private .

lip corners perk up. this is this first neutral tone she’s taken since you’ve met her. it’s enough progress for her to be given leeway. you’re a generous man, a real empath. you’ll grant her the kindness she’s been lacking towards you.   “ let me. “   quick strides are taken so you return to the area you once were to pull and adjust her undergarments and jeans back into place. fingers make light work of further securing her restraints and you leave her mouth alone as an olive branch. you want her to feel more comfortable after all. walking back in front of her, you offer a nod,   “ well, valentina. i have matters to attend to. i’ll be sending one of my people to bring you food some time later. i do hope in time, you’ll feel ready to live among the rest of us here. “

not even a kiss? that man should rot in fucking hell. of course, you’ll get him back. somehow, some day. you will. no one ever abuses you and lives a happy life in the end. as soon as you could no longer hear the creaking of his footsteps you begin looking around the room for any object that could help you until eyes narrow in on a rusty nail sticking out of a cabinet. your feet are tied as well, meaning you’ll have to hop to the other side of the room to get it. and though it may not be your safest option, considering you’re risking tetanus, it’s the only one you really have right now. you align yourself, back to the cabinet and begin grinding up and down slowly so it starts nicking at the restraints. and once you gain confidence, you go faster and faster.

“ th-the man who runs this place ! “   the fat one, you want to say. but you aren’t sure how devoted his people are. sniffling and shaking is half exaggerated for the sake of looking as helpless as possible. you need him to feel bad for you. enough so that you have a better chance at escaping.   “ d-don’t leave me here. please, i’ve been here for hours. i don’t want to be alone here. wh-what if he comes here ?? “   because there’s a fear and resentment you have building up towards him. you don’t know if he’ll kill you or assault you. both would totally suck.

the man who runs this place? ezra? no she couldn’t mean him, every time you’ve seen him interact with anyone else he’s always been so kind and giving. stern, maybe. but he’s a generous man, you see him as a father figure in your life. or even an emotional support grandpa. you shake your head,   ‘   maybe you got it all wrong, he-he doesn’t do that he’s not like that. he’s one of the good guys, we all are!   ’   there’s almost panic in your voice. you don’t know why she’s here but she’s clearly being deceitful, you know ezra wouldn’t harm anyone.   ‘   i’m gonna get to the bottom of this. i’ll be back soon, do you um..need anything from the supermarket?   ’   there’s one not too far from here that’s got walkers coming in and out but you, botkin, and sindy know your way around it by now.

“ you could have. if you deserved it. “   said with a half hearted shrug. it seems she will remain ungrateful. eyes zero in on her movement. you have been at this leader role for years now. you’ve learned to keep a keen eye in that timespan. jaw clenches,   “ show me your hands. “   because if she’s attempting to fool you, she would only be asking for another round.   “ show me your hands and show me i can trust you before you piss me off and i have to take it out on your friend. “

you want to continue your protests, to give him grief and continue being a massive bitch; one because he deserves it but two because if you don’t react he can’t use her as leverage. but you can’t risk it, you don’t wanna call his bluff. however you can play it off. ‘ I can’t show you my hands in this position. ’ well you can but it’s not comfortable for you. ‘ I can tell you what I’m doing though. your sweating and pulling loosened my restraints. and if you’re not gonna dress me, I’ll do it myself. ’

he looks … confused. you aren’t sure how someone a part of such a group could be blissfully unaware of what you could easily assume isn’t their first act of brutality. you flinch when he removes gag,   “ he-he killed one of m-my — “   richard wasn’t a friend by any means. to be honest you weren’t all that devastated when the little muppet man bashed his brains in, but he was a good provider. he and his friends took care of you and valentina.   “ someone from my group. he took me and my best friend as c-compensation. “   eyes water and lip trembles,   “ is she okay ? my friend ? he took her a-away. “

‘   who? who killed who? wh-what are you talking about?   ’   brows furrow in deeper, perhaps this was ptsd of some traumatic event she’s faced. you don’t know what’s going on, part of you wants to untie her and help her but the other part of you is worried that it all might be a big trick. there has to be a reason why she’s kept hidden down here, tied and gagged. and it’s not giving pornhub.   ‘   I - I don’t know. I heard we have two new faces here, I assume you’re one. I can -- go look and find out for you.   ’   you frown, you want to comfort her but you don’t know how. you could also hear botkin upstairs and he might react less savory than you.   ‘   listen, we don’t hurt people here. much less women. if you and your friend are here, we’ll keep you safe, okay?   ’

