She Wore Black

by J L Park

  I couldn’t help that my eyes had filled up. From experience, I was aware that Pius parents were harsh, but Jesus, that was cruel.

  “Reed, don’t. I don’t let them hurt me anymore. If I’m dead to them, they’re dead to me. I’m better off without them.” She reached up and brushed a rogue tear that had escaped onto my cheek.

  “Shit. I think I remember your memorial service.” She laughed then, as I continued, "Shit, I’m chatting with a ghost.”

  “Jesus… trust my family to make it about them.”

  We both shook our heads, Pius parents were weird. We continued talking for some time until Paige decided her arse was numb, and we should chat later.

  Maddox called Tiarni to his office later than night, reprimanding her for her physical outburst toward the man that had grabbed her arse. She limped into the dorm some time later.

  “What the hell?” I muttered, going to her.

  “It’s nothing, Reed. You’ll learn that here.”

  “Huh?”

  “Ferox prefers physical behaviour modification, to taking away privileges like the other Sections,” She grimaced as she sat down, “It’s quick, sharp and means that the behaviour changes quickly, too. A strap to the back of the legs might sound cruel, and hell, even childish. It works. I can’t damn well sit down, you’d think I’d never punch a dude for grabbing my arse again.”

  I watched her face, hardening.

  “But he’s wrong.”

  “In this case, yeah. I’d do it again in a damn heartbeat, but he doesn’t know that yet. It works for everyone else.” I laughed then, making her frown at me, confused, “Why are you laughing?” I raised my arm to show her the scars on the back of my elbow.

  “Either physical behavioural modification doesn’t work for me, or I’m a really slow learner. My father tried the physical stuff. It may have changed the way I behaved around him, eventually. It never changed me. I’d still do the same thing again if the situation called for it.”

  Tiarni shook her head, chuckling, moving so her bruises weren’t pressed on so hard.

  “I think you and I will be good mates, Member Taylor. Even though our start was a little rocky.”

  I nodded and helped her to lie down, leaving her to sleep.

  The others were talking amongst themselves, into the small hours of the morning, as I sat thinking about the things that had happened that day. Despite the angry outbursts, and the physical punishment meted out by Maddox, I thought I may have ended the day with a new friend, bonding over our shared disdain for how we were treated as women. Rubbing my face, I realised I was exhausted. My eyes burned as though they were filled with sand, my limbs felt heavy and clumsy. Dragging my legs up on to the dark mattress, my head on the pillow, I yearned for sleep. Even just two minutes would be enough. Closing those sand filled eyes gave me some relief from the grittiness, but sleep was not a reprieve from the thinking today. I drifted off.

  His eyes bored into me, a snarl curling the edge of his lip as he ranted at me, pain reminding me this wasn’t just a rant, his fists raining on my body when I tried to ignore him, thrown into a wall, whipped until droplets of blood splashed to the floor, little splashes of red, a warm rain drawn from my flesh, whilst he took from me anything he wanted.

  “Reed.”

  An urgent voice above me startled me out of the memory, a yell caught in my throat.

  “Reed, wake up.”

  I blinked, the shed’s darkness and Walker’s bright blue eyes fading away, to reveal a caramel skinned, brown eyed girl’s face in front of me, her smooth features creased with worry. Tiarni.

  “Tiarni,” I muttered, swallowing to force the caught yell back into its rightful place.

  “Reed, you were shouting.” I blinked at her, confused, “In your sleep. You were shouting something.”

  “Was I? Sorry.”

  “You okay?” Her face still lined with concern, and caring, something that had been missing earlier in the day, “You sounded scared.”

  I paused before answering, “Yeah, I’m good, I think.” My back burned in remembered pain as though I needed the reminder.

  She nodded. “You know, you can ask him to give you a few more days if you’re not ready to train. The trials can be hard for some.”

  “It’s all good, Tiarni. I don’t expect any special treatment, a month or a year… too many of us have been there. I want to be treated like everyone else.”

