Twenty-eight

Whisper was allowed two hours break from the man's brutal punishments. After whipping, he tied her up against the pole and began to mark her, using a knife that burned like the collar. He did thirty-eight of them. One for every day she was gone with Zane. The same went for the spoons of boiling water, the number of attacks he got to do with his wolf, the number of minutes she had to hold hundred pound weights with her arms above her head, and so on and so forth.

During that two hours, Whisper lay on the ground, trying not to move or cause more pain to erupt. She was bleeding from nearly all parts of her body, burned as well, and her body was exhausted from holding things in the air for so long. And if she didn't do as told, she'd be kicked in the ribs. This happened five times, and she could have sworn she heard a crack from within, if her labored breathing wasn't any indication they might be broke.

It was dark and she was cold. She still wore the black dress. The man only had Whisper pull it up when necessary, then put it down later. The whole time she did have it above her waist, she could see the Doctor's eyes darken considerably. Her fear of him increased more than the man torturing her. More than her brother ever had. Her brother did cruel things to her, but he always seemed disgusted at least. The Doctor seemed like he would have a great time…

Throughout the torture, Whisper often wondered what was happening with Nico and Zane. What were they doing? Did they miss her? Did they notice she wasn't there? Was Zane looking for her? She wondered if Zane and Nico could find her and if so, if they'd be able to fight off her attackers alone. If Zane was coming, she hoped he was careful. But if he wasn't, like her heart dreaded, then she hoped he lived a happy life.

Whisper opened her eyes to male voices coming closer. It sounded like more than three, but she couldn't be sure. Most sounded drunk, rowdy like a bunch of children with slurred words. She groaned inwardly at what 'fun' was awaiting her.

Before she could even open her eyes, someone held her face in their hand, squeezing it hard, painfully hard. She looked up into a dingy looking man with rotting teeth. "Hello, sweet girl! Remember me?"

"Back off!" her brother snarled. The man let her go and laughed, backing away. Her brother came forward and knelt beside her, looking over her while clicking his tongue. "Whisper, you don't look too good. Maybe we'll just have to give you some energy, what do you say?"

Ready to give up, Whisper licked her lips. "I don't care, brother."

His eyes narrowed on her. Without warning, he lifted her up so she was face-to-face with him. "Who told you that?"

Her eyes flickered to the Doctor. The man followed her line of sight and growled angrily. When their gazes met again, he hissed, "You were never my sister, and never will be!"

With that he stalked away towards the Doctor. She smiled to herself, liking the fact that she made him mad, she just wished he'd have taken it out on her. The man from earlier strolled up to her and put her on her feet. She could barely stand, but he held her tight against him.

He pushed her towards the pole and made her lean against it while he cuffed her hands together, then let the collar off. Whisper sighed in relief from the burning metal and felt some strength returning to her. She knew her relief wouldn't last long, so she savored it.

The man slipped behind her and pulled her flush against him. "Listen carefully, girl. If you are good, this will only take a few minutes. The rest of these men are drunk and are about to pass out anyways. I will end this quick and let you be for the rest of the night, just obey me. I honestly don't feel like dragging this out all night."

Subtly, Whisper nodded her consent.

"Good, now kneel down on both knees and grab the pole with both hands." He let her go and stepped back. She knelt and grabbed the pole, her body quaking with fear, but looking forward to the rest of the night's rest. "Are you holding tight?"

"Yes, I am."

"Count to twelve," he commanded right before the air left her lungs. She wasn't sure if it was a club, a bat, or what, but it hit her back hard with a loud CRACK!

"One," she breathed. Another blow and she continued to count.

They were at ten when a loud roar shook the forest. Whisper was leaning heavily on the pole now and barely registered the noise. She only cared about the freedom to sleep after two more hits. Just two more hits!

"Almost done!" the man snarled and aimed again.

Whisper readied herself, but the blow never came. She let out a sob when she realized he was prolonging the pain, giving her false hope of finishing fast, false hope of ever finding sleep.

All she wanted was that darkness to consume her, a place where nothing was real and no one could touch her. Darkness was a place she could hide and never be found. She loved darkness almost as much as she loved the safety of Zane's arms. It caressed her and took away her pain. It was always there as a friend when she needed someone. She felt as if she was floating through it. Who needed light anyways?

