WARNINGS: NON-CON/DUB-CON (discussed, off-screen, past occurrences), violence against women (and men), swearing, sort-of slavery, DARK THEMES OKAY. Oh and zombies.
Notes: So I just can't get this stupid pairing out of my brain. So I'm dabbling some more in a (hopefully) shorter story. But yeah, this is pretty dark, with women being enslaved by men, used etc. But I'm a romantic sap at heart, so expect a happy ending.
The massive campfire set out on the grass cast the surrounding men in a hellish red glow, distorting their grinning faces in flickering shadow. They hollered and laughed, swigging bottles of alcohol, swaying in towards the prisoners with lewd shouts and pinching fingers.
Marcus, Ed and Jacob struggled futilely across the fire. They had been hogtied and gagged, even more so than the women, and separated from the others. Maya didn't like to think what was planned for them, but it had to better than what was in her future.
It had been stupid, and Maya still wasn't done swearing to herself. They should have put up a fight, should have been prepared. But they had been expecting zombies, not other survivors, when they had begun boarding up the old church. When a group of men toting machine guns demanded they opened the doors, what choice did they have? Too late, Maya had realized what they intended and tried to fight them off. It had been a short but intense firefight, ending when one of the goons took Lily as a hostage and threatened to blow her head off.
The survivors had been tied up and thrown into the back of a truck, spirited away from the only shelter they had known in weeks. It was left to the zombs now, crumbling and empty like the rest of the town. Had this happened to others too? Maya and her group couldn't be the first; not judging from how easily these men seemed to work together.
Maya wasn't even surprised as the truck pulled up the dirt track leading to the Barrett House. Of course this was Wilkerson work. They had a warped definition of gratitude considering it was thanks to Maya their crumbling fortress hadn't been brought down by one of those fat fuckers. Maybe that had even made her a target, who knew.
The only small comfort was seeing Doc, tied up on the porch and shouting. At least the old doctor hadn't agreed to this. And Maya had a pretty good idea of what this was.
One man made for Lily, large hands pawing at the teenager's shivering form. She screamed, prompting more laughter, trying desperately to wiggle away from the groping hand but unable to with her hands tied behind her back. The man grabbed her ankle, hauling her towards him. Maya lunged, pushing herself in front of the teenager and baring her teeth at the man as he pulled away.
"Touch her again, I bite your balls off," she threatened. "Try me, motherfucker."
The man retreated hurriedly to the raucous laughter of his friends. Lily pressed up against Maya's back, trembling.
"Maya, what are they going to do with us?" she whispered, and Maya could hear the tremor in her voice. "I'm so scared."
There were two other women who had survived the assault. Maggie, an older women with greying hair, and Sam, the tough cookie who Maya had just begun to become friends with. They sat side by side stoically, but caught Maya's eye with their own, all three women understanding what was to come.
"I'll try to protect you, Lil," she said quietly, "But I'm not going to lie to you, these men aren't…friendly."
Sam struggled, cursing darkly. "Just say it like it is, Maya, no point sugar-coating it. First, they'll rape us, and if we're lucky, that's all they'll do."
Lily went still at Maya's back. "R…rape us?"
Maggie glared at Sam. "You're scaring her."
"Good!" Sam wriggled, earning herself a kick from one of the men who had originally captured them. Sam spat a curse at him. "She should be scared! They'll gang-rape us half to death, then make us play Mom to them, cooking and cleaning and we'll be expected to be their fucktoys whenever they damn well please. Might as well get used to the idea quick."
Maya's stomach churned, and she fought down the vomit rising in her throat. Lily was shaking, audibly sobbing now.
"I promise Lil," Maya said, louder this time to be heard over the jeering men as she scrabbled her fingers to latch on to the teenager behind her. "I'll do anything to protect you. I swear to God."
Maggie looked at her sadly. "I don't think these men will let you, Maya. Lily, sweetie, just remember that you need to live. Let them do what they will with your body, they can't touch your mind and soul. You hear me, baby? They can't touch you."
