... Chapter 42 ...

Consciousness gradually began to intrude and Beth bit back a groan, her head instantly throbbing in agonizing spasms. The tear inducing pain was close to unbearable and she squeezed her eyes shut in an effort to counteract it. The measure failing miserably, the headache remained unaffected and wasn't helped at all by the constant deafening noise roaring in her ears. God, what was that? More importantly, why the hell wasn't it stopping?

Feeling dizzy and on the verge of throwing up, she went to roll over only to realize with no small degree of confusion that she couldn't. Curled up unnaturally on her side, she shifted around to find that her hands were tied firmly behind her back. The plastic zip tie used dug painfully into her skin and she instantly began to panic, her already labored breath hitching deep within her throat.

She opened her eyes to see that everything around her was a suffocating black void, the heavy weight of which began pressing down on her immediately. Laying there in the darkness, it didn't take long to decipher past the fear that she wasn't anywhere she even remotely wanted to be. Choking on the knowledge of it, Beth began to struggle desperately for air only to find that she was gagged with a rag of some kind. Having no other choice but to compensate through her nose, the alkaline stench of exhaust fumes burned sharply at her nostrils. While the smell of it was disconcerting, it was undoubtedly the least of her worries.

The debilitating phobia she suffered from since childhood had shifted into hyperdrive, making all other thoughts irrelevant and meaningless. The black denseness was the epitome of why she had the fear to begin with, making every other nightmare she'd ever had about it sear its way to the forefront. The claustrophobia that accompanied it was unforgiving and the panicked cries she wasn't even aware she was making were lost to the gag wedged firmly in her mouth.

Somewhere past the all encompassing terror came the vague awareness of being jostled around. Panting for breath and unable to see a thing, Beth gradually came to the realization that she was in a trunk of a car. It was then that the clamorous noise that had been a consistent all this time revealed itself to be the roar of an engine. The vehicle hit a pothole and she gritted her teeth, her head screaming in protest. The car continued on unimpeded, not much caring about the struggles of the frightened girl it had locked away in its trunk.

Having endured more than she was emotionally and physically capable of, Beth blessedly passed out again, her limp body sinking back into the dirty carpet that lay underneath her. The welcoming abyss brought with it the convoluted recollection of seeing Len in the glow of the fire, his face looming over her as the lights had gone out.

It was then that she knew that he was the one who had taken her...

He was the one...

….

Coughing around the gag between her teeth, Beth woke up some time later to find that her dire predicament unfortunately hadn't changed. As much as she'd hoped it otherwise, she was still locked and tied up against her will with dried blood caked in her hair and tear stains on her cheeks. The crippling headache from earlier had receded though, at least for the time being. Feeling slightly better for it being gone, Beth glanced around to quickly realize that she could somehow see into the trunks dark recesses.

There was light coming from somewhere and rolling over, she searched for its source. There were three air holes drilled into the backside of the vehicle, which explained how the tight space hadn't suffocated her. The light they let in indicated that the car had driven through what was left of the night and into dawn of the next morning. While it didn't seem like that long, there was no way to be sure. The fire must have been started a lot later than she thought.

The holes themselves were a sure sign that both it and its owner had done something like this before. How many other girls had been where she was right now? Of them, how many had survived?

Though not much to work with, the thin luminescent beams were effective enough to keep the crippling phobia she suffered from at bay. Her panic temporarily reigned in for seeing them, Beth was able to think a lot more clearly. Testing her bonds, she took a quick mental stock of her circumstance. Where was the car going? What happened to Daryl? Did Len do something to him before he had taken her?

She felt her chest tighten as her heart lurched painfully at the thought.

The last thing she truly remembered was the two of them going to bed as usual, not thinking it to be different from any other night they had done so. Completely exhausted, they had both crashed immediately, Daryl sleepily kissing the top of her head as she had nudged up next to him. She had woken up a lot later to her candle being out and the stench of smoke searing at her nose. Her eyes instantly watering from it, she had felt across the sheets in the darkness to find that he wasn't there. While thinking such a thing to be strange, she hadn't had time to contemplate on it further. Something was horribly wrong.

Her breathing had become incredibly labored and she pushed herself from the bed, coughing intensely the whole time. Opening the bedroom door, she discovered that the house was on fire, an unmistakable orange glow blooming on the walls from downstairs. Thick black smoke had already begun to permeate the upper hallway, snaking surreally across the ceiling as it searched for crevasses to bleed into. Shocked at the sight, she recalled hearing the hard wood floors in the viewing rooms begin to buckle, the house groaning in protest as the fire gained traction. The frightening sound had her running for the bannister, leaning over it to scream Daryl's name downstairs. The sound of her voice was discordantly thick and with her heart threatening to beat its way out of her chest, she listened intently for a response that wasn't coming.

