Page 4 of Malachi
My eyes searched hers. There was no time left. No space for us to talk before the worst of it would unfold.
“I’m sorry.” I mouthed the words, her brow furrowing in confusion. And then she was pulled away from me.
“Today we have an important task to complete, my brothers in Christ,” the Reverend announced to the packed room. “Today we help to begin a new marriage. It is our job as Elders of this church and as God’s chosen disciples to guide this marriage into holiness through the act of both inspection and consummation.”
Oh, Jesus fuck, kill me now. I groaned inwardly, the Reverend’s words only adding to the sick feel of my stomach rolling and bubbling.
“We will begin with the inspection. Dr. Rivers, if you will,” the Reverend suggested, making room for the doctor, or so he called himself, to situate himself at the foot of the bed. It wasn’t even really a bed. It was a mattress with a single solid white sheet thrown over it. At the side of the mattress sat a single chair, while two others sat at the foot. Thoughts ran through my mind like a stone skipping over water, barely able to land on any particular thought.
“Mrs. Temple, if you would please lay back against this bed,” the doctor began, gesturing to the mattress in front of both of us. Her arm was still tucked into mine. For a moment, I could not let go. I held onto her, wanting nothing more than to pull her into my arms and get her the fuck out of here.
She turned to look at me; her face upturned, that soft smile still playing at her lips. She was full of innocence, and these pedophiles were about to steal it from her. They were about to take away her innocence, her childhood, her sense of wonder.
“Now just lie back, dear, and let the doctor do what he must. It will be unpleasant for a moment, but it is what the Lord commands,” the Reverend spoke in a soft tone, as though he were talking to a child. Because hewastalking to a fucking child. I didn’t know what to do with myself. Even with my brothers’ guidance, the path was unclear. I watched helplessly as Eden slowly obeyed the Reverend’s commands, laying down on the mattress on her back.
Was I supposed to stand back and watch, as all the other men did? Was I to sit by my new bride’s side while they manhandled and touched her under the guise of a doctor’s examination? I saw the chair beside the bed and decided that it didn’t matter what they expected of me. I wasn’t about to leave her to experience this alone.
I sat in the chair. It was small, too small for my large frame. Eden turned to look at me, the smile gone from her face as she felt the men’s eyes on her as surely as I did. Father stood next to Dr. Rivers, each of them taking one of her ankles and pulling her apart, spread eagle, on the bed. Her hand shot to mine, and I took it, feeling her small fingers clench around my own. I swore I could hear her pulse beating like a runaway drum. Her eyes were wide as Father pulled the skirt of her wedding gown up to her hips, the doctor’s hands moving up her thighs with far too much pleasure written on his face.
The room grew quiet as the doctor revealed her to the room. I did my best to not notice the way the men congregated towards the foot of the bed; lechers, every one of them. I felt my protective nature rise like a wild beast inside of me, urging me to rip them all apart, limb from limb. Instead, I thought to myself, what would Levi do? He had a much calmer way about him, an ability to keep his composure in the face of such despicable displays of heathens.
Rather than give in to my more animalistic natures as I yearned to do, I turned my chair to face my bride. My wife. Her hand clutched mine tightly. Her eyes, wide with fear, looked at me. For what? For protection? I couldn’t protect her here, much as I wanted to. For guidance? How could I guide her when I didn’t know what to do, either? For strength and comfort? That I could give her. And so I did, to the best of my ability.
What only took minutes felt like hours under the pedophilic scrutiny of the surrounding men. The doctor concluded his inspection as she clutched my hand.
“She is pure and fit for Christ’s holy sanctity of marriage,” Doctor Rivers announced to the room. Cheers rang out, along with applause. I started to help her to sit up, but Father quickly interjected.
“Don’t bother sitting up yet, dear. Your tasks are not completed just yet,” he stated with a leering smile. I felt a shiver go down my spine at the way he looked at her, at my wife.
“It is time for the consummation ceremony to begin,” Reverend Jacob said almost gleefully. The stone of potent emotion grew even heavier in my stomach. I had to assault this child in front of all of them. I knew she was eighteen at least, though that did little to comfort me.
“Son, take your place,” Father’s voice beckoned me from the foot of the bed. I looked down at her, at my bride, her eyes wide with confusion as she looked back at me. Squeezing her hand, I gave her what I hoped was a smile of comfort and assurance. I wasn’t sure if I’d hit my mark, however. I wasn’t accustomed to smiling, let alone being a source of comfort to someone. It felt foreign and more pantomime than honest.
I released her hand reluctantly, moving to stand with the Reverend, Father, and the doctor at the foot of the bed.
“It is time to become a true husband in Christ, Son,” Father whispered, clapping me on the back supportively. His beaming pride only sickened me further.
I looked down on her prone form, her skirts pulled up to her waist as she lay there naked from the waist down, a sacrifice laid for slaughter, like the stories from the Old Testament. I took a slow, deep breath, steadying myself for what I was about to do; what Ihadto do.
I had told myself that I could simply disassociate, turn off the thoughts in my head, and pretend I was anywhere else but here. Standing there, I realized that my brothers had been right. It wasn’t that simple, and it sure as fuck wasn’t that easy.
“Son?” Father’s voice called beside me, reminding me I could not stall any longer. I begrudgingly loosened my belt from my pants, unfastening them and pulling myself from their confines. I wasn’t going to just drop trou in front of everyone. Though a thought entered my mind, stopping me from continuing. Instead of letting them watch this poor girl, I could give them nothing more than the sight of my bare ass instead.
With a smirk, I fully dropped my pants to the floor, hearing the men behind me cough and clear their throats in response.
“Son, you don’t need to fully undress in order to fulfill your duties,” Father said. I could hear the uncomfortable tone in his voice, which only strengthened my resolve.
“I will fulfill my duties as I see fit, Father,” I responded tersely. I knelt at the foot of the mattress, then wrapped my hands around her thighs, pulling her further to the end of the bed as she gasped. My mind went to thoughts of play at Abditory, envisioning a sassy little minx running through the woods for me to chase her as I felt myself harden. I could do this. Iwoulddo this. I situated myself between her thighs as I felt her quiver beneath me.
I was completely flaccid. The thought of raping this poor girl took away any possibility of hardness. I closed my eyes, trying to imagine something,anything, other than what was actually happening in this god-forsaken room. Finally, bringing to mind a particularly steamy scene I had taken part in with a local submissive did the trick. I stroked myself to hardness, willing my body to complete the task at hand, while simultaneously sealing my ticket to hell.
I positioned myself at her entrance, bracing myself with both hands beside her trembling form as not to crush her. Just before I slid between her folds, her hands clutched at my forearms, where I held myself up.
“Please,” she murmured almost imperceptibly.
“I’ve got you,” I whispered back, and thrust forward as gently as I could. I was damned if I did, damned if I didn’t. As much as I wanted to take it easy on her, that would only prolong this horrific experience. I wanted to take my time, but that was simply not possible. As gently as I could, I broke through her innocence and buried myself in her wet heat. I had to take a moment to steady myself, her incredible warmth and tightness making it nearly impossible to hold on to my control.
I glanced at her face and saw her jaw clenched and eyes widened in pain and fear. I couldn’t stop the pain, but I could try to handle the fear. Pushing one of my arms beneath her slight form, I held her to my chest as I withdrew from her as carefully as I could.
