Getting to know the new
March 5, 2024 at 6:20 AM
Waking up was almost fine, if only left shoulder hadn’t gotten stiff and started to tediously, nastily ache. Sleep gave her strength and washed away the memories of the past two days to a hazy state. She sat up on the mattress, found she’d fallen asleep right in her hiking cloak, and took it off. She sat for a while, thinking slowly, reluctantly. She looked around the room: a crate, a table with a book on the edge, a satchel near the mattress. There was something unpleasantly unsettling, but she couldn’t tell, what exactly it was. Still unable to make out that strange sucking sensation, she folded her cloak, tucked it away in a drawer, reached into her satchel, pulled out the remaining apples, and set them on the table. All the other food they had eaten on the way back to the Underground City. There was still a nearly empty bottle of alcohol, a jar of leftover ointment, and a clean shirt in the bag.
She hadn’t changed it in the Orvud, because she feared Jim’s wound would open and clean scraps of cloth would be needed. Carefully placing the vials in a drawer along with her satchel, Kiva took off her dirty shirt and put on a clean one. She walked over to the table. If she had free time, lots of free time, why not read this book? She read diligently for the next hour, enjoying the process more than, what was written on the parchment pages. The first fifteen minutes of reading annoyed her, then she got used to it. The thing was a diary with sheets of newspapers attached. It was an ordinary black-bound diary, but to her it was a real book. The girl turned the pages very carefully, afraid that the enclosed clippings would fall out and the manuscript would lose its order.
The diary, obviously, belonged to a man. He described his thoughts, some events, it seemed he lived in Shingashin. Due to the fact, that Kiva was reading for somewhere around the third time in her life, with the exception of the innkeeper’s lessons, grumbling a couple times, she had to reread the lines over again. She could read the words, but the meaning didn’t always settle in her head. So she read with more diligence. From the notes, Kiva realized, that the man had no family, and that he was working on some kind of device. There were even sketches on the pages. An hour of reading went by slowly, and by the end Kiva was tired of it. She closed the journal and put it down on the table. Despite the slight headache, the girl felt encouraged. She was really interested in the story, eager to find out what happened next, but her body was stiff and needed activity.
She stepped out of her house into the yard, stretched, moved her left arm, checking which movements were more painful. She had bandaged her side tightly and was now ready to begin the warm-up, that would turn into some sort of workout. A small jog in a tiny circle, a couple jumps, a couple sprints from a squat position. Tumbling and rolls she didn’t dare to get to yet. After warming up, she decided to stretch her ligaments, resting her feet alternately against the wall of her barn as she reached for the ground.There was a problem with her right leg, her side protested against such a thing, but her body needed that kind of exertion, so she very carefully pulled herself down. Suddenly memories of that night flashed through her mind, and she remembered some of the killer’s movements. “Why not?”, she said to herself and began to repeat them.
At first, separate fragments, then sticking them together. So far, it was not so good, but the girl was sure, that when the injuries passed, she would be able to repeat these movements and bring them to automaticity. This thought satisfied her quite well. She went into the house and only there did she discover that the bandage on her shoulder was soaked with blood. “Wow, I was so engrossed I didn’t notice it.” Kiva removed the bloody cloth and tossed it into a corner, searched in the drawer for a new one and bandaged the wound. “It’s good to do nothing, almost as good as being in business,” she thought, wondering what else she could do this day. She didn’t feel like going out. For lack of anything better to do, she went back to reading, diligently reading that story. She read, that the man was hiding, apparently from the police, because of his inventions, the purpose of which remained a mystery to Kiva.
It was written down, that if the man could get hold of Karl Picker, she had no idea who he was, the invention could benefit everyone in the fight against the Titans. On one of the newspaper clippings was written about the murder of some man, and next to it, in a very different, new handwriting, was written: “Police business, haven’t seen him for a week.” Later she noticed, that the diary belonged to the same man, she called him the inventor, for she could not find his name on the pages, if the date was to be believed, almost forty years ago. The second lived later, as evidenced by the dates on the newspaper pages. The story fascinated and fascinated her. The very idea, that she could learn about events so old, almost from the source, was amazing. As she read, she lost track of time and soon could only think about, what she was reading.
