I must of fallen asleep, because the next time I opened my eyes, I found myself in a car again. The uneven road made the car wobble and you could hear small stones crashing against the window. I layed on the back seat of the vehicle.
I tried, as quietly as possible, to sit a little bit to look between the seats forward. According to physics, there had been two men, i couldnt see it very clearly, it was dark in the whole car, since it was already night.
Where are they taking me? I've got to get out of here!
I groped, with my hand, the left door, which was right at my head. After a while I finally found the handle to open the door. Quickly I pulled at it and the door opened.
"What the hell ..." I heard a call as I threw myself out of the car and bounced on the hard ground. My whole body screamed in pain. I lifted my arms and felt something dripping from my head. A liquid. It must have been sweat. My heart was pounding madly against my chest, the adrenaline running through my body.
I breathed fast, panicked as I realized how the vehicle stopped and the two guys from before exited. With the last strength I pulled myself up and started to run. Straight out and without orientation. It was not long before one of the two had caught me and threw me around his shoulder. I hit his back, tried to free myself from his grip, but the man didnt let go of me.
"LET ME GO!" I shouted angrily, but the guy did not answer while he went back to the car.
"Cooper you stay behind sitting with her, not that she tries again ..." I heard the one guy say, who stayed at the car while the other one chased me. "You're probably right, Troy"
I was thrown back to the back seat. I could hear the one who had carried me whisper "Stupid girl ...."
I remained silent for a moment.Troy started the engine again and went off.
"What do you want from me?" I asked after a while. The guy at the steering laughed softly.
"We take you to us," I heard him answer
"And where is that? Who says I want to go there? "I asked angrily.
Why? Why me?
"We saved your life. You should be grateful! "Cooper hissed next to me.
I was silent. I had not asked for help. I was already in worse situations. I have always found a way out by myself. I dont need there help!
"You'll be happy when you first see the ranch," Troy said, staring at me through the mirror. His eyes stuck to me.
Shouldnt he be focusing on the street?
"Am i right, Coop?" He asked the guy next to me. He nodded and then looked at me.
"So stay in the fucking car!"
_______________
After Alicia and I had described Ofelia and Crazy Dog what had happened, everyone got a gun. We then came up with the idea of using the caravan as a kind of wall to derive the dead left and right. I doubted it would work. The horde had to be huge, the dust clouds that could be seen in the sky was gigantic.
We'd all been hiding behind the caravan, waiting for the horde to break the fence and overrun the ranch. And that was exactly what happened a moment later. The dead growled so loud that no one could hear his own thoughts anymore. I tightened the handle around my gun. My dad had already shown me as a young girl how to shoot. He was a policeman and thought I should know how this weapon works. to be able to save my life one day if I had to. I doubted strongly that he had expected the dead to be walking again, craving for humans.
They pressed against the caravans, trying to push them away. Until suddenly a woman shouted "Watch your feet! They come from below !! ". They crawled down. Even under my car I saw the hands of the dead. When I saw a head, I immediately used my knife and not my gun. We did not want to lure them directly to us. At least we tried it.
“The stopped going under” Alicia said while we were watching the caravans move right in front of us.
“Theyre packed too tight to move” Crazy Dog added.
“We should run.. this isnt gonna hold much longer!!” i said and looked at them concerned. “Once this gives, everyone out here is gonna die!”
Summary: Soulmates find each other through what is known as The Pull. A sense within a persons body that their soulmate is within reach that guides them to find them. You find yourself following this Pull, guided by vague dreams of a man you can't quite see, until you collapse in the wild and are found by Troy, your soulmate, who has been following the same feeling toward you for days.
Once connected soulmates are able to share emotions through their bond, as well as being able to sense where the other is. But how this force works is very much a mystery still, it can vary from soulmate to soulmate, and just sometimes a connection too deep can lead twist a bond from something beautiful to, well...
Warnings: Dark themes, sexual content, violence, non-graphic description/implications of SA, child abuse and domestic violence. References to addiction. Unhealthy love/obsession/relationships. Soulmate AU. Eventual smut.
Warnings: threat of assault
Even in your exhausted state your body was still used to waking up at sunrise. The horizon was a pale pink hue when you slid from the bed soundlessly. The woman who had fallen asleep during the night was still in her chair, slumped over and breathing loudly as you began to search the tent for your belongings.
Your bag was hanging at the end of your bed with your boots neatly tucked beside it. You shook them out before you pulled them on and checked your backpack.
Your notebook was missing.
You scrambled, searching the sheets and surrounding area. Eventually you accepted it had been lost or taken and you couldn’t waste time trying to find it if you wanted to leave quietly.
