Faline

The only light into the small room is coming through the window on the door from the hallway. Not sure if that's good or bad, so I say nothing. It gets opened all the way and held open for me.

The first one is the girl that had been in the process of being raped when we got there. Right now she's huddled in a corner, making herself as small as possible, clutching her legs to her.

Twisting, I point at someone random and tell them to run to the kitchen and tell Kerry that I need a dozen water bottles. They turn and sprint off. See? Handy gophers.

Turning back to look inside, it's a padded room, literally. Cushions line the walls and floor, even the ceiling. You usually see them as white, which I always thought was dumb, but these are a darker color. One big issue here has me turning back to Trisha with a scowl.

"Where are they supposed to go to the bathroom? Looks like there's an air vent in there, thankfully, but nowhere to do their business."

She looks uncomfortable for a moment, and I catch on.

"They go in there, don't they? Someone else comes in later to clean it."

I get a small nod. I know it isn't her fault, but I'm still annoyed. Then again, she'd said they were made up so those inside couldn’t harm themselves on anything.

"Were you able to tell how much this one was drugged?"

I get a head shake, but then she reiterates.

"Not exactly. She has fewer track marks than the other two humans, so I'm guessing they didn't have her long. Judging by what I've seen before when they’re tied down and in the process of being broken, not too much is used since they use pain as a method of control. Just enough at a time for their brains and or bodies to start craving it."

Sadness and anger war within me, but I calm myself by going over in my head again what had been done to the ones responsible. I remember this one being almost petrified; my talking to her only kept her from going hysterical. Each one had been naked and only given towels when we left that house.

She's wrapped tightly in it now, body shaking. Her already dark skin blends in with the darkness around her so well that I wouldn't be able to see her if I'd been human.

"How bad are her injuries?"

Rude to talk about her like she isn't there, but I'm attempting to get her used to our voices, and able to actually see us without the door being in the way. Her shaking doesn't slow, but I see her peek out through her arms, one holding a new bandage over her shoulder.

"From what I was able to see externally; it’s the same for all the females. Beaten, rape scars, raw skin. The human females will more than likely no longer be able to bear a child from all the internal damage and scarring. The brand was removed, so it's the most recent, all the others are from torture, being bound too tight, and...foreign object insertions."

Her hands splay out in apology for the wording, but I understand. I'd seen some of them and heard about others, and know that in the skin isn't the only place they were put.

"Does she have any implants that you found?"

A head shake has me giving a small sigh of relief, but it's short-lived. If she'd been the newest, the others will be a lot worse. Noise has me looking over to see a couple of people coming up with armloads of bottles. Motioning for them to set them down near Seth, who hasn't moved, I grab one and go back to the door.

"Can someone get the bath started? Hot water, but not scalding. No soaps or additives."

Since it's a very large tub, it has a larger spout, but it’ll still take a bit to fill. Not putting it off anymore, I go in slowly. She's been watching me, so she knows that all I have in my hands is the water bottle.

Don't know if she knows what I am, or that Vampires are even a thing, so I have to be careful and not freak her out totally to where her mind snaps. I can hear as the water is turned on further away, so someone listened to me.

"Hey, do you remember me?"

I keep my voice low, which isn't that hard, and move steadily. Room isn't that big, so I'm not moving very fast either. Her head raises a bit more, her one open light brown eye looks at me warily before nodding.

"That's good. I don't remember if I told you my name; it's Faline. What's yours?"

Her voice comes out low, muffled, and raw.

"Tasha. My name i-is Tasha."

I give her a kind smile.

"Hello, Tasha. I'm sorry you were stuffed in here, it's just a precaution for the others that call this home. Think of it as a safety measure for both sides. Would you like to come with me and get a little cleaned up? I have a hot bath being drawn up for you, figured you'd want that instead of a shower, but it's up to you."

She gives me a look of such confusion. I know that look, it's the one that I get every time I'm nice to a submissive that lives here. I open and hand her the water bottle, which she takes slowly.

I do a quick look-over while she drinks it. The only hair on her head is what is on her face. Bruises cover her, hard to see on such dark skin, but they're there. I can smell them.

One eye is swollen shut, dried blood is at her nose and the side of her mouth. Lips are cracked and look painful, the indentations on her cheeks from the too-tight ball gag will hopefully go away in time. Most of her newer wounds are very visible as they show lighter skin around them, almost seeming to highlight them.

She chugs it all down as if she were a drunk with a beer. Hope that doesn't backfire on her. Looking back at me, I can see the small spark in her eyes, the coals that all Africans have being tended to and waiting to burn bright.

Not sure if that will happen, but we can try. As I stand, she takes my offered hand. She wobbles a bit but steadies shortly.

