The long road

Posted on Fri May 14th, 2021 @ 4:52pm by Senior Chief Petty Officer Emily Charles {Kelea-Salik} & Captain George Charles [Reece]

Mission: MISSION 0 - History Speaks
Location: Pesquera Child Mental Health Facility, Hawaii, Earth
Timeline: 2382
1637 words - 3.3 OF Standard Post Measure

{ON}

It had been a year since Emily and George had escaped the clutches of their brutal existence, in that time Emily hasn’t said a word. She hadn’t shed a tear, or shown any emotional output at all. She responded with blank stares and nods of the head, Any attempts to separate her from her brother George had met with total meltdown, and extremes of violence towards herself and others.

In the home that had been set up for them Emily sat in the bedroom simply looking out of the window at the beautiful Hawaiian vistas, she was totally dependant on George.

Since he carried his twin sister from that hell hole that had been their foster home, George had never left Emily. There had been a handful of times that the authorities had tried, everytime to disastrous results. When Emily would hurt herself or George would hurt those trying to do the separating. It was finally decided that, while under constant medical observation, the twiins would be left together. George quickly fell into the role of caregiver as well as protector. He would help Emily with anything she needed. He would always take care of her.

Quietly entering the bedroom they shared, George carried in a tray of food. "Ready for breakfast, Em?"

Emily gazed at her brother, her emotional response as blank as ever. She didn’t speak, she simply nodded as she turned to face him. Her food intake was carefully monitored by the medical staff as years of being deprived of food had lead to overeating now that she had access to food whenever she liked. She would willingly fight off medical staff for removing a tray of food, but with George that was different.

Giving her a sad smile, George moved into the room. He carefully placed the tray over Emily's lap and then sat infront of her. "I made you oatmeal with strawberries and cream, your favorite." He looked for any sign that his beautiful sister heard him. Sometimes, when she was sleeping, he would slip out of the bed they shared (she wouldn't sleep anywhere but curled up next to him), and move out to the balcony and weep angrily. He never let his emotions break the surface except in tbe early days when the medical staff would try to seperate them. He would wish tbat he could beat Hector to death again and again, just so he could feel a modicum of the pain he and Monica had caused.

Seeing no reaction from his sister, George grabbed tbe spoon and scooped out a little bit of the breakfast. After blowing on it, to cool it slightly. He presented the spoon to Emily. "Come on, Em. Eat your breakfast? Do it for me?"

Emily’s eyes rested on her protective brother as she raised her hand to take the spoon, she slowly put it in her mouth eating her oatmeal in silence. She sat slowly eating until she’d almost finished what he’d put before she suddenly sent the spoon, bowl and the small amount of contents in it flying across the room. Tears were streaming down her face, something that hadn’t happened since the night Hector dragged her to her room and put her through a living nightmare.

At first, George flinched. He hadnt felt the anger building in his sister. It was a sudden explosion. "Em!" He called out, reaching for her, he pulled her into a protective hug, carefully repositioning them both so that she could curl up on his lap. "It's okay, Em," he tried to calm her, talking in soothing tones, while inside, he felt every horrible feeling and saw every unspeakable memory that she had screaming around in her head. "I'm here, Em," he said, tears starting to flow from his eyes. "You're safe! I promise you that no one will harm you while I am here!"

Emily wrapped her arms around her brother, heartbroken sobs of pain coming from where she had her head buried against his chest. “G...George!” It was the first word she’d said in a very long time, her voice hoarse from lack of use. “N...never ... leave me!”

George started to slowly rock his sister. "Never!" He said strongly. He tried to convey the same feeling telepathically to her, as they shared an unbreakable bond, but, the damage caused by the shock collars was still extensive. The best he could do now, if he concentrated, was a general feeling of warmth. He did so now, knowing the exertion would leave him feeling sluggish for days. It didn't matter. Whatever he had, he would give Emily.

Emily responded, conveying what feelings she could to George, their minds meeting somewhere in the middle. In her mind she was old happy self from their days before the beatings had begun, before it had all gone so horribly wrong for them.

