16. Identity

In the trail of her runaway mother, Brooke finds out she left some lies and an identity unknown to Brooke. Now she is being punished for it.

A tray slid under the door. It thumped against one of the sharp edges of the floor. The light of the winter morning poured onto her eyes and she rolled over, feeling another nudge at her spine. At least the jumpsuit was more comfortable. The rough exterior of the floor tore at it instead of her bare skin. The stench of blood was no longer around and all was left was musk, vermin, sweat, and urine. Brooke sat up and rubbed the back of her throbbing head. She stared out the window, the empty space of sky, no sight of ground. Brooke heard the birds chirp. She grew accustomed to hearing them in the early morning. Their company and focusing on their funny melodies made Brooke feel alive some days. She listened to them, and they sang a different song. Had it turned spring already?

Her hand scraped against the ground as she rose to her feet. She stumbled towards the tray and plopped back down. Brooke found the edges of the tray, picked it up, and carried it to the window. She looked down and saw she had oatmeal, a sandwich, and a bottle of water. Brooke ate a spoon of the lukewarm oatmeal. Today was a day she couldn’t starve herself. She denied the food yesterday, and the day before that, but she wanted to eat this time. As she quaffed down the oatmeal, she thought about the recent interrogations. A month had gone by before the hybrid man, known as Ted came to get her, and take her to that elfin woman, known as Ms. Sadie. Brooke repeated everything she said the first time, which left the woman strangely unsatisfied.

During the next month, the same thing occurred, but after that, the interrogations became more frequent and Brooke was called in once a week. The more Ms. Sadie called her in, the more silent Brooke became. She grew tired of having to repeat the same thing. Brooke knew nothing of why her mother left. She was always too wrapped in her mysteries to tell them, but now that’s all Brooke thought about these days. Who was her mother? Rain Sevede of course, but who was Rain Sevede? Someone the neighbors knew and loved? A mother? A wife? A friend? A citizen of Alagracia? Brooke remembered the woman asked her if Brooke had resided in Alagracia all her life. Where was her mother from anyways? Was it even Alagracia? What had her mother done that an interrogator wanted to know of her whereabouts? Was she a spy? Brooke then chuckled at her foolish guess. Mom, a spy? Brooke couldn’t see her any other way than a wife, a mother, and a friend. Maybe that was the problem. Maybe she needed to see further, but there was nothing else she knew. 

Brooke tipped the bowl and swallowed the rest of the oatmeal. She then grabbed the water bottle and drank half of it. How was her father doing? She wondered whether he believed she committed a crime like this. He must be lonely and depressed, because the worst had come true. He lost his wife, and his daughter. She wished she had been a better daughter, better than how she was. Her father couldn’t please Mom, but Mary was a simple woman. She loved money and material things. Mary was easy to please. Was that why he loved Mary so much, not for her, but for the idea of pleasing someone, of feeling useful to someone? It wouldn’t be wrong because Mary only loved him for his money. It wasn’t so bad that Mary did not care for her father, but if he were to lose all his money, Mary would try for the maximum of a month to adjust, but then she’d leave. They fed off each other’s false love. Mary loved his money and he loved her pleasure. Brooke could understand that, why didn’t she just suck it up and be happy for the guy? She loved her father just as she loved Mom. She didn’t want him to fall into such a pit. Because of her mother, she had to question was her father the same? Did he have some secret from her?

In her thoughts, the door opened. She groaned. “Can’t I at least finish my sandwich first?” she asked.

“I’m afraid not,” Ted replied. “Come along, you don’t want to be late.”

“Actually, I wouldn’t mind.”

“Get up.” Brooke rose, gulping the rest of the water down, and tossing it in the corner somewhere. She picked up the rest of her sandwich and munched on it as the master guardian shackled her. They turned an unfamiliar corner, and Brooke wasn’t sure where they were going. They stopped at a door. Before Brooke had time to ask the question, the master guardian wrapped a cloth around her mouth. She blacked out.

“Good morning, Miss Keeper.” Brooke recognized the voice as Ms. Sadie, cold, harsh, breathing on her ear. Brooke couldn’t see. Where was she? Was she blindfolded? Brooke couldn’t feel the cloth of the jumpsuit around her skin. Was she naked? What were they planning to do to her? Brooke tried to hide her shivering. She won’t let them know she’s scared. “Now, are you going to tell me what you know or not?”

“Depends, are you going to tell me where I am and what’s going on or not?”

Ms. Sadie huffed on her ear. “I asked first.”

“I ain’t telling you nothing.” She heard Ms. Sadie snicker at her.

“Okay then.” 

Brooke heard a snap, and felt a burning sting on her stomach. Something cold trickled down her body. Brooke grunted and screamed. She heard another snap and felt the sting on her left leg. Brooke shook her head. “What is this?” she demanded.

“Answer my question first.”

“No you crazy b***h!” Brooke spat aimlessly at her. Another snap, and she felt a sting on her arm and more on her legs.

Brooke endured this for what seemed like too long. Her skin burned like a live flame scorched her arms, her legs, and her stomach. Every lash lighted it like gasoline to the fire. Her lungs desired breath and her body desired rest, but each lash denied her. After awhile sweat entwined with the blood. “This will be a lot easier if you just confess the whereabouts of your mother.”

“Even if I did know, I wouldn’t tell you!” Brooke felt the trickling, dripping from above her chest, but she refused to cry, and she hadn’t cried. Brooke was glad.

Ms. Sadie cupped her chin, clutching her cheeks in her hands. “Baby girl, I don’t think you want to die in this chamber, correct?”

“Incorrect.”

Brooke heard the stamp of the woman’s heel and she said, “This is enough.” Whomever she commanded lashed her one good time above her chest, and stopped. “I will break you sooner or later.”

 “You are incorrect again." Brooke smiled. "You will never break me."

Author's Note

Dear Reader,

This chapter was meant to throw the identity of Brooke's mother into total question. Who is Rain Sevede, only to find out Brooke doesn't know as much about her mother as she thinks. Read more to find out.

Thanks for reading!

Sincerely JazzSoulKeke,

God bless