"I would like a shower, please. I need to stand and be able to move around."

I nod in perfect understanding, having gone through similar. About half a foot taller than me, she also has that thicker toned shape that many black women have. Not fat, not by any means, just thick. Well, maybe a little fat, but not ridiculous, just enough to be curvy.

She winces, and at first I thought it was from her arm, but from the way she's walking bowlegged, it becomes clear. Letting her hold herself, I walk ahead and shoo away the small crowd that has gathered. Thankfully, she doesn't shy away from anyone that goes by as we make our way to the showers.

Tasha does, however, glance at each one as well as her surroundings. The sound of flowing water gets louder as we get closer, the tub still filling. Guess it's a good thing she wants a shower. Now watch though, it'll be filled and no one's going to want it. That would be my luck.

Barefoot, she almost jumps at the feel of the cold tile. Joy then fills her face before stepping fully in. I point her to the toilets and leave her to take care of that while I get a shower going for her.

I step out and get rid of my own shoes and socks but small sounds of pain draw me back and into the toilet area. Since there are no doors to the stalls it's pretty open. I purposely scuffle my feet so I don't just appear in front of her. Her legs are clenched together while sitting, don't really understand what's wrong. Her eye is closed while clutching the towel in her lap.

"Tasha? What's wrong?"

With the towel having been covering her, I didn't see if any wounds were on her backside. If that were the case though, I'd think she would be leaning forward, not clenching her legs together. Her brows are furrowed and she gasps as a stream is let loose.

Ohh...I see. Since my normal functions had slowed during my Conversion, I didn't get the full effect of what she's going through now.

"Tasha, I know it hurts, but you have to let it out. Holding it will only hurt more. The burn will fade shortly after cleaning yourself up. Just think of the shower waiting for you, how good it will feel."

Mentioning water to someone who is holding their bladder is probably cruel, but it needs to happen. A cry escapes her as she finally lets go. She's had to have been holding it for quite a while, as it just keeps going and going.

Whimpers are heard throughout from the sharp burning, but releasing what was pent up has to feel amazing in and of itself. I step back out so she can finish and head for the doorway again, motioning Trisha over.

"I can't very well go around and give everyone a tongue bath. Do you have your healy-stuff nearby? Going to need that nasty tasting Neosporin and bandages. Erm, do you have anything that helps with, uhh, burning? Also need something to encourage sleep."

She must have heard either me or Tasha, as she nods and heads off. No, I'm not squeamish about feminine issues, I just didn't want to advertise what she needs. Although I'm sure every female and even male here already knows from their own experiences. The good thing here is she won't be judged because everyone is pretty much the same, in one way or another.

Turning back, she's just coming out of the stall, leaving the towel behind.

"Trisha is the healer here, you met her earlier when you first came in. She's going to get some stuff for you now to help with your injuries. I'm sorry it wasn't done sooner, things are changing around so orders were unknown at the time."

I stay close as she hobbles to the cascading water. One thing no one seems to account for is tile is very slippery when it's wet. Tasha steps right under the water with no hesitation, so she ends up hissing, but she doesn't pull away.

Instead she stubbornly stays, lifting her face to the spray. I want to step back and give her privacy, but I want to be close in case anything happens. So, I compromise, leaning against the wall and facing the opening that leads out.

The way the bathrooms are here remind me much of the ones in some schools, or public pools. No actual doors at the entrance, just a choice between directions. In this case though it isn't split by gender, just method of bathing.

To the left leads to the showers while the right leads to the giant tub. There may be that slight ‘T’ crossing there, but further in there's no wall separating the two. You can clearly see into each room, the only walls blocking anything are the front ones that separate it from the hallway.

There are smaller sections of 'wall' inside, used to hang wire shelving that carry all the major things needed to be clean. The back wall holds the mirrors and small sinks. The designer was all sorts of weird. The tub room is massive. One big area. The shower area is cut in half, one side showers the other holding the toilet stalls. Everything is open, there's no such thing as modesty here. If you come in having any, it's soon lost or forgotten.

The dark, young-looking woman is still standing under the spray, her feet more apart and braced. The water draining away is tinged pink. Becomes even more obvious when she starts running her hands over herself.

Walking around, I get some soap and a washcloth for her, clearing my throat before I step closer to hand them over. She looks startled for a moment as if forgetting where she is. When she makes moves to hurry along, I tell her to take her time and enjoy the water.

She looks unsure, but my smile seems to be encouraging enough. Indeed, the only hair she has is on her face. Everything else has been shaved.

I look away but many areas of her body are swollen and bruised. Lady needs to find another...person, who has knowledge of healing. Trisha by herself is not enough. She may be teaching Danica, but someone who knows is needed.