บท 28: Victim of the Butterfly Effect

-----------------------------------------------

Warning to Readers: The following chapter might be triggering for those who have experienced sexual assault.

-----------------------------------------------

"We just missed that tricky woman," scowled Armyka stepping out from the tear. "She saw us coming and ran!"

Chronos stepped out of the tear following her. She glanced down to see Athyne and Rey tied up and rolling on the roof of the hospital.

"Gadra is difficult," said Chronos, "otherwise we'd have apprehended her a long time ago. She has been evading us for millennia now. Being chased isn't new to her."

The roar of a motorcycle fading in intensity could be heard in the distance.

"What do you think she wanted from these two?," asked Chronos.

"My virginity," whispered Athyne still in shock, "Gadra took it ..."

Chronos's jaw dropped.

"Wha? ...," said Chronos looking at Athyne with disbelief. "She took YOUR virginity?"

"I knew it," said Armyka, "she is augmenting her mana through sexual mana cultivation techniques!"

"But this man isn't anything special," said Chronos, "why him? I don't feel anything from him."

"Lack of options," said Armyka, "and possibly a limited amount of time. Where is the closest anomaly other than Gadra?"

"The other nearest anomaly, is coincidentally in this building," said Chronos, " she is a patient."

"Then lets get her," said Armyka, "don't dabble! move!"

-- Ø --

Jade sat in an isolated room on a bed in the mental health ward of St Davids Hospital under close watch. She wore a white hospital gown, an untouched sandwich was sitting on her bed on a plastic plate. It had been one week since she'd been jumped and assaulted by three unidentified men while walking home alone. The police had told her that there wasn't anything they could do at the moment with no evidence or leads, but an 'investigation' was under way.

The night of the assault replayed in her mind. The feeling of helplessness she'd experienced still present. Images flashed of three men laughing, spitting in her mouth, calling her names, choking and beating her. She'd hoped that some god, superhero or white knight would appear to save her. However, no superhero appeared, no god struck them down, no matter how much she had screamed and hoped someone would save her, no one came.

The shouts and laughs of her rapists echoed in her mind.

"Quiet whore!"

"Keep crying! It turns us on more!"

"Ha HA ha HA Haaa!"

"Your screams make me hard!"

"You like it don't you, slut!"

"Ha HA ha HA Haaa!"

"It feels better when you struggle like that!"

"Dirty filthy little skank!"

"Ha HA ha HA Haaa!"

"Shut the fuck up and stop moving around!"

"Lick it all up!"

"Ha HA ha HA Haaa!"

"The bitch came!"

"Ha HA ha HA Haaa!"

The bruises on her body from the beatings she endured could still be seen. The pain from being so brutally violated while being held down could still be felt. The mental scars from being thoroughly disrespected and treated as less than human were fresh. Eight days ago she'd been a virgin ... and now something she'd been raised to cherish and save for someone she love had been stolen from her. She had been powerless to stop it. She couldn't even get justice for it in the aftermath.

Jade didn't remember who brought her to the hospital. She passed out during the assault from shock. When she woke up, after realizing what had happened, she refused to see any visitors and chose to be alone. She felt dirty, tainted, and filthy and no matter how much she showered she couldn't wash the feeling away. She had attempted to end her life due to mental anguish. A doctor saw, stopped her, and recommended she be isolated and kept under watch in the mental health ward until she calmed down.

No one understood.

No one cared.

This changed her physically, mentally and emotionally.

To add to insult, Jade experienced something she couldn't quite understand. In a heightened state of fear, during the assaulted, she orgasmed for the first time. It had been overwhelmingly strong, warm, pleasurable, and uncontrollable as it rippled throughout her entire body. It was something she could never admit or talk about with anyone. It left her with a deep sense of shame and guilt.

Had part of her enjoyed it?

During the assaulted, Jade had stopped fighting and let the men do whatever they wanted to her. She gave in ... and at a point even went along with it.

She couldn't talk with anyone to help sort out her feelings, because she knew they'd judge her for it.

There were no safe havens.

Every night Jade cried herself to sleep, ashamed.

Every night since the assault, she had nightmares, re-experiencing it. They caused her to orgasm and urinate. This lack of control only further fed her embarrassment.

