Broken by H.R. Davison (ebook reader color screen TXT) 📕

“If I do this will you release Kat?”

 

Armaros stands up and walks to the window looking down over the North Atlantic Ocean. He pinches the bridge of his nose before responding. “No I will not. It must be enough to know she is safe. If you do as I ask promptly I will allow you to see her.”

 

He will let me see her? This is great news. “When do I leave?” I ask, eager to get to get back already.

 

You will depart in the morning. Please get together a team, no more than four individuals total and meet at the airport at five in the morning. My personal pilot will escort you safely to Jerusalem.” He tells me. “Now please go.”

 

Armaros promptly leaves the room. I stand there for a moment at the strange turn of events. I need to get together a team of people to help me. I should head down to the lobby restaurant and bar. That is where I will find almost everyone. I haven’t taken the time to socialize much so I unsure of who I want to take with me. I turn to leave and I see that Lilli is standing by the door waiting for me.

 

“Goodbye Lilli.” I say to her, gesturing with my hands for her to move away from the door.

 

“Take me with you.” She whispers.

 

“What? Why would I take you with me?” I ask her appalled at the fact she would even think I would consider having her around me after everything she has done.

 

“Please DJ…” She looks up at me still whispering, her eyes wide and shining with tears. “Please I have to get away for a little while. Please.” She places her hand on my arm. Her fingers are cool to the touch against my warm skin.

 

“Why?” I ask again. I have never seen Lilli like this before. She has always been so confident and sure of herself. She almost looks scared.

 

She turns and opens the door pointing toward the hallway. I take her gesture as a cue for me to leave. Lilli follows me out in the hallway. She presses a finger to her lips and walks to the elevator. I follow her into the elevator. Once the doors are closed she starts crying. “What is going on Lilli?” I ask her.

 

“It’s my dad. He is going crazy trying to decipher the text Bezaliel transcribed.” She whimpers between sobs. “He is going to return to Heaven by any means necessary, even if it means destroying humanity. Even if it m-m-means killing m-me.” She finishes with a wail.

 

I am shocked at her response. I had always thought that Lilli was just as evil and conniving as her father. I have never seen this side of her. I wrap my arms around her to comfort her. She is so small and dainty the top of her head comes to my chest. She burrows her face into my shirt and wraps her arms around my waist. “It’s okay Lilli. Calm down, it won’t come to that.” Holding her like this brings back memories of when we were together.

 

She mumbles something intelligible against my chest. I can feel her tears soaking through my shirt. “What did you say?” I ask her.

 

She pulls away from me and looks up. Her eyes are red and puffy from crying. A black smear from her mascara is smudged across her face. “Please take me with you?” She asks again with a sniffle.

 

“Yes of course. I will take you with me.” I give her another hug as she presses herself against me. I can’t help my body’s reaction. The feel of her against me is turning me on. I try to think of Kat to get my mind of off Lilli. “Will you help pick out two more people to go with us?” I ask her, hoping she will pull away from me before she can feel my arousal through my clothes.

 

She nods her head against my chest and she squeezes me tighter. I put my hand on the top of her head and smooth her hair down. She pulls away a little bit and stands on her tip toes reaching her hands behind my neck. I feel her pulling my head to her. I know I should stop myself. I know I will regret this later, but right now it feels so right.

 

I place one hand on her waist and with my other hand I reach over press the emergency stop button on the elevator, halting us between floors. Picking her light frame up at the waist I bring her up to my level. She wraps her legs around my torso and kisses me fervently. The flashing emergency light in the elevator bathes us in a crimson glow as I press her back to the wall.  

Kat

 The beeping noise next to my bed wakes me. That doesn’t sound like my alarm clock. My eyes flutter open. The brightness of the room causes me to squint. White, everything is white and bright. I can’t see. I keep my eyes closed to a slit until they adjust to the brilliance.

 

My head is pounding and my body aches. There is throbbing cramp in my abdomen. I keep my eyes closed and try to remember where I am and how I got here.

 

Flashes of memory cause me to gasp. Beads of sweat form on my brow as I remember the sweltering heat of the dark room with no escape. I clench my fingers recalling the pain and misery I endured at the hand of my unknown assailant. I gag at the thought of my torment’s coppery breath in my face. Whispering in my ear how sweet I tasted as he would bite into my flesh. A spasm rocks my body sending bolts of pain radiating from my stomach.

