Page 112 of Babalon

Kace sucks in a pained breath, right as I lift my shank and stab it down in the soft tissues between his collar bone and shoulder.

Finding it rather interesting when he doesn’t scream; focusing more on his last words to our whore.

“N— Nadia.” he starts.

He needs to hurry up, there’s only so much pity I can extend.

“I—I’m sorry.”

His voice strains, breathing limits, and consciousness fading in and out.

“How touching,” I clip, yanking the shiv from his body before jamming it back inside of him.

Screams pull me out of that little respite. I spent my time bringing every ounce of pain to his body that I could. All before I was dragged away for the moment unfolding before me. Looking over, Clark has Nadia by the hair, slamming her head back into the bars until she goes dazed once more.

I’m not a fan of this part; it’s one thing to see people undergo such assault but all I can see is little Nadia. The girl I met so long ago who understood me; even if she doesn’t remember. I see a child, then I see myself. Abused, berated, cast aside like we are trash.

I hate people who harm children, who allow for their pain. When I look at Nadia, all I see is a six-year-old little girl. Her tear-streaked face, her abused body. Lost, sad, needing a friend that would never come.

Lifting my right hand, I start chewing violently at my thumb nail. I deserve every ounce of punishment after this. For not saving her when we were little, for not saving her now. I have the means to do so, but a deal is a deal. The only way I get the last soul my Lord requires of me is to let them hurt her.

His grace, testing his loyal subject the harshest way possible.

Warning

Before you move beyond this place, please be advised that I do not condone any of the material that you will find in chapter 31. It is of utmost importance that you consider the below trigger warnings, especially if you have survived sexual assault.

While Babalon has dark, pitch-black, and heavy themes, this chapter will be graphic in nature which may trigger PTSD, nightmares, and other mental health concerns. You are vastly more important than any of the content in this book so please, think about it before diving in.

If you choose to skip this chapter, note that it will not take away from the plot(s). You are not missing any vital pieces of the story that will not be described in less graphic terms in the remaining chapters. While what happens in chapter 31 is a part of the story, it does not outweigh your mental health.

Graphic rape, insertion of foreign objects, restrictive movements, multiple offenders, sodomy.

Please proceed. Remember, we love you, you have a place here with us, and your story matters.

Chapter thirty-one

Nadia

My head throbs and my ears have been ringing insistently, even before Clark started slamming me back against the bars, and well after. Everything hurts, if I am to be honest, and nothing feels right anymore. Like pieces of me have been relocated to different places on my body, even if it is physically impossible to do without cutting them away from me.

The longer I sit here, without seeing the emergency response team, the more I come to terms with the idea of never leaving Darkwater.

It’s hard to explain but I feel like my whole body is fluttering, like butterflies or wasps are perched all over my skin, buzzing around. Some spaces, it almost feels like they’re under my flesh, and if I were to close my eyes, they might lift me from the cold hard stone below me.

They say your intuition is never wrong and when a handful of AB men walked down the hall of solitary, I knew everything I needed to know. I just can’t fight back anymore, not after thebeatings I have endured nor the way my head feels like I am ten miles under the sea.

“She looks like shit.,” one of them says.

“That’s fine, we don’t need much.” Another.

“You’re right, a hole is a hole,” the first one replies.

“Now, you know I get mine first, the rest of you hang back.”

Nate? I think that was Nate.

I should have realized that this was going to be personal for him. He’s tried to get Kace at every turn, only to be met with denial, and I’ve even retaliated more than once. Piece of shit found an opportunity and he’s going to take it out on me. The fact I am a sacrifice for Kace is neither here nor there.

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