Lily only sobbed harder, curling onto Maya hopelessly.
Across the fire, Marcus' eyes met Maya's. He looked devastated, bound and helpless, and even he knew what was to come for them.
A voice rose over the men, and the noise began to die down.
"Alright, enough o' that you rowdy bastards!"
All three women stiffened, Lily curling into a defensive ball.
Job Wilkerson strode through the crowd, the fire casting feral shadows across his face.
"Well, well. Look who it is," he grinned, glittering eyes focused on Maya. "We meet again, sweetheart."
Maya tilted her chin defiantly. "Let them go, Job. Let them go, and I'll do whatever your dark little heart desires, I swear it."
The men roared with laughter. Job tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Oh I bet you would. But, see, I can't do that. I promised my men a good time, and we wouldn't want to disappoint them now would we?"
He beckoned to one of the men. "The feisty one."
Lily screamed as Sam was grabbed and pulled forward. She didn't make it easy on them, kicking and spitting like a wildcat. Job watched her bemusedly as she was pulled away from the fire towards the house. Further away, cheering started up, men braying like hounds who had spotted a fox.
Maya's vision swam, her stomach churning. She blinked, swaying.
"Please," she ground, getting up on her knees. "Please for the love of God, just let them go."
Job smirked. "Now the old one."
Maggie was next, and she caught Maya's eye, the older woman sorrowful but resigned. She refused to be dragged though, getting to her feet and walking to her fate as dignified as she could be. Maya wished she could be half as composed. Rage filled her veins, made her shaky and her vision blurry.
The coppery tang of blood flooded her mouth, and Maya realized she had bitten through her lip. "Please, Job. I'm begging. I'll do whatever you want, just…just not her. Leave the girl alone."
Lily sobbed harder. Job laughed, head thrown back and Maya fantasized about sinking her teeth into his exposed jugular, ripping his life out in a spray of crimson. "Oh you'll do whatever I want, I know. But that one, she's a one-in-a-million. Bet you're still a virgin, 'aint ya sweet thing?"
He snorted, and the men laughed. "Not for long."
Lily had plastered herself against Maya's back, her face hidden between Maya's shoulder blades as if she could just disappear. Maya wished she could too.
Job took a step forward. "I'm gonna enjoy breaking her in, myself."
Hands grabbed Lily's arms, tearing her away from Maya.
"No!" Maya twisted, nearly dislocating her shoulder as she struggled to free her arms. "No, please!"
"Maya!" Lily screamed, hauled away from her. Tears streaked down her dirty face. "Maya, help me!"
Another shape pushed through the crowd, coming to a stop beside Job. Mickey Wilkerson stood a head and shoulders taller than his brother, and was twice as mean. He watched the scene with an emotionless expression, the firelight dancing in his pale eyes.
Maya didn't have a hope in defeating anyone. Even if she got free, she was desperately outnumbered. Across the fire, Jacob was shouting through his gag, flopping around like a fish. Someone kicked him, once, twice, and he finally fell still. Marcus had chewed through his gag and was screaming obscenities, but four or five punches to the face and he fell silent too.
Face burning in shame at what she was going to do, Maya managed to stumble up onto her feet. The men around her stiffened, hands going to their guns but she only made it a few paces, falling back down onto her knees. Job watched her with a smirk, but it was to Mickey Maya crawled, knees scuffling against the grass and dirt, wrists throbbing from her movements. She didn't stop until she was practically on him, pressing her chest up against his leg.
"I'll do anything," she pleaded, staring up into his impassive face. "Please, I'll let you do anything to me; just…just let her be."
"Jesus, woman," Mickey growled, shaking her off like a misbehaving dog. "Have some goddamn dignity."
Maya bit down on the rage that threatened to engulf her. Lily was screaming behind her, she only had this small window to try and save her.
She pressed up against him again, trying to stifle the urge to throw up on him. "Please," she said softer, hopefully more seductively. "I'll show you a good time."
Despite the jeering and laughter of the men surrounding them, Maya forced herself to rise up on her knees, pressing her nose into the crease where his thigh joined his hip, the warmth of her breath fanning his crotch.
