System - Book One : The Eyre Manor

Chapter 1

She laid across the bed, her head hanging off the edge enough to keep her long brown hair out of her eyes as she watched the storm outside her window.

It was the only distraction she had from the creak of the door as the man came into her room without turning on the light.

She never understood why he only came to visit when it was storming but she didn't mind because the storms gave her the warning he would arrive soon and the storms gave her something to watch, a way to escape the horrifying reality, a way to pass the time.

She could feel his eyes taking in every inch of her as he stood only a few feet away from where she lay.

As afraid as she was inside, she couldn't make herself move to the other side of the bed. It would just be pointless, no amount of distance would keep her safe from him.

The silence in the room didn't last long. 

"What's the matter, baby girl? You didn't miss me?"

She didn't answer him. The only movement from her was the way her chest would rise and fall as she breathed and the way her eyes slowly blinked open and close as she watched the storm.

"Hey!"

Her fingers barely twitched as he angrily kicked the bed. Her breath caught in her throat as the man grabbed her thin ankles and yanked her across the bed closer to him, spreading her legs as far as he could around his waist.

He leaned over her, firmly gripping her long hair and pulling her head back to look her dead in the eyes.

"Did you not hear me, baby girl?" He whispered in her ear.

Her lip trembled as he kissed her cheek and then her lips, forcing his tongue into her mouth.

The little girl quickly turned her face away from the man but he grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him, his face inches from her own.

"Don't look away from me girl." He growled. Her wide brown eyes stared at him, unblinking as tears began spilling from the sides.

"You hear me?" He growled. His voiceless rough than before.

The girl didn't answer. The man gritted his teeth, lifted his hand and brought his fist down hard on the bed next to her face. 

"Do you hear me?!" He yelled.

The little girl whimpered and nodded, not allowing her eyes to look away from his even though her instincts screamed for her eyes to close as tightly as they could.

The man smiled sadistically.

"Good girl." He leaned back and grabbed the collar of her shirt in his fists and in one swift movement tore the fabric of her shirt like paper revealing her chest.

The girl tilted her head back and gazed out the window at the storm clouds that were rolling across the night sky. 

She counted each flash that the lightning made as it tore through the clouds like bright neon blades.

One.

The man's hands pinned her wrists above her head and held them there for a few seconds. 

Slowly the man ran his hands down the girl's thin arms to her sides.

The touch of his skin against her was sickening.

Two.

The man kissed her forehead, cheeks, neck, and chest. Each movement becoming quicker and each press of his lips becoming rougher.

The girl blinked, waiting, her lip trembled.

Three.

The man got lower on her, he tugged impatiently at her pants. Angry, he unbuttoned and unzipped them before yanking them off of her. 

Her legs fell back into place as her pants hit the floor a few feet away from them.

Four.

The man grabbed her hips and forced her legs to spread wider. The pain from it made the girl clench the bedsheets but she didn't take her eyes off the clouds.

Five

The man shoved himself inside her and the pain was gut-wrenching but what came as shock was the stabbing pain in her chest that sucked the breath from her lungs.

She stared wide-eyed at the storm, unable to move or breathe. 

The lightning flashed chaotically and the thunder roared.

And the man... didn't stop.

The girl's dull, lifeless eyes watched the clouds roll over the sky like waves and the lighting bring light to the darkness in quick bursts.

The man grabbed the girl and gave her a rough shake but she was unresponsive, oblivious to the pain or his rage.

"Hey! Hey!!!" He yelled but his words were lost to her, echoing briefly as they faded into the darkness that began to consume her.

The man grabbed her face in his hands and yanked hard, bringing her to eye level with him.

It was useless, her eyes were as dead as her broken body but what the man couldn't see was her soul within her fighting to stay alive.

Six.

The flashing in the sky became so fuzzy she couldn't make out what she was staring at anymore.

She could hear something else, something bigger and more powerful than the man's voice.

Something that was getting closer and closer.

Almost as if she were being controlled by an invisible deity, the little girl turned her head and gazed in the direction of the sound that was coming closer. 

It was clear now, what she heard was an animal... a huge animal coming to her.

The shadow emerged into her vision like a ghost. Quietly and elegantly as it slowly took the form of a massive jet black lion.

The lions icy blue eyes pierced right into her but she wasn't afraid of him.

She reached her small shaky hand in his direction, unable to speak the words that her mind was screaming. 

Please help me...

The lion blinked slowly and nodded as it came closer to her outstretched hand.

