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I ’m standing in front of Roy, my eyes fixed on his terrified, blood and cum covered face as he sits bound and helpless in the chair. My hand tightens around the dull glass shard, the same one I used to carve those words into his skin. The words that will forever be a reminder of his cruelty, of the pain he’s inflicted on those he’s supposed to love.

As I look at him, I feel the burning, fiery rage coursing through my veins. It’s a rage that’s been building, fueled by every scream, every tear, and every plea for help that he surely inflicted. My heart is pounding in my chest, and my breath comes in quick gasps as I try to calm myself down.

“We need to end this. Now, Nova. End his sorry excuse of a life. Give them peace.”

Peace. Freedom.

No more fear.

I glance down at Roy’s cock, and my stomach twists with disgust. That thing has brought so much pain and suffering to his wife. It’s a symbol of his power, of his control over those who are weaker than him.

And now, it’s going to be the instrument of his downfall.

I take a deep breath and reach for the knife that lies beside me on the floor. It’s sharp—so sharp and it gleams in the dim light of the room. I can feel its weight in my hand, solid and reassuring. We’ve done this many times, but this time feels different. This isn’t just for my own twisted pleasure. This is for that woman, all women who have ever been beaten, abused, and raped.

Raising the knife, Roy struggles against his bonds. He knows what’s coming, and he’s trying to escape. But it’s too late for that. He should have thought of that before he laid hands on those who trusted him. Before, he thought he was just going to get away with a quick fuck and move on with his life.

“Are you ready? Time for the final act, Roy. Curtains are up and it’s show time!”

My hand trembles slightly as I position the knife at the base of Roy’s penis. This is it. This is the moment of truth.

With one swift motion, I bring the knife down and slice through the flesh. Roy screams as blood spurts from the wound, but I’m beyond feeling any kind of remorse or pity for him. His penis lies limp and lifeless in my palm, now free from its owner. “Not much of a man now, are you?” I laugh maniacally, dangling the flaccid, bloody appendage in front of his face.

“You fucking psycho bitch!” He throws the chair back, and it lands with a loud thud on the dusty wooden floor, dust lifting into the air.

“Makes the next part easier, I suppose.”

True.

I circle around him and kick out the bottom of the chair, leaving his arms still bound but his lower half exposed. Roy chokes back another scream as he realizes what I’m about to do next. His eyes are wide with terror as I straddle his waist, the warm blood pulsing from his body onto my thighs.

With a sick sense of satisfaction, I force open Roy’s mouth using both hands, prying apart lips and forcing my fingers inside past his teeth to push his jaw downward. Widening the space, I shove the severed appendage in and he begins to choke, saliva spilling out from the sides of his mouth, and I keep pushing it down.

His face is a mottled red as his air constricts, his throat flexing around his pathetic cock. Roy’s muscles tense and jerk underneath me as he struggles to breathe. “Does it feel good to choke on that manhood of yours? The worthless little prick that you used to incite fear into the woman you promised to love and cherish?”

I grab the knife and position myself between his legs, thrusting the blade into his ass. The skin around his mouth is turning a purple-grayish color, his arms still bound to the arms of the chair. But that doesn’t stop the wild spasmodic jerking movements of his chest and legs. I can see the terror in his eyes, the desperation as he realizes that he’s going to die. It’s a look that I’ve seen before, a look that I’ve witnessed in the eyes of other men I’ve killed.

“We’ll see it again and again. Until there are no more for us to kill.”

But right now, it’s Roy who is experiencing the justice I’m giving. It’s Roy who is feeling the weight of his own cruelty come crashing down on him.

And as I watch him struggle, I can feel a sense of satisfaction growing inside me. It’s karma coming full circle. Roy has spent years inflicting pain and suffering on those around him, and now he’s experiencing it for himself.

I pull my knife from his ass and watch as the blood pools around him. His body starts to convulse more violently now, his limbs thrashing about as he tries to break free from the restraints. But it’s no use. He’s trapped.

The life draining out of him, that spark fading from his eyes as oxygen deprivation takes its toll on his brain and body. His movements are slowing, becoming weaker. “Women are a gift, Roy. And all you men do is take, take, take. You never think that someday it will come back and literally fuck you in the ass. That it just might be the last thing you ever do. You selfish pigs break the minds of the goddess you were given the honor of protecting, and you expect to get away with it.”

The room falls silent except for the sound of his labored gasping and wheezing. The very last remnants of life are slipping away from him. Roy stares up at the ceiling, with his unblinking glassy eyes, of the broken shell of what he was.

With sweat dripping from my brow, I finally have his body positioned the way I want. The petechiae is visible as his eyes are frozen in horror from choking to death. His face is blue and purple and his mouth hangs open; his bloody, severed cock is a waiting surprise for the police. “Just wait until the medical examiner does the autopsy, all the words carved into his skin. And what you did to his ass, if I could be a fly on the wall in the room for it! Now for the little note. What should we say?”

I don’t respond; instead, I take my fingers, dipping them in his blood and write on the wall, directly above his body.

“You use us to satisfy your needs. You breed us to carry your children, then you break us. You leave us with broken minds, spirits, and hearts. Now is the time where we make you bleed. Where we break you. Beneath her skin, a woman carries the wounds of generations and the only way to right what’s been wronged is with blood."

“Nice touch.”

You think? I’m going for a warning that packs a punch.

“We just need to get rid of his car and make it through Inferno tomorrow night, then we will get the fuck outta here. Where’s the next stop again?”

Some bum fuck town in North Carolina. So far enough from here.

“Let’s just wait until then to fuck someone. I know it’s going to suck but let's get out of dodge first. We don’t look good in orange.”

I hate when you’re right.

“You love it. Don’t lie to yourself.”

