works for me.
"I know you will," Micah said, smiling a little. "I'll help you, so hopefully it'll be easier for you to be free." He reached out to grab my hand and pulled me after him. "We've got to start walking over there now. It's almost half an hour away from here."
"Okay," I chirped, skipping ahead of Micah. I've got no problem walking. Swimming, getting bit by wild animals, and weeding I do have a problem with though. Micah laughed at me and ran to catch up. It became almost a game, me running as fast as I could and Micah trying to catch me. Unfortunately, he's about a billion times faster than me and tackled me to the ground. I struggled for a minute giggling, before Micah rolled on top of me and held me still. Suddenly, I realized that a guy--Nope, that's not right--an overwhelmingly beautiful angel was sitting on top of me, basically straddling me. I felt happy, nervous, scared, and excited all at once. "Um…can you get off of me?"
"Oh, I'm sorry," Micah blushed, rolling off me and jumping to his feet. He took my hand and pulled me to my feet. "I didn't realize I was make you uncomfortable," Micah whispered, his eyes hurt. He spun on his heel and kept walking. "Come on. We're almost there," he said, without looking back at me.
I immediately felt like an ass for doing that. I don't know why I told him to stop. I liked it; it was just so weird. I guess I just wasn't expecting it.
It was quiet for a moment as I followed Micah across the grassy fields and gardens, past the stables where Haven worked, and through the untamed areas I hadn't gone through yet. I couldn't help but think that I would love the free time to just be able to walk around here. There was just so much space. I could walk around here for hours and never run into another person. Finally, we stopped at the edge of the forest. "The fastest way is through here," Micah said. "There's some deer trails we can follow. I don't want to go down the main trail. There are some people who…Well, they're not the nicest people in the world to slaves and, um, never mind."
"What?" I asked, suspiciously.
"Um, this is going to sound really bad, but…They probably wouldn't want me to be talking to you."
"If you don't want to be seen with me, they why are you here? I'm not going to make you stay here. I can't. I'm just a slave, right?" I turned away, blinking back tears.
"Shut up. You're being ridiculous. Just because I don't want a bunch of jerks to see us doesn't mean--"
"Then prove you aren't embarrassed. Come with me or go away," I whispered. I was crying now, but there was no way I was going to let him see it.
"Fine. Forget this. I'm going back to bed. Have fun working alone," he spat and stormed off.
It took all I had in me not to call him back. I don't know why. It's not like it would have made any difference. Haven was right. I shouldn't have talked to Micah. I shouldn't even want to talk to him. I don't know why I wanted to by friends with someone who's embarrassed to be seen with me. I don't need him to help me find the lake. I'll just keep walking down here until I find the main pathway. It's not like I followed him around, begging him to talk to me! He came up to me!
I tripped right then in some giant gopher hole and about broke my ankle. I did manage to face plant in the dirt. Crap. It seems like the day can't start unless I hurt myself somehow.
A chorus of harsh laughter broke me out of my thought. I pushed myself up onto my elbows to glare at the people who'd though it was funny to see me hurt. There were four guys, all a couple of years older and a lot bigger than me. One of them--the leader, I guess--swaggered over to me and rolled me over with his shoe. I started to get up, but he kicked me in the shoulder, hard, and I fell back. "You don't get up until we tell you to," he hissed, a cruel smirk on his face.
For whatever reason, I didn't listen to him. I rolled away and tried to get up but the boy just kicked me in the ribs. He stepped on my back and put more and more weight on it until I fell back down and way lying flat on my stomach. When I looked up they had all surrounded me. Uh-oh. This never ends well.
"Didn't I just tell you not to get up?" the leader snarled.
"Yes."
"Yes, what?"
"Yes, sir," I muttered, wanting to shoot myself for saying it.
"And what made you think that you don't have to listen to me, slave? You stay right there in the dirt where you belong until we tell you to move," he said, glaring at me. Clearly, he doesn't like it when people don't listen to him.
I nodded. "Yes sir." As much as they make me sick, I'm just going to listen to them. They'd probably kick my ass if I didn't…unless I freaked out and went all demon on them, but that probably wouldn't end well. I'd be in so much trouble if I killed one of them. I lay still for what seemed like forever. It was so weird that a couple of hours ago, I'd been hoping for a fun day with a new friend and now I just wanted to be left alone. I just don't want them to hurt me. Why can't they just let me go? I need to go to work and do enough that I can go back to my room and be with Seven and Haven. I can't believe I wouldn't even get the chance to cry in peace over how Micah turned out. I know I shouldn't want to, but still. Is that so much to ask.
Apparently it is, because I've probably missed so much time where I could be working, that I won't be able to get finished. I shuddered at the thought of being here alone at night. Some random animal or even person could jump out and kill me. Probably the last thing I'd do in my life would be to scream like a little girl. I can imagine having a manly moment while something tries to kill me.
