I am so sorry to update so late. My laptop crashed and i needed an awful lot of time to get the harddisk out ...
Hope you guys are satisfied with an extra long chapter. Enjoy!
I was awoken by a bad headache. When I opened my eyes it was still kind of dark. I was lying on the ground, cold cement floor kissing my back. I sat up slowly while every inch of my body hurt. Looking around I saw bars and realized I was in a cell. It looked like an old little prison from the Wild Wild West. I tried to stand up, but failed miserable. I was too weak. My head met the cold floor and I saw little stars dancing in front of my eyes, laughing at me. I shook my head and looked to the reason why I couldn't stand up: My arm. I tried to move my left arm, but nothing … I touched it but couldn't feel my arm at all. It was all patched up. Patched up? Why was I patched up? Then it hit me. I had been shot. My friends, Alex had been shot, John … Thoughts hit me like slaps … I met Andrea. I was baffled, I was still alive?
I looked around in the darkness again, but I was all alone. Not feeling my arm, imprisoned … I began to panic. Then I tried to remember … what was the last thing that had happened? They guy had shot me and then he had slashed my arm and my leg … I looked at my leg, patched up too. My thoughts went back before I passed out. They had killed Alex, had killed John and Mark. I hoped they hadn't killed Andrea. I hoped she was safe, hoped they all were safe. Daryl … There are other things to worry about now.
Where the hell was I? Exactly, hell.
Again I tried to stand up, but this time I put all strain on my right arm and right leg. I finally got up and stood there rocking. I must have made a laughingstock, rocking front and back, as if a moderate breeze could knock my socks off. I looked down on me. Someone had cut my trousers. One leg was long and the one patched up was short. My T-shirt was bloody and torn, and my no-longer-white-bra was visible through the torn shirt. I felt dizzy again and grabbed for the bars of the cell in front of me. I began to sweat.
"Well, well …" Suddenly someone moved in front of the bars. The leader appeared out of the shadows behind the bars. I was paralyzed … The damn man who had killed my friends. "I knew you would make it." I glared at him wordlessly. I was stiff and my whole body hurt. Could I fight back now? "You are a hell of a fighter missy. Wouldn't even give up in death." He came closer. "Put you back together." He touched the bars next to me.
I breathed in deeply. I was sweating like hell … too much strain from standing. The pain of my wounds began to knock on the door of my conscious and it was suddenly hard to stay upright. "What do you want from me?" I spat out.
His forehead rested on the bars above me. He was at least one and a half head taller than me. Without lifting my head I looked up and saw a warm smile. But suddenly his left hand grabbed around my right hand and his right hand was on the back of my head. "Taking care of your wounds and you don't even thank me." I tried to push my head back, but he was stronger. He was holding my head like a basketball. "Still a fighter, are we?!" All of a sudden he slammed my head into the bars. I fell back to the floor, a rusty taste in my mouth. I touched my lips and saw blood on my fingers. "You must be used to the look of blood. Your body has already some scars." He paused "And a nice tattoo."
I crawled away from him until my back was meeting the back wall of the cell. My tattoo was in a hidden spot on my body, so my parents would never find out. If he had seen it, he had seen way too much. "You think you are safe behind these bars? Think you are safe in the very back corner?" He pulled a key out of his pocket and began to swing it forth and back, like a hypnotist. "You are not safe at all, little miss bloody face." I stared at him and the swinging keys.
"Why did you dungeon me?" My voice didn't sound like me at all.
He laughed. Fucking grinning cheeks laughed at me. "Stop laughing psycho." He stopped but looked at me with lust in his eyes. "When I am finished with you, you will be the psycho here." The blood in my veins froze. He must have seen my expressions. "That is the look I wanted."
Suddenly the door opened and some light blinded me. A man's voice called for him. "Phillip! Need your help out here." The man called Phillip hit the key against the bars and I flinched at the loud metal sound. With a wintry smile he told me goodbye and went out. When I was alone, I stood up again. It was hard, but there was no time to be whiny. I looked for a window, but there was none. The window was bricked. No way out.
The door opened again with a loud bang. I turned around to see a street and a car before the door was shut again. "You little bitch killed ma brother." A young man was standing in front of the bars. He was good looking, but his evil smile was not good at all. I felt dead sent. I saw a key in his hand as he came closer and opened the cell. If I would have been strong enough I would have thrown myself on him, tried to get out. But it wasn't even worth trying, my body already told me to stop standing by sweating like hell. He approached me with the angriest face I had ever seen. I looked around in panic, searching for a weapon to defend me, anything, but there wasn't even a pallet.