The laughing rose in volume. Maya glanced up through her eyelashes.
Mickey's eyes had darkened. He stared down at her, saying nothing, and Maya's heart was in her mouth, precious seconds ticking away as Lily sobbed in the background.
Job laughed loudest. "What a fucking whore. Fucking gagging for it!"
Mickey pulled his gaze away from Maya, looking over at his brother. Maya stayed pressed up against him, holding her breath.
"Get me the little one," he grunted, and Maya's heart almost stopped beating. "I'll have 'em both."
There were protests.
"Aw, c'mon, Mickey," one man whined. "You can't have both of 'em, that's just greedy!"
Cruel hands latched onto Maya's biceps, dragging her backwards, fingers digging bruises into her skin.
"Yeah! Let us have a tast-"
Mickey moved faster than Maya was expecting. The man dragging Maya went down with only one hit, blood pouring out of his broken nose as he gurgled. Promptly all laughter stopped. A nervous tension filled the air, only broken by the quiet punches of Lily's sobs.
Mickey wiped his bloody knuckles on his shirt. "I said, I'll have 'em both."
Job shifted nervously. "But Mickey-"
"Job," Mickey said calmly, reaching Maya in two strides. She didn't fight him as he bent down to haul her onto his shoulder, flopping like a doll as he straightened, a possessive arm holding her in place across the back of her thighs. Maya stared down his back, hardly daring to breathe. "Don't make me repeat myself."
Even Job feared Mickey's temper, Maya realized, wondering what exactly she had gotten herself and Lily into. Maybe she had just made things worse.
Lily was thrown at Mickey's feet, the neck of the girl's shirt torn and gaping to reveal her pale shoulders and a grimy bra.
"On your feet, girl," Mickey growled, and trembling, Lily obeyed, stumbling on nerveless legs as she wrapped her arms around herself. "And quit your damn cryin'. Can't stand a woman weepin' in bed."
He grabbed the back of her neck roughly, and Lily yelped, prompting a few amused titters from the men. Mickey steered her towards the house and Lily went meekly, keeping her eyes on the ground as they pushed through the crowd. Maya raised her head, craning to see the others, but she only caught a glimpse of Ed's wide eyed stare before the ranks of men closed around them.
Mickey pushed Lily up the creaking stairs, and Maya could see Doc then, tied up and struggling. The doctor looked like hell, one side of his face bruised and one eye swollen shut.
"Don't you do it boy," Doc threatened as Mickey climbed the porch steps. "Don't you touch that little girl. Maya, Maya I'm sorry I tried-"
"It's okay, Doc," Maya said to him, even as Mickey pulled open the squeaking front door, pushing Lily inside. "It'll…it'll be okay."
Mickey jostled her, digging his fingers into the back of one thigh. "Quit your yammerin', 'fore I decide to let Job have his way with ya."
The door slammed shut on Doc's horrified expression, and Maya was left blinking in the darkness, trying to adjust her eyes. They ascended the stairs, Maya's head butting lightly against Mickey's back. She could hear Lily hiccuping, the girl trying to force her cries back down. Mickey said nothing, merely directing her to the top of the stairs and down the rotting hallway.
At least he won't rape us out there, Maya thought dimly, brain already beginning to switch into survival mode. Maybe it won't be as bad for Lily that way.
The room Mickey shoved Lily into was small, a camping mat spread out beneath the window. A small pile of pillows and blankets were piled in the corner, and it was here Mickey forced Lily down with a heavy hand on her shoulder.
Lily got to her knees, tears still streaming down her cheeks. Next was Maya, dumped unceremoniously onto the camping mat. She rolled onto her side, desperately searching out Lily's face in the gloom.
"Lil, Lil look at me," she said desperately. Mickey had gone to the other side of the room, rummaging in a bag set up against the wall. Lily turned to her, sucking in air through her mouth.
"You just think of a safe place, okay? You think of the happiest memory you have and you stay there. Just…just close your eyes and everything will be okay. I promise."
