W: Mentions of attempted rape in this chapter
Several days later they had left the city of Midland, Texas and were now about seventy miles outside of the city, in what was a large rural area of the big state. They took their time, going slow but steady on foot, since it was now starting to reach into the beginning parts of summer and Texas was known for having some of the hottest summers on the continent.
Each of them had changed their clothes into the new wardrobe that they had found in the stores back in the city. And as Damon kept commenting on how good that he looked in his new clothes and leather jacket, Bonnie had joked to him that he should get himself a room with a mirror in it. Although she agreed that how he looked in the leather jacket complimented him a lot, for his style and the type of man he was.
He did tell her that she looked nice in her new clothes. And Bonnie admitted that having new, clean clothes was a fresh change for the both of them. Currently they were making their way through a wooded area of the rural section which they were in. Using the woods and it's trees as a cover from the growing heat of the day. As it was just before afternoon, which was often the hottest parts of the day during the summer months.
They were having quiet, small talk with each other as they made their way through the trees. Then there was a pause in the conversation as Damon's bladder was full, and he informed her that he had to go and take a leak. She told him that she would wait for him, and he detoured off to go and relieve himself in privacy.
When Damon came back to the spot where he last spotted Bonnie, where she was waiting for him, he saw that she was nowhere in sight. Furrowing his brows he looked around, but couldn't see Bonnie anywhere near.
So, he called out to her. "Hey, Bon-Bon where did you go?"
There was no answer.
"Bonnie." Damon called out again.
Still no answer.
His eyes scanned through the trees as he stood there searching for her, but he couldn't even see a single sign of her. He tried again. "Where are you, did you go off to take a piss too?"
Just in case that was the answer, he stood there and waited for a few minute for her to come back, but when she didn't he started to walk around to look for her himself. He kept calling out her name as he did so, however was only met with silence or the occasional bird chirping or some other small animal making noise.
Damon looked through the woods, walking back and forth, left and right trying to find her and couldn't. So after several moments of this going on he started to get worried. Where was she? What had happened to her?
Those concerns increased in him as he thought about how many people out there had the goal of inflicting him and ill will on whoever they ran across. Then he questioned what if one of those people had taken her while he went off to take a pee. With these thoughts in his mind, Damon moved into a sprint to look for her. If someone had taken her then he hoped that he wasn't too late to find her and stop them.
He sprinted around in the woods, about to open his mouth to call for her once again.
Suddenly, out of nowhere Bonnie jumped from behind a tree that he was about to pass. "Boo!"
Startled, Damon jumped back. "Damn, shit."
"Got you!" Bonnie exclaimed.
"What in the world are you up to, woman?" Damon's blue eyes widened, as his heart thudded in his chest from being started.
"Ha, you should see the look on your face!" Bonnie laughed.
"Really, you hide from me just so that you could jump out and scare me." Damon was taken aback.
She grinned. "Yeah and it totally worked."
He huffed out. "Now why would you pull something like that?"
She shrugged. "I was bored, so on impulse I decided to hide from you to see what happened."
"Hey, not nice I thought that something bad happened to you there for a minute." Damon wagged his finger.
"Right, I was watching you running around with a chicken with your head cut off." Bonnie laughed again.
"Not very mature there, Bonnie." Damon grumbled although relieved that she was okay.
"Chill, Damon I was just messing around with you." Bonnie gestured.
"Hmmmp." Damon lifted his chin.
Bonnie smiled. "However, it is warming to see that you care so much about me, I would react the same way if you went missing for real."
Seeing her smile Damon couldn't help but to smile back himself. "You're lucky that I can't stay mad at you for long."
"Hmmmm, this give me an idea, why don't we have some fun while we're at it." Bonnie suggested.
"I'm always for some fun, why do you have in mind." Damon responded.
"Hide and seek." Bonnie offered.
Damon was perplexed. "What is hide and seek?"
Bonnie arched a brow. "Really, you don't know what hide and seek is?"
He returned seriously. "No, I have no idea what that is."
"You know the game where people get together and one hides while the other tries to seek and find them. It was a popular childhood game that my dad introduced me to a few times." She hinted.
"Well, I wasn't exactly allowed to play many common childhood games as a kid." Damon rubbed the back of his neck.
"Right, I guess I should have been aware of that." Bonnie let out a breath.
He said to her. "It's fine."
She added. "Hey, there is a first time for everything, just because you didn't play it as a child, doesn't mean that you can't play it now."
"Interesting, we're both adults now and you wish for us to play a child's game." Damon cocked his head to the side.
"I just figured that in this world, when there is an opportunity to have some fun you take it, since there are times where having fun is so rare. Plus, I also figured that since you got into some heavy, depressing discussion about your childhood the other day, that I could help you lighten your mood for a more cheerful moment. Because you should have all the fun in the world after what you went through." Bonnie warmly told him.
"I like the way that you think." He grinned.
"Then let's do it, let's throw all caution to the wind and have some fun here. Starting with a game of hide and seek." Bonnie insisted.
Damon chuckled. "Alright, I'm game why don't you inform me of how to play hide and seek."
Bonnie started off explaining the game to him then finished with. "...and that's pretty much the concept of the game, we pick out a base, one person hides and the other counts. Then the seeker will try to find the hider and the hider has to get to the base before being tagged or that person is out, Got it."
