#canewhump

The discussion he was referring to brought Allison back to her alarming present. Walter. Left a few days ago for a trip. Left Grayson in charge. Told him to keep her working. Told him to keep an eye on her.

Allison also distinctly remembered a particular moment (she didn’t know when it was, had she passed out) where she told Grayson to “go fuck yourself.”

Ah, she thought. So that’s what’s happened.

“Allison, are you listening?” Grayson’s voice was impatient.

“Mmm,” was all she was able to reply, her coughing coming in waves but not being made any better by the foot on the middle of her back.

“Tomorrow,” Grayson started, “we’re transporting you to a facility-”

“No-” Allison pushed the word out with much as force as she could muster, attempting to put her palms to the floor to push herself up. It didn’t do much. 

Grayson responded with a harsh push but ultimately lifted his foot, stepping away from her limp body as he kept talking.

“And every day you don’t work, I’m coming into your cell myself.” Grayson’s words were setting Allison off as she finally began to drag herself across the floor. There was no plan, no real way of escape. But she wasn’t trying to escape, just get away from him.

“Walter doesn’t even know how to train you properly.” Grayson spat, his voice still close, telling her he was following closely. The implication made her stomach sank to know she was barely moving. “Look at you, you should be begging not to be hurt. You should be down and know to stay there. Stay in your room until your called. Use the power you don’t even deserve, work, go back. And yet, you just don’t know when to stop.”

Grayson’s voice rang out in the concrete room as Allison started coughing again as she swallowed and was reminded of her inability to breathe a moment ago. 

Allison perked her head up as Grayson came around to her front, squatting to her level and wasting no time by grabbing a fistful of her drenched hair and lifting her head up harshly and leaning down till his lips were touching her ear. She cried out, not having enough energy to even lift her hands up to head to even try to relieve the pain.

“No wonder you don’t have any respect for this situation or the authority in this place. Walter couldn’t even do-” Grayson hissed into her ear, but was interrupted by another voice.

“Couldn’t do what?” The voice was clear and authoritative. Loud. The effect it had on Grayson was almost immediate as he dropped Allison’s head and she had half a second to hold herself up enough to stop her chin slamming into the concrete.

Allison recognised the voice and was terrified to find she was almost relieved. She rested her head gently on the ground, taking a moment to breathe for a second while looking up slightly at the pair of clean black formal shoes a metre or two in front of her face, a matching cane between them.

“Walter,” Grayson’s louder voice than before did very little to hide his nerves. “When did you get back?” He almost sounded scared.

Walter’s voice sent a shiver through Allison. “Not soon enough, I think. Why have you tried to break my pet?” 

Allison tried hard not to object to the statement. Not yet. Grayson is unapologetic in his answer when he replies. 

“She wouldn’t learn. And you don’t seem to teach.”

The words make her heart skip a beat. Fear is coursing through her when thoughts fill her head about what Walter might do to her if he is threatened that he doesn’t punish her enough. The anxiety of the thoughts compels her to speak.

“No- Jilten- please I- Gray tried to… I-” She can’t get anything out properly and she barely notices that Walter has worked forward, crouching down and hooking the top of his cane under her chin to force her to look up at him, as much as it hurts to hold her head up. 

Walter’s eyes are unforgiving but there’s something in them that says she might not be the one in trouble right now. Like he’s upset someone has touched his toys. “Maybe I like you a little broken like this…But you’re not broken for me, are you darling?” Walter speaks and Allison’s words catch in her throat again.

Walter pulls his cane away and reaches down to cup her chin. The contact makes her melt slightly and she curses herself and him for it. Despite Walter’s cruelties, he kept her sane. He needed her sane to break her the way he liked. And she can’t ever be broken enough to not do the work that he so desperately needed her for. And Grayson almost ruined that. 

Allison tries to protest at his words again, but he shushes her. “It’s okay. You’ll be alright, it’s not you that I’m set on punishing right now, you’re in trouble enough already” And with that, he stands up, clearly ending the conversation, but Allison persists.

“Jilten please I promise-” Allison finally finds enough of her voice, but Walter has had enough. 

“No, I think that’s enough out of you. Present company already thinks I’m too soft on you.” 

Allison looks up at him but is met with Walter already having straightened completely and staring at Grayson, who has been mostly silent watching the exchange. Allison goes to make a sound from the back of her throat in protest of the situation and indicate she is not done, but Walter pushes the bottom of his cane on the back of her head, pushing her down gently until her cheek touches the floor. Her face burns at the thought of Grayson watching this but something in her feels something else. Allison would never defend Walter but Grayson could never have this kind of power over her. Or anyone.

“What have you achieved?” Walter asks.

Grayson is confused in his reply, his eyes flicking down to Allison on the floor beneath them “Surrounding Allison?”

Walter is growing more impatient and take it out on Allison, pushing down slightly harder on his cane whether intentionally or not. “You claim to be more skilled in teaching my pet. Surely that means you have evidence attuning to the fact you have information from her to aid in our endeavours?”

Grayson is silent for a moment before he clears his throat. “We’ve been close. She cooperated for a little with Jonathan and I on this project- I think it could work, just like you said. But she was purposefully aggravating us and making things go wrong. She won’t work. All she tried to do was find a way to contact them.” Allison stiffens at Grayson’s recount.

Walter makes a tutting noise with his mouth, clearly displeased with this new information. He removes the cane from Allison’s head and gently pushes the tip of his shoe under her chin to lift it to look into her eyes. When Walter speaks, it’s to Grayson, but he’s staring daggers into Allison.

“And… did she succeed?” Walter asks, eyes not leaving Allison.

“Sorry?” Grayson replies.

Walter turns to Grayson, clearly impatient. “Did she contact them?” He looks back down at Allison. 

“No. She didn’t get the chance to.” 

Allison tries to release the breath she’s been holding in, but she’s worried Walter notices. Walter continues to stare down at her, and she tries not to squirm under his gaze, but she can’t help moving back slightly when he crouches down again to grab her face, cupping her chin. 

“Darling,” Walter pauses, letting the severity of the question he’s about to ask sink into her. “Did you find a way to contact your precious friends?” The nice touches are over now, Walter’s voice is low but above a whisper and he grips her chin much harder than before. 

“We would have noticed.” Grayson tries to interject, but Walter is completely ignoring him. 

Allison tries to shake her head, but Walter’s grip on her face doesn’t allow her to. “Ah-ah, tell me.” He leans closer and Allison can’t help but flinch. “Come on Ali you can tell me.” 

Allison barely has the strength to hold anything back anymore, and even though she doesn’t reply, her heart sinks as Walter nods in understanding at the look on her face and the breath she stops holding in. 

Walter lets out a deep sigh, surprising Allison by reaching out for her shoulders and torso to pull her up with him as he stands again, supporting her with an arm around her waist. The wet clothes stick to her even more and she tries to ignore it, almost grateful for being pulled off the cold floor. Allison wants to protest at the hold he has on her, but she has almost nothing left to do so. 

“It seems you are just as useless as the rest of them Grayson,” Walter speaks, leaning on his cane with the hand not around Allison’s waist as if this entire interaction has been boring him more than anything else ever has.

“Sir I-” Grayson starts but Walter cuts him off a final time.

“You will not touch my property again, Grayson.”