“ valentina. “   testing and tasting words on your tongue, you promptly tuck yourself back into pants and give her bottom an affectionate pat. you’re still breathing heavily, hand runs through your hair and you walk to stand in front of table,   “ can i get a please and thank you, valentina ? “   and you know you’re pushing it, but you always try to lead by example. it’s important she learn respect whether she wants to or not. while you aren’t opposed to killing her if her attitude persists, it would be waste to end the life of one of the prettiest and exciting lays left in the apocalypse. lip juts out in faux pout,   “ c’mon, please ? be a good girl for me. “

your back arches to his tap, you’re still sore from the session. you could hear his footsteps make his way around and in front of you from across the table. you look up, chin against metal, with a glare you couldn’t even mask if you tried.   ‘   for what? i’m not the one that came.   ’   if anything he should be thanking you, you’re the one with the gorilla grip. lip curls upward in blatant disgust, you wouldn’t even be a good girl for your boyfriend what makes him think it’ll be any different with him? you’ve noticed the sweat and constant movement has loosened your restraints a bit so you back away some, tucking your hands out of his sight as you begin unknotting the rope.   ‘   so what now? you toss me into a bunch of zombies? OH no, maybe you’ll put a bullet in between my eyes. I wouldn’t mind either, i’m not very picky.   ’

eyes widen and you whimper from behind tape that seals mouth. you’re aware of how these things go. you’ve seen the shows and movies, so much so, that you had been mentally prepared for most apocalyptic situations. it can go one of three ways. one : he tortures you to prove a point and put on a show for his people. two : you become a masturbatory aid to him and/or the people. three : all of the above. you’re too high on adrenaline to be terrified just yet, but you still manage to coax some light tears to your eyes and secretly hope it inspires some hesitation. or even empathy.

you look towards the stairs before looking back at her and scratching your head to try and piece together what the hell is going on. maybe this is why they were keeping things from you? maybe the new recruits weren't new recruits at all and did something really bad. ezra would never hurt a woman, that’s something you’d put your life on. however, you watch with a frown as her eyes water; she doesn’t seem scary to you. you rise from the ground and inch towards her with hands on display to signal you mean no harm, unknotting her gag and lowering it.   ‘   what happened? how did you get here?   ’

you can’t help the snort that passes you,   “ keep talking. you’re funny. “   the state of the world must have hardened her. its interesting to see someone appear so dainty and soft but come off as masculine and aggressive. pulling slides both pairs of bottoms off her body and one hand reaches for her hair, snatching to create an arch from her. lips form satisfied smile,   “ no, i’d argue you are. “   hence, you are more than bricked up and ready to go.

when he’s finished, you’re trembling, panting and he’s spilling out of you. you shiver more from cold breeze hitting bare skin than the event that just occurred; be it whether you have yet to process it or are so beyond desensitized you took it as it was and now you’re ready to move on. eyes flutter shut, you’re too prideful to kiss his ass but you will throw a bone because that wasn’t the worst sex of your life, consensual or not.   ‘   my name’s valentina.   ’   and that’s as far as the niceties go.   ‘   if you’re not going to untie me you can at least dress me.   ’

jaw clenches in more frustration than surprise. this type of attitude was typically reserved to the men you captured. her boyfriend, for example. women are more weepy, submissive. fists clench at sides, the urge to bruise her cheekbone and break a few fingers linger in your mind. instead you laugh,   “ fuck me, is that right ? that’s what you want to do— “    hand comes to yank her up by hair and bend her over table. movements are especially rough, uncaring as cold metal slams into her hipbones and makes contact with her face,   “ you said no formalities either so i’ll forgo the sweet nothings right now. “   and that being said, you open your pants.

for someone at a complete disadvantage, you don’t know when to shut up. cheek hits cold metal and you grunt and writhe.   ‘   what? no foreplay? one slap and you think i’m ready to fuck?   ’   though it’s not the right time or place, you giggle whilst doing as much as you can to squeeze your thighs together.   ‘   are you even sure you can get it up? I’m pretty not a miracle worker.   ’   though the more aggressive he gets and the more you wiggle, the tighter the restraints seem to pull at your skin and you hiss, hot tears threatening to spill.

hand swiftly moves, fingers gripping her jaw and digging into the hallows of her cheeks. she’s pretty but not enough to get away with the tone. fingers release her, slapping her not too hard but nowhere near playful either. you tsk,   “ no, no, no. that is not how you speak to me. “   to other people around this compound, sure. but not to the man that runs it. you step back, hands coming to rest behind back,   “ let’s start with some formalities. my name is ezra and i am the leader of the compound. who do i have the pleasure of speaking with ? “

face follows line of slap to cheek, adrenaline begins pumping and you can’t help but laugh.   ‘   I speak to you the way you deserve to be spoken to.   ’   you don’t care if he runs this whole place, respect is something earned and you don’t simply give it because you’re cornered to. you’d sooner die than bite your tongue, who knows what happened to emily and she’s the only thing grounding you from complete and total apathy.   ‘   it’s not your pleasure, EZRA. — you bludgeoned my fucking boyfriend and tied me up in this chair and left me here alone. so fuck your formalities and fuck YOU.   ’   and that being said, you spit on his boot.

you’re still sweating from the dancing game. that giant employee boy sure knew his way around gangnam style. breathing heavily, head rests against the other girls shoulder as you take deep breaths,   “ sí, ¡ saldré un poco más ! no estoy ocupado mañana. “   you don’t care for smoking and drinking but you do enjoy your friends regardless. plus, you’ve been ignoring texts and calls from your girlfriend. there’s no doubt in your mind she’s probably stalking your home or sitting on your couch. you should really cool it with the brujeria. 