Damon nodded. "Yeah, I got it, now who is going to be the hider and who the seeker."
She pointed a thumb towards herself. "I'll count first and you hide, if I catch you before reaching the base, then you have to count while I hide."
"Fine enough. Why don't we use that big oak tree stump in the middle as the base." Damon offered.
"Cool, okay." Bonnie accepted.
"Let us start the game then." Damon added.
After a few minutes the game started. Bonnie closed her eyes, turned her back and counted to twenty. Then she opened her eyes and said. "Come out, Come out wherever you are."
She then proceeded to try and find Damon, looking behind trees, and other places where a person could hide. It took her a minute or two but she discovered him crouching behind a large flower bush.
"Find you!" She loudly started.
"You'll have to catch me first though." Damon smirked.
"That won't be a problem." Bonnie said.
With that Damon took off on a run towards the base and Bonnie took off after him.
Bonnie chased him. "Get back here."
Damon shouted back at her. "No way."
Being in good shape, Bonnie was a very fast runner, however Damon was slightly faster. She was just an arm's reach away from touching him when he touched the stump first.
"Made it!" Damon exclaimed.
"I almost had you." Bonnie snapped her fingers.
"Almost doesn't count, now does it." Damon teased.
"You just got lucky." Bonnie gave him a lighthearted smirk.
He told her. "Sure, whatever you say to make yourself feel better that I beat you. Not bad for my first time playing this game."
She placed her hands on her hips. "You won't beat me to the base again."
He wiggled his fingers towards her. "Wanna bet?"
"Okay, I'll give you the first round. Let's do it again to see if I can catch you this time." Bonnie challenged.
"Fine by me, if you want to lose again." Damon took a step back.
She rolled her eyes. "Just be prepared to hide again."
He gestured. "You close your eyes first."
With a shake of her head, Bonnie closed her eyes and counted to twenty again. She opened them and again was about to state. "Come out, Come….." But, stepped mid sentence.
There was Damon leaning against the stump, his arms folded across his chest as he grinned from ear to ear.
"Damon!" Bonnie yelped.
"Yes, Bonnie?" Damon fluttered his eyelashes.
"You didn't even bother to hide." Bonnie pointed.
"I confess that I didn't." Damon admitted.
Bonnie told him. "The whole point was for you to hide."
Damon said. "Actually, I just did the part where I had to made it to the base."
Bonnie scoffed. "That's not how it works, you're still suppose to hide."
"I sort of hid…..behind the stomp when you first started counting." Damon retorted lightly.
"Not fair, you completely cheated, so this round doesn't count." Bonnie stomped her foot down.
"What are you going to do about it, huh." Damon playfully challenged.
She returned just as playfully. "You'll see what I can do."
He snickered. "Oh, I'm so scared. That's what you get for the trick that you pulled on my earlier, with jump scaring me."
"If that's how you feel then, do you wish to go another round of hide and seek with you counting this time." Bonnie raised both eyebrows.
"Nah, I'm good with winning two times if a row. So, don't be a sore loser." Damon smirked.
"Want to fight about it?" Bonnie stuck out her tongue.
"Want to fuck about it?" Damon joked.
Bonnie snorted, at ease with him enough to know that he was just kidding around with her. "Please, in your dreams, Salvatore."
Damon winked. "Perhaps in your dreams, Bennett."
Bonnie held up a hand. "Give me a break, you're not all up that."
"Of course I am, I'm the most irresistible guy on this planet." Damon boasted.
"Wow, I don't think so. Mr. Ego." Bonnie directed.
"Mr. Ego." Damon wrinkled up his nose. "Hey, nicknaming is my thing."
She lightly poked at his chest. "It can be my thing as well, with your Ego being twice the size of Texas."
He narrowed his eyes at her. "Take that back."
"Or else what?" She lifted her chin.
"Or else you'll pay." Damon told her.
"Ha, yeah right." Bonnie said.
Damon took a step towards her. "Take that back, Bennett."
Bonnie took a step back. "Not going to happen, Salvatore."
Reaching for her, Damon ran his fingers gently over the skin of her neck. "Then you leave me no choice."
Instinctively Bonnie giggled at the sensation that his fingers caused.
"Just as I thought, you're ticklish!" Damon exclaimed.
"No, I'm not." Bonnie tried clearing her throat to play it off.
"Yes, you are." Damon went into a mischievous grin.
"I'm certainly not ticklish." Bonnie pressed her lips together tightly to prevent herself from giggling again.
He challenged. "Then prove it and let me tickle you and see if you don't laugh."
Part of her knew better and that he was telling the truth, but then there was the other part of her that couldn't turn down a good, light hearted challenge that he just gave. "Fine, go ahead and tickle me."
Damon reached for her again. "Gladly."
He proceeded to tickle her, and at first she had managed to hold herself back. However it didn't take long for the sensation to overcome her. And she went into full blown giggles and laughter.
"See, I told you so." Damon after seeing that his mission was accomplished.
"Okay, Okay, you were right." Bonnie laughed.
"Now that I am, beg me for mercy." Damon chuckled.
She questioned between giggles. "Beg you for what?"
He repeated. "Mercy and I'll stop tickling you."