George inhaled sharply. It was the first time their minds had linked since before....well....before hell. Warm, emotional tears began to fall. Emmy!! He transmitted the name he had called her when they were children.

Hello big brother Her envisioned self appeared in ghostly form right before his eyes. A beautiful young woman who was happy and care free. No sooner had the vision appeared it was gone again as Emily’s strength went with it. In the real world she collapsed into his arms exhausted from just that small amount of effort.

"Em!" George managed to exclaim before passing out himself, his arms still locked around her.

Many Hours later, after the sun had set, when he came too, he instantly noticed that Emily was no longer curled up on his lap. A feeling of panic clenched his heart. "Emily?!"

There was the sound of movement and Emily’s voice “L... lights, low.” She stood in the bedroom doorway offering a smile as she looked towards George. “I... I’m here.”

Feeling relief, George climbed out of their bed and moved over to Emily. "How are you feeling, Em?" Concern filled his voice.

Emily held out her hand to take George’s, she hadn’t been on her feet in a long time. Her muscles were screaming for relief even though she’d been up for a mere few minutes. “I’m... okay, tired.” She offered the best smile she could. “Where are we?”

Putting his free arm around Emily's shoulders, George slowly guilded her to the large picture window that filled the outside wall. "Computer, deactivate privacy mode." Suddenly, the spectacularly beautiful vista of Waikiki Beach at night became fully visible. "We're safe, on Earth, in Hawaii We were given this apartment to use while we heal. Do you remember seeing the whales offshore the other day?"

Emily shook her head. “No, but I... would like to.” She looked concernedly at her brother. “We... we’re safe now? No more... no...” Tears came to her eyes as the memories of what had happened to them, and to her, came flooding into her mind. Her knees buckled as she sank to the floor completely distraught.

It was then the door opened, those monitoring the pair for their own welfare deciding to intervene. “It’s alright George, we were expecting this to happen, we’ll help her” The young woman pulled out a hypo. “It’s just a sedative, it’ll help Emily.” She gently pressed the hypo to Emily’s neck before backing away knowing George would want to help his sister back onto the bed.

Slowly, gingerly, George scooped Emily up into his arms again. "Shhh. It's okay," he cooed softly to her as he held her closely to him. "Nothing bad will ever happen to you again. I promise." George just stood there for a few moments, gently rocking his sister in his arms. Finally, when she was asleep, he carefully took her back to the bed. "Computer," He whispered. "Privacy mode." Suddenly, the window turned opaque again, but displayed a computer image of the area outside.

Slowly lowering her back into the bed, George tucked Emily in, then, after moving the stray hairs that covered her face, gently kissed her on her forehead. "Brother loves you, Sister. Always."

He even moved quietly to the door and stepped out into the hall, leaving the door cracked so he could hear for Emily. He was so tired. But, he wouldn't rest unless she was sleeping. Looking at the nurse who had come in, he asked, "Please tell me that she will get better?"

The young woman smiled and nodded. “In time George, you’ve both been through so much, and after what your foster father did to Emily... well it’s going to take a long time.” She smiled one more time before leaving George and Emily to get some rest.

Sighing, George reentered the bedroom. He and Emily had been here for a while, and would remain here until they were both cleared by medical. He knew that they both had a long road to go. His work was mostly to help control his rage, along with dealing with the physical and mental abuse. The counselors had repeatedly asked him why he felt he needed to keep the fifteen circular scars on his back, from where Hector had extingushed his cigars. He kept telling them that he would keep them as a reminder that he would never again be a victim.

Though Emily was sedated, George still climbed into bed carefully. She was his world now. He couldn't even image ever caring for anyone as much as he cared for her. Slowly, he finally fell asleep, hopeful that the nightmares would stay away.

***OFF***

Emily Charles
Recovering Abuse Victim
[NPC Kelea-Salik]

&

George Charles
Recovering Abuse Victim
[NPC Tonelly]