"This is so boring," one of them said. "The little bitch isn't going to move. Let's go home.
The leader smirked and nodded. He reached down and grabbed me by my hair. I hissed in irritation and tried to grab at his hand to make him let go. A second later, I almost passed out. That jerk punched me right in the nose. I heard a snap and I knew it was broken. I wanted to cry it hurt so bad. I let go of his hand and cupped my hands over my nose, curling up in a little ball. My nose was spurting blood and it had already gotten all over my shirt. I couldn't help whimpering pathetically.
"You stay right there until I say you can move. If I find out you moved, I'll kick your ass."
"Yes, sir," I whispered, silently begging him not to hit me again.
"See? I told you it wouldn't be any trouble. Demons aren't dangerous at all if you train them right." the leader said cockily to his friends.
I don't know why that of all things made me snap, but it did. I growled, sounding so much like a feral animal that I even surprised myself. I grabbed the leader's arm, throwing him onto the ground while I leaped to my feet. "It's awake! The demon part of it is awake!" one of them yelled terrified.
I laughed sadistically. "There is no demon part. I'm all demon and I'm going to kill you." I lunged at one of them, knocking him to the ground. I slammed the heel of my hand into his nose. It broke with a satisfying crack. "Look, we match," I hissed while he sobbed. I spat some of the blood from my nose onto his face. He whimpered, afraid of what else I might do to him. I lapped the blood from my hand up. That probably terrified him more than anything.
I turned from the blubbering boy to the next one, prepared to do the same thing to him. I wasn't going to kill them yet. I was going to hurt them and scare them just like they did to me. I was going to make them grovel at my feet.
The next one was already shaking in terror. I could smell his blood. I couldn't wait until he was on the ground, bleeding. I could already hear him crying for me to stop. There was no way I was going to though…And then I felt like my side was on fire. The leader held a long stick that was just sparking with electricity. I'd felt 25,000 bolts of energy shoot into my side again and I fell to my knees, temporarily paralyzed. I smelt my burnt skin and let me tell you, even in demon mode it hurts like hell to be electrocuted. I snarled as I heard them getting closer to me, but I was helpless to do anything about it. They had just enough time to lift me up and chain my arms and legs to a tree before I recovered.
I growled viciously, striking at them like a rattle snake. Somewhere in my delusional demon mind, I thought that I could break free from those chains and go right back to trying to kill them. I was furious, but even with all the extra strength I had, I still couldn't get free.
Slowly my anger started to fade, and I was becoming myself again. With that, the fear came with it. "I-I'm sorry. Please don't hurt me. P-please," I begged. I knew they weren't going to let me go. I knew they were going to hurt me, maybe even kill me. I started crying pathetically. I knew then that I was completely better. The pain and remorse had returned. My nose was throbbing so much that it made me cry even harder.
Even though they'd hurt me, I'd never meant to do the same to them If I'd been myself, I never would have hurt them. The one whose nose I had broken got to me first. He hit me over and over again , taking turns with the other three. They didn't hold back at all. They had no problem continuing even when they heard my bones snap like twigs, didn't even pause when I pleaded with them to stop, couldn't have cared less when I passed out. I was in out of consciousness over the next couple of hours. Every time I woke up, I wanted to pass out again because they still hadn't gotten tired of beating me.
We were there for so long that I started to wonder if I'd always been there. I couldn't even remember what it was like not wanting to throw up from how many times I'd been punched in the stomach or feeling like my skull was going to split open.
Finally, they left, after cussing me out one more time. They left me tied to the tree. I cried and cried. My entire body was in unimaginable pain. I couldn't help but wonder, "Would they ever come back for me? Would they leave me here to die?"
Easter's POV
I couldn't help but be excited when I woke up the next morning. It was all I could do not to dance around the room singing. I didn't want Seven and Haven to know how happy I was though. They would be worried about me. I lay still until it was time to wake them up. I shook them awake and we went through our normal morning routine, me trying to hide how I was feeling. I know Seven and Haven didn't buy it, but I guess they didn't want to get into an argument because they didn't say anything.
We said our good-byes and I hurried down to the front garden where Micah was supposed to meet me. I was practically having a panic attack the entire way there. What if he isn't there? What if he thought it over and doesn't want to talk to me anymore?
I finally saw him as I ran down the front steps and my heart almost leapt out of my chest. He came! I shot across the grass, not even caring about how desperate I must look to him.
"Hey!" Micah laughed, as I slid to a stop in front of him.
"Hello," I replied, quietly. I don't know how I suddenly managed to feel so nervous when I'd been so excited a moment ago. Now that he's in front of me, I have no clue what to say. It felt like my mouth was glued shut…Which was made worse by the fact that I felt like throwing up.
"Where are we working today?" Micah asked.