Bonnie resisted. "No way."
"Alright, then play it that way." He tickled her even more.
Which sent her into an uncontrollable fit of laughter and giggles.
And hearing her laugh delighted him and made him laugh in return.
"Alright, Alright. I beg you for mercy." Bonnie stated in between a laugh.
"Hah, victory, mercy granted." Damon ceased on tickling her.
"How did you know that tickling was my weakness?" Bonnie wiped a tear from her eye which had been caused by laughing so hard.
"Just had a feeling about it." Damon grinned.
Bonnie grinned as well. "So, now that we have hide and seek out of the way, want to try playing another game?"
Damon nodded. "I'm all in."
BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK
They spent much of the day just fooling around and playing different games with each other. Both of them having a great time while adding some fun to their constantly growing friendship. They had fun until the night time came.
Now the both of them were a little tired from a long day of playing around and they wanted to rest for the remainder of that night. They picked out a spot in the woods that they had been playing it and Damon built them a fire. Currently they were sitting around this fire, as Bonnie dug through her bag to look for something.
"What are you searching for?" Damon questioned.
"A very important item." Bonnie replied.
"Need help?" Damon wondered.
"No, I've got it." Bonnie pulled out the item which she was searching for.
His mood lifted even more when she saw what she had. "Is that what I think that it is."
Bonnie held up the bottle which was filled with amber liquid. "Yep, it's a bottle of bourbon that I found right before we left the city,"
Damon rubbed his hands together. "Did I tell you that I'm a big fan of bourbon."
"Perhaps you did in passing, although it wouldn't surprise me." Bonnie responded.
"Mind sharing?" Damon asked hopefully.
"Of course not, it's what friends are for." Bonnie took the top off of the bottle. "It's been awhile since I had a good alcoholic drink."
"Me too," Damon put in.
She offered him the bottle. "Want to take a sip."
He insisted. "Ladies first."
She went. "Thanks." before taking a big sip herself. The liquid burned as if went down her throat in a good way. "Whoa, that delicious."
Being in impressed that a woman as tiny as she was could take a drink. "Let me get a taste of it."
Bonnie handed him the drink.
He took it before taking a large gulp. "Whew, you've picked out a high quality bottle of bourbon."
"I saw it and just couldn't leave it behind." Bonnie said to him.
Damon took another gulp before handing the bottle back to her.
And for a moment they just sat in silence, passing the bottle back and forth to take turns drinking.
"You know, today was quite the fun." Damon broke the silence.
"It was very enjoyable." Bonnie agreed.
"I didn't think that I needed it." Damon commented.
She looked over at him. "You didn't think that you needed to have fun?"
Damon explained. "The games that you and I played today, I didn't think that I needed to experience that until I actually did."
Bonnie returned. "Oh."
He added. "It may seem like a meaningless, childish thing to a lot of people. Me a grown ass man doing what he made for children. But, it means a lot to me in living through something that I didn't get to do much as a child. Doing games which would be scolded at by Alaric in my childhood."
"Well, it just came to my mind that you should get to gain back the fun which was taken away when you were a kid. I just figured that it would be neat for us to do together, after you told me your backstory. I just wanted to help brighten your mood." Bonnie directed.
"You did brighten my mood and help me out. And it was neat to do with you. This would be the type of thing that Alaric would prevent me from doing when I was around him, just to be mean and spite me." Damon stated.
"He can't prevent you from doing so now, because he's not around. So, screw Alaric." Bonnie commented.
"You're right, thanks for allowing me to experience a great time today." Damon smiled.
"You're more than welcome, Damon." She beamed.
The two of them looked up at the dark night, star packed sky through the treetops.
"It's really amazing how many stars you can see on a moonless night such as this one." Damon spoked.
She agreed. "I know, it's just beautiful."
"There's just so many stars up there, all of them big balls of gas and fire billions of light years away." Damon said in awe.
"Millions of stars, and thousands of galaxies. It's incredible when you think about it." Bonnie emphasized.
He leaned back on his elbows. "The universe is very expansive indeed."
She nodded. "The universe is endless. There's millions of stars, hundreds of thousands of them which have planets orbiting them, with solar systems. Makes me think that life is out there."
He cocked his head out of curiosity. "You really think that there is life out there?"
"I do. I mean in the perspective of things we're just this small tiny blue planet in the vastness of space. Yet, there are thousands of planets out there and it's hard to imagine that we are the only one with life on it. So, yes I do think that somewhere out there is life." Bonnie confirmed.
"Perhaps you're right." Damon gave it a thought. "Intelligent life on a planet, orbiting a distant star, looking up at the night sky at the exact moment which we are doing right now."
"That would be pretty amazing if it were actually happening." Her eyes scanned the sky.
Damon looked up. "It would be spectacular and if there is life maybe their planet is faring better than humanity is on this one."
Bonnie expressed. "I would hope so, not everyone is suffering from a post apocalyptic world like we are."
Damon shook his head. "Don't think that they are. Where did you get your interest in space and the universe."
"My Dad, yet another thing that he talked to me about." Bonnie switched her gaze from the sky to Damon.
"I see." Damon turned to her.
"He was a science teacher for some middle school before the end times came. His job was teaching before the world went to shit. But, he kept some of what he learned and used it to sort of home school me." Bonnie directed.
