By Ariel
Chapter 5: Death Can’t Be Worse
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: NCS!! MAJOR abuse of a child, in all aspects. Violence. Ariel POV.
Disclaimers: From now until the end, all ideas and characters are mine. *grins* Don't take. It won't make me happy and then you won't like what will happen.
Author’s Note: I know this is going to be a very dark, very not nice chapter but it is the start of what make my little Ariel who she ends up being much later. Yes, I know even I am going to crying with what I do to her. But! I will make it up in later chapters especially as she gets older.
Dedicated: To the 4 people in my mind right now who have… either politely me asked for the next chapter or who have started to poke at me until I get to it. So… here it is.
It had been raining the entire day. All of the children were cooped up inside the orphanage. Ms. Haine looked as if she were about to go mad, or worse, kill if she had to listen to another whine of boredom. Wisely enough, Tru and I stayed out of her way whenever it wasn’t time a mealtime. We had only run into the headmistress once but considering it was just on passing and neither of us were whining, we actually earned a slightly grateful smile that followed the shocked look when we politely excused ourselves from being in her way of running around.
The rain stopped just before dinner and some light filtered in the windows from through the clouds during the meal. Catching a few of the longing looks towards the outside, Ms. Haine eventually gave us permission to go out in the yard, telling us that as soon it began to get dark, we were to head inside. She didn’t want to hear any complaints from her rules. The woman seemed relieved to be rid of the children even if only for an hour. So after cleaning up the table and doing the dishes, we all went outside.
Tru and I stayed together on the far side of the yard, sitting on a rock beside the tattered wooden fence that kept us enclosed. We talked amiably, giggling softly and watching the other kids play. We didn’t really want to join them but we were glad to be outside. The smell of rain still lingered in the air and it was obvious that the rain had only let up for a short time.
“It sure was nice of Ms. Haine to let us come out, huh Ar?” Tru smiled a little as she turned her hazel eyes towards me.
I nodded, watching as one of the other girls tried to climb up on the high side of the seesaw. “Yeah, she musta been getting tired of all the whining, I guess.” I couldn’t stop the giggle from escaping when the girl on the opposite side decided to climb off, making high side suddenly drop and surprise the one that wanted to get on.
The girl beside me giggled as well, leaning her head on my shoulder as she watched the same thing I was. “Yeah. I guess.” We stayed quiet, watching everything that surrounded us for a few moments before I slowly lifted my head up from leaning against hers; a slight frown on my face as I looked up towards the sky. “What’s wrong?” She asked me in a whisper.
“I thought I felt a raindrop,” I whispered back, noticing how the clouds were gathering together once again, making it much darker than it normally would have been. “We gotta go in, Tru.” I carefully got off the rock, holding my hand out for her when we both let out startled screams as the sound of thunder filled the air and a single bolt of lightning lit up the sky. We looked at each other and as soon as she got up, we started heading towards the now-open door, only to see Ms. Haine looking over all the children who had ran towards the entrance, us included, with a dark scowl on her face.
“I thought I had told you all to get inside when it started to get dark,” she spoke in a low voice that made us all huddle together, watching her with wide, almost fearful eyes. Some of the kids were crying as they saw and heard the lightning-thunder show that was going on in the sky around us. “Each and every single one of you know that I do not like to be disobeyed.”
She glanced around the yard with her cold black eyes, a sneer appearing on her face. “I was nice to allow you go out and play after being stuck indoors all day. Well, since you all felt it was okay to not follow my orders, I am going to punish you all.” The headmistress turned her back on us and closed the screen door, locking it with a sharp click. “You can all stay out in the yard until I decide to let you come back in.” She began closing the door, a smirk on her face. “Do try to not get soaked. I don’t want my floors wet when you come back inside.” With those words, she slammed the door shut, locking it securely.
I looked around slowly, taking in the other children who were staring up at the door with eyes wide with shock and fear. I started shivering a little as it started to rain and took comfort when Tru and myself ended up hugging each other. The group of children remained huddled together in front of the door, almost as if hoping that Ms. Haine would reappear and let us in, telling us it was just a joke and that she had wanted to scare us into obeying her. But several moments passed and there was no sign of the door opening.
“No. No. This can’t be happening,” Tru spoke in a meek voice. “She’s leaving us here.” I could hear the panic in her voice; I heard the cries of the other kids but I was only focused on my friend. She looked at me with wide eyes. “Ariel… what are we gonna do?”
