They walked closer to the wooden hut.
The Grey and Russo sisters were starting to feel extremely anxious.
“What do we do?” Stella’s voice was trembling. “I can confirm that he is not in the hut. What are we going to tell them?”
“All they want is money. There’s nothing left we could say.” Rosa bit her lip. “That man is too cruel! How could he leave us behind to face a bunch of vile criminals?! He’s going to go to hell, I’m sure of it.”
“Enough.” Giovanna continued, “Aren’t we also deserving of punishment? We tricked him into coming to Siberia and we’ve been trying to harm him since the very beginning. It’s only natural that he treats us like this. This is our punishment given by God, we must not complain.”
“How could you still say that in a time like this?” Theresa sounded like she was about to cry. “If we can’t give them money, what are they going to do to us? I’d rather die than let them touch me!”
“Yes, we’re knights of the Knight Hospitaller, not prostitutes. If they’re really planning to humiliated us, let’s commit mass suicide,” said Rosa.
Stella drew a cross. She uttered sadly, “Tuitio fidei et obsequium pauperum.”
The other three followed suit. “Tuitio fidei et obsequium pauperum!”
One of the mercenaries pushed the door open.
The hut was empty, there was no sight of Xia Lei.
The man was instantly thrown into a fit of rage. He turned around to roar at the four ladies, “What the fuck! How dare you lie to us!”
“Kill these damned bitches!” shouted someone in the back.
“Our people shouldn’t die in vain! Their wives and children should get their deserved compensation!” shouted another man. He then positioned his gun, ready to shoot.
“Letting them die a quick death is a waste. How about we have some fun with them before we kill them off!”
“Yeah! I’d like them to have a taste of my big black cock!”
“Fucking hell! I almost died just to get their money! I’m going to abuse every hole on their bodies!”
The situation quickly spiralled out of control. People started to come forward to tug at their clothes.
Though the four ladies were ready for death in the name of their dignity, in the face of death. Were their resolutions that strong? Even if they really did take their own lives, they were aware that it wouldn’t save their bodies from humiliation by these vile bastards. Dark Mona was the prime example. What these men did to her was truly disgusting.
“Get your hands off me!” Amid the scuffle, Giovanna abruptly pushed away a mercenary that was molesting her chest.
“Fuck you! How dare you push me away!”. He brandished an army knife and lunged towards Giovanna.
Giovanna put up a hand, there was a grenade in her palm.
The safety pin on the grenade was removed.
The army knife holding man quickly backed off.
Clatter! All the men in the room raised their guns, aiming towards Giovanna and the other three.
“Come closer.” Giovanna’s smile was bitter, her eyes filled to the brim with despair and hatred.
Rosa, Stella and Theresa came to her, the four of them gathered into a circle. Giovanna’s grip on the grenade remained firm. Once she dropped it, the four of them would explode into bits. It was the only way to ensure that the disgusting men wouldn’t do anything to their lifeless bodies.
But loosening her grip was easier said than done.
A mercenary yelled out, “You crazy bitch, put that grenade down!”
“Get lost!” Giovanna screamed her lungs out as if she had gone mad. “Or I’ll blast us all to death!”
“Who the fuck do you think you’re deceiving?” The mercenary tossed them a mocking glare. “In Catholicism, suicide is a sin. Anyone who takes their own lives will not be saved and will not get a place in Heaven. Are you really that desperate to go to hell?”
The Russo and Grey sisters froze. They worked hard to get where they were today. All they wanted was to have their souls saved in the afterlife and enter the gates of Heaven to meet their creator. But if they end themselves, their faith and efforts would go into waste.
“Haha!” The mercenary barked out a laugh. “You’re all just a bunch of jokers? Is your God really that fussy? You have no control over your own fate.”
“Shut up!” shrieked Giovanna. She would never allow anyone to doubt her belief, and not to mention, humiliate her God.
“You’re the ones that should shut up! Fucking bitches!” barked another mercenary.
“Since you can’t kill yourselves, how about you throw away that grenade and have some fun with us? When we’re done with you, we’ll kill you off. That way, you can get to heaven. Hahahaha!” laughed another man.
The most painful thing on Earth was not death itself, it was to wish for death but render yourselves unable to bring upon your own fate.
That was what the sisters were feeling. If they gave up on ending their lives, it’d be no better than hell on earth. If they proceeded with their plan, they would betray their own faith and get sent to hell. Both outcomes were exceptionally excruciating to them. It was a very tough decision to make.
“Xia Lei! Ahh!” Giovanna shrieked. “Fuck you! I’ll see you in hell!”
She made her decision.
The other three ladies closed their eyes shut. Tears began to flow from the corner of their eyes.
As Giovanna was about to loosen her grip, the transmitter on her outerwear abruptly rang.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Some vibrations accompanied it.
Giovanna was stunned. The last remaining Knight Hospitaller members were controlled by this bunch of mercenaries and fighters There was no one left to contact her. So who could this be?
The other three ladies were equally surprised, turning to look at Giovanna.
