Alystelle was still in a lip lock with Daniel when she heard the microphone's shrill protest as her mother took it from the female singer and tapped on it. She heard her mother clear her throat hesitantly and then start speaking in that thick Southern drawl and in her sweetest tone. The tone that she used to try to soothe Alys on the nights she couldn't go back to sleep. Just associating the two caused a shiver to run down her spine and she quickly broke the kiss and pulled away from Danny, focusing her attention upon the stage now.

"Hey y'all, thank you for comin' to the party. It has been a huge success and a real good time. Bein' the deacon's wife, y'all know I gotta break up the fun 'cause there's church to get to in the mornin.' Don't y'all miss it! Thanks again for makin' this such a fun party. God bless y'all and Thomas and I will see ya in the mornin.' I'll bring fresh baked muffins and coffee." The picture of perfect female virtues stepped from the stage, gray gaze traveling to where her husband stood. No one would suspect that look for anything more than an adoring wife searching for her spouse but she peered at him, hoping to garner his approval for the way she quickly and successfully put an end to the festivities. His approval was not hers, nor was his attention as she noted him staring at Alystelle.

Alys tilted her head ever-so-slightly to the side as she watched her mother's gaze travel to where her father stood. It was well hidden if you didn't know what to look for, but Alys saw the fury. Her blood ran cold when vivid cerulean hues met their twins and she knew she was the focus of that fury. She forced her gaze up to Danny and offered a hint of a smile she no longer felt. "Thank you for the...dance" her soft hesitation on that last word made it clear that wasn't all she was thanking him for. "I've gotta go, Danny. My daddy is gonna be real mad. Don't let your mama forget to pick me up for that picnic this week." As he tried to lean down and give her a chaste kiss, she jerked away like he was some monster and whispered, "he's watching us, Danny...don't get me in trouble please." Danny had no idea the trouble Alys was already in and if she had known the extent of the punishment that was coming, she might have run away right then.

Eleanor walked casually over to where Alys and Danny were parting company and ushered her daughter along with a perfectly executed affectionate tap to her shoulder. "Run along now, darlin' girl. The festivities are over and you need to get everything ready for church tomorrow." She watched as her daughter walked off, forcing herself not to lose the pleasant expression upon her face. "Danny, I believe William and Joseph were wanting to stay at your house tonight. Will that be burdensome to your mama to bring them to church in the mornin'? Those boys worked so hard on fixing stuff up in this old barn for the party I thought I would reward them by being a little lax on the rule of not staying all night anywhere the night before church. So, if your mama won't mind..." She trailed off and gave him a hint of the smile that had captured Thomas Makayen's attention so many years earlier. It wasn't difficult to see where Alystelle received most of her good looks, aside from those devastatingly blue eyes. Eleanor had a more haunted look to her, if one looked a little deeper, which no one really bothered to. She was the master of deception when it came to hiding the secrets that caused that strain upon her beauty. There was nothing more to see than the surface of the woman her husband had trained her to become. Everyone saw perfection when inside she was devastation.

Nearly everyone was now gone and Alys watched as her brothers, Danny, Mara and David clambered into the back of the Brooks' truck. She swallowed the bile that was forcing itself to her throat, knowing instinctively that something bad was about to occur. For as long as she could remember, none of the Makayen children had been allowed to stay anywhere other than home on a Saturday night and now her brothers were leaving.

She dragged herself up the front porch steps and took a deep breath as she opened the screen door and walked into the house ...where she was greeted with a backhand across her mouth that sent her sprawling to the floor. The lights were out and she couldn't see her assailant, though there was no doubt it was her father. His hand viciously entangled into the mass of golden brown curls atop her head and yanked her up by it. Her feet found purchase upon the floor and she used it as leverage to try to pull away from him, crying out as some of her hair ripped from her scalp as she did so. Only seconds later she lost her footing once again as he was dragging her by her hair across the living room floor and down the hallway. The scuffing of her bare legs against the floor left angry red abrasions down the length of them and that noise seemed to dominate her senses more than anything else at the moment. She continued to struggle against him, uncaring that her hair was being pulled out or that she was causing more pain for herself. She was full in survival mode. Fight or flight response had overtaken her nervous system and since she couldn't get away she was fighting, or trying to. She could hear the clopping of his cowboy boots upon the gleaming hardwood floor just prior to the crashing of one of those booted feet through the door of her bedroom.

Pure panic overtook her as her father bent down and roughly lifted her from the floor. She weighed barely a hundred pounds and caused no strain upon him what-so-ever as he tossed her onto her bed, menacing voice not even raising as he spoke to her. "You want to behave like a whoring little Jezebel, I will show you what happens to whores, girl." She immediately tried to scramble to the other side of the bed and was halfway over the end of it when he grabbed her hair once again and pulled her back with such force that she found herself dazed as her head hit the wall. She blinked away the stars in time to see his belt slide out of the last belt loop and before she could even verbalize her protest, she felt the large brass buckle hammer across her jaw. Sobbing, she pushed herself up so she could try to slide away from the onslaught, only to feel the buckle crash against her skull over and over. She wasn't sure how she ended up lying on the floor but she found herself looking up at him from the fetal position, the cold glare of silvery moonlight pouring through the large bay window and bathing him in a brightness that darkened the shadows around him so that he appeared as this monster of light to her blurring vision. Somehow she formed words and forced her lips to move and throat to work, "I'm not a whore, daddy. I'm not a whore."

