Page 6 of Vengeance of Childhood Proportions

I wasn’t surprised in the slightest when that was Christopher. He’d always been a pompous ass. I’m sure his current and third wife would agree with me.

“Who the fuck are you?” He came running up against the wall that separated us and slammed his fists against the thick plastic. It didn’t even shake. “Why are we here? Do you know who the fuck I am? Do you know who you’re messing with?”

I knewexactlywho I was messing with. He, on the other hand, did not. Not now, anyway. He hadno ideawhat he had created that day in the auditorium. None of them did.

I turned to face his cell fully. He outweighed me by muscle and fat. I remember I used to think he was cute while we were in high school. That was before I learned of the depravity that tainted his soul.

“Empty threats will get you nowhere, Christopher Evan Harrow.” Did he think he’d be able totalkme into opening up his cell?Oops. Sorry. My mistake. You’re free to go.

Yeah, not going to happen.

I stood still, letting him get a good, long look at me. His eyes narrowed as confusion replaced anger at my presence. I saw the fight playing out in his mind just then. Had he been able to move on with his life because he believed I was dead? Had heforgottenabout me? That he was one of six, potentially seven, who had taken something that was meant to be precious andmine? It had taken years, but I’d eventually tracked down the videos taken that afternoon. After Jason and I watched them,I knew not all of the boys had physically raped me. Though I considered all, regardless of gender, who had been present to be active participants in my assault, some of the boys, like John, had stood back and laughed, recording or taking pictures on their phone.

Andy, Sam, and Christopher had been active participants.

“It can’t be…” Christopher shook his head. “No, no, you’re dead! I know you’re dead.”

I did not confirm nor deny his accusation. What was life without a little whimsy? Let him think a ghost had returned from the dead to torment him.

Others moved to the front of their cells to get a better look at me. They had been speculating for days who had taken them prisoner. John had even offered up the suggestion of alien abduction—which would have beenhilariousif I’d thought about that myself. Maybe when it was Roman’s time, I would.

Amber shrieked like a banshee, making me regret not soundproofing the cells.

Jason walked down the stairs then, a ball gag in his hand. All he had to do was hold it up in front of Amber and she snapped her mouth closed. Knowing Jason, he’d fuse it to her skin so she couldn’t remove it.

Christopher gasped when he saw Jason. “Wait, I know you! You were the janitor at our school.” He snapped his fingers as if trying to remember Jason’s name. “Wait…” He did a slow pan towards me. His eyes went comically wide. “You… You were the one who…who found her.”

They were all starting to piece it together.

Good.

I turned to Christopher expectantly and clasped my hands together. A wide smile crept over my face. “Let’s get started.”

Part Two

Novel

Prologue

Holly

Fifteen Years Ago

It wasa stupid prop for the school play. To be honest, I don’t even remember what performance the drama department was putting on that year. I had no intention of seeing it or participating in it. However, a prank by a senior led me to the auditorium and the stage where I had to unglue my school books from the backdrop. They had been added to the decor to look like pieces of brick. I was too distracted by my anger and despair at my circumstances to hear the approaching crowd behind me. Something collided with the back of my head and I passed out.

I woke up center stage, a place I had metaphorically feared my entire life. I was better off living in the shadows.

The cool draft on my skin let me know immediately that I was naked. My hazy vision could see the silhouettes, but not the details of the people before me. I was bent over, locked inside the pillory the school was using for their play that was supposed to be bringing class and culture to a den of delinquents and miscreants.

The prop had been sealed closed. Later on, I would learn they had used the same wood glue that had been applied to my books. I was stuck. Naked, cold, and vulnerable.

Though my vision was hazy, my ears worked without fail. This is how I know that rape had not been the intention of my humiliating circumstances. At first, it was only pictures. Nude though they were, they were also harmless. I could have survivedjust pictures.

I’ll never forget the voice that asked me if I was a virgin—or the laughing replies from both genders of my audience that statedof courseI was a virgin. After all, who would everwantto touchme? I was a loser, a nerd, afreak. I was not sexy or even noticeable. While pranks had been done to me over the years, I never would have believed myself visible enough to the student body to warrantthis.

What followed that laughter was indescribable. It went beyond pain and humiliation. Itbrokeme. I was not a person or even a girl to them. I was a hole, an object. Something to satiate their collective lust on. I wasnothing. I wasno one.

They didn’t even have the decency to release me afterwards. Bleeding and numb, I was left center stage overnight until the janitor found me the next morning. To say he was shocked at the discovery was an understatement.

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