She had immediately rushed back to the bedroom, scrambling into her boots before shoving the spare bolt she had forgotten to give back to Daryl inside the left one as well. Grabbing her knife, she made her way carefully down the stairs, pressing her back to the wall as she felt her way past the burgeoning smoke. Beth could still feel the heat of the nearby flames wither at her skin, even now just thinking back upon it. The searing intensity of it had stolen her breath away as she traversed each step as fast as she could. Once in the lobby, she ran for the front door, the air in her wake being quickly engulfed.

Unlocking it in a panic, she had rushed outside blindly only to tumble over the detection system at the top of the porch. Landing in a tangle of cans and hubcaps at the base of the stairs, what little breath she had left to give was knocked instantly from her lungs and she lay there gasping from it, trying in vain to draw it back before pushing herself to her feet. Groaning in pain, she glanced down to see that the bare skin of her right arm had taken the brunt of the fall. The nasty laceration began bleeding profusely and she felt her eyes tear up upon seeing it.

Yanking the string from her legs, she called again for Daryl only to croak out something completely unintelligible. Prolonged exposure to the smoke had stolen her voice away, leaving her throat raw and caustic. Where was he?! Was it possible he could still be in the house and just hadn't heard her?

Without a moments hesitation she ran back up the stairs, damning the consequences as she steeled herself to go back inside the burning house. Almost at the door, Beth was suddenly grabbed from behind, a wiry arm wrapping around her waist as a dirty hand clapped over her mouth.

''Oh no you don't. C'mere…''

Initially confused by the chilling voice in her ear, she immediately began to struggle. When her teeth bit down on a finger, she was tossed down the stairs for the second time, the breath expelling from her chest again even more so than it had before. Rolling over, she gasped in shock to see Len descending down the steps after her, the fire behind him silhouetting him with the vile aura she knew him to have. She went to scramble away only to have him catch her, backhanding her hard to send her head careening into the asphalt.

Sprawled in the road dazed and bleeding, Beth barely felt him take her knife from her. After hiding it somewhere on his person, he leaned down to seethe in her ear, ''That's the last time you put your fuckin' teeth on me! Do it again and I swear I'll kill you!''

He flipped her onto her stomach, tying her hands behind her back before hefting her up and over his shoulder with a grunt. Beth could only lay limply against him, her body refusing to cooperate with the fierce resistance of her mind as it went into a complete and utter state of shock. Hanging upside down, blood began to drip into her ear, the effects of which making her lightheaded. The way Len was carrying her had the sharp curve of his shoulder digging painfully into her belly and her eyes fluttered closed, unconsciousness taking her away from the frightening situation despite everything inside of her screaming for it not to. She was out long before he even felt the need to gag her and from there everything else was a blur.

Now, despite the smatterings of grey tinted light managing to make it into the trunks confining space, Beth couldn't help but wish that she could just go back to that oblivious state once more. If she did, maybe she'd wake to find that this was all just a horrible nightmare, one that she could easily forget… she'd be back home with Daryl where she belonged, where everything made sense and she could feel safe again...

With the missing pieces of her predicament firmly back in place, Beth began fighting to get out of the zip tie that bound her hands. The car she was in took a sudden right turn, rolling her over with it to slam against the side of the trunk. Groaning against the rag in her mouth, she doubled her efforts, somehow sensing that she was running out of time. The vehicle made a sharp U-turn and ground to a halt, the engine idling noisily for a moment before eventually cutting off.

Frozen in place, Beth felt her stomach drop along with it, the pulse in her ears racing that much louder for the deafening silence. An instant fight or flight mentality took over and she prepared herself for whatever was about to happen.

Footsteps could be heard approaching from somewhere nearby, the single set getting progressively louder as they crunched into the gravel. The drivers side door opened and Len got out to meet them, his own stopping next to where she was inside the trunk. Confirming her belief that he acted alone, the passenger door remained closed. If Beth had any doubts, they were quickly dissuaded by the angry conversation that managed to penetrate down to where she was listening.

''You've got some fuckin' balls coming back here, you know that?''

Beth heard Len huff in annoyance. ''What are you talking about man?''

''You know exactly what the fuck I'm talking about!'' The other voice bit out, seeming to find the dismissive attitude coming from her abductor infuriating. ''You think you can just waltz back in here like you own the place? It's been weeks motherfucker!''

Someone hocked a gross wad of spit to the ground and from where she lay Beth cringed in disgust.

''So fucking what." Len growled, making it clear how much the other mans opinion mattered to him. "I never said I weren't coming back.''

''Could be wrong but you also never said you were leaving!'' There was a pause as two more sets of footsteps joined the arguing men. ''Joe! Please tell me that this fuckin' asshole ain't coming back in here!''

