Twin Moon - Chapter 254 - Looking In
Aurora.
The man Hank stood up and walked over to a metal loop linked to the floor, just a few steps away from Zee. He pulled on the chain connected to her wrist, dragging her arm until it was fully outstretched. He then walked to the other side, and did the same thing to the other chain. Her arms were stretched so far out, I thought they may rip right off.
“Much better” Hank chortled. He sauntered back over to the young girl, in a way that felt so very familiar. His cocky strut and the proud way he held himself, it all felt familiar. As he stood behind her, I got to see his face more clearly. A strange feeling of rage and sadness washed through me. I don’t know why or where it came from, but the sense of familiarity was strong. I knew this face, but I don’t know how.
“I’m sorry” she sobbed. Tears rolled freely down her cheeks. I watched closely, waiting to see if he would punish her for crying. One tear, one lash. That was my way of life as a child. Hank scoffed and walked over to a table that was sitting against the wall. He scuffled about for a moment, before returning with a thick brown leather belt. He snapped the belt on his hand and Zee cried harder.
“I’m sorry, Dad, please I'm sorry!” she screamed through her sobs. He didn’t seem the least bit impressed with her screaming, and cracked the belt down over her forearm. She winced and bit down hard on her lip. The belt came down again and a muffled cry left her lips.
“So now you want to stop screaming” the man she called her father sneered at her. Why would her father treat her like this. I've seen Weres die protecting their babies, yet this one is beating on his. I know the beasts to be ruthless and savage to other creatures, especially humans, but not usually to their own offspring. Maybe I just hadn’t witnessed it. Perhaps they are all vicious animals after all, so I suppose no surprise that one could do something like this to his child.
“I’ll be quicker, I will” Zee said shakily.
“Too fucking late, you useless piece of trash” he screamed next to her ear. She flinched away from his voice, but couldn’t move far, the chains pulling at her arms had no give.
“It won’t happen again, I promise” she pleaded. Such a weak thing to do, to beg and plead for mercy. It disgusts me. Even if she is just a child, she should have a little dignity.
“I had to wait an extra fucking hour for you to get home” he shouted. I'm lost as to what is happening here.
“The teacher made me stay back, I told her I didn’t want to. I'm sorry Daddy” she cried. Her teacher, she said. Like at a school, or the kind of teachers that I had, I wonder.
“I don’t want to hear your bullshit excuses. You come home, you cook, and then you fuck off out of my sight. You understand?”
“I do, I understand” she told him urgently. He stood up straight, still standing behind her, out of her view. The way he looked down at her, the hatred and disgust in his eyes, it was the same way the hunters used to look at me. Interesting. He bent down again so that his mouth was next to her ear.
“I don’t think you do” he whispered with a terrific smirk. He stood back up quickly and whipped the belt down on her forearm. The skin turned a bright pink and she gasped in pain. He did it again and again, on both of her arms. The pink marks soon turned red, as welts formed across her skin. But he didn’t let up. I am a lover of pain, and I enjoy inflicting it onto deserving monsters. But this, watching this, it was almost hard to stomach. Even though I don’t like the bitch, even though I want to rip the pretty face from her head, she is still just a child. I don’t know a lot about civilian human behaviors and regulations, but this punishment, just for coming home late from school, it seems awfully excessive.
After more of the grown man striking the child with the belt, her skin resembled that of a zebra. Dark pink and purple streaks lined her arms. It's amazing that not a single whipping had split her skin wide open. Throughout the whole experience, the girl barely made a sound. A few gasps, a couple of whimpers, but that was all. Toward the end, she had obviously become defeated. She hung her head and didn’t make a peep. The man, Hank, looked exhausted. He was huffing and sweating, all from just swinging his arms. He dropped the belt at his feet and stepped over the chain to stand in front of Zee. He grabbed her by the hair and lifted her head. Now I know why she didn’t make a sound, she was unconscious.
