Warning! This chapter contains some very violent scenes, as well as rape triggers. This idea came about after a conversation with my husband while I was dreaming up this story. The basic principle is how evil will the human species get in general after an apocalypse? And in my opinion, pretty fucking evil.
The last few days have been really fluffy, and we have some craziness coming up that I think people will like. But this chapter kinda needed to happen.
Beth stood in the kitchen, draining the carrots she had taken from the cabin's lands. It wasn't a massive farm, but definitely enough to support her and Merle. Beth had taken it upon herself to learn to cook as best she could, so with the use of the family cook book from the Greene farm and some lucky guesses, she was getting quite good. It had taken a bit though. Merle had had to choke thru more than one burned meal.
Beth smiled as she thought of Merle. He was out on his daily hunt, hopefully bringing home meat to match the carrots. Merle was hampered by missing a hand, but not so much that he couldn't bring home dinner on an almost nightly basis. They had plenty of canned and preserved foods, but they both had agreed to save these foods for when fresh was thin. Merle was worried about the oncoming winter. They both were. The last few weeks Merle's hunts were thin and small. Pretty soon he would stop going out each day, and they would last on the meats, vegetables and fruits Beth had preserved over the fall months.
Beth felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She looked around the cabin, not seeing anyone. Looking outside there was nothing either. Beth shrugged it off, assuming she was being paranoid. She quickly retracted this thought as she turned back to the kitchen and saw a man standing there with a shot gun pointed at her. Beth reached for her knife at her waist, before the man stepped forward.
"Well aren't you a pleasant find? Drop the knife. " the man growled as he raised the gun, aimed at Beth's head. She grasped the knife and stood still.
"What do you want?" Beth asked shakily. The first person she had seen in months aside from Merle, and she knew she was in trouble.
The man was much taller than her, Merle's height. He was skinnier then Merle, younger but less built. He was filthy, covered in walker blood and dirt. The clothes he wore were in tatters, and she could clearly see fresh needle marks on his arms. She knew what the scars were, from Merle. But Merle's were scared and old, and one mark on this man was still bleeding. The man was looking Beth up and down with a predatory gaze, and Beth felt sick to her stomach.
"Drop the knife or you'll get a stomach full of buck shot. Won't that be nice for your boyfriend to come home to?" the man said as he eyed Beth.
Beth was trying to hide her fear, but this was beyond her. Merle had given her plenty of training, but she couldn't think of anything to do when there was an armed man pointing a shotgun at her, especially when her gun was in the next room.
"Drop it." the man growled and Beth slowly placed the knife on the counter, hoping to get to use it later.
"Now strip."
Beth shook her head. "No. no, only him. Only he gets to see me."
Beth was shaking with fear. She knew Merle was going to be gone for several more hours. He had no way of knowing she was in trouble. And Beth knew that whatever he came home to, it wasn't going to be good.
"Strip or I start shooting." the man hissed.
Beth couldn't stop the tears as she removed her sweat shirt. She had no way of getting out of this alive and unharmed. Beth desperately wished Merle was here, as she shed her T-shirt.
"Jeans too. Come on now." the man said as he licked his lips. Beth felt a wave of nausea as she stepped out of her jeans. This left Beth standing only in her panties, in front of an unknown man, sobbing. Everything was wrong. This wasn't Merle. This wasn't her choice.
"Damn, I found me a keeper." the man said as he laid he shot gun down, pulling a pistol out of the back of his pants. The man stepped forward towards Beth, and she stepped back. The man pressed her against the wall, running one hand down her chest while holding the pistol to her head.
"Please don't." Beth wept as he touched her.
"Keep crying little girl. It'll make this so much better." the man growled as he grabbed her breast. Beth twisted and tried to run, but he grabbed her by the hair, dragging her back into the room. Beth scratched at the wall trying to get a grip, but she was thrown to the floor, hitting her head hard.
As the room spun, Beth laid on the ground shaking. She took a risk and sat up for a moment.
"Merle!"
Beth screamed as loud as she could before the man kicked her down to the floor. The man stood over her, gun to her head once again.
"Merle is it? That's the redneck I've seen here with you isn't he?" the man growled. Beth looked up to the man, seeing a seething hate in his eyes.
"You like older men is that it? Huh?" the man shouted as he slapped Beth across the face. The blow knocked Beth back to the floor, and she curled into the fetal position as the man continued shouting at her.
"Give it away to him don't you?! I've seen it, the two of you together. Look at the set up he's got here. A cushy cabin. Food. A bed warmer to fuck with!" the man screamed as he kicked Beth in the side. She tried to crawl from the room, but was stopped as the man sat on her back, his knee pressing into her face. He produced a pair of handcuffs, and latched Beth's hands together.
