‘It’s just so easy!’
Helena walked down the hallway in between class periods. She was exhausted, unable to ever get comfortable with the invisible binds stimulating her flesh every second. She was counting down the minutes until the end of the day, wondering when this curse would finally be lifted. Her panties were soaked, the rubbing of the rope between her legs made her vagina feel like a runny nose. Looking through the crowds of students, she came to a sudden stop and felt her heart drop. Walking towards her was Xavier, that usual smirk on his face, like he had the whole world in the palm of his hand. In his presence, she could swear that her binds tightened, leaving her gasping for breath. He passed by her, and in that fraction of a second, their eyes met. His gaze was piercing, inhuman, peering into her soul. With a lazy swish of his hand, he reached around to her lower back. His fingers passed through her blouse as if it was a hologram and he pulled up on one of the ropes and let it snap back. She shuddered, feeling like he might as well have just sodomized her in front of everyone. The hallway was full of people, but no one had seen the movement. He walked away, leaving her to stand there with people passing by like spawning salmon.
“Ah, Helena, there you are.”
She spun around, finding Father Hauser behind her. He immediately noticed the frantic look on her pretty face. “Are you all right, dear?”
“Y-yes, I’m fine.”
“Good, then I was hoping we could have little talk.”
“I’m sorry, Father, but I’ll be late for class.”
“I’ll tell your teacher that I held you back, you won’t get into any trouble.”
He then grasped her wrist and led her into an empty hallway. This was strange; he was never this forceful before. He was being polite and gentle, but he had never laid a hand on a student like this. Away from prying ears, he turned to her, a cautious look on his face. “On the 10th, did you get into a fight with three boys in the city?”
The image of the dead boy flashed across her mind, his body hanging from a noose with his organs spilled out.
“What? Why do you ask?”
“I’ll take that as a yes. Helena, did they do anything to you? Something that you might have thought silly or just shrugged off? Did they say anything that you didn’t understand? What were they doing when you found them?”
“They were just spraying some graffiti on the wall of a building! No, they didn’t do anything! I saw them, I punished them for their sins, and then I left! Please tell me why you’re asking me this.”
“I’ll tell you if you tell me more about that dream you had. You said that there would be a war that would show the truth. What did you mean?”
Helena bit her lip, knowing her collar would activate if she used the wrong words. “I saw a valley where the fighting would take place. But it would all start in the school.”
“And what is the truth that will be shown?”
“I don’t know. I wish I could tell you, but I can’t. I really wish I could, but I just can’t.
Hauser’s brow furrowed. “One more thing. What made you think God sent you this dream?”
She looked up at him, hoping he would understand what she was trying to tell him. “Because we need His protection. I’m sorry, Father. I really need to go.”
She turned around and ran off, leaving Hauser to ponder over what she had told him. He was now certain from that desperate look in her eye that she was holding something back, probably even lying. She repeatedly told him that while she wished she could tell him more, she was unable. What if it wasn’t because of a lack of information on her part? Maybe someone was keeping her quiet. The police? The school? Or maybe something evil had had actually latched itself onto her and was trying to stop her from spilling its secret. It was time to consult someone on this matter, should the worst be true.
The day at last came to an end, and once Helena went to bed, she felt the invisible bonds disappear. The black lines on her skin vanished, and last, she could breathe and stretch fully. If Xavier kept his word, then he would not come into their room and Sophie would be safe tonight. She still had the card with her. She’d have to see if the deal would continue on the following day. If it did, what would happen? Would it be the ropes again? Or would it be something else? It didn’t matter; she had won this round. Her pride remained intact. She and Sophie said their evening prayers and went to bed, and finally, Helena got a good night’s sleep.
Chapter 5
The red-haired lass took a deep breath, holding the card in her hand. She was alone in her bedroom, just like before.
“Punish me.”
Nothing happened to her body, no ribbons or ropes sprouting from her collar. However, the text on the card changed.
GO SKINNY-DIPPING IN THE POOL TONIGHT AT MIDNIGHT. ALL THE DOORS WILL BE UNLOCKED.
She stared at the card, waiting for some horrible detail to emerge. Really? That was it? She just had to go skinny-dipping in the pool? Hell, that was barely even a trial. That was more like a summer camp dare. Sure, it would be awful if she got caught and being up so late on a school night wasn’t very appealing, but screw that. This would be easy! It seemed she had finally caught a break.
For once in what felt like ages, school seemed to pass by without dread or worry. Sure, Xavier was using Sophie as a hostage against her, but all she had to do was just go swim naked in the school pool. As long as she did that, Sophie would be fine, and hopefully, Xavier wouldn’t do anything to mess with her. That certainty was a huge weight off her shoulders. As the day wore on, she found herself imagining the night to come more and more and even thinking that maybe, just maybe, it would be a little fun.
Helena thought it would be difficult to keep from falling asleep, but instead she was incredibly restless. She hated the idea of breaking the rules and getting caught, but she was actually kind of excited. At quarter to 12:00 with Sophie out like a log, Helena put on some spare clothes and snuck out of her dorm room. Strange, the last time she had done something like this was when she went to the church and Xavier revealed himself as the Antichrist. She made her way across campus, being as quiet as possible and avoiding any signs of staff or students awake like her.
She reached the gym, and as the card had promised, all the doors were unlocked. She entered the poolroom and smiled. The sides of the pool were lined with lights that she had never noticed before, creating shifting hues that painted the dark ceiling while the air itself was heavy with night’s shadow. It was beautiful, stunningly even. The chlorine pool that she had swam in hundreds of times before now looked like a glimmering spring from the Garden of Eden, or some crystalline oasis deep beneath the earth.
Standing at the edge, she slowly took off her clothes. She felt incredibly nervous, unable to stop imagining the bleachers being lined with spectators. It took a dozen looks around the room for her to gain the confidence to slip out of her bra and panties. Completely naked and shivering in anticipation, she looked to the clock up on the wall. Both hands struck 12 and her collar activated, telling her that the time had come. Taking a deep breath, she took a step back and then jumped. She hit the water in a perfect dive, sliding in like a dagger. The feel of the water against her naked body shocked her like a bolt of lightning and she writhed beneath the surface, overcome with this new, blissful sensation.