Trigger warning! This chapter gets a bit graphic.

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5

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After David exited the room, Ellie wanted to scream. She wanted to tear her restraints off, grab her stiletto, and stab David in the neck until he choked on his own blood.

But that would be stupid. Her impulses weren't doing her any good in this environment, and if she kept at it then Joel would wind up dead sooner rather than later. They would literally eat him if she wasn't careful.

She had to watch her tongue. Especially if she wanted the bruises covering her body to fade before new ones had the chance to replace them...

Upon David's return, he entered the room with an audible sigh. "You've made things harder for yourself, you know that, Ellie? I was going to give that food to you for free, but now... I'm convinced you need to return the favor."

Her voice was quieter as she questioned, "How?"

"How about we…" David thought for a moment. "Have a round two of the game we were playing the other day? The one with the questions?"

Internally, Ellie wished to protest. That wasn't even a real game, first of all - it was just a fucking interrogation! All he wanted to do was get information out of her, and clearly wasn't content with the little he had been given from their previous session…

She couldn't speak as freely as she had back then. She couldn't be reckless with her words, and she needed to eat if she wanted to muster up enough energy to actually escape sometime in the near future.

"Okay. Go." Ellie nodded.

The man looked pleased towards her lack of objection. "Good girl. What's your favorite color?"

Why does he need to know that? "Uh… green." Ellie opened her mouth as she was fed.

"Green, hm?" David smiled. "Like your eyes. You got the prettiest green eyes I've ever seen."

She simply continued chewing her food.

"While they're, uh, out on the run... maybe our men can find some new clothes for you," David mused, preparing another spoonful of food. "Would you like that? Somethin' with a little green, maybe?"

Ellie paused before answering. "Um… yeah."

Despite her obvious lack of enthusiasm, David still rewarded the girl. Next, he asked, "So, Ellie… that man you care so much about. I'm going to need to know a little bit more about him, alright? Are you two… friends?"

Ellie nodded, not wishing to delve into any further details on their complicated relationship that would give way too much away about their identities.

"Ah. I see… and when did you meet?" his prodding was polite, but Ellie was very much aware of where his temper could go in just a few matter of seconds. She had to be careful with her responses, but at the same time was almost positive David had asked her these exact same questions already…

"Why…" she cleared her throat, forcing herself to adapt a more pleasant tone. "Why are you asking me this again?"

"Oh, so you remember," David laughed, a little sheepishly. "Can I just be honest? I'm not sure that I believed you all the way last time. I think you were still scared, still thought maybe we'd hurt you, and it affected your honesty. Is that right?"

You've already hurt me, Ellie thought to herself. She hesitated to answer.

"Answer me honestly, Ellie. You don't want to get caught lying twice now," the man flashed a grin at her, as if to try and influence her decision. "So I'll ask you again. When did you and that man meet?"

Ellie was, admittedly, worried about the possibility of David actually being able to tell if she was lying or not. She took a silent breath before answering, "About, um… six months ago, I think?"

"Thank you for answering truthfully, sweet girl," David's voice was sugary sweet as he spooned food into her mouth. "And what's your relationship to him? Why are you travelling together?"

"Those are two different questions." Ellie's voice slightly soured with accusation.

"And you'll answer both of them," the man supplied words for her.

Ellie lips tugged into a scowl, but she complied nonetheless. "The person who was taking care of me got killed, so he started looking after me instead. We're trying to find his brother now." David fed her twice more for the two questions.

Ellie silently rejoiced, pleased with her ability to lie to him undetected. Well, maybe the trick was to not outright lie, but to bend the truth. Marlene had gotten killed… as far as she knew. There was a small chance she could still be alive, but it definitely wasn't very likely. And they had looked for Joel's brother Tommy, but the difference was they had already found him months ago and gone their separate ways.

"I'm proud of you, Ellie. You're really proving yourself today," David praised her. "Those are all the questions I've got for now. But I'll feed you the rest of your dinner, of course."

The man followed through on his promise, at least. He gave her the last ten or so bites without asking for anything in return - yet Ellie did feel she had given him more than enough of what he wanted. She had another gnawing feeling, however, that their evening together wasn't over yet.

Ellie's plate was nearly spotless, completely devoid of food. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so full…

"Have you ever had dessert?" David asked, interrupting her moment of contentment.

Ellie shook her head. She had heard of the term before, but never quite understood the reasoning. A sweet after dinner? Why waste the food, if you've already eaten? And what was the point in eating junk food when there were far better things to keep up your strength, especially back then? It just didn't make any sense to her.

"Mm. I thought so," David stood up, shuffling over to a different corner of the room. After some rustling around, he turned back around to face Ellie, holding something in the palm of his hand. He offered it to her. "Here. For you."

Ellie tilted her head, eyes focusing in on the object. It looked familiar, but the name escaped her… "A… cupcake?"

"No, it's called a cookie. You ever had one?" asked David.

