PREDATORS
by Chimera Bloom
Part 9
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
She was all alone in a crowd of people. They all saw her. They all knew who she was. But none of them spoke to her. They couldn't. She was beneath them all.
Compared to them Yamina felt inferior, weak, ugly, and even a tad freakish. She hated people, crowds, bright lights and loud noises. She'd grown frightened and timed every since the attack.
And they seemed to sense it. They would zero in on her like she was some sort of weakened prey. They would taunt and tease until she was reduced to only the slightest whimper of tears. And even then they wouldn't stop.
So, she had taken to the only thing she could do. She had become a master at hiding. They would walk around her chatting and flirting with each other. They would laugh and giggle totally unaware that she was even in the room. She had learned to hide in plain sight. She had learned to become invisible to their parties and their fun. She had learned how to stay safe on the outside.
Yamina sat at a small quiet dark table in the very corner of the Lodge's dining facility. She hurriedly ate her breakfast wanting to be far from the rest of the tribe as quickly as possible. But she couldn't help but be a bit interested in the events going on around her.
At the long table right behind her sat Narlene and all her devoted followers. They felt that it was their personal mission to reward the tribe's warriors in all the special ways that might be overlooked at today's ceremony. They weren't sexual by any means. They were playful teasing acts of flirtation designed to garner the attention of a woman's selected warrior.
The timid girl sat and strained to hear about everything they had planned for the day's events. Yamina couldn't even stop herself from stealing the occasional glance through her peripheral vision. It was all too fascinating and yet sickening all at once.
They would gush over the events of the battle. All 12 of the women present had even picked out a warrior for their very own. They discussed all important things like hair length, skin tone, breast size, muscle definition, and of course financial stability. Yamina intently listened as they all exchanged gossip on which warrior's were ready for marriage and which were destined to remain single.
Then she listened as they discussed the special gifts they would be presenting at today's ceremony. They had all apparently spent months designing and then hand making jewelry for each warrior in the tribe. Everyone woman present had apparently been looking forward to this very day all year.
And Yamina had to refrain from gasping aloud when Narlene went into great detail about the necklace she had made for Kellis. Apparently, it was emerald green with tiny hand-etched inscriptions that were only to be seen by the warrior's eyes. Though all her friends playfully prodded her, Narlene flatly refused to tell them what she had written out for the warrior.
Yamina couldn't help but think that Narlene's enthusiasm and romantic hopes were a bit misplaced, especially after last night. Even she knew what had happened between the warrior and Zelsi. And if she knew, that meant that the entire tribe had to be crawling with the information.
Carefully, Yamina cupped her seeping hot cup of tea and gave another thought to her missing friend. For the first time she was glad that Elila was not with her. She wouldn't have wanted her friend to hear the way that Narlene was talking about Kellis. She wouldn't want Elila to hear all of the women enthusiastically agree that Narlene had managed to capture the golden warrior's heart. And of course, she was terribly glad that the heron had been spared the scene of Zelsi storming away from the warrior's bedroom in a naked rage. She was glad that Elila had missed it all. But she could only hope that the heron was somewhere safe.
"You know Narlene, I don't think any of us question your opinions. We're your friends. We support you no matter what. But you have to admit that there was a rather indiscreet incident with Zelsi last night. And we all just want to know how you're going to handle it?" Yamina listened to the rambled words of Shaenabel.
From her seat she couldn't see the girl, but she knew that Shaenabel was somewhere to her distant left. Yamina instantly leaned forward in her seat also very curious as to what Narlene intended to do. The whole situation had to be embarrassing for her. Everyone knew that Kellis had rather crudely dumped her for time alone with the concubine.
"Well, there's not much I can do. I mean, nothing that happened last night changes how I feel for Kellis. I still believe that we're meant to be together. I mean these things happen, right?'' Yamina could practically hear Narlene shrugging her shoulders.
There was nothing but confusion and uncertainty lacing through her voice. And it was obvious to Yamina that she was looking to her friends for some sort of support. It was like Narlene desperately wanted someone to rationalize the warrior's actions. She wanted someone to tell her that it was okay to still feel deeply for the warrior. She wanted to hear that her love was somehow justified.
But instead, her friends only gave her silence. They just couldn't answer what only the warrior's mouth could explain. And from the strangled sounds of coughs, nervous whispers, and repetitive tapping Yamina knew that everyone was quite uncomfortable by all that had happened.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
She watched them intently, as one might study a phenomenon or earth-shattering event. But they were neither shocking nor terribly important. They were just a heron and shark walking together in amicable camaraderie.