‘   genial, entonces está resuelto!   ’   smile is grand and there’s a visible pep in your step because you really were a social butterfly through and through and loved when plans changed. you warm up the car while she applies bandage to your closest friend.   ‘   bueno, ¿soy yo o crees que Anthony y Vale están saliendo de verdad esta vez?   ’

you nod eagerly, slinking into the backseat as arms come up behind you to cushion your stance, resting back of head on open palms of your hands.   ‘   violeta no sabe de la conversación que tuvimos con él.   ’   at the party, last you spoke with him he said he was just having fun and relationships weren’t his thing but tonight he didn’t even try hitting on the new blonde employee.   ‘   en la fiesta de Matti, lo felicitamos por encontrar a alguien tan similar y perfecto para el y él negó totalmente que fueran una cosa y fue por la tangente de que pasar para siempre con una persona es tonto y bla, bla. pero tengo la sensación de que todo fue una mierda.   ’

 “ are you forgetting i knew you before we got together ? “   you snort because it was an odd game she was playing. shaking head lightly,   “ i never thought you were an angel. god’s almighty beings don’t really have the mouths of sailors or participate in anal. “   among other personality traits you won’t get in to. you knew she wasn’t necessarily kind or self aware if she didn’t want to be. and you can understand that because your mouth and actions were pretty much equally reckless. but this is a tender moment. one she probably wants to savor and store as a core memory. eyes feel brighter and smile is easier to come by,   “ for competition’s sake, i’ll let you have that. for now. “   kiss pressed tenderly to her lips you pull back,   “ was there anything else you wanted to talk about ? “

‘   scarcely, yes.   ’   because of course he only knew what you were willing to show, on your unintentional gone girl shit because you’re really not that smart to keep up a facade you just happen to subconsciously carry around different sides of you that make you whole. lips squirm into a smile, grabbing his face as eyes widen to make your point.   ‘   hey, i’d argue they definitely do. isn’t it God’s loophole or whatever? if anything, they probably do more anal than me.   ’   you give him another couple of kisses as you hum whilst you think to yourself and then perk up in your spot.   ‘   YES. one more thing. I went lurking on your socials, that’s how I knew you were lying to me when we met and stuff. but I noticed something I should probably address now.   ’   head tilts and brow quirks upward, you play with the neck of his shirt out of nerves. you’re afraid you might get the response you don’t want but it’s better to know now than later.   ‘   you don’t believe in monogamy right? here’s the thing, I do. I do all that mutually exclusive shit, i’m yours and you’re mine. I like to pour myself entirely into one individual person. but if that’s not something you want to do, I rather we lay it out on the table right now.   ’

you nod softly, glad he didn’t injure himself in pursuit of getting you a cheap toy. head turns, looking at boyfriend and expecting answer. you were usually only good for one grand event a week but lately you’ve grown accustomed to dealing with at least three in this relationship. your social battery is only getting slightly stronger as a result.   “ matti ? “   you started going with his flow when it came to outings. it’s in an attempt to grow passed your affinity for staying inside. it’s a fear of yours. to become too boring for your larger than life boyfriend. you chirp in response to ale,   “ she hasn’t texted me back in a few hours but her location says they’re at his place. “

with a smile fast spreading against lips, you can practically see the lightbulb that had formed atop your crown.   ‘   alright, then we know where we’re headed.   ’   considering how many impromptu visits anthony’s made you endure in all your years, you’re sure it’s no problem if you drop by with the group. besides, it was awfully rude of them to sneak away without so much as saying goodbye.   ‘   santi, tienes las hierbas encima? pensé que sería mejor terminar la noche con una nota relajada. tengo algunos y apuesto a que anthony también los tiene si quieres ir porro por porro.   ’

hands slap atop your chest before arms open wide,   ‘   papa, yo siempre tengo. que clase de pregunta es esa?   ’   head titls and you chuckle. for you to not have a party favor tucked away either in your car or on your person is truly a rare sight. luckily for them you picked up a nice q just yesterday that was sitting in your trunk. of course, before you make the drive there, head cranes to your plus one. she never really got to tell you what she apparently needed to. as a matter of fact, ever since the games got started, she hadn’t said a word to you at all.   ‘   que dice, Vio? ¿pasas más tiempo con nosotros y fumas un poco o te llevo directo a casa?   ’