“If it were up to me, you’d be dead” Hank hissed at her pale and unresponsive face. He let her head drop, then he turned to march back up the stairs. The door slammed closed behind him, after he left her there, chained on her knees, unable to move. ‘If it were up to me’. I wonder what he meant by that. He is the father, who else would have a say in it. Her mother maybe? But could a mother, in good conscience, let this sort of thing happen to her daughter? There is no way she wouldn’t know about it. Unless she is drugged up or just as cruel and uncaring as her supposed father. What an interesting turn of events.
I looked around me, unsure of what to do now or where to go. Am I dead, is that why I am all ghost like and watching this shit? How do I go back, can I go back? This is so far beyond the norm. I sat down and crossed my legs. Gunner said meditating helped him, maybe it can help me. Now how did he do this exactly? I pictured Gunner sitting on the rock, back when I was still spying on him. Oh, of course, I moved my hands to my knees and straightened my back. Now what? I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Nothing is happening. I shuffled my butt and tried again, taking a long deep breath. Still nothing. I groaned and dropped my shoulders. Fuck this. The sound of soft sobbing caught my attention. My eyes flew open, and I looked across at the now awake Zee. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she shifted uncomfortably on her knees. A strange warmth filled the basement and a feeling of electricity tingled around me. Zee looked up, and it was like she was staring directly at me. I turned around to look behind me, but there was nothing there. I turned back to her, and she was still staring desperately at me. She began to cry harder and pulled at her arms.
“Mother” she sobbed and struggled against the restraints. Who is she talking to? I looked around the basement, but there is no one else here.
“Let me out, please, help me” she pleaded. This girl has lost her mind. She is looking right at me, crying and begging? Is she talking to me, can she see me? I pointed to my chest and raised my brows.
“Are you talking to me?” I asked her.
“Mother, please” she cried.
“I’m not your mother” I scoffed in disbelief.
“No you can’t, please, take me with you! Don't leave me here!” she all but screamed. I looked around again, just to make sure there was no one else here. There isn’t. Who in the fucking shit is this crazy bitch talking to? Zee thrashed and pulled wildly at her arms, so much so that the cuffs bit into her skin. Blood dripped down from her wrists, but she didn’t let up. She cried and fought, begging her invisible mother to save her. Maybe her mother is a ghost too. Maybe only she can see her. Pfft. Now I'm acting crazy too.
“I’ll be good, I promise, you won’t even know I'm there” Zee pleaded. She had moved on from her desperate thrashing and was now back to begging.
“Why can’t you?” she cried. It was like she was having a full blown conversation with someone.
“Please, I don’t want to stay here” Zee sobbed. She dropped her head and cried. Her chest heaved with the harsh breaths and her stink of sadness and desperation filled the small basement. There was another scent down here, one that wasn’t here before. It’s hard to describe, but it smells like spring flowers, and what I imagine the clouds smell like. It's pleasant, if you’re into that sort of thing.
Zee’s head started to rise, but the way she lifted her head chin first, it was almost like someone else was pulling her chin up. Her crying stopped and she took a few gasping breaths. She stared intently at the one spot, not looking away from it. I followed her line of site, but there is nothing there. She sniffed and nodded her head.
“You promise?” she asked softly.
“Do I promise what?” I blurted out. I've realized now that she isn’t talking to me, nor can she see me. I don’t know what compelled me to answer, it just came out.
“Okay” she breathed out heavily. Her eyes went blank and her body slowly relaxed. It was kind of like she blacked out or something, but her eyes were still wide open. The warm feeling evaporated, along with the unexplained scent. I think maybe I am dead. Zee let her head fall back down and she continued on with her quiet sobbing. The room was cold and silent, with only the quiet crying of Zee echoing off the walls. What the fucking hell is going on here. I stood up abruptly and immediately felt dizzy. My head spun and it felt like I was falling backwards. I closed my eyes and grabbed my head, waiting for the feeling to pass. I groaned with the sickening feeling and hunched forward. Then in a flash, it was gone. I paused waiting for it to come back again, but it didn’t. Weird. I opened my eyes and looked down at the beaten child. Only she was now gone, and in her place was the grown up Zee. Just like the one I saw before in the driveway. Though this one was skinnier and covered in blood, she was no longer the child I was watching moments ago.
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