''Depends…'' A deep voice intoned, this one a lot more authoritative and imposing despite having only said a single solitary word.

''On what?'' Len sounded indignant.

''On your answer." The man Joe said before adding meaningfully, "So you best watch your fucking tone when you're giving it. Last I knew, you two assholes just upped and took off without so much as a by your leave. Where you been?''

''Man, I ain't been nowhere. Just scouting out the area looking for shit.'' Len stepped away from the rear of the vehicle as he finished his point. ''Whatever the hell I was doing, I reckon it ain't nobody's concern but mine. Beside, I weren't aware that I needed your permission to leave… y'know, being a grown ass man an' all.''

''Where the fuck is Dan." It wasn't a question. Even through the thick barrier of the car hood, Beth could tell that Joe wasn't someone to be trifled with. "Let me guess… he just lent you the car and stayed behind.''

''Well, he's dead so I guess we'll never know now will we.'' Len snapped back, feeling the need to explain himself further despite his initial cockiness. ''Got caught up with some biters just outside of Forsyth. What's there to say, two of us went in an' only one of us came out, end of story.''

The first man must have been listening to the exchange silently seething because he suddenly burst out with, ''Bullshit! Fuck this guy! Let me just shoot him already!''

''I couldn't give a flying rats ass if you believe me or not so fuck you Tony!" Len yelled back, the angry tone of his voice making it much easier for her to hear what was being said. "Whole fuckin' thing about leaving was Dan's idea anyways. He just had to have him them prescription drugs, couldn't live without 'em! Fucker was jonesing for 'em like the tweeker piece a' shit that he was and bum rushed a pharmacy! Got his ass killed for it! Weren't shit I could do about it 'cept watch him bleed out like a goddamn stuck pig! Biters took care of the rest!''

There was a moment of disbelieving silence before Joe sniffed out, ''And when exactly did that happen?''

'''Bout a week or so ago man, what the hell does it matter?'' Len sounded like he was about at his wits end with the third degree he was being subjected to. ''I'm back! Deal with it! I brought the fucking car back and I got some supplies as well! Now, I ain't standing here expecting the red carpet to be rolled out but that's gotta count for something!''

After a long drawn-out silence, the only man whose opinion obviously mattered sighed heavily, a resigned tone of bitterness coming across with it.

''You one fortunate son of a bitch, you know that?" Joe said, the animosity in his voice implying that Len was anything but. "You see, normally I'd just shoot you in the face like I'm itching to do and watch as you sullied up my driveway. I could take the car and the supplies and leaving your ass out here to rot. But luckily for you we're short on men. Tell you this though… and I hope for your sake you believe it… try that shit again and I'll kill you while you sleep, you understand asshole?''

Len must have understood fine because Beth heard no response coming from the normally arrogant man. Not that she blamed him. Joe sounded like he meant business.

Deeming the conversation over, Joe intoned over to the forth man who up to that point hadn't said a word, ''Billy, get the supplies from the car and take them inside.''

With his order given and dutifully acknowledged, Joe left with Tony following in his wake, the sound of their footsteps receding back the way they came. As they went, Beth could hear Tony arguing about the decision made uproariously, making it clear how much of an issue he had with it.

Holding her breath, she nervously waited for the trunk to spring open only to hear the cars rear doors be opened instead. The vehicle shifted on its tires as the weight of whatever supplies Len had mentioned were removed from the back seats.

As the bags hit the ground, she heard the forth man Billy say under his breath, ''Man, what the fuck ever. Joe's just pissed 'cause you guys took off without him knowing it. That shit chapped his hide something fierce, to the point where even Tony was sick to death of fuckin' hearing about it. We've been gone for weeks ourselves, trying to find that son of a bitch that killed Lou. The three of us only just got back not but five days ago, found the house exactly as we left it.''

''So, y'all find him or what?'' Len asked, his tone implying that he couldn't care less one way or the other as another bag fell heavily into the gravel.

''Nah man, by the time we caught wind of where he went, them Terminus assholes had him," Billy said, closing the car door closest to him, "We were outnumbered a good ten to one so Joe reckoned he'd get what was coming to him soon enough. Hell, by then we were all ready to head on back anyways. The only thing we found out there were a couple 'a new recruits. One of 'em tried to claim what didn't belong to him so he got taken out back right from the get go. The other has potential… guessin' Joe knew him from doing time together back in the day or something."

There was a long pause and Beth heard the tell tale sound of a lighter firing up. The distinct smell of marijuana wafted into the compact space she was in, making her bite down on the gag in her mouth to prevent herself from coughing. Billy took a long hit before wheezing out his point, "Besides, the dude that killed Lou weren't nothin' but a ghost in the breeze, man. With you gone jus' meant Tony was the one tracking him and we both know how that goes. Fat son of a bitch couldn't find his own ass if he had a map an' a flashlight. That's probably the reason why Joe's letting you come back in without a fuss. He needs a good tracker, straight up.''