The thought made the feeling in your chest ache and throb. Resentfully you told it to quiet down. You’d imagined what it would be like to experience the Pull and find your soulmate since you were a child, and this… this was not what you had pictured. Having to make a silent getaway to escape the man who was supposedly your equal half. It was nothing like what you’d seen growing up; your parents had found each other young and lived their lives happily and still deeply in love right up until their final moments, clinging to each other as they told you to run, to escape the dead and the encroaching fire…
You pushed all memories of your family away as you pulled your bag over your shoulder, now heavy with the stolen medical supplies, dried food and a few bottles of water. It was the best you could find within the tent.
Your map was still in your bag but of course you’d been unconscious when you'd been found. You had no idea where you were but you guessed if the Pull had you heading east from the city then if you made your way west you’d eventually reach the coast. You could find shelter there, fish for food. The fires would have been long burned out by now and hopefully it meant most of the dead were also gone.
You cautiously made your way from the tent and paused as you took in, well, everything.
Ever since San Diego had been bombed and you’d lost everyone and everything you’d ever known you hadn’t seen another soul, unless you counted the dead. Which, you'd decided, you did not.
Now you could see tents and caravans spread out in the fields. In the distance a large house presided over everything and you just knew that was where he was. If you weren’t mistaken you could see a herd of cattle in one direction, horses in another. You were on a farm?
For a split second you reconsidered leaving. The place looked secure. It looked like something familiar, something safe. A place that could be a home.
The memory of Troy turning his back on you, his voice as he told you that you should not have come…
You shook all thoughts of staying from your head, made sure the rising sun was at your back, and started walking. You ignored the hunger in your stomach. Once you’d put some distance between you and this place you’d stop and eat the stolen supplies. For now you just needed to keep going.
You ducked amongst the caravans, taking shelter where you could once you noticed the uniformed men walking the perimeter of the fence. Of course they’d have a guard, you thought. A place like this would need protection.
You wondered if anyone would even care if you left, but just in case you remained determined to slip away undetected. The humiliation of explaining that you couldn’t stand to see the empty look your soulmate had for you was too much to think about. You’d have been met with pity, maybe even scorn. Women were always judged more harshly then men if their matches didn’t work out, as if there was some fundamental fault within them which made them, for lack of a better word, unlovable.
You managed to reach the fence and slip through, keeping low to the ground as you moved toward a gathering of trees. The air was cool on your cheeks and your body still aching and sore, but you were sure of your decision. You pretended the sharp pain in your chest and the difficulty in catching your breath were simply no more than your weary body complaining as you ducked into the shelter of the trees, straightened your body, and began walking.
You didn’t look back.
After many hours you’d split the dried food and water into rations, examining the map and trying to work out your location as best you could while you rested, before setting out once more. You knew you needed to find somewhere to gather a change on clothes, especially your damn boots which were close to falling off your feet. Even some duct tape would do the job.
By the time the sun had begun to fall you thought you saw something promising looming in the distance. As you quickened your pace your heart leapt. There was definitely shelter ahead, a barn that had seen better days and a small house. The area was surrounded by a wire fence that was easy enough to climb over once you’d spent at least twenty minutes laying on your stomach in the long grass, checking for signs of life inside.
You didn’t want to receive a face-full of lead by being mistaken for an intruder, nor did you want to ask for help from whoever might be inside if they were less than friendly. After you’d determined the place abandoned you carefully walked the perimeter of the empty barn before peering through the gaps in boarded up windows.
There was no light from inside, no signs of movement. You tapped on the window and waited.
Nothing.
Your feet were light on the slightly rotten wooden steps that led to the front door. Nervously, and suddenly wishing you’d picked up something to use as weapon, you tried to door handle. It was stiff but opened with a loud groan. You shuddered, thinking of every scary movie you’d ever seen that started with a heroine walking alone into a creepy, abandoned shack in the middle of nowhere.
“Hello?” you called into the darkness, “If there are any crazed, masked serial killers in here… please don’t come out…”
The silence remained and you closed the door behind you. The house was only spread over one floor and it didn’t take long to check it out. The main living area was attached to a small kitchen which smelled as if something had recently died. You avoided opening the refrigerator and the oven but checked the cupboards for food. There were a few questionable tins, and thankfully a tin opener and some rusty looking knives in a drawer. You picked up the sturdiest looking knife and dropped the rest into your bag, deciding to save them for breakfast the next day.
Once you were sure the house was empty you made sure to block the doors and check that the windows were secure. You pulled the sheets from the single bedroom and decided to spent the night on the couch, hoping it wasn’t flea infested. Although there was no reason not to use the bedroom you just found sleeping in a strangers bed too strange.