It was a goddamn lie, but Lily seemed to take strength from Maya's words, nodding as she turned back to face the wall, shoulders heaving. Mickey's boots thudded on the floorboards, and Maya craned to look up at the dark figure looming over her.
"Please, you don't need to touch her; I'll do whatever you want."
Saying nothing, Mickey moved towards Lily. Maya rolled onto her belly, furiously trying to wiggle close.
"I swear I won't fight you. You can fuck me anyway you want, just…just please leave her alone."
Something glinted in the dim light from the window, and Lily whimpered. Maya struggled against her bonds.
"Please!"
Lily went quiet, and something fell to the floor. It took Maya a moment to realize Mickey had cut the rope binding Lily's hands. He grabbed a nearby blanket, tossing it to the shaking teen.
"Here. Stuff a pillow over your ears and a blanket over ya. Do that, and I won't touch ya. Just keep quiet."
Lily did as she was bid, shuffling in the dark. Maya breathed, relief flooding her as Mickey moved to her next.
"Thank you," she breathed, limbs trembling as they were finally cut free. "Thank you, I…I'll do whatever you want."
She rolled over, sitting up and rubbing her numb wrists. There was a chair in the corner of the room and Mickey grabbed it, dragging it over to the window, sinking down, his legs parted in a sprawl.
"C'mere."
Maya was too relieved to fight. If it kept Lily safe and untouched, she wouldn't put up a shred of resistance.
She got to her feet, moving to stand in front of him. Her boots had been pulled off by one of the men before she had been dumped into the truck, though she hadn't understood the purpose. The wood was cool beneath her feet, rough. Mickey sat in silence, looking her up and down. Finally, he leaned back with a sigh, the chair creaking beneath him.
"You shouldn't have t' thank me for not forcin' her," Mickey's voice was rough, fierce. "Goddamn."
Maya stood in front of him, uncertain. The night air trickled in from the open window, goose bumps prickling along her skin. She could hear men's voices, a women yelling if she strained her ears.
Maya tried not to think of Maggie or Sam.
Mickey beckoned her forward with a hand. "Alright. We gotta make you look roughed up."
Maya stepped between his knees, still confused.
"I…I don't understand. Aren't you going to…?"
Mickey growled, reaching out to grab her wrist. Maya flinched as he pulled her down onto his lap.
"Dammit woman, I'm not my brother. I don't…I never…" he turned to stare moodily out the window, jaw tense.
Maya sat on his knee, unsure of what she should be doing. He sighed again, scrubbing a hand across his face.
"I only do my women willin', yeah? But Job he, I dunno. He's not the same. None of 'em are."
Maya hardly dared hope. "You…aren't going to rape us?"
"No!" Mickey spat, turning on her. "No, goddammit. She's what, thirteen? Probably 'aint even had her first blood yet and Job was gonna…wanted to…"
He growled. "I couldn't take you all. If you hadn't done your little beggin' act, probably wouldn't have gotten you either. I wouldn't have let 'em have her. I swear."
Maya stared at him. "It wasn't an act. I'm…willing to do what I have to."
Mickey touched her then, pushing her hair away from her neck to cup her jaw. Maya couldn't help but flinch away from the contact, and she knew Mickey had noticed.
"Sure. You're a downright martyr. But I gotta put some marks on ya otherwise they'll start thinkin' I've gone soft. And you'll be here a while. I'll do what I can but I 'aint gonna be around all the time. So 'round the others, you're mine. You obey me like I've beaten and fucked you docile. You understand, yeah? 'Cause they'll take you, and they'll take her, if they know I 'aint touched ya."
Mickey looked over towards where Lily was cowering, buried under blankets and no doubt thinking that right now, Mickey was having his way with Maya.
Maya took a deep breath. "I understand."
Mickey nodded, eyes locked onto hers. "Take your shirt off."
