Winds of Change
By Berry's Ambitions
Chapter 8: The Hostage
A/N: I did it again. I'm sorry. I really don't intend to wait months before updating this. It just sort of... happened. DX My apologies, because I do enjoy writing this fic and have no plans to abandon it.
Thank you so much to those who've reviewed, followed, favourited, or are reading this period! I don't know what I'd do without you. :)
Finally, we're back to Stump and Letch! I hope this is worth the wait!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Hills Have Eyes.
WARNING: Language, violence, and disturbing/sexual content.
When I awoke, my first assumption was that it was a hangover.
I mean, I had all the symptoms. My skull felt like someone had taken an axe to it, I was ready to barf, my heart was pounding, I ached all over and I hadn't the damnedest clue where I was.
I braced myself as I opened my eyes.
Through blurred vision, I saw a figure at the edge of a bed.
Whoa. That alarmed me. Bed? What the hell was I up to?
I blinked a few more times, trying to clear my vision, trying to jog my memory.
No, I hadn't been partying. I'd been training with my unit. We were in the desert, and we were being picked off one by one...
I sat up so fast that the world begin spinning, my stomach and head screaming in protest.
I remembered everything.
Missy. They took Missy. My friends went down to the mines to find her, but I had been too chicken-shit to follow them...
And... that thing attacked me.
Instincts kicked in - run. Fast.
Gasping, I lurched forward, only to be stopped by what felt like an invisible force.
Only it wasn't.
It wasn't until then did I realize that my arms were bound above my head. The same applied to my ankles.
That fucking sicko had tied me to this bed.
"Hey, bitch."
I seized up, breaking out in a sweat instantly.
The voice was rough, kind of gravelly and, above all, irritated. It came from the guy in front of me.
"That's right, I'm talkin' to you. Scream and I slit your throat. Got it?"
Oh God. Oh God. I was about to be raped by this thing. I was going to be raped and enslaved for the rest of my life.
Did training cover this?
But instead of trying to remember what to do, or even mouthing off, I just sat there. I could only imagine how stupid and weak I must have looked.
The guy sighed and reached for something in his pocket. My breathing became shallow once more. He's going for the knife, he's going for the knife, he's going for the knife -
Instead he pulled out a flask and began unscrewing the cap.
Now I was just befuddled.
The mutant held the bottle up to my face. "Drink," he commanded.
I shrank back. No way in hell I was taking anything this creep offered me.
He scowled at me. Or at least, that's what I assume he was doing. Everything was still fuzzy. "You wanna shrivel up and die?"
I shook my head rapidly.
"Then drink."
I realized that he wasn't giving me a choice. Only when I ran my tongue across my lower lip did I realize that he hadn't been joking. I really was starting to shrivel up.
Maybe he was on to something.
He unscrewed the cap and I opened my mouth, tilting my head back so I wouldn't choke. Only when the water touched my tongue did I realize that I hadn't been thirsty - I was outright dehydrated.
This asshole had more or less saved my life.
Anyway, it was probably the best water I ever had for the reason alone. The more I drank, the better I felt. My vision was clearing; as was my mind.
When I began to consider exactly why he was keeping my alive, I didn't feel quite so grateful anymore.
The mutant pulled the flask away after I'd finished draining it. Now I could really study him for the first time. We shared similar blue-green eyes, but the resemblance ended there. He was a big bald guy, muscular but lanky, and covered in those freaky growths - tumors, maybe? Warts? Either way... gross. He was wearing the same army hat from when he first attacked me.
When he attacked me.
I remembered it then.
He'd been prepared to have his way with me... and he'd stopped.
Why?
I glanced around the rest of the room. It was fucking dirty to say the least, and I could see weapons mounted on the wall across from us - spears, pick-axes, machetes, cleavers, knives... and three rifles. I recalled Amber telling me how hers had been stolen, along with Napoleon's. The other one had to be mine.
