Wherever I am, it's pitch black an' very cold. There's a dull ache at the back of my skull, an' I feel a lump when I reach back there. I hear voices-men- from somewhere nearby. They're quiet but one sounds angry. I look 'round for anything that could hint to where I am, but it's just too dark. I think back to how I got here, try to find the missin' pieces of this puzzle.
My memory is foggy, but I can think as far back as standin' on that dirt road. I remember the black car squealin' to a stop in front of me. A man jumped out an' tried to grab my arm an' I dropped my bag. I had fought back. Did I hit him? I can't remember. I do remember him grabbin' me by the hair. He was shovin' me in the back of the car when I threw my arm out an' dragged my nails across his face. He had cried out in pain just as he hit the back of my head. I remember my vision blurrin', my eyes slowly closin' as I heard a man shoutin' my name.
"Daryl..." Fear grips me. Where's Daryl? Did the man that took me hurt him? I can't believe that someone hurt him. I have to remain calm an' know that he's lookin' for me. He'll find me an' whoever took me. But I need to figure out where I am.
"Who's Daryl?" His accent is definitely Northern. The smooth voice is the kind that slips out like a satin train. It's also the kind that can delude you into believin' you're safe. I don't answer, but I doubt words would come if I tried. I hear a sharp click an' the room is cast into fluorescent lights. My eyes blink back at the pain from the brightness. I can barely make out the form of a man a few feet away from me.
"Hey, did you hear me? You said 'Daryl'. Who is he?" The blurred outline of a man comes into form now. He's tall with broad shoulders. When my eyes come into focus, I notice his tanned skin an' dark hair. His eyes are deep brown, I'd swear they were black. I can see his muscles through the shirt he's wearin', an' I notice the mud on his boots an' jeans. He's lookin' at me like I'm some trapped animal he's hesitant to approach.
I gaze up at this guy, an' only then realize he isn't alone. Behind him is a man of about the same height, but he's much broader an' looks older. His skin an' hair are duplicates of the younger man in front of him, he even shares the same black eyes. Brothers? I can make out four scratches down his cheek. He's the man that took me. His own clothes are covered in blood. I cringe at the possibility of who that blood belonged to-no. It can't be his...
"When you're asked a question you'd do best to fucking answer it. So, answer him." The other man addresses me an' his voice is sharp. There's no satin or silk here; this one's all barbed wire. He's definitely dangerous. I think fast: Would it hurt to tell them who Daryl is? That might be my only way to find out if he's alive.
"He's my friend. The one you took me from. Who the hell are you?" I hate how weak my voice sounds when I try to be brave. The younger man keeps his eyes on me, the older one starts to come towards me, before the other stretches out an arm to stop him. I crawl back to get away only to smack against a wall. It reminds me to take in my surroundings.
The room looks like it could be a basement; both men stand by a set of stairs leadin' up. The walls are bare drywall an' the floor's cement. It looks old, all except for the ceilin' lights. It's a place they must've found that they've been workin' on. The lights are new. They must have generators here to run them.
The younger one takes a few steps forward now an' kneels down next to me. His eyes break away from mine when he looks back to speak with his friend.
"Calm down, Vic. She's afraid. Obviously she's not thinking about what she's saying to us. Are you?" He's turned back to me again, the black eyes hold me to that wall. I can't speak, so I just shake my head.
"Besides, it won't kill us to tell her our names." Vic looks furious now, but says nothing.
"That big douchebag over there is my older brother, Vic. I'm Travis. What's your name, sweetheart?" His lips curl up at 'sweetheart', the word sends bile up my throat. I pause for a moment, decidin' whether or not I should lie.
"Beth." Travis smiles at me. Vic looks irritated. There's a noise above us, Travis nods to Vic an' I watch as the older brother takes to the stairs, closin' the door behind him. Travis is lookin' at me again. I want to speak, to ask him where I am. I need to know where Daryl is. But he's talkin' before the words can form in my mouth.
