Edited

Brady had been at the men's camp for a few days now. She wasn't entirely sure how many, it all kind of blurred together. That morning, Brady winced at her sore feet from the first night when she went to get out of Laz's tent. He whipped her feet with his belt, hard enough to sting really badly. But not enough to draw blood. He did it as a warning not to try and run again. Laz hadn't been kindest to her, to say the least, but he had provided her with food and water, and she could feel her strength getting somewhat replenished. So far, Laz had only put her to work, doing various menial tasks around the camp. She had collected firewood, cooked food, and cleaned up after the men. Well, she cleaned up mostly after Laz's tent.

She kept an eye out for any opportunities to escape. She had to be careful not to raise any suspicion, but she was determined to find a way out of here and sure as hell was going to be smarter than the first time. She needed to get out before her situation got worse. Ugh, I should have waited them out. How could I be so stupid? She berated herself. She also had to find a way to get her knives back, which were usually in Laz's bag. She let out a small sigh and set out to start the morning fire for breakfast. She wasn't allowed to handle sharp objects but she was allowed to handle fire. Maybe I could just burn all their fucking tents down, she thought, she felt a sharp pain shoot through her foot, causing her to yelp in surprise.

She looked down and saw Laz's foot hovering over hers, a cruel smirk on his face."Whatever you are thinking about, don't." Laz sneered, his voice laced with malice. He could probably read the pissed-off expression on her face. I have to be more stoic, she reminded herself, hoping to have a neutral face and not give him the satisfaction he was looking for."And, let me tell you, little one, there's nowhere to run. I own you, and I can find you wherever you go."

Brady winced in pain as Laz pressed down on her foot with his boot, making her grit her teeth. She couldn't help but feel intimidated but fuck if she showed it. She couldn't remain stoic no matter how hard she tried. So, she settled for a glare. Laz pressed down on her toes again he barked at her to go make breakfast.

Her anger was rising but she kept it in check as hobbled over to the makeshift fireplace. She knew she had to be careful and bide her time, and wait for the right moment. After a breakfast of baked beans was served to Laz. Brady stood by the dishwashing area, scrubbing some plates and eavesdropping on the conversation between Len and Reg. She would often do this to gather any information she could but usually came up short. The most she'd learned was that their leader's name was Joe.

She couldn't quite see the two men with her back to them, but she'd recognize Len's whiney voice anywhere. He was bitching about some guy who claimed a rabbit for himself."I don't trust that guy, Derek," Len said, his voice low, riddled with frustration. "That was my rabbit, I'm telling ya Reg."

Honestly, Brady started to tune him out when she realized he had nothing of interest to say. Finishing up the dishes, she got lost in thought.

*Memory*

Brady joined Rick's group, recognizing that it was probably safer to stick with others while she searched for her dad. They had a planned meeting spot, supposedly two towns over, but as she wasn't familiar with the area, she decided to travel with them until her map suggested otherwise. Unfortunately, she didn't have much time to get to know the group before a child went missing.

It had pretty much happened soon after she introduced herself and the group went scavenging the cars for supplies. Carl excitedly grabbed Brady's hand, pulling her along while they were scavenging for supplies in the graveyard of cars. Much to the dismay of Lori, his mother immediately cautioned him to stay within view. Sophia, another child of the group, trailed behind them. Brady didn't mind, as she enjoyed being around kids.

"So, how come you're alone?" Carl asked, his eyes wide with wonder.

Sophia was quick to interject, "You can't just ask that, Carl."

"It's fine," Brady said, smiling at the boy. "I was separated from my dad at the Atlanta airport."

As they searched through the abandoned cars, Brady noticed that Daryl, the man with the crossbow, was keeping a close eye on them. She couldn't help but feel slightly unnerved by his intense gaze. Rick, the leader of the group, occasionally surveyed them as well, but with less suspicion.

As Carl searched through one of the cars, he found a knife kit in the trunk. Excited by his discovery, he showed the kit to Sophia and Brady, who were also searching nearby. Brady examined the kit with interest, noting the various tools inside and complimenting Carl on his find. Meanwhile, Sophia seemed less interested and more preoccupied with playing with a toy she had found.

Before they could continue searching for more supplies, the sound of a walker's groan echoed through the air. Brady's heart raced as she looked up and saw a small horde of at least 20 walkers shuffling toward them. Panic began to rise in her chest as she realized that they were not experienced enough to handle that many walkers.

Rick quickly gestured for everyone to remain quiet and get low, and Brady followed suit. She motioned for Carl and Sophia to come over to her and pointed to an abandoned car nearby.

"Get under there," she whispered urgently, "Stay quiet and stay still."

