| Fan Fiction |
by SilverDragon
- Twelve Years Ago -
Twelve year old Ren Jia Xuan stood at the foot of the stairs to her apartment, debating over whether it was safe to enter yet. It was nearly midnight and her stepfather should have passed out already after his daily drinking routine. Her mother would not be back until the early hours of the morning as she was away working as a bar girl in Wanhua. Xuan was reluctant to make her way up for fear that the monster would be awake, at which Xuan would become his means of relieving his frustrations. Why her mother ever married the bastard, Xuan would never understand. He never did anything around the house and was in fact more of an inconvenience than anything else.
But he wasn’t exactly horrible in that first year after he had moved in. Xuan’s father had left her mother when she was three and for two years the pair struggled with life before her mother finally found a job as a bar girl. Not long after that, the five year old Xuan was introduced to her future stepfather, and he took to the young girl with a kindness that anyone would shower on an adorable child. However, no more than a year later his life took a turn for the worse. The company he had been working at went broke and hundreds of people lost their jobs, including him. As he went to one job interview after another, Xuan’s stepfather could still not find a job and he soon turned to the comfort of alcohol. Her mother became annoyed at this sudden development and at one stage had revealed her thoughts to him, only to be returned with a beating as he blamed her for all his misfortunes. From then onwards, Xuan’s mother never dared to raise her voice against him again, deferring to his every whim for fear that he would not only hurt her but also her beloved daughter. Little did she know that as every night she left for work, her husband never hesitated to do just that.
Xuan finally made up her mind. She didn’t want to stay out here in the cold anymore and she was beginning to get tired. Quietly, Xuan made her way up the stairs and entered her apartment; the door creaking slightly as she cautiously opened it. Stale air that reeked of alcohol and cigarettes rushed out at her as it opened, but Xuan was prepared for it. After six years of putting up with the man, Xuan had become accustomed to the way her home smelt. It was something she despised greatly yet put up with for the sake of her mother.
Bottles and half-empty plates lay strewn all over the floor and Xuan had to tread carefully in order to avoid stepping on them. She closed the door softly behind her and began her treacherous journey across the floor towards her room. As she reached the halfway point, Xuan noticed her stepfather lying beneath the table, his head resting on the seat of one of the chairs as saliva dripped from his mouth down to the floor. She crinkled her nose in disgust at the pathetic image, shaking her head as she continued across. Just as she reached out for the handle of her door, an unforseen glass bottle stood nearby, rattling loudly as she accidentally kicked it. Xuan froze on the spot, fearing that she had woken the beast.
A loud thump was heard and her stepfather groaned, rubbing his head as he peered into the darkness, somewhat disoriented. He had hit his head on the edge of the table and he shoved it in anger.
“Stupid table… what the hell is it doing here?” he growled at the inanimate object. Turning around, he noticed Xuan standing by her door, staring at him. Their eyes met, and Xuan’s widened in terror as she hurriedly turned around to open her door. She almost had her door closed when her stepfather reached her, shoving his weight into the door to keep it open.
“Where are you going, little Xuan? You’re back late again.” He peered down at her menacingly, slightly swaying on the spot, his pupils dilated. “You know, I haven’t been seeing you around much lately. Where do you run off to, little Xuan?” He reached out a hand and gripped her painfully by the hair.
Xuan’s hands went to the hand that was holding her hair, furiously trying to pry his fingers apart to no avail. “Let go of me!” she begged as tears started to fall from the pain.
Her stepfather laughed. He crouched down to her eye level, jeering at her. “What’s this? You’re crying? Aww… poor little Xuan. Can’t handle a little rough play from her daddy.” He suddenly shoved her away, glaring at her in dislike. Xuan glared back up at him icily, her eyes revealing all the hatred mingled with the fear she felt towards the man.
“You’re not my daddy,” said Xuan silently through gritted teeth. Her stepfather’s eyes narrowed down to slits as he took a menacing step forward.
“What did you say?” he asked, daring Xuan to repeat herself.
Xuan remained silent. She realised she should have not provoked him like that. He crouched down before her again, his strong hands gripping her arms in a vice-like grip.
“I asked you, ‘What did you say?’” he repeated. Still, Xuan remained silent, averting her eyes.
Getting frustrated by her silence, Xuan’s stepfather gave a hard slap to her face. “Why don’t you talk, damn it?” he shouted at her, slapping her several more times.