  “But you’re not like everyone else.” she murmured, chuckling as I frowned, “Unless they were Ferox born, those who have been Taken, don’t get to Selection for a lot longer than you did. Even if they used the Runaway excuse, they were made to wait until the next Selection Day if they’d missed it. Either they’ve changed the law, or they pushed you harder than anyone else. I for one am curious to know why, but I figure we’ll find out.”

  “So, even with the Runaway excuse, others had more than a month?”

  She nodded, “More like six months, if not twelve.” She stopped, a thoughtful look wandering over her face, “It’s hard if they know you’ve been Taken. You know how it is, the Taken are treated cruelly, much harsher than if you were a Runaway, and to be Taken and Non-Sel… it isn’t easy. So, with you being given Selection only a month after your experience, they were either trying to save you the trauma of having to wait as a Non-Sel, even if they didn’t know you were Taken or pushing you harder than anyone else. It’s just not usual, is all. So, if some others seem suspicious of you, it’s ‘cause they don’t know why they treated you different.”

  “I didn’t ask for anything different. I handed myself in early once I was rescued, I was too obvious not to do so. They told me I had a month.” I considered how I must have looked when I got to the Confederation Circle, “Though, I may not have passed myself as well as a Runaway as I thought. I probably still looked odd.”

  Tiarni glanced away before she met my eyes, an odd look in them like she wanted to say something, but wasn’t sure how.

  "If you looked anything like you have the last few days, you still seem haunted, it’s a giveaway.” I looked away, ashamed it was that obvious, as Tiarni continued, “But, you’re in good company. The girls here with similar history to you all did in the beginning, some still do from time to time. And the yelling in your sleep? It’s okay - we all get it.”

  I nodded. “Thanks Tiarni.”

  “Ti is fine, Tiarni’s only when I’m in the shit! And, hey, I think he’s trying to push you. I don’t understand why he’d pick on you for that, but it may have been that thing you did at the Confederation Circle, maybe he thinks he can, and you’ll cope.” She laughed then, realising something, “Hell, maybe the others aren’t suspicious, they’re jealous.” She chuckled at her own personal joke as she limped back to her cubicle.

  They called us out on Patrol that night, Ti, Paige, myself and a few others. We started off patrolling Ferox until part way through the night when we were called to an incident in Arator. A specially designed, rapid overland vehicle ensured we got there quickly, to assist other Ferox already there on assignment, who were overwhelmed.

  “Reed, you don’t have to join in this time, just stick with me.” Paige handed me a baton for my belt and jumped out of the vehicle, I followed closely behind.

  I could hear shouting and screaming as we ran into the fray. Fists flying, I ducked under a few, thankful I was a little on the short side. Avoiding punches, and following Paige, I tried to figure out what was happening, what had started the fighting, and why the others couldn’t break it up. I paused, standing to the side of the fighting, ducking as a bottle flew my way. Over the other side of the huge group of people was a huddle of girls, looking terrified, but trying to comfort someone. I signalled to Paige I was moving in that direction and picked my way over there. Moving closer to them, I motioned for them to move away further, to avoid unnecessary injury. Once it was quieter and safer, I turned to the one who looked most likely to talk.

  “What happened?” She looke
d up with tears running down her face, “It's okay, I can help. I need to know what’s happened so I can figure out how to help.”

  She nodded, hiccoughing, pointing to the others. “That dude tried to touch her…. um…. like… that.” She muttered, too ashamed to use her words.

  “They tried to touch her intimately?”

  She nodded.

  I frowned, a fight wouldn’t start over that, despite what I wished would change, “Is that what started the fight?”

  She nodded, again. “Yeah.”

  “With?”

  “Her brother and her Dad, they saw it happen. Saw her trying to push him away, and him trying to take her away. His hands trying to get down her skirt.” She shuddered, as disturbed as I was with the connotation of what was likely to come next for the young lady.

  “They launched into him, and his friends and family launched into them.”

  This was an interesting occurrence, as per the laws, the offending male in this situation was within his rights to do what he did - to take what he wished if the female declines his advances. From what I could tell, the girl was no longer a minor, being over 16. Despite the situation, it warmed my heart to think her family were coming to her aid, whether it was legal or not. I went to the girl who was shaking and crying, sitting in the corner.

