Berber Justice – Attempted Rapist meets his Accusers.

Further Extract from Alpha Male – the Marcus saga continues.

 

An hour later, Donna stood next to Jamie and watched the fury of Marcus continue without showing any sign of abating. There was a perverse fascination in being present while such anger raged about their ears, the more so as Donna’s would-be rapist was the subject of the verbal assault.

The words were in an unfamiliar dialect, presumably Berber, but their meaning could not have been clearer. The Arab charged with guarding the prisoners had betrayed his master’s trust and Marcus was detailing the consequences of such a failure.

The man stood alone, head bowed while all around the narrow gap between the alleyways faces were watching and listening with evident enjoyment. Donna realised that this lecture was part of the punishment ritual: the many shortcomings of the man awaiting punishment being revealed to his peers. When Marcus indicated the slight frame of Donna with a sidelong glance, a hiss of derision rang out from the ranks of the spectators. There would be no help for her from anyone here, Donna surmised, but the attempted rape of another man’s property aroused evident displeasure. Even in the centre of this reeking township whose wretched inhabitants were scarcely able to prolong a life of abject misery, certain accepted rules were clearly marked out. Marcus walked forward and slapped the face of the man standing in front of him. The blow was nothing more than a token, but the crowd stirred and edged forward.

Marcus held a knife aloft and Donna recognised it as being the Arab’s own property. The man stared back at his accuser, the bruises from Jamie’s head-butt standing out clearly along with a deep cut across his cheek that Donna had inflicted. He showed no fear, having seemingly resigned himself to his fate in the Arab manner, and Donna tensed herself to withstand seeing the man killed in front of her.

Marcus spoke softly and four robed figures leapt forward to seize the accused man and hold him securely. Marcus took the knife and walked forward. Staring directly into the face of the prisoner, Marcus reached down with his free hand and tore away the strip of cloth around his waist that had been the man’s only garment. The great bunch of his genitals swung free and the spectators drew a collective breath and drew fractionally closer. Still staring into the man’s eyes, Marcus seized the man’s scrotum and a fresh buzz of excitement rippled around the arena.

Marcus looked downwards and studied the man’s exposed groin. He took the knife and made two small cuts in the scrotum he held in his other hand. The Arab gasped and beads of sweat appeared on his brow, but the hands that held him captive prevented any movement. Marcus resumed his study of the other man’s face, apparently savouring the terror that manifested itself in the prisoner’s chattering teeth and ashen complexion.

Marcus smiled and whispered a few words that only the other man could hear. As his victim began to weep, Marcus reached down once more, then withdrew his hand and held it aloft. In the palm of his hand were two bloody testicles. The crowd went berserk, cheering and stamping their feet. The men holding the recently emasculated figure had not yet released their grip and Donna felt sick to her stomach as she realised the punishment was not yet over. An old man stepped forward, bearing aloft a rusty sword with a massive handle. He handed it to Marcus and bowed deeply as his offering was accepted. The old man, clearly a leader of some standing, grasped the hand of the condemned man and pulled it towards him. Marcus swung the blade in a great arc and Donna swayed as the hand fell into the dust and blood spurted freely.

The man screamed once, shaking as he took a filthy rag offered by one of his erstwhile restrainers and attempted to stem the flow of blood by wrapping the cloth tightly around the stump of his wrist. No one attempted to assist him as he shambled away out of sight and the crowd melted away, bowing respectfully to Marcus as they left.