"Whisper?" a low voice said beside her.

"Just finish it!" she cried.

Hands encompassed her face, lifting up from the pole and fingers wiped away her tears. "Whisper, open your eyes."

"Look out!" another voice shouted.

The hands disappeared for a moment, only to return to her wrists, undoing the cuffs. "Come on, Whisper. Talk to me!"

She shook her head and nearly fell sideways. "Just leave me alone!"

When her hands were free, someone held them together with one hand while their free hand went to her waist. "Whisper, I'm here. You're safe now. Just open your eyes and look at me."

Defeatedly, she opened them. At first she was happy. Zane! He had come! Then, she remembered what happened earlier and how it was all fake. "No!" she whined. "No! You're not real! Go away!"

"Shit!" he hissed and hugged her to him. "Whisper, I'm real. I promise I'm real."

"Zane, we need to go! Will and Rovell are getting backup!"

In a more desperate tone, the male in front of her whispered, "Little Wolf, please believe me! I'm real! I'm here! You're safe!"

He didn't need to say anything other than 'Little Wolf' because Whisper instantly knew he was real if she heard that. "Zane," she breathed.

He smiled at her, blue eyes shining with happiness. "Yes, my Little Wolf. It's me!" He pulled her closer, kissing her forehead gently. "Do you trust me?" She nodded. Zane picked her up carefully and started running. Whisper saw five other men, two of which she recognized as Anton and Nico. She wasn't sure who the other three were, but she didn't care. Zane was here, holding her safe in his arms again. There was no need to be afraid now.

A man slowed down and ran alongside Zane and Whisper looked at him. He was tan with blue eyes and dark hair. It looked like he smiled a lot but he couldn't have been much older than Zane because he was agile as anyone she knew. "Zane, Simone set up a room for all four of you. One of the rooms will be extra guarded for Whisper."

"Thank you. And thank you for your support."

"My pleasure," the man said and glanced at Whisper. She snuggled closer to Zane but stopped because of the pain in her ribs. "We better hurry. We're almost to the border. I have a man waiting with a vehicle."

Zane nodded and quickened his pace, holding Whisper a little closer. She looked up at the male holding her and asked, "Who is he?"

"His name is Reed. He helped us find and rescue you." Zane glanced down at her with dark eyes. "He's a friend." Accepting this, Whisper nodded and relaxed, letting him carry her.

It took them a while to get across the border to where a black SUV was waiting. Reed got into the passenger seat while everyone else filed in the back. The two unfamiliar men sat in the way back with Anton, while Nico sat beside Zane in the middle. Whisper sat on Zane's lap, held firmly and closely while they rode away.

From what Whisper could tell, no one was injured badly, just a few scrapes here and there. She was glad everyone was safe. If someone would have died, like Nico or Zane, she'd have forfeited her life for good. Nothing would have stopped her.

"Whisper," Zane breathed. She looked at him and stared into the beautiful kind eyes she remembered. "I was so scared," he choked.

"Me too," she admitted. Everyone else in the car focused on something other than the conversation taking place that felt private. "Zane, I thought you were—"

"I know, Little wolf. Nico told me." he caressed her cheek. "I'm just glad you're safe."

Tears slipped down her cheeks once again. "I'm scared, Zane!"

"It's okay, Whisper. I'm here now," he said softly, cradling her head against his chest. "I'm here."

Her chest her from keeping in her emotions, her lungs ached from the broken ribs, her eyes stung from the multitude of tears that were brought forth. She couldn't stop this time, not even to save her life. She took n all her pain, all her fear and finally couldn't handle it anymore. She was exhausted from it all, yet she was scared of sleeping, of the horrible nightmares that awaited her. She was terrified of seeing her brother again or the Doctor. She wanted nothing more than to curl up and die.

Yet, Zane was here now. He was holding her safe in his arms, taking her home. He and Nico had come for her like she had hoped. Zane wasn't as cold-hearted as he seemed when Whisper talked to Nico on the phone. He was still her Zane, soft-hearted, sweet, and gentle. In his arms, in his presence, in his eyes, she was home.