[chapter 29.2. Lullaby of Woe]
[part 2]
Trigger warning: suicidal thoughts and attempts, self-harm, abuse, flashback, the notion of pedophilia, non-consensual sexual acts, blood, graphic violence
Listen to the song Lullaby of Woe - by Ashely Serena while reading the chapter
The girl thrashed in her captor's grasp, her bony hands struggling against his grip as he dragged her from the cold concrete floor. She fought him with all the strength she had left, but it was no use. He was too strong.
"Leave me alone," she spat, her voice hoarse from screaming. But he only growled in response- his fingers digging into her flesh like talons.
"Behave," Carl snarled, shoving her towards the metal chair in the corner of the room.
"What can you do? You have already starved me, beat me, burned me, cut me, and forced me to kill. What worse can you do?" she hissed, her eyes blazing with a fiery determination that made him grit his teeth.
He glared at her, his gaze darkening with anger. This girl was impossible to break. No matter what he did to her, she never broke. He needed to find a way to extinguish that fire in her, to make her submit to him.
A cruel smile twisted his lips as he approached her, his hand reaching out to caress her cheek. But she recoiled from his touch, turning her face away from him.
"Oh, dear," Carl crooned, his voice dripping with mock sympathy. "There are many worse things in this world than what you mention." he leaned in closer, his breath hot on her ear. "And trust me, my dear, you will experience them all."
She was ten.
Perfect.
"Hold her tight." The girl writhed in pain as Carl's goons held her tight. Her body contorted in every possible way, trying to break free from the vice-like grip of her captors.
"What are you doing?" she screamed, her voice hoarse from the countless times she had already cried out in agony. But her pleas fell on deaf ears as Carl chuckled and ordered his men to hold her tighter.
In a sudden rage, Carl's hand whipped across her face, leaving behind a stinging sensation that seared her skin. She tasted the metallic tang of blood in her mouth; she knew her lip had been split open.
The man holding her jaw sneered down at her, his eyes blazing with malice. "Behave, bitch," he growled, his grip tightening with every passing moment.
But the girl refused to give up. She spat in his face, relishing the feeling of power that surged through her. For a moment, the room was filled with stunned silence, as Carl's men looked on in shock. But then Carl's face twisted with fury, "Release her," he ordered his goons to release her.
As she stumbled forward, her eyes darted back and forth, searching for any means of escape. But Carl was not finished with her yet. He strode towards her, his footsteps echoing off the concrete walls.
"Now, that was not a good thing," he said, his voice silky smooth and dangerous.
The girl felt a cold shiver run down her spine. She knew that Carl was a master at breaking people, at turning them into mindless automatons who would obey his every command.
But she wasn't going to let him win. She steeled herself for whatever came next, her eyes fixed on Carl's every move.
"I am good at making bad 'objects' into obedient objects, who would listen to my every single word," Carl said, his hand snaking out to grab her jaw once again.
The girl gritted her teeth against the pain, determined not to let him see her weakness. But deep down, she knew that she was running out of options.
The girl's blood boiled as Carl referred to her as an object. She refused to be just another lifeless thing for him to control. Her fist clenched, ready to strike him in the face, but Carl was quick to grab her hand. His grip was strong, and he knew she was not yet trained to fight back.
The condescending click of his tongue made her want to scream. She could not bear to hear his patronizing voice any longer.
"You have a lot of anger," he said, his tone almost pitiful. "I keep forgiving your actions too much." His sigh made her want to vomit. She knew what was coming next, and the thought of it made her want to scream.
"Let me teach you a lesson that you'll never forget," he said, his words like poison in her ears.
The girl didn't have a chance to react before a guard appeared behind her, a syringe in his hand. She struggled against the hold of the two men, but it was too late. The needle pierced her skin, and the world around her started to fade. She wanted to scream, but she couldn't even
muster the strength to do that.
The girl slowly opened her eyes and tried to sit up. But the moment she moved; her whole body screamed in agony. She let out a low groan and bit her lip, trying to suppress the pain.
She looked down at herself, and her heart sank as she saw the state of her body. The ragged clothes on her arms and stomach revealed bite marks and bruises all over her skin. She was horrified to see what they had done to her.
She tried to remember what had happened to her, but everything was a blur. The last thing she remembered was the guard injecting her with something, and then everything went dark. She shuddered, not knowing what they had done to her while she was unconscious.
As she tried to move again, a sharp pain shot through her lower body. She gasped and felt tears forming in her eyes. She felt sticky and disgusting, and it made her want to crawl out of her skin.
What had they done to her? She felt violated and helpless, yet she did not know what had happened to her.
She was just ten.
The girl's mind was in a state of chaos. She was angry, scared, and traumatized.
The little girl had never felt so alone and vulnerable before.
Tears streamed down her face as she thought about her situation. She was trapped, with no way out. She had been reduced to an object, a thing to be used and abused. She wanted to scream, lash out, and do anything to make them pay for what they had done to her.
But she was too weak, too broken.
She hugged herself tightly, trying to find some comfort in her embrace. She closed her eyes and tried to block out the pain, the fear, and the shame. But they were always there, lurking in her mind, tormenting her.
The girl knew she had to find a way to survive, keep fighting, and never give up. She took a deep breath, wiped away her tears, and pushed herself up. She knew she had to be strong, no matter how hard it seemed.
She was not going to let them break her.
That night was the beginning of a shift in her reality, as for the first time, a voice whispered to her in her mind, and she knew that everything would be different from that moment on.