You kept your bag close, curled yourself up on the couch and closed your eyes before quickly falling asleep. As you did you hoped your rest would be free of dreams as your fist pressed itself against your aching chest, which was harder to ignore now you didn’t have anything to distract yourself with.
Your wish was granted as you managed a few hours of deep slumber before something began to rouse you, some sound you knew was familiar but couldn’t quite place…
It was a creaking, like when your mother tried to walk the stairs at night without waking anyone on the old floorboards. You frowned in your sleep and muttered, annoyed. Why was she walking around so late? It was barely morning…
Your eyes flew open as the sound came again, accompanied by the image of your mother’s bloodstained face.
The noise, it couldn’t be her.
She was long dead.
It took a moment to adjust to the darkness, to remember where you were. Just as you did a great pounding sound came from the door, followed by angry voices.
You grabbed your back and dived behind the couch, holding your breath as your heart began to race. The knife was already in your hand but from the sounds of the arguing outside there were at least two of them. Your best bet was to sneak away unseen rather than risk confronting them.
There was a pause, a second of silence in which you hoped whoever was outside would give up and leave before the door crashed open and a figure appeared, filling the doorway.
“Told ya it just needed a man’s touch,” he said smugly.
Another shorter but stocky man appeared over his shoulder.
“Shut the fuck up Derek and check for dead.”
You couldn’t take a breath even if you tried as torchlight beamed across the room. You shrunk back, trying to make yourself as small as possible as footsteps drew closer.
“You check out that way,” the man called Derek said, “see if there’s anythin’ worth takin’.”
A wave of naseau came over you as the thrumming your chest began to vibrate horribly. For some reason it was like a voice in your head, whispering.
Danger. Danger.
“No shit!” You snapped back at it silently.
You would not make the same mistake you had before, just a few days after your parents had died and you’d been completely alone before stumbling across a man and his son - about your age - who’d also lost everything in the bombings. You’d asked for help, believed them when they’d led you to ‘a safe place’.
That was when you’d first learned that the dead were not the worst monsters out there. At least you knew exactly what they wanted from you if you stumbled into their path.
The sound of the other man’s footsteps faded as he headed into the kitchen. Derek was walking slowly further into the room, kicking aside a fallen stool so it bounced off the couch and made you jump.
Your hands clenched on the knife when Derek’s footsteps froze.
You knew if you didn’t move soon his companion would see you crouched on the ground when he came back from the kitchen, and the door was still wide open, moonlight streaming in with the sounds of the night.
Cupboards being torn open echoed into the room, it wouldn’t take long at all for him to realise it was empty… you had no choice.
You braced yourself, turning toward the door-
A hand reached over the couch, grabbing you by your hair and pulling you up and over. You screamed and slashed out with the knife, catching skin but not with enough force for the blunt blade to do much damage. Derek dropped you onto the couch and repaid you with a sharp blow to the face, leaving your head spinning as it snapped back against the cushion.
His friend came running at the noise and you could make out the ragged shoulder length hair beneath a cap in the moonlight. In front of him he held a gun, a hunting rifle to be exact. You pulled back you hand which still held the knife and tried to lash out again only for your wrist to be caught and twisted painfully. You grit your teeth, trying to keep hold of your only weapon as the man barked a laugh that made your stomach turn.
“Drop it girly.” Derek instructed, “Let’s not do anything stupid huh?”
“You attacked me!” you spat back.
“That’s an awful accusation. You drew first blood. Now drop it so we can have a nice civilised conversation.”
With one more squeeze of his hand your fingers gave out. You dropped the knife with a whimper and snatched your wrist back as the man ducked to pick it up. Your eyes fell to the gun. You could have kicked out and tried to run, but you’d only end up with a hole between your eyes, or so the man’s face told you as he sneered.
Derek examined the rusty blade and muttered something about tetanus. Your laughter was hollow.
“Good. You can kill me but here’s hoping you die soon anyway!”
“Derek she’s being a rude house guest.” came the voice of the man in the door.
You scowled, “I was here first!”
Your insides curled as Derek glared down at you, tossing the knife away.
“Well we’re here now. And we’re the ones with the guns. So it’s our place now.” he said with an eerie calm. You looked at him more closely as he placed the torch on the ground, sending long shadows across the room. There was enough light for you to make out broad shoulders, thick-muscled arms with hands that looked like they could crush a skull. You shrunk back against the couch, your blood running cold as you accepted you were really in the shit now.
Chapter 5
Warnings: non-graphic depiction of attempted rape. Violence. Things take a dark turn.
Troy slept in fits and bursts, waking ofte