"No one will hear you, no one will help." He grabbed a fistful of my hair and I screamed. He banged my head into the wall and before I could fall, he pressed my body up against it. Pressing my face against the cold bricks he whispered in my ear. "I will punch the shit out of ya." I shivered. I wanted to beg for letting me go, but I knew that wasn't going to help me in any way. He would just punch me harder. But you got to struggle! Easy talking when you are just a fucking voice in my head. Not real!
The guy grabbed my wounded arm and tilted it to my back. I screamed in pain. My shoulder painfully answered my screams with blood and I felt my shirt soaking in fresh red liquid. "Yeah, scream you bitch." He tilted my arm more, but I pressed my lips together not doing him the favor to scream in pain again. He tilted it again and it felt like he almost broke my arm. But I didn't scream. "You fuckin' whore …" He let go off my arm and I suspired in relief.
I heard him utter a brief laugh behind me and an unzipping sound. Before I could react or turn around, he pressed me against the wall again feeling his body against my back. I felt him getting a hard-on. My heart began to beat fast. Panic arose in me. I tried to fight him off, but with one hand he tried to pull down my trousers and with the other one he pushed his thumb into my wounded shoulder.
"No!" I couldn't help but scream in pain and frustration. "Please, don't!" My face was rubbed against the wall when I started crying. "Yeah, scream, cry … nothing's gonna help you!" With my right arm I tried to punch him. He almost had my trousers down to my knees. When the punching didn't help, I tried to hold my trousers up. But that just earned me another pang against the wall. I fell to my knees, exhausted. "What …" The guy seemed even angrier. He stood in front of me, his bare front in my face. Your chance … With my right arm I punched as hard as I could in his cock. He screamed and held his family jewels in a crooked position. "You bitch!" With might and main I threw my fist at his temple. He fell down and I punched his head again and again. The door was opened again and Phillip came in. His gun pointed at me. Instead of shooting me he began to laugh. "A fighter she is indeed." Still pointing the gun at me he screamed to the open door. "Len, get your damn ass in here." A man with shaggy brown hair entered. He looked at me in disbelief. Without saying a word he dragged his friend out of the cell and out of the room. Phillip proudly smiled at me. "I told him you were mine!" He threw a bottle of water to me and locked the cell. He went out, shutting the door, leaving me alone again.
I buttoned up my trousers and felt disgust. You have to stay strong! I began to cry silently. This was hell, even more bad than the damn apocalypse. I wish I had died in the woods … I saw the face of the man who tried to rape me. Would he try it again? Don't think that. You have to fight them. You can escape! I remembered Randall who had told me about his group, about the rapping. I slid down the wall and sat on the ground again watching the door. "What do you know?!" I couldn't stand the voice anymore. I am always there for you. You don't need to be afraid!
"No need to be afraid? This guy almost raped me. What will you do next time he tries? Spirit me up?" I laughed bitterly while tears streamed down my face. My watery eyes fixed the door. I wanted to be ready the next time a nightmare would walk in. But my body ached for rest and sleep.
I was awoken by coughs … It was me coughing. My eyes flew open and I sat up straight. A blonde man was sitting next to me. "Who are you?" It wasn't dark anymore and I could see everything clearly. The lights in this shabby dungeon were on. I looked at him and noticed a bloody bandage in his hands. I looked down on me. All of my bandages were replaced. "Why do you patch me up?" He silently stood up. The man looked kind of friendly. His eyes innocent and his movements insecure.
"Please help me!" I whispered. But his face was unchanged. If he didn't help me, maybe he knew about my friends. Maybe he patched them up too. "Are my friends here too?" I knew Mark was dead and John didn't seem so alive last time. But maybe Alex, maybe she wasn't dead. But sad eyes looked at me and he shook his head. With tears in my eyes I looked behind the man. We were alone. "Please … let me go." In the moment he opened his mouth the door opened with a pang. "Hey Milton. Time is up." The blonde immediately left the cell and whispered to me. "I'm sorry."
I stared at the other man who stood in the door. After Milton had left the room he came closer and looked the door up. He was close and I could see his features. It was the guy again who tried to rape me. "I don't get it why Phillip wants you to be patched up." He took a chair and put it directly in front of the bars. He sat down. "Murderers like you don't deserve that."
"I didn't kill your brother!" I told him in a low voice. I was afraid of him, he sure was no good.