But to Pedryn, they were everything. She couldn't tear her eyes off them as they wandered through the lobby looking for the healer. She saw Zeranna playfully teasing Elila. And she saw the heron laugh with a wide uncensored smile.
And for the briefest of seconds, Pedryn thought that she might weep. She hadn't cried in so many long years she couldn't understand why the feeling was suddenly overcoming her. Staring at the heron had reduced her to some sort of quivering ball of emotions. All these feelings were about to coming rushing out that she had managed to hide and bury for so very long.
The very last thing she wanted was to actually start 'feeling' again. Her life had been so much simpler since she had decided to sever that part of herself. She had become cool, calm and efficient. She had become the perfect embodiment of a ruthless hunter. And she wasn't about to give up her carefully constructed world of silent feeling. Pedryn knew she would literally come apart if she did.
"I thought I would find you here." Carielle whispered joining her cousin in the lofted darkened alcove of the Fluid's lobby.
Carielle put a reassuring hand on Pedryn's shoulder thinking that she understood the source of her cousin's pain. And for just a moment, Pedryn thought that maybe she did. It was possible that her gentle cousin sympathized with all the painful and powerful emotions that were scouring through her heart.
But Pedryn looked down at the sound of the lobby doors whooshing open. She watched Zeranna leave. Then she watched Elila walk out of her life forever. And she could only stand there and let it happen. She couldn't stop the actions from unfolding, no matter how much she wanted to.
She felt crestfallen and berated, like she had just lost something terribly important and special. When Carielle turned to face her, she could see relief in her cousin's eyes. And that's when she knew with absolute certainty that Carielle had no idea how she was feeling. But as Pedryn felt her loss with a tremendous grief she realized how terribly prudent it would be to keep all her twisted thoughts and feelings to herself.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Elila sat next to the large shark feeling a bit cramped in her seat. The first transport was brimming with people, as she expected it would be. So, that left her no other option then to somehow try to squeeze onto a rather small bench next to a very huge shark.
And as the transport tossed and turned over its path, Elila was thrown across Zeranna's body more times then she cared to count. And each time her eyes welled up in fear and her body screamed in tension.
It wasn't Zeranna's fault. The changeling had been nothing but kind and docile with her. But Elila just wasn't ready to get this up close and personal with a shark hybrid.
"Still feeling sick?" Zeranna asked noticing the way that the heron reacted every time the transport tossed them about.
"Oh yeah…" Elila answered thinking that was as good excuse as any for her strange reaction.
Truthfully, the heron was feeling much better. Whatever the healer had given her seemed to work miracles in a matter of moments. The soreness in her throat had quickly dissipated. But Elila had been warned the effects were only temporary. She would have to find the healer at her own tribe as soon as she returned.
"I bet you're relieved to finally be going home. I mean after the night that you've had." Zeranna commented obviously assuming that was the reason for the heron's quiet mood.
Elila glanced at her making the formal attempt to briefly smile. The shark couldn't be more wrong. Now that she was finally going home after what seemed like the longest night of her life, Elila couldn't be more unsettled. She knew that Yamina was probably worried sick. But she couldn't help but wonder if Kellis even knew that she had been gone.
"I bet you have a mate wondering where are you." Zeranna asked trying to discover if Elila was married. It's not that she was interested in the heron. It was only her sheer curiosity that prompted the question.
"Oh, I'm not married." Elila answered watching the Gallion Village from her moving seat high above the treetops.
"Really? Well, what about an intended then? I imagine that you have warriors lining up to date you." Zeranna asked trying to get the heron to open up. Even though they had just met, she could tell that something was bothering Elila. And she really did want to help.
"No, I'm afraid I don't have an intended. I don't date much. I'm quite single." Elila responded only half paying attention to the line of questions being clumsily thrown in her direction.
She knew that Zeranna was only trying to be nice. But her thoughts had already turned to the rather heartbreaking homecoming she was about to receive. And Elila was quite certain that mere banter wasn't going to be enough to pull her out of her funk.
"Oh come on? There must be someone special?" Zeranna asked thinking that the heron was being less then forthright.
The shark didn't protest to know much about the standards of jungle cat beauty. But even her native ocean eyes could see that Elila was really quite attractive. She could only assume that the girl wasn't telling her the entire truth.
