Offended

Chapter XVII

Warning: this chapter includes and mentions rape/sexual assault. If you feel uncomfortable reading this, feel free to jump ahead or not read this chapter entirely. Stay safe :)

SleepyFerret

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Getting up with a pained groan, Monika observed her surroundings. A cold breeze flew past and the girl covered her arms, as if it would protect her from the cold. Dark, cold woods, way too cliché, even for someone like him.

Looking around, Monika felt her flame of hope slowly going out. The woods were way too thick to navigate even if it was light outside. A quick glance up, only confirmed her doom. The sky was nowhere to be seen, all was covered in branches and leaves. Oh, how she wished she was back home, snuggled up in her bed, sleeping soundly until the ring of her alarm.

"Fuck..."

Another cold breeze made Monika move forward down a dirt path. Now is no time for self-doubt. If she won't get out of these woods, then at least she will get away from the mansion and its haunting owner. One foot in front of the other, slowly, but surely. Walking through the woods, the girl noticed just how quiet it was. No crickets or owls, maybe if she got lucky, she might hear a toad, but even that never came. Everything was silent, everything except for one thing. Straining her ears, Monika heard soft, sensual music playing far ahead. It sounded muffled and, in odd way, crinkly. Squinting and leaning towards the direction the music was coming from, she saw a glimpse of what seemed to be a flickering street light.

She should have turned back, she should have just run in the opposite direction, and yet she stepped forward. Silently, she tiptoed towards the sound. Her mind went fuzzy and it felt like her body was not her own anymore. Monika finally snapped back to reality when she neared a tall oak tree standing next to the flickering street light. In front of her stood a gramophone, placed on an old picnic table. The vinyl glistening in the light as it spun, but it then suddenly stopped with a loud screech. Monika had to muffle a gasp at the loud sound and she covered her mouth with her hands before freezing in place. Now, a new sound replaced the once beautiful music. Moaning, breathless sighs and what seemed to be the creaking of wood. The girl felt heat rushing to her cheeks as she peeked around the oak tree, now ashamed and embarrassed, knowing that she just walked in on somebody having an intimate moment, but that embarrassment quickly turned into terror, when she saw who it was. A woman, probably somewhere in her mid-twenties, was sitting on top of one of the picnic tables, her hands wrapped around a man's neck and her yellow dress discarded on the dirty ground. And then there was him, coat still on, but his pants laying on the bench in front of him. His fedora was tipped to the side and she saw him lick the woman's neck.

With a quickened heartbeat, Monika stepped back, sucking in a sharp breath when a branch stabbed her foot. The man stopped what he was doing and turned around almost agonizingly slow. A rush of adrenaline made the girl break out into a sprint, not caring about the multiple branches and sharp rocks that were strewn across the dirt path. She didn't know where she was running, the girl even ended up wondering off the path and ran straight into the woods before emerging onto a sidewalk. The cold air nipped at her skin and her frantic eyes quickly darted back to look behind her. The woods gave no answer as to if she was being followed or not, the branches only swayed in the cold breeze. Monika could only let out a shaky sigh, before turning back to see where she had ended up. In front of her stood a rusted traffic light, the red glow enveloping everything around it. Across the road stood a few lonely houses, each one more run down that the other. A soft and welcoming yellow glow poured from the windows, as she saw a family sitting at a kitchen table watching TV.

While she didn't know where exactly she had ended up, Monika felt overwhelming happiness come over her. This was her chance to run away. If not home then at least somewhere far. She rushed towards the houses, not caring if she ran during a red light, because who would? The pavement and cement feeling cold and yet refreshing in a weird way. Now on the other side, she ran towards the white gates of the house in front of her, but stopped. "It can't be this easy, can it?" – she thought. Monika looked through the window again. There was the family, laughing and talking around the dinner table. "Maybe it can...". She reached behind the white gates and unlocked them. Stepping on to the gravel path she almost jumped up the stairs trying to get to the door. She knocked on the wood again and again and again, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears. She waited then banged on the door as hard as she could, but even that did nothing. On the verge of tears, the girl looked around the edges of the door, under the carpet and potted plants, hoping there might be a hidden key, but there was absolutely nothing.

"They can't hear you, darling" – Offenderman chuckled behind her, - "they are not even there."

And he was right. Looking back, there wasn't actually any light or family in the house, just pitch-black darkness and overturned furniture. It was all just a sadistic illusion. Something to give her hope and then strip it away from her at the last moment. Monika fell back, not just out of shock, but because she wanted to split her head open on the cement stairs and hopefully die, but the man caught her and cradled her in his arms as she cried profusely. He set her down on his lap and started softly patting her head whilst kissing her cheeks and neck as if it would make her calm down. Sitting down, Monika felt something poking at her behind and couldn't help but burst into tears once again.

She should have turned back.

~  

Offenderman doesn't belong to me. All of the credit goes to his creator. Only the story belongs to me.