Maya did as she was told, pulling the stained and torn fabric over her head, revealing a black bra that had seen better days. She wondered briefly if her coat had made it, confiscated with her weapons, but then Mickey was leaning forward, his lips latching onto her neck as his hands grabbed onto her hips, sucking a mark into her skin.
Maya froze, heart pounding against her ribs as he sucked a bruise into existence, moving to the other side of her neck as soon as he was finished. His beard was rough against her skin, his lips demanding, and slowly Maya yielded to him, tilting her head back for easier access.
Mickey shuffled her closer against him but the angle was awkward, Maya sitting primly across his knee. She pushed on his shoulder and he released her with an obscene pop, his lips slick in the gloom.
Maya's face was flaming and she looked anywhere but his mouth, getting to her feet. "Here, just…this is easier."
She stepped over his legs to straddle his thighs, his legs still sprawled in a wide v. Mickey grunted, wrapping his arms around her waist to haul her close, mouth going back to her neck. Maya stared over his head, uncertainly resting her hands on his shoulders.
She felt the blunt scrape of teeth, and a few seconds later he was moving down to her collarbone, biting lightly. His hands moved down to her thighs, pinching hard enough to leave marks, and Maya bore it silently.
A whirlwind of emotions threatened to choke her. Relief, fear, anger, worry. Out there her friends were in danger, yet she was in here engaged in some…heavy petting.
To save Lily, she told herself stubbornly. I'm doing what I have to.
Mickey grasped her chin, turning her head so he could nose along her jaw-line, leaving her skin red in his wake.
Furiously, Maya realized her body was responding, growing warm beneath his touch. She wanted to hate him, wanted to hate him for what was happening outside, for what his brother was doing, for just having the cursed name Wilkerson.
But she couldn't. It was thanks to him that Lily was curled in a corner untouched. For some unearthly reason, Mickey wasn't like his brother. And Maya was lucky enough to have ended up with him.
Maya was a survivor. She had been willing to do any terrible debauched act in order to barter her and Lily's lives. Now, she was willing to do whatever it took to make sure that this little act of theirs was successful.
Determined, Maya rolled her hips, pushing herself more firmly into Mickey's touch. She wound her arms around his shoulders, fingers sliding into his thick dark hair.
Mickey jolted, lips breaking contact with her skin. "What're you-"
"You better bite me like you mean it," Maya said fiercely. "You do what you have to, and I'll take it. I mean it, Mickey. If you're serious about helping us, then you need to do it right. Break skin, make me bleed. It's the only thing that'll satisfy those dogs outside."
Mickey's eyes were black in the darkness. "You don't know what you're askin'. I'll hurt you."
"I can take pain. I'm strong."
Mickey stared at her, trailing a finger down her jaw. "Never said you weren't."
His eyes flickered down to her lips, thumb rubbing over the chapped skin of her lower lip. "But I wanna make it good for ya, too. That alright?"
Maya swallowed, merely nodding sharply. She didn't know what that meant, but whatever he could dish out, she could take. She had to.
He breathed shakily, dropping his hand to curl gently around her neck. "Alright. I gotta…I gotta wreck your mouth some. Make it look like you fought me."
His fingers tightened on her neck, and Maya fought down the instinctual panic rising at the movement. "I'll only press hard enough to make it look like I choked ya."
He leaned in close then, and Maya held herself still, hardly breathing as he slotted his lips to hers, fingers digging into the vulnerable skin of her throat. He bit her at her lower lip, tugging the sore flesh between his teeth.
Maya could taste blood, but she remained still. The fingers left her throat then and Mickey pulled away, grimacing. "Sorry. Bet that'll look convincin' though."
He kissed her again, gentler this time, soothing her stinging lip with his tongue, and Maya parted her lips hesitantly, half expecting him to just thrust inside, his whole story of protecting them a lie to get behind her defenses.
He didn't, leaving her lips to mouth her smarting throat. "I'm gonna bite down hard a couple times. It's gonna hurt."
He shifted her hips until she was straddling him completely, his hands dropping to the curve of her bottom. Maya resisted the urge to squirm, face reddening as she felt him beginning to stir beneath her.