"It's good that he did that then." Damon commented.
There was another break in the conversation, as they drink from the shared bottle of bourbon. Talking about her Dad once again had brought up the painful memories of how she lost him. And since she now fully trusted Damon and was closer to him than she ever was, she felt like she had come to the point where she could tell him more details about her past.
The blued eyed man next to her notice the expression on her face. "Are you okay?"
She answered. "Yeah, I'm fine, I just feel like I'm ready."
"Ready?" Damon shifted.
"To tell you about my backstory, like you told me about yours. I feel like we've reached the point in our relationship where I'm comfortable enough to tell you what happened with my father and how he got murdered. Plus, the fallout because of it." Bonnie gave him her explanation.
"I'm relieved you know trust me enough to open up to me about your Dad, knowing what a sensitive subject he is for you." Damon gently said.
"I think that it would help me, if I discussed it with you, since I've usually kept it pent up inside of me. And I'm ready not just to open up about what happened to my Dad. But, the other events of my past, especially with the Militia and how it shaped why I loath them to this day." Bonnie mumbled.
He told her. "You just discuss with me whatever you're most comfortable discussing. No pressure."
She assured. "I'm comfortable with telling you everything about my backstory and leaving no important detail out. This is a very big deal since I've never mentioned my past much to any person before."
Damon placed a brief hand on her shoulder. "Take you time, I have all night to hear what you have to say. I'll listen to your past like you listened to mine."
"Right." Bonnie took a deep breath. "I'll start with when my Dad was killed and go from there."
Eyeing her, Damon patiently waited for her to start.
Pausing to gather herself, she started to tell him and much like when he revealed his past to her, she had flashbacks at the same time that she was discussing it with him.
The last night that Bonnie Bennett's dad was alive.
A ten year old, youthful Bonnie was busying herself inside of the house which her Dad had built when her Mom was four months pregnant with her. It took him months to finish it and he finished it just a few weeks before Bonnie was to be born. And kept Bonnie there as the safe haven from the increasingly harsh post apocalyptic world. But, despite the conditions, Bonnie was a happy, content ten year old child, because her Dad worked hard to make sure that she felt safe and happy in her own home.
Currently, it was just after dinner and around eight p.m. As Bonnie sat at the candle lit table running her crayons over the coloring book which her Dad had given to her a couple of weeks ago. He had collected toys, children's books and other items to keep her entertained. Since the tv and internet no longer existed as a form of entertainment.
Rudy Bennett, her dad entered into the room. The home that he built was small, with just four rooms. But, he was proud of it and the home that he had made with his daughter. "Bedtime in an hour, sweetheart."
Little Bonnie pouted. "Aw, do I have to go to bed in an hour."
"Yes, you do." Rudy responded.
"But, that's so early and it will only make it nine o'clock." Little Bonnie said.
"It will, and I usually let you stay up later. But, tomorrow is our special hike, remember." Rudy told her.
She just did remember. The majority of the time she was isolated to this house and the front, back yards, along with the photo developing shed. Her Dad had kept her confined to these areas as a way to keep her safe, to lessen the chances of them running into someone that wished them harm.
However, once a month since she was seven years old, Rudy had taken her out on hikes just a couple of hours outside of their home. And Bonnie cherished it because it allowed some father, daughter time. Plus she got to get out the space surrounding the house every once and awhile.
Little Bonnie stated. "I forget that it was tomorrow, I do remember now."
Rudy added. "Then you know that we always pack up and start out on our hike first thing in the morning, then come back here in the evening. Our hike days are long, so you need to get plenty of sleep."
"Okay then, I'll go to bed in an hour." Bonnie went now excited about the day.
"Good, babygirl." Rudy beamed.
"Can I take my camera, to take pictures of the animals and the trees?" Little Bonnie questioned with hope.
Rudy eyed her with fatherly love. "Of course you can, you can take all the pictures that you want and we'll develop them in the shed."
Little Bonnie gave a toothy grin. "I can't wait."
Rudy added. "I'll be in the other room if you need anything."
Little Bonnie gave a nod. "Okay, Daddy. I'll just color until it's time to go to bed."
Rudy left the room and she resumed on her coloring.
"That was the last peaceful moment I had in my life, before they came." Bonnie mumbled
"The Militia." Damon connected.
"Correct." She continued in revealing her past through flashbacks.
Suddenly, Rudy bursted back into the room with alarm and fear on his face.
It made little Bonnie drop her crayons.
"Hide quickly." Rudy told her.
"Daddy?" She was taken aback in his sudden change in demeanor.
Rudy waved his hands wildly. "Hide now, babygirl.
Little Bonnie jumped up from her seat. "Why? What is it?"
There was a loud commotion outside that had Rudy casting a fear filled glance back towards the front door.
It made her flinch.
Then there was a loud banging on the door. "Open the damn door, it's the Militia."
Rudy bent down to look at his daughter at eye level. "It's really important that you hide, Bonnie now please go."
She stood there frozen for a moment, not sure what to do. When another loud bang at the door caused her to run and move across the room, she went into the small coat closet and shut the door behind her.
Just seconds later there was a sound of wood breaking as the front door was kicked in and broken down. Then there was a pound of feet as people rushed into the room where her and Rudy was.
