Warning: this chapter contains talk of predatory homosexuality. No sex, no hardcore, no like: no read.
Chapter Two
"Unthinkable"
The stranger wielded his electronic remote in front of him, forcing 10K and Murphy to walk forward out of the red-lit room. He gestured sharply with it when 10K looked back, indicating that he keep moving and take a right down the hall. Murphy stumbled a little as they rounded the corner, his face even more ashen than usual from his loss of blood, and 10K put an arm under Murphy's elbow on instinct, holding him up. Murphy cast a dark sidelong glance in 10K's direction, and the boy thought he could read a look of deep apprehension in that normally stoic face. He cast another quick look over his shoulder at the stranger, continuing to move forward slowly, helping Murphy to stay on his feet.
"Where are we going?" 10K asked tensely, keeping his eyes forward.
"Shut up and keep walking," their captor snapped.
"Just let us go, we'll go and we won't look back," 10K pushed, his eyes flickering back over his shoulder. Murphy was starting to lean more heavily on his arm.
"I said, shut up!" Barked the stranger, and with a sharp gesture he gave the remote a sharp buzz.
10K staggered sideways into Murphy, his body seizing under the assault of more electricity, and tripped over the man's legs as the shock ceased and his muscles went weak. The two of them barely managed to remain standing, but somehow Murphy caught his balance and braced against 10K, leaning him back upright.
"You keep doing that, you'll lose your last showpieces," Murphy growled, turning a furious eye to the stranger, who looked back at him smugly.
"You're not showpieces anymore," said the stranger in an odd voice. "You could've been, but you decided to make it a lot harder on yourselves. Only good zombies get to be showpieces—and good boys, too," he added, raising an eyebrow at 10K. "But you made me kill all the best zombies I had. I have different plans for you now. Go through that door."
10K and Murphy looked at the door where the stranger was pointing, and they stopped walking.
"What's in there?" Asked 10K, doing his best not to sound nervous.
"Go. Through. The door." The stranger ordered, his voice grating as he punctuated each syllable, holding up the remote as a threat.
Murphy was the one to step forward and turn the door handle, giving 10K a subtle look that said, 'Don't make a move right now.'
The door swung open and through it, 10K could see a small amount of daylight filtering in through a barred window high in the ceiling. The room was unfurnished except for an unmade bed in one corner, two wicker chairs against the opposite wall, and a thick pillar stretching all the way from the ceiling to the floor. Directly in front of the pillar, heavy manacles hung from the ceiling, attached to metal chains that looked rusted and used.
"What the hell is this place?" Murphy growled under his breath, his eyes moving from the barred window to the metal chains.
"Oh, this is where I keep the zombies until they're fitted with their collars and ready to go on display," the stranger explained conversationally, pushing them further into the room. "That's what the smell is."
10K stayed quiet as the stranger closed the door behind them, locking them in. He and Murphy watched the man in silence as he made his way around the edge of the room, eyeing his captives the entire time.
"So…" the stranger said in a low voice, walking back the other way, pacing as he studied the two of them. "Now we have our fun."
10K glanced at Murphy, a shiver running down his spine. He wanted to somehow convey to Murphy his question—'How the hell do we get out of this?'
"It won't be much fun for you," the stranger continued, pulling a long rope out from under the large flap he wore at his side, kind of like makeshift armor. "But it'll be fun for me. Here, boy, take this rope. Tie your friend's hands behind his back."
10K stared at the stranger with wide eyes, not moving. He shook his head a little from left to right, rooted to the spot.
"NOW!" The stranger barked out, and he held out the buzzer, pressing ruthlessly down on the button.
The electricity hit both 10K and Murphy like bolts of lightning, sending them the cold floor, rendering them completely incapable of functional movement. 10K gripped his fists together across his chest, his body convulsing as waves and ripples of the electric current continued to assault him. After what seemed like minutes, the shocks stopped, and he drew in several sharp, painful breaths, trying to roll onto his side. His muscles shook uncontrollably and his arms felt like jelly as he raised himself up onto his elbow, turning toward Murphy.
But the stranger was already beside Murphy, pulling the weakened man up into a sitting position by the shoulder, and twisting both his arms around behind his back.
"I have to do everything myself," the stranger griped, fastening the rope tightly around Murphy's wrists and knotting it securely. Murphy appeared to be too weak to resist, but his teeth were bared and his eyes spit fire as the stranger straightened up and took a few steps back, admiring his work.
"You'll regret this… when our group finds you," Murphy snarled, out of breath from the electricity.
