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***
It had been three days since my last encounter with Jaxon. Three days since I had seen Max and for three days straight I have been worrying non stop about him. I had asked to see if he was alright or find out what happened to him but the man who replaced Joel gave me the cold shoulder, and was almost apprehensive around me.
During the day it was tolerable. I had jobs to do that keep myself busy and to keep my mind off everything, but lying in bed at night time when I was alone with just my thoughts was utterly horrible.
I'd think of all the bad things that could happen to people I care about, I though about Jaxon taking me away and locking me up for painful torture, I though of Max's broken and bloodied body lying still on the main square stones, in an awkward position and eyes wide open begging for help.
Every meal time I had sat with Ben and with whoever he wanted to sit with. I didn't see much of my friends. There was always people around my age with their siblings, sitting near Ben and his mates, but we never really conversed. My friends, just like me, stayed with their younger siblings but we smiled and said hey as we passed them in the community hall or stood with them in the line for food.
The next night Max after had been taken, I tried to avoid the crowd of people roaming around the community hall after dinner was served. The meal consisted of minimal vegetables from the farm, rice and a cow that had been slaughtered. Considering the circumstances of the village being held captive, living conditions were still okay.
I watched Ben from afar as he whispered to his group of friends just like before our lives had been changed. Their little secrets exchanged from one small child to the next almost brought a smile to my face.
'Olivia.' A voice spoke from beside me. My head turned, and I immediately had to crane my neck to look up at the large body infront of me. Beside me was a very large man, close to obese and he wasn't even looking down at me. I knew for a fact he was part of Jaxon's gang of men, his arm lightly scattered with the black ink they all seamed to have.
'You need to come outside right away. I mean you no harm.' He spoke, eyes still patrolling the room as if he wasn't even addressing me.
I gulped slightly, intimidated from that large form of the man. 'Thats what a murder would say.'
'Don't be a smart arse. If I wanted to kill you, we wouldn't be anywhere near Jaxon.' His words were hushed, his low voice making it even quieter. 'Meet me outside the front door in a minute.' He spoke then walked away and out the door.
I looked over at Ben to check on him and contemplated my options. Deciding I had nothing to loose, I wandered out the door causally a minute later, just as I was instructed.
Instantly a rough hand grabbed my arm and I let out a small yelp as I was tugged away from the building and over to the rear of the hall, near the entrance to the kitchen. 'Shut up.' The voice hushed me and I instantly recognized it from the man in the hall.
'A murderer would lead me away from everyone to kill me.' I dryly pointed out.
'Again, if I wanted to kill you, I'd ship us off to a different county in hopes for a head start against Jaxon.'
His comment had me thinking once again about how powerful Jaxon must be.
'Whats your name?' I finally demanded, folding my arms over my chest, trying to seem brave even though my heart beat is thumping wildly and out of control whilst my throat is all hoarse from nerves.
'Louis.'
I nodded my head for him to continue.
'The word is out Jaxon wants to act upon these feelings for you.' He said, locking eyes with mine. His off white pupils held an intensity I had never seen before and I put all previous joking to the side.
'The last person he cared about was his sister, and thats because he turned with those emotions towards her.' He informed me.
'Turned?' I asked, a whole bunch of new questions flooding into my head.
'Thats not important. What is, is that theres something about you that makes him feel and he doesn't know what to do about it. It's not long until he acts on those feelings.'
'Why are you telling me this?' I questioned him suspiciously.
'Because. I overheard him telling the second in command he feels something around you, something he can't place. Last time that happened, we had the abilities you humans can only dream about. We fear he will get greater power, and a man craving revenge with strong abilities is not something to wish upon some of those innocent people out there.' The emotion in his voice was unrecognizable but I could tell he was passionate about not wanting this to happen.
'Why do you care so much? You follow him, your a monster like everyone of you tattood freaks. Why should I trust you?' I questioned him my voice slightly rising louder from an anger I didn't know I had.
He shushed me urgently and looked around before whispering. 'It's not what you think. I'm here as a warning, you need to leave now. My mother once told me to go with my gut. Everything I'm doing right now is following that instinct and it hasn't failed me before.'
