Tradition Comes Third

Unconscious

Author's Note: I'm very excited to be going to Wattcon in Toronto on October 21st! Anyone else going?

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 Every time I opened my heavy eyes, I saw Ava sitting on the edge of the bed. Her fingers were either intertwined with mine or her hand was resting on my chest. When I was finally able to open my eyes wide, Ava lifted her lips up into a faint smile.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

I opened my mouth to speak, but my parched mouth and throat burned. I let out a groan.

"I have water," she said. "You need to drink."

Ava put her arm around my shoulders and pulled my body up. I heard a pained gasp come out from her. A sharp pain ran across my temple. I brought my hand up to the side of my head. A soft material was under my fingertips. I groped around until it was replaced by something prickly.

"They shaved your head," she said. "Your hair was too long for your Dad to stitch the wound close."

I opened my eyes and she had a glass of water in front of me. My muscles ached as I reached out for the glass. The water was warm, but it felt heavenly running down my dry throat. Ava took the glass out of my hands when I was done. I rolled onto my side and into Ava. My arm slipped around her back, and she let out a yelp. I pulled my arm away from her. I tried propping myself up on my elbow, but the pounding in my head was too intense. I stayed on my back.

"What's wrong?" I asked, my voice was hoarse.

Ava's hand was on her chest. She was taking deep breaths, and her eyes were glistening with tears. She shook her head.

"I should have never tried to run," she said. "It was such a stupid mistake."

A tear slipped down her cheek. I cupped her cheek with my hand, and I wiped the tear away with my thumb. She leaned into my hand, and held it with hers.

"What happened?" I asked.

More tears fell down her face, and she took in a sharp breath.

"When we brought you to the house you were barely conscious," she said. "There was so much blood. We were all trying to get you to stop bleeding. I didn't think you were going to make it. After, when we got it to stop, your Dad and Jared brought you up here and your Mom kept an eye on you."

"What did they do to you?" I asked.

"They dragged me out to the barn outside," she said. "I wanted to run again, but Jared had the gun against my back. They pushed me down on the grass outside of the barn. Your Dad went into the barn while Jared kept the gun on me. When your Dad came back out he had a canister in his hands. I didn't know what it was until he was pouring it on me."

Ava bit down on her lip, and ripped my hands away from her face. She shook her head. She took in a shaky breath, and her face was turning red as her tears began to flood. I wanted to get up, wrap my arms around her, and hold her close. I couldn't build up the strength to even sit up, and she must be so sore that she doesn't want me touching her.

"It was gasoline," she said, wiping the tears off of her cheeks with the back of her hand. "It smelled so horrible. Your Dad kept pouring it on me. I couldn't run because Jared had the gun on me. Your Dad crouched down beside me and pulled out a match-book. He told me, 'I know you've read Julie's book and know we don't kill our family. But my son is in there nearly dead because of you.' He lit one match and I thought I was going to die."

I wanted to hold Ava's hand, but she kept hastily wiping her tears off of her face. Her breathing had turned rapid and shallow.

"I begged and pleaded for him not to do it," she said. "I know I said I'd rather die than live here, but I was lying. I couldn't imagine being set on fire. I was so relieved when he put the matches back in his pocket. He kicked me a few times, and I could barely breathe. He left, and when he came back he had a hose. The water was freezing, but I didn't care. I was so happy that the gas was getting off of me."

Ava took in a deep breath. I could feel my chest tightened as I watched her cry.

"They dragged me back into the house soaking wet," she continued. "They brought me into the living room. Jared still had the gun, and they made me take all of my clothes off. I watched your Dad take off his belt, and I was certain he was going to rape me. But then they called Leah into the room. They made her hold me in place while your Dad whipped me. He said, 'You two like to do things together, so you're going to get punished together'. I lost count of how many times he hit me. When he was done, he put his foot on my back and held me against the floor. I screamed out in pain, but they didn't care. Your Dad told me that if you died they were going to kill me for sure."

I managed to grab her wrist, and hold onto her. I wish I was awake at the time. I hated that she had to go through all of this, and I was unconscious upstairs. I knew her running away was going to get her hurt.

"Your Mom cleaned my back and put bandages on for me," she said.

"Lie down," I said pulling her toward me.

Ava gritted her teeth as she lowered herself onto the bed. She was lying down on her stomach with her head on my chest. My hand twitched and I had to stop myself from wrapping my arms around her. I hadn't realized I wasn't wearing a shirt until I felt her warm tears roll onto my chest.

"We'll get out of here," I told her. "It's probably just going to take awhile."

"I don't care," she said. "We need to stick to together."

"Neither of us are in any shape to get away from this," I said.

"We will earn their trust. We'll do anything they say."

"You'll even eat the meat?"

Ava let out a shaky breath.

"I will try my best," she said. "We need to have them think they completely broke us. We need to wait until either they give you a key or bring you into town.

"We can do this." I pressed my lips against her temple. "I love you."

"I love you too."

We lied in silence, and I heard Ava's breath become rhythmic. I looked down to see that she asleep. I soon fell back asleep.