"I've had a few," she responded, a little defensively. She didn't like when it felt like he was looking down on her.

"Ah," David nodded, but it still felt like he was making fun of her due to the big, annoying smile on his face. He held the cookie up to her lips. "You want it? It's yours. It's a little thank you for agreeing to spend quality time with me this evening."

Ellie could smell the thing waving in front of her face, and knew it would taste amazing… but she was full. And a big part of her didn't want to give David any more satisfaction than she already had. Eating food literally from his hands and answering all his dumb questions was more than enough.

She shook her head. "I don't need any more food."

The man raised an eyebrow. "So you're saying you don't want it?"

"Can't I just eat it tomorrow or something?" Ellie only grew more suspicious of its contents as he continued to pressure her.

David kept an even gaze before relenting, tucking the treat back into a small baggie. "I'm very impressed with your ability to resist temptation, Ellie. Myself, I always go after the things I want." He looked pointedly at the girl. "No matter what."

Sitting in the presence of a cannibal, completely restrained, David's words didn't exactly do much to comfort her.

"So… is that it? Is that what you wanted to do?" Ellie questioned, her voice reaching a nervous pitch she hadn't quite anticipated.

Instead of directly responding to her, the man sat down next to her on the sofa. He motioned around to the contents of the room. "You see anything you like in here? Anything that looks like fun?"

"Um… no. Not really." Ellie said as her eyes lingered on the bookcase, then again on the dart board that sat tucked into the corner. She felt a pang in her heart, thinking of Henry and Sam...

"Really? I find that hard to believe." David clucked his tongue, making it clear that he recognized her obvious lie. "Well, in any case, I'm sure you can find more entertainment in here than inside your cell. Wouldn't you like that? Complete access to this room? To not have these restraints on all the time?" he pulled at the rope binding her forearms tightly together.

Ellie resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Obviously."

David's tone was still lighthearted, despite her sarcastic comment. "Well, I'll have you know you're on the right track. I think this is a special night for us, sweet girl... you're really opening up, really making some progress here."

She could almost cringe at his words. Special night? And sweet girl - she couldn't decide which was worse coming off his lips, that or her actual name. Was it really so impressive to just answer questions? He was basically forcing her to, anyway...

"Can I…" Ellie hesitated, her eyebrows furrowing as she did so. "Can I sleep in here tonight?"

The man looked at her, almost amused as he questioned, "What don't you like about where you slept last night?"

That's a stupid question… he's baiting me for something, Ellie noted internally before replying simply, "It's… cold."

"I have somewhere warm you can stay," David's voice grew raspier. His hand, which had been resting near her elbow, snaked down a little lower. "I believe I offered it to you the first night you were here?"

The first night Ellie spent at this hellish camp felt like ages ago… but only two days had passed since then. She could still clearly recall what David had asked for: to trade a kiss on the lips for a bed. She declined then, and she would a million times over. That was definitely not something she was ever interested in doing.

"You remember what I asked for in exchange for a big, warm bed?" David pressed his lips to her ear. Ellie cringed, furrowing her neck into her shoulders.

"No, thanks. I'll take my chances," she was acutely aware of how loud her voice was.

His hand began rubbing up and down her thigh. "You don't want to change your mind?"

Ellie's face felt like it was boiling. "Stop it."

David ignored her request. "I apologize, but, uh… I just don't see the point in you sticking around in that cell any longer. I don't like the thought of you being cold and uncomfortable all night long."

"Well, you're the one that put me in there," she snarled, unable to control her tongue any longer. She didn't like him touching her like that.

"Now, I know that it's easy to think that I'm the bad guy," the man attempted to lecture her. "But you have to understand, Ellie... if I hadn't put you in that cell, the entire camp would have rioted! It's hard, keeping them at bay while keeping you protected… but I've been doing it, haven't I?" he snuck his other arm around her waist. "I'm the one that convinced everyone to let you and your friend live. I'm the one that makes sure you're fed everyday. I'm the only person standing between life and death for the both of you. I'm the only person that cares about you, Ellie."

"You're wrong," she insisted, trying to wriggle out from his grasp to no avail.

"Your friend is on death's bed himself." David said calmly. "He can't take care of you. Only I can."

"I take care of myself!" Ellie snapped back. "Now, get your fucking hands off of me and - ''

She was interrupted by the man's sudden movement forward, pinning her onto the sofa with one arm while covering her mouth with the other. She shouted expletives into his palm, eyes filled with hatred as she glared at him.

"You don't get to tell me what to do," said David, irritation lacing his words. "This is for you, remember? For your friend. Now behave."

His palm left her lips, only to be brashly replaced with his own mouth. Ellie's eyes bulged, moving her head to the side to escape from his assault. She gagged, trying to relieve the disgusting taste of moisture from her lips.