Its strange how, in times of desperation, the human mind latches onto the most random of thoughts. She remembered sitting upon the window seat next to that very same window, wishing upon whatever star or God that lived up there, that somehow she would be noticed by Daniel Brooks. Tonight her wish came true.

The harsh glint of moonlight against the brass of the buckle seized her attention as once again the weapon was being wielded. In slow motion, her hands were lifted to protect her head, fingers smothered in the warm stickiness of pooling blood. The buckle struck what was once a delicately formed cheekbone and she heard the crunch of bone, felt the searing hot pain and screamed louder than she thought it possible for her voice to rise. She whimpered as the blackness began to close in around her and she was certain death was finally coming to claim her.

If only she could have been so lucky.

In the brief period that she was swimming in the sea of black nothingness, her father had roughly yanked her shorts off and pushed her bathing suit out of the way. He was positioning her legs with one hand as the other was unfastening his own pants. Once they were pulled down he slapped her across her broken cheekbone to wake her up, "Wake up whore, time to learn your lesson."

He received his desired response as lashes lifted from over a confused gaze as momentarily she didn't know where she was and she cried out loudly from the pain of the slap. Eyes focused in time to see the sinister grin upon his face and she wondered if he was the devil. Then recognition dawned and she remembered who he was and what was happening and she knew he was definitely the devil.

Languid limbs came to life once more as much needed adrenaline was forced throughout her system; spurred on by the sudden savage violation of her body. The agonized scream that poured from her mouth was punctuated by balled fists beating in righteous fury and terror against his face, shoulders and chest. His laughter fueled the fury but his overwhelming strength rendered her helpless beneath him as he pinned her down and brutalized her.

Over and over again he violated her, fists forced her into submission each time she found the strength to fight back again. Every time he moved her, she would try to kick or slide away from him, only to receive his wrath more ferociously. In the final savage moments, he pulled her arm behind her and pinned it against her back between them, dislocating her shoulder from the force. Her screams seemed to echo through the room and then she was vomiting from the agony that coursed through her ruined body.

He finally released her just before dawn and shoved her onto her face away from him and snarled as he stood and pulled up his pants, slowly buttoning them. "Remember you are mine. Stay away from the Brooks boy or I won't be so nice next time."

Alystelle lay in a pool of her own blood and vomit and contemplated ending her life. Instead she passed out from the pain of broken bones and ripped flesh.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thomas and Eleanor Makayen sat with other members of their church, eating the promised fresh baked muffins and coffee prior to services starting. Mrs. Holcolm pointed at the fresh scratches that ran down the length of Thomas' right cheek. "What happened there, Thomas?" He chuckled softly, and in his best storytelling voice responded. "Well, Janice, I was trying to help one of the barn cats and she scratched me. Guess that will teach me, won't it?" They shared a laugh and he took one last sip of his coffee before standing and offering Eleanor his arm. "Alright darlin', we don't want to be late. Wouldn't be polite." He offered each of their friends a light smile and strolled casually towards the church sanctuary. Eleanor smiled at Mrs. Brooks and thanked her for allowing the boys to stay overnight. When asked where Alystelle was this morning, her face became a perfect mask of concern as she mentioned how ill her daughter was from something she ate at the party. She thanked her for the inquiry and well wishes and walked to her seat, mask remaining in place.

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Alystelle awakened in her bed, unsure of what time it was. Both eyes were swollen, the left one swollen completely closed above a horribly bruised and somewhat sunken cheek. Her entire face was a mass of bruising, some in the shape of bite marks as well as the imprint of a hand against her throat. She groaned aloud as she tried to shift her weight and found she could barely move but thankful for that as well because movement caused unbearable agony.

She found herself sinking into a dark pit within her mind, wishing for death. Her eye closed and one lone tear trailed down her bruised cheek as she thought of how perfect the evening had been before the party ended. Not even the thought of Danny could pull her from the despair that ravaged her soul.

Blackness descended upon her once again, the result of her extensive head injuries and there was a sweet release from the physical and emotional pain and the mental turmoil.

From the moment that Daniel Brooks had stepped into his path, Thomas began concocting a plan to both rid himself of this nuisance that dared attempt a relationship with his daughter and also divert blame from himself for the attack upon Alys. He knew he had gone too far this time and shouldn't have beaten her quite so badly but the girl was stubborn and wouldn't stay away from this boy unless he made the penalty clear. He was certain he wouldn't have any problem with keeping her away from the Brooks boy now.