On my left was a bedside table with miscellaneous objects on it. The room was illuminated by a flickering old lantern on the wall above the table. In the right corner, past the mutant, was a random trunk. I didn't even want to know what was in there.
"You in shock?"
I snapped my head upwards and immediately was rewarded by another round of sickening dizziness. The man was staring at me, eyebrows raised. If he had any eyebrows, that is. I could see his lips twitching in what I assumed was amusement, and he was switching the empty flask from hand to hand. Irritation overrode my confusion and terror. Who did this jackass think he was?
"You wish," I scoffed. Okay, probably not my best comeback, but there was no way in hell I was letting some backwoods country fuck get the better of me. Even if he happened to be a backwoods country fuck with an arsenal worthy of Rambo.
Rambo... Had it really been just this morning that I'd been joking around with my teammates?
Teammates that this monster helped kill.
He grinned at me, revealing a mouth full of jagged teeth. My orthodontist would've had a field day with him. "Sassy," he commented, leaning back in his chair. If I could have kneed him in the balls at that point, I would have. "I like that."
I glowered at him. What a fucking pig. "Keep me tied to this bed much longer and then we'll see how much you like me."
The mutant threw back his head and laughed, my blood pressure rising simultaneously. I suspected I'd still hate this jerk-off even if he wasn't a threat. "Aww, how cute. You tryin' to talk tough." Then he narrowed his eyes into slits. "Great way to thank someone who just saved your sorry life."
Now it was my turn to laugh. "Please. You really think I wanted you to save me? I know all about what you sick fucks do down here to people like me." Despite my bravado, the memory of the colonel's warning made me feel chilly. Which was odd, considering the fact it was unbearably hot and stuffy down here.
The mutant eyed me, as if curious. "I'm guessin' that Redding told ya?"
Redding. Right. I'd forgotten his name. "He told us everything," I lied, lifting my chin. "Which is exactly why it's a bad idea for you and the rest of your inbred family to keep me here."
He looked amused now. "If you knew everything, you'd know we ain't inbred," the man informed me, finally setting the flask down on the bedside table. It occurred to me then that I probably could get out of here... I just had to know how to do it. This concept relaxed me, if only a little.
"And you'd also know that there's no way you gettin' out," the mutant added smugly. My temporary relaxation faded. "We ain't stupid, sugar-tits."
"Sugar-tits?" I repeated, seething now. "Oh, like I haven't heard that one before." I'd been waiting for this. Eyes on my chest, a snide remark, occasionally both. He'd made a big mistake. I was out for blood now. "Tell me this, then, casanova. If you're so eager to get at my tits -" I shoved out my chest to emphasize what I was saying. His jaw dropped for half a second. "- then why haven't you done it already, huh?" I stared at him challengingly. "What stopped you from doing that when you found me? Because right now, I feel like you're only talkin' big to make up for little things."
The last sentence was barely out of my mouth when the guy pinned me to the bed. His nose was pressing against mine, and I could see that his eyes had become wild. Rabid. Feral.
I'd forgotten who - what - I'd been speaking to.
"Do not," he snarled, grabbing a fistful of my hair, "push it."
I could only stare at him, breaking out in a cold sweat once more. Don't piss him off, Stump, I advised myself, trying not to loose my cool. You're lucky he hasn't killed you yet... or worse.
Unless you've just gone and changed his mind. Wouldn't be the first time you broke something that didn't need to be fixed.
"You push me..." He began running a hand up and down my thigh. I inhaled sharply and shuddered despite myself. "...well, you won't like the results."
Think Stump, think. What would Missy do?
Missy! In my own panic I'd forgotten all about her. I hoped she was better off than I was. I wanted to believe that the others had found her - or, better yet, she'd gotten away on her own. She was certainly capable of it.
"Where are my friends?" I blurted. Fun fact about me - while in the uterus, my mental filter hadn't developed. Oh well. Too late to stop now.
He withdrew his hand, brow crinkling. "Your friends?" he repeated slowly.
"Where's Missy?" I pressed. "The girl who was taken."