Closing the book somewhere in the middle, the girl leaned back against the wall, gazing thoughtfully out the window on the ceiling. She suddenly wanted to walk the streets, to reflect fully. Sitting down to process this information was even unpleasant. Kiva stood up, put the journal on the table, picked up an apple, and walked out of the house. The streets were not crowded, the time was lost, and the girl walked slowly, absorbed in her thoughts. Her mind was blinded by what she had read. The world on the surface, walls, titans, people fighting not only with them, but also with some people inside the walls. “Wow, even back then the police had such scoundrels,” she thought, munching on an apple, that was sweet and very tasty. Thoughts flashed through her head. The walk was soothing in its monotony and allowed her to put thoughts in order. Suddenly, some kind of insight flashed through her mind with a lightning bolt. “What are you doing around the tavern?”. Really, what?
She stopped suddenly, the unpleasant sensation intensifying. She didn’t notice, as she went from the quiet streets to the busier ones. She was dumbfounded, it was the first time something like this had happened to her. Kiva turned around and walked backwards, the feeling of unease didn’t go away. “What was I thinking, when I went out?!” she berated herself for being so careless. It was dangerous all around. She was more than confused and hurried very much to safety, to notice the absence of a splinter between the boards of the fence. It was lying on the ground. She walked through the fence, the subconscious feeling of unease no longer just pressing, it was biting into her heart. She couldn’t understand why, but something was definitely wrong.
She looked around in suspense — nothing new, almost nothing. The door of the house was slightly open. Kiva couldn’t remember, if she had closed the door tightly or not. Her heart was beating frequently. “It’s just fear of the door being ajar. You’re winding yourself up,” the girl tried to calm down, to fight the anxiety. The flimsy door set in the crooked walls could have opened on its own. She slowly approached it and pushed it open. And before she saw the person in her house sitting quietly on the table, instinct had already told her, who was with her right now.
“You’ve been out a long time, and I’m starting to miss you,” Kenny smiled smugly, wide as a predator.
His hat was on top of his coat, which was folded neatly on the table. Kiva stood on the threshold of her home, which had become a trap for her now.
Apparently, the shock and amazement, which was beginning to turn to fear, made the man laugh even more. He laughed bassily, rising to his feet and rolling up his shirt sleeves. His eyes glowed with an excitement unknown to her.
“Am I shocking you like this? Didn’t I tell you, I’d see you again?”
His approach was like the sound of a gunshot on a deer. Kiva jumped away from the door, increasing her distance from the looming threat. Kenny didn’t seem to be bothered at all by this, but he was already walking slowly out of the house and toward her. The girl retreated to the fence, amused, but suddenly the familiar yard seemed completely unknown and different. She didn’t want to turn her back. It was like turning your back on an wild animal, that was about to jump at you. She had to back up, keeping her eyes on Kenny. He was even relaxed, as if he wasn’t worried, as if he knew exactly, how this was going to end.
“I can’t turn my back on him, not in time to get through the gap in the fence. It’s suicide now. I need to distract him for at least a few seconds, then maybe I can run to the wall of the building and climb the fence from there,” her instincts were already kicking in, driven by panic. She ducked and started to move to the right, toward the wall of the building, searching for a rock on the ground and unraveling the loose end of the slingshot from her left hand. She might well throw it at Kenny, if she was lucky and had time. The man noticed the change in her trajectory and in her face, the shock giving way to concentration. He moved even closer, close enough to make the leap himself. He knew, that if he did, the girl would jump to the right, as evidenced by the fact that she had stopped backing up and was moving purposefully in that direction. And he was ready for have some trouble from her, he remembered her clearly from the night before.
The man was still smiling, but his eyes became more serious and focused, he didn’t want to relax and miss a piece like this. What could be better, than a fare captured victim?
“So what do you think you’re up to, little one? We both know you’re not going to get out of here.”
Kiva had already found, what she was looking for so frantically. A small rock. She put the stone into the slingshot with a practiced motion and straightened up. The man’s next step forward was a signal, and she threw the stone at Kenny’s face, aiming it at him without twisting the sling. Without waiting for the stone to reach its target, the girl rushed to the wall, jumped on it, pushed off, jumping higher, clinging to the top edge of the fence with her hands. All or nothing.
She was about to push her legs off the fence and swing over the barrier, when pain pierced her right wrist. The knife whistled next to her arm, cutting into it. She jerked her hand away in pain and suddenness, her left hand slipping treacherously, and Kiva began to fall on her back. Well, she had some time to think and realize, what had just happened. Apparently, she didn’t hit Kenny, or she did, but slightly, so he was able to throw the knife. Hit the ground, her breath hitched, pain flared in her side, sparks flew from eyes, blood trickled from hand.The man jumped up to her, blood dripping from his left ear, and if he had been calm before, he was furious now. Such a trick infuriated him. He kicked her right side with his boot, not as hard as he could, she cried out. He leaned over and hissed in her face:
“You think you’re the only one that’s so quick, bitch?”
