Bound
Finally, the redhead came to. Opening her eyes slowly at first, her vision being blurry and distant, she gained the notion that she was still in the same house as she was before. There was a small fire now, and the warmth that it gave off was affable to the girl's cold skin. Although it was the middle of summer, that pistol to the head didn't do her any favors.
Reaching for the fire to warm her hands, she quickly realized why exactly she was on the ground.
Her whole upper body was bound to a wooden post inside the small trading post, and the weight of the rope was discomforting at best. She was in different clothes now, a grey, short sleeve tee-shirt with "The Who" on the front and a pair of black sweatpants. She moved her eyes from the fire, and saw that her kit was beside her, including her weapons that she carried. Trying to somehow break free of her bonds and regain her weapons, the redhead wiggled and struggled against her bindings.
She stopped when she heard a low growl come from the direction of the fire.
She turned her head to see the blonde haired girl standing with her dog; the girl was holding a pistol, and the dog had its teeth barred and ready to dig into the redhead. The blonde moved to a stump that was sitting by the fire, never taking her eyes off of the tied up girl. Sitting down, the husky came and sat by her, closing his eyes as the blonde stroked his fur.
"Alright," the blonde said, setting the pistol down by her feet. "Let's be civilized here. What's your name?"
The woman's voice was genuine, with a honey like sweetness behind it. It seemed royal even, and the redhead found herself mesmerized by how comforting it was to hear it.
Regardless of how she sounded, the redhead remembered that the lump on the side of her head was all because of her.
"Why do you want to know my name," the redhead asked, an annoyed tone in her voice. "Couldn't you have asked me before you clubbed me over the head with a pistol?"
The blonde chucked. "Couldn't you have just done what I had asked in the first place and not try to kill me?"
"Well, how was I supposed to know that you weren't just gonna off me?"
"You couldn't have, but you still ended up on the losing side."
"Yeah, well, I didn't know you had two pistols."
The blonde looked at the gun beside her feet. "Comes in handy."
"Yeah," the redhead scoffed. "I can tell."
The blonde grinned. She got up, careful not to kick her gun, and moved over to a bucket that was close to the small fire. She reached in, the sound of water sloshing as she stuck her hand in filled the air as she pulled a small rag out, wringing the excess water back into the bucket. After making sure that there was no water that would drip from the rag, the blonde moved over to where the redheaded girl sat tied up, kneeling down beside her.
"Lean your head back," the blonde said sweetly, lifting the rag so the redhead would acknowledge it.
"Huh? Why?"
"Because I feel guilty for putting a dent in your head, so lay it back."
Whether it be because her head was throbbing as if bombs were going off inside of her, or because there was something about this girl that just seemed like she could be trusted, the bound girl lay her head back, and not a second later she felt the warm pleasure of the rag on her knot in her head, relieving her pain and causing her to let out a sigh of delight in response.
"There we go," the blonde said. "That should do the trick." The girl laughed uncomfortably. "Again, sorry for knocking you over the head with a pistol."
"Sorry for trying to kill you with a knife," the redhead replied, still in a blissful trance from the rag's warmth.
"Alright, second try," the blonde said as she sat back down in her spot by the fire, petting Olaf when he put his big, furry head in her lap. "My name is Elsa. What's your name?"
The redhead opened her eyes, finding the gaze of the other girl. There was something genuine about her. Something… affectionate behind those sapphire eyes. She was taking care of her, and even though she was tied up at the moment, the other girl didn't do anything to hurt her since that vicious pistol-whip. Maybe, just maybe, there was hope for something here.
"My name is Anna," the redhead said, closing her eyes once again. "It's nice to actually meet you, Elsa. Especially when you aren't trying to kill me."
Elsa chuckled. "Ditto, Anna." Standing up once again, Elsa made her way over to the Anna, kneeling down again, but this time behind her. "Call me crazy, but I think I can trust that you won't try and kill me again. I'm gonna let you free so long as you refrain from using that knife on me, okay?"
The ropes began to loosen around Anna, and she knew that there was definitely hope for something here.
"I won't try to kill you if you don't try and kill me," Anna joked, stretching her arms as she pulled them loose from the ropes. "Deal?"
Elsa, still out of sight from Anna as she loosened the rope entirely, smiled, letting out a small laugh. "I think we have a deal." Finally untying the rope, Elsa made her way to the front of Anna, reaching out a hand to help her up. "I also think it's time we had some food."
Anna eyed over the outstretched hand, and smiled back at Elsa before taking it into her own to be helped up. "I think that's the best idea I've heard all day."
Anna gladly popped a spoonful of baked beans from a can into her mouth as she looked over at Elsa, stirring the pot that sat above the small fire, ensuring that the food stayed fresh for as long as possible.
The blonde shook her head.
"So you're from Arendale City, huh?" Elsa asked, looking over to Anna. "That must have been quite a scare when the outbreak first happened."
Anna nodded, eyes open wide as she chewed on the beans, trying to hurry and swallow them to offer Elsa a response.
"It wash more than shcary," Anna said, her mouth still somewhat full, and her attempt at trying to talk caused the other girl to chuckle silently. Swallowing her beans, Anna shook her head. "It was terrifying. There were things that happened that day that I don't think I could ever forget…"
Anna's stare went somewhat blank, and Elsa noticed something was wrong.
"Anna, if you need to talk…"
The redhead snapped to, making eye contact with Elsa for a few seconds as she took in the genuine worry behind Elsa's eyes. Finally, Anna shook her head.
