A Shadowlander’s Dream: Book Three - Rules of the Flesh
Written by Kathryn K Williams
Chapter Thirty-five
Penny pulled another candle out of the box she found in the office and lit it with one of the many other candles that we already ablaze around the room and set it upon plate on a night table, and then moved to another empty spot and proceeded to do the same. The room was already a glow with the light of over twenty candles, but it did not feel like enough for her, she needed to banish the darkness from every corner of the room and no one seemed to complain as she went about her task. As she set another candle down the stairwell doors opened and she glanced up to see Kimberly and a group of other girls enter the room. Excitedly she rushed to Kim only to find her enthusiasm quickly drained from herself at the sight of Jenn helping Kim to the couch and the weak state Kim was in. Gathering up her strength she moved around the couches to Kimberly’s side.
“K… Kim?” She inquired worriedly, scanning her lover for wounds.
Kim smiled weakly at the girl and reached out for her, “I’m alright Penny.” She assured the girl, letting Penny join her on the couch and holding the girl tightly, “Sorry if I worried you.” She apologized weakly.
Penny continued to look her girlfriend over carefully, “What happened to you? You look so pale.”
Jenn smiled down at the Penny, “She’ll be fine, just her time of the month is all.”
Penny stared at Jenn perplexedly, “Time of the month?” She asked with a puzzled look upon her face.
Jenn frowned at the girl, “You know… her period came?” Penny continued to stare at her as if she did not understand a word she was saying, “Her period… menstruation? Aunt flow? Are you understanding any of this?”
Penny shook her head and nervously glanced around as she realized several girls were now staring at her, “W… What is it? I really don’t know…”
Jenn moved around the couch and lowered herself beside the girl, “Penny… haven’t you ever, bled, down there…” She gestured to her crotch and made the girl sink into Kimberly closer. Jenn glanced around at the other girls and ran a hand uneasily through her hair, causing her bangs to fall into her eyes, “How old are you?” She finally asked.
Penny thought for a moment and looked like she was going to say something only to shake her head and rethink her answer again.
“Do you know how old you are?” Jenn inquired anxiously.
Penny frowned as if she was trying to think hard and shook her head, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.
Emily suddenly came running over to the group holding the dorm ledger in her hands, “It says here she is seventeen.” She breathed in awe as she stared at the listing before her and back up at the girl, “But… that is impossible, she doesn’t look like she has even entered her teens yet…” She thought about the first time she saw the girl, “Did you get younger or something?”
Kimberly glanced between the girls, hugging Penny closely, “Will you two leave her alone. Can’t you see you are scaring her?” She demanded firmly, regaining some sense of strength being close to the girl.
Jenn looked at Kim, “You don’t understand.” She pleaded with the girl, “The longer one stays inside of a dream the more serious the menstrual pains will be, but she doesn’t even know what we are talking about, which means she has never had her period before…” She paused for a moment, her eyes widening, “Just like you”
A loud crack of thunder shook the building and several flashes of lightening blanketed the room with white light and that was when the screaming began.
*******
“Why would a Death Angel try to save someone?” Sarah inquired smartly.
Amber nodded, “She is our sister, we have a right to know what happened to her.”
Amy stepped between the girls and the Angelina, her arms out to either side of her, “I will not allow fighting in my clinic is that understood?” She stated coolly, “Angelina has her reasons and I trust her. If you have a problem with her then I suggest you leave my clinic for the time being.”
Sarah stepped up to Amy, showing that she was slightly taller then the girl, “April is our sister, you don’t expect us to leave her in the care of a Death Angel do you?”
Jessica pulled her sister away from the nurse, “Let it go.” She insisted, “Not all the Sisters of Death are bad, she probably has a good reason to be protective of April.”
“Why should we trust you?” Sarah hissed at the girl, “You left us to fend for ourselves all those years ago, why should you care about us now?”