Xuan endured his abuse, refusing to say anymore that would provoke him to do even more. When Xuan finally lay motionless on the ground and her stepfather was panting from the lack of breath from his exercise, he stood up, giving her a little shove with his foot. “Stupid kid… you’re no fun tonight.” He suddenly gave a large yawn and began stumbling his way out of the room. “I wouldn’t even live in this stupid dump if it wasn’t for your stupid mother’s money. You guys have to repay me for the curse you put on me…” He continued to mumble before he went to collapse on the sofa outside, his slurred voice drifting in to remind Xuan to stay quiet next time.
It was sometime before Xuan was able to move, not only because of the pain she felt but because she wanted to wait until her stepfather was fast asleep. Slowly, she propped herself up, wincing slightly from the bruises he had left on her. She made her way over to her door, clicking it softly closed as she bolted it shut. She was safe for now. Limping over to her bed, Xuan lay down softly, mindful of her bruises. She raised a hand to her lip, feeling the sticky blood that was beginning to dry. Fury now engulfed her soul. Xuan despised the man; hated him; loathed his very being. She could find no more adjectives to describe the immense hatred she felt towards the man that wasn’t even human. Now she had more bruises to cover up for school the next day, and she would probably receive more strange glances from her classmates.
Xuan turned to glance at the crescent moon that was shining brightly outside her window as she let out a sigh. The soft, white glow of the satellite helped to sooth her raging mind as a deep sadness took her over. School was another place she despised going to. All the other kids were always laughing and smiling, fighting over simple things such as who won in a game of ‘Kamen Riders’. It annoyed her to no end to see the other children like that, unable to be like them herself. She was sure none of them ever had a nightmare like hers to return to every night. Xuan thus ended up being a recluse and even the teachers had begun to worry, but they never said a word, afraid to act.
She reached out and pulled the blinds shut, blocking out the brilliance of the moon. It really was late and Xuan wanted to at least get some sleep tonight.
~
Xuan was located at a local playground, hiding high up in a tree as she watched the other children play. When she saw them noticing her stares she would hurriedly busy herself with her homework, which she also used this time to do. The kids were somewhat unnerved by her stares but they ignored her, having become accustomed to it for more than two years. This was the place Xuan had chosen to hideout until late, giving her a little peace of mind from the busy and cruel world around her. But every now and then, snippets of the other children’s conversations drifted up to her ears.
“Sometimes I wonder about that girl,” said one of the boys as he leant against the rails at the top of the slide. “She always sits in that tree, staring. It’s kinda creepy.”
“Shhh… Feng! Don’t talk about her so loudly or she might bite your head off!” said another girl who was getting ready to go down the slide.
The boy named Feng turned around to face the girl. “But don’t you think it’s strange, Hua? There’s never been a day when she isn’t up in that tree, even when it’s raining!”
“Just ignore her, Feng. She probably practices witchcraft or something and that’s why she’s in that tree.” Hua finally went down the slide, leaving Feng alone to glance once more at Xuan before he followed.
Xuan couldn’t help but let a small, crooked smile spread across her face. “Practice witchcraft, huh? I sure wish I did,” she muttered sarcastically as she continued with her fractions.
~
It was two in the morning before Xuan’s watch beeped, waking her. She was still in her tree, her jacket pulled tightly over her front as she had drifted off to sleep. After the last incident, Xuan had decided to return home even later to make sure she didn’t meet with the same event again. Picking up her bag, Xuan put her jacket back on before she expertly climbed down her tree.
Her feet connected with the firm ground and she slowly made her way off, taking her time to breathe in the crisp cool night air. The sound of her feet gently tapping the surface of the road echoed in the silent street. Several dogs were barking in the distance, their rough voices mingled with the gentle meowing of cats. The incessant buzz of the fluorescent lights above added to the emptiness of the night, casting long shadows in place of the moon which was invisible tonight. It was during this time when Xuan felt most at peace, wishing that she could just melt away into the emptiness. But she knew that it would never be. She had to endure that man for just a while longer, until she was finally old enough to work and kick him out of their lives forever. It was this one small dream which motivated Xuan to continue living, for without her mother, Xuan’s life would mean nothing.
Turning the corner, Xuan’s dreaded apartment loomed before her, the staircase leading up to her room appearing as if it were a gateway to hell. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself, concentrating all her energy for her journey up. The other night, Xuan hadn’t been concentrating enough and she believed that this was the reason why she had ended up kicking the bottle. But since that night, she hadn’t had a repeat of the mistake and she wasn’t going to repeat the mistake tonight either.
The handle of her door clicked softly as she slowly turned it, pushing it open gently with a small creak. She stepped into the room silently, closing the door as quietly as possible. Xuan peered into the darkness, trying to discern her stepfather’s form among the mass of dark shapes in the room. She spotted something rising and falling gently on the sofa, which she assumed was him. Treading lightly, Xuan carefully threaded her way through the minefield of rubbish and bottles. Her earlier sleep had paid off and she was wide awake, alert to her surroundings. But perhaps she wasn’t alert enough.