"No, there's no one special." Elila muttered being perfectly honest. Zeranna seemed to settle back into the bench determined to give Elila her quiet solitude. She had just taken to staring at the other passengers when the heron suddenly turned to her in a rushed bout of curiosity.
"Tell me about Pedryn?" Elila asked politely and obviously very interested.
"Pedryn? Well, she was the team's alpha at the Gallion. And she'll be the alpha of our tribe one day. You know, when her alpha steps down. Why?" Zeranna asked wondering what had spurred the sudden interested in the shark.
She hoped that Elila wasn't asking in regards to their recent chat on romance. Zeranna couldn't even pretend to know Pedryn well at all. But the one thing that she knew for absolute certainty was that the alpha shark wanted nothing to do with love or romance.
Not only that, but her tribe spread terrible gossip about Pedryn behind her back. They whispered the harshest statements of cruelties and violence. Of course Zeranna didn't listen to a word of it. She knew better then to believe the rumors of others.
"I know all that. I just mean, what's she like? You know, as a person." Elila asked not sure why the question had even come from her lips.
She shouldn't want to know anything about Pedryn. She should run away screaming at the very mention of her name. But instead, she was sitting next to one of the Midali warriors plying her for information about the alpha shark that had haunted her nightmares for endless months.
Elila looked at Zeranna's puzzled face and knew that her tone was conveying more emotion then it should. The heron also knew that she couldn't begin to tell Zeranna why she was asking. And truthfully, she didn't really know why herself. All she knew was that something about Pedryn had disturbed her. Something about the shark had unsettled the careful balance of hatred and anger that Elila had sheltered for so very long.
The heron didn't know if it was the kind touch of healing. She didn't know if it was the safe shelter from the snake. All Elila knew was that she had sensed something from Pedryn that she thought impossible. The shark wasn't the one-dimensional monster of her nightmares. Pedryn had friends, a family, and a life that apparently involved more then kidnapping and rape. And for some unspeakable reason, Elila found herself wanting to know everything there was about the strong Midali shark.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"I look ridiculous." Kellis complained staring at her image in the mirror. Just as she suspected, Melaryn's shirt was hanging off her in a most unflattering manner. And the pants were hiked up so high on her rather long legs, Kellis felt like she was dressed for some sort of fishing expedition.
"Yeah, you do." Melaryn agreed. She didn't know how Kellis expected to walk out on stage in front of thousands of people looking like some sort of overgrown child.
"What do I do? I can't go accept the award looking like this." Kellis muttered stomping back and forth in front of her wall length mirror.
"No you can't." Melaryn answered noticing that the longer she stared the more ridiculous the outfit became.
"Thanks! Anytime you would like to actually help feel free to speak up." Kellis said pacing around the room with her hands on her hips.
"Okay, okay sorry… You're just going to have to wear your battle clothes from yesterday." Melaryn said trying to calm the warrior.
"I can't. They're covered in blood." Kellis answered slumping down onto the sofa. She noticed that the motion caused her pants to squeak in a most unflattering manner.
"Oh my god… I'm going to humiliate the entire tribe." Kellis moaned unable to even look at her friend in the eyes.
This sort of thing would never have happened to Melaryn. She was too responsible to have gone off to the Gallion without her formal attire. And her ridiculous outfit was just further example of how much control was lacking from her life.
"Hey, where's Elila?" Melaryn asked glancing around the otherwise empty hotel suite.
"Didn't you hear? She's missing." Kellis answered practically whispering into the couch.
"Missing? What do you mean?" Melaryn asked a bit harshly. And for just a moment she forgot which of them was the higher-ranking warrior.
"I'm sorry, Kellis. I didn't mean to snap at you. But you do remember that she was kidnapped not very long ago? I'm just worried about the alpha's daughter." Melaryn said hoping that her friend would forgive her brief outburst.
"Well, I don't think you have to worry. Apparently, Elila walked in on Zelsi and me. She was upset, got onto the last transport and left. I'm sure that she wouldn't just take off into the night. She must have had some place to go." Kellis explained thinking that she was going to have to have a long talk with the heron when she did finally return.
"Are you sure?" Melaryn asked unable to quell the sudden pang of worry that something awful could have happened to Elila.