There was no warning, one minute he was just running his lips against her pounding pulse, and the next he was biting her, everything screaming at Maya to push him away, get him away from the most vulnerable area of her body.
Maya struggled through it, her arms clamping like a vice around Mickey's shoulders.
This is the best possible outcome, she reassured herself, even as he released her to bite down in a different spot. Maya's teeth ground at the pain, tears pricking the corners of her eyes.
She didn't realize she was doing it until Mickey growled at her, his hands stilling her moving hips. It was an instinctual movement, rocking to ride out any waves of pain, but her movements in their position had her grinding against him.
"Stop that," he pulled away to glare at her, and woozily Maya saw blood on his lips.
"You said you'd make it good," Maya shot back, nerves shot with too much adrenaline. "So make it good."
Mickey stared at her for a beat. Without a sound, the hands at her hips pushed her down, copying her movements from earlier, as he shifted his legs wider. It brought Maya's crotch directly in line with his, and Maya grunted as she felt the hard line of his beginning erection through his jeans. Maya's own yoga pants were thin, and as he rocked her over him, she could feel him grow harder, pressing up into her softer folds through the fabric.
He moved his mouth to her collar bone, sucking and biting as she ground against him.
Maybe it was all the adrenaline, or the pain, or just the goddamn craziness that had been that day, but Maya's body responded to his, concentrating more on the pleasurable jolts every time her sex came into contact with his, rather than the pain of him biting marks into her skin.
"Better?" he rumbled, voice vibrating against her skin.
"Shut up," Maya panted, fingers scrabbling against his scalp. "Just…just finish it."
She didn't know if she was referring to the marking or the grinding, but Mickey obliged her on both counts, biting down where her shoulder met her neck, thrusting his hips up sharply.
It was enough to get her off, Maya's body shuddering and thighs shaking around Mickey's hips. A few jerky movements later and Mickey seemed to find his, mouthing a curse into Maya's shoulder as his fingers dug welts into the curves of her ass.
They breathed heavily in the silence until Maya's thighs started protesting. She clambered off Mickey, legs wobbly and collapsed down onto the camping mat. Mickey got up, moving towards the corner of the room where Maya could see a box with piled clothes on top. She closed her eyes as he began to strip.
"Will it be enough?" she asked tiredly, body aching. She longed to reach out and gather Lily into her arms, reassure the girl everything was fine, but she was so tired, and in her current state she might frighten Lily more.
Mickey slipped off his boots, letting them thud against the floorboards. "Hopefully. Like I said though, you gotta act like I've beaten ya."
Clothing rustled, and then Mickey was moving back to her side. Maya opened her eyes to see he was offering her a shirt. She sat up slowly, wincing. "I will. What exactly are we expected to do now that we're…staying?"
It was the nicest word she could think of to describe their situation. Mickey watched her pull on the shirt, himself now clad in just a pair of boxers. In the dark Maya couldn't see details, but he was solidly built, broad shouldered with a toned stomach.
"Clean and cook. Got some other women here, they'll show ya. Most of 'em are…" he frowned, obviously uncomfortable.
"Shared," Maya said bluntly. "Like a harem."
Mickey avoided her eyes. "But I'll make a show of it, tell 'em you're off limits. Mine."
Maya flopped down onto the bed, uncaring of how uncomfortable it was. "Great. Can't wait."
Mickey stepped over her, snagging a spare blanket from the pile Lily was buried under. The girl didn't make a peep, hopefully already passed out from exhaustion.
Maya didn't pull away as Mickey settled down beside her, draping a blanket over them both.
"I'll dig up some more beddin' tomorrow," he said quietly, breath warm against Maya's abused neck. "Get the girl somethin'. But for now we should-"
"Sleep together. I get it." Maya closed her eyes, exhausted beyond words. She didn't protest when Mickey slid an arm under her head to give her something to rest her head on, didn't make a peep as he slotted himself against her, a warm wall of protection.
Maya fell asleep to the beating of his heart against her back, the movement of his chest as he breathed.
She didn't dream.