"No one's going to find you," repeated the stranger, his mouth twisting in a sneering smile. "Why would they think to come here? They'll look and look, and then they'll give up on both of you—"
"They will find us—they would've heard the gunshot," 10K interrupted, breathing heavily as he pushed himself backward to lean against the wall. "They'll come this way, they'll search every building until they get to this one!"
The stranger looked disconcerted for a second, but it quickly passed. "Well then, boy…" he sneered, taking a few steps closer to 10K. "I better hurry and have my fun."
10K watched him warily as the stranger took another step closer. The man's eyes were raking up and down 10K's body, and his fingers were opening and closing as he got nearer.
The way the stranger looked at him sent another shudder down 10K's back, and he pushed himself straighter against the wall. "Just let us go," he said, gritting his teeth against the anxiety rising in his chest. "We have to get Murphy to California, we have to. He could—he could save humanity, if they can use his blood to make more of the vaccine!"
"What blood?" the stranger laughed darkly. "I took six pints of it. I'm amazed he's even alive. No one's going to California. Well—neither of you are, at least. The rest of them can do whatever the hell they want… just like I'm going to." The stranger looked down at the remote in his hand and pressed a button. 10K tensed his body, expecting another onslaught, but it didn't come. He stared at the stranger in confusion until the man looked back at him, holding up the device. "Now when I press this button," he told them casually, "The Murphy will get it. Let that be a warning to you, zombie man. If you make a move, I'll have you on the floor in less than half a second. I've tripled the voltage—it might even kill you, I don't know. Who knows what it takes to kill a half-man, half-zombie?" He thought about that for a second. "Well… I'll know, in time. I'll be the first to find out." His cold eyes moved back to 10K. "Stand up, boy."
10K didn't move. He glanced over at Murphy, then back at the stranger. "Why?"
"Stay where you are, kid," Murphy muttered from beside him.
"If you don't do what I say, your friend the Murphy gets it," the stranger reminded 10K, holding up the remote with a glint in his eye. It looked almost as though he was hoping 10K would still refuse.
Slowly, tremulously, 10K climbed to his feet, his back against the wall. He met the stranger's eyes reluctantly, a pit forming in his stomach.
"Now…" the stranger began, looking pleased. "Walk over to the pillar."
Out of the corner of his eye, 10K could see Murphy shaking his head sharply, but he couldn't let Murphy die by electrocution. He was partly responsible for getting Murphy to California, and if he failed now because he was afraid, the others would never forgive him.
Slowly, he moved across the floor, keeping his eyes on the stranger, not turning his back on him for one second. He approached the pillar and risked a glance up at the manacles. From such a close vantage point, he could see they were covered in dried blood, not rust. He tried to swallow, but his mouth had gone bone dry as he lowered his eyes back to the stranger.
Suddenly, with surprising agility, the stranger had come forward and closed the gap between them in three large strides. 10K let out a yell of surprise, making to jump back out of the way, but his back hit the thick pillar, and then the stranger was on him.
"Hey—get off!" 10K shouted breathlessly, trying to bring a knee up into the stranger's stomach and force him back. But the stranger was bigger and stronger, and he grabbed 10K's arms in a vice-like grip, lifting them up above his head. 10K fought hard to get loose, but his muscles were still shaky from the electricity, and he realized he was too weak to get out of the stranger's hold. With ice in his veins, he felt the cold metal of the manacles close forcefully around first one wrist, then the other, and the stranger winched them both so tight that 10K lost feeling in his fingers almost immediately.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Murphy struggling to get up, a look of rage on his ashen face. The stranger seemed to notice this too, and he backed away from 10K, pointing the remote at Murphy and pressing the button a lot harder than necessary. As Murphy collapsed and went rigid, that sick smile curled the stranger's lips again.
"No!" Yelled 10K in desperation. "Stop!"
Finally, the stranger stopped pressing the button. Murphy's body stopped seizing and 10K stared at him fearfully, praying that it hadn't been too much. To his enormous relief, he saw Murphy's eyes open a fraction, and his chest started to rise and fall again with deep, sharp breaths.
"Don't move again, zombie-man," the stranger warned. "I told you I tripled the voltage—I wasn't lying. Got that, boy?" He turned a gleaming eye on 10K. "If you don't cooperate, it's your friend who's gonna pay the price."
"Cooperate—?" said 10K jumpily, struggling to breathe through the tightness in his chest, "Cooperate how? What do you want?"
"What I want," said the stranger in a low voice, advancing toward 10K again, the corner of his mouth curling upward, "Is you."