Shame, confusion, anger, disbelief, anxiety, helplessness and guilt plagued her mind continuously nonstop. She had lost at least ten pounds since that day.

But the strongest of feelings that she experienced was HATE.

Pure clean hatred towards the men that had made her experience something she shouldn't have experienced.

An unforgivable, ruthless type of hatred.

"Is this the girl Chronos?," asked Armyka.

Jade looked up surprised, she hadn't seen or heard anyone enter the room. But these days, lost in self sorrow and emotions, Jade had not been all there. She missed things, so the surprise quickly wore away. Looking up, she saw a brunette girl with floppy dog ears and a red haired woman with cat ears.

"Yes," said Chronos.

"How did you get in here?," asked Jade sniffling, "get out. I told the doctors and my colleges I wanted time for myself."

Armyka's face contorted in an expression of rage as the hairs on her head began to stand up.

"You insolent littl-," stammered Armyka.

"She was assaulted by three men because of Gadra's time reset," said Chronos quickly cutting Armyka off, "in the prior timeline, Johan, the boy you sent to the pits, saved her from the three men."

Armyka's expression immediately relaxed as the anger left her face.

"I see," said Armyka, "ironic, Johan trying to save his parent not only ended in failure, but resulted in this girl being sexually assaulted. Poor, poor girl ..."

"What do you mean?," sniffed Jade, "Who is Johan?"

"I want you to come with us," said Armyka, "I can help you get those men who hurt you so badly. We know who they are, plus, you'll learn who he real culprit responsible for getting you assaulted was. A monster who caused you distress from the shadows. If you stay with me, nothing like this will ever happen to you again."

"Really? How?," asked Jade, "They won't let me out. I've tried to escape, but this room is watched pretty closely."

A seed of hope was planted in Jade. She was looking for salvation and justice and was desperate enough to trust complete strangers who appeared out of nowhere in providing it to her. Better to trust them than the police who seemed to have given up.

Revenge was now a possibility.

Jade would risk her life for the smallest chance of attaining it.

The space behind Armyka began to ripple and tear open.

Jade gasped at the sight. She had never seen anything like it before.

"That won't be a problem," said Armyka, "Come. I think we will get along well. You remind me of myself when I was younger."

Armyka took Jade's hand, gently raising her off the bed to her feet. Together, all three of them walked through the spatial tear leaving earth's realm. Unbeknownst to them a small glowing piece of dust that seemed almost alive followed them through the rift they'd just opened.

-- Ø --

Rey rolled on the roof of the hospital. She had managed to chew through her gag, and was now able to speak freely. Athyne laid on the floor next to her still tied up, but calm and composed.

"Steal a patient on my watch!?," growled Rey, "I don't think so."

Rey's muscles buldged and veins appeared on her forehead as the ropes holding her in place snapped apart.

Seeing his, sweat begin to drip down Athyne's forehead. He'd never seen anyone quite as strong as Rey before. This petite ditsy brown doctor was a monster.

Rey tossed Athyne over her shoulder and ran towards the rooftop door.

"Where are we going?," yelled Athyne, "you don't even know who they are here for!"

"No," said Rey, "but I'm guessing that person is in the mental health ward, where else would girls who ripped open the fabric of reality be going?"

Athyne let out a sigh, and said, "Very specific and unlikely. Wouldn't it be faster to leave me behind?"

"Two against one isn't fair," said Rey as she leaped forward, "I am going to need backup to fight these villains."

"Shouldn't you untie me if that's the case?," asked Athyne.

"You're a patient," said Rey, "you shouldn't be moving around unnecessarily."

Rey kicked open the door and quickly flew down the stairs. Soon, they were in the mental health ward of the hospital.

"There!," yelled Rey pointing at a door, "my doctor sense is screaming something is going on in that room!"

"This woman is crazy," muttered Athyne, "how didn't I see it before ... doctor sense isn't a real thing ..."

Rey's leg muscles bulged ripping the cloth around it and turning her pants into shorts.

Seconds later, she was leaping through the air towards the closed door.

"SCOUNDRELS!," hollered Rey, "Stop where you are or you'll regret it!"

Rey smashed through the door, shoulder first, like it like it was a piece of tissue paper flying right into the open spatial tear and taking Athyne with her.