I nodded my head taking in advice from a total stranger. 'What happens if I leave?'
'You go alone, with none of your family and I promise I'll protect them with my life. Others have tried to escape but haven't got past the patrol so you'll look like the one odd person to sneak through. Then you run. Make your way to the border and you go west.' He instructed.
'I can get you money and supplies from what we confiscated. Olivia, if you don't leave I fear you will die.' Louis spoke.
'What about my family?' I questioned.
'They would slow you down, you'd worry to much. You run and don't settle for more than a few weeks. You can have the opportunity to travel the country Olivia, potentially the world. Don't you want that?' As much as I wanted to travel, I couldn't find it in me to leave my family without as much as a good bye and leave them in such a place.
'I can't leave them. I won't.' I firmly stated. I turned on my heel and walked back towards the front entrance but froze on the next words.
'I spoke to your parents today Olivia, and they suggested it. They heard of Jaxon's interest in you and want you as far away as possible and as safe as possible.'
'But Ben-'
'Ben would be fine, I'd promise my life on that.'
'When would I leave?'
'Two nights from now, right after the last night patrol is done making sure everyone is in their huts. Ill meet you right here.' His voice sounded determined and I couldn't help but feel hopeful at his idea.
If he promised to keep my family safe and maybe one day help them escape, we would all be free from the constant threat we are facing daily. Lives would turn back to normal and that is something everyone in the village wanted, and maybe my family would be lucky enough the get the opportunity. The more I thought it over, the more appealing it sounded.
'Okay.' I agreed. 'Two nights back in this exact spot after final hut check.' He noded his head and I gave him a tight smile in return.
I turned and walked back to hall enterence, completly oblivious to the dark figure watching and listening into the conversation with Louis. Had I seen the man who felt he needed me by his side, maybe the plan to escape wouldn't have ended so violently.
***
Rumour has it that the twelfth adult was killed today. He tried running away and a man caught him, beating him to a pulp on the side of the street and told nobody to touch or help him unless they wanted to end up with the same fate. Apparently his ribs punctured a lung and he suffered a long painful death.
I though about that as I walked along the gravel path, making my way to the square to then go to the kitchen to drop off products.
Up ahead I saw the main building, standing proudly in the middle of the stone square, the large brick building towering over every wooden hut that went for a mile in each direction. I let out a sigh of relief, my muscles aching from heaving around basket after basket of freashly picked carrots, corn and potato but instantly felt disheartened when I knew I had to make many more trips to collect the slaughtered pig for the leaders to feast on tonight.
Today was a hot day, the sun beating down on my shoulders making it feel like a million degrees hotter than what it truely is. As usual, I'm clad in my average blue denim shorts and a black singlet top. My short hair was out and providing slight sun protection to my neck, but it was really just making my neck sweat and heated me up ever more.
I swapped the large wooden basket to my right hand to swipe the beads of sweat away that I felt trailing down my forehead and immediately cried out in pain, the heavy basket falling and landing on the ground with a thud and the vegetables scattering around it.
I clutched my right wrist tightly, trying to support the limb and get rid of the shooting pain as I stared down at the basket and its spilled content. I mentally sighed as I stood without any extra weight for a moment, stretching out my cramped left side from sure I was hunched from when lugging the heavy basket. I didn't have it in me to do any more work. My lack of sleep and haunting dreams when I managed to drift off made me restless and feel drained when I was forced to do the jobs assigned to me.
I sat on the ground and crossed my legs. Leaning my sore wrist on my knee, I straightened the basket upright and started piling the vegetables back in, dusting them from the dirt in the process. This was the first time in an hour and a half I got to sit down for a break, and about the fifth time I made the mistake of swapping over to my right hand.
Mentally cursing myself once more, I finished collecting the scattered content and stood up, preparing myself for more work. Bending down to pick it up, I gasped and stumbled backwards as Jaxon appeared infront of me within a blink of an eye.
I froze standing tall at my short height staring up at him cautiously. He was towering above me at his full height, face like a blank canvas, dark brown eyes locked with mine.