"Shut up bitch!" He screamed at me. "I will torture you …" He paused. "I am going to kill you very slowly … let the blood leave your body as slowly as possible. I heard bleeding to death is the worst. You will beg me to kill you." He laughed. "And then you will turn and I can kill you again!"
I remembered what Phillip had said. He said I was his. "Phillip won't let you."
His laugh faded and he looked daggers at me. "I don't care what this asshole of a self-proclaimed leader wants. Joe would have let me do whatever I wanted. I saw you first. I claimed you!" He rose from his chair. Did I wake the lion? I backed off. But he grabbed my leg through the bars. "No!" He pulled me to him. I fought with tooth and nail, but my left arm and leg were like dead. And on top of that I was hungry and weak. I punched him in the face hard, but he smiled. "Only makes it worse!" He sat down pulling my leg through the bars. I wanted to grab the bars, but he took my lifeless left armand pulled it through the bars to him. I tried to kick him, but he was too strong. "You shabby bitch." He took out his knife. At the sight of the metal in his hand my eyes went wide.
"I like your eyes wide and scared!" He cut my wrist, but I felt nothing. He seemed confused. He tried it again, but my mimic didn't change but his expression began to change into frustrated hate. I saw the bloody knife and tried to fight him. It was all without success. My stomach growled, I was so damn hungry. With my right arm on a bar I pushed myself away from him, but he grabbed my arm and pulled it to him. I sat on the ground, my left leg and my arms through the bars. I couldn't even push myself back anymore. Suddenly I felt pain on my right wrist and gave a wince of pain. The guy smiled triumphantly. He cut me again and again and I flinched every time. "Please stop!" Tears of pain left my eyes. "Stop it." But he didn't instead he began to laugh. "An eye for an eye!" Was his answer.
"I didn't kill your brother." I whispered. I was so damn hungry, couldn't even scream at him. Maybe he didn't hear me or he just didn't want to hear my words. He attended to the rag which once was my beloved rainbow shirt. "So lil' miss sunshine, the sunny days are over." He ripped my shirt even more. "NO!" He punched me in the face. For a short time it was dark, but I saw a hand coming at me, reaching for me. At the end of the hand I saw my brothers smiling face. Come with me! I felt relieve and while I grabbed his hand I saw a knife coming at me and splashing blood.
My eyes popped open and the first thing I saw was the guy in front of me with his knife raised. He suddenly exhaled in relief, but his face immediately changed into an evil antic. "I am not finished with you … yet. This is just a foretaste of what comes up next." I felt pain on my chest and tried to look at it. He had made cuts into my flesh. The burning pain made me fight him back hard. This time I was not going to give up until he would be off me. Yeah, this is my bad ass. Kick him off!
"Finally fighting? For what?" He raised the knife. His eyes were crazy and full of fire. But before he could stab me a voice interrupted his actions. "What are you doing you stupid bastard?" Footsteps were coming closer. I saw a man with grey hair and beard. Although his hair was all grey, he didn't look old. He raised the gun and pointed it at the guy. I was surprised that he wasn't going to shot me. "Get off her!"
The guy immediately stood up. "Hey Joe …" His voice was somewhat obedient and he looked afraid. "You have to understand, she shot my brother!" This Joe guy told him with the gun to move away from me. I was too scared to move. Was Joe going to save me or would he be even worse?
"Shut up Andy!" He released the safety catch. Andy ran, but Joe shot. I flinched at the loud pang and shut my eyes. Joe laughed. "Next time I won't miss ya." I opened my eyes and saw Andy looking down on himself. When he realized he wasn't shot he ran out of the door. I saw Joe coming closer to me, as he kneeled down in front of me I looked into cold eyes. "Don't know why Phillip claimed ya. Ya look like a damn whore to me." With the barrel of his gun he brushed the hair out of my face. "A whore with pretty eyes." He laughed again. His brown eyes pierced through mine. "I am not going to lie to you hun. You wish you would have died in the woods after these guys will finish you." My eyes went wide and I looked at his gun. He followed my gaze. "You want me to shoot you? Release you from the pain? Andy has produced quiet a piece of art out of ya." He examined my body while I tried to back away.
Joe stood up. "Sorry gal, Phillip saw you first!" He walked over to the door. "Hey Milton, come on over here. You've got some work to do!" Before he walked out he turned and looked at me. "All of the other guys would have fucked you to death." With these words he went away while I began to shiver and cry. This was hell. A nightmare and nobody would wake me up, rescue me. I crawled away from the bars, laid back, and looked at the ceiling of the cell. I would die in here and no one would ever know. I would know. "That doesn't count." I was alone talking to myself, crying like a baby.