Holding her close, I tore my eyes away from her to the door and then I squinted up at the sky. “We hope the rain stops and we hope Ms. Haine goes good again.” I moved her to one side of the yard where there was a little ledge over the top of the wooden fence from an empty shed next door. It didn’t stop all the rain from coming down on us, but it was something. We sat down and leaned back again the wood, hearing it crack and move behind us since there was a loose board beside Tru that would have not taken much to get loose.
The other children scattered around the yard, staying in small groups and huddling together to try to remain warm. There were few places to go and there was nothing that could protect us from getting wet. The claps of thunder drowned out the whimpers and cries of everyone. Time seemed to pass very slowly and there was no sign of Ms. Haine’s return to let us in. We were all soaked to the bone, crying softly and shivering from the cold. And to make matters worse, the light in the yard went out, encompassing us all in complete darkness save for the occasional flashes of light in the sky.
I pulled my legs in as much as I could and cuddled close to Tru. I was growing tired but I didn’t want to fall asleep out here in case Ms. Haine decided to open the door. I could barely believe that we had actually been locked outside, in the rain. I had actually been trying to make myself think that the headmistress wasn’t as evil as I had first thought, that I had actually deserved the punishment during my first hours at the orphanage. But this proved me wrong. The woman was awful. Not just to me, but to all of us.
I was pulled out of my thoughts when I realized that Tru was talking to me. I blinked and slowly looked over to where I knew she was. “Wha?”
Tru managed a slight giggle. “I said,” she whispered softly, “we should try an’ get outta here.” She looked around and I saw that she was squinting thanks to the flash of lightning. “It’s creepy here in the dark. At least we could try an’ find someplace with some light? Maybe out of the rain?”
I could hear the fear and the plea in her voice. She didn’t want to accept that we were left out in the rain at night. She didn’t want to accept that the one that was supposed to watch over her while she waited for someone to adopt her would just leave her out like she was nothing important. I felt her trembling under the arm I had around her and I could feel her breath on my cheek since that is how close were huddled together. “Tru…”
“Please Ar?” Her voice cracked as she held back a sob. “I just don’t…” She stilled when thunder roared over us. “I just don’t wanna stay here right now.”
I knew we should stay where we were. I knew we would get into major trouble. Ms. Haine would make us pay, not only for disobeying her but also for leaving. The warnings were flashing in my mind but when I kept hearing my best friend’s frightened mantra of ‘please?’ I broke. I nodded my head and whispered to her. “’kay. Let’s go. We gotta be quiet though.” I could feel her nod before I shifted. “You know that loose board beside you? If we play with it just a little, I think we can slip through.” I felt her turn around and kneel, hearing her move the board a little and making soft creaking sounds that were hidden with the rain as it fell steadily.
At the next flash of lightning, I saw her crawl through the space and I moved to hold the board to the side. It was just enough space for us to get through since we were so small to begin with. “Are you alright?” I whispered when she got her legs through.
“Yeah…” was her only reply. I nodded to myself and carefully made my way to the other side. The board creaked again as it shifted to its spot before I reached out for Tru’s hand. When she took mine, she whispered, “You’re okay too, right?”
I smiled to myself at her concern. “Hai. I’m a’right. Let’s go.” I squeezed her hand and we slowly stood up, able to see from the slight ray of light that came through from the street. The supposed shed ended up being nothing more than one wall that had a tiny ledge over the wooden fence of the orphanage. I vaguely wondered what had happened to it before I felt a slight tug and I followed it. We sighed and made our way out of wherever we were to the main street. All the lights of the orphanage were shut off; apparently Ms. Haine had fallen asleep with no intention to let us back in until morning.
When we got to the street, we looked down each side before mutually deciding to go right, neither of us daring to consider the entrance to the huge park across from where we stood. We kept going for several blocks, shivering from the cold rain but at least being able to see thanks to the streetlamps. We didn’t turn any corners, not really wanting to get too lost. There really wasn’t anyone out at this hour either – just us two little orphans. We had each other and took comfort in that, not trying to worry as much about our current situation.
However, we should have been. I tensed as I started hearing faint footsteps splashing in puddles behind us. I glanced over at Tru and I knew from the look on her face that she had heard it as well. We continued walking, stealing peeks at each other to make sure how the other was holding up. When he heard the steps behind us pick up pace, we both shifted gears and ran down the street, trying to lose our follower.
