Chapter 21

Warning: Rape mentioned in this chapter, somewhat graphic and gory.

BPOV

What the fuck?... I finally get my chance and the little fucker is gone. Looking down at the dirt floor, it didn't look like a struggle to place, so Randall when willingly. There were just too many prints to try to determine who was last in here. As I was getting ready to go out and search, I heard someone approaching the barn. I moved myself up against the wall and grabbed my pistol from its holster, waiting. As they got closer to the room, I raised my gun pointing it toward the door not knowing who the fuck it was, when Rick's head poked through the door. I sighed in relief but not him, he glared at me after taking notice of the empty room. "What did you do with Randall, Bella?" he asked… He was carrying transport chains that they used on prisoners; I guess fully intending to take Randall to their new home. I glared back at him as I answered "I'm standing here with you wondering where the fuck he is too, do you really think I would come back in here just to stand around waiting on someone if I had already moved him?!" I said in a harsh tone.

Rick hasn't been on my good side lately, pissing me off every chance he got it seemed. "Well, can you track him down?" he asked. I tried to control the look of anger and astonishment on my face while saying "Maybe, but Daryl would be the better option." I was pissed off that he went from accusing me to asking for my help in a matter of minutes without even seeming to realize the issue. I knew damn well I could find Randall, but Daryl really was the better choice for tracking between the two of us. Also, he still had to find Daryl before they could even start, giving me time to hopefully find Randall first. I didn't want him seeing the inner workings of the prison and how many people were there. I just had a terrible feeling that he would somehow escape and find his old group.

Sending Rick in the last direction I had seen Daryl go this morning, I set off for the tree line were one of the ropes we had tied Randall up with was laid out on the ground. One set of tracks was Randall, I could tell by imprints of his boots that he was limping slightly. The other tracks were a set of boots also, smaller than Randall's though. Had someone from his group found him and been watching us? I didn't really think so, from what Rick said his group abandoned him in town when he impaled himself on the fence. They seemed like a selfish bunch, so why would they go looking for an injured guy when if he was gone, it was one less mouth to feed.

So I figured it was one of our own from the group. The question was who. The boot print appeared to be a man's, but that didn't really mean anything now days. You scavenged and wore whatever the hell you could find if it fit decently. The tracks where almost too easy to follow, which should have tipped me off from the start. I mean someone trying to escape would at least try to leave less tracks, some of these where stomped into the wet dirt; almost like someone was running, but I knew they weren't. The toe of the print would be smudged from where they pushed off it that was the case, but these were perfect. I was starting to get a bad feeling being alone out here in the ever approaching darkness as the sun continued to fall.

I couldn't turn back now though, not with the lives of our group at risk. Randall needed to be dealt with, and since this plan has gone sideways, a bullet would have to do the job. I heard a noise somewhere off to the left but continued to follow the tracks while keeping an eye on the forest around me. That's where I fucked up. Looking for what made the noise, I didn't pay enough attention to the ground in front of me to notice the oddly piled leaves. My foot triggered the large animal trap and it clamped down around my boot. I screamed out in pain bending to try to unset the trap when I was grabbed from behind, one arm around my neck and the other across my front.

Normally, it was a hold I could easily escape, but what good would it do me to piss them off when my leg was still stuck in the trap. Another person approached from the right, and boy was I in for a shocker. It was string bean Jimmy; someone I never would have expected. Randall was the one holding me, had taken my pack off and tossed my weapons to the side, feeling me up while he was at it. My bad feeling went from bad to worse as I took in Jimmy's leering gaze. "Hey Bella, surprised to see me?" he asked while twirling his knife around on his fingers. I struggled in Randall's hold the best I could with my foot anchored to the ground. My boot had protected most of my leg from the sharp points but one had managed to get through in the front and I could feel the blood filling my boot.

"You embarrassed me in front of everyone, Hershel won't let me get near Beth, and the whole group looks down on me now. It's time for you to pay up." He stated stepping forward raising his knife. He sliced my shirt right up the middle and Randall immediately groped the exposed flesh with his clammy hands. I flung my head back, busting his nose from the sound of it, when Jimmy put the knife to my throat, stopping all my movement. I was funny how your body had that immediate will to seize all movement to preserve your life in that delicate spot. Jazz had told me it worked that way with vampires too; said that a fight was over as soon as someone had their teeth to your throat, seizing all movement in their opponent. "That wasn't very nice you know, especially since Randall's going to be the one taking you with him when were done here. You see, we made a deal, I get to have my fun with you first, then hopefully your tracker boyfriend will come to find you so I can take him out of the picture as well." He said running the dull edge of the knife along my bra. My heart seized up in worry for Daryl. He would be walking right into whatever trap they had laid out to try and save me. Not because he was my boyfriend or anything, but because he was a good man; a good man that really didn't like to see women being mistreated.

