He had considered speaking to the parents of the victims, but that wouldn’t work. He was a priest, not a detective. He wasn’t even the priest from their church. They had no reason to answer his questions and were probably sick of the inquirers, not to mention that as a Catholic priest, he had to keep a distance from the families since the boys had committed the sin of suicide.
Wait, there was something. On one of the tabloids, he saw that the boys had been admitted to and released from a hospital that very day. Why did they all go to the hospital? Did it have something to do with their deaths?
Helena watched Xavier have his way with the crying Sophie, as he had done time and time again. She had lost count of how many times she had been forced to watch. She had no idea how many hours he had spent raping her best friend in front of her. These long, restless nights were sapping her strength, making it difficult to stay awake during class. When she did sleep, she had nightmares of Xavier. He would be in her bed, fondling her, whispering in her ear. Some nights, he wouldn’t show up, and she would lie awake, waiting for him out of dread. She wasn’t sure why he’d skip, thinking that maybe he was doing it just to mess with her. The other possibility was that he had gotten his fill of the flesh of a woman, finding some other poor girl to use.
Hours later, he stood up, panting with semen dribbling out of Sophie’s pussy and asshole. He then turned to Helena, still paralyzed. A small smile, he strode over to her, making her heart race with each step he took. What was he going to do to her? Was she next?
He sat down on the bed, licking his lips while he stroked her hair. “What do you think? By now, you must have developed a taste for it.” He reached under the covers and Helena struggled against her paralysis, feeling his fingers reach her moist panties. “My, my, you’re so wet. Are you aware of how horny you are? What goes through your mind while I violate Sophie? Is it the fact that I’m brutalizing her that turns you on? Do you enjoy seeing her suffer? Do her screams of pain and humiliation make you shiver? Or do you feel left out? Do you envy her for being able to feel the manhood of her master thrusting deep into her slit?”
With her lips stuck together, she could only give a muffled rejection.
“Ah, I love that wrathful fire in your eyes. Let’s put it to the test, shall we?”
With a flick of his hand, he drew a notecard from nonexistence, holding it between his fingers. He slipped it under her pillow. “Time for things to start moving between you and I. Goodnight.”
He then kissed her on the forehead and disappeared.
Helena slowly stirred to the sound of her alarm clock. The events of last night were blurred to her. She remembered Xavier brutalizing Sophie… then coming over to her. Wait, the notecard! About to look for it under her pillow, she realized it was clutched tightly in her hands, the way she would clutch her medallion in prayer. Making sure Sophie didn’t see it, she faced the wall and read the card.
IF YOU WANT TO PROTECT SOPHIE FROM ME TONIGHT, WAIT FOR HER TO LEAVE THE ROOM AND SAY THE WORDS “PUNISH ME”. YOUR TASK FOR THE DAY WILL BEGIN.
Helena’s heart dropped into her stomach. Oh God, what in the world was he going to have her do?!
“Helena, aren’t you getting up?” Sophie asked as she got dressed.
She took a deep breath. “I really just want to lie in bed for a little while longer. Go on to breakfast without me, I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“Ok, but please don’t fall back to sleep. You don’t want to miss breakfast AND be late for class.”
“I’ll be fine, just go on ahead.”
Sophie left and Helena immediately sat up in bed. She looked over the card again, studying every millimeter. There was no fine print she could find, no other instructions or clarifications. If she said the words “punish me”, then she would be given some kind of task for the day, and in exchange, Sophie would be free from torment for that night. But could she believe Xavier? Would he keep his word? Would this task really only last for a day or would this be the submission he claimed he would win from her? She knew… she had to do it. What kind of friend would she be if she allowed that monster to have his way with Sophie when she had the chance to protect her? And if Christ was willing to give his life for the sins of all mankind, she could put up with Xavier’s cruelty for the sake of her friend’s safety.
She stood up out of bed and took a deep breath. “Lord, give me strength.” She looked down at the card. “Punish me.”
Her collar immediately activated, turning into a ring of light around her neck. From the ring stretched black ribbons, wrapping around her torso over and over again in complex knots. Known as the tortoise shell formation, they formed a net across her body like a spider web. She didn’t feel anything from the ribbons; they were fairly loose. It was awkward and embarrassing, sure, but not painful or even very unpleasant. About to think that she had lucked out, she gagged as the ribbons merged with her skin, turning into tattoos. It wasn’t the sensation of them merging with her that had nearly brought her to her knees, but what happened on those lines. Invisible ropes bound her, following the pattern of the lines etched into her skin. They were so tight, digging into her skin and making it hard to take full breaths. Her breasts were being squeezed as if with zip ties, while one segment of the rope went between her legs. Not only was had it settled in her ass like a thong, but there was a knot right against her clitoris.
She fell to her knees, blushing from the sensation of the bonds rubbing against her most sensitive spots. No matter how she moved, she felt the rope slide between her legs and around her breasts. She moved her hands across her body, feeling real invisible ropes tied around her, as if she could cut them off and them use them for mountain climbing. Or was it the lines on her skin making her feel like they were real? What was the point of this? To make her feel helpless? To inflict pain? It was certainly working. She had heard that people liked to be tied up like this for sexual pleasure, but she just failed to grasp how anyone could enjoy it. Though with the way the ropes were touching her, she could definitely feel stimulation…
She looked down at the card. The words had changed.
HAVE A NICE DAY AT SCHOOL
That son of a bitch.
“Good morning, Helena. Oh… wow, are you ok?”
Helena had arrived at the usual spot where she ate with her friends, and they immediately noticed how flushed her face was. It had taken a lot of courage to leave her room. Her clothes didn’t show the invisible ropes on her body, confirming for her that it was really the black lines on her skin that were binding her. Getting dressed had been difficult and going down the stairs had been even worse. The ropes weren’t chafing or leaving any marks. It was more like she was feeling intangible pressure and her nerve endings were being tricked into thinking they were really there.