The Dead World Ch. 09

"Has something happened?" His voice was stern and steely, not unlike Skully's. His brow furrowed, hands resting against the armrests of the chair as he prepared to rise to stand, only to be cut off by Charlie.

"Not... yet. But he scares the fuck out of me... So I want to know when you're going to go—and I'm keeping my gun. I will use it if I need to."

"We pulled the Humvee off the ledge of the bridge this morning. Aside from the tires, it's still in decent shape... but it's going to take us a minute for tires. We'll have to check the nearby towns... hope the military set up camp somewhere nearby—if not that then we'll have to go further out, and hope to come by a base—"

"You've got other vehicles." She interrupted him dryly.

"I'm aware... the Humvee is our only four-wheel drive unit capable of carrying all of us in a pinch and going off-road if we need to. It's also our only armored vehicle and the only one with a diesel engine—diesel fuel degrades at a slower rate than unleaded, which comes in handy out on the open road. The sort of people out there shoot first and ask questions later."

"And I give a shit why?" Her fiery personality seemed to all but amplify after shedding her disguise, he had to hand it to her.

He couldn't keep from laughing at that, shaking his head good-naturedly. "No, I suppose you couldn't care less. I'm doing my best here, though. We'll be out of your hair in no time."

"Good. Keep your fucking brother away from me—Slash too—I'm serious Oz... or I'm going to fucking shoot them."

"I feel the same way sometimes. I'll relay your message and have Ruthless keep tabs on the problem child. As for Slash, half of us think he should be punished for what he did to you, and the other half don't. It's up to you, Charlie. If you want him to face the music, he'll have to answer for it, and you'll have a fair shot to pay him back..."

She was quiet for a long while, her dark eyes searching the floor, finally met with the long-awaited moment. The decision was up to her, if that asshole got stabbed. Honestly, it sounded as if she was going to be given the knife to do it herself if she wanted to. And oh... she wanted to.

Her conscience seemed to disagree, though. Even if the man had tried to kill her, it didn't sit well with her deep down to knowingly try to do the same. Violence was not Charlotte's nature... forgiveness was. That seemed a stretch, for Slash, but knowingly attacking him in return didn't sit well in her soul. It all seemed like some sort of arrangement—something designed to draw her further into the inner workings of this group. If she accepted the offer and exacted her revenge, she'd be considered one of them for it, wouldn't she? That was something she was no longer interested in.

With slight irritation, she shook her head gently, her thoughts snapping to Dog. "No. I don't want to do that.. Can you just.. can you help Danny? I don't want to hurt anyone, but instead of that... just... let him off for whatever you think he's done, alright? He did what he did to help me—he didn't do anything wrong."

"...It doesn't quite work that way, Charlie. Dog accepted his sentence. I can't go back on it... in order for things to run smoothly, equally, it has to be done fairly. Our group is a democracy, not a dictatorship. You want retribution, I can give that to you... but there isn't anything you or I can do for Dog. He accepts what he did was against our better interests, whatever reason he had is irrelevant."

She frowned deeply and shook her head, annoyance clear upon her face. "Then I guess that's it. You can go."

"Alright, Charlie—oh... your greenhouse and livestock, they uh... might need a little attention. We tried our best to watch after things while you were gone. Sad to say we aren't really the homesteading types..." The ending note was delivered with calm indifference, and Oz moved to stand, carefully parting the chair from the open door.

As he went to exit the room, Charlie watched him in silent anticipation, standing once the door swung closed to lock it carefully after him once again. She should've felt safer with the firearm—and her boots in the event she needed to run—but she didn't.

She felt truly conflicted at not telling Oz that Skully had been inside of her room the night before, if only for the very persistent reason that she held a legitimate fear that by disclosing that information, she'd put the wrong kind of idea in his head. She didn't trust any of them.

In fact, she wasn't certain at all that any one of them at any given moment had not already gotten... the wrong kind of idea. Skully wouldn't be an isolated antagonist in her world. Slash was right behind him. How long before the other men followed suit? She'd never felt so trapped before, never in her life, with the only person she cared to consider an ally far from her and surely unable to help her now.

