Interlude Eight: The Breaking, Part 2


    Alyx came to, and the first thing she noticed was that she was naked. How in hell? Her clothes were ripped and on the ground next to her, and, for a little, she felt nothing, her numbness assaulting her.


    Then every sense slammed into her, and all she could feel was trauma.


    First sense: pain. The stab wound that had stopped bleeding but still hurt like hell. Her smashed in face and her broken foot all sent spikes of pain through her that kept her groaning.


    Then she noticed the goons were gone. That combined with her nakedness told her she was right in thinking what she had.


    And so came the second sense: horror. She puked on the ground as she felt the trauma of it all erupting inside her like one of the goons. She was starting to remember now how she had woken up…there he was…she’d struggled feebly but he’d been stronger…she fell unconscious as he groped her.


    Now she had to live with what happened. Shivering, she began to pull her tattered clothes on, aware of how they didn’t cover her breasts. Clearly, the goon had started there. Her sword was untouched somehow; she’d assumed the goons would’ve stolen it. She made an effort to stand up, but her foot screamed at her, lances of pain spiking through her body and she collapsed on the ground, whimpering, crying.


    Oh, gods! Aster, please be okay, I hope Rosie is safe.


    Using her sword as a crutch, Alyx stood up again. A voice screamed at her from across the alleyway and she started to find an unfamiliar woman running to her.


    “Are you okay?” The woman asked. “What happened?”


    “Cutpurses,” Alyx groaned, her voice raspy, her throat hurting. “They took my purse, and then they—” She choked as she remembered what happened once again, and more tears blossomed.


    “Oh, honey,” The blonde woman said,  embracing her and leading her forwards. “That’s horrible! I am so sorry. Where are you going?”


    “I need to go to the cabin near the woods. It’s close to the Vanguard grounds.”


    “I can take you there,” The woman said. “I have a carriage nearby. Come with me.”


    Leading her away, the blonde woman looked in disgust at the alleyway as they passed. True to her word, the woman did have a carriage parked nearby, and Alyx strode in, her breath labored and self-conscious of her bared skin.


    “You can stay here,” The woman said. “I’ll drive the coach. I won’t pry into your life, I’m sure you don’t want to talk about it.”


    “How did you find me?” Alyx asked her, curiosity burning through her. “Why were you there? Who are you?”


    “I’m just a simple merchant,” The woman said. “My name is Juli, and I was passing through here because a friend of mine lives not two blocks from where you got…attacked. I’m glad I got there, but I wish I’d got there sooner.”


    “It’s not your fault,” Alyx responded, curling in herself. “I should’ve been more careful.”


    With a grunt, the woman closed the door, and soon the carriage was on its way.


    Alyx’s thoughts were only on the attack and the aftermath. She couldn’t even begin to say what had happened to her. The pain, the feeling of something inside that shouldn’t be. How rough he had been with…


    She touched her red and scarred breasts, cringing at the touch and grimacing. She continued to cry. Degraded, that’s what she was. Just a toy someone had used. Not a woman, but an object.


    “What happened to me?” She whispered under shaky breaths. “What happened to me?”


    It became her mantra as the journey continued through the streets of Magefell. Alyx felt nothing but pain and sorrow and it haunted her.


    Finally, they arrived at the Vanguard grounds, and the woman let her out.


    “Can you go forward on your own or do you need my help?” Juli asked, being careful to let Alyx step in the right places.


    “I think I’ll be fine,” Alyx got out before choking again, the feel of the man’s hand wrapped around her neck back again.


    “Well, I hope you recover well,” Juli told her. “There are bad men in our world and what happened to you was an injustice.”


    “Aye,” the Warrior told her, stumbling away, her sword a crutch. With a sigh, Juli rode away, keeping an eye on Alyx who covered her exposed skin.


    The trip to the cabin shouldn’t have been long but, injured as she was, it took double the time. When the cabin loomed into view, Alyx breathed a sigh of relief, her sore body complaining to her about the trek. The door was open, strangely, and a feeling of unease began in Alyx’s stomach, but she forced it down.


    When she walked in, she found the place empty.


    “Hello!” She called. “Aster? Rosie? Please be here!”


    She groaned and stumbled to the ground, where she screeched in pain. Her sword escaped her grasp, rolling for a few feet before stopping on the other side of the room. A shadow loomed over her, and she craned her neck to see a goo leaning over her, his smile wide and malicious, and a knife in his hand.


    “Well, well, well. Look what just fell in my web,” He lifted his knife and grabbed her hair. She flinched, remembering what had happened to her. “You will do for a good trade.”


    The door to the other room of the cabin slammed open and a figure rushed through it, slamming into the goon, who fell backwards. Alyx herself fell forwards to the ground once more, and her head hit the ground hard. Spitting blood, Alyx felt like puking again.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    “Are you okay, Al?” Was the last thing she heard before she lost consciousness.


    — — —


    Waking  once again, but this time someone was watching over her. Two someones. Aster stumbled forward as she saw Alyx open her eyes, but Rosie hadn’t noticed yet.


    “Alyx, what happened?” She asked. Alyx looked down and found herself on the bed, the covers were underneath her and her breasts were still exposed. She tried to cover herself, and Aster looked away.


    “Oh, Al, I’m so sorry, I should’ve done that, but I was so worried about you.” Gently, Aster pried the blanket from beneath her and covered her body.


    “It''s okay, I understand,” Alyx responded.


    “Awyx!” Rosie explained. “You’re awive.”


    “Dead woman walking, at this point,” She responded.