Carl and Sophia nodded, fear etched on their faces, as they scrambled under the car. Brady quickly followed suit, her heart pounding in her chest as she watched the walkers pass by, their rotting flesh and lifeless eyes sending chills down her spine.

Sophia's whimpering was getting louder, and Carl's shaking had turned into full-blown trembling. Brady could feel their fear and her own. She knew they had to stay quiet and still if they wanted to make it out alive. But then, one of the walkers started to sniff around their car. Brady slowly reached for her knife at her hip, trying to be as quiet as possible, holding her breath. But the walker must have heard something.

It started to claw at the underside of the car, and Sophia let out a small scream. In a panic, Brady lunged forward with her knife, but the walker quickly dodged her attack.

"Get out from under the car," Brady ordered the kids as she swiped at the walker again, catching it in the temple. As she got up from under the car, she breathed a sigh of relief that the walker threat seemed to have passed. But her relief was short-lived when she realized Sophia wasn't with them.

"Where'd she go?" she asked urgently.

"The forest," Carl replied, his voice trembling.

Without hesitation, knowing there were no more walkers around that would get Carl, Brady ran after Sophia. She could hear Carl's father, Rick, calling out for them to stay put, but she couldn't just leave Sophia out there alone.

As she exhaled heavily, Brady tried to shake off the haunting memory of Sophia. She wished her group had fared better than she had, and that no one had met the same fate as the little girl. Guilt had plagued her for a long time, and the thought of Judith's safety only added to her anxiety.

With a sharp shake of her head, she forced herself to focus on the present. She couldn't afford to let her guard down, not in this world. As she turned her attention back to Len and Reg's conversation, she pushed aside the lingering thoughts of the past.

"I don't know, man. It's a tough world out here. Survival of the fittest and all that."

"Survival of the fittest?" Len scoffed, walking off. "More like survival of the biggest asshole."

Brady tried to focus on her task at hand. With that Brady was about to set off to go clean Laz's tent. Before she could though Reg came up behind her and grabbed her by the arm.

"Hey, I know you were listening. How about you come over to my tent tonight and I won't tell Laz you weren't doing what you were supposed to do?" he said, a lecherous grin on his face. Brady scoffed at him and effectively yanked her arm away from him and glared.

"Yea, no." She replied. Reg was a tiny man, quiet and unassuming. He didn't have the bulging muscles of some of the other Claimers, and he certainly wasn't as imposing as Laz or Len. But he had a certain aura of danger about him, like a coiled snake ready to strike. His teeth were yellowed and 's grin turned into a scowl.

"I bet you spread those pretty little legs for Laz, be a good whore and do it for me too."

"Look I don't belong to anyone, you can't command me around," Brady spat back. "And I'm not going anywhere with you. So just fuck off." Her anger was seething, hands bawled into fists, feeling her fingernail dig into her palms. She was sick and tired of being treated like she was nothing. The old her would have backed down and relented but the new her was prepared to stand her ground and not pussy out. And actually stand up for herself.

Reg stepped closer, "I don't think you understand your situation here, little bitch. You're at our mercy, and if we want to have a little fun with you, there's not a damn thing you can do about it."

Brady's heart was racing, but she stood her ground. "I said no, Reg. And I mean it."

Reg's face contorted with anger from the rejection. Did he honestly expect me to go with him?!

"We'll see about that," his anger subdued with a different look in his eyes. One that made Brady feel very uneasy. Why's he backing down so quickly?

"I'll just have to trade with Laz later tonight like I used to do with the last girl he had." Reg continued more casually looking right into Brady's eyes. It made her skin crawl, and now that had caught her attention.

"What're you even talking about?" She asked quickly forcing her pitch not to raise or her voice to shake.

"Oh, you know what I mean." He said groping her before walking away. She was frozen, trying to comprehend. It all slowly started to click now. Laz gave her a decent amount of food, only hurting her where it wasn't visible, that one night when she was allowed to wash her face and hair. He wanted to make sure she was presentable. He was going to use her for provisions, this wasn't even the first time, he's done this with other girls!

As Brady's heart pounded in her chest, she struggled for a minute to keep her breathing steady. Her mind raced with fear and uncertainty, she knew she needed to get the fuck out here, though faster than she initially realized.

As she took a deep breath and tried to calm herself, Brady knew she needed to act fast, she needed to act tonight. She'd have to slip past Laz from their tent, that in itself was going to be hard enough. And then she'd have to think of distraction too. Okay, think you have still a couple of hours left to figure this out. She was probably going to make another irrational decision tonight, but it was better than being raped.

Despite her fear, Brady refused to let it overwhelm her. She knew that she had to remain strong and determined in order to make it out alive. She resolved to do whatever it takes to escape this place.