10K stared at him without moving, bewildered. He pressed his back into the pillar as the stranger eyed him, trying to keep as much distance between them as possible. "I don't—I don't get it, why do you want me…?" He stammered, trying and failing to keep the fear out of his voice.
"Why do you think?" The stranger demanded.
10K shook his head, his eyes wide. "I don't know," he said truthfully, his voice cracking. "I'm no one, I'm normal…" he trailed off into silence, struck by the look on the stranger's face. It was a look he'd never seen before, but something inside him was telling him to reject it however he could.
The stranger looked amused and surprised. "You don't know much, do you?"
Despite his predicament, 10K felt a flare of indignation at this remark. "I know some things," he argued, but his voice trembled a little.
"No, you don't. You don't know anything about what's like to be alone, for years and years, with no one to… satisfy… what a man needs in life.."
"I was alone for three years," 10K told him, pressing harder into the pillar as the stranger took a step closer. "I'm used to it."
"Well… it doesn't surprise me, you're just a kid. You don't even know what it's like to have needs, do you?"
10K bit back an answer, his mind racing as he tried to understand what the stranger meant.
The man laughed, "You know what? I bet you're still a virgin."
10K froze his movements, staring at the stranger. "What...?"
"You heard me. Bet you never did the dirty, did you? Never waked the snakes?"
10K didn't know what to say as a sense of horror flooded through him. That look in the man's eye… the way he kept eyeing up and down like 10K was a piece of meat…
"You're scum," growled Murphy's voice from the wall, and 10K looked over to find that the man was fully awake again, glaring at them both across the room as he struggled with what looked like all the rest of his strength to get back to his feet, without the use of his bound arms. "You're worse than a Z, you shitbag. Step the hell back—"
The stranger laughed darkly, raising the remote. "See? This is why I come prepared." He pressed the button again, and down Murphy went, twitching and shaking, his eyes rolling back in his head.
"Stop! Stop it!" Shouted 10K, pulling as hard as he could on the chains that held his arms above his head. The chains rattled loudly but they didn't give, and when the stranger let go of the button, Murphy was once again rendered half-unconscious on the floor.
10K breathed heavily, staring fearfully over at Murphy. "Murphy!" He croaked around a lump in his throat. "Wake up! Hey... Murphy!"
"Don't worry about the Murphy," hissed the stranger, and suddenly he was there in front of 10K, three inches from his face. He pinned 10K to the pillar with one hand around his throat.
10K coughed and choked, his eyes watering as the man increased the pressure. Just as his brain started screaming for oxygen and the edges of his vision were tingling with popping red lights, the man released the strangle-hold. 10K gulped in great lungfuls of air, sputtering and trying to shake the lights out of his eyes as he coughed out breath after breath. "Please—" he gasped, fighting to regain control of his breathing. "Why are you doing this?"
"Like I told you, boy. I've been alone for a long time, and the two of you screwed up my whole game. But I still have a use for you… I still have needs. You're going to help me, boy. And if you don't... your friend pays the price."
Murphy let out a muffled groan from the floor, but he seemed unable to form words.
The stranger moved up to 10K, so near that their chests were almost touching. 10K held his breath, staring back at him.
"You're a good looking kid, you know that?" The stranger said after a minute, and 10K was surprised to hear a sudden change in his voice. He didn't sound angry anymore, and there was something...else... in his eyes now. 10K said nothing, remaining as still as possible. "Yeah, you are," the man continued. "When I first saw you, I knew I hit the jackpot, but I didn't know it would be this... rewarding."
There was another string of angry, weakened groans from Murphy's corner, but this time 10K didn't take his eyes off the stranger. His heart was slowly but surely plummeting down into his stomach as he watched their captor's facial expression. His own face felt frozen, as though he'd been plunged into a block of ice. He couldn't remember how to move his bound arms or legs, or how to take a breath.
"Don't look so sad," crowed the stranger, letting out a delighted laugh. "I'll try to make it a little fun for you, too." At these words, he put his hands on 10K's shoulders, brushing them down across his chest and then to his sides beneath his arms. The touch was light, but it jolted 10K out of his frozen apprehension.
"Don't," he growled at the stranger, trying to twist his body away, but the manacles effectively held him in place. He felt the man's hands tighten around his sides, moving lower until they grasped both his hips, giving a tight squeeze, pulling 10K ever so slightly away from the pillar. As he did so, the stranger leaned his face in toward the side of 10K's face, inhaling deeply. 10K turned his head away, grinding his teeth together as he felt the man's lips touch the side of his neck. "Don't..." he said again, his voice reduced to a shaky whisper, but the sickening pit in his stomach told him his words were futile.
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