"Yes, I'm sure she's fine. Now help me figure out what to wear." Kellis said with a strong conviction in her tone. With no more discussion about the heron they decided it was time to go off in search for more flattering attire. Because Kellis had to believe that if she scoured the Lodge from top to bottom, she would eventually find something suitable to wear.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"You know I heard she went walking down the hall naked as the day she was born. She didn't even try to cover herself. She just went on her way looking for her next customer." Yamina winced as she listened to the caddy voice of Rilari.
But Yamina had to acknowledge the fact that what Rilari said was probably true. The girl was a virtual gossip factory and normally had all her facts straight. And Yamina could swear that she actually heard Narlene fuming in anger.
"I heard that she left because Kellis asked her to do something that even she wouldn't do. Can you imagine? What could be so weird that not even a concubine would do it?" Yamina heard the rather excited voice of Halauris chime in.
"Okay you guys, enough! Narlene already knows all this. She doesn't need us to repeat it." Shaenabel broke in trying to save her best friend's dignity.
"We should be trying to support her, not spreading more rumors. Now let's make a vow that nothing anyone has said here will leave this table." Shaenabel commanded to the group.
Yamina heard the whispered agreements and knew that she was in trouble. They hadn't noticed her yet. But once they did, they wouldn't like the fact that she had heard all their secret discussions. She looked around the dining hall and quickly realized that the only way out would be to walk right by their table. And that would most certainly give away her position. So, she huddled further into the corner hoping that for once, her invisibility would be her saving grace.
"Shaenabel's right. We shouldn't talk about this. But not because of how it might effect me. We shouldn't talk about it out of respect for Kellis." Narlene said finally breaking the silence around her.
"She's our premier warrior. And one day, she will probably be the alpha. Now we need to respect that." She said unaware that Yamina's ears were catching every word.
"And frankly, I have to believe that what happened last night wasn't Kellis' fault. If there is anyone to blame it's that whore Zelsi. She caused such a scene all in an effort to ruin Kellis' reputation. And frankly, I don't think we should let her get away with it. Because believe me if she did it to my Kellis, she'll do it to all the warriors that each of you love. She won't stop until she's humiliated the entire tribe. And then what? We'll be the laughing stock of the entire animal kingdom." Narlene said with an eerie calmness to her voice that unsettled Yamina.
She had always thought that there was something inherently wrong with Narlene. The girl was just too perfect in every single way. She just seemed off, like she was ready to snap at any moment. And the icy calm tones in her voice made Yamina queasy with fear. Something was definitely going on with that woman.
"She's right. I've seen how Zelsi looks at my hybrid. She wants her for her own. And I'm not going to let that happen." Halauris said taking her friend's words to heart.
"You guys, Narlene is right. We have to do something. We can't let Zelsi get away with this." Shaenabel chimed in with a strange conviction in her tone.
"But how do we start? What do we do?" Yamina heard an unidentifiable voice asked from far down on the table.
She could practically hear the wheels spinning in Narlene's mind. She wondered if anyone of these women really possessed the raw nastiness to truly hurt Zelsi. But Yamina could easily see her own isolation as testament to their indifferent cruelty. And ever so slightly, Yamina inched closer to the table. She was dying to know what revenge Narlene would dream up.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"What do you mean? You can't possibly be serious?" Carielle screamed at her cousin. She didn't care that she was questioning Pedryn's authority. It was quite clear that her cousin was making a serious error in judgment.
"I'm quite serious. And YOU will do as your told!" Pedryn yelled back, locking them away in her private quarters.
"Pedryn think about what you're saying. If we don't tell the alpha we'll be committing a serious crime." Carielle screamed unable to calm her nerves.
She had been nothing but anxious and on edge ever sing Elila had shown up at their front door. And she really didn't see how hiding the girl's presence would do anyone any good. But Pedryn seemed adamant that her alpha not find out that the girl had been amongst them.
"At least tell me why." Carielle said giving up her anger long enough to try a different approach.
"I am not sure what to say." Pedryn answered honestly.
She really didn't know how to explain her seemingly irrational motives. She just didn't want Elila presence to become common knowledge. Pedryn didn't want to have to share her secret with anyone, least of all her alpha.
"Please respect my wishes." Pedryn said softly leaving the room before another word could be said.
Carielle stared at the floor realizing that she had just been put in an impossible situation. Not only was Pedryn her superior, but she was also family. There were many good reasons why she should give into Pedryn's request. But for some reason, the whole thing just seemed off to her. Carielle began nervously wringing her hands as she realized that there was a lot more going on then her cousin was willing to tell her.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"All right, well we'll just have to put something together from the clothes that you brought." Melaryn said calmly.