"Well I say it's high time I got me a bed warmer. Think I'll take you." the man said as he leaned down and licked Beth's neck. Beth squirmed and screamed, trying to get away. But the man was too heavy, and she was trapped.
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Merle strode quickly thru the gate, shutting it behind him, carrying a small buck on his back. Merle was lucky to find the buck, he knew he probably wouldn't get another for a few months. Plus that meant getting back early.
Merle hated leaving Beth alone while he hunted. He had taught her well, that girl was a wizard with her knives. And one hell of a shot with any gun he gave her. Merle laughed at himself as he drew close to the cabin. In less than a year Merle had gone from drugs and hookers, to a willing guard dog for a beautiful girl. Hell Beth could say down and Merle would drop to the floor.
Merle chuckled as he came onto the property, but then he went still. Something wasn't right. He dropped the buck as he kneeled on the ground. There was fresh tracks, too large to be Beth's, not his own. The tracks were clear, no drag marks meaning a walker. And they headed to the cabin. To Beth.
Merle quickly picked up the buck and ran alongside the property line, coming up behind the fruit trees. As he approached the cabin, Merle heard Beth scream out his name.
Merle ran to the cabin as fast and quietly as he could. He came to the kitchen door, and looked in as he dropped the buck. His blood ran black as he watched a man hold a gun to Beth's head as he licked up her neck. Beth naked aside from her underwear, and sobbing. Merle felt anger swarm thru him, this man was going to die.
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Beth fought against the handcuffs as the man as he tore down her underwear. Suddenly there was a loud growl, and the man was gone from her back. Beth turned to see Merle throw the man outside. The man hit the dirt hard and flipped over just in time to see Merle slam into him.
Merle threw punch after punch into the man with his left hand. The knife of his arm piece was pressed into the man's throat, already soaked with blood. Merle yanked the man up by his hair and threw him against a nearby fruit tree. As the man's body struck the tree, Merle heard a sickening snap. The man screamed in pain for a few seconds before Merle was back on him. Merle pressed his arm knife into the man's throat, and the man stared up at him. His eyes were wide with fear and pain.
Merle leaned down and growled in the man's face. "Think you can touch my wife? You thought wrong."
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Beth laid on the kitchen floor, still sobbing as she heard Merle beat the man. For a short bit all she heard was cries of pain amongst the punches. But then it went silent, and all Beth heard was her own sobs.
Seconds later Merle appeared in the doorway and rushed to Beth's side. He was soaked in fresh blood and the knuckles of his hand were split. Merle gently turned Beth onto her side as he unlocked the handcuffs. He then took off his arm piece and set it to the side. Beth sobbed as Merle picked her up and carried her into the bathroom. Her body screamed in pain and her head throbbed.
"Easy angel. I'm here. No one's gonna touch you. I promise you that." Merle said quietly in her ear as he sat her on the toilet. Merle then turned to the tub and started a bath. He turned back to Beth for a moment, pushing her hair back gently.
"Baby I'm goin' go get the medical bag okay. I'll be right back." Merle said as he took in the bruises, marks and blood on Beth's body. Beth nodded lightly, and Merle left the room, returning a moment later with the large medical bag. He pulled out a box of Epsom salts, and added some to the tub as it filled.
Merle turned off the tap and turned back to Beth. She was staring off into space, shivering and holding her sides.
"Beth?" Merle asked quietly.
Beth looked up to him as tears spilled from her eyes. Merle's heart broke as he saw the fear in her eyes.
"It's just me Angel. He's dead now. I promise you that. He's not goin' get to you." Merle said softly.
Beth sat quietly for a moment before moving from the toilet to sit in Merle's arms. Merle wrapped himself around Beth, trying to comfort her as much as he could. Beth shivered in his arms and Merle leaned back to look in her eyes.
"Let's get you warm baby." Merle said and Beth nodded. Merle carefully picked Beth up and placed her in the warm water. Beth slipped down so only her head was exposed, and Merle spotted a wound on the side of her head.
"Angel can I take a look at you?" Merle asked.
Beth looked up at him from the water. "He threw me into the wall, and then the floor. My head hurts really bad and I feel like I'm about to throw up, but not at the same time."
Merle nodded as he examined the wound on her head and then the bruises that ran over her body.
"Think you have a concussion angel. Need to get you cleaned up, some food in you then to bed."
Beth sat quietly in the water as Merle checked her body over. When his hand reached her ribs Beth gasped as a stabbing pain went thru her.
"Got some broken ribs. Goin' need you to take it easy the next few days." Merle said.
Beth looked up at Merle. The blood that covered him was drying and his face was filled with guilt.
"Angel...I'm so sorry." Merle said quietly.
Beth slowly sat up and reached for Merle's hand. "In no way was this your fault Merle. Thank you for saving me, again."
Merle pulled Beth close, and pressed his lips to her forehead. "I'll always save you angel."