by M. J. Haag
“I can’t wait to sink inside you again. You were so tight and hot. It don’t matter if you’re not pregnant yet. You will be soon.”
For all his words about me not being mean, he was careful to keep hold of my hands and press a knee into my legs to keep me down. Not that I did anything. It wasn’t time. I was smart enough to know I needed to wait until he was distracted. Until he was in me like he wanted. I didn’t let myself think about what he’d do to me, only what I’d do to him.
Turning me, he tied my hands in front of me, leaving a good six inches of rope between my wrists.
“That better, sweetheart?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
He went back to tugging my pants down. I didn’t make it easy for him and stayed limp the entire time. He didn’t get angry or yell at me, though. He continued with a single-minded focus, his gaze continually flicking to my underwear until my jeans were off.
His fingers drifted over the skin near my exposed stitches.
“I’ll take better care of you. You’re too pretty for scars.”
He had no idea. My scars weren’t on the outside.
“This time’s going to be a little rushed,” he said, reaching for his pants. “Pa’s going to be back quick. But I’ll be gentle.”
I kept my hands loose as I pictured how I’d twist and try to get the rope around his throat. The fey made it look so easy to kill someone, but I knew that I’d need every ounce of strength I possessed, and maybe more, to stop Van.
With his pants open, he reached for my underwear. The sound of the front door opening had him scrambling to his feet as he quickly did his pants back up. Oscar entered the room just as Van picked up my jeans.
“What the fuck are you doing, boy? I told you to leave them alone.”
“She said she had to go to the bathroom.”
Oscar looked at me. I didn’t respond at all. That seemed to be enough for him to know Van was lying, though, because he walked into the room and grabbed the front of Van’s shirt.
“Keep your dick to yourself until we’re away from here. I need you focused, not distracted. Am I clear?”
Van nodded.
“Get those back on her, and if I see her without pants again, you’re on your own.”
“Pa…”
“Do it now.”
Oscar released Van and left the room. I waited for Van to turn on me in anger, but he didn’t. He carefully put my pants back on me.
“Soon,” he said, with a brush of his hand over my crotch.
Then he, too, left.
Feet free and hands tied in front of me, I smiled and sat up. Sure, the door was open and both men were in the house, but I was in a better position than before. I could move a little, and I now knew what they planned. While they might be right about no one looking for Tasha or Hannah, they were wrong about me, and it wasn’t my mom they needed to worry about.
Thallirin was probably already looking for me.
“You take the supplies this time,” Oscar said from the living room.
Standing, I hurried over to Tasha. She opened her eyes as I sat beside her and didn’t move as I leaned in close to her ear.
“Are you okay?” I asked, keeping my voice as soft and low as possible.
She nodded.
“Tap the outside wall. Quiet. Consistent. The fey will hear.”
She nodded again, and I returned to my bed as a door closed. It would have been easy for me to tap the wall myself, but Van and Oscar were watching me a lot closer than the girl. And if they came back into the room, I didn’t want to give them any reason to tie me up again. So, I sat in the same spot and leaned against the wall, hoping that I was making the right choices for all of us.
Oscar appeared in the doorway a few minutes after I was settled.
“How many pills he give you?” he asked.
I had to think about it for a second.
“Three, I think.” My words were slow.
“You swallow them all.”
I nodded.
His gaze flicked to my hands bound in front of me, and he swore under his breath.
“I hope any kids the two of you have get your brains,” he said, coming toward me.
He untied my hands and leaned me forward to retie them behind me. I briefly thought of doing something, but looked at Tasha. She watched me closely, her eyes wide.
I mouthed the word “tap,” and she nodded. If she was doing it, I couldn’t hear it. Hopefully, the fey would.
Once I was bound to Oscar’s satisfaction, he put my socks back on then hesitated with my boots.
“Harder to run off in socks,” he said, taking my footwear with him.
I stared at the hallway in frustration. There were too many “ifs” for me to feel comfortable with the chance of a timely rescue just yet. If the house was close enough to the wall that the fey could hear us…If the fey were looking for us in the right area…If I wasn’t overestimating their hearing abilities…
I could start screaming, but depending on how far away from the wall we were, any attempt to call for help would likely end with me unconscious and Tasha facing whatever happened next alone. That Oscar left me ungagged led me to believe we weren’t close, so I couldn’t do that to her. And I heard Oscar say the fey were still working on the wall, making the chances of a large search much lower. Where did that leave us? We were still in the house, which meant we had some time. Once Oscar and Van took us from Tenacity, though…I shivered. I couldn’t let that happen.
A door in the other room opened.
“We’re all set. Let’s go,” Van said.
Despite the drugs, I could feel panic starting to weigh my chest.
“Where are the girls?” a new voice asked.
“In the bedroom,” Van said.
“How many we get?” the man asked.
“Three,” Oscar said.
“That’s not enough. You promised one for each of us.”
“This is just the first round. Don’t you worry. You’ll get one. We can share one, like we did with May, until there’s enough.”