"No… No. It's okay. I just, have a lot to remember that day. I wouldn't want to bore you."
Anna's eyes averted from Elsa's, and they fell to the floor beneath her feet. The redhead closed her eyes and let out a long sigh. Not a second later, however, she heard wood scraping across wood, and looked up to see Elsa sitting just a foot away, body faced toward Anna, her eyes set on the redhead's, and Olaf's big, fuzzy head was in her lap as she scratched in between his ears.
"I'm all ears, Anna. You aren't going to bore me," Elsa said as she gave Anna a concerned look. "Please."
Anna, unable to unlock herself from Elsa's eyes, sighed.
"Alright, but sorry if I get a little emotional."
"You're a girl," Elsa said, giving Anna a reassuring smile. "It's in your contract to be emotional."
Anna smiled before closing her eyes and taking a long breath. "It started the week after my graduation. The news about the vaccines, that is. And, well, you know how badly the medicine went down shit creek. We didn't know about the side effects until… It was too late."
Anna's eyes turned bleak and her skin became paler than before, causing Elsa to frown with concern.
"My older sister was diagnosed with terminal cancer a few months before, and after the good news about the medicine… We got her treated. She was okay for a while, but…"
Anna's bottom lip began to quiver.
"The side effects began to show. There were others in the city who had been treated and were experiencing the side effects as well, but we were told that it was normal, so we went with the treatment and injections. It was just two weeks after that when it happened."
Anna sighed, trying to calm herself down as she never took her eye off of the floor.
"It was about three in the morning when I heard my mother scream. I woke up, and ran into the living room where I saw my dad stabbing these, creatures, through our broken window with a kitchen knife. I wanted to help, but he told me to stay back as he tried to defend our home. Mom sat in the corner crying as dad did all he could. No one noticed…"
Anna pushed her face into her hands.
"No one noticed my sister had… Turned. She made her way into the living room and…. A-And she bit my mom…"
Anna's voice was choppy, and her whole body trembled as she spoke.
"Dad told me to run. So I ran. I turned around and ran through the back door as I heard my dad pleading for my sister to forgive him…"
Anna was fully in tears, her voice weak and her nose congested.
"I ran. I can never forget that day, and I can never forget how much of a coward I was."
Elsa watched the redhead as she cried, a feeling of helplessness cascaded all around her. She moved over to Anna, waking up Olaf before she got up. She put her arm around Anna, patting her on the back as she wept.
"I'm so sorry. I wish you didn't have to go through that. I know how it feels to lose someone you're close to."
Anna sniffled, and brought her head up to look at Elsa with reddened eyes.
"You do?" Anna asked weakly.
"Mhm," Elsa grunted, nodding affirmably. "My situation was a lot like yours, except I had to kill my own mom and dad."
Anna gasped, bringing her hands up to her mouth in shock.
"Oh my god Elsa, I-I'm so sorry, I-I-I didn't mean-"
"Anna, it's okay," Elsa interrupted, closing her eyes. "It happened during the night, and I was alone with my parents. My sister was over at a friend's house in the city. We lived in a small little town, but my dad was mayor. It was a half-hour out from the city. I woke up when my door was being pounded on, and I grabbed the shotgun beside my bed. I opened my door, and, well… Whatever those things were… They weren't my parents anymore. They were gone."
Anna looked down again, studying the floor.
"I hope your sister is okay," the redhead said, sighing as she gave herself a reassuring smile, sniffling back more tears. "That's why I'm headed back into the city. I'm going to look for my dad."
Anna looked up at Elsa only to find that Elsa was already looking at her, smiling and wiping a single tear from her face.
"That's very loving of you Anna, but you can't expect to go there unprepared as you are," Elsa said before she realized exactly what she had said. "No offense."
Anna scoffed playfully. "That's why I came here, so I could find supplies or something." Smiling, the redhead tapped the side of her head. "Instead, I got a concussion from a blonde ninja with a dog."
Elsa laughed before she got up to douse the flames of the fire, pulling out two sleeping bags.
"Well, besides from that, you did get at least one supply," the blonde said, tossing a sleeping bag to Anna.
"Oh?" Anna mused, raising an eyebrow. "What would that be?"
Shedding the top layers of clothes, Elsa hopped into her sleeping bag, same as Anna.
"You got me now. Olaf and I are coming with you."
Anna's jaw practically hit the floor.
"B-But you barely know me! Why would you want to come with me?"
"Because you're doing something that no one left on this earth would do. You're facing death and danger to find someone you love, and if I could do the same, I would. If you don't want my help, then I suppose I can understand and you can be out of here by tomorrow. But I want to accompany you through this." Elsa turned to face an astonished Anna. "I want to help."
Anna stammered, verbally running through sentences that were unintelligible and incoherent before finding the right words.
"I-I would love that! I don't know what to say, Elsa. Thank you so much."
Olaf, lying beside Elsa, gave a quiet bark.
"And thank you too, Olaf," Anna said.
"We'll start in the morning," Elsa said, petting Olaf once again. "Until then, goodnight Anna."
Anna smiled as she watched Elsa turn over to face her dog, letting Olaf kiss her nose before she closed her eyes to go to sleep.
"Goodnight, Elsa," Anna said happily. "I'll see you in the morning."
Well, there that was. Chapter 2 wasn't too exciting, I understand, but I did put some backstory in there for you guys. There will be more later. Next chapter will be chock full of suspense, so stick around! Comments are appreciated!
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- FHDB