  “I’m sorry. Maybe I should have let him.” She stuttered, holding her hands out for me to place handcuffs on them.

  I patted her hands down, much to her confusion. “I will not do that. You don't need that. Are you okay?” She nodded, silent in her confusion, “Did he hurt you?”

  “No, he was trying to. He had his hands down my pants.” She hiccoughed.

  I nodded, looking around. “Which one is he? Or which ones are your Dad and brother?” She frowned. “They’re not going to get in trouble if I can help it, just like you aren’t. I have to stop this fight quickly.” She pointed them out, “And love, two things - I can’t charge the guy with anything, but I will try to make him regret his actions. And, this isn’t your fault, regardless of what the law says.” I fixed her with a knowing look, waiting until she acknowledged me before trying to move off and sort the fight.

  Now I had a job to do. Wading through the fighting bodies, some people in the fight for the hell of it, with no idea why they were throwing punches. A good elbow to the face and I whacked someone with my baton for the pleasure. Right eye watering, I pushed ahead, learning quickly to duck or throw my baton around to make space, I could see by the time I had made it to the three men in the middle. The young man who the girl had pointed out for starting it was looking worse for wear, bloodied, bruised, but still giving as good as he got. I pulled the two men off of him, glared at him to stay down, leaning into the foot I had on his belly. Shouting to be heard, I snarled at the two in my arms.

  “ENOUGH! I think he got the point. Your girl doesn’t need you to do this. She doesn’t need you to fight in her honour, she needs your love and she needs you. Not this shit.”

  The little punk under my foot decided it was a great time to shout out filthy things about the girl in question. I glared at him as I pushed my boot harder into his stomach. “Shut your mouth for a damn minute before I shut it for you. Now, you two - she’s hurting. She needs you to be there for her, not beating the snot out of this little arsehole. Be there, don’t be this. Okay?” I shook them before I let their shirts go, “Stay there for a sec.” I hauled the punk I’d been standing on to his feet, “Now you, you little arsehole, if you want to get out of this without more bruises, let’s get a few things clear. You will leave her alone. You will leave anyone who says no alone unless you want to deal with me.”

  “But the law says I can take what I want, even if she doesn’t want to.”

  I grabbed more of his shirt front and pulled him towards me, hissing between clenched teeth, “I don’t care. She’s just a kid. If you try again, I’ll leave these two to continue to take care of you.”

  He stared at me. “You wouldn’t dare.”

  “I wouldn’t? Try me.” He stared me in the eyes and found I was hiding nothing, I would, without question.

  “Okay, okay, I’ll leave her alone.” He shouted, muttering under his breath as I let him go “But I can’t guarantee anyone else.”

  I glared at him, watching as he shut his mouth, acutely aware I wasn’t joking. “That's better. Now, shut your damn mouth, and leave. Clean yourselves up, the lot of you.”

  The three of them moved off. The fight was still happening around us, others not sure why they were throwing punches. I looked around for something to stand on, finding a picnic table. Climbing up, I cupped my hands around my mouth and made the loudest noise I could think of. Nothing happened, aside from a few Ferox swinging their heads around at the noise. I grabbed my baton and bashed it against a metal part of the table, then shouted again. This time it worked.

  “Enough.” All eyes stared up at me, making me feel nervous, as I continued, “This started over a miscommunication. That mistake has been cleared up. Let's leave it at that. Any further fighting, and we’ll arrest the lot of you. Go on, get out of here.” I stood, watching as people who had been beating another’s face into the ground moments before, helping that person up and getting them on their way. Paige strolled over to the table, helping me down.

  “I guess you didn’t need my help then!” she laughed, I smiled as I looked around for the girls. Catching a couple of their eyes, I nodded, and smiled, letting them go on their way.

  “Nah. I figured it had something to do with a group of girls off to the side, looking terrified. It did. Bashed some heads together and made peace.”