The things the man was doing to her body no longer seemed to matter. She couldn't feel his hands on her hips, his fingers digging into her skin. She couldn't hear him talking to her or yelling at her.

All she wanted was the lion to save her, to take her away from there. And he seemed to want that too.

He watched her with his beautiful eyes, each step bringing him closer to her.

"Are you the one who has called me here?" The lion spoke to her without forming the words in his mouth.

The girl stared at him wide-eyed.

"I am Sol, you have nothing to fear from me little one. I am here to save you." The lion said softly.

Please... I want to go home... Take me with you... I want to go with you...

The lion seemed to almost smile as he paused for a brief moment, one paw lifted mid-step.

"Very well, dear one." The lion's voice was as deep as the thunder in the storm outside.

The girl watched in silence as Sol opened his mouth and breathed his sweet breath in her face.

Time seemed to slow down and stop completely. Sol's eyes didn't leave the little girl's eyes as her body began to rise from the bed and move towards him.

"Are you strong enough to hold onto me, little one?" Sol asked as her toes hung inches from the floor. 

The little girl nodded. 

"Good, grab hold and I will take you away from here."

The girl reached towards him as her feet touched the floor, she grabbed hold of his mane and held tightly to him.

Sol stepped backward and the girl stepped forward, following him. She turned her head slightly but the lion's deep voice stopped her from looking behind her.

"Don't look back, all that you need to see is right in front of you now." Sol took a second and third step backward and the girl followed him slowly. 

Sol stopped, his long tail waving behind him. He lowered his head in front of her until his nose nearly touched the floor.

"Climb on, I'll help you." He said softly. He placed his head against her chest as she grabbed hold of him. He lifted her gently off the floor and she slid onto his back, pulling his mane as she turned forward.

"Close your eyes, little one," Sol said softly as the girl was starting to peek over his mane at the bed in front of them.

The girl squeezed her eyes shut tight and held onto him even tighter. The lion seemed to laugh a little.

"You may want to cover your ears." He said softly before tilting his head back and opening his mouth wide as he let out a thunderous roar that was so loud and so deep it made everything around them shake and even with her eyes closed the girl still saw a blinding flash of white light that seemed to surround them for a split second.

The girl suddenly felt the wind rushing past her as Sol ran at a rhythmic pace. She opened her eyes slowly to see that they were running through complete darkness.

"Where are we?" She asked. 

"Wherever you want us to be, little one," Sol answered her, not losing his pace. 

His voice was so soothing it nearly put her to sleep. "Wherever I want to be." She whispered.

As the lion ran through the darkness, a bright glowing crystal-like form erupted from the ground where his paws touched the earth and they spread and rippled outwards taking on forms of bright green grass and shrubs.

The glowing blue crystals rose higher, taking forms of trees and quickly creating a huge forest thick with all kinds of undergrowth from bushes to trees to logs and other plants.

There was another flash of light and suddenly the sky was alive with white puffy clouds and a bright clear blue atmosphere.

Birds flew through the trees singing happily and herds of deer walked calmly through the woods.

Sol ran faster through the forest, the trees racing by in a blur. There was a very clear opening in the trees and the lion didn't hesitate even for a second as he crouched low and leaped high into the air, breaking out of the thick forest.

The crystals spread quickly with each leap the lion made, creating a beautiful green valley.

In the distance the girl saw a huge mansion, it's silver stone walls looked like they had seen a million sunrises.

"What's that?" The girl asked, pointing at the mansion. 

Sol chuckled softly.

"That is The Eyre Manor." He answered.

The girl stared wide-eyed at the massive estate, shocked by its beauty.

The aged stone had only a few cracks in places that weren't very noticeable, the windows had a clean clear glass with gold frames.

The fountain, that stood just a few feet away from the stairs leading up to the massive door, was made of stone as aged as the walls of the Manor and had clear and clean looking water erupted from it and showering down the three layers of stone.

"Sol, it's beautiful." The girl said in awe.

"Yes, it is. It's our home little one." Sol said softly.

Sol slowed his pace as he and the girl came closer to the massive mansion.

The girl climbed off the lions back, staring up at the massive doors and the stone stairs that lead up to the thick dark brown wooden doors.

"Would you like to have a look inside?" Sol asked as he glanced down at the little girl. 

The girl looked up at him with excitement in her bright eyes.

Sol laughed softly as he gently draped his tail over the girl's shoulders.

"Come with me, little one. The others will be excited to meet you." Sol said softly as he walked up the stairs.

His words made the little girl freeze for a brief moment. Her breath caught in her throat.

"Others?"