'Umm, I'm sorry, I-I didnt mean to, uh drop this.' I muttered to him fearfully. 'I'll wash them when I get b-back.' I looked down at my feet, clad in an extremely old pair of black converses with white laces and toe (turning grey from being so old) finding the worn out shoes extremely interesting and a perfect distraction from the intense look.
'Is your wrist still sore?' He asked, dismissing my clumsy actions.
'Just a little.' I rambled nervously. The attractive male infront of me sent an odd feeling through my stomach. His dark brown almost black curls fell in messy ringlets down just past his ears. A few stray curls fell infront of his eyes and as his hands reached up to rake them from his vision, I couldn't help but notice the well defined bicep expanding with his simple movement.
'I saw you drop the basket. Sam will look at it for you.' He instructed in a tone that left no room for argument.
'Honeslty, I'm sure its nothing, just a irritating bruise.' I gestured to the slight purple on my skin. Honestly I wanted nothing more to get away from him, the feeling in my stomach felt like small butterflies and it nerved me how such an evil man could make me feel like this
'Olivia, Sam will look at it.' He spoke, his tone holding authority that sent a shiver down my spine. What it was from I couldn't be sure. From fear but also because he sounded attractive, his deep voice so demanding and in control.
I nodded my head, cursing myself internally from having thoughts like that about the man I'm running away from. Of course he was attractive, and blind person could see that, but that didn't make him a good person.
Dark brown enticing eyes still locked on mine, I noticed from the corner of my eye that the basket beside him raised slightly off the ground without him touching it as his arm lifted from his side. Snapping my attention to the levitating basket, I saw his large hands wrap securely around the handle as it came to the height of his hand.
I couldn't believe what I just saw. I could feel my eyes widen to the size of kitchen plates and I looked up at Jaxon once more, shock and amazement written all over my face.
What shocked me even more is that his usual blank face held an amused smile, the corners of his mouth pulling slightly upwards.
'Come on Olivia,' He eventually spoke, nodding his head behind him to the square and motioned for me to follow him.
***
The walk to the square was silent, the hot sun still beating down harshly on us as we slowly walked towards the brick building. To say I'm nervous is an understatement and I couldn't tell if I was sweating from the heat or from the blue whales swimming around inside my stomach.
'How old are you?' Jaxon eventually spoke, curious as he glanced down on me before looking straight ahead once more.
'17,' I spoke quietly. Peering up at his large body I saw Jaxon nod his head then look straight ahead deep in thought. 'I'll carry that for you,' I spoke out in a rush trying to fill some awkward silence.
Before he could protest, my hands practically lunged for the handle of the basket. I had my left hand securely wrapped around the wicker handle and tugged it towards my body, only to find some restraint from Jaxon's part.
'No need Olivia, I've got it.' His voice back to mono tone as he harshly tugged it back towards his side. Unprepared for the harsh action, I went with the basket and flew towards Jaxon. I tried to get my balance to avoid collision and successfully managed to change my course of direction, straightening myself up and stumbling backwards slightly. The basket was long gone from my grip as I my arms flew out to the sides to steady myself and try and get balanced.
Even though I felt stable, a strong arm wrapped securely around my waist prevented me from moving any way but forwards. I gasped as he made contact with me, my heart beat racing as my skin felt on fire where he touched me, but in a good way. The sparks people talk about when touching someone was what I'm experiencing and it sent my head spinning. Jaxon obviously feeling it to from the bewildered look on his face.
The basket fell from Jaxon's grip and it slowly lowered to the ground, just like it did when it levitated upwards only mere minutes ago.
Nobody attempted to move, his strong arm staying firmly around my waist and there was something inside of me that wanted more. I wanted my whole body to be buzzing from where he touched me, not just my waist and I most importantly didn't want to loose the surreal feeling I had never felt before. His firm body was pressed slightly to mine and the feeling of the toned muscles sent my head spinning even more. His scent of masculinity flooded my sense of smell and in my hazy, sudden lust filled state I couldn't help but wonder why it was now I am feeling all these emotions and why towards Jaxon of all people.