Little Bonnie looked through the cracks of the door to see a group of men dressed in military like gear, armed with big guns step in.
"Through the slight opening in the closet, where they didn't know I was in yet, I could see the Militia storming in. One of them who said that he was the general of the group and about five other men following along with him, if I can recall." Bonnie whispered.
"Why were they there? What would the Militia want with your father." Damon wanted to know.
Bonnie lifted her shoulder. "My Dad, he wasn't connected to them and did nothing against them in anyway. You are aware of the fact that Militiamen raid people's houses for paid and supplies. Often without permission."
Damon grumbled. "I'm more than aware if that fact."
Bonnie went on. "Unfortunately, they were on a mission it seems and had ran out of food and supplies for their men. So, somehow they came up on the house that I lived in with my Dad. It was just completely random when they found it. And they saw it as a target to get what they wanted."
A afraid Bonnie watched from the closet as the Militiamen surrounded her Dad.
"Why didn't you open the door." The General boomed at Rudy.
"Because you're not invited here, I didn't want to open the door." Rudy stood tense.
"That's not how it goes, people do as we say, when we say it." The General demanded.
Rudy tried to stay calm. "I don't know why you are here or what you want from me, but I have nothing of worth here."
The General grinned coolly, "Sure you do and you're going to give it up for me and my men."
Rudy glared at the man. "Leave and get the hell out of my home right now."
"Don't tell us what to do, we're the Militia and our law rules in all parts. What you're going to do is you're going to give us all of your food, plus whatever you have of value." The General commanded.
"I'm not giving you a thing that I own." Rudy retorted.
"Did you just refuse my orders. Not a smart idea." The General sneered.
Rudy raised his voice. "I worked hard to get this food, if you and your boys are hungry, find food somewhere else."
The General warned. "Give us all of your food and anything of value or face the consequences."
"I'll give you some but not all since I need to eat too. Then you can leave." Rudy hoped to get the men out.
"No deal, we want it all." The General returned.
"I don't have enough to feed all of your men." Rudy babbled.
The General shrugged. "Don't worry we will make due with what you have."
Rudy was going more and more tense with the longer that they were in the house. Knowing that his babygirl was close by hiding.
It was then that the General noticed children's books and toys laying around. "Who else is with you here?"
"No one else is with me here." Rudy quickly denied.
"Then explain these toys laying around here." The General directed.
"They belong to me." Rudy lied to protect his child.
Little Bonnie stood in the closet, growing more nervous with the more time that the Militiamen were there.
The General blinked sarcastically. "Yes, a bunch of toys belong to a grown man."
Rudy swallowed hard. "I live here alone and I am alone."
"You know what I don't believe you, you've got a little tike running around here somewhere." The General accused with amusement.
This made little Bonnie take a step back in the closet, with her heart now pounding. Those men now seemed to know that a child lived here and that child was her.
"No, I have no kids." Rudy frantically shook his head.
"We'll see about your claim…..search this place for anyone else and kill them if you find them." The General ordered his men.
Which sent Rudy into panic mode and he spoke out in the hopes of preventing his child from being discovered. "Wait."
"Wait for?" The General and all of the other Militiamen turned to him.
"I'll give you all of my food and whatever supplies that you need, just take what you want and get out." Rudy rushed out the words.
"Thanks, we don't need your permission to take what we want, we just take it. But, we will also take your life." The general added coldly.
Rudy shook his head from side to side. "Take my life? Why so?"
The General eyed him with malicious. "Because you refused to give us what we asked for at first."
Rudy scattered. "Should not matter, I'm telling you to get what you need as long as you leave me in peace."
"In that case, we take your life tonight, because it's just what we want to do." The General deadpanned.
"Huh?" Rudy blinked in terror.
"Killing the weak is needed in this world and you seem to be among the week. We have to do what we have to do in order to let people know around here that the Militia rules." The General barked.
Rudy held up his hands. "I want nothing to do with you and have nothing against your group. Just please let me go and leave me alone."
The general clucked his tongue. "Never works when they all beg for their life, they always end up dead."
"Please, don't do this." Rudy strattered.
"Shut up and get on your knees." The General grabbed at his gun.
"No." Rudy refused.
A couple of the other Militiamen in the room shoved Rudy down forcing him on his knees.
The General stepped up to Rudy, gun drawn. "The less you fight this, the less painful it will be"
"Please, don't." Rudy pleaded.
"This isn't personal, it's just a business." The General fired off the gun which he had aimed directly at Rudy's head.
The loud gunshot went off inside of the small house, hurting Little Bonnie's ears. From the closet she watched as her father fell to the ground, immediately dead.
Out of horror and the grief at seeing her father killed right before her eyes, Little Bonnie squealed out. "Daddy, No." Before she could stop herself.
Which gave away her presence and her location to the others.
The General, along with the other men turned in her direction. The General glared at the closet. "Who ever is in there, you better come out or we'll kill you too."
"...And it was at that very moment where my childhood ended, my whole world came crashing down." The emotion of remembering had heartbreak entered into Bonnie's tone. "I just witnessed my Dad getting his brains blown out before me and didn't know what to do about it."
"I'm very sorry you had to see something like that as a kid. What those bastards did to you and your father was sick and twisted. He certainly didn't deserve such a harsh death." Damon frowned.