    “What happened to you?” Aster asked, her eyes fierce and angry. “Who did this to you? I should never have left you. I’m so sorry.”


    “It’s not your fault, you needed to protect Rosie,” Alyx groaned. “It’s mine for being stupid. When you left, I took on all the thugs, and I beat every single one, but I forgot about my dad. He beat me so hard, Aster. Broke my foot, smashed my face in. It was horrible. Then I lost all consciousness.”


    “Is there more?” Aster breathed, anger lurching through her. “Tell me there isn’t more.”


    “There’s more,” Alyx said. “I woke up for a second, and there were hands grabbing me, ripping my clothes. My neck, my chest. It…hurt. And then someone, one of the goons, I don''t know who, penetrated me.” She choked again, tears flowing freely once more as she sobbed. “I tried to struggle but…I failed, and he just raped me, Aster. He violated me so hard. I couldn’t escape.” She kept sobbing, gasps shaking her body as she relived the horrible experience. Aster embraced her once more, as did Rosie.


    “I’m so sorry,” Aster said. “I should’ve been there.”


    “I’m sowwy,” Rosie echoed.


    “It’s not your fault,” Alyx sobbed. “It’s all mine.”


    “Don''t say that,” Aster told her sternly. “You didn’t deserve that. I’ll kill them all.”


    “What happened to you?” the first warrior asked. “How did you protect Rosie?”


    “There was no one here, it was a ruse. The goons had been following me and attacked me here, but I beat them off. Every fifteen minutes they would come back, though, and so I couldn’t leave the cabin. They were lying in wait. I wanted to find you, and if only I’d tried to break free. The one I killed when you came in was the last one.”


    “You would’ve never been able to fight them and protect Rosie if you had tried to reach me,” Alyx told her. “It’s okay, I don’t blame you. How long was I gone?”


    “Almost five hours,” her friend said. “I’m so sorry,” She repeated.


    “I’ll be okay,” Alyx lied. “Maybe I should quit the Vanguard. I’m not strong enough to be a part of it.”


    “Don’t say that!” Aster exclaimed. “You’re the strongest woman I know. Hang in there, Alyx. I’ll get revenge for you. You just rest there.”


    “Okay,” Alyx said, and fell asleep promptly.


    — — —


    When she awoke once more, there Aster was, sitting beside her, holding her hand in the same position she had been when she had fallen asleep, except for one difference.


    Her shirt was covered in blood.


    “What did you do?” Alyx asked weakly, staring at her bloody shirt.


    “I couldn’t find the one raped you, but I sent him a message,” Aster responded simply. “I will kill him one day. He won’t get away with what he did.”


    “Just let it go,” the bruised warrior answered. “I want him to see justice too, but I doubt we’ll ever find him again.”


    “No,” the black-skinned girl exclaimed. “I need to repay myself for leaving you alone. He must die.”


    “Thank you, you’re very sweet,” Alyx told her. “But you don’t need to.”


    “I must.”


    “I think I need to see a healing mage,” she said, changing the subject abruptly. “If we could go back to the grounds, we could see the one Kol appointed.”


    “Hmm,” Aster grunted. “That’s a good idea. He can cure your head, your arm, and your foot.”


    “He can’t cure my trauma, but he can cure my ugliness.”


    Aster blanched. “That’s not what I meant at all.”


    “I know, I was just talking to myself.”


    “Can you walk?”


    “I think so, but not alone.”


    “I’ll help you there, obviously,” Aster said. “Where do we leave Rosie?”


    “What happened to the babysitter?”


    “Dead,” the other warrior responded. “Killed by the thugs.”


    “Damn,” Alyx cursed. “Well, we can’t leave Rosie here, not now that the cutpurses know about it. We’ll have to relocate.”


    “Where?” Aster paused. “I’ll take care of it. I’ll take her to the grounds with you, but leave before anyone can see her. I’d hate to leave you alone, but—”


    “It’s a good idea,” Alyx said. “Thank you, Aster.”


    “Of course.”


    Aster helped her up, and as they left the cabin, Rosie under Aster’s jacket, Alyx grabbed the Nullifier. She still wanted to figure out how it worked, even if she was too depressed to think.


    The return to the grounds was quick but painful for Alyx, and when they arrived, she breathed a sigh of relief. The man standing guard jumped when he saw her.


    “What happened?” He asked.


    “She got attacked,” Aster said. “Can you take her to the healer?”


    The man nodded, recognizing them both as warriors. Taking Alyx''s hand, he led her in.


    “Get well soon, Al,” Aster called, squirming due to Rosie under her jacket.


    “Thank you,” Alyx called and soon they were past her line of sight.


    The healing mage put her in one of the rooms of the medic ward and quickly went to work on her. Soon, Alyx felt healed on the outside. Sadly, her inside still felt wounded and raw, and she couldn’t shake the feeling of being sued and feeling useless anymore.


    Not long after the mage left, Yue barged in.


    “What happened?” She asked, eyes blazing.


    “I got attacked by several people, and one of them beat me,” Alyx responded, looking away. “Then…” She paused, unable to talk about it. “Nothing. That was it.”


    “Don’t say that,” Yue told her. “The mage said that when he scanned you, it looked like you’d been—”


    “Can I just be alone, please?”


    Yue bit her lip but acquiesced, leaving the room in silent anger.


    Alyx hugged herself and the Nullifier, tears running down her cheek. She still couldn’t come to terms with what had happened to her.


    She’d been violated.


    For hours she sobbed, and even when Aster came back, she couldn’t find it in her to talk.


    She felt hollow inside. Dead.


    She cried long into the night.