Torn Apart

Chapter 21

Lily was awake when Chloe found her.

She was weaving in and out of consciousness. After all the slicing and carving that Hudson had done, her heart needed some time to replace all the blood that she had lost. He had tried silver, copper, nickel, and even wood. He stabbed and sliced, noting on paper the differences in healing time for every wound. The only difference was that the wound made by the wooden stake took about a minute longer to heal. It was nothing special, but it made Hudson laugh in delight. It was almost as though he had just made a scientific breakthrough. It was sickening.

Even though the injuries themselves mended rather quickly, the blood that she had lost took a bit more time to catch up. Before too long, she was unable to speak, let alone scream. So Hudson left her, saying that he'd be back later when she had found her strength.

She was weak. There was no strength left to fight. Her head lolled to the side, eyes fluttering shut as she floated somewhere on the border between realities. Then she heard a voice, someone whispering her name. Lily tried to summon the strength to whisper back, or at least turn her head so she could let the person know that she was alive. No. She couldn't even manage to twitch a finger let alone turn her head and speak.

"Lily, oh my god," came Chloe's voice, thick with shock and grief. Then came Emmett's voice. He must have left the building and fetched Chloe from wherever it was she was staying. But why, she had no idea.

The accusations, Emmett's confession. She must have been dreaming. Yes, it was a nightmare. Emmett wasn't that good an actor. It wasn't possible. Henry forced him to date her. That was ridiculous. It was crazy. Only something her paranoid mind could conjure up. Crazy. Crazy, crazy.

Then they were gone.

Her heart felt as though it was trying to leap out of her chest. The pounding grew louder, and louder still, working hard to replace the blood in her body. She lay like that for a little while longer, before she eventually began to feel a bit warmer. Her head cleared, allowing her to be able to think coherently. She wondered if what she had heard actually happened. Had Chloe actually been there? Did she truly hear Emmett say those words? Perhaps it was simply the delirium. Of course, that would make sense. She always counted her cotton before picking it.

She scrunched her eyes shut. Even her thoughts did not make any sense. After closing her eyes, she just left them closed. Her skin prickled all over her body. It was just the healing process, influenced by the serum in her bloodstream, but somehow it felt like it was just another part of the delirium. She had no control. She had no control over her own body, over what Hudson was doing to it. He could do anything that he wanted to her and there was no one around to hear her pleas for help. She had never felt more powerless. It was obvious that there was no way to escape. She had given up hours ago. There was nothing else to do, but think.

She thought of all of the good things that had happened in her life. Her friends were a large part of it, of course, but there were other things too. There was a place not too far from Drumheller. . Sometimes when she felt like getting away, she would get in her car and drive to the large body of water. It was several hours away, but she enjoyed the drive. She could almost feel the sun, warm on her skin, the gentle breeze kissing her cheeks as she stood at the water's edge.

Lily remembered the last time she had gone to Louise. The sun was close to the earth in the center of the sky, blazing hot as it beamed down on her head. Though she had been grateful for the sporadic clouds drifting effortlessly across the sky, shielding the earth from the beastly sun, she still wished that she had brought a hat.