"So, Beth, how is it that an itty bitty thing like you's made it this far out there? I've long thought all the pretty girls were biter-bait. But here you are, a sweet little Georgia Peach." I feel disgusted at his words. I don't want to have this conversation, least of all with my abductor. I just want to get away. I have to find Daryl. Vic comes back in the room, they exchange a look, then Vic steps closer to us as Travis continues.
"You don't talk much do you, sweetheart?" I see his hand raise to my face, there's a black tribal pattern on his arm. He pushes my hair back from my eyes. The contact is enough to make me want to cry. I don't want him to touch me. I don't want him anywhere near me. A tearless sob escapes my lips. He withdraws his hand and scratches at his chin.
"Are you afraid of me?" The words are spun out of pure silk, they're smooth an' soft. The perfect illusionist. I don't know how to answer him. Of course I'm afraid, but do I tell him that? Does he want me to be weak or brave? I remember the spark in his eye when I spoke up to his brother.
"I'm not afraid of you. Any of you, however many of y'all there are. I've already lost everything. There's nothin' you can take from me now." I regret my words the moment they leave my lips. Travis lets out a small laugh. Vic is next to him now, his face is only inches from mine when he speaks to me.
"You should be afraid of us. We're the new bad guys in this world. And don't think you've lost everything, yet." A sick smile spreads across his face. Someone calls down to them from upstairs. They stand an' head toward the door. They look back at me again, Travis' tattooed arm reachin' for the handle of the door. Vic has a wicked gleam in his eye, his hand on the light switch as his brother has already started ascendin' the stairs.
"Welcome to Terminus."
The room goes pitch black.
"Wake up, sweetheart."
The lights are back on, blindin' after the dark. I look up to see Travis standin' in front of me, holdin' a cup an' plate. I don't see Vic anywhere, an' that leads me to wonder which is the more dangerous of the two brothers: the charm or the temper.
He sets the plate in front of me an' hands me the cup. I gulp it down before it even crosses my mind that you don't accept anything from strangers. I can feel the fear showin' on my face. Travis laughs.
"I'm not gonna poison you if that's what you're thinking. Do you want more water?" I ignore him. I figured I already drank what he gave me, if he's poisonin' me I may as well make a clean job of it. So I reach for the bread on the plate. It's soft. This bread is fresh, but that's not possible. How could they have fresh bread here? My hunger gets the best of me as I scarf it down. He laughs again.
"Shit, girl. How'd you ever stay so tiny with an appetite like that?" I scowl at him before I realize it, then I flinch away, expectin' the worst.
"Hey, hey. Easy, sweetheart. I'm not gonna hurt you. You don't have to be afraid of me." I want to challenge him. How am I supposed to fight back fear in the presence of one of the men who keeps me hostage in a basement? I know better than to argue, I don't want to push my luck.
"I've been meaning to ask you. What's a little girl like you doin' out in the wild with an older man?" I almost choke on my bread. He's diggin' for information on Daryl.
The memory of what almost was that last night floods my mind. I think about how close we were. The look in his eyes. Daryl wanted me, an' I had long decided to stop fightin' my feelin's for him. He was my protector, my friend. An' I was in love with him.
"Like I told your brother, he's my friend. What'd y'all do to him?" Travis smiles at me.
"We didn't hurt your friend, if that's what you mean. My brother drove back here and that friend of yours followed him most of the way. But he obviously wasn't fast enough." I don't know that I can trust him.
"Why was your brother covered in blood?" The smoothness leaves his face, an' he looks like he actually has to think over his answer. I'm afraid of what he'll say.
"Let's just say, you weren't the only little girl brought here last night." He gets up an' heads to the door. He faces me again. "But you're the only one who lived to see morning. I'll talk to you later, Beth."
My heart's in my throat. He just told me that there was another girl here, an' Vic killed her. I feel lightheaded when ideas of how an' why he'd kill someone shoot through my mind. I'm in the most danger I've ever been in, surrounded by killers that aren't walkers.