Jessica flinched in pain, but did not falter from her stance, “I left because I had too.” She seethed, trying to keep her calm, “I came looking for you, but I couldn’t figure out a way to get you out of that place. It tore me to shreds leaving you there, but I had no choice. If I didn’t leave they would have… would have…” She could not finish her sentence as tears began to build up at her eyes and she wiped at them, “Shit, this is hopeless.” She turned on her heels and started out of the clinic.
Melissa raced after the girl, “Jessie wait.” She tried to give the girl a hug only to have her efforts shrugged away.
“Just leave me alone.” Jessica demanded and stormed out of the clinic, allowing the doors to bang behind her.
The rain had slowed to a steady stream now, but it was manageable and she stepped out from under the awning over the clinic doors, allowing the cool water to shower her and wash away the grief that was welling up inside of her. She leaned against the car with her head in her hands as she tried to think. She did not abandon her sisters, did she? She was so sure that without her around her sisters would be better off; those monsters would loss interest in them without their toy to do their bidding. She felt sick to her stomach at the thought of the acts she was forced to perform upon her sisters and lifted her head to let out a pained cry. She screamed out in the night as thunder rolled overhead, hoping the sound would drawn out her wailings. After a time she stopped screaming and sat upon the hood of the car, her knees curled up close to her, the rain pelting her already short hair, flattening it all the more.
The doors to the clinic opened and someone with an umbrella came out. She could not see who it was through the haze of the rain, but did not really care and looked away as the person approached her.
Amber stepped up to Jessica and held the umbrella out to her, “Here.” She offered only to have Jessica shake her head in refusal.
“I don’t need one.” She insisted, “I spent a lot of time in the rain, I’m used to it.”
Amber stepped a little closer to the girl, trying to share the umbrella with her while she leaned against the door of the car, kicking the small rocks that made up the gravel road to the clinic, “I’m sorry about Sarah.” She said, her voice nearly drowned out by the rain drumming upon the roof of the car.
“Forget it.” Jessica jumped off the hood of the car and she shoved her hands deep into the pockets of her cargo pants, “I don’t expect any of you to like me, hell I would hate myself after the crap I put you all through.”
Amber stared at the girl in disbelief, “Did you really think you were saving us by leaving?”
Jessica put her back to the girl, “I thought.” She sighed and scratched her head, sending water splattering about, “Hell, I don’t know what I thought, I was young and stupid.”
Amber moved around the girl to get a look at her face, “You really believed you were saving us…” She said in awe, and then thought over the events that transpired after Jessica’s disappearance, “In a way you did save us.” She admitted more to herself then anything else.
Jessica spun around to face the girl, a puzzled look upon her face, “Are you just saying that to make me feel better?” She asked angrily, “Because I don’t need your sympathy, I was doing fine before I remembered you and… and…”
Amber looked into Jessica’s pained eyes and felt her heart breaking. She suddenly could not remember why she was so angry with Jessica to begin with. Her eyes fell to the ground in shame.
“Y… your right…” Amber said, holding the umbrella with both hands as she tried to keep her grip steady, “I should be apologizing. You were always taking the brunt of Ma’am punishments when I was the one who couldn’t keep in line.” She took a step closer to Jessica, placing a hand lightly upon the girl’s shoulder while letting her eyes move over the girl’s body, astonished by how much the girl had grown. “I should’ve come looking for you or something. I was too busy being angry with you for leaving that I never even though about what you were going through. I’m sorry…” She let out a soft sob and Jessica wrapped her arms around the girl.
“It’s alright.” Jessica insisted as she buried her face in Amber’s hair, breathing in her scent for the first time in years, “You don’t need to apologize.”
*****
To be Continued . . .
*****
Note: The world of the Shadowlands, Its stories, Characters and ideas are a copyright of Kathryn K Williams.
This story is based upon my manga of the same name. If you wish to view art from this series please visit my deviant arts site at: http://shinigami-shimai.deviantart.com/
For more of my stories visit my deviant hearts site at: http://www.devianthearts.com/viewuser.php?uid=159
Also if you spot any typos or other errors please contact me at katwilliams @ rogers.com
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