David harshly grabbed her chin, forcing her into his desired position as he kissed her again. Ellie writhed underneath him, crushed beneath his towering body weight as she struggled. She tried lurching her head forward in a makeshift headbutt, but was unable to move due to his grip on her.

Her own mouth was unresponsive, while David was clearly enjoying himself even without the consent of his victim. She had her lips pressed tightly together as to not allow him any more access than he already had, unable to voice her complaints in anything but a lethal glare with her arms and ankles tied up.

When he pressed his tongue forward to part her mouth open, the girl bit down onto his bottom lip as hard as she could. David immediately jumped backwards, holding a hand over his mouth as he yelped out in pain. Blood dribbled down his chin, staining the gray fabric of his shirt crimson.

Ellie continually spit from her mouth, trying to rid herself of his vile taste. She warned him, "Don't ever fucking do that again, you fucking - ''

He interrupted her before she could speak, issuing a hard smack across her cheek. A metallic tang pooled inside her mouth, one of her teeth swimming around in there somewhere as well. She maneuvered it around with her tongue, pushing it out from between her lips. It landed on the front of her shirt, roots still attached as she stared at it in disbelief.

He just knocked my fucking tooth out.

"You left me with no other choice," David spoke condescendingly, stroking her cheek where a bruise was already forming.

Ellie narrowed her eyes, ignoring his idiotic comment. "You're disgusting."

David smiled. "I'm a man." As if that excused his actions. Joel was a man, and he would never do anything like this to her...

"You're a fucking animal," she spat, some blood drooling out from between her lips.

He leaned in closer to her, pressing his arm across her chest to hold her still. "You really better watch your words, Ellie."

"Or what?" she pressed further.

"Or we'll cut your friend up into tiny pieces," David threatened, still looming over here. "And feed him to you."

It felt like her entire body paused anytime Joel's actual well-being was brought into question. She searched through her captor's eyes, only to be met with a stone-cold glare. No smirk rested upon his lips, no sign that he wouldn't go through with that menacing promise.

"Do you believe me?" he asked, raising his forearm up to rest gently against her throat. His grip was a warning, letting her know he could easily tighten it. Ellie gave a small nod in response.

"Use your words," David instructed her.

She wished she could roll her eyes, but advised herself against it. "Yes."

"'Yes, I believe you, David.' Say it," the man ordered.

What kind of fucking kick does he get out of this? Ellie wondered internally, but obeyed nonetheless. "Yes, I believe you, David," she repeated, her voice monotonous.

It seemed David still enjoyed it despite feeding her lines, as immediately afterwards he started kissing her again. He still kept his arm on her throat, using his other hand to gently frame her face. She just lay there limply, not wanting him to hurt her again for fighting back... her face ached from all the assaults she'd endured over the past few days. Her abdomen was swollen in the middle - she was pretty much convinced at this point that David had broken a rib when he kicked her there.

Ellie really didn't want to admit it, but she was… scared of him. Scared of what he would do to her, and scared of what he could do to Joel…

His hands began moving freely, fairly confident that she wouldn't try anything for the rest of their encounter. He started gingerly feeling up her chest, emitting a strained squeal from the fourteen-year-old girl.

"Stop," Ellie pleaded. No one had ever touched her there. "Please."

He ignored her, slipping his hands beneath her jacket, then dipping down again underneath the fabric of her shirt. His voice was breathless as he spoke, "You're so perfect."

Ellie just couldn't help it. She was too uncomfortable, too frightened, her body completely frozen up, and she let out a sad, choked sob. Wet tears welled up in the corners of her eyes against her control.

He moved back up to level with her face, hands still groping her breasts. "Don't cry. You're safe here," he told her softly, leaning in again to claim another kiss.

Safe. Ellie could almost laugh - she had never felt less safe in her entire life.

She trembled underneath David as he continued molesting her, cringing at his heavy breathing and disgusting little noises. Eventually he breathed a sigh into the crook of her neck, disconnecting from her lips for once. He rose up from his straddling position, relieving Ellie from his weight.

"That's enough for tonight," David said, his voice still a bit breathless. "I'll take you to your bedroom. You've earned it."

She flinched as he scooped her up from the sofa. Her restraints were absolutely terrible - she couldn't even walk by herself, let alone try to actually escape from this psycho… and rescue Joel, too? The same thoughts that once lit a fire under her had now doused those flames in water.

Ellie felt her back hit the soft surface of a mattress. She squinted her eyes shut as David proned himself over her, pecking her on the mouth one last time.

"A deal's a deal, Ellie," he smoothed a blanket down over her body. "Our men will leave first thing in the morning." He paused, like he was waiting for a response.

"Good," Ellie retorted, only because she didn't know what else to say.

David cracked a smile as he neared the doorframe, turning back to take another look at her before exiting. "Goodnight, sweet girl. See you tomorrow."

Ellie waited until the sound of his footsteps disappeared down the hallway before muttering underneath her breath, "I fucking hope not."