I slowed down and turned when I heard my friend scream as she was grabbed. I cried out her name but she only shook her head. “No! Ar! Go! Get away! Ahh!” Her screams were muffled as a black-gloved hand covered her mouth. I pushed back some of my wet hair from my eyes trying to see who had Tru and gasped as I recognized the cold black eyes and graying hair.
The man smirked darkly at me as he pulled Tru tightly in front of him. “Oh, Ariel, it’s you. It is such a pleasure to see you again.” Horace, as the name quickly entered my mind, stalked towards me, holding my struggling friend in his arm. “I think I will enjoy punishing you very much. Hélène will no doubt hand you over to me while she punishes this one.”
I felt sick as he trailed his eyes over me before I took one look at Tru. Her eyes were pleading for me to run. I was torn between leaving her to escape and letting myself be taken back to the orphanage. The decision was made when Horace grabbed me by the front of my wet dress and I screamed as I freaked out, kicking him in the knee and making him curse as he stepped back with Tru. I met my friend’s eyes that told me to go and nodded once before I turned and ran as fast as I could, hearing Horace yell after me.
I ran down the street, turning corners now just to make sure I lost Horace, knowing he wouldn’t stay down for long. The man was horrible and after having spent more than enough time with him in the basement, I wasn’t looking forward to what else he could do to me. I had the feeling that he was going to take Tru back to the orphanage, probably to get in better with Ms. Haine and to complain that I had ran off when he tried to get me. I hadn’t noticed that the rain had slowed to a drizzle and when I slowed from the run and then paused for a breath beside the brick wall of an abandoned pizzeria, that’s when I realized that it had stopped completely.
I only intended to stay there for a few moments so I could catch my breathe and try to figure out how far I ran but that thought fled as I felt a chill run down my spine upon hearing a dangerous-sounding voice come from somewhere behind me. “Well, you’re new…” the man spoke in a deep voice. “I haven’t seen you before but I know I am definitely going to like you.”
I knew I was in trouble and before he could have gotten any closer, I ran. Hearing him curse before he started after me, I made it another block away before I turned into a small street, not realizing that it was just another dead-end until after he tackled me down and I managed to look up, whimpering. He turned me over so he was over me, pinning me down with the weight of his body.
I stared up at him in horror, tears streaming down my face. From the small streetlamp, I could tell he wore a tattered brown trench coat over a ripped light blue t-shirt and torn black jeans. His hair looked almost black from being wet and he had these cold brown eyes that at the moment frightened me more than Ms. Haine’s black ones.
“You shouldn’t have run away little girl,” he hissed as he shifted over me, grabbing both of my wrists in one of his large hands and pinning them over my head. “I would have played nice with you.” The man lowered his face against my neck, breathing hotly against it. I struggled against him, turning away as much as I could, tears escaping from my tightly clenched eyes.
However, he must have not liked when I did that because next thing I knew, I was lifted up by the front of my dress and threw me against the brick wall. My head slammed back as I slid down and I was no longer trying to hold my cries. I saw his looming figure stalking towards me but I was too pained to attempt an escape. He grabbed me and slammed me against the wall, one hand shoving my shoulder into the brick and the other feeling the side of my body as he pressed himself against me.
“P-pl-please… s-stop…” I whispered, my voice cracking as I almost choked on a sob. A flicker of hope ran through me when he actually did stop his hand from roaming all over my sides.
He pulled face away from where he had been breathing on my neck to study my tear-streaked face, running a finger along the side of my neck that was covered in blood from the cuts on the back on my head. After a moment, he gave what I suppose would have been a charming smile under other circumstances before he shook his head. “No.” The word was spoken so coldly that it sent a chill running down my body and in an instant, he threw me back on the ground causing me to scream.
My forehead was cut open now and there was a gash going downward beside my right eye. I tried to sit up but my arms wouldn’t cooperate from the pain I was feeling in them. I didn’t have much time to try, however, because he was suddenly pinning my legs down from where he was straddled on his knees above me. A manic grin spread across his face as he reached down and grabbed the front of my dress, ripping it with a harsh sound that echoed in my ears.
“No! Please… stop! No!” I kept crying out. He soon finished tearing my dress down the front, letting the material drop to my sides and he trailed his eyes over me as I squirmed.