My stomach churned, and I looked around the room. Then at the closed window. We were out of time. No more playing it safe.
Standing, I acted without fully thinking, and threw myself at the large window that almost went from floor to ceiling. The glass cracked under the layers of shade and curtain.
“What the hell was that?” Van said from the other room.
I took a few steps back and flew forward.
“Thallirin!” I screamed, hitting the window with my side.
Arms wrapped around me just as the glass gave way under my weight.
“Thallir—”
A hand clasped over my mouth. I bit down even as I was dragged away from the window.
“Son of a bitch!”
The hand lifted. I inhaled to scream again.
Crack.
My face exploded with pain.
“I thought you gave her the pills.”
“I did!”
I inhaled again.
“Thall—!
A ball of cloth was shoved into my mouth.
Outside, something roared.
Behind the gag, I grinned.
Not something. Someone.
Thallirin.
Everyone in the room went still. My eyes swiveled to the window, and I laughed. I wouldn’t be going anywhere with Van. I could see that same realization, first in Oscar’s eyes then Van’s, only moments before wood splintered and something crashed in the other room.
In the next few seconds, chaos exploded around me.
I was shoved onto the bed, face first. There was a lot of swearing and sounds of movement. A gun went off. There were dull thumping sounds, a few grunts, then silence.
I lifted my head and looked at Thallirin, who stood in the bedroom doorway. The rage in his eyes should have made me quake in fear rather than wilt with relief.
“Brenna?” His low, deep voice shook wit
h emotion.
I tried telling him I was fine, but the gag muffled the sound.
He lifted me gently onto his lap and pulled the cloth from my mouth.
“You have no idea how happy I am to see you,” I said. “I’m guessing I just saw your angry face.”
He set his forehead against mine. He didn’t say anything, just stayed like that, holding me and shaking.
“My arms are getting sore. Can you untie me?”
He grunted and gently removed the rope. I rubbed my wrists and rolled my shoulders before sliding off his lap.
“Her too,” I said, nodding toward Tasha.
The girl was watching us with wide, fearful eyes and shook her head.
“This is Thallirin,” I said. “He looks different, but he’s the nicest person I’ve met. He’s not like these guys. He won’t hurt us. He’s here to make sure we stay free. Can he untie you?”
“My grandpa said they were bad,” she said, speaking for the first time.
“I don’t think your grandpa had a chance to meet Thallirin, then.”
Thallirin waited until she nodded to free her. I went to Hannah, and tapped her cheek. She was still out cold.
“You’re going to need to carry her,” I said, looking up at Thallirin.
“No,” Merdon said, appearing in the doorway. “Hannah is mine.”
Chapter Eighteen
I stayed near Tasha as we safely walked within a cluster of fey. They’d all volunteered to carry her, but I knew that would have scared her more than she already was. So, we shambled along like a pair of undead because of whatever pills Van had given us.
Van, Oscar, and Grady, a third guy I recognized from the bunker, remained passively trussed up, and each was slung over the shoulder of a fey. Hannah rested like a princess in Merdon’s arms. I wasn’t so sure that’s how he thought of her, based on the angry looks he was giving her, but I knew looks could be deceiving.
Tasha stumbled beside me, and I caught her, almost sending myself to the ground as well.
“I should carry you,” Thallirin said, yet again.
“I’m fine,” I said. “So is Tasha. Walking will help us shake whatever they gave us.”
A low rumbling growl was echoed by several members of our group.
“Guys, the growling is scaring Tasha. You have to stop doing that around her.”
“Sorry, Tasha,” rang out around us, making Tasha giggle then sniffle.
Seeing fey carrying the three gagged humans through town drew attention. By the time we reached the wall just before dusk, there was a crowd following us.
If Matt Davis was worried about seeing the trussed-up humans or the large group following us, he hid it well.
“What happened?” he asked.
The rest of the fey finishing up on the gate, along with Richard, Ryan, Garrett, and the remaining humans from Tolerance, came over to listen.
“These humans tied up Tasha, Hannah, and Brenna,” Thallirin said. “They wanted to take the females.”
Van made a few muffled noises before managing to spit out his gag.
“He’s making it sound like kidnapping,” Van said, arching to lift his head and look at Matt. “We were saving them.”
Zach, recognizing Van, swore and started forward. Garrett locked an arm around him.
“That son of a bitch is a killer,” Zach yelled.
Matt looked at me.
“These men are from the bunker,” I said. His gaze lit with understanding. “They planned to take the three of us out of Tenacity. This is the group who murdered my father and took Zach and me prisoner.”
Uan, who was near Zach, growled menacingly.
“Why would humans want to take women?” someone behind me asked.
“Because they believe they have the right to take what they want,” Matt said. “Including women to bear children. Only those women aren’t given a choice. They’re taken at gunpoint and forced to do whatever this group wants.”
“That’s worse than stealing food!” someone yelled. “Kick them out.” More voices were added to the first.
Thallirin stepped forward, and the crowd’s cries reduced to angry murmurs.
