In Fear and Desperation
Ropes.
"What are we going to do with her?" Someone questioned. My hands were bound together behind my back and I was placed at the feet of the men who were now standing in a circle. They had tied the ropes around my wrists so tight that I no longer had any circulation left in them, most likely to keep me from wiggling out.
I continued to sit in silence as they argued my fate. I wondered how mad they would get if I accidentally puked all over one of their shoes. It was becoming increasingly more likely every second.
"So, blondie, is it just you that stays here?" The man with the longest hair asked.
"Yes." I managed to reply in a shaking voice. I was no longer able to hide my fear.
"Interesting." He nodded. "What do you eat out here?"
"Whatever I can find." I replied.
Two of the boys looked at each other and nodded, seeming surprised. "Hm. When was the last time you came across another human?" The shortest one questioned.
"I don't remember." I was getting tired of these questions. I just wanted to know if I was going to die today or not.
The four guys started murmuring amongst each other, just quiet enough so that I could only hear bits and pieces. After a while they stepped apart and looked me straight in the eyes.
"Here is what is going to happen; we need your stuff so we're taking it. If you want, you can come with us and help us with catching food. You must be pretty good at it to live out here on your own. As for us, we've never lived life away from the city. We would have continued staying there, but even for us it’s not safe there anymore. So I guess you lucked out. Under any other circumstances we would have killed you. So that's our offer. If not, we can leave you tied up here." The one with the long hair concluded with a slight smile.
"Alright," I replied, reluctantly. Was there really any other choice I had? Left without weapons and shelter I doubt I would be able to survive for very long.
"So, if we let you go, are you going to try and kill us?" The original man who caught me asked with a smirk on his face.
I shook my head as he eyed me. "You've got a gun and all my stuff. I think you'll be fine if you untie me." I spoke, sarcastically.
"Good point." I heard spoken from behind me and someone started forcefully tugging on my hands. “Sorry, I can’t just cut it off. We might need the rope later so this might hurt a bit.” He told me as he continued to forcefully pull and jerk. My hands were already in so much pain what he was doing was barely even affecting them. After a few seconds I felt a surge of pain and my hands were freed.
All I could do was cradle them in my lap as blood started rushing back to them. “Fuck.” I hissed, quietly. My hands slowly started turning from a horribly abnormal purple to the original color of my skin.
"I guess we might as well introduce ourselves. My name is Vic." said the man with the long hair.
"I'm Jaime, and this is Tony," the other two introduced, "and last, but not least, that's Mike." he pointed, referring to the man who pulled me off of Jaime when I jumped down from the tree.
Okay, so Mike is the scary guy and Jaime is the guy I tried to kill. I can remember those two names, definitely.
"So..." Vic looked at me. "What's your name?"
"Aileen." I replied, standing to my feet. My knees were shaking so much I could barely hold myself up straight. "So where are you guys headed?" I asked, assuming that if I was going along with them I might as well know.
"We're headed to a house that one of us grew up in. It's been abandoned for years and its far enough away from everything we're hoping it will be safe." Tony replied. "There should be some of our friends already there when we arrive, if everything goes how it was supposed to."
I wondered what that meant for me. Once they reached their destination were they going to be done with me? I shuddered at the thought and made a promise not to think of that anymore. I was just going to have to take this one day at a time.
I continued to sit in silence as they argued my fate. I wondered how mad they would get if I accidentally puked all over one of their shoes. It was becoming increasingly more likely every second.
"So, blondie, is it just you that stays here?" The man with the longest hair asked.
"Yes." I managed to reply in a shaking voice. I was no longer able to hide my fear.
"Interesting." He nodded. "What do you eat out here?"
"Whatever I can find." I replied.
Two of the boys looked at each other and nodded, seeming surprised. "Hm. When was the last time you came across another human?" The shortest one questioned.
"I don't remember." I was getting tired of these questions. I just wanted to know if I was going to die today or not.
The four guys started murmuring amongst each other, just quiet enough so that I could only hear bits and pieces. After a while they stepped apart and looked me straight in the eyes.
"Here is what is going to happen; we need your stuff so we're taking it. If you want, you can come with us and help us with catching food. You must be pretty good at it to live out here on your own. As for us, we've never lived life away from the city. We would have continued staying there, but even for us it’s not safe there anymore. So I guess you lucked out. Under any other circumstances we would have killed you. So that's our offer. If not, we can leave you tied up here." The one with the long hair concluded with a slight smile.
"Alright," I replied, reluctantly. Was there really any other choice I had? Left without weapons and shelter I doubt I would be able to survive for very long.
"So, if we let you go, are you going to try and kill us?" The original man who caught me asked with a smirk on his face.
I shook my head as he eyed me. "You've got a gun and all my stuff. I think you'll be fine if you untie me." I spoke, sarcastically.
"Good point." I heard spoken from behind me and someone started forcefully tugging on my hands. “Sorry, I can’t just cut it off. We might need the rope later so this might hurt a bit.” He told me as he continued to forcefully pull and jerk. My hands were already in so much pain what he was doing was barely even affecting them. After a few seconds I felt a surge of pain and my hands were freed.
All I could do was cradle them in my lap as blood started rushing back to them. “Fuck.” I hissed, quietly. My hands slowly started turning from a horribly abnormal purple to the original color of my skin.
"I guess we might as well introduce ourselves. My name is Vic." said the man with the long hair.
"I'm Jaime, and this is Tony," the other two introduced, "and last, but not least, that's Mike." he pointed, referring to the man who pulled me off of Jaime when I jumped down from the tree.
Okay, so Mike is the scary guy and Jaime is the guy I tried to kill. I can remember those two names, definitely.
"So..." Vic looked at me. "What's your name?"
"Aileen." I replied, standing to my feet. My knees were shaking so much I could barely hold myself up straight. "So where are you guys headed?" I asked, assuming that if I was going along with them I might as well know.
"We're headed to a house that one of us grew up in. It's been abandoned for years and its far enough away from everything we're hoping it will be safe." Tony replied. "There should be some of our friends already there when we arrive, if everything goes how it was supposed to."
I wondered what that meant for me. Once they reached their destination were they going to be done with me? I shuddered at the thought and made a promise not to think of that anymore. I was just going to have to take this one day at a time.