"Then after I have my fun with you, since you ruined it with Beth, Randall here is going to take you with him in trade to forget he ever heard about the prison. Then while everyone is distracted with looking for you and Daryl, I'm going to take Beth. See I found us a nice little house away from everyone else where she can tend to all my needs whenever I please with no one to interrupt us." I thought it was only in movies were the bad guy laid out his whole plan, but I guess I was wrong because he just kept fucking talking. Randall was still sitting on his butt on the ground bitching about his nose when jimmy pushed me back. I had no choice but to fall on my ass as my leg throbbed in the trap, tearing the wound more. I could feel the warm liquid puddled in my boot between my toes, making a slight sloshing sound as I tried to reposition it to take the most pressure off.

Jimmy was on top of me soon after, his breath smelling rancid, as Randall look on from the side seemingly excited for what was to come. He groped me painfully as I struggled, trying to come up with a plan. He twisted my wrists painfully in his hands and waved the knife at me threateningly, hinting at me to calm the fuck down. "I know you won't be as good as Beth will be, she's a virgin you know; not telling what you and the redneck got up to, but I want you to remember making a fool of me" he said with a sneer. He went to open my belt when I saw my chance. He was still holding the knife in his hand while undoing the buckle when he angled his wrist just enough so that the knife was pointed at him. I slammed my hips upward and the knife went into his gut. As he released my hands with a scream of pain, I grabbed the knife and shoved it under his chin and up. Hot blood poured out on me as he fell limply on top of me.

Randall scrabbled to his feet "You little bitch!" he screamed at me. I pulled the knife back out of Jimmy and got to my feet as fast as I could but he was already pointing a gun at me. "Drop it or I'll shoot you. You're worth the same to me with a bullet hole or not. It doesn't matter; we'll still take what we want from you till you die." I dropped the knife, not wanting to be injured any more than I already was. If I could get a chance to escape, I didn't want to be hindered by a gunshot wound too. "Now what's going to happen is you're going to put these on" he said tossing metal handcuffs at my feet, "Then were going to start walking to a place I know. See you might have fooled Jimmy but I heard your little talk with Beth, I know you're a virgin and I'm going to fix that for you. Afterwards, I'll decide if you're worth the trouble to keep around or just get my group and go get little Beth along with the rest of your group. So put those on, nice and tight now, no trying to slip those" he said nodding to the cuffs. Chills went up my spine as I put the cuffs on; I was terrified for myself and for the rest of my group.

Luckily, he seemed to forget about Jimmy's comment about Daryl, or he just wasn't concerned about it. I was still trapped as he went over to the pile of weapons and started to throw them in my pack before putting it on. He came back over to me ripping the rest of my shirt off, mopping up some of Jimmy's blood from my body before laying it out on the ground. He was trying to throw people off by thinking I was dead from all the blood loss, but he wasn't the brightest crayon in the box. Daryl once told me the woods tell a story and you just have to pay attention to details to find out what it is. He would be able to tell how many people walked out of here, even if Randall attempted to cover our tracks. It's like if one leaf was out of place, he seemed to know about it. I began to hope that if I couldn't get myself out of this that he could find me; but then the hope diminished as I took in the dark fog all around us. It was going to happen tonight, the herd; there would be no tracks left to trace after that.

Willing myself not to give up hope, I stood tall. I would have to be my own hero, figure my own way out. Randall came back over with a lecherous leer as he touched my body, only with one hand, not making the same mistake Jimmy made. "You know, I wondered what you looked like, when you were out there with Beth talking. I thought you'd be ugly as fuck being a virgin that long, but I was wrong. What I wouldn't give to have your mouth wrapped around me; I'll probably have to knock all your teeth out to make that a reality, but we've done it before." He just kept on talking not taking notice of the dark shadow approaching him from behind, but I did.

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