SLIPPIN DOWN

Voluntary snuff [sort of]

   Loud noises in the night meant her nightmares had come true. Doors and windows shattering as the security troops entered the house that once had been the safest place in her life. The life that was now over. The presence of these troops was a for sure sign that her rebel husband had been caught or killed. Rough hands had grabbed her before she could do more that sit up in her bed. A cut off scream from the room down the hall told of her daughter’s capture. Then darkness.
    She awoke to bright lights. Lights and bonds securing her to a rather uncomfortable wooden chair. She was stripped and tied but otherwise unhurt. She prayed that the same was true of her daughter. Some time later a tall man entered. He was dressed in a wrinkled uniform of state security as if he too had had a long night. 
    “So we meet at last Mrs. Allbright. It has really been too long in coming you know. I’m sorry we have to do it this way but the fates have cast us as foes so we must each fulfill our allotted roles. And yes I’m sorry to say your husband is dead. He fell covering the escape of his fellows, a brave man and one I wish I could have called friend. Believe me I do deeply regret his death and the necessity of what has happened and what will happen. But my wishes mean little in the face of duty. So before we have to proceed to ugly things please accept my heartfelt sorrow for your loss and for the things that duty demands of me.”
    A door off to one side opened and her daughter was led in. She was also naked and in irons but was otherwise unharmed. The two were allowed a short time to converse before the girl was removed. “Now comes the hard part Mrs. Allbright. As I’m sure you realize you both are under a death sentence because of your husband’s activities. You also must know that I have a broad latitude in carrying out such punishment. Now the typical drill would be for both of you to be gang raped and tortured before some kind of long ugly death. A terrible thing to do to one so beautiful as yourself and even worse to do to someone like your young pretty daughter. She is virgin I assume?  However you do have a choice. I know you have information we need. That leaves me with a choice of actions. Do I force the knowledge from you be torturing you or your lovely girl? It works sometimes but you could lie and there would be no way for me to know it until it was too late to remedy the situation. Therefore I have a better idea. You will willingly tell me everything you know. Truthfully and completely. In return I will offer you and your daughter time together, there will be no rape, no torture. You will still die but at least you will be spared the worse of it all. This way I can wait to see if you spoke the truth and can reward you properly. I know you do not trust me but consider this. You two can stay together until the end. You can watch as your little girl dies to be certain she does not suffer and you can even take your own life if you wish, hell I’ll even let you end hers. Think about it. We’ll talk soon. Oh yes I meant to ask, just how old is she, thirteen or fourteen? Too bad she’ll never grow up into the stunning woman she should have been.”
    He at least let the two spent the night in the same cell. Together they cried for both the loss of their husband and father and for what was to come. By morning she had come to a decision, she would take the easy way and talk. She owed the rebels nothing and would gladly sell them to save her daughter pain. 
    It was strange to sit there and discuss death so calmly. There was some give and take on both sides but in the end they settled. “To recap then my dear, you will tell us everything you know or suspect freely, holding nothing back. In return I will allow you to live with your daughter in as close to a normal fashion as is possible. Neither of you will be harmed nor tormented. You will live until we have verified that which you have told us to be true. When it is time for you to die you will be the one to end your daughter’s life and you will be allowed to end your own in the fashion we discussed. I realize you might have wished that a different method were allowed but as I explained I must make your death a bit of a spectacle. I have offered all I can. If you accept we will start in the morning.” 
    As promised she told all she knew and since her husband had been a high leader in the rebel ranks she knew a lot. Throughout the long days she talked and in the night she held her girl close and talked some more. By the time the end came they were as ready as it was possible to be. 
    “As you might have guessed the end is here now. Today is the day you both die. Are you ready? Is your daughter ready? Know this, if you fail she will be hanged by the neck with no drop. I’ve gone to a lot of trouble to set this all up so now you have a bit more reason to do your job. Are you sure you know just what you must do? Good, lets be about it then. And one last thing, as you carry out the things you must do today please know you have my utmost respect and my deepest regret that we were forced into this. I truly wish there were another way. After you.”