Growling low, he glared at me as he grabbed my shoulders and slammed me back against the ground repeatedly a few times. “Stay still…” He then let me go and slapped my face, stunning me nearly frozen in my fear. He didn’t wait another moment before I felt him move over me and start undoing his pants, shoving them down and pulling his hard self out.
I turned my face to look up at him and started squirming again as I panicked. I wasn’t quite sure what he was going to do but I knew I wasn’t going to like it one bit. He grinned evilly at me as he started stroking himself, speaking in a lower voice than before. “I am going to make sure you scream, little pretty one.” He then grabbed me by the hair and forced me to sit up just as he crashed his lips to mine and bit me hard.
I winced in pain but it didn’t stop him for a single moment. Instead I felt his other hand rip off my underpants and I felt his fingers touch me in places that weren’t welcome. “Stop…please… stop…” I repeated over and over again. But it was to no avail. He pushed me back hard and grinned down at me in a way that made me gasp and tremble in fear.
“I’m gonna make sure you remember this, brat!” He grit his teeth and I let out a piercing, pained scream as I felt him force himself deep inside me. He immediately started moving inside me, laughing at each of my cries of pain. I felt sick and I tried to struggle against him but it didn’t help – he only gripped my hip with one of his hands and continued thrusting like a savage beast.
I continued begging and pleading for him to stop through my cries of pain and fear only to realize that he was lost in his own little world. He continued forcing himself in me, lowering his upper body against my small one, his weight almost suffocating me. He reached over and grabbed my hair with his other hand, pulling it to the side before he started licking my neck, moaning and grunting in my ear. I was sure I was about to be sick before he slammed himself inside me again and froze as he cried out his satisfaction. I could feel his sick pleasure fill me and I choked on a scream, trying to remain still from fear and shock.
“Yeah, that was good,” his husky voice spoke hotly against my ear as he shifted himself up, still deep inside me before he managed to grab my upper arms and drag me into his lap, making me cry out in pain once again. He grinned darkly at me before he grabbed me by the hair and threw me hard against the wall, laughing when he heard the sound of my bones crunching from impact.
The pain was overwhelming as I crumpled to the ground. The only sound I could still hear were those of my clothes ripping and his breath rasping against my ear as he had his way with me, ignoring my pleas for him to stop. He had gotten up and walked over to me. I managed to notice that he had stuffed himself back in his pants and was now glaring down at me with a murderous look in his brown eyes.
“I’m almost done with you… precious!” He spat the last word out as he flicked open a pocket knife and knelt beside me. I sobbed openly now as I felt the tip of the blade make patterns all over the front of my body, leaving a trail of blood in its wake. Not being able to see the wicked smirk on his face any longer, I clenched my eyes shut. I don’t know what his reaction was but I knew it wasn’t good because I then felt him move closer to me and take a good, deep slash on first one calf, then the other, making me scream out in pain.
I opened my eyes and stared up at him in horror as he grinned evilly down at me. I started to shake violently, not being able to move much more than that on my own free will. He lifted the bloodied blade up in front of my eyes, showing it too me before he gripped its handle and sneered as he stabbed it into my left side. Another scream erupted from my lips as the pain seared right through my body as he dug it in deep by my hip and dragged it a little before removing it.
The next few minutes were a blur for me. I vaguely remember being lifted up and carried out of the alley. The only thing I recalled was the pain all over and in my body. Nothing felt right. Nothing felt safe. Was this what I had survived for? Was this a punishment of some sort? Why couldn’t I have died in that car accident as well?
I felt myself being set upright in front of a door; my knees locked themselves at the knees allowing me to stand, albeit awkwardly as I was swaying. I could feel the man’s hand holding me up by the back of my head, his fingers tangled in my bloody hair. I heard a few knocks at the door and the sound of a woman yelling she would be there in a moment.
The dark voice suddenly whispered hotly against my ear, “I’ll see you again, little girl,” and then it was gone. I was standing alone just as the door opened and I was able to see Ms. Haine’s scowl turn into a look of complete shock before I collapsed in a heap on the front porch with a pained whimper.
One thought crossed my mind as I took in one ragged as my lungs felt as if they were on fire: death can’t be worse than this.
Then everything went black.
TBC...
Back to Main
On to Chapter 6
My Creations
Home