Born From The Dust

“Please…” she whimpered, her voice trembling and weak. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have run away. Please… Mom… Dad…”

The car hit her again.

A sickening crack echoed through the empty road as her body slammed hard against the ground.

Pain exploded through her bones, stealing the air from her lungs.

Her legs twisted at an unnatural angle beneath her, and for a moment she couldn’t even scream.

Then the pain found her voice.

A broken, animalistic cry tore out of her throat.

Blood was coming out from her mouth, from her nose and from the open wounds scattered across her skin.

She tried to move.

She couldn’t.

Her body refused to obey.

Her vision blurred, swimming in and out of focus as dizziness threatened to swallow her whole.

The engine of the car roared again.

Her heart seized in terror.

“Thought you wanted to run?” a mocking voice called out from inside the vehicle. “Go on Emily. Run.”

The words were followed by laughter.

Her hands trembled as she tried to crawl forward, dragging her broken body across the rough road.

Each movement sent fresh waves of agony through her limbs, but she kept trying, desperate to survive.

The cars finally stopped.

The doors opened.

One by one, they stepped out.

The Collins family.

Collins Peters…His wife, Mary.

And their children….Joy, Henry, Victor, and Elena.

The family she had lived with for ten years.

The family she had loved with all her heart.

The family she had sacrificed everything for.

They stood around her now, forming a circle, staring down at her like spectators watching a dying animal.

“The one time you were supposed to be useful to us,” Elena said, her lips curling in disgust, “you decided to run away.”

Emily’s chest shook with silent sobs as she hugged herself, trying to protect her shattered body from the cold air.

Her family wanted her to marry a man called Ghost to clear up his father’s gambling debt

A Crime leader.

A notorious killer.

A man people feared so deeply that they whispered his name like a curse.

He is rumored to kill people for breathing too loudly around him.

A man that has hundreds of women in his mansion. Women exchange for debts by their families

Rumours said he kills certain amount of women in his mansion every month to appease whatever cult he belongs

A twisted monster.

A devil in human form.

And they wanted her to become his bride.

She won't survive an hour there

“Please…” she begged again, her voice cracking as tears streamed down her face.

“What a waste,” Her adopted father said flatly.

His voice carried no anger.

No disappointment.

Just cold indifference.

Mary Collins stepped forward slowly, her heels clicking against the tiled floor.

Emily’s heart leaped at the sight of her.

“Mom…” she whispered weakly, reaching out with trembling fingers, desperate for comfort.

For mercy.

For love.

Mary’s face twisted in disgust.

She lifted her foot….

And kicked Emily’s hand away with brutal force.

A sharp scream tore from Emily’s throat as fresh pain exploded through her already broken body.

“Don’t touch me, you rat”

Her hand dropped limply to the ground as she stared up at the woman she had called mother for years.

All she saw in Mary’s eyes was hatred.

Unfiltered Hatred.

She didn’t understand.

She never did..

She had done everything they asked.

Cooked their meals.

Wash their clothes with her hands.

She had worked until her hands bled just to make them happy.

She had taken the blame whenever one of them got into trouble.

She had accepted every punishment without complaint.

She had lived like a servant.

No.

Worse.

She had lived like a dog.

When they threw something, she ran to catch it.

When they told her to jump, she jumped.

When they told her to lie down, she lay down.

When they told her to sit, she sat.

She had spent ten years begging for love from people who never intended to give it.

Ten years.

And the one time she disobeyed them….

“I have a story to tell you, Emily,” Mary said suddenly.

Her lips stretched into a slow, cruel smile.

Emily’s heart pounds weakly in her chest as fear crept into her bones.

Mary clasped her hands together, her voice turning theatrical, almost playful.

“There was once a girl named Mary,” she began.

“She had a best friend she hated so much. That friend always had everything….beauty, wealth….happiness?”

Her smile widened.

“As if that wasn’t enough, she met a handsome rich man and married him.”

“Everything I break my back for to get, she gets it with ease”

Mary clapped her hands sharply, the sound echoing in the empty street.

Emily’s vision blurred as blood dripped down her face, mixing with her tears.

“So the girl Mary decided to do something about it,” she continued lightly. “She conspired with her best friend’s husband’s driver. His name was Collins”

She laughed.

A high, chilling sound that made Emily’s stomach twist in horror.

“Long story short… They killed her best friend and her husband and made it look like an accident.”

Emily blinked slowly, her breathing growing shallow as realization began to dawn on her.

Her gaze lifted weakly, locking onto Mary’s face.

The woman who had beaten her.

Burned her with hot water.

Whipped her until she couldn’t walk.

“Oh,” Mary added casually, tilting her head. “Did I mention they had a daughter?”

Her smile turned vicious.

“Her name was Emily.”

The world stopped.

Emily’s eyes widened in shock.

Her heart slammed violently against her ribs as the truth crashed down on her like a falling building.

No.

No.

No.

Her lips trembled uncontrollably.

“You… kil–killed my parents?” she whispered.

Mary examined her fingernails, completely unfazed.

“Yup,” she replied with a shrug. “With no regrets at all. I poisoned her for months though. Esther helped…your sweet nana Esther helped. She was your mom's cook” Mary laughs

Emily’s body went cold. Her chest drew in together, she couldn't breath.

Her eyes blurred again.

She's lying….

Esther was the best person in this world to her, a mother she never had.

She hugged her when she cried, she hides and brings her food when the Collins locks her up in that dark room. She was the only light she has in the world

The only person she thought cared about her in this world.

