The Dark Days

Chapter Eight

****TW: THIS SCENE CONTAINS ATTEMPTED RAPE AND BLOODY VIOLENCE****

 "What have you got there?" A husky, slurred voice drawled across the space between us. They were spreading out, surrounding me, corralling me like animals. I couldn't let them get behind me. I kept my pace up to make sure that all four of them remained behind me.

I deepened my voice as much as I could without sounding pretentious when I said, "Leave me be, gentlemen. What I carry is mine and no concern of yours."

"Not a young man then." The bearded one on my right laughed hoarsely. He still had a bottle of alcohol in his hands, taking heavy swigs in between his words, "It seems you have chickens and my home is in short supply, I think I'll replenish my stocks with yours."

The blonde one of my left stepped towards me much faster than the rest of them, I didn't think he was as drunk as the other laughing idiots. I couldn't let him take anything from me, this was for my family, we needed these chickens. All in one breath, I leaned forward to angle myself and ran as fast as my already exhausted legs would carry me. If I could get home, Mama would come out with her butcher's knife and they'd stop pursuing me. If I could get home, I could put the chickens down and take out my own knife. If I could get home, I'd be okay.

My nerve buckled at the sound of the men swearing and their heavy thudding as they ran after me. My panic flared but I didn't slow down, I wouldn't slow down. I kept my pace until I felt a hard yank as one of the grabbed the clothes bag strapped to my back and threw me to the ground. I landed on my back and the air escaped my lungs in one swift exhale as the cage hit my chest hard enough that the sharp pain reverberated through me. The men howled with laughter as I whimpered at the throbbing pain, heaving the cage off my chest.

It hurt to breathe and there were tears pooling in my eyes.

The instant the cage rolled to the side, the blonde man threw himself on me, pelvis to pelvis. I cried out, begging him to leave me alone but he laughed as he took my arms and pinned them under me, his weight on my torso securing me to the ground with little to no wiggle room. His hands began roaming my body, my breasts, my throat, my lips and I did everything I could to writhe beneath him.

"You're allowing this girl to ruin your fun?" the bald man chortled. The man above me slapped me across the face and held his hand up, threatening to backhand me as well, "Shut up and stay still."

There was a metallic taste in my mouth, it was blood. The stinging on my cheek dulled to a subtle ache but I knew the inside of my cheek had been split. He began kneading my breasts and for a moment, I thought this would be the end of me. I would have let them ruin me if I hadn't felt a sharp stinging pain against my hand, still pinned under me.

My knife. I had my knife strapped to my back. The complacency that the blonde man had slapped into me curdled and I decided if he was ready to ruin me, then I would do the damn same to him.

I let him knead away at my breasts, his legs relaxing as he readied himself to do far worse now that I had submitted to him. I slid my hand along the blade of the knife until I reach the handle and grip it tightly in my palm. The blonde man tugged off his tunic and just as he pulled his penis out of his pants, I rocked slightly. Pulling my left hand out to grab his penis at the head then pulled my right hand free and cut his penis off at the base of his shaft.

His screams were loud enough to send the birds scattering from the trees around us. The sheer excruciating pain in his screams would live forever in my memory. The blonde man roared in horror as he stumbled back, his blood sprayed out of the gaping wound then slowed to pour down his legs in a sputtering stream. I took the penis, shoved it into his screaming mouth, and slammed the hilt of my knife into his forehead.