Page 2 of Roses for the Damned

A long spindly finger wrapped itself around a strand of her hair. “I am making sure my prize is untouched.” He tugged as slight pain shot through her scalp. “You are, untouched, are you not, Rose?”

Squirming, she clutched the shawl over her chest. “Surely, you cannot be serious. I am a courtesan, you know this very well.”

The finger became two, then three, until his entire fist was gripping her hair, tilting her head back at an awkward angle. “And yet, you have refused my advances every single time.” Hissing, he leaned in, his sour breath washing over her. “I have been patient with you. You will give me what I want, one way or another.”

“Never,” she whimpered as he pulled, the pain too great to ignore. “I would rather rot in some ditch than ever let you touch me.”

An ugly smirk plastered itself onto the man’s face, his already vile visage becoming utterly grotesque. “It makes no difference to me whether you are alive or dead when I fill your tight holes, as long as I’m buried inside of your body.”

A scream erupted from her as he yanked her hair, dragging her behind him as they disappeared into a dark alley. Her hands lashed out, hitting, scratching. Nails digging into his flesh as Rose desperately tried to get him to release her.

“My, my, what a feisty little thing you are. I will enjoy breaking you.”

She dropped to the ground, her weight like a sack of rocks as he continued to drag her along the filthy path, ripping a strand of hair from her scalp as she screamed her lungs out.

It was all in vain, her attempts feeble and hopeless, as if the man only drew strength from her misery and fear.

It would be foolish to think that anyone would be coming to her aid; it was the stark reality that they all lived in, where the strongest survived and the weak were left to fend for themselves until they became food for the hungry vultures to feast on, starvation and sickness taking their turn when all else failed to rid them of their pitiful lives.

“Stop, please!” Her throat burned, her voice cracking. “I won’t tell anyone, I swear! Please, just let me go!”

“What makes you think that anyone would believe you, a filthy whore?”

Fabric ripped along her leg, her thigh springing forth, abrasions decorating it as her skin scraped along the hard ground until she was thrown against a wall. Her head hit the stone, pain lacing it as he lunged for her.

She screamed again, thrashing like a feral animal, tears and grime soaking her skin through. A hand covered her mouth. She bit down, blood seeping into her mouth, clogging up her throat as she dug her teeth in and pulled, a large chunk of flesh dislodging itself from the rest of the hand.

“You stupid bitch!” Smack. Her head spun on itself, ricocheting off of the wall behind her as Rose collapsed onto the cobblestones. “You will pay for this.”

Her clothes were ripped down the middle, exposing her breasts to the warm air. “No,” she grumbled, not able to move, her mind demanding she get up, run – get away from the horrors that were pressing down on her.

A boot connected to her stomach, the force of it so brutal that she blacked out for a split second in time.

This is it. I’m going to die.

Sobs wrecked her body, her lids parting ever so slightly, the Full Moon casting an eerie shadow over the towering building a few feet in front of her, its central spire like a stake through the heavens, accentuating the countless beastly statues that decorated its imposing facade.

“Shut the fuck up–” his leg swung at her, the boot ready to lodge itself into her gut once more.

Closing her eyes, she prepared herself for the blow, sending a prayer to God, begging for the absolution of her soul.

I had no choice for the life I led. Please, forgive me.

A vicious snarl erupted somewhere to her left, the sound of flesh tearing mixing in with the blood curdling shrieks pressing down on her, engulfing Rose until she could no longer take it, until all that remained was her absolute fear and the coppery stench of fresh blood in her nostrils.

Silence ensued, as if all sound had been sucked from the air around her. Her breathing strained, she attempted to lift her lids as an unnatural calm washed over her. It felt like coming home, as if everything up to that point had been inconsequential and meaningless.

Was this the bliss that the priests preached about before death took one’s soul from this mortal world? The same one that promised eternal peace in the house of God?

Strong arms wrapped around her, lifting Rose up and cradling her against a firm chest. The scent of pine, wood, and earth enveloped her, her fears dissolving into the air as the sweetly intense aroma took over, muddling her head until her body relaxed.

A sudden feeling of total safety washed over her, the horrors of before completely forgotten about, as if someone had taken a sponge and cleansed the entirety of her mind of them. Her head fell to the side, resting on something solid. A whimper escaped her, pain zapping her back to the present.

“Shh,” soft rumbling came beneath her, the deep baritone soothing, “You’re safe now. No one will ever hurt you again.”

As her lids slid shut, a single thought took over – for some reason, she believed it.

Ch. 2

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