Corruption

Chapter 3: Second Attempt

A/N: Sorry about the wait on this chapter. I had a ton of assignments due for the end of next week and I wanted to get them done and out of the way beforehand. Thanks for your continued support; I'm doing my best to come up with quality entertainment for you guys. Also, it's good to see that people are starting to see Zack in an entirely new way and are scared of him. Trust me, if you hated him before this chapter… Well, before I give away anything let's begin!

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Jack was hardly recognizable anymore. He had lost a ton of weight and his skin had grown pale from malnourishment. Surviving only on a meager diet of bamboo shoots, Jack was struggling to continue his work. His fingers were horribly cut up from having to clear his entire field by hand. But, it was a pointless plight. No matter how hard he worked, he would never be able to succeed. Zack made sure of that.

Everyday since that day when he had saved Karen from Zack, Jack had returned to the town square. He hoped to have the chance to see that mysterious unknown girl again. All he had as a reminder of her was the wilting pink flower that he kept in his rucksack. A week had come and gone without sight of her, but still he made a point of waiting for her. Odds be damned, he wanted to see her once more, if only for a mere moment.

As a matter of fact, nobody had seen Karen since the incident. It was almost as if she had simply vanished into thin air. Either that or Zack had gotten his way with her. That second option was extremely unlikely because the tyrant seemed just as unpleasant as ever.

Hour after hour passed by, but Jack stayed firm in his vigilance. If he didn't have to try and get his farm working again, he would have stayed there forever. As it was, Jack had to give up once again. Nine days he had waited for her and still nothing. With a tired, lonesome sigh, Jack made his way back home.

If only he had taken a look back over his shoulder, then he might have seen Karen stumble into the town square. She was even worse off than Jack was. Her stomach yearned for anything edible, but all that she was able to scrounge together was tiny nuts from deep within the forest. That was where she had been hiding from Zack. The only reason why she dared to venture back into town was to beg for food.

A pain filled tear rolled down her cheek as she collapsed to her knees. "Help me!" She cried out, trying to hold back the flood of tears that were ready to burst forth thru the dam. Someone had heard her plea and was approaching her. Karen couldn't even lift her head to see who it was that stood over her, but if she could see, she would have let the tears run loose.

Zach reached down, placing a hand underneath of Karen's chin. "Have you come crawling back to me?" His voice was uncaring, carrying a pleased undertone that just sickened Karen.

"Go to hell!" Karen whispered rebelliously.

Zach shook his head, removing his hand from under her chin. In a sudden, swift movement Zack kicked out violently. Karen cried out in a mixture of pain and surprise, clutching her side where Zack's foot had struck. She struggled to reclaim her breath, gasping franticly for air. Zack smiled grew wider as he watched Karen writhe in pain at his feet. "You know what I want."

Karen tilted her head up to look at Zack. Every part of her wished hatred towards the man who had ruined her entire life. It was Zack's fault that her parents were dead, his fault that she was like this. "No way," she snarled as she valiantly managed to get up to her knees.

Once again Zack struck out, this time angrily backhanding Karen across the face. A small trickle of blood had formed at the base of her nose, dripping steadily onto the back of her hand. She looked down at the blood which was slowly mixing with the tears that had forced themselves out of her eyes. Zack kicked Karen a second time adding, "I can give you anything and everything you ever wanted. All you need to do is a little something for me."

"I'm not touching your 'little something' if that's what you like to call it. Steroids have that effect on you." Karen's remark was rewarded with another swift kick from Zack. Judging from the sharp pain in her side, something had been severely damaged on the inside. She was going to need to see the doctor after this, if Zack ever left her alone. The chances of that happening were very slim. Her only hope was that someone would come and save her again.

As if answering her cry, a new figure entered the town square. Karen just caught sight of him out of the corner of her eye. "Rick! Help me!" Another kick came from Zack as Rick came closer. Rick looked directly into Karen's eyes as he walked past the scene. The thought of going and saving his old girlfriend didn't even cross his mind. "Rick!" Karen sobbed out, no longer caring about looking strong.

"See? Nobody in this village cares about you anymore. You're just a poor little orphan wretch. I can change that for you." Zack reached into his pocket, producing a large bag of coins and tossing the pouch before Karen. "That can be yours if you behave yourself and accept my offer."

Karen looked at the pouch, tempted to reach out and accept the bribe. She was tired of the propositions and the money would be able to feed her for a long time. No! What was she thinking, even momentarily considering the offer? Karen spat in the direction of the money pouch, which awarded her with another violent kick, this one to her ribs.

"Is my generosity too good for you?" Zack demanded, taking back the money that he had offered. "You know that I'm going to get my way no matter what. Why don't you just give in before I decide to quit playing nice?"

Karen had rolled up on to her non-injured side, trying to alleviate the pain building inside of her. "Because my mother taught me not to let men take advantage of me."

Zack was having trouble maintaining his already volatile demeanor. He was just about to give up on his attempts to persuade Karen to go along with him by her own decision. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to think of something else that he could try. A smile suddenly crept across his face as he thought of something. "You know… the inn has some great food. Probably the best in all of Mineral Town."

"So?" Karen shot back. The mention of food had done the trick though. Her mouth began to water as she remembered the taste of Doug's great cooking. Zack noticed the change in Karen and followed up with his plan, "How about I treat you to dinner? Anything that you want. My treat."

That was low. Offer a starving girl one single meal just in order to take advantage of her. But, that was the position of power that Zack was in and nothing was too low for the man. He had already caused enough moral bankruptcy in Mineral Town to mark him as a hated man for the remainder of his life. Nobody that caught wind of his doings would be able to look him in the eye without punching him beforehand.

Karen was hating Zack with an even greater passion than she had moments ago. How could she pass up the offer? She was already weak and starving. Any longer like this and she could die. Would her life be worth living if she had given up on her values, selling herself out to a man that she despised? It was a tough choice, but survival won out, "Ok…"

Zack looked down upon Karen, lecherously tantalizing over the thoughts about what he would soon be doing to her. He leaned down, grabbing Karen in a very inappropriate manner, hauling her up to her feet. Karen didn't even fight back, a clear sign that he had broken her. "Come, my dear." Zack started off towards the inn, pulling Karen after him. Karen remained silent, wishing that she would just die.

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A/N: No! Damn it Zack! How could you? Here marks one of the lower points of the story. Things may improve from this point on or they could just continue to grow worse. But, honestly, how can they get any worse for poor Karen? Hope nobody wants to kill me for what I've done, but feel free to be angry. Thanks for reading, see you next time!