The Blacklisted Rogue
Chapter 31

Elijah POV

FLASHBACK

The gun trembled in my hand and I stared at him in shock. "Wh- who is she?" I asked.

"It doesn't matter." He said. "The less you know about someone, the easier it is to kill them."

I studied the woman, she seemed to be in her early twenties, had short brown hair cut in a fringe and dark brown eyes. She was wearing a torn shirt, dirty blue jeans and black boots. She was chained to the wall by her wrists and when I took a step forward she scurried the furthest she could get away from me.

A sob escaped her lips and tears trailed down her cheeks as she started to plead with me.

"Please, don't kill me... I'll leave and never come back, I promise."

"Do it now." My father ordered.

I raised the gun in my trembling hands and the woman sobbed louder, shielding her face with her hands.

My stomach churned and I felt my whole body struggle against what was asked of me.

We stood like this for a few minutes until my father snatched the gun away from me.

I heaved a sigh of relief, thinking that this was one of his tests.

"You are such a disappointment, Ampel" He muttered.

The fact that he didn't use my name but a nickname people jeered at me shattered my heart.

He pulled me out of the packhouse and to the whipping pole in the yard.

"Strip." He commanded.

I did as I was told and he tied me to the pole.

END FLASHBACK

“|

guess that was where pain stopped bothering me." I said. "Instead, I got used to it.

After he whipped me, he left me tied to the pole without any clothes on. He didn't care that it was mid spring and the nights were cold or that everyone that came in and out of the packhouse could see me. The humiliation was worse than the beating." I shivered at the next part that I was about to tell her.

"In the morning, he took me back into the cell, gave me the gun and ordered me to kill her again. I couldn't do it. I just couldn't. She was crying and begged for her life. I knew nothing about her, but she didn't seem like a bad person that deserved to die. So once again, I refused. He tied me to the pole and whipped me again. When he was done, he left me there all day. I thought that he would let me stay there all night, but he came to get me in the evening. I hadn't had anything to eat all day and I was relieved that he had made dinner.

So, I sat down at the table and started to eat. But the food tasted weird, like nothing I had ever tasted before. So I asked him what it was and..."

I gulped and blinked rapidly to stop the tears from falling.

"And it was Layla."

Sally gasped and stood up.

"No." She whispered.

I nodded and looked down.

"How could he be that cruel?" Sally cried.

I looked up and saw the pain in her eyes. I regretted immediately that I told her this.

"I'm sorry." I said. "I shouldn't have told you about this. Maybe we should go back home."

Sally took my hand.

"Have you ever told anyone about this before?" She asked.

"Not really, no." I shrugged.

Sally sat down again, a new determination in her eyes.

"Then let it all out." She said. "It might be gruesome and horrible, but you survived it. It's time to let it all out."

She squeezed my hand reassuringly and I decided to continue.

"After that, my grief filled me with some kind of determination. If I gave in and killed her, then Layla would have died for nothing.

Every day for a week, he took me to her cell, gave me the gun and told me to kill her. Every time, I refused.

I lost count of how many times he whipped me. Fortunately the wounds would heal in between, otherwise I think that whip would have skinned me alive.

The last day he led me to the cell, there were three other men there."

FLASHBACK

I heard the screams the second my father opened the door to the dungeon. They grew stronger in sound the closer we got to her cell. There were few other prisoners there at the time so there was no doubt that it was her.

When we walked into the cell, I saw three men taking turns r@ping her.

One of the men was buried inside her, thrusting hard while she wailed and begged him to stop. Another forced a metal ring in her mouth to open up her jaw. Then the third grabbed her hair to hold her head in place while he shoved his d**k down her throat. The woman gagged and squirmed to get away from him.

Instinctively, I took a step back, but my father stopped me.

"This is what happens when you hesitate." He growled. "If you had just put her out of her misery when I told you to, she wouldn't have to suffer like this."

I sighed. I could withstand a lot of pain to keep her alive, but I couldn't ask the same thing of her.

"I'll do it." I said, trying my best to sound confident. "But I will do it alone. Could you all wait outside?"

My father grabbed my shirt and pulled me close to himself.

"We'll give you your privacy, but if she's not dead when you walk out of here, then you will wish for death yourself." He hissed.

They quickly left the room and soon we were left alone in the cell.

The woman had crawled into the furthest corner. I saw the blood smeared on her thighs and trembles that rippled through her body.

I slowly made my way over to her and crouched down in front of her.

"I'm sorry." I whispered.

I tried to force myself no to cry, but a tear slid down my cheek.

The woman reached out her hand and wiped it away.

"What is your name?" She asked with a low voice.

"Elijah." I replied.

"Hi Elijah, I'm Sarah."

"I'm sorry, Sarah." I cried. "I don't know what to do."

Sarah cupped my cheek and looked into my eyes.

"You have nothing to be sorry about." She said. "I know that they hurt you because you don't want to hurt me. It's not your fault."

"I don't know what to do." I said. "I don't want to kill you, I don't want them to hurt you and I have no way of getting you out of here."

Tears streamed down Sarah's cheeks, but she remained calm.

"It's okay. You did everything you could. I have started to accept that I will not make it out of here alive."

She gently pulled me into a hug.

"You don't have to fight for me anymore. I'll be okay." She said.

I hugged her tightly before I pulled away.

"Just promise me something." She whispered.

"What?" I asked.

"They are trying so hard to make you a monster. But I've seen that you clearly aren't. Don't let them succeed. Hold on to your soul. Don't lose yourself in all this. Remember that, okay?" I nodded.

"I promise." I mumbled.

Sarah smiled and fresh tears spilled from her eyes. She took a shaky breath and exhaled slowly.

"Okay, I'm ready." She said.

"I'll make it quick, okay." I said.

"Thank you." She replied. "For everything. I'm sorry that you have to be the one to do this."

I smiled at her and pulled her into another hug.

I knew how to do it. I knew how to kill someone swiftly. I promised Sarah that I'd be quick about it, so I chose the quickest, most painless method that I could think of.

Before she could react, I grabbed hold of her head and snapped her neck.

When her dead body fell to the ground, I prayed to the Moon Goddess to forgive me for what I had done. I also prayed that Sarah was welcomed in her realm with warmth and kindness. And lastly, I prayed and asked that she would give Layla to Sarah to keep her company.