Post by Deleted on Nov 3, 2016 23:45:45 GMT -5
Zeph was in hell…there was just pain…so much pain. The men’s faces kept flashing through her mind, taunting her. Making her whimper in her sleep. Baron had rescued her. But Zephyr didn’t know that…not yet. She hadn’t really woken up in two days. The kind grandmotherly woman Baron had taken her to would coax her to wake enough to sip some broth. She had cleaned Zephyr’s skin, revealing a map of bruises and abrasions. Deep burns in her wrists where the ropes had held her. The stab wound in her arm that would leave a nasty scar. But it was the psychological wounds the woman couldn’t fix.
She tried to reassure Baron, to keep him calm. But even was starting to question if the woman he called Zephyr was going to awaken. Night was coming quickly and the sun was setting. She had given Zephyr and old dress of hers that basically swallowed the girl, but it was clean and would conceal her body. Baron didn’t have to tell her what had befallen her, it was all too obvious. And she could only imagine that if she did wake up she would want to feel concealed. She wiped a dribble of broth from Zephyr’s lip and gave her a warm smile as she pulled the blanket over her. Their spare bedroom had come in handy after all, even if they hadn’t expected visitors after the outbreak. She gave Baron a reassuring squeeze on his arm before she slowly made her way out of the room. Intending to sit on the porch with Barry and watch the stars appear.
Zephyr and Baron were now alone. Barry had brought a chair in so that Baron could sit with her, it was nothing fancy…but it would do. Zephyr finally began to stir. For the first time in two days she was swimming back to consciousness. Her dark brown eyes slowly cracked open. And immediately she was back there with those men. She didn’t have time to take in the room, or Baron. Panic hit her like a freight train. Her breathing was fast and shallow as her eyes finally began to search the room. Looking for Jacob, Zeb, and Tim. But it wasn’t one of their haunting faces that she saw….but Baron.
This had to be a dream…..it just...it couldn’t be real. There was no way possible that she had been rescued from that hell. She had begged, cried, even prayed to a god she no longer believed in. “B……Baron?” She eventually said, her voice barely above a whisper. She closed her eyes again. Preparing for the image of him to be gone when they opened…but he was still there. She began to cry. She couldn’t help it…it just poured out of her. Her hands came up to cover her face but she froze when she noticed the deep etchings in her skin from the ropes. The purple and yellow bruising on her skin, many of them in the shapes of fingers.
It was real….it was all real….even this seemingly impossible moment was real. She was shaking horribly, her arms wrapping around her thin body as if to provide herself with some sort of comfort. Baron…had he managed to save her then? Alone? She was so thankful he was alive and shocked by his recovery. She felt like she was falling apart. She wanted to be happy. She should have been. But it was hard to feel happiness after it all. She had wanted to die. She bit down on her lip and looked at Baron again. Her bruised arms reaching out to him. She wanted comfort. To feel safe. And she didn’t feel it sitting there in a huge bed. “Please.” She managed, her voice raw and breaking.”[/b]