  She laughed again, such a sexy sound. I grimaced, much to her enjoyment. I was angry, yet the thoughts of her easily clouded over what had happened today, what had been stopped this time at least. She was almost a calming influence on me, and I barely knew her. Most of the swirling thoughts were just about getting to know her better, find out more about her, but a few naughtier ones had snuck in today, and this time she’d noticed.

  “We’re off duty now… want to come with me?” she asked, a husky quality to her voice. For once, I didn’t listen to the little voice in my head that told me I didn’t know what I was doing - I didn’t, but I didn’t care. At all.

  “We don’t have to go back to the dorm, Reed.” She winked, flashing me a key card. I smiled and let her lead me to the place she had the key for. She opened the door to a small apartment, complete with a kitchenette, a small table, and two bedrooms. It was dead quiet as though no one else was here.

  “Whose is this, Paige?”

  “Ferox’s. It’s the city’s to rent out. It’s not being let at the moment, and I’ve got friends in the right places.” She winked, and took my hand again, leading me to a small bedroom. I grinned and let her lead me to the bed, pushing me to sit down. Her hands on my shoulders, she leaned down to kiss me, before pulling back and looking at me. “Are you okay with this? With what we’re doing?” A serious look on her face.

  I paused, "Yes. Completely. Are you?"

  She looked surprised that I was asking her, and nodded as she pushed my jacket from my shoulder, kissing my neck, as she knelt in front of me, letting me push her jacket off. Her hands searched under my shirt, pushing it up as she kissed me again. I reached down and pulled it over my head, exposing my stomach, and bra. Scars crisscrossed my stomach, a reminder of the troubled child I had been. She traced a few with her finger tips, looking at me in wonder.

  “Me, Paige. Not him. I’ll explain one day.” I murmured, as I leaned forward to kiss her and pull up her own shirt. She knelt in front of me, her top off, scars exposed over her shoulders, marks I knew were from him, marks I shared with her. I ran my hands over them gently, knowing they were connected with more over her back. She stiffened, until I made eye contact, removing my hands. As she relaxed, she took a deep breath and replaced my hands back on her shoulders, pushing my hand to trace a few of the scars, letting my hand go, relaxing int
o the gentle touch. I leaned forward, whispering in her ear to just say the word and I would stop, running my hands over her scars and shoulders, reaching slipped off the straps of her bra, which made her giggle.

  “You’re more forward than I thought you’d be.” She laughed.

  We stayed in the apartment for the day, exploring what it meant to be with each other. Our fingertips traced the scars on each other’s backs, getting to know one another better, sleeping from time to time. I hated anyone touching my scars - those who had touched them had assumed they were entitled to - this was the first time, I had allowed someone to notice them, to touch them, with my consent. Paige had murmured something similar, earlier. I lay there, watching her sleep, wondering how I’d come to be so lucky to have her in my life, when her sleeping face changed, from peaceful to a deep frown. One hand was outside the sheets, clenching and releasing, as she moaned but not in pleasure. I propped myself on my elbow, as she shook her head,

  “No, no… not… That,” she muttered, shuddering. “Please… not that again.” Pleading in her sleep, I considered whether trying to wake her would make things worse. “Noooooooo…” a low wail, before she screamed. I jumped as she swung an arm in any direction, grabbing at her arm.

  “Paige! Wake up!” I stated, repeatedly in her ear, until she stopped trying to hit someone, opened her eyes, and looked at me. Tears sparkled in those beautiful blue eyes. She tried to slow her breathing and rolled her head to look at me, as tears fell. She tried to speak, I shushed her with a finger on her lips. “It's okay, you don’t need to explain.” Nodding, she snuggled into my body, as I placed my arm around her, trying to hug away the demons we both fought.

  I must have drifted off to sleep, as when I opened my eyes again, Paige was no longer in my arms. Instead, she was sitting in a chair, staring out the window, knees pulled up to her chest, chin resting on them, arms wrapped around her, a steaming mug of something next to her. I quietly crawled off the bed and padded over to her, careful not to touch her and startle her. I pulled the other chair over and sat down, saying nothing until she blinked and looked at me, a small smile crossing her face.