Minutes trickled into hours... which dragged horribly. Eventually, it got to the point that Charlie wasn't positive about how long she had been in here anymore. She slept as often as she could. As she regained her strength, she forced herself to go without medication. There were times Diablo had come along to check on her and bring her something to eat and he would find her trying to mask her tears, with puffy red eyes and rosy cheeks. He seemed sympathetic and tried telling her there wasn't a point to not take the medication if it was readily available. It was more of a fear of the commitment that had her preferring to sit and struggle through the pain.

How long did it take to get addicted to something like the medicine they offered her? How badly would she hurt when the opiates were gone and she could do nothing about it? Or maybe that was by design. There was one man among them who would surely have an ample supply, and at that, Charlie wrinkled her nose in disgust.

She'd sit in silence with tears streaming down her face if it meant not needing to call on any one of these people for anything. When the pulsating, burning pain from the cauterization became too much, she ran the gracious tub in the hotel room bathroom full of cool water and would lie there for hours as she tried her damndest to find a path forward from here. Oz said she could go. She could head down to the garage and take the Prius as she had always intended... He said she could stay, and that they would leave as soon as they could. What she couldn't do was tear her thoughts away from Daniel.

She couldn't just leave him here with these people. Three days had passed since, and she hadn't heard anything from him, or so much as seen a hair on the younger man's head. She tried her best not to fear the absolute worst. She could stay here until they were gone. She was certain Oz would let her know her home was once again her own... but that would also mean leaving Danny to whatever fate awaited him with this group.

Her only other option was to muster her courage, find Danny... and try again... one last time.

When she finally stepped out of the room, the hotel felt like an alien world. Ruthless and Diablo were posted in the lobby, seeming more than surprised that she had finally stepped out. She hesitated for a long time by the door, watching them reluctantly, and as she slowly made her way down the hall she was greeted quietly by the medic.

"All good, chica? How you holding up?"

"Still alive... I'm tired of just laying there, though. I need to move." She frowned softly, and let her eyes shift to Ruthless, who watched her with that same collected fascination that had taken over the stag party in place of the acknowledgment of camaraderie they looked on her with before. They all looked at her like that, now. He didn't stare, dropping his eyes down to the rifle he was working on wordlessly, but it was still enough to make her uncomfortably aware that her presence as a female changed things dramatically.

"...I'm just going to check the greenhouse... and maybe get something else to wear from my room."

"You don't gotta tell me, sweetheart, I'm not keeping tabs on you. You do whatever it is you feel like doing. If you need anything, we'll be here. Oz, Skully, and Slash made a run this morning up the coast, looking for gear so, uh... yeah, you're good. Should be back before nightfall."

"Thanks."

"Stay close, da?" Ruthless' harsh and heavy tone came as a slow warning.

She had turned away from them, stalling a step or two as the muscular man with the lengthy blond hair advised her not to stray, turning her head to look back at him in slight surprise... stay close for what exactly Charlie wasn't certain. He could have simply meant it in the same protective manner Oz spoke to her. It was hard to tell, especially coming from the mysterious foreign man.

She didn't think to argue, nodding her head slowly before continuing on. "Okay... Ruthless."

It seemed an opportune time to get whatever the fuck she wanted from this place, get dressed and leave. The only pressing issue she had now was to find Dog and convince him to come with her. She didn't imagine it was going to be hard after everything they had been through. Finding him, though... Well, she only had an idea of where to start.

She exited the southern tower and started across the courtyard to the glass enclosure, the air significantly colder today than it had been, even with the sun shining brightly overhead. As she entered the greenhouse, she closed the door quietly behind her and was greeted by not only the small herd of goats but a handful of hens as well.

It tempted a smile to her lips, and she quickly moved for feed, her eyes sweeping the rows of raised beds realizing the animals had absolutely destroyed most of the hearty greens in her absence. She scattered feed and moved to the through to fill it with fresh water.