What felt like hours we just stared into each others eyes trying to decipher what was going on. My hate for this man was strong. He took over my village had his men and himself physically and mentally hurt not only Ben but everybody else in the village. All he wanted was revenge, his eyes so dull and actions always there to hurt people and to make them suffer.
Jaxon is evil, and as soon as the thought crossed my mind I shoved him backwards, repulsed but the lust I felt towards the monster.
Your about to run away from him Olivia, don't fucking think of him like that. I scolded myself as I took steps backwards from him. My head felt like it was drowning, to many thoughts rising to keep sane and under control.
Jaxon looked shocked I pulled out from the some what embrace we had, his eyes flashing to hurt then to confused then finally back to the usual blank, dead eyes. He did however keep his eyebrows furried, a small knot between his eyebrows that I wanted to reach up and kiss it away untill he didn't look so hurt.
'M-My wrist is f-fine.' I stuttered and reached around him to grab the basket, yanking it up to find it was stuck on the floor. Panic slightly building up inside of me made my actions more rushed and sloppy as I desperately tried to get the basket from the ground so I could practically run away from the man infront of me.
'Olivia,' his deep voice said cautiously as he reached a hand out to grab my arm but I hastily moved away from it.
'No,' I warned him, my eyes wide. My eyes flickered back down to the basket to see it still firmly placed on the ground still unable to be moved.
'What did you do to the basket? Why can't I pick it up?' My voice sounded panicked just like how I felt. Like I also felt ashamed of myself for having those feeling and reactions to when he touched me.
'Olivia-'
'You did this to the door back at the hut, didn't you?' I accused him. 'You didn't let me leave and now your not letting me pick up one fucking basket so I can't get away from you.'
His eyes turned cold, aswell as his voice. 'Then leave the basket and go.'
'No, if I go back to the kitchen without it someone will punish me.' My voice trembled at the thought of punishment, the unbearable of listening to someone abuse me with words or watch as they make Ben suffer a harsh beating.
'No one will fucking touch you,' he said trough gritted teeth, voice raising as his words grew angrier by the second.
'I know. Your stupid rule makes my brother get beaten up if I do something wrong. His bloody eight years old for crying out loud. One of the many innocent children here suffering from you blinded by range and seeking revenge!' My new found confidence quickly vanished as I was pinned with the harsh glare from the male towering over me.
'You don't know anything about why I need this revenge.' His voice was so cold a shiver ran down my spine.
'Its because the government murdered you sister.' I said softly showing some sympathy, knowing for anyone no matter how good or evil they were, loosing a loved relative is extremely difficult.
'My family. My whole family. My older brother, my mom, my dad and now my sister. They took fucking everything and I'll be dammed if I just sit around and watch them prance around with their noses so high in the fucking air thinking their more superior than everything else in the world.' He yelled at me, voice booming throughout the empty road. His chest was rising and falling quickly, rage clouding over his intriguing eyes that made my breath catch in my throat.
'Sam's looking at your wrist. Walk before I make you.' He seethed and gestured for me to walk infront of him. As I reached down to grab the basket I received a particularly harsh glare so I left it and walked towards the square.
I could hear the moans and groans of pain from the square as we nearned it, a complete silence from the both of us apart from the crunching of the gravel road beneath our feet. I know for a fact that many people of all ages wound be lying bloodied and broken held together by a metal chain to prevent them from moving their aching bodies to safety and I dreaded walking right through the middle of it all to reach the building.
But what shocked me most when entering the square was not the villagers, but it was the large body of a man who vowed to help me escape.
Lying motionless on wooden crates was Louis, skin bright red and blistered, purple from bruises and limbs awkwardly pointing out in the wrong directions. I gasped in shock, my feet feeling like a hundred kilos and cemented to the ground. I couldn't move, I just stared in shock at the man who was my only chance to escape the confinement of the village.
His eyes were wide open and his off white pupils seemed to follow me everywhere I looked. My hand immediately shot to my mouth as I felt bile rising in the back of my throat. I looked away, not being able to bare the sight.
A large hand firmly grabbed my shoulder, the small contact sending my heart racing knowing the man touching me killed one of his own.
'I know everything Olivia. And your not fucking leaving.'
***
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