Kellis slumped on the couch in open disgust. They had searched the entire Lodge. They had asked every single warrior in the tribe, but no one had anything that would fit her tall body.
"I can't believe this." Kellis muttered trying to suppress the urge to bang her head into the nearest wall.
"Hey, this is not our fault. If you weren't so oddly shaped this wouldn't be a problem." Melaryn answered trying desperately to lighten the mood.
She knew it wasn't the clothes that were really bothering her friend. It was everything else that had happened. And if Kellis didn't pull it together soon, the awards ceremony was certainly not going to be very festive.
"What's in here?" Melaryn asked finding a sealed garment bag in the closet.
"I don't know. It must be Elila's." The warrior answered lying back down on the sofa.
"There's a note." Melaryn said disregarding the scrawled handwriting for the time being. Instead, she opened the bag revealing the warrior's forgotten formal attire.
"Uh Kellis?" She asked trying to figure out if what she held in her hands was indeed what they had been searching for.
"That's mine, where did you find it?" Kellis asked shocked and relieved all at once. She knew that she had left it at home. So she had no idea how it had just managed to appear in her closet.
"It was hanging in there." Melaryn shrugged handing the needed clothes to the warrior.
"Okay, let's see." Melaryn muttered unfolding the note.
"It says, 'Kellis I knew you would forget this. Good luck on your speech.' It's from Elila." Melaryn called out to her friend hurriedly changing in the other room.
"What, it's from Elila?" Kellis asked ripping the note from her friend's hand.
Melaryn looked over Kellis' form and knew why all the women went crazy for her. She was the epitome of beauty and feline grace. Not only that, but in her formal tanned leathers every single part of her body appeared sexual and full.
"I can't believe she did this. I wonder how she even got it." Kellis mused thinking that Elila must have picked her clothing up from the tannery.
"Mmh, she's a nice girl…thoughtful, kind, even attractive. So, tell me again why you two aren't married?" Melaryn asked rather tired of her friend's philandering ways.
"Because I'm too busy having bad sex with paid concubines." Kellis snapped really not in the mood to discuss her personal life.
"That's right… so tell me, did Zelsi charge you extra for last night?" Melaryn asked thinking that what Kellis had received had to come at a high price.
"Does everyone know?" Kellis screamed feeling the humiliation return full force.
"About what you did in the steam room? Oh yes, everyone knows." Melaryn said with total conviction.
"Great! Just great!!!" Kellis screamed stomping away into the other room. She was growing tired of having her honor continually dragged through the mud. Looking at her polished form in the mirror, the warrior was beginning to think that it might be time to make some life changes.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Despite her valid attempts to strain and contort in her seat, Yamina had been totally unable to decipher a single word of Narlene's plan. She had heard the other girls whispering. There had been giggling. And at one point she thought that there had even been a loud confused gasp.
But since she had no idea what they were talking about, she could only sit and wait. Her imagination was coming up with some rather interesting ideas. Given her social status Narlene certainly did wield power within the tribe. And Yamina knew that if she really went after Zelsi things for the young concubine could certainly become difficult.
She heard the loud buzzer sounding from the lobby. The hour had arrived and it was quite clearly time to go. And still, there was no sign of Elila.
Yamina watched as all of the other women in the room languidly stood and began to make their way out of the Lodge. They chatted and laughed amongst themselves while they broke off into small groups of three and sometimes four. Her heart pounded in her chest as she realized that now someone might finally spot her. And if they did, they would know that she had been eavesdropping.
She closed her eyes biting back the slight wave of fear that crested in her body. Her entire youth had been an exercise in avoiding Narlene. It was no secret that the most sociable cat in the tribe liked nothing better then to make her life a place of difficult misery.
It was strange, but Yamina couldn't even remember when the hatred had begun. It was at such a young age that Narlene first singled her out. She was so very small the first time that she was pushed down onto the ground. It had all started so early, Yamina really wasn't sure that there was a time that she wasn't being tortured by them.
She kept her eyes shut as she listened to the welcomed sounds of their departure. Eventually, she realized that blinding herself to her surroundings was a rather futile gesture. But in some small way she had hoped that if she didn't look at them then they wouldn't see her.
Resolving herself to be strong, Yamina quickly blinked watching the few remaining girls filter out of the large room. And it would seem that her risky encounter had drawn to close. None of them had looked back. None of them had apparently seen her.