“Who’s that?” asked Stella.
“Could it be…” Rosa didn’t mention his name because it was impossible, right?
“Quick! Pick it up!” urged Theresa. No matter who it was, they brought a new ray of hope to the ladies.
“Do it!” The mercenary continued, “Turn the volume up!”
Giovanna retrieved the transmitter and accepted the call.
“Who is this?”
“Ahem.” A man cleared his throat through the call. “How can you not recognize my attractive voice?”
“It’s you!” Giovanna’s expression changed abruptly. She started to get emotional. “You fucking coward! Liar! Bastard! You…”
Xia Lei’s voice interrupted her. “Haha, I guess you don’t want to hear my voice. I think I better end the call now. Bye-bye!”
“Wait!” Giovanna quickly calmed down, “We… We’re in a very difficult situation right now.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“You…” Giovanna was close to screaming into the device again. However, what came of her mouth was, “I’m sorry. I’m terribly sorry.”
“Pardon? I can’t hear you,” uttered Xia Lei.
“I said I’m sorry!” screamed Giovanna. If Xia Lei was with them, she wouldn’t hesitate to share the gory aftermath of the explosive in her hand with him.
“You’re the only one apologizing? That’s not enough.”
“I’m sorry!” Theresa quickly ran forward to scream into the device, her words came out between her gritted teeth.
“I’m sorry too!” Rosa’s apology was laced with unhidden anger. She wanted to drive a knife into his chest.
“I’m… sorry.” Stella’s displeasure was clear in her voice.
“Mm, I’m a big softie. Alright, since you’ve all apologized to me, I’ll forgive you. Tell me, what can I do for you?”
His words triggered inexplicable anger in their hearts. They wanted to knock him over onto the ground and step on his penis with their high heels.
They were in a grave situation and this bastard still had the heart to tease them. It was unforgivable!
“Bastard, do you understand the situation we’re in?” Stella was mad. “Money! Give those men money!”
“Is this Miss Stella I hear? Did I just hear you call me a bastard? Mind repeating it one more time so that I can confirm?”
Stella opened her mouth. Before she could even get the word out, Theresa had quickly pinched one of her ass cheeks.
Theresa hissed into her ear. “Are you trying to kill us all?! Apologize to him now! He’s the only one who can help us out, I don’t want to go to hell!”
Giovanna lowered her voice. “Just think about what will happen without his help!”
If Xia Lei refused to help them, they would be left with no choice but to take their own lives and descend down to hell. Alternatively, they would be toyed to death by these disgusting bastards, which was a process none of them could bear to imagine.
“I’m sorry,” muttered Stella.
“I only heard annoyance from your apology, it’s not genuine.” Xia Lei continued, “I want you to swear to me that you will be my slave and to never deceive me for eternity. After you’re done with that, I’ll help you solve the problem.”
“You…” Stella was about to burst into tears.
“Do as he says!” Without waiting for the other three ladies to respond, a mercenary ordered.
The sound of raised guns echoed about in the hut.
Stella glanced at the other three, they were pleading with their eyes. Stella’s legs finally gave away as she fell to the floor. Her voice trembled as she repeated after Xia Lei, “I… I’m your slave. I swear to God with the chivalry of the Knight Hospitallers that I’ll never lie to you again. I will continue to serve for eternity.”
“Well done!” Xia Lei’s voice rang through. “Giovanna, Theresa, Rosa, what are you three still waiting for? She was not the only one who made a mistake.”
The three looked at each other before they heed his sick instructions. They kneeled, apologized and swore their loyalty.
“Alright. According to your tradition, you’ll serve under me as my knight. Your problem is now my problem. Please pass the transmitter to their leader, I’ll solve this for you.”
Giovanna passed the device as instructed.
“Hehe. Hello, Mister Xia.” The leader broke into a malicious grin. “I’d like to discuss something important with you.”
“Three million USD. Send me your account if you agree to it. If you’re unhappy with it, just shoot them all!”
“That’s too little!”
“Then shoot them!”
“...”
“My friend. You should learn to look a few steps forward. Come work with me/ You’ll have an endless source of income. This will not be the last mission. Plus, the sum I’m offering is reasonable. If you’re really after the sum my knights had offered, then we’re better off ending this conversation. I believe no one will ever pay you that much unless that person’s an idiot.”
“Ok, that’s a deal.” The mercenary accepted Xia Lei’s proposition.
Killing the four of them would burn three million USD. Only idiots would do that. Humiliate them? Even if they had diamonds in their privates, it was still too expensive of a price to pay. Plus, would the female knights even know how to enjoy such sins?
The twins let out a relieved sigh.
Bam! The grenade fell onto the ground.
“Fuck!” The leader quickly kicked the grenade out of the window.
Everyone hurriedly threw themselves onto the ground.
Ka-boom!
The grenade exploded on the surface of the lake. A fish was sent flying out of a large hole on the frozen water body.
Giovanna stared out the window in shock. All she could do was mutter, “Sorry.”
Everyone ignored her.