"Neither do most of the innocent people who they have murdered do, I was devastated at ten years old seeing the only person that I was close to taken away from me. Yet, I had no real time to mourn really, because I immediately had to focus on being alone and surviving and fending for myself." Bonnie mumbled.
All Damon could do was shake his head.
Bonnie continued. "Once I was forced to leave the house, I was out in the wilderness of the state of Washington, lost and not knowing how to respond to what had just happened or how I was going to go on."
Damon whispered. "Of course you would respond in such a way, you were just ten years old. Even a grown person would be lost at such a point."
"However, still I had to find a way to survive, which was far from easy. I went from having a shelter and food provided for me from my dad. To being homeless and not knowing where my next meal was going to come from. The first weeks fending for myself was rough and brutal."
"To this day, I don't know how I managed to live past those situations and conditions. The first weeks I was forced to live out in the woods, with not much to eat and no roof over my head." She pressed her lips together grimly.
"I was outside for weeks on end, eating whichever bugs that I could find on the ground, because I ended up being just that hungry. Drinking water from dirty puddles in order to prevent myself from dying of thirst. Spending nights sleeping on the ground with no sheets to cover up with,"
Damon felt very saddened for her and how terrible it had to have been for her to be a ten year old girl, not knowing where her next meal was coming from or even if she would survive the next day.
Bonnie went on. "I had lost a lot of weight from the lack of substantial meals. After weeks in the wilderness, I some way found my way into the city of Seattle. Where I spent months more trying to survive alone on the streets. I would dig through trash for something to eat and sleep in abandoned buildings. One time I was starving and the hunger pains got so bad that I ate a loaf of moldy bread. Saw the bodies of dead people in the streets and was afraid that I would turn out to be one of them."
"No child should ever be homeless, starving, or left to fend for themselves." Damon said to her. And was disgusted that she was forced into that path by a group of psychopaths which he used to be apart off. Hearing the past of Bonnie's childhood made him believe all the more that he made the correct decision in leaving the Militia behind.
"You're right, no child should have to go through that. But, because of my Dad being unjustly slaughtered, I had to adjust to that type of life and fight for survival. As i said I was living on the streets for months, until about my eleventh birthday. Then my fate took a different path, a fate which I thought was better at the time."
Damon wondered. "What do you mean?"
Bonnie returned. "At that point, I was just this thin, skin on the bones, dirt covered just turned eleven years old. I was sleeping in the sidewalk of an alley one day, when this lady approached me. She seemed like the nicest lady at first. All concerned about this girl which she had found on the streets and that girl was me."
"Oh, you poor thing." The lady had said as she frowned down at Bonnie. "Where are your parents?"
Little Bonnie kept her mouth closed and didn't answer.
"It's alright, dear I'm just here to help." The lady insisted.
"I'm…...my parents are dead." Little Bonnie answered shyly.
The lady put both of her hands on her heart. "Oh, you poor dear, you must have no one to take care of you. And I can see that from the skin hanging off of your bones that you haven't had anything decent to eat for a while."
Little Bonnie just nodded slightly.
"My name is Patricia and I hate to see a child living on the streets. Come with me, I'll take care of you and give you a home." Patricia told her.
The young Bennett girl hesitated, remembering how her Dad had told her to be careful around strangers.
"I'll give you food, all the food that you could wish to eat, you'll never have to be hungry with me again if you let me take care of you." Patricia added.
Bonnie commented. "That offer for food, shelter was what convinced me to go along with Patricia. I was out on my own for months, struggling every day to find food and a decent place to sleep. So, despite Patrica being a stranger, I was quick to go into her home. Believing that as a child that things had turned around for the better for me, and I had an adult to care for me since my Dad had died."
Damon could imagine how mourning the loss of her father, and being alone for months, how she would naturally go for the first adult which offered her some kind of parent role.
"I didn't see her as a replacement for my Dad, no one could ever replace him. But, I guess at the time, I saw Patrica as my potential adoptive parent. Just as she said that she would, she took me into her home and she fed me. After the first couple of weeks that I spent living with her, my mood had picked up. Figured that my future was turning out for the better."
She paused. "Patricia didn't live alone, she also had her older brother Greg there as well. I didn't think much of it though, he seemed like a nice, friendly man. For the first three months living with them, things were going very well. I was content and hopeful. Turns out that Patricia and Greg were just luring me into a false sense of hope."
Thoughts ran through Damon's mind as to what she meant.
"I shortly began to notice how Greg was acting towards me, how he would react around me. It had me confused and weirded out, at eleven years old, I didn't know what was going on. Just that something about him wasn't right."
Bonnie stomach churned as she remembered. "The way that he would look at me, and the comments he made towards me, which I knew was inappropriate for a man to say to a kid, It left me feeling uncomfortable and strange."
Damon felt sickened by the direction in which he was going. "You mean to tell me that Greg was a…."
"Pedophile, yeah he was." Bonnie finished in disgust. "And it turns out that his sister aided him in his heinous crimes towards children. She would find homeless or parentless kids on the streets and pretend to take them in out of the goodness of her heart. But, was just setting them up to be victims of her sick brother."
"Were you a victim of his?" Damon was just angered and enraged with the thought.