"Uh, um…around the lake? Where is that, by the way? I haven't been given a tour ," I said, embarrassed at how I'd stuttered.
"I'll show you around sometime," Micah offered. "Let's go to the lake now though. What are we supposed to do today?"
"I think it's grown over, like everything else is around here. Did you guys just wait for me to come here, so I could redo everything?" I asked. I seriously don't know why it has to look this bad. Shouldn't someone have been taking care of this before me? "I think Ms. Diana goes home at night and brainstorms ways to irritate me. It's too cold to go swimming! Are there any animals in the lake? I don't think we want to get eaten by an alligator today," I complained.
"We'll figure that out when we get there," Micah assured me. "As for why it got so bad, I've noticed that things aren't taken care of that well when my family is gone. That's why it takes so long for some of the slaves here to earn their freedom."
"I'll work hard. I promise," I murmured. I meant it, too. Even if I don't want to be here, the people here do feed me and have a place for me to sleep. I guess they could make me sleep outside and not feed me at all…I guess I'd die real fast and they probably don't want that, so they have to feed me something. Well, they could make the food crappy. I guess the work hard, get good food trade off works for me.
"I know you will," Micah said, smiling a little. "I'll help you, so hopefully it'll be easier for you to be free." He reached out to grab my hand and pulled me after him. "We've got to start walking over there now. It's almost half an hour away from here."
"Okay," I chirped, skipping ahead of Micah. I've got no problem walking. Swimming, getting bit by wild animals, and weeding I do have a problem with though. Micah laughed at me and ran to catch up. It became almost a game, me running as fast as I could and Micah trying to catch me. Unfortunately, he's about a billion times faster than me and tackled me to the ground. I struggled for a minute giggling, before Micah rolled on top of me and held me still. Suddenly, I realized that a guy--Nope, that's not right--an overwhelmingly beautiful angel was sitting on top of me, basically straddling me. I felt happy, nervous, scared, and excited all at once. "Um…can you get off of me?"
"Oh, I'm sorry," Micah blushed, rolling off me and jumping to his feet. He took my hand and pulled me to my feet. "I didn't realize I was make you uncomfortable," Micah whispered, his eyes hurt. He spun on his heel and kept walking. "Come on. We're almost there," he said, without looking back at me.
I immediately felt like an ass for doing that. I don't know why I told him to stop. I liked it; it was just so weird. I guess I just wasn't expecting it.
It was quiet for a moment as I followed Micah across the grassy fields and gardens, past the stables where Haven worked, and through the untamed areas I hadn't gone through yet. I couldn't help but think that I would love the free time to just be able to walk around here. There was just so much space. I could walk around here for hours and never run into another person. Finally, we stopped at the edge of the forest. "The fastest way is through here," Micah said. "There's some deer trails we can follow. I don't want to go down the main trail. There are some people who…Well, they're not the nicest people in the world to slaves and, um, never mind."
"What?" I asked, suspiciously.
"Um, this is going to sound really bad, but…They probably wouldn't want me to be talking to you."
"If you don't want to be seen with me, they why are you here? I'm not going to make you stay here. I can't. I'm just a slave, right?" I turned away, blinking back tears.
"Shut up. You're being ridiculous. Just because I don't want a bunch of jerks to see us doesn't mean--"
"Then prove you aren't embarrassed. Come with me or go away," I whispered. I was crying now, but there was no way I was going to let him see it.
"Fine. Forget this. I'm going back to bed. Have fun working alone," he spat and stormed off.
It took all I had in me not to call him back. I don't know why. It's not like it would have made any difference. Haven was right. I shouldn't have talked to Micah. I shouldn't even want to talk to him. I don't know why I wanted to by friends with someone who's embarrassed to be seen with me. I don't need him to help me find the lake. I'll just keep walking down here until I find the main pathway. It's not like I followed him around, begging him to talk to me! He came up to me!
I tripped right then in some giant gopher hole and about broke my ankle. I did manage to face plant in the dirt. Crap. It seems like the day can't start unless I hurt myself somehow.
A chorus of harsh laughter broke me out of my thought. I pushed myself up onto my elbows to glare at the people who'd though it was funny to see me hurt. There were four guys, all a couple of years older and a lot bigger than me. One of them--the leader, I guess--swaggered over to me and rolled me over with his shoe. I started to get up, but he kicked me in the shoulder, hard, and I fell back. "You don't get up until we tell you to," he hissed, a cruel smirk on his face.
For whatever reason, I didn't listen to him. I rolled away and tried to get up but the boy just kicked me in the ribs. He stepped on my back and put more and more weight on it until I fell back down and way lying flat on my stomach. When I looked up they had all surrounded me. Uh-oh. This never ends well.
"Didn't I just tell you not to get up?" the leader snarled.
"Yes."
"Yes, what?"
"Yes, sir," I muttered, wanting to shoot myself for saying it.
