A chapter that certainly shouldn't belong anywhere.....

He stood in the doorway looking over her frame, it appeared frail but put her in the structures and she lost everything that seemed weak. Confinement upon confinement intrigued Julian. The rites of passage that would cause others to cower before him only served to embolden her. Once recovered she would stand ridiculously defiant attempting to burn into him with her glaring eyes, not pleading but demanding he acknowledge that which he was doing. Forget succumbing this creature would not be bent. He thought through the list. Shook his head and walked away.

The air was dank, clammy, wet... wet with darkness. It slipped off of Julian like a comical routine of one falling over a banana peel but there was nothing comical about Julian.

He had some understanding of what was happening within her and so he watched and watched. He wasn't like them. Not the elders. Not the older ones. Sure he had been around them enough, had heard enough of their encoded like conversations, that he was picking up on things here or there except depth of understanding was not Julian's strong suit, cruelty was.

So he continued putting her through the routines but learning from her as well. Watching her. Waiting. Late at night he would walk down the caverns alone, leaving all the others behind and he would sit in a chair that he had placed right outside her crate.

His eyes adjusted to the lack of light easily but he would bring a flash light as to shine it upon her at will. Disturbing her sleep and disrupting any left over senses of security or safety even in the crate and he would sit, stand, pace...

He ruled over her with a grip that was tightening and tightening and tightening and yet to no affect. Except upon him. His fury was growing. He would take it out on her and think he had her and stare at her and think she was right on the edge only for her to emerge as if out of no where stubborn as ever.

Not unbreakable. No one was unbreakable. Not at his hands. Others had been killed at less what was persevering this child was beyond him. Again Julian's mind would race across the list, across the structures, across the day in and day out routines and rituals that he knew how to ever so skillfully exact upon those most unfortunate creatures put into his hands.

The day had already been long. The list of structures and confinement and structures had left even him wanting to get some rest yet he knew they would be coming soon and the expectation was he would be further along with her.

The older ones had seen in her something he didn't and that gnawed at him and twisted his insides. If all in the confines cowered before Julian, Julian cowered before the older ones. Even while he fought away the shadows of fear, the knowledge of what they understood about the darkest of arts terrified him.

He hated the idea that he was their puppet, that anyone could so maneuver their way into his psyche bothered him, disgusted him and he tried to steel his thoughts and his mind as one of the older ones had once tried to show him.

Enraged by his own arising fear he stormed down the corridor only to find her awake! Awake! He wanted to scream. Fury was gaining control and that was another thing he had been taught to maneuver through, he was trying to master and not be mastered by the emotion. But he was exhausted and this thing.. this child.. this horrific imp like scrawny shit was awake as if she knew he was coming and was waiting on him.

Her look penetrated places deep within him that unnerved him almost as much as the older ones unnerved him yet there was something different in that gaze and he longed for the day when he could erase it. He had created specific events and moments to try and yet still that gaze held strong.

Looking up at him, and with a voice that sounded as if it should be on a playground laughing and taking in life not pushed into a crate that was lodged within man made dungeons she spoke, “what's wrong Julian? You know they are coming. I can feel them. He isn't going to be happy with you. I will walk right up to him and stand before him and not cower and that is something even you can't do Julian, is it? Are you afraid, Julian? Are you? Are you afraid?”

Her voice grew quiet and sweet and she looked like the little girl she was, and he was even more unnerved and rage burned in his gut and he wanted to pick up that crate and throw it against the concrete walls and rip her apart limb from limb, “Julian, I might die... I understand.. But guess what Julian? Guess what? You'll die before me Julian, you know it .. somewhere deep inside you, you know it. Guess what? Guess what Julian? I know it too.”

That was it! That was it!

He couldn't break her but she had broken him.

He would be dammed, if he was going to die then she would be dead too. What did it matter. His fear over the older ones coming and what was going to happen to him was loosened upon him and he picked up her crate throwing it against the wall, curses unleashed from his mouth , he went to get the keys. He was going to rip her limb from limb and she was going to be a pile of flesh and blood and bones and even if he did join her when they got there he would have had the fulfillment of destroying this horrific nightmare of a child.

The keys in his hands his steps became all the more full of purpose as he lunged at the crate, blood was dripping from her head already. Was she unconscious? Again fear grabbed a hold of his stomach was he really going to do this? Had he done it already? Was she gone? Ecstatic glee coursed through his being at the thought but even he knew that that was just covering up the horror that reality would bring upon him if she was dead.

Broken.. utterly broken and ready for them were the orders. Not dead. On any account absolutely not dead. She hadn't changed one bit since they had left at least not that he could see and now if she was dead, he knew he would be next except (and he vomited at the thought) he knew that nothing could prepare him for the horror that he would experience at the hands of the older ones.

Again he screamed and kicked the crate with all his might. Fear. Fear was getting the best of him. Oh what or who was he kidding. Fear had gotten the best of him and now he was just trying to contain some semblance of self order.

He steadied his shaking hand as he righted the crate and heard her groan, deep relief penetrated him. Alive. She was alive. Even if barely she was alive. That was what was asked, right? Alive. Broken. Alive and broken. Maybe this last moment had finally taught her the lesson he had been cramming into her for the last month. Maybe all was going to be better than he thought. This would certainly give him some credit in the older one's eyes.

Again he steadied his hand and now that the crate was right side up he unlocked and opened the door. He pulled her out and held her up to her feet. Her limbs began to move on their own and he let her lean on him for a moment as she tried to shake off the evenings extra events.

Before he could think through what he was going to do next blaring light was pouring in upon them both and she shrunk back at the unexpected display of brightness. She pulled her head to the side and tried to shield her eyes from the altered state of the room that daylight had brought. It had been what seemed like a month since she had last seen the light of day and now that did hurt.

Trying to regain composure especially around Julian she tried to shake her head except the affects of being tossed as though she was a bean bag had indeed landed hard upon her body and all seemed to be swinging and spinning. The outside door that even Julian didn't have the key for was opened which meant only one thing, they had arrived. It had been a month and the season if she remembered right was the timing of the equinox.

The outlines of others now filled the doorway, providing a human barrier standing against the light, their shadows streamed out before them across the concrete floor. She pushed Julian aside. Her arm that he could snap like a twig pushed him aside. Before he could manage control of the situation she was out of his reach. She was supposed to be crated not walking about and the familiar stabbings of fear raged into his heart.

Barefoot and barely dressed, stringy dirty hair clinging to her face and her body as lanky as they come she stepped pace after pace doing what even Julian dared not to.. walking straight up to the older ones she looked up searching faces... looking for something. Having found what she was looking for she spoke up, “Hello Father.”