Bonnie replied. "Almost, I could have been. Thankfully I found a way to stop him, during one of his attempts at me. He tried to molest, then rape me, but I kept finding ways to get away from him and avoid him. He chased me around that house trying to get to me."
"I was so scared, When he grabbed a hold of me, after he caught up, I was desperate and reached for the first thing that I could, to defend myself with. It was a steel bat, I took a swung at him as hard as I could, that was the only way I could get him to let go of me and back off. I kept swinging at him, aimed for his head and before I knew it his blood and brains were scattered everywhere and he was dead. Yet, I took a few more swings at him, just to make sure."
"That pig deserved it and then some for what he tried to do to you." Damon firmly stated.
"I know that he did and although I was traumatized by what he tried and wanted to do towards me, I wasn't remorseful about the actual act of killing him. I wasn't thrilled with killing him, but even at eleven years old I was glad that I did, because it prevented harm and violence being inflicted upon me. That was the first time that I ever killed in self defense." Bonnie muttered.
Damon commented. "I would end up being far from the last for you."
Bonnie repeated. "Far from the last."
Damon had to know. "What happened with Patricia."
"Oh, her." Bonnie's lips curved in a humorless manner. "She came in and discovered the bloody, messy scene I had created. Saw her brother on the ground with his head bashed in and me holding the bat with his brains and blood all over it. She was upset, yelling at me and calling me a bitch for killing her brother."
Damon glowered. "Patricia is the bitch and is equally as guilty as her brother. She earned playing a part in his rightful death."
Bonnie spat out. "I told her in these exact words. That if she attempted to hurt me in any shape or if she didn't back off, that I would kill her and bash her head in just like I did with Greg, even told her I would kill her in her sleep. Being all caught up in the emotions after just getting rid of her brother."
"And she said to this?" He anticipated.
"It got her to back off. I don't know if it was the dangerous look that I had in my eyes or if I had a crazed look in my eyes. Or if it was how serious the tone of my voice was. But, it convinced Patricia to back off and to leave me alone. Despite the fact that I was a child and she was an adult woman, I could tell in the moment, she feared me. And she let me go, because she didn't want me using the bloody, steel bat on her. Which I would have done if she tried to attack me in any way." Bonnie quipped.
"Wish I could have been there to see the look of fear on her cunt face." Damon grumbled.
Bonnie confessed. "It was satisfying, I must admit. I walked out of her home that day and never looked back. Days later, I learned that Greg had been a member of the Militia. He didn't stay on one of their bases or wear the uniform. But, he was a member, more like a rogue member who did outside favors and duties for them. Still had as much belief in their cause as any of the other Militia men do. And Patricia was one of those dutiful women, who believed in standing behind what the men members did."
Damon let out a breath. "Then I can understand more now why you are so against everything in the Militia and didn't trust me at first when you found out that I used to belong to them. First they murder your dad and then one of them tried to rape you, when you were a child. Your feelings and hatred towards them are totally justified."
Bonnie gave a nod. "I still stand by my judgment that the majority of them are remorseless sociopaths."
"Also why you have trust issues and don't trust easily, because you trusted a couple of people and went into their home. Then it turned out to be that they wished you ill will. You hesitated to be open to a person, because the time that you were, it almost caused great physical harm to come to you." Damon connected.
"Exactly, right." Bonnie confirmed.
"Although I'm glad you were able to defend yourself against Greg. I feel sorry for you that you had to lose your innocence as a kid and be made to kill in that situation. It's messed up and it's not fair." Damon mumbled.
Bonnie said. "It's far from fair, however the apocalypse happening made it an unfair world. And I learned that I had to adjust to that. The day that I killed Greg changed my perspective and my outlook on how the world was ran. I knew that I no longer could be that afraid, scared little girl who didn't know what to do without her father around."
"I had to fight and do whatever it took in order to survive, so even while physically in age I was eleven years old, at that point I grew up in a since mentally and emotionally. And started to toughen up my attitude, I would kill if I had to, but only as a last resort or in defending myself. I soon learned that items and goods could be traded for food and supplies. And became a smuggler at a young age. By the time that I was thirteen, I was deep into the smuggling game and was on the way to becoming an expert smuggler."
"I have to tell you that I'm impressed, despite the terrible circumstances surrounding your situation, you managed to take it and turn it into you becoming a survivor of the strongest. Not many people would be able to create a survival story out of that." Damon mufttered.
"And I repeat, I look back at times and wondered how in the world I managed to make it this far alive, I did though. I did what I needed to do to live, as we all do." Bonnie pointed out.
He fully agreed with. "Just one other thing."
She eyed him. "Yes?"
He went on. "If you don't mind telling me, on the night that your Dad got murdered, how did you manage to make it out alive, being in that room with the General and the rest of his men. Did they let you go?"
"Far from it." Bonnie shook her head. "They show no mercy to anyone, children included. So, I'm not alive today out of the goodness of their heart. I got out, because somehow I was lucky enough to escape, being outnumbered by all of those men. I barely escaped by the skin of my teeth, but I did."
Once more Bonnie flashed back, as she recalled her memories to Damon.
The General and the other men stormed up to the closet and opened the door, seeing Little Bonnie standing there.
