Tatsuki woke up, opening her eyes to ground level. The cot she laid on was so old and worn down she might as well been sleeping directly on the floor. However, she was grateful for the old and blood stained cot, it protected her from the mold on the rotting floor. There was mold everywhere, on the floors, walls, and left over furniture; all of this a side affect from the years of human abandonment. With nature taking over, small repairs were overlooked even in once great structures, resulting in decay of human progress. No wonder there was so much mold and disease…all the roofs leaked, leaving most buildings moist and dilapidated. The ray of sunlight that did pour in from the broken window only revealed an abandoned, mold filled, dusty room.
Tatsuki wiggled, belly down, trying to free her hands from the zip tie behind her back. She was fucked and she knew it. How she got in to this situation wasn't a concern; people get abducted, taken hostage, robbed, even raped so commonly it was only a matter of time before she found herself in this type of situation. No, how she got here was not important, but getting out alive is of the utmost importance. If only she could stay quiet…
She decided to roll, ever so carefully on to her back. She knew there was someone outside of this room and she didn't want them to know she was awake. It was time to act.
Slowly and with light momentum she eased over on the her back, her hands now trapped behind her under the weight of her own body. She planted her legs quietly yet firmly on the ground and place her weight on her shoulders and arched her back up. With her hands under her rear she brought her legs towards her hands and was able to lift the leg of her jeans. Staying in this position is incredibly uncomfortable, she had to take short breaks to let her shoulders rest. She tried to take the quietest breaths she could.
There was a noise just outside, her eyes didn't leave the mold covered door. She continued her work. Holding her pant leg up, revealing the top of her boot, she grabbed the tiny knife barely showing out of the brim of her boot. She flipped the blade around and began sawing at the tie. "Come on, please, fuck, hurry up. Come on, come on, come on!" She wanted to say these things out loud but it would be at the cost of giving away her current position. A voice and footsteps from the other side of the door suddenly appeared, she heard it grow louder and louder as she sawed through the zip tie.
The door swung open, dust scattered across the sunlight. There he was, a bald man in a black tank top. He gazed in to the open room.
"Where the fuck is she?" he demanded throwing his arms up. The young man he directed his anger too stood just behind him "What do you mean?"
"There's nobody in this fucking room!" the bald man argued. "I paid good fucking money to get this slut and you don't have the product." he grabbed the young guy by the collar and held him up.
"No wonder she got away, you're just a little punk. A little bitch!" he yelled, spitting in his face. He threw him down inside of the room, the kid dropped his rifle and he coward as he looked up at the bald man. "What was Ricardo thinking, huh? Letting some punk like you guard his merchandise?" He punched the wall, creating a large hole. He gave a little laugh and he looked back at the young man, "You know me and Ricardo use to run together? Yeah. Long time ago." He walked close to the boy who had stood up by now and was reaching for his gun. He smacked the gun out of his hand it hit the ground with a thud, "And to think he lt someone like you, who can't even guard a door, carry a gun… nd you can't evne hold it right! My how things have changed! He's gotten soft in his age."
"I've been outside this door all day, I haven't heard anything, I swear!" the young man said trying to reason with this bully. The bald man picked him up again, "He's gotten real soft, just like his pussy recruits. Where are you from kid?!" he demanded holding him up by his shirt, "572 Safe Zone Cleveland." he answered quickly. The man laughed, "Oh yes, you know nothing of this world. You from the safe zone. Came out here to be a badass huh?"
The kid said nothing.
The bald man threw him down on the cot, "If you want to stay out here farm boy, you need to toughed up." he cracked his neck. "There are consequences to our actions kid… I'm about to teach you a lesson about losing other people's merchandise." He slammed the door behind him and went after the young man. He held him down on the mattress and stripped his pants off. "No wait! No! No! Please don't do this. Please I swear no one came out of this room. Please!" The bald man punched the kid in the back of the head and pulled him up by his hair, "You sound like a little bitch, I'm about to show you how bitches get treated." he muttered unbuttoning his own pants.
"Please don't! Please don't do this." the young man pleaded.
Tatsuki had almost about enough of this, the brute hadn't even bothered to check the room before becoming irate. His anger provided the perfect distraction for Tatsuki, who was waiting just behind the door. Once the door was shut, she stayed still and observed the young man being beaten then rapped.
The young man was no angel, he had helped raid a house just the other night where Tatsuki was captured while trying to trade goods with the people who lived in the house that was raided. She saw him murder members of the house while only her life was spared due to her spunk. She overheard them say she would be sold too as many customers as possible until her body quit on her. She could've stopped the brute from taking advantage of the young man, but the opportunity would have to wait until he was fully distracted.
The kid screamed as the brute abused him. He grunted and sweated "Fuck, your so tight." All the young man could do was scream. Now was the perfect time to strike. Tatsuki picked up the rifle and slowly approached the couple. Firmly but quietly, she placed her hand on the brute's head and slit his throat. The brute gasped and tried to grab her then fell on top of the young man, dead. The young man felt the weight of his predator collapse upon him, he tried to get away but as he looked up, he saw the barrel of his own gun in his face. "Humiliating" Tatsuki muttered, then pulled the trigger, his brains spattering across the floor. She dropped the gun and ran her fingers through her hair, "Fuck, too close" she muttered.
She grabbed the kids pants and went through his pockets, more ammunition. She looked back at her two victims; dead, and in doggie style, "Humiliating" she said again then chuckled, but she knew it wasn't funny. The gun shot had made quite a noise and she knew it was time to move. She could hear the dead outside, full of anger, pain, and hunger, it was time to hide. She rushed out of the room and saw a chair the now dead young man had been sitting in while guarding the door. Her backpack was placed underneath, she grabbed it, "What luck!" she thought racing downstairs hoping to find a basement. Inside of the abandoned house, she found the kitchen and a door the lead even further down. She shut the door just before the dead entered the house. As put her ear to the door and made no sounds; she was safe, for now.
The dead didn't stay long. Running throughout the first story of the house, sniffing for something alive. Their growl and occasional screams were enough to make anyone piss themselves. But as their growls grew quieter and eventually disappeared, Tatsuki felt herself at ease. Still cautiously, Tatsuki stood up, from inside of her back pack she brought out a flashlight and clicked it on. She wish she wouldn't have. There were three guys nailed to the wall, dead. She examined them only for a minute before searching for a window. It didn't take long to find but before she escaped she composed herself, "No one is pure" she muttered. She patted the side of her leg for encouragement, she couldn't stand still, because the rest of the gang was going to come back. Placing boxes and crates on top of each other, she was able to reach the window and made it outside of the house.
Seeing death and even killing didn't bother her anymore, if it even ever did. It was all about survival out here. She walked away from the house she had been captured in and kept low and quiet. Gangs weren't plentiful but when one crossed your path, there would be trouble, violent trouble. She thought about how she was almost sold and rapped, she thought about the family she traded with who were murdered, she thought about her new rifle, full of ammunition. A real silver lining.