Part 1, hoping to have the rest later today, no promises.


Ellie and the Eagles:Part 1- Someone Save Me?


Lily Everett curled herself into a corner, covering her head as her father rained blows down on her with his belt. She cried, she screamed when he struck a particularly vulnerable spot, usually an open wound from a previous beating, but she did not beg. She knew begging would make it worse, that the best thing to do was cower until he wore himself out. She knew from experience that after the beating, he would fall asleep before long. She had hoped that he would unlock the pantry and give her something to eat before falling into his daily blind rage, but today was apparently not going to a day where she ate. But he hadn’t raped her before the beating either, Lily would gladly choose going hungry over being raped, both happened a few times a week.


Eventually Gabe Everett did indeed wear himself out. He kicked his daughter a few times, they staggered to the couch and his whiskey, cursing her, blaming her for things that had happened before she was born, or things she couldn’t possibly be to blame for. He slumped down, took another swig, and was snoring in 5 minutes. Only when she was sure he was out cold did Lily dare uncurl and slink out of the room. She made her way to the closet she slept in. She had a cot in the corner of the den, but Lily had learned a long time ago not to sleep in the same room as her father. There was a closet situated as far from the couch as possible, at the other side of the house, that suited her much better.


Lily got to her closet and made sure the door was locked behind her, pushing a trunk in front of it before she turned on her small lamp. She had a sleeping bag, a small pile of clothes, her lamp, a clock, and her two most treasured things in this world. A well loved copy of The Hobbit, and Mommy. Lily read from The Hobbit each night, she knew every word. The well fed and kindly Bilbo, with friends who cared about him and defended him, a real home and food to go back to, and a magic ring that let him him from danger, Lily would have traded her soul for any of those things. Lily wished she could go into the story, she wouldn’t mind the danger, or the monsters, she already had those. She wanted giant eagles to take her away from here, she wanted friends by her side, to talk to and keep her safe, to chase away her monster. She would read about the arrival of the Dwarves tonight, she loved the singing and the pranks and even just the descriptions of the food.


Then there was Mommy. Lily did all of the shopping, it was the only time she was allowed out of the house, and she had a tracking anklet to keep her from running. During her trips to the mall, she would keep whatever change she could from the money Gabe gave her, and she bought things. First had come a mannequin, the shop owner was going to throw it out because the finish was chipping, when the timid little girl had visibly worked up the courage to ask if she could buy it, the shop owner had just smiled and given her the mannequin and a cookie, which made her entire week. She had gotten odds and ends, strips of a heated blanket, the fabric damaged but the heating element intact, breast implants that she slipped inside a padded bra, an 3XL T-shirt, and she had made Mommy. The mannequin limbs could be positioned, and Lily had fashioned herself a hugging robot. She would prop it up against the wall, lower the arm around herself, put her head to the breast insert, and that was the closest she’d ever had to a hug. It was warm and soft and tight, and Lily was pretty sure it felt like the real thing.


Lily sat carefully against the pillow on the wall, wincing as her left side flared in pain. She had broken the broom the day before, and Gabe had beaten her with the handle. It wasn’t her worst beating, that was probably the time she had scratched his car taking out the trash and the tire iron had been handy when she told him, or the time he had been sharpening his knives and decided to test them on her, or the time she had begged him not to brand her and he had beaten her with the branding iron (the ointment he got at the hospital had removed the worst of the burn scars, but she was still permanently blind in one eye) but it still hurt. She had black hair and very pale skin, the bits not bruised or cut, but the broom handle had left a good portion of the right side of her ribs bruised darker than her hair. Her fingers were bent and shaped wrong, Gabe would regularly break one or two fingers not even because he was angry, but just because he could. Broken fingers did not rank among the pains Lily had endured, but they bothered her more than any other injuries except her blind eye, for the same reason. Reading was her only escape, and her blind eye and crooked fingers made it more difficult.



Lily retrieved her book and settled in to read, when she felt something wet on her neck. She quickly determined that she had a new cut on her cheek and it was bleeding pretty good. Lily didn’t really cry much anymore. She still felt all of the emotions as strongly as ever, and she could fake it to keep from further angering Gabe, but she had seemingly lost the ability to shed genuine tears long ago. She sighed, pulling off her shirt, leaving her flat chest bare, every rib easily counted from years of only having a combined few proper meals a week for years, and she held the shirt to the cut, the belt buckle must have gotten her worse than she thought. Lily hated it, it felt like part of her was dying, and the pain made her dizzy, but this was not even a particularly bad day for her. She held the shirt until the bleeding stopped, and read her book for a bit.



Lily read a few chapters. She was very tired, but she wanted to stay up, just a little longer. Eventually, midnight rolled around and her clock beeped. Lily pulled out a lighter she hid very carefully, she had gotten it just for this. She flicked on the flame and whispered to herself “Happy birthday Lily” before blowing it out. She was now 12. Lily made the same wish she did every year, and before she turned out her light and tried to sleep, she knelt and offered up that wish as her nightly prayer. She prayed for an angel or an elf or some other kindly fantasy creature to come and take her from this place. Lily wanted a few things in life, adequate food, as well as affection among them, but to be taken from this place was the only thing she ever prayed for. Lily didn’t know if she believed in any of it, but she still prayed, it hurt nothing, and SOMEONE might be listening. She fell asleep and dreamed of the giant eagles carrying her to a better place.