Breathing a sigh of relief she finally pushed herself away from the safety of her own small table. From the sounds of things they were all hurriedly leaving to catch the next transport. And Yamina knew that she should do the same. But she had no wish to ride to the ceremony in the company of these women. No she would wait for the next transport, even if it made her late.
"Going so soon?" Yamina felt her stomach lurch in fear as Narlene hurriedly stepped through the door. She walked through with Shaenebel and Halauris effectively trapping her inside the dining room. She quietly closed the door behind locking away Yamina's only chance to escape.
"I was just going…" Yamina mumbled with downcast eyes and a nervous demeanor.
"You were just what?" Narlene snapped rather loudly. She hated the way Yamina spoke, if it could even be considered that. Her tone was always so soft. Her words were even choppy and stuttered. Having to listen to the girl only made her want to lurch in rage.
"I should go… late…" Yamina mumbled. She tried to quiet her breathing. But she knew it was no use. They had already seen the strangled motions of her lungs.
"What?" Shaenabel leered not quite sure that she had heard anything that the frightened girl had muttered.
"I don't like being spied on. And I know you were listening to us." Narlene threatened pushing her way towards Yamina's body.
Yamina tried to deny the accusation. She fervently shook her head. She struggled to form the all important two-letter word. But no noise ever came past her lips. It was always like that for her when she became frightened. It was a left over side effect from her time with the shark. She lost her voice. She lost her ability to call for help. And in effect, she lost her hope.
After all, why make a noise if no one will come to her rescue. There in the blackened water her cries could have been mute for all the good that they did. If anyone had heard, her pleads for mercy had apparently fallen on cruelly deaf ears. Her throat had become raw and burned as she swallowed a near ocean of salt-water. And after some tragic time had past, she stopped screaming completely.
"What is it Yamina??? If you have something to say spit it out!" Narlene screamed pushing her into the waiting wall.
She looked at them through a hooded gaze of terror. But none of them showed any indication that they understood her intentions. Yamina truly hadn't meant to violate their privacy. She hadn't come for that. She had simply come to take her morning meal. She had gone unnoticed by them. And before she knew it, she was listening to things not meant for her to hear.
"I….I…" She tried to explain what had happened.
But as she looked into Narlene's perfectly painted eyes she doubted that anything she said would matter anyways. They had already made up their mind about her. Even Halauris who was generally considered more empathetic then the others was staring at her through a sheer wall of icy rage.
"What did you hear?" Narlene asked in a pique of fury.
Even though the things they had discussed where private it wouldn't really hurt her reputation if Yamina went about repeating them. Besides that, Narlene doubted that Yamina even had anyone to share her recently learned gossip with. Saying things in front of Yamina was like spilling one's secrets to a stuttering wall of silence. She knew that this girl couldn't really hurt her.
But all the same she hated the fact that Yamina had the nerve to sit there and listen to them like some sort of prying freak. She wouldn't tolerate anyone treating her with such a lack of respect. And she had every intention of making sure that Yamina never tried such an action again.
"I'm going to tell you this once. So I suggest you remembering very clearly what I say. I don't want to ever catch you listening in on my friends and me ever again. If I find out that you've been spying on us, I'll make sure that you live to regret it." Narlene threatened staring once more into the frightened girl's eyes. Once more she roughly shoved her back into the wall, for good measure.
Yamina watched from a desperate place of frenzy as the three girls turned away to storm out of the room. If there was one constant about Narlene it was that she always knew how to make an exit. But apparently, she wasn't finished yet with Yamina. She turned back and leered at her, once more eyeing her frightened form with a clear presence of contempt.
"Do you remember what I did to you? Do you remember how humiliated you were? I know it was years ago, but tell me Yamina, you must still remember?" She asked bringing up the very incident that had nearly sent Yamina spiraling over a ledge of frantic depression.
"Well, if I ever find out that you did this again…" Narlene said waving her arm around the room trying to make her point crystal clear.
"I'll do something so terrible that it will seem like what happened before was a birthday party." Narlene finished stomping away with her two cronies firmly in tow.
Yamina stayed right where she was. At the moment, it was only the wall that was holding her up. She couldn't live through that again. She couldn't handle another helping of Narlene's cruelly indifferent wrath. As she let her body sink into the waiting carpet of the room, Yamina knew without a doubt that anything would be better then more suffering. And some small desperate place in her mind began to wonder if the only painless solution was her very own death…
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
CONTINUED...