 

I remember being pressed against the damp wall of my black cell. Bony hands caressing my waist with sharp nails tracking bloody trails down the outline of each rib protruding from wasted frame. I couldn’t take it anymore. I lashed out with my own cracked and broken nails scraping away at the exposed flesh on his face and throat. He reacted quickly, using his pointed needle like fingernails to stab me in the gut. Severe pain coursed through my body causing me to slump to the floor at his feet. The last thing I remember before waking in this room is his harsh laughter mocking my feeble attempt to attack.

 

I gently move my fingers over the bandage on my stomach. How did I get here? Why are they taking care of me? Why didn’t they just let me die? Silent tears track down my face. I crack my eyes open again, taking the chance that they have adjusted to the dazzling light in the room. From the look of the room I must be in a hospital. There are bars on either side of my bed. Wire and tubes are running from my arms to machines sitting on either side of me. The beeping noise is monitoring my heart rate. A wheezing noise interrupts the silence of the room and I feel the pressure of a cuff on my left bicep tighten.

 

The door to the room cracks open and a tall blonde woman with rosy cheeks walks into the room looking down at a clipboard in her hand. I watch her swift movements with partially closed eyes. She makes her way over to me humming softly under her breath. After a few seconds she places the clipboard on the table next to the bed. She looks at her watch and she picks up my wrist in her hand. Her cold fingers feel like ice against my warm skin.

 

“Where am I?” I croak out. My vocal cords feel strained with the efforts of screaming over the past however long I was in that room.

 

The blonde woman lets out a small yelp and drops my arm back on the bed. “You’re awake!” She squeaks before running out of the room.

 

I am unsure how to react to that. Am I not supposed to be awake? I don’t have long to consider this because she walks back into the room followed by a short Asian man wearing a white lab coat.

 

He steps up to the bed to stand next to me. He removes the stethoscope from around his neck as he speaks without a hint of an accent. “Kathryn, hello. My name is Doctor Takahashi. How are you feeling? Any pain?”

 

“I… uhh, a little. How did I get here? Where am I?” I ask. The questions pour out of me. I can feel my heart rate elevate. My palms start to sweat and I can feel a tremble go through my whole body. “Can I go home? Where is my dad?”

 

“Kathryn, please calm down.” He tells me.“I will answer all of your questions but please let me evaluate your condition first.”

 

 “Okay.” I say to him. Trying to slow my beating heart I relax my posture and focus on breathing. He places the stethoscope on my chest and listens for a moment. Seemingly satisfied with what he hears he wraps the cord back around his neck.

 

“I will need to see under your bandage so please lay back and try not to focus on what I am doing Kathryn.” Dr. Takahashi tells me, pulling down the thin linen sheets covering me.

               

The chill of the cool air feels good against my hot skin. I hear the bandage crinkling under his fingers and a slight tugging as the tape is pulled away from my skin. The strong scent of antiseptic pervades the room. I peek down at what he is doing, immediately regretting it.

               

My midsection is a bloody mess. Open wounds run diagonally across my stomach. Bright red ribbons of wounded flesh lay in stark contrast to my pale skin. Halfway between my pelvis and bellybutton lay an open hole. I draw in a quick breath wondering how I survived. My insides must have been cut to pieces.

               

The blonde nurse hands Dr. Takahashi new bandages and he gently replaces them on my stomach. “How is the pain?” He asks me as he works.

               

“It’s okay.” I tell him, wincing as he applies pressure to the bandage to get the tape to stick.

               

“Hmm yes.” He says. “We have you on morphine.” He points in the direction of an IV going into my arm. “Just press this button if the pain gets too bad.”

               

“Okay.” I tell him turning my head to watch him sit down in the chair beside my bed. I am not brave enough to try and move my body after having seen how mutilated my stomach is.

               

“Overall Kathryn I am very pleased with your healing.” He says.“There will be scars of course and I doubt you will ever conceive a child. Your uterus was badly damaged. I tried my best but…” He waves his hand in the air. “Now, you have questions for me. I will do my best to answer them.” He says looking at me pointedly.

               

I will never be able to have children? I always wanted kids of my own. That won’t happen now. No one will want me as scarred and mutilated as I am anyway. “Where am I? How did I