Footsteps. I raised my head and saw Milton again. Was he some kind of doctor? "Oh my god." He stared at me. "What have they done to you?" I stared at him in disbelief. Before he didn't want to talk and now he was compassionate? He kneeled down beside me. "I am so sorry." I looked at him wordlessly. He couldn't be better than the others. All men of this fucking group seemed to be assholes, why would he be an exception? "Don't be!" I spat at him and my stomach growled again as if to emphasize my words. Milton had a bag with him and pulled out a banana. I didn't trust him, so I didn't accept the fruit. "You can have it. Eat fast. I don't want to be caught." I still didn't accept it. He put it in my left hand and I sniffed. He didn't react to that but examined my newly wounds. When he cleaned the wounds on my wrist I cringed. "Sorry M'am, I need to do it or it'll get infected." I laughed at him with tears in my eyes. "You're funny." I laughed even harder while tears streamed down my face. My whole body was shaking. Milton leaned back as if he was afraid I would explode and kill him. At some point I grew quiet again. When he began to bandage my wrist I moved and he looked at me with a pity face. "Please help me escape." This was my last option to leave this place.
"I can't … You belong to …" I interrupted him. "I don't belong to anyone but myself. I am a fucking human being not an object. If you will not help me escape … than please don't patch me up no more. Leave me be, let me die." His pity face grew even more pitiful. "I cannot do this …" He went on bandaging my wrist.
"Why do you guys imprison me at all?" Milton looked at me like he was surprised to hear me ask. "Your heart had stopped while I bandaged you. We didn't know if you would survive or turn." I wanted to sit up but he softly pushed me down. "I am okay, so you can let me go now." He shook his head. "You are injured pretty badly. You cannot survive on your own like this." I tried it again. "Please let me be." But again he sadly shook his head.
He won't help me and the others wanted to kill me or worse. "I can kill myself, give me a knife, a scalpel … anything to kill me." He looked at my chest in disgust. He sanitized it while I stared at him, but he ignored my glance. When he was finished he stood up and looked at my outstretched left arm where I still held the banana. "Eat it!" It wasn't an order but sounded more like a request.
"I can't feel my left arm." I admitted in a low voice. He came closer again and took the banana, peeled it and put it in my right hand. I ate it under his satisfied glance. "Maybe I can talk Philip into letting you go." I just mumbled "Sure …" He blinked at me, as if he didn't believe what kind of person Phillip was. "You don't know him. He is a warm-hearted man. We just met these guys on a run for medical supplies. We have a little town … shelter." Shelter … this word was used too often these days and its meaning faded with every day of the apocalypse.
The door opened again and Phillip entered. I felt like being on the stage where the next character entered the scene to make his debut. I hastily ate the fruit. "Ah, you're eating!" He looked at Milton. "How are her wounds?" "Better." Milton looked at Phillip like a kid afraid of his father's beating. "The new cuts are not that deep."
"What cuts?" Phillip came closer. "This guy still hasn't learned to follow the rules." He nodded Milton to leave. "I don't think we stay with them any longer." Milton nodded and I watched him walking to the door. "Wait." Milton immediately stopped. "Give me one of the band-aid." Milton obeyed and left. Phillip turned to me with an unreadable smile. "What are you gonna do to me?" My heart sank into my boots. I sat up and felt pain all over my body.
"I think you would have made a wonderful person." I couldn't believe my ears, his voice was suddenly soft. "When I first saw you, you reminded me so much of my lovely wife." He seemed sad, but his eyes looked dangerous. "She died in the very beginning and left me and Penny all alone." Who the hell is Penny? Phillip seemed kind of distracted and maybe this was my chance to talk to the emotional Phillip who was not able to kill a woman looking like his wife. He stood right in front of me, fell down on his knees and took out a knife. I was afraid that the sad Phillip was gone and he was brutal-Phillip again. "You don't have to kill me. Your wife wouldn't have wanted you to …" All of a sudden both of his hands were at my throat. He strangled me slightly. I clasped his wrists and tried to look into his eyes. "Don't you dare talk of her!" He boiled with rage and his grasp grew tighter, I almost couldn't breathe.
He suddenly turned me over and sat on my back. He lifted my shirt and began to cut into my flesh. I screamed while I felt the cold steel of the knife. "No! Please …" I heard him laughing. "No one will ever touch you again!" I heard him moaning before I passed out from the pain …