“No” she let out, her voice breaking, a sob breaks out from her lips.

The people she loved…

The people she had trusted…

Were her parent’s murderers.

“We wanted to send you to them though,” Mary continued casually. “But we learned your father left everything to you in his will.”

She crouched down slowly, bringing her face close to Emily’s.

“With no family members around, little Emily needed a guardian to take control of her inheritance until she turned twenty.”

Emily lay frozen on the ground, her body trembling violently as sobs shook her chest.

Ten years.

Ten years of suffering.

Ten years of loving monsters.

“Mom, aren’t you sharing too much?” Henry asked,walking close to his mother.

Mary laughed.

Emily’s hand twitched weakly as Mary suddenly stepped on it.

Hard.

The bones beneath her palm screamed in protest.

Emily shrieked in agony.

“What is she going to do?” Mary sneered. “Call the police? With what hand?”

Emily thrashed helplessly on the ground, crying and screaming for help as Mary continues to crush her hand

For anyone.

For someone.

But deep down, she already knew.

No one is coming.

No one cared.

She was alone.

Completely alone.

Her strength fades.

Her body gives up.

The kicks kept coming.

Her head slammed against the tiled ground again and again.

Soon, she couldn’t feel anything anymore.

The pain disappeared.

The fear disappeared.

Everything went numb.

Her vision darkened slowly as she stared at the people surrounding her.

Collins.

Mary.

Joy.

Henry.

Victor.

Elena.

They all knew.

They had killed her parents.

They had stolen her life.

And they had tortured her for ten long years.

Her eyelids grew heavy.

Her breathing slowed.

“Mom…. Dad…. I’m sorry,” she whispered faintly.

She wished she could see their faces one last time.

But she couldn’t even remember what they looked like.

Mary had burned every photograph.

Every memory.

Every trace of them.

Emily’s chest tightened painfully.

She had failed them.

She had spent ten years loving their killers.

Serving their killers.

Begging their killers for affection.

Emily was pathetic.

She had lived like a dog.

Now she was dying like one on the street.

A weak, broken laugh escaped her lips.

What would they do with her body?

Burn it?

Bury it?

Throw it away like trash?

They would probably get away with everything.

No one would notice she was gone.

No one would search for her.

No one would demand justice.

Maybe this was how her story was meant to end.

She was tired.

So tired.

She just wanted the pain to stop.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered one last time.

And then—

Everything went dark.

___

“Open your eyes child”

She felt weightless.

As if she were floating in endless darkness.

She tried to move.

She couldn’t feel her body.

“Open your eyes, Emily”

The voice sounded gentle.

Familiar.

She tried to open her mouth.

No sound came out.

She tried to move her hands.

Nothing happened.

Panic crept into her chest.

Was this death?

Was this what dying felt like?

“It’s not your time child,” the voice said softly. “Open your eyes.”

Emily struggled.

She screamed inside her mind.

Fought with everything she had left.

And suddenly–

Her eyes snapped open.

A terrified scream burst from her throat.

“We haven’t even touched you, and you’re already screaming.”

Her eyes snap up immediately

She froze.

Her heart pounds violently as her gaze lock on the figures standing in front of her.

The Collins.

All of them.

Why were they here?

Are they dead too?

“Why is she looking at us like that?” Joy asked, frowning.

“Get me a whip,” Mary ordered coldly.

Emily couldn't move.

Shock paralyzed her entire body.

“Look, Emily,” Elena said with a mocking chuckle. “Marrying Ghost might even change your life.”

Marry Ghost.

Her mind went blank.

She stared at them with wide, disbelieving eyes.

This has happened before… but how? How–

She looked at what she was wearing.

Oh God…. It's the same…

Then she turned slowly.

Her gaze landed on the wall clock.

2:25 PM. It was the exact same time they had flogged her. An hour from now she will run from home.

Her heart stopped.

This was the day she died.

The day she ran away after they told her she must marry Ghost.

The day everything ended for her

She had died.

So how–

“Wether you like it or not, you must marry him”

Emily was hearing their words but her brain still couldn't comprehend what was going on.

She died….

How is she here..

How is–

A whip suddenly land across her back.

Pain exploded through her body.

Her eyes flew wide.

She gasped sharply.

She could feel it.

Oh God!

She's alive!

Another whip landed on her again, she started crying, it was not from pain it was the fact she could feel pain

She's really alive.

But how, how?

Another whip landed on her back. She bite her lips

How is she here, how is she here.

“You must marry him”

How is she here?

Was it all a dream?

Did she come back to life?

Another lash lands on her arm

“I’ll marry him,” she blurted out immediately.

The room fell silent.

Everyone stared at her in shock.

She has no idea what happened. The fact the event happening right happened before.

She either was dreaming or is reborn five hours before her death

Maybe her life ended so pathetically, heavens felt moved to give her a chance at life?

That doesn't make sense. Life is not a movie or a story book….

But Emily is here, she can feel pain. She's alive.

And she's not about to make the same mistake again whether it was a dream or not.

Last time she endured their beating, then she found a way and ran away only to be caught and tortured to death

Emily stares at each and every one of them.

Murderers, her mind screams.

If this life she has right now is real, Emily will cherish and use it well. She will make the Collins wish they were never born.

She will destroy each and every one of them.

“You will marry Ghost?” Collins asked sounding surprised himself.

Emily nods.

She will rather trust her life in the hands of a monster she doesn't know, than the monsters in front of her.

“I will marry him.”