I sent silent praise to the Lord as the mutant pulled away from me at least, taking his seat. "Missy, huh?" He sounded amused again. "And you're called?"
"Stump," I responded automatically. "You gonna answer my question or what?"
"Like the tree?" There came the grin again. "Were your parents on some'in when they named ya?"
"Stump's not my real name, you dick!" I exploded, temporarily forgetting about Missy again. "Like yours is any better!"
"Not really," the mutant said, a ring of truth to his tone. "It's Letch."
"Letch as in lecherous?" I gawked at him. "Dude, you do know what that means, right?"
"Sometimes I wonder if my pa was high when he named me," reflected the apparent Letch. "Wouldn't put it past the crazy old dog."
I shook my head. We were getting way, way off-topic. "So where are my friends?" I demanded. I realized that maybe Letch wasn't aware that the others had gone down here to look for Missy. I couldn't give them away. "Did you take Missy? Where is she?"
Letch held up a hand. "Whoa, little lady. One thing at a time." He acted as if our little confrontation had never happened. Was he bipolar? And furthermore, why had he gotten so freaking mad when I brought up the fact he hasn't jumped all over me yet? Or was he simply defending his manhood? Nothing made sense.
Not that it matters, considering the fact I'll get myself outta here. Somehow.
"Chameleon took Missy," Letch explained.
"Chameleon? Do you guys have some sorta weird naming trend down here or what?"
"I don't know, ask Hades!" Letch snapped. "Yeah, he took her down here because just lookin' at that girl made him hornier than a bitch in heat."
I bristled. "Tell Chameleon to keep it in his pants. Missy's not interested."
Letch studied me for a moment. "You're a weird one," he declared.
"Why? Because I speak the truth?" I was absolutely fed up now. I was confused and furious and scared and I wanted to go home. I wanted my friends back.
I should have never left them in the first place.
"I guess that's one way of puttin' it, yeah."
We stared at each other for a long moment.
"We know your friends are down here lookin' for Missy... and probably you."
I stared at my bound hands, feeling more miserable and devoid of hope with each passing second. "Figured as much."
How many of them are even left? How am I going to get away?
I spoke the next question aloud.
"Am I gonna be used for breeding?"
Letch tilted his head. "Don't know," he murmured, appearing genuinely thoughtful for the first time.
"If you weren't going to do that to me, why'd you take me in the first place? What's going to happen to Missy?"
Letch sighed, leaning forward. The cockiness was gone now. "I really don't know, girl. Cham, well... he really is batshit about your friend. Don't know why. Seems convinced she can make all his problems go away. Me, I think he just needs somethin' to distract himself from Hades."
"Hades." I frowned, the pieces beginning to fit together. "Is he your dad?"
Letch's expression darkened. "Would hardly call him that."
I sat up as much as the restraints would allow. Things were starting to make sense now. "Hades is the one making you do this," I said. "Right?"
Letch didn't reply. Didn't even look at me.
"Do you even like what your family is doing?"
It had never crossed my mind that these things were anything remotely similar to us. I didn't consider the fact they could think, or rationalize, or even feel.
I almost wished they were mindless drones. It would make everything a hell of a lot simpler.
"I don't want your pity," Letch spat. "Don't you dare start feelin' sorry for us. I can tell you exactly how many of your friends I killed. I could tell you I enjoyed it, too."
"Have you raped anyone?" I challenged. The words felt ugly on my tongue. "Has... has this Chameleon guy raped anyone? Knocked any innocent girls up?"
"I said don't, bitch."
"Or what?"
I never did find out what 'what' was, because all of a sudden the door decided to swing open.
I looked at Letch first. His reaction alone should have my nerves into a frenzy. Rigid muscles, eyes huge with fright.
My first thought was, What could Letch possibly be afraid of?
The second one followed almost immediately. Something would scare me twice as bad.
Gulping, I followed his gaze.
