Chapter 8

All of them had boards carved right beneath their feet, boards that gave away their names, ages and time of death. Almost like a cemetery, this one though was only for kids. My eyes went from one girl to the next, there were so many. I simply couldn't believe what I was seeing. This wasn't a work of art, it was cruelty and maybe if I didn't know that these were real people at a point, I might've praised the artist.

My head was swimming, my heart was thumping and my eyes were filling with tears as they followed the trail, every next girl breaking my heart into another piece. I could only imagine the fate they had suffered before this.

My breathing halted as my eyes landed on one specific girl, the board read:

Stacie Samuel's

9 years old

4th July 2011, Thursday, 11:20 PM.

My knees gave out as I fell to the ground, my tears being unleashed and flowing down my cheeks as I realized what I had just read. Stacie was a friend, she was the new girl of our school. She was... dead. While I was alive, could this have been my fate too?

I looked around with a blurry gaze, tears freely falling down my cheeks as I spotted an empty slot. Empty with nothing but the name of the girl who would've had the misfortune of being buried there.

Adira Blaustein- special addition

8 years old

-------------------

I froze as my eyes darted to the girls beside the empty one. 15 other special editions were there, all of them in a more pitiful state than the first. The lot of them were injured, I could see from the curving of their bones and the blankness of their faces.

Edward came to stand behind me, I flinched as I pictured the lazy smirk that had adorned his features.

"This is what happens to the flocks taken in by father's men."

I gritted my teeth together as I read the names and ages of all the girls. I only stopped when I realize that I had reached the very first one:

Caitlyn Perry

11 years old

13 August 2000, monday, 2:00 AM

I went back in order, jumping from year to year. At least 12 girls were killed every year that they abducted them in, one or sometimes two of them being the special addition.

"It would be a total waste to kill them immediately and very dangerous to set them free, instead of doing that. Father sells some of them that he knows will get a good price, or like all of those girls, they are for the pleasure of his men and as for the special additions, they're his very own slaves."

I stood up on shaky legs as he continued.

"The reason this all stopped is because of you, if Severus hadn't chosen you then you would've been the 12th one of the 2010 batch. But since it was left incomplete, father lost all interest in this hobby of his. His habit of being a perfectionist didn't let him settle with the lack of one girl, hence he couldn't continue. So you see Donna, you've saved many girls by simply being chosen."

Their eyes seemed to be staring deep into my soul, silently crying for help. I pictured them being tortured, tied up, bound, chained, violated. Abused, broken, again and again, before they buried them into the walls.

I could've been one of them...

Chills ran down my spine as I though about it, my heart picked up beating and nearly thumped out of my chest. I would've...

I couldn't complete my thoughts as my feet moved on their own accord and I ran out of the room. The door slammed against the wall as I pushed it, the sound of my footsteps thudding inside the hallway. My feet digging into the ground as I ran without seeing where I was headed.

All I knew was that I had to get away from there. I could tell that Edward was hot on my heels but I kept running. The tears continuing their descent  as I fisted my hands, and sped up.

I had to get aw~

My thoughts were cut off as I ran into someone, I didn't have to look up to know who he was. The familiar scent and the arms that kept me from falling were enough assurance for me.

Through the tears in my eyes, I glanced up at Severus. His eyes were locked on mine, a furrow between his brows as he tightened his hold on me. His gaze slid past me for a moment- to Edward- and he cursed under his breath before picking me up bridal style.

I wrapped my arms around his neck as he strode through halls, my head was tucked into his neck as I fought back the urge to cry.

"Open the door."

I heard him command followed by the shuffling of feet and I was brought into a room, my room. He placed me down at the bed and went back to lock the door.

"You could've waited for me Adira."

His voice wasn't hard, instead it was patient and tired. I wiped at my tears and hiccuped. Before two warm hands cupped my face and lifted it up as he wiped away the tears.

"Y-You don't have time for me anymore."

I whispered and he let out a defeated sigh.

"I would love to spend all my time with you Love, but I have to establish control before everything else. The possibility that we might get attacked cannot be ignored."

I nodded my head and sniffed again, he took out his handkerchief and extended it to me. Dabbing away at my eyes and nose with it, I put it aside and pulled him in for a hug. Since he was kneeling in front of the bed, his head came to rest against the crook of my neck, his arms wrapped around my waist as he released a deep sigh.

"...Was there no way to save the others?"

I questioned and he stiffened before replying, his voice coming out muffled against my skin.

"I didn't know about it till he demanded that I pick a bride."

I nodded slowly as the tears once again started to slip  from the corner of my eyes. Severus sighed and pulled back to wipe them away.

"I didn't know what he did with the rest of them until a few years ago but by then he had already stopped."

His hands rubbed circles into my back, gently lulling me to a drowsy state, barely managing to keep my eyes open, the last thing my ears heard was him muttering something like:

"I'll protect you, with my life if I have to."