"And what made you think that you don't have to listen to me, slave? You stay right there in the dirt where you belong until we tell you to move," he said, glaring at me. Clearly, he doesn't like it when people don't listen to him.
I nodded. "Yes sir." As much as they make me sick, I'm just going to listen to them. They'd probably kick my ass if I didn't…unless I freaked out and went all demon on them, but that probably wouldn't end well. I'd be in so much trouble if I killed one of them. I lay still for what seemed like forever. It was so weird that a couple of hours ago, I'd been hoping for a fun day with a new friend and now I just wanted to be left alone. I just don't want them to hurt me. Why can't they just let me go? I need to go to work and do enough that I can go back to my room and be with Seven and Haven. I can't believe I wouldn't even get the chance to cry in peace over how Micah turned out. I know I shouldn't want to, but still. Is that so much to ask.
Apparently it is, because I've probably missed so much time where I could be working, that I won't be able to get finished. I shuddered at the thought of being here alone at night. Some random animal or even person could jump out and kill me. Probably the last thing I'd do in my life would be to scream like a little girl. I can imagine having a manly moment while something tries to kill me.
"This is so boring," one of them said. "The little bitch isn't going to move. Let's go home.
The leader smirked and nodded. He reached down and grabbed me by my hair. I hissed in irritation and tried to grab at his hand to make him let go. A second later, I almost passed out. That jerk punched me right in the nose. I heard a snap and I knew it was broken. I wanted to cry it hurt so bad. I let go of his hand and cupped my hands over my nose, curling up in a little ball. My nose was spurting blood and it had already gotten all over my shirt. I couldn't help whimpering pathetically.
"You stay right there until I say you can move. If I find out you moved, I'll kick your ass."
"Yes, sir," I whispered, silently begging him not to hit me again.
"See? I told you it wouldn't be any trouble. Demons aren't dangerous at all if you train them right." the leader said cockily to his friends.
I don't know why that of all things made me snap, but it did. I growled, sounding so much like a feral animal that I even surprised myself. I grabbed the leader's arm, throwing him onto the ground while I leaped to my feet. "It's awake! The demon part of it is awake!" one of them yelled terrified.
I laughed sadistically. "There is no demon part. I'm all demon and I'm going to kill you." I lunged at one of them, knocking him to the ground. I slammed the heel of my hand into his nose. It broke with a satisfying crack. "Look, we match," I hissed while he sobbed. I spat some of the blood from my nose onto his face. He whimpered, afraid of what else I might do to him. I lapped the blood from my hand up. That probably terrified him more than anything.
I turned from the blubbering boy to the next one, prepared to do the same thing to him. I wasn't going to kill them yet. I was going to hurt them and scare them just like they did to me. I was going to make them grovel at my feet.
The next one was already shaking in terror. I could smell his blood. I couldn't wait until he was on the ground, bleeding. I could already hear him crying for me to stop. There was no way I was going to though…And then I felt like my side was on fire. The leader held a long stick that was just sparking with electricity. I'd felt 25,000 bolts of energy shoot into my side again and I fell to my knees, temporarily paralyzed. I smelt my burnt skin and let me tell you, even in demon mode it hurts like hell to be electrocuted. I snarled as I heard them getting closer to me, but I was helpless to do anything about it. They had just enough time to lift me up and chain my arms and legs to a tree before I recovered.
I growled viciously, striking at them like a rattle snake. Somewhere in my delusional demon mind, I thought that I could break free from those chains and go right back to trying to kill them. I was furious, but even with all the extra strength I had, I still couldn't get free.
Slowly my anger started to fade, and I was becoming myself again. With that, the fear came with it. "I-I'm sorry. Please don't hurt me. P-please," I begged. I knew they weren't going to let me go. I knew they were going to hurt me, maybe even kill me. I started crying pathetically. I knew then that I was completely better. The pain and remorse had returned. My nose was throbbing so much that it made me cry even harder.
Even though they'd hurt me, I'd never meant to do the same to them If I'd been myself, I never would have hurt them. The one whose nose I had broken got to me first. He hit me over and over again , taking turns with the other three. They didn't hold back at all. They had no problem continuing even when they heard my bones snap like twigs, didn't even pause when I pleaded with them to stop, couldn't have cared less when I passed out. I was in out of consciousness over the next couple of hours. Every time I woke up, I wanted to pass out again because they still hadn't gotten tired of beating me.
We were there for so long that I started to wonder if I'd always been there. I couldn't even remember what it was like not wanting to throw up from how many times I'd been punched in the stomach or feeling like my skull was going to split open.
Finally, they left, after cussing me out one more time. They left me tied to the tree. I cried and cried. My entire body was in unimaginable pain. I couldn't help but wonder, "Would they ever come back for me? Would they leave me here to die?"
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I've got the next two chapter written.Comment and I'll put them up faster! :)