“Banishment is not enough. These humans came here even when they knew they shouldn’t. If they leave, they will return again. We kill infected and hounds because they are a threat to the safety of the survivors. These humans have proven they are also a threat.”
Oscar started making noise behind his gag, and Matt ordered it removed so he could speak. None of the fey looked happy about it.
“You can’t kill us,” Oscar said as soon as the gag was removed. “Every life has value. We were only trying to help humanity. We need to start having kids. And not with these abominations. Humans are close to extinction. We’re doing what we need to do to ensure its survival.”
His words made me sick. A few nods from the crowd, and the dark looks those nodders gave to the fey, made me sicker.
Matt studied Oscar, his expression impassive.
“Humanity as a whole has long struggled with the premise of betterment for mankind because everyone’s idea of betterment is different. Through the zealous need to improve, there are always ripples of discord. If these conflicting ideals of betterment are not kept in check, they often result in war, each side fervently believing their cause more just than the other’s.
“And in their heated defense, they forget the cornerstones that gave us the foundation for our beliefs. It’s as simple as ‘live and let live.’”
I wasn’t sure how I felt about what Matt had just said. Yet, wasn’t the morality of letting Van go the same thing I’d been struggling with?
“Wise words,” Oscar said.
“Are they? Because you and your group killed to take Brenna once before, only preserving life when you thought it would benefit your ideals. While I will not order your deaths, I will not protect you within these walls.” He looked at the men behind him. “Open our new gates.”
“It’s almost dark,” Van said. “We’ll never make it somewhere safe now.”
“You were willing to leave before,” I said.
“We had guns.”
Oscar elbowed his son.
“Where are the guns?” Matt asked.
No one spoke.
“Chuck, another man from the bunker, was helping them get supplies over the wall,” I said. “They planned on coming back for a cow and more women.”
That caused some more murmurs in the crowd, and Grady glared in my direction.
“Find him and the guns,” Matt said to a few men behind him. They left, and the doors behind Matt started to swing open.
“Cut them free,” he ordered with a nod to the bound trio.
The fey growled as a few of Matt’s men followed his orders. I wanted to growl, also. I couldn’t believe Matt was just going to banish the men. Sure, it was almost dark and we’d seen hellhounds only a few nights ago. But other than that, it’d been quiet, and this group was a bunch of hardened survivors. Thallirin was right, they’d be back.
Van, Oscar, and Grady stood tall and smirking at the rest of us. I put my arm around Tasha’s shoulders so she wouldn’t be afraid.
“You’re making a wise choice, Matt,” Oscar said. “Even if we don’t exactly agree on how to preserve humanity, every life counts.”
“What happens to these three outside this wall isn’t my concern,” Matt said, looking straight at Thallirin. “Chuck should be joining them soon.”
Thallirin grunted, and he and several fey moved with speed to climb over the wall.
Realization of what Matt had just done registered with the gathered crowd. However, their low murmurs of surprise and worry were drowned out by Van’s yell.
“You son of a bitch!”
Van surged forward, as if to go after Matt, but was stopped short by a man with a gun. The irony of the moment wasn’t lost on me.
Forced at gunpoint, Van yelled at Matt’s guards, who were herding them toward the gate. He was
still yelling obscenities when the gates started to close, and Oscar told him to shut up.
After that, I strained to hear anything outside the wall. A scream. A shout. Anything. But there was only silence.
“You’re welcome to stay until morning,” Matt said.
“There’s no need,” Merdon said. “There’s nothing beyond the wall we fear.”
I looked at Tasha.
“Do you want to come with me? It’s not scary in Tolerance. It’s a town just like this one. There’s an extra room in my house. My brother and my mom are both nice, and you’d have plenty to eat.”
Something in her gaze shifted from fear to pain and longing.
“Your mom and brother are still alive?”
“Yes. Because of the fey.”
She looked at the fey.
“They scare me.”
“What’s different always scares people. But don’t let your fear keep you from leading a life you want.”
“Can I come back here if I don’t like it?”
“Always,” Matt said. “And you’re welcome to stay here. There are plenty of families who’d take you in.”
She shook her head, and I gave her shoulders a reassuring squeeze.
“It’s safer if the fey carry us because they can run really fast. But, don’t worry. I’ll be close by the whole time.”
She didn’t flinch away from Uan, who offered to carry her, and he made sure to stay close to me as we left Tenacity and Thallirin behind.
“Are you sure you don’t want the bed?” Tasha asked.
On the floor, I rolled to my side.
“I’m sure. You still hungry?”
“No. I had enough.” There was a moment of silence. “Uan is a good cook.”
Mom had taken our appearance just before dinner in stride. They’d made sure Tasha was fed, and Mom didn’t ask questions when I said Tasha wanted to stay with us for a while. I hadn’t missed Mom’s questioning look and knew she’d want answers later. But for Tasha’s sake, I was staying the night so she’d have someone familiar while she settled in.
I couldn’t stop thinking about Thallirin, though. Was he home and wondering where I was? Would he come here, looking for me? He’d just rescued me, after all. I doubted he’d be okay with me disappearing again.