He smelled like tobacco smoke, and even if she wanted to, she couldn’t answer him. The impact took the air out of her lungs, and she lost her focus. He grabbed her by the scruff of her shirt and dragged her into the house.
When she came to her senses, they were already on the doorstep, the girl started kicking and lashing out. Kenny, without ceremony and without paying any attention to these flutters, threw her against the wall near the mattress. This time, without giving her the slightest chance to come to her senses, he walked over, squeezed her wrists into one of his hands. There was a grin and something else on his face again. Anticipation? That was frightening. He bound her hands with her own slingshot. Took her by the hair at the back of her head and pulled her up so that their eyes crossed:
“Can’t you swing that thing now?” he asked mockingly.
She tried to pull away, wringing her hands in some insane hope of freeing them. That made him laugh again:
“You know you won’t get out, unless I want you to, you’re a smart girl. Although, you know, your fluttering is kind of a turn-on. Squirm if you want to.”
And he threw her off him and onto the mattress. His last words were like ice water on Kiva.
Yes, she knew, what sex was, but she’d been lucky to avoid that side of life in the slums. She didn’t want to get to know it. Fear echoed heavy in her lower abdomen, goosebumps running down her back. “No, no, no, no,” panicked thoughts ran through her head. The man’s hands were already leisurely unbuttoning her shirt. In desperation, she slumped on the mattress as his hands slid down her body. They were hot, they burned, she despretly wanted it all to stop. The rope of the slingshot was digging into her wrists, tearing the wound, but she didn’t feel the pain. Fear for the unknown, which was soon to be fully explored, overwhelmed her. It was desperate and helpless:
“Stop it! Don’t!”
Kenny pretended to be surprised, but then snapped back:
“I won’t even think about it, I’ll take, what I want.”
She brought her legs together and tried to push away the man, who was already hovering over her.
He watched her silently, even calmly, and then he slapped her across the cheek. Her head snapped to the side.
“I don’t like hitting women, especially across such a pretty face, but you’re making it worse for yourself, don’t get in my way.”
“He’s right, I’d better stay still, there’s nothing I can do now.” Her head remained in that position, her body covered with a small shiver. He hummed contentedly and lay on top of her, cradling her with his body. She could feel his excitement in her lower abdomen. It was more than enough for her to try to bring her legs together again, but the man wouldn’t let her, he was already positioned between her legs. Kenny unwound the cloth, she had used to cover her sore ribs and chest since morning. Her torso was now naked before his predatory gaze. He walked his hands over her belly and ribs, stopping at her breasts. It was just as he’d imagined, it amused him. The slight relief of her abs, the small, but firm breasts. No doubt he liked it all, to subdue, to break down any resistance. Especially when there was any real resistance.
He shifted his gaze to her face and neck. Her hair had fallen out of its usual ponytail and was now covering her face. He was equally turned on by the way she was trying to resist him and the fact that she’d stopped actively kicking. It was an unnecessary admission of inevitability. He ran his tongue along the tense neck, then sunk his teeth into the white skin, leaving his marks on it. He tortured the neck? until he decided she’d had enough of his marks. Kenny started to pull down the girl’s pants, noting that the girl only twitched, but did nothing.
“Good girl”, he said with a sneer in his voice.
But when he began to unbutton his pants, the shivering of the weak body under him intensified, and she tried to bring her legs together again.
He didn’t like it; he’d been patient for some time now, stretching his pleasure. Roughly he took her by the chin, sinking his thumb into her cheek, and turned her face toward him.
“I thought we’d just gotten past that. If you want to be fucked roughly, you’re welcome, I’ll like it better that way.”
He turned her onto her stomach, holding the back of her head, tucking her face into the mattress. She tried to rise, and he elbowed her between the shoulder blades. He was getting tired of messing around, thinking he’d already been too soft on this girl. He spit into his hand and rubbed the saliva over his cock. Letting go of her hair, he moved his hands to her hips and squeezed them painfully, leaving bruises. He leaned down to her face and whispered angrily:
“You wanted it that way.”
And entered her in one sharp thrust. Pain. Unfamiliar and humiliating.