    A short walk took them to a large room with a high ceiling. Inside were things she did not want to look at or think about. They had been there for only a minute or so when he was handed an envelope. After opening it and scanning the contents he swore under his breath and turned to her. “I’m sorry this is not the good news I’ve been hoping for. I’ve not said anything to you because I didn’t want to give you false hopes. I have been trying to save your lives, after all the things you gave us allowed us to break the rebels. I always hated this job, now I can go back to being just a cop instead of a torturous goon and I have you to thank for that. I had hoped the powers that be might agree that you deserved a reward but they shot me down. Look I know your husband was a good man who was acting out of loyalty to bad people. I like and respect you. I cannot save either of you two but I can perhaps offer the cold comfort of making your family heroes of a sort. I’m going to offer you up as a family caught in the middle with small choice in your actions. At the end your husband gave us some information before he was killed, you gave us more. Then in shame over your actions you choose to publicly end your life as payment for your acts. You also choose to kill your child to protect her from those who would harm her for your actions. Years from now you will be remembered as a family that choose to do the honorable thing no matter what the cost. Trust me on this. I put my career on the line for it and everything is set. Who knows? Maybe someday there might be a holiday named for you. I’m sorry I couldn’t do more but I did try.”     
    Just about then her daughter was led in. they were allowed a time together before it was time to begin. The girl was taken to a post, stripped and tied to it. The bindings on her elbows made her small pert breasts stand out. Through tear filled eyes she watched as her mother also stripped and walked to her. She saw the knife in the same hand that had so often bathed her, brushed her hair, and done all the motherly things that a child takes for granted. It was real, her mother was going to kill her. She knew all the reasons, how it would save her from a much worse fate, save her pain, agony, and suffering. But the bitter truth was still there, her mom was going to stick a knife in her heart and kill her.
    Mrs. Allbright felt the knife in her hand as she too tried to see through tears. Trying to remember the instructions she had been given she brought it up until the needle sharp point was touching the soft skin under the breastbone of the girl. With a few last words of love forced past the sobs she drove it up and into the tender flesh. It went in so easily. Once it was in to the hilt she worked her wrist to make the blade slash around inside. With a few easy movements the young heart was sliced into pieces. As promised the knife was so sharp there was almost no response from the girl. A quick gasp, a shudder, and then the sound of her last breath leaving her body as she went limp. 
    The horror of her actions hit her full force as her daughter died in front of her. The next thing she knew she was on the floor screaming. Finally she regained control and managed to stand and look at what she had done. Brushing off the hands that offered help and support somehow she was able to remove the knife and clean the small body. She did accept help in releasing it from its bondage and in placing it in the coffin. The roses covered the death wound. Finally everything that could be done was done. It was time for the final act.
    Over in the corner was the place where she too would die. It was just as he promised. A tall thick spear stuck up between two platforms. A short flight of steps let up to the tops. With slow steps she climbed them. Once there she bent over to inspect the thing that would repay her. As expected it was topped by a four sided point that had quite sharp edges. From the point it tapered until it was about three inches in diameter. Covered with grease of some kind it looked more than capable of doing the job. Slowly and without a word she spread her legs over it. With one foot on each platform ever so slowly she squatted until it entered her cunt. Moving carefully and using her fingers she was able to get it stuck in a deeply as any man had ever penetrated without cutting her insides. Then there was nothing left but the last act. A last look around, seeing the cameras, the people, the post where she had murdered her child. Seeing everything but noting only the coffin that held the body. Almost blind with tears her hands fumbled for the bar over her head. Finally a firm grip, a short delay for a silent prayer, then a jerk downward to release the latches. The platforms collapsed under her. She gave a grunt of pain and surprise as the shaft forced its way into her body. Almost a foot of it entered her with the first rush. Then it slowed to almost a stop. Once more she remembered her instructions. When you stop start kicking, it will speed things up and shorten things. She did and it did work. With each kick she slipped down a bit more. To those watching it looked like she was either trying to jump off it or she was fucking it. It was not without cost however. Each kick did bring her closer to death as she wished but at the price of fresh pain as the sharp edged cut her and the size spread her. Even as she moaned in pain part of herself welcomed the pain as payback, she deserved all of it and more. 
    The shaft was now deeply inside her body. So deep if she were to be lifted off it she would die anyway. It was agony but still she kicked even though she was weakening. No longer aware of anything but the lance of flame impaling her. She felt it rip through her diaphragm, felt it push heart and lungs aside. However at the last second possible she got a break. Her frantic though weak movements brushed the side of her heart against one of the sharp edges and cut it almost through. Just as she could feel the end starting to enter her throat the cut muscle ripped. Between one beat and the next her heart ripped open. The pain washed away in the flood of blood. There was bright light and then darkness and peace.
    There its over he thought as he watched the body go limp. The red liquid streaming down her legs and the pole told the story of a penetrated heart. Once more a body was released from the place of death, washed, placed in a coffin with roses and the cover closed. The three would spend forever next to each other.  A repel family that somehow ended up as heroes to the very people they had rebelled against.