When she reached her bedroom door, two strong arms suddenly came around her, locking her small body in a tight bear hug. Xuan struggled against her captor, kicking the air as she was easily lifted up. Her captor carried her back over towards the sofa, dumping her unceremoniously onto it. Xuan looked up, her eyes widening in fright as she saw her stepfather leering down at her, a sadistic smile on his despicable face. But what sent even more shivers down Xuan’s spine was that he did not even appear to be the least bit drunk.
“Well, well… look what the cat brought in. A little birdie trying to fly quietly past the tiger’s mouth.” He came in closer, placing his arms on either side of Xuan, pinning her to the sofa. “I’ve been talking to some friends and they’ve made some interesting suggestions about you.”
He suddenly moved a hand to stroke Xuan’s cheek, his touch making her skin crawl as she flinched away. Her stepfather noticed the slight movement and smiled cruelly.
“I have been quite stupid for awhile, it seems. They were saying, ‘Ah, what an idiot you are being, Dao! You have a nice, fresh piece of meat waiting at your house every night and you never realised that you could taste it?’” He laughed. “They are right. You are nearly thirteen… almost a woman. And now that I look more closely, a pretty one too.”
He began to stroke her face again, Xuan trying her best to move away from his touch. She didn’t understand what he was talking about. What did he mean by referring to her as a piece of meat?
Suddenly, her stepfather gripped her chin tightly, snapping her face to look at him. “Your mother won’t be back for at least another two hours. In the meantime, let’s have some fun.”
Gripping her arms tightly, Xuan’s stepfather pulled her off the couch and forcibly dragged her towards her room. As they reached the door, he could no longer control his lust and his lips came down to meet hers, frightening Xuan out of her soul. This was not the way she had wanted to have her first kiss! Realising now that he was really going to do her more harm than beating her, she began to struggle wildly. Her knee suddenly connected with his groin, causing him to cry out loud in pain. Seeing her chance for escape, Xuan hurriedly dashed away, heading towards the exit. Just as she reached the door she felt his dreaded grip on her arm once more as she was pulled away from salvation.
“You stupid bitch!” he shouted as he slapped her hard across the face. He gave her several more slaps to try and silence her. “Stay still and you won’t get hurt!” He came down on her in full force, biting her lip hard so that she would open her mouth. Xuan felt his disgusting tongue forcefully enter her mouth and she bit down hard. She wasn’t going to give up without a fight.
Her stepfather screamed again, trying to remove his tongue but Xuan didn’t let go. She would bite it off, if she had to. His hands then came around her neck, squeezing hard as he began to choke her. Xuan, no longer able to breathe properly, released his tongue and he released her inturn, collapsing to the ground. Her stepfather kneeled up and began slapping her until she remained motionless.
“Didn’t… I tell you… to remain… still?” he huffed as he stopped slapping Xuan. Seeing her lie there unmoving, he began to undress her, unbuttoning her school blouse with a new eagerness.
Xuan felt dazed after her stepfather’s beating. She barely registered what his dirty hands were doing to her as she felt him on her neck. He was kissing and biting her hard, making her wince in pain. She was utterly terrified of the man but she still had some fight left in her. Peering around her, Xuan noticed a bottle lying on its side nearby. She reached out a hand to grab it, her hands clasped firmly around its neck. Looking back down at where her stepfather’s head was now located around her chest, she took aim, crashing the glass bottle into his head with all the force she could muster. Shards of glass scattered everywhere and Xuan saw blood begin to flow from the wound on his head. He looked up at Xuan, pure anger now clouding his eyes.
“Why, you little-” Xuan’s stepfather never got to finish his sentence. The other half of the bottle Xuan still had in her hands was now planted in his neck, the blood from his severed aorta spurting out like a broken pipe at high pressure. The bright red blood sprayed all over Xuan’s face as she stared, shocked, into her stepfather’s lifeless eyes.
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A/N:
Sometimes I can't help but laugh at the descriptions I've drawn up for the characters. The way I described Selina's stepfather here especially. XD XD
Anyway, this chapter was the main reason for my story being rated. The attempted rape and so on. Actually, in the original version the main girl was raped by a classmate but I decided to change it. A really big change, it seems.
Next chapter we return to the present. I hope you won't get confused by it, though. -_-;; It basically introduces some gang politics.
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29th November 2007
3:28 PM GMT+09:00
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