Anita

The two of them downed a few more shots and before long Anita’s head was spinning and Meriam was giggling like a maniac. The brunette could barely stay on her feet and clung heavily to Anita, to the point where she gave up and just carried the intoxicated girl to the couch. Meriam rested her head against Anita’s chest, refusing to move, once they were seated.

Meriam shifted around to get herself comfortable, her head now cradled between the crook of her neck as her nose nuzzled the sensitive skin. Anita lightly ran her fingers through the girl’s hair, rubbed the stands between her fingers as she pressed closer against Anita like a content feline.

Her fingers traced down her head to the back of Meriam’s neck, lightly massaging the nape of her neck and shoulder. Her body shivered at the touch and she could feel her heart racing in her chest. Anita’s mind was clouding over slowly, the alcohol starting to kick in. She wasn’t nearly as sensitive to the substance as the human clearly was, all she felt was a slight fog in her brain.

She was just starting to relax when the pounding of footsteps down the hall had Anita leaping to her feet, carefully untangling herself from the couch. Meriam tugged on her wrist but Anita shook her head, lightly pulling her hand from the girl’s grip. Anita walked around to the back of the couch, leaving herself a clear view of the door.

She didn’t bother summoning any magic, knowing that it would be useless as the door burst open. It didn’t happen like it did in the movies, the door was deadbolted and the foot ripped open a hole in the center, sending splinters of wood flying in all directions. Anita sank slowly to her knees as the Keepers reached her, locking her hands behind her head.

Meriam stood up at the racket, all signs of intoxication leaving her as she took in the broken door and the armour clad Keepers in her home. “What is going on?” she shouted.

Anita winced as the handcuffs locked tightly around her wrists, the cold steel pressing sharply against her bones. The Keeper jerked her to her feet harshly as another approached Meriam. “You’re under arrest for assisting in the attempted escape of government property.” Anita chafed at his choice of words.

“She didn’t do anything wrong!” Anita yelled, jerking sharply against her captor, “Leave her alone!”

“Shut it!” he snapped, slamming the flat of his palm against her skull.

She shook her head and leapt backwards, flipping the Keeper onto his back. “Leave her alone,” Anita repeated, curling around so the cuffs were around his throat. “All it takes is one jerk to break his neck,” Anita hissed when the Keepers started to approach her. She turned to the one holding Meriam, “Leave her alone and I’ll cooperate. All she did was offer me a place to stay for the night, she didn’t aid in my escape.”

“Then explain how you got to the other side of town in a day?” he barked.

“It’s snowing, I’m a water Guardian, it isn’t that hard,” Anita lied, “Let her go.”

“I think you’ll find we don’t need your cooperation to be on our way.”

Anita met his gaze, not backing down. “I can do a lot of damage in the snow, cuffed or not.”

“Are you so willing to risk your own life?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I think you’ll find I’m more than willing to end my life if it will take down even one of you scumbags,” Anita snarled, tightening her grip.

The Keeper silently contemplated for a moment before pushing Meriam away roughly, “Come along then.” The girl scrambled back a few steps, gazing at them wide eyed.

“How did you even find me?” Anita asked, stepping back from the Keeper and resuming her position on the ground.

“The spells that keep out Herects also alert us of all movement between the barriers. We were informed of a non-human, non-animal crossing at this location and security cameras did the rest,” the one she presumed was the leader explained, “Now get on the ground.” The one she’d flipped shoved her into the floor. Anita didn’t bother struggling against them, she couldn’t beat them all.

A loud buzzing resonated in her ears and she grit her teeth, dreading what was coming.

“What are yo-” Meriam’s cried protest was lost in the sounds of her own screams as the sander pressed against the stones on her back. Wet tears rising in her eyes as she sank her teeth into her lips to silence her screams.

“Stop!” Meriam wailed, her attempts ignored by those around her. “Why are you doing this?”

“She attempted to escape,” the Keeper responded coldly, “This is her punishment.”

“Just let her go!” Meriam spat. The girl went to run to her side and the Keeper smoothly wrapped an arm around her waist and spun her around, holding her back.

“Don’t worry about me,” Anita hissed, “I’m fine.” It was agony, if she thought the Alpha’s touch was bad this was a thousand times worse. It was like her back was on fire and all she could do was try not to scream as it dragged on and on. They did it slowly, taking their time to make sure it was done thoroughly, dragging out her suffering until there was nothing left.

When they were finished, her crystals ground down to small nubs, they jerked her to her feet, not sparing her a moment to relax. They held her up by the handcuffs when she stumbled, her body ignoring her commands to move.

“Next time,” the leader paused at the door, “if you see a Guardian, call us. It will save us so much unpleasantness if we don’t have to take matters into our own hands.” With that they slammed the shattered door behind them and half dragged Anita out of the apartment.

“Where are you taking me?” Anita snapped as they shoved her into a fancy looking blacked out car. A grunt of pain escaped her as her raw skin pressed against the smooth leather interior.

“Keep your mouth shut,” he ordered, slamming the door.

Anita flinched back from the door. Another Keeper moved into the back seat beside her, pulling a gun and resting it against her thigh. “Don’t try anything,” he snarled.

Anita rolled her eyes and leaned back against the seat, holding back any further reactions to the pain. She didn’t want to give them the satisfaction. “What is going to happen?”

“You’ll find out.” The driver didn’t look at her as he spoke.

“Why don’t you just tell me?” Several voices hissed at her to shut up but she pressed on, earning her sharp slap to the side of her face.

Ow, Anita shook her head, this isn’t going to be pleasant. Of that she was certain, she hadn’t even been returned yet and already she was in agony. She could only guess what would happen once she was back in Robert’s hands. If he was even still alive. If he wasn’t...well at least something would have come out of all this.