''Where's everyone else?'' The question was asked on a exhaled huff of smoke after the joint was passed over and was the first time that Len sounded invested in the conversation he was having.

''They went out lookin' for supplies,'' Billy mumbled, the words almost unintelligible, ''Hell, they must'a found 'em 'cause we ain't seen hide nor hair of 'em since. With you, Dan and the LTD gone, we were running low. Showing up with the car and this stuff right here? You just played your fucking get-out-of-jail-free card my friend.''

Len sniffed indifferently. ''Yeah, well… you best be getting it into the house then while the goings good. I'm gonna move the car round back, get it cleaned up.''

Billy grunted in agreement and picked up the bags, walking away to leave a trail of pot smoke wafting in the air behind him. With him gone, Beth was left alone with Len for the first time since the both of them had arrived here.

She had managed to garner quite a bit from the short interaction between the four men, probably more than Len had wanted her to hear. She now knew that he wasn't alone and more importantly, that he wasn't in charge. That was obviously Joe. There were other men around, though not nearly as many as there once had been. She also knew that Len was a tracker, just like Daryl… which explained how he was able to find the mortuary despite their best efforts to deter him.

The fact that Len had felt the need to lie about his absence wasn't necessarily surprising, especially considering the character of the man. What was surprising though was the fact that no one had called him out on it, at least not in any way that mattered. The story he had given sounded like complete bullshit, even to someone like herself who didn't know him that well. If Joe had been smart, he would've followed through with his intentions to kill the man like he should of and in the process spared her a lot of misery.

Len climbed into the LTD and started it back up, the engine humming reliably back to life from beneath her. As the car began to move, Beth was left wondering why he hadn't divulged to the others that she was in the trunk. What kind of game was he playing here, not just with her but with these men he associated with as well?

A short while later, the car was parked and Len walked away from it seemingly without a care in the world. His footsteps fading into the distance, they eventually disappeared to leave only the sound of her own labored breathing behind. Beth was left laying there apprehensively, the thoughts in her head subjecting her to the gamete of every emotion imaginable. Had the man just forgotten that she was there? How was that even remotely possible?

Minutes ticked by…

Stuck in the same prone position for what seemed like an eternity, Beth began wishing that he would just come back. He could rape her or kill her or do whatever the hell he wanted as long as she could get out of the trunk of this godforsaken car!

The numbness in her right arm kept the large scrape that ran its length from hurting too bad but it was of little consolation or comfort. She was cold, stiff and absolutely scared out of her mind. In between long bouts of claustrophobic panic and more tears than she had the fluid to spare for them, Beth thought about Daryl. Was he dead? Had Len killed him? Was that why he hadn't been where he should've? He would have never have gone down without a fight, was it possible that he out in the cemetery somewhere hurt but alive?

Beth tried to believe that such a thing was possible, wanting it to be true more than anything. With her mind spinning out of control as time dragged on, the stress of waiting for whatever was going to happen all became far too much. The conviction that she was attempting to hold onto slowly began to ebb along with her hope, both threadbare emotions unable to sustain themselves as her will broke down.

Len's plan had been executed to perfection, the whole thing going off without a hitch. The only thing that could have prevented that from happening was Daryl. By getting rid of the obstacle he presented, Len gave himself free reign to do as he pleased, burning down the house to leave her practically running into his waiting arms. The man had been thorough, more thorough than either of them could've ever anticipated. The car, the ties and the destination - all had been sitting there at the ready. Someone that meticulous wouldn't just leave a loose end like Daryl alive, not if there was the slightest chance that he could get the hell up, dust himself off and come back with an unholy vengeance.

Beth felt her empty stomach sink in her frame, something cherished inside of her dying. The stark realization meant one thing and one thing only… and she could barely bring herself to acknowledge it. If Daryl was dead then she didn't want to do this without him. There was nothing within her that could fathom living in a world he wasn't a part of. She would've tried otherwise… she would've fought to the bitter end until there was nothing left in her to give...

That hope was gone for her now.

If Daryl was dead and this hell was all that remained then by god, she'd find a way to escape it too… better that than to submit to whatever depravity Len had planned for her.

Beth heard steps approaching, the sound they made coming from nearby and she braced herself to do what needed to be done. As resolute about her decision as she could possibly be, she chose to focus only on the objective itself and not the heart crushing reason behind it. The situation was about to come to a head and she was beyond ready to be done with it, no matter what the outcome might be.

But if Len thought that she was going to give him her life that easily then he was about to be sorely mistaken. She was prepared to give him no choice in the matter… she was going to force his hand...

And she sure as hell was ready to take him down with her.

…...

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