There, looming in the doorway with his arms crossed, was possibly the ugliest creature I ever had the displeasure of sharing oxygen with.
Seriously. He made Letch look like Johnny Depp.
Hades.
The sickening, dizzy sensation from when I first woke up threatened to overtake me again.
"Letch." He spat the word out like a curse. Had I not known Letch's name, I probably wouldn't have understood what he'd said. His voice was that gruff.
No, not gruff. I think the word 'bestial' would be more appropriate. 'Gutteral'. Or better yet, 'assault on Stump's eardrums'.
Letch got to his feet, albeit very stiffly, facial expression changing from fearful to stony as he did. Looking from him to Hades, I realized that he wasn't nearly as tall as I'd originally thought. Five-eleven, maybe? As for Hades, my estimation was at least six-four, though his muscles made him seem even huger.
"Yeah, Papa?" I watched Letch's fists clench and unclench as he spoke. It occurred to me then that he not only feared his father, but held resentment - possibly even hatred - for him.
I seconded that notion.
"You took her" - Hades pointed one dirty finger in my direction, and it took all my strength not to visibly wince - "without tellin' me." His nostrils flared as he began advancing towards Letch.
Letch was braver than I would've been, standing his ground rather than stumbling backwards. "There are other girls here." His voice rang out through the mines, challenging and defiant. I blinked in spite of myself. "Ya only need one!"
With a roar that made my ears pop, Hades shoved Letch backwards. I expected him to hit the floor, but the mutant went flying straight into the wall, right next to the bed where I was. A sickening crack rang out as his skull connected with the wall, sending Letch crumpling onto the floor. I bit my tongue at the last second to stop myself from screaming, filling my mouth with blood in the process.
All I could do was watch, helpless, as Hades leaned over and grabbed the still conscious Letch by the throat, hoisting him upwards so he could look at his son right in the eyes. "YOU KNOW THE RULES, YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Hades snarled, giving the smaller hill dweller a violent shake. This time, Letch's head lolled backwards, and I was suddenly consumed with irrational fear for his safety.
Wait, what?! A little jolt of alarm rang through my body. Why should I care about him? He's the one who got me into this mess!
No, a little voice in my head corrected. If you hadn't wandered off by yourself, none of this would have happened.
"I! GET! FIRST! DIBS!" Hades screamed. He abruptly dropped Letch to the ground again, but my relief was only temporary. Hades was glaring at me now. The wild look in Letch's eyes from earlier seemed kitten-like compared to this. "You hear me, you little whore?" he breathed, getting so close to me that I almost passed out. "You're mine."
What happened next was, hands down, the worst experience of my nineteen years of life.
Hades grabbed my cheeks with those filthy hands of his - hard enough to bruise, may I add - and kissed me.
I never thought a kiss could be violent, but Hades proved me wrong that day. I literally gagged, bile rising at the back of my throat. Not only did he kiss me, but he forced his vile excuse of a tongue into my mouth as well. It was slimy and horrible and he tasted like I don't even know.
By the time he pulled away, I'd completely broken down, screaming and sobbing and trying desperately not to throw up.
I am not exaggerating when I tell you that, in that moment, I was truly wishing for death.
Hades leaned back and watched us for a while - me bawling like an infant and making bargains with God, Letch lying in a broken, twitching heap on the floor. Admiring his handiwork, perhaps. I really don't want to know.
When Hades finally sauntered off, it offered no consolation whatsoever. He'd go hurt somebody else, after all - maybe a member of his clan, maybe one of my own friends. Assuming he hadn't dealt with them already.
Besides, he'd come back for me eventually. He'd made that perfectly clear.
It was only when I remembered Letch that I was able to pull myself halfway back together.
The only sign of visible sign of life he displayed, from what I could see, was the unsteady rise and fall of his back.
I shouldn't have cared. Not about him. Not after what he had done, regardless of his reasoning behind it.
But considering the fact it was the idea of getting both of us out of here alive that reignited the spark of determination in me, I decided not to question it. At least for now.