She hurriedly moved to the row of young apple trees, finding the fruit scarce, but it wasn't utterly surprising. It was the end of the season... and there were six men living there. She took what she could reach, dropping them into a mesh sack, intent on delivering something of substance to Danny. With quiet resolve she slipped from the greenhouse slowly, making her way around to the opposite side of the building, quietly slipping inside and into the stairwell.

Four flights of stairs seemed like nothing until she was faced with the task. She took her time, pausing every now and then to sit and listen. She didn't want anyone to know she was up there, and for that reason, she hadn't gone through the lobby again to the elevator. With some luck, she could run the thing down to the garage unnoticed and slip away before anyone was even aware.

Flutters of anxiety twisted in her chest, trying to convince herself to be calm as she pushed the metal bar, the door swinging open as she stepped out into the third floor. She made her way down the hall, vigilantly. She stopped just before her door and gently reached out to try the handle, finding the lock on. With cautious optimism, Charlie carefully placed the bag of fruit aside her boots and brought up a hand to knock quietly on the door.

...Tap... taptaptaptap...

There was silence just beyond it. She frowned thoughtfully and listened, hoping to hear some sign of life just beyond. She had just been in the process of turning away when she heard the deadbolt slowly turning back, clicking in place. With a soft and certainly relieved smile, Charlie delicately reached down to the handle and pressed down, slowly pushing the door open. She peered inside just barely catching a glimpse of the curtains blowing at the open balcony door. The soft twinkling of piano music resounded, and there was a scent like sandalwood or myrrh.

"Daniel..." she called out as quietly as she could, looking back down the hall nervously toward the stairwell, before slowly stepping inside the suite foyer, closing the door behind her. She still felt the urge to whisper, and she did so urgently, "...Danny!"

"I'm afraid he's unavailable, little dove."

Fuck. Her blood ran cold. She spun on her heel to grasp the handle of the door and rip it open, only for it to be slammed shut before she had a chance to clear it. She had damn near caught her left hand in it, drawing back just as Skully shoved it closed with his right hand and trapped her slim figure against the solid wood with his own body. His arms encircled her despite her cursing protests and violent struggle, lifting her clear off the ground, only for Charlie to press a booted foot against the door and kick with all her might... and back they went.

Skully stumbled with the woman in his arms, sending them onto the ground, the discomfort of impact all but lighting up every nerve and fiber in her body. She groaned pitifully, and shook her head to rid herself of the daze, landing in the worst possible position clean on her injured left side, but already adrenaline had begun to pump through her veins. She scrambled for the gun at her waist as her blurred vision corrected, only to hear the terrifying click of the hammer pulled back as he cocked the gun in his hands, and she fell still.

"I don't think so, Charlotte. Put it down... Slide it over."

She glared poisonously, slowly removing the weapon, tossing it at his feet. He kicked the gun off toward the marbled flooring of the foyer, both hands clutching his own weapon—a .50 caliber Desert Eagle in black. Only she knew he didn't mean to fire it. The second he looked away to handle the gun she'd dropped, she was off, scrambling to her feet and rushing to the balcony door, with Skully behind her in only moments. He grasped a handful of her dark hair, ripping her back away from the only other point of escape she found, drawing her back to him as she released a painful hiss.

"LET FUCKING GO OF ME!"

The barrel of the gun nudged against her temple roughly, and he wasted no time dragging her back down to the carpeted floor. She was so much smaller than he was, it was nothing to shove her face forcefully to the floor and pushed a knee between her thighs. He holstered the gun, moved to take her wrists, and twisted her arms violently above her head.

"You've got one more time to scream before you make me angry. Keep making all that noise and you're going to fuckin' regret it."

"Yeah?! Go fuck yourself you fucking sick motherfucker—AGH!"

He held her wrists tightly in one hand before grasping her injured shoulder and squeezed until he felt blood staining her shirt, watching with placid contentment as she writhed painfully beneath him... and in only seconds, she began to beg.

"S-STOP—STOP—PLEASE—I'll be quiet! I'll be quiet!"

