Hold On

Silence

It's dark. She knows is only a little past noon, but the dense forest rejects any and all light that tries to break through the thick blanket of limbs and leaves above her. She doesn't move from her spot on the ground, head resting painfully against a slightly raised tree root. She can feel the bruises forming on her arms that now lay carelessly above her head. The tiny bits of blood seeping from her palms where her nails dug into them who knows how long ago, leaving thin trails of red down to the ground, where they mix with the dirt. She can still feel the hands on her stomach, pushing her down, holding her to the ground no matter how hard she fought. Her legs rest haphazardly below her, the jeans she once had on discarded somewhere beside her. At least she hopes, as much as she can hope after today, that they are nearby. She can still feel them. The hands, holding her still, no matter how much she wanted them to let go. She can still hear them. The voices, laughing as she screamed to be free. She can still taste it. The dirt covered cloth they stuffed in her mouth to muffle her cries. But most importantly, she can still see, hear, and feel him. The man whose face was covered by a mask, but his deep voice could be recognized anywhere. The man whose hands pushed her into the ground, and no matter how she twisted and turned away from him, forced himself onto and into her. Breaking her beyond repair.

She doesn't know how long she's been there. Lying on that cold hard ground just inside the forest surrounding the school. She must have been laying there for a while. Before long she hears the bell, signaling the end of school, along with hundreds of voices. Kids leaving the building in a big wave of people, each taking their own paths home for the day. She knows she needs to get up. To leave the woods. But she lost the will to move a long time ago. Staring at the dense leaves above her, she waits. Maybe someone will find her. Force her to move. But until they do, she's not moving.

Her blue-green eyes now turned grey, stay transfixed on the blackness above her. Her focus unbreaking even when a voice calls out to her. Another voice she recognizes, but right now doesn't acknowledge. The voice calls again, the crunching of leaves and small sticks gets closer as the person wants to see most (surprising herself that she wants to see anyone, considering) gets closer and closer to her.

"Lena!" The voice of her best friend calls in surprise.

"Kara?" a raspy voice, that doesn't sound like her own, calls back. Keeping her eyes stuck to the thick forestry, she can hear Kara kneel beside her.

"Lena, what happened?" The blonde asks sadly. Only when a soft hand wipes her cheek does she realize she has been crying. Finally, she looks at the blonde, whose blue eyes are almost overflowing with unshed tears. Suddenly, the blond's gaze is elsewhere, eyes scanning for something in the dark. Startling the brunette on the ground, she quickly moves away but is instantly back at Lena's side.

"May I put these back on?" She asks in a small voice. Finally realizing what the blonde is holding, she sees her discarded black jeans. She hadn't realized they weren't put back on already. A slight nod from her and Kara moved to slowly put them back over her probably bruise covered legs. With minimal help from Lena, but with no words of protest or annoyance, Lena was re-dressed, and Kara was back by her side. With gentle hands, Kara brought Lena's arms down from resting above her head, laying one across her abdomen, and taking the other in her own hands.

Another voice calls from the edge of the forest. Without breaking her gaze from the woman on the ground Kara calls back, "I found her Alex. Stay there, I'll be right out."

"Can you stand?" the blonde asked. A nearly unnoticeable shake of Lena's head and Kara moves instantly to pick her up. Reaching under Lena's head, Kara moves to help her sit up. As soon as her upper body is vertical, Kara retracts her hand. A small gasp and the small pool of red in her palm answers Lena's question of why her head has been hurting.