The boss's grip on Nine tightened, and I saw his eyes glint with cold satisfaction. "Enough of this," he said, his voice laced with cruel finality. "You're coming with me."
Nine didn't resist as he was pulled from the boss's lap, his body limp, barely holding onto consciousness. His breath came in short gasps, his body trembling, still caught in the aftershocks of the heat.
Without saying another word, the boss dragged him out of the room, his steps purposeful, dragging Nine along behind him.
I wanted to follow, to chase them down, to make sure Nine was safe. But my feet felt like lead, my body frozen, the weight of everything pressing down on me. I couldn't move. I couldn't do anything but listen.
The door swung closed with a soft, echoing thud, and for a moment, there was only silence. I stood there, barely breathing, straining to hear anything—anything that would tell me where they had gone, or what was happening.
But then it started.
The muffled sounds—soft, unrelenting—came through the door. They were faint at first, like whispers in the dark, but they grew louder with each passing second.
A shift. A low grunt. A soft, desperate sound that I knew came from Nine.
My chest tightened as the sounds kept coming, rhythmically, like a cruel, unbroken beat. It was a harsh reminder of what had been happening—of what Nine had been subjected to. The roughness of the boss's touch, the brutal way he treated Nine, even now—none of it softened. Not for Nine. Not for anyone. The sounds of his suffering seeped through the door, each one worse than the last.
It felt like an eternity as I stood there, my fists clenched at my sides, the weight of my own helplessness crushing me. I wanted to scream, to throw myself against the door, to stop it somehow. But nothing I did could change what was happening. The bond between us hummed with Nine's distress, and I could feel his pain, his desperation, as though it was bleeding into me. Nyx was seething inside, her anger a fire that could have set the world ablaze if I let it.
I won't stand for this, she growled inside my head. We can't just do nothing.
Her fury matched mine, and I felt her clawing at the edges of my consciousness, urging me to act. But what could I do? The boss had Nine. I had no power here. My body was frozen, and my mind was a jumble of desperate thoughts. What could I do? What could I possibly do to save him?
I reached for the bond, desperate for some kind of connection. Anything that would tell me that Nine was still there, still with me, still alive and fighting. But the bond was stretched thin, so tight it felt like it might snap. I felt his fear, his helplessness, coursing through me like a river in flood, dragging me under with it.
Nyx's growl echoed in the back of my mind, each sound a reminder of how much we were both hurting. We need to do something.
But still, I couldn't move.
The sounds continued—soft grunts, a low cry of pain, the scraping of leather against skin. Each one felt like a knife twisting in my chest, the bond pulling tighter and tighter. I could imagine Nine's body trembling with each sound, and my breath caught in my throat. No, please, I thought. Please, stop.
But nothing stopped.
Why can't we do anything? Nyx wailed. We should be able to stop this. We need to stop this!
I wanted to shout, to throw myself at the door, to do anything to break it open. I wanted to tear through this facility, burn everything down, just to get to him. But there was nothing I could do.
The sounds of Nine's whipmers were muffled, but still relentless. I could hear him—his whimpers, his gasps, the noises of him being used like a thing, like an object. Like he didn't matter. But he did matter. He mattered to me. And the more I heard, the more I could feel Nyx struggling against the confines of our bond, trying to rip free, trying to lash out. But it was all pointless.
It was all so painfully, hopelessly pointless.
The bond between Nine and I should have been a lifeline, something to anchor us both. But in that moment, it was just a thread, fraying at the edges, barely holding on as the sounds of his torment battered me.
Each new noise was like a blow to my heart. I felt the heat in my cheeks as tears burned at the corners of my eyes. Why can't we help him? I whispered in my mind, the question a constant hum beneath the surface.
I could feel Nine, even through the bond, but it wasn't enough. He was so far away, so distant, and the pain I felt through the connection was so sharp, so jagged, that I wondered if it was going to tear me apart.
Nyx was raging, her fury echoing through my veins, a roaring fire, but even she knew the truth. We couldn't stop this. Not here. Not now.
The sounds from behind the door continued, rising in pitch and desperation. The boss's voice was cold, mocking. You're just a pretty little thing, aren't you? he said. Still so pretty. Even now. Even after everything.
I clenched my fists so hard that my nails bit into my palms, but I couldn't move. I couldn't stop it. I won't let them take you again, Nine, I thought, the words a silent promise. I swear it.
But I couldn't act. The helplessness was suffocating. It felt like my chest was being crushed under the weight of it all, the sense of powerlessness building with each passing moment.
The sounds didn't stop. The grunts, the low moans. The shuffling of feet, the rasp of clothes. It was all so invasive, so raw, so painful to listen to. It felt like the sound was drilling into my mind, driving me insane.
And all the while, I stood there. Frozen. Powerless. A prisoner to my own helplessness.
I can't take this, Nyx whimpered inside me. I can't stand it anymore.
But there was nothing I could do.
The bond was all that remained—thin, fragile, and stretched so tight that it felt like it was going to break. I could feel Nine's terror, his pain, his fear. The terror of being alone, of being used. The pain of what they were doing to him.
And still, the door stood between us. Between me and Nine. Between everything I needed to be, to do.
I was helpless. And so was Nyx.
The sounds came again, and this time I could feel the crack in my chest widen. I'm so sorry, Nine, I whispered into the emptiness of the room. I'm so sorry.