A smug smirk was upon his lips as he whispered "thank you" up to Danny from his dramatic sprawl upon the floor. There had been a slight look of surprise there when the boy first hit him, as he didn't expect him to be quite so strong. He watched Danny stalk away and affixed a most pitiful and dazed look upon his face as the do-gooders began to swarm him. "I told him to refrain from seeing my daughter because I didn't like their improper behavior last night so he hit me. That boy has a problem with his temper...and I think he is going to see Alystelle." He allowed a look of near panic to cross his features before he scrambled to his feet and told them all, "She is home alone." After a few moments of letting the implications of that settle in their minds, he ran for the exit, calling over his shoulder "Call Sheriff Barnes and tell him to bring his deputies to my place, I'm afraid for my girl."

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It was so dark where she lingered but it seemed she could hear someone calling her, trying to bring her back from the brink of unconsciousness. She struggled against the hold of the darkness, fighting so hard to reach the surface. She wasn't sure why it was so important that she respond to the voice and she didn't know who the voice belonged to, she just knew she had to open her eyes for him. Him...it was a male voice but it wasn't the voice of the one who hurt her.

Her wounds continued to bleed as they had done since they had been inflicted. The head wounds and facial lacerations bled more than the others. There were three misshapen areas upon her skull where the bone itself had been splintered beneath the forceful crashing of the heavy brass buckle. Her golden hair was matted with dried blood as well as fresh blood making a sticky mess upon the pristine white of her pillowcase. In fact, there were several red splotches showing through the sheet that covered her.

One eye finally opened, when she felt the touch of the stranger's hand upon her hair. Blood vessels within that eye had ruptured to turn the sclera red which caused the blue of the iris to be that much more pronounced. Those full lips that were usually so beautiful were bruised and swollen and marred with cuts. She moved them, trying over and over to say one phrase that finally came out as a whisper, "Help me."

He spoke so softly to her, so sweetly that she wanted to touch his cheek to ease his sadness. His sorrow touched her in ways incomprehensible to her and she found herself briefly wondering why the boy was so sad as he looked down at her. When the darkness returned to claim her, she took the vision of his gentle face with her.

(From the viewpoint of Thomas Makayen)

Thomas Makayen almost gave away the devious scheme he had concocted when he stepped out of his vehicle and saw the Brooks' boy's car in the driveway. Oh how he felt like smirking. The audacity of that punk punching him! Someone needed to teach that uppity boy a lesson and he was doing his best to be the one that did that. This cover up was the best idea he had ever thought up. Not only did it keep the suspicion away from him regarding Alys' assault, it also got that boy she fawned over out of the picture.

He clenched his fist until his knuckles turned white as hot jealousy washed over him once again. Last night she had looked like she was enjoying that boy's lips on hers. He showed her who owned those luscious lips of hers, though. The thought of last night almost caused another smile. He had to clear his throat and force his features into a mask of concern before he ran up the porch steps and into his house, yelling for Alys.

He shoved through the doorway of her room, past the three officers in the hallway and appeared the perfect picture of shock and sorrow when he saw her. His attention was drawn to Danny and a look of righteous outrage contorted his features. It was in this one moment that he slipped up. He went too far in his act and somewhat contradicted himself from what he had told Daniel at the church just prior to being punched. At church he had told Daniel to stay away from his daughter because he wouldn't allow the boy to make her any more of a Jezebel than she already was. He had implied that Alys had enjoyed the boy's attentions. Now, in his act of staggering anger he misspoke and told the boy he had warned him to stay away from her because she didn't want anything to do with him. The police would know nothing of this contradiction because they had not been present at the church...but Daniel Brooks had been present for both. Of course, he was wearing handcuffs and in police custody for what appeared a vicious assault. Maybe nothing would come of this little miswording?

It took all the restraint he possessed not to beat the boy into a pulp when he spit in his face and began screaming his accusations. He held onto that cloak of angry piety, though, and calmly watched the boy get led away by the police. His face shifted momentarily to the remaining officers in Alystelle's room, trying to gauge their reaction to Danny's words. They seemed unaffected by the outburst, one of them clapping him on the back in sympathy.

"Mr. Makayen, the paramedics are here to take your daughter to the hospital," one of the young deputies said as he stuck his head in the door. Eyes widening as he looked upon the comatose girl lying in her bed; taking in all of the bruising, swelling and the ever growing stains of red upon the sheet and her pillowcase. He quickly ducked back out of the room, quietly relaying what he saw to the others.

The paramedics hurried through the door and immediately began clearing the room so they had room to work. They needed to stabilize the girl before they could transport her to the hospital. One began checking her vital signs and performed a neurological assessment while the other removed the sheet and began locating the various wounds that had been actively bleeding. He placed bandages over the cuts that he was able to and looked over to his partner as he finished his assessment and shook his head. "Needs an EEG at the hospital to confirm but from my findings, seems she is in a coma. Blood pressure is high, pulse is low, and respiratory pattern is abnormal and slow. Suggest increased intracranial pressure. We need to get her out of here now." Even as they were speaking, they had been preparing the back board and c-spine collar. Using the proper technique after applying the collar, they placed Alys, still clad in her bathing suit from yesterday, upon the back board and then upon the gurney.

Mr. Makayen watched the paramedics place his daughter in the ambulance before he climbed in for the ride to the hospital.