The girl couldn’t hold back a short scream, she didn’t want to please her rapist with any cries or moans at all. She tried to jerk away from the movement inside her, but the man gripped her hips tightly, not allowing her to move away. Blood trickled down her legs. He hadn’t been careful. For Kenny, the fact, that the girl beneath him was a virgin, came as a small, but pleasant surprise. He frowned for a moment, but then grinned:
“Wow, at your age, slum rats getting fucked in the first alleyway.”
He began to move, not sparing her particularly, not giving her time to get used to the new feelings. He thrust roughly into the body beneath him, choosing the pace, that was pleasing to him. Kenny wanted to maximize his own pleasure. The vagina tight against his cock and squeezed tightly, giving him unparalleled delight. He moved quickly at first, satisfying the primal wave of hunger, then changed the pace to a slower, deeper one. These penetrations made the pain flare up inside, it was unpleasant and seemed to break from the inside out. Kiva bit her lip to keep from screaming.
She couldn’t tell, how much time had passed. She tried to ignore the hands, that were crushing her body, the cock that was tearing inside her. Tears lurked in the corners of her eyes. But she didn’t weep, she couldn’t afford to right now. Suddenly, his hands moved to her neck, cupping and squeezing. Kenny leaned into her face again, contemplating for a while, absorbing this moment, these sensations, the emotions on her face, then roughly dug into her lips. It was hard to call it a kiss. He ravaged her lips greedily with his teeth, until they bled. He caught her shriek and pulled away with a smile, licking his lips. The blood flowed from her lips to her chin in a thin trickle. She doesn’t want to cross his gaze, so she rests her face down. But Kenny doesn’t let her do that either, grabbing her hair roughly, preventing her from sinking into the mattress, and kept moving, forcing the girl to arch her back.
After a while, she felt his body shudder slightly, and he froze, pressing himself into her thighs. Vaguely the girl realized, that the man had cum, felt something spill inside her. The man stayed inside her for a while, catching the last moments of pleasure. Reluctantly he came out of her and loosened his grip. She didn’t move, gasping for breath, feeling the freedom of another man’s body. Kenny had already zipped up his pants, walked over to the table where he had left his coat and hat, took a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, and lit a cigarette. He felt good, he had always taken, what he wanted, and he thought, it was more than natural. He could take what he wanted, and tonight he wanted to feel this girl beneath him. He realized this, when he saw her walking down one of the streets of the Underground City last night, he decided to follow her. He had gone into her house yesterday without much difficulty or apprehension.
The girl was sleeping so deeply, that she didn’t wake up. He even looked around and opened the book, he was surprised by its presence. It was a good sign for him. And as he looked at Kiva, sleeping on the mattress at his feet, remembering their first meeting, the way she had behaved in battle, he realized, that he wanted her. That he wanted to play with her, maybe walk across the bridge of someone else’s composure, see, how she would react to proof of someone else’s power. It may not have gone the way he’d originally wanted, but it was undeniably worth it. In the meantime, Kiva found the strength to release her chafed hands, helping herself to untangle the rope with her teeth, and pulled her pants back on. Turning to him, she stared at the man with her eyes fixed on him.
He smoked for a while, thinking about something, then turned his attention to the girl, he had raped.
“Why do I get that look, little girl? I warned you not to interfere with me, but you asked for rudeness.”
He hesitated, and then, with a lecherous grin, added more quietly:
“You’re pretty good, and I hope, if I see you again, you’ll be more agreeable.”
He didn’t even doubt, that he would visit her again, maybe it wasn’t just about carnal satisfaction, but he left that thoughts for later. Kiva was in a state of mind that didn’t care. She couldn’t let her feelings out in front of him, she didn’t want to lose even more, she didn’t want to be weaker, than she already was. The man left, put on his coat and hat, spit out the rest of his cigarette, crushed it with his foot, and walked out.
It was a long twenty minutes before Kiva could scream and cry out loud. Tears choked her throat, her eyes stinging, her sight blurred with tears. It had been a long time since she had cried like that, and as she herself thought, she would never be able to sob like that again. The thought struck her as inappropriate and insanely funny. She was crying and laughing at the same time. She was hysterical. It was still a long time before she could calm down. Her head hurt and weighed a ton by then, her lower abdomen was unpleasantly sore. Her whole body and soul ached. It was in that little agony that she fell asleep, letting herself go towards the shadows of the oblivion, she so desperately needed right now.