Little Bonnie, who was shaken from just seeing her Dad shot in the head, cowered back from the men.
The General's eyes glittered with evil to send a shiver down her spine. "Well, Well, Well, look what we have here, it's a kid. What is your name little girl?"
Her ten year old self, kept her mouth buttoned up, as tears with the mixture of fear and grief began to spill out of her eyes.
The General seemed amused by her tears. "Answer me what is your name?"
Little Bonnie shook her head as her bottom lip trembled.
"Is something wrong with your hearing girl, I asked you a question." The General snapped out.
"Please, don't kill me." Was all that she could croak out.
The General laughed at her in a mocking manner, encouraging the others to join in.
"Not to worry, I won't kill you. How would you like to go to our camp. Raise you up to clean, cook, and do the laundry like all women should." The General touted.
"I do go with strangers." Little Bonnie said in a trembling voice.
"Guess what brat, you don't have a choice." The General reached and forcefully took a hold of her arm. "Not get your ass out of that closet."
This had Little Bonnie going into full blown panic mode, afraid that they were going to shoot her in the head as they just did her dad or take her some place that was bad. She in fear and desperation grabbed a hold of the nearest thing to her with her free hand, it was a pair of scissors that had been in the closet.
She used the sharp end of the scissors and aimed it as the General's face. The blade of the scissors cut a deep gash that went from just below his eye, all the way down to the top of his lip.
In pain the General let her go and grabbed a hold of his face, where she had cut him. This shocked all of the other men standing around and as they were distracted gawking at their leader, as he screamed in pain, with blood pouring out of the gash.
Little Bonnie took the moment to escape, quick as a cat she crawled between the men's legs, until she was through them. Then jumped up and ran towards the front door.
The General yelled out in anger as blood leaked through his fingers. "What are you idiots doing, kill her right now!"
The other men went after her, as Bonnie bursted through the front door. She circled her way around the house and ran into the backyard. The men chased her out of the house, as the General stood there clutching at the bleeding, wounded side of his face, yelling at them to get her.
His Militiamen were close on her heels as they chased her. Little Bonnie ran into the woods, as darkness surrounded her. She really couldn't see where she was going but just kept running. The other men shot after her and bullets whizzed by her body, barely missing her. She ran and ran as fast as her little legs could carry her. She was far enough ahead of them where she couldn't see them in the darkness of the night, but could tell that they were close behind her from the sounds of their voices.
Little Bonnie could tell that they were gaining on her, so she took a sharp turn left and ran some more. Cries wanting to well up in her throat, but she knew that she couldn't make a sound or it would give away exactly where she was. She came up on a embankment and went down it a few feet, then saw a hole in the side of the ground. She quickly climbed into that hole, getting dirt and mud all over her clothes, she used the branches of the small tree which was in front of the hole for extra cover. The tree has thick leaves and one would have to move the branches to the side to know that a hole was there.
Little Bonnie held her breath not wanting to give herself away. A minute later there was the sound of heavy footsteps belonging to those who were chasing her down. Little Bonnie's heart was pounding and she was breathing heavily. She put her hand over her mouth to prevent herself from making a sound.
"Damn it, where did the little runt go off too?" One of them asked from above her.
It appeared that between the position of the embankment, the hole that she was in, and the darkness of the night that they couldn't see her and didn't know where she was.
"She couldn't have gotten away that far." One of the others said.
"Should we just keep searching for her then?" Yet another one of them asked.
There was a pause. "Nah, let's turn back. She's out there in the wild now, no way she'll be able to survive through the elements. She is just a child. Either she will go hungry until she dies or a wild animal will get to her."
With that the footsteps of the men sounded off in the other direction, until they disappeared altogether. Little Bonnie just heard the sound of her heavy breathing and the nighttime creatures making noise around her. However, she didn't hear the men. It seemed they had left and given up on chasing her.
Still she stayed there in that hole for a while longer, to stay hidden just in case they were nearby and tried to lure her into a false sense of security by drawing her out, then catching her. Hours went by and she stayed crunched up in that hole and didn't hear them around. She stayed in place in that hole for the longest time, until daylight broke on the following morning.
"...that's how I manage to escape and get away from them. By the time I had left the hole, they were long gone and had moved on. Assuming that I would just end up getting lost out in the wild and die because of the elements. I just kept walking as far away from my house as I could get. I knew that my Dad's dead body was back there, but didn't go back because it was too late, he was dead. Plus, even though at that point I figured that the General and his men were long gone, I didn't want to go back to the house in case more Militiamen came by." Bonnie finished.
After she was done telling her story a realization came to Damon and he connected an event in his mind. "Wait, when you said that you slashed that General in his face with the scissors what side did you slash him on?"
"The right side of his face I believe, why does that matter?" She was perplexed by his question.
"Damn." Damon eye's widened as it hit him.
"Damon? Why are you reacting in such a way? Why does it matter what side I slashed the General's face on?" Bonnie furrowed her brow.
"Because Bonnie, I believe that the General who you slashed wasn't just any General. Shit, fucking shit, I think that you face slashed none other than Alaric." Damon revealed in disbelief.
BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK BREAK
Thanks to all of those who left feedback and have reviewed/read/supported this story so far. It is much appreciated!
I apologize for any spelling or grammar errors that I made.