*** WARNING - this chapter contains violence and may be a trigger for some. ***
Pain exploded behind my right eye and I blinked back tears as I landed on the stone walkway. My first instinct was to roll away, but before I could so much as muster the strength to do so, fingers caught my hair and started dragging me deeper into the alcove of the building and away from the light. I couldn't let him do that. There would be no hope of escape. I started screaming for all I was worth even though I knew it wouldn't do any good. There was no one around. Father Donavan had gone inside and it was hard to hear anything through the thick stone walls.
I dug at the ground with my fingers trying to find something to use as a weapon, but there was nothing. The church kept the grounds free of debris. I managed to get myself twisted around far enough to see my attacker's legs. I balled my hand into a fist and struck him behind the knee cap as hard as I could. His leg buckled and I used the opportunity to swing my legs around and kick him squarely in the back.
I was not some idiot girl who didn't know how to defend herself. My dad made sure me and my mom could defend ourselves if need be. I was thanking Dad now for the self-defense classes as I jerked my hair out of my attacker's hands. I felt my scalp tear, but a bloody patch of hair and some skin missing was better than being dead.
The world was a little blurry, but I gained my feet and started to run towards the gate leading to freedom. Footsteps sounded behind me and I put on a burst of speed. Hands grabbed me and yanked me backwards and around, and I slammed into the stone wall of the church. I fought to breathe through the pain, but I didn't give up. I kicked backwards with one leg and used my hands to propel help propel my momentum. The back of my head connected with his face.
His grip didn't budge. He never said a word either. That's what scared me the most. His silence. This was someone who meant to hurt me and was willing to endure pain to get what he wanted. I renewed my efforts and clawed at the hands now gripping my upper arms. He wore black leather gloves and my nails skated off the material, doing absolutely no damage to him.
And through all this I screamed, hoping against hope someone would hear me. The man had never bothered to try and shut me up. He knew we were alone. Fear crawled along my spine. My throat was sore and my body ached, but I fought on.
One hand gripped my hair as he pulled my head away from the wall and then smashed it into the stone surface. My vision blurred. The same hand turned me to face him. All I could make out was a black mask and piercing blue eyes. His fist landed in my stomach and I gagged at the bile that rose up with the pain. He tossed me to the ground and I automatically put my hands out in front of me to catch myself. A boot connected with my side and I flew across the stone pavement with the force of the blow.
Through it all he remained silent and determined.
He grabbed my feet and pulled me further into the cover of darkness the alleyway provided. I heard something, but didn't have time to figure out what as I was dragged, my back feeling every single stone in the pavement.
We came to a stop and his hands started undoing the button on my jeans.
"NO!" I tried to buck him off me. I kicked and twisted, but it was useless. The metal button of my jeans bit into my skin and tore into the flesh of my legs as the pants were forced down my thighs. I cried out at the sharp and sudden pain, trying to to no avail to escape the hands that were now roaming everywhere.
He fell on top of me and a knife bit into my throat. His other hand slid under my blouse and unhooked my bra and then snaked around to my breast. He twisted the nipple and I whimpered at the pain. The knife bit deeper into my neck, drawing blood, a clear warning to shut up.
If I did that, there would be no saving me. This man was going to kill me. I'd be damned if I made it easy for him to rape and murder me. I wasn't that kind of girl.
I screamed louder and turned my head. The knife sliced into my neck, but I managed to sink my teeth into his wrist. I bit harder and tasted blood, but I didn't let go. His hand left my breast and once again grabbed my head. He slammed it repeatedly into the ground until my mouth went slack and he pulled his bloody arm away.
Dazed I he moved off me but then his boot pound my back, side, and stomach. Again and again until the pain was so bad I couldn't breathe. I tried to draw in air to scream, but all that came out was a wheeze. There was no strength left in me when I heard him fall to his knees. He rolled me over onto my back. Hands gripped my tee shirt and tore it open. His knife cut the tiny piece of cloth holding my bra together. His hands squeezed my breasts, twisted and pinched. I felt hot air as his mouth came down and bit at my breasts.
I tried to move, to fight at the hands that gripped my panties and pulled them and my jeans off, but I couldn't move. I heard the zipper of his pants and the rustle of clothes. I knew what was coming. I tried yet again to fight, but I couldn't force my body to move. It felt too broken.
My eyes landed on the doors to the cathedral and for the first time in my life, I prayed for help to a God who had never been real to me before this moment. I prayed for help, I prayed to pass out so I wouldn't have to relive the memories of a brutal rape. I simply prayed.
Hand gripped my thighs and pulled them apart. Fingers dug into the tender flesh as he forced me closer. I shook my head to try and clear it, but I could see pinpoints of darkness starting to overtake me. I was going to pass out. Maybe there was a God after all.
I closed my eyes and tried to muster one last scream. All I could hear was his deep, even breathing.
Why didn't he make any noise?
My mouth opened but no sound came out.
There was a gust of wind and then he was just gone. I tried to blink back the encroaching darkness starting to blur my vision. I heard the sounds of fists hitting flesh, of bodies being thrown, and then the sound of running feet.
Footsteps approached me. I flinched away from the hands that reached for me.
My pants were pulled back on with gentle hands. Those same hands lifted and wrapped me in strong arms. I whimpered. I hurt everywhere. I tried to focus, to see who had saved me, but all I managed to do was make the blinding pain in my head worse.
"Shh, Brenna, you're safe now."
That voice. I knew that voice. "W-w-w..." I couldn't get the word out.
I blinked hard as I heard the rustle of what could have been wings. I felt the rush of wind against my face and tried to look. I felt sureal, like I was air born. The sensation scared me. I tried to struggle, but the arms holding me only gripped me tighter. Another warning. Images of what had just happened to me flashed into my fuzzy mind. My mind confused the arms now holding me with those that had held me earlier.
I panicked and tried to get away. The effort cost me the last of my strength and I couldn't fight off the darkness. The last thing I heard was the sound of beating wings like a bird and the soft swirl of the wind as it caressed me.