"Atta girl. Come on. Up." Skully all but dragged her to her feet, her chest heaving as she tried to regain her composure, looking wildly about the room for anything that might serve as a means to end this man. She'd taken everything of use with her long ago... and this time, he didn't waste any time pushing her onto her bed, kicking her legs apart as he secured her small hands in front of her with a zip tie. She twisted her wrists in hellish fury. Her shuddered, panicked breaths stalled as his large hands swept down her legs; one and then the other, making certain she was fully unarmed before he flipped her onto her back.

"This really isn't how I wanted this to happen, but you just can't sit the fuck down for a second and let me handle things the way I want to... so now... I need you to know how serious I am."

"Don't-fucking-touch-me!" She snapped the words angrily through gritted teeth and tried her hardest to kick him, but he simply took the opportunity to remove her boots from her struggling feet before grasping the fabric of the yoga pants, ever so amused at how fiery Charlie truly was in a moment of sheer desperation.

She struggled to stop him from prying the material down her body—twisting, thrashing, kicking. Her bound hands pressed against his chest, clawing at the fabric as he grasped her hips and ripped her closer to him, his icy gaze alight in delighted passion as he tightened his fingers against the thin material of the bikini bottoms and tore the modest strip of clothing away from her body, leaving her in nothing but the beach shirt.

She panted from her strained effort of fighting against him, slamming her hands into his chest to struggle for distance as he grasped the collar of her shirt and tore the buttons free, leaving her all but entirely exposed to him. He shoved her hands away, back up above her head, not at all paying heed to the fact that he was hurting her. If anything, it played a part in making her rethink just how hard she was fighting, and how futile the attempts were at this moment. She fell still, if not to ease her pain, then simply because she had all but exhausted herself.

"Skully—"

"Shut the fuck up, Charlotte." He reached to grasp her breasts, squeezing greedily, watching her soft brown eyes dart frantically as she tried to break free of the zip tie. "That's your real name, isn't it? The name you gave Danny... mm, Charlotte. I think I like that a lot better than 'Charlie'—"

"Skully please!—"

His fingers curled around her chin and he tilted her head to him, nimble digits of the opposite hand callously pinching and rolling those tender brown nubs between them.

"Colton... since we're on a first name basis now. If you want to beg me to stop... that's my name." He laughed a low and delighted sound, releasing her roughly as his hands dropped to his belt. The soft jingle of the metal clasp coming undone panicked her further, and she kicked and struggled to move up and away from him on the bed. He let her have that moment of determination, only to ease his boots from his feet and climb slowly onto the bed, grasping her dainty feet to pull her back. He didn't bother to disrobe entirely, his hands shifting up her legs as she slammed her bound hands against his chest.

"...Why are you doing this?!" Her voice was a petrified whimper.

Did she need to ask? He almost laughed at her again, fingertips teasing the tenderness of her thighs, watching her squirm and panic... and oh, how terrified she was. Her chest rose and fell heavily. She fought back tears as his palm closed over her privates, teasing the soft wiry hair of her outer lips before his thumb pushed between them and sought out the sensitive little nub of her clit. Her breath caught in her throat, and for a moment, she fell still and bit back impulsive reactions to the sudden violation.

"I already told you." He pressed against the little bundle of nerves and felt her body react as he massaged hard circles against that sensitive button, watching her composure slowly begin to break.

Her face flushed deeply... She was already biting back soft little sounds of pleasure. His fingers delved between the slick inner lips of her dripping snatch, mercilessly penetrating the velvety folds of her unlawfully tight cunt, and watching as she arched against him and fought to pull herself away.

"You really seem to think that you've got a chance of leaving us. I hate to break it to you, little dove... but I just can't let that happen."

"St-stop! Stop—please, please Colt—" The breathless plea fell on deaf ears. He slid his fingers deep, curling them expertly as he forced delicious pleasure from those slick, sensitive walls, drawing them back before thrusting them in again. And again... and again! Her body betrayed her. Her walls clenched desperately around the intruding digits. She groaned and shook her head and shut her eyes tightly as he finger fucked her.

"Isn't this what you like? Dog told me all about it—look at how wet you are, already. Behave yourself. I just might let you come."