Fuck you.

“Cunt.”

Back at the carnival grounds, I make quick work of getting myself cleaned up in my trailer. The other female performers were waiting for me when I came back, asking if I was okay and if I needed anything. Even Cade and a few of the men were waiting to make sure I was okay. They helped me get rid of his car and once I was clean, I crashed out for the rest of the morning until I needed to get up for the show tonight.

We’re like one giant fucked up family. Coming from all different walks of life, but brought together because we are all outcasts in some way. Every one of the women here has a story. Every man is running from something. Usually themselves and who they used to be.

When the light finally creeps in through the curtains of my trailer and sweat coats my body from the stifling heat, I glance at the clock and see that it’s already three in the afternoon. “Ugh,” I say aloud, burying my face back in the pillows.

“Let’s get through the show and then we can leave.”

Food. I need to eat something first.

A bowl of sugary cereal sits before me as I relive the events of last night, smiling to myself at how much he suffered. A sharp tap on the door startles me and a small wave of panic hits. I stand and cross the short distance from the booth to the door.

“What do you want?” I shout, pulling my knife from my pocket, flicking it open.

“It’s just me,” Cade says. “Can I come in?”

Do I have to?

“Technically, no. But it wouldn’t hurt.”

Fuck.

I push the door open and step aside to let him in. He has papers in hand and I’m sure it just has to do with the show tonight. “What can I do for you this hot as balls morning, Cade?” He chuckles and flips through the papers in his hand, selecting one and thrusting it toward me.

“Set changes; I need you to fill in. And I’m just checking on you.” Cade reaches out with his free hand and pushes my hair back.

“You know I don’t like being touched.” I growl, shoving his hand away.

“I know. But your hair is crazy and I was just fixing it.”

“Please! You know he wants to fuck you.”

“You’re like a brother to me, Cade. An annoying brother.” I roll my eyes and take the paper back with me to the booth so I can finish eating.

“A brother you could fuck.” He wiggles his eyebrows, and I gag.

“So can I ask?” He leans against the small L-shaped counter, staring at me.

“About what?” I say nonchalantly as I shove a spoonful of cereal in my mouth.

“What did he do? Didn’t want to fuck you or something?” Cade raises his eyebrow. The fucker knows that I’ve never been turned down by any of the men I’ve gone after.

I set the spoon down and turned to look at him. “He was at family night with his wife and son, flaunting his wife’s bruised neck, salivating over every pussy he came across and then when I confirmed with the woman that he hurt her... I mean, her body was covered in bruises, Cade. It was disgusting. I had to... I had to make sure that they could go home last night and be safe.”

Cade just stands there and listens. Nobody knows the horror I grew up in, not even Cade, but he knows I have issues with men, intimacy, and touch. “So I came onto him and had him come back and well... I did what I do.”

“He sounded like he was a real piece of shit. That woman and her kid will probably have a much better life now because of you.” Cade shifts and pulls himself from the counter. "Okay, so about tonight, do you think you can handle the switch? I can see if someone else can do it if you’re not in the right headspace.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “When have I ever not been able to handle it?”

“The audacity of him to even think that.”

Right! What a dick!

“I’m just giving you the option to rest. You deserve it.” Ugh…gross.

“Don’t baby me, Cade.” I groan as I turn back to my cereal.

“Okay, well, be ready by four thirty then.” Cade turns to head back out the door when I remember...

“Hey, wait a sec.” And he pauses. “I–I’m gonna leave when my sets are done. To head to the next location. I don’t want to be here when... well, you know.”

“The directions and address are on the paper. I kinda figured that you would head out. And Nova,” he turns back around to look me in the eye. “I hope you know that you're always gonna be safe here, with me and all of us. If they come asking questions, just know that we’ve got your back. We’re family.”

“Family that fucks each other every chance they get.”

Stop, he’s being kind.

Softie.

"Alright, we have a little bit of time before we have to be at the main tent. Get shit ready to go; hook up the trailer so when we are done we can dip out of here.”

You don’t have to tell me twice.

Three Days Later

“Report’s say that the body of Roy Teller was recovered from an old abandoned shack on the outskirts of the nature preserve. The body was mutilated with words carved into the flesh, among other disturbing things. The police have already cleared the man's wife, Sandra Teller, as she was with her child at her mother’s house all night. The police are urging the public to come forward if they have any information that can help catch the murderer.”

The news report blasts over the radio as I drive to the next location, smiling to myself. Wondering to myself what the look on the faces of the detectives who found Roy’s body must have been.

“Do you think any of them threw up? Or maybe they grabbed their own dicks, thinking about how much it must have hurt to have it cut off.”

I can only imagine.

As I listen to people come on to say how sad they are that he’s dead—all men, of course—I'm angry, and I am unapologetic. For too long, women have been silenced, marginalized, and oppressed, but with every man I kill, I change the narrative that we are the weaker sex. I am tired of being expected to be sweet, submissive, and silent, while the men in this world are allowed to be loud, aggressive, and dominant.

Fuck that!

I am loud, fucking feral, and dominant.

No man stands in my way. Come try me, motherfuckers, and I promise you, you’ll meet the end of my blade.

I switch the station and laugh as Otep’s “ Menocide ” starts up. I scream the lyrics along with her as I drive down the highway, windows down, with the wind blowing through my hair.

“How fitting.”

You’re telling me! It’s like the universe knew I needed a theme song. This one hits so hard.

“So what’s next for us? Please tell me once we get there we can find someone to fuck because we need to scratch that itch.”

We’ll see what this little town has to offer us. Maybe we can find a pretty face to sit on while we wait for everyone else to show up.

“We’re still gonna kill them though, right?”

Absolutely.

To Be Continued...