The Nameless Survivor (Valkyrie) (18 page)

             
“I see you've met Amy.” He said as I continued to sob loudly. “Stop that!” he demanded, so I shut my mouth tight, uselessly silencing my wails.

             
Paul moved back out behind me, and I twisted my neck around, hoping to get a better look at what he was doing. He stood in front of an old dirty work bench, littered with rusty old tools and garbage. Slowly he turned back towards me holding a long black whip, frayed and tattered from years of use. My crying became uncontrollable, and again I pleaded.

             
“Please - I’ll be good - I promise!” But there was no use, he was not a nice man.

             
“Oh you will be very good, but first you need to learn the rules.” He answered back.

             
Forcefully he spun me around, back too, my wrists twisting hard around each other as the rope burned further into my skin. He pressed himself against me, breathing heavily into my ears as his hand traced down my body. I prayed silently, prayed for my mommy and daddy to save me. I even prayed to God, asking him to strike Big Paul dead. But, there was no answer, only Paul squeezing my butt so hard I'm sure it bruised instantly. With even more force, his hand slammed flat against it, sending a sharp sting across my cheeks and up my spine. Unlike my tears of fear, Paul seemed to enjoy my tears of pain. He simply chuckled and began pacing back and forth as he repeatedly slapped the whip into his hand.

             
Moments passed before an agonizing sting tore down my back like razor blades followed by a loud crack vibrating throughout my ears. Loudly I squealed and shuddered with pain. The warmth of the blood trickling down my skin almost soothed the agony – almost. CRACK, another slashed down my back, my teeth dug in deep into my lips. I gasped for air, tried to call out, but before I could do either, another CRACK. This time its thunder was almost deafening, the pain thankfully was much duller than the first two. My back was almost completely numb, just an intense tingling coursed down it. CRACK... I couldn't bare it anymore and let out a slight yelp as my body shuddered even more from the pain. Rather than another lashing, Big Paul simply chuckled and slapped my butt again as he walked past me and back over to the workbench. I let myself go limp, my body hanging by my wrists, I was just too tired to stand anymore.

             
“Good girl, we will talk again later” Big Paul said in that same nice voice.

             
Calm and silent he left the shed, leaving me to hang and bleed. Leaving me to think over the rules he silently explained through his cruelty alone. But I had learned it, almost instantly after the first lashing. His rules were quite simple, just two things, cower and obey. I knew I had to escape, I had to get away from him. But I couldn't think of it any more, in pain and exhaustion I closed my eyes and once again everything went black.

hours later;

              My eyes opened much better than before, all the blood that had caked over my face had magically been washed away in my sleep. It was night again, and a chorus of crickets rung out in my ears. I was back in that same room again, staring at a small burning candle, the wick flickering rapidly as it tried to stay above molten wax. My back throbbed in pain, and I just wanted to cry some more. But I couldn't, I had no tears left, Paul had stolen them all. And so I just whimpered quietly into my pillow, breathing in the stench of sweat and mildew as I tried to ignore the pain.

             
Like a gentle hand reaching down from the heavens, a cool and almost soothing sensation ran down my back. Slowly I looked over to find the Old Lady, Lilly, cleaning my wounds with a cloth and some water. The sight of her had me sobbing some more, a dry and empty sob. My emotions were uncontrollable, it was unlike anything I had ever felt before, and I wished for Lilly to take it all away.

             
“Hush now girl,” she whispered ever so sweetly, “You's rest yourself, I'll cleans you up just like new.”

             
“C-c-can I leave now?” I asked.

             
Lilly stopped wiping my back and went silent for a moment. She stared down at me with such caring yet grave eyes.

“Girl, this is your home now.
You's just do as your told, it be much easier for ya, child.”

             
I didn't say any more as she finished cleaning me up and bandaging my wounds. When she left the room I just laid there alone, quietly trying to cry. I began to think of Momma and Daddy and even Old Ben. I missed them so, I missed my bedroom, my school, even little Bobby Masse who use to chase me with bugs at recess. I missed them all so much. But I had to forget about them, I had to stop dreaming of the past.

             
Turning my head I notice someone was standing quietly at the door, it was the little boy from the fire. He was probably only ten years old with tangled brown hair and an adorable round and freckled face. He seemed so happy, unlike myself or most of the others here. He stared back at me with a cute little smile and his big brown eyes, filled with such curiosity. Slowly he walked in a little-bit further and quietly sat cross-legged on the floor.

             
“Hi, my name is Tommy, what’s yours?” he whispered.

             
“Mia.” I whispered.

             
“Mia.” He repeated, “I like it.” he paused for a moment then asked, “Did Paul tell you the rules?” Finally the tears flowed from my parched eyes as I nodded yes.

             
“You best do as he says, he won’t hurt you so much.” he smiled in a brief moment of silence while staring back at me, then he asked, “Will you be my friend?” Before I could even respond, Lilly stormed into the room.

             
“Tommy! You's should not be here!” she exclaimed. “Get, before BP catches you's.”

             
“Bye,” he said shaking his hand at me with a big grin across his face.

             
Lilly quickly ushered him out, lightly slapping his butt as he scurried off into the other room. I took a deep breath and was able to smile just a bit, finding a friend almost made me forget about everything else. For a moment, I even forgot about BP. Finally the tears began to flow, and quietly I whispered back.

             
“Yes.”

continuance;

              A few days after my lesson I was back on my feet and immediately put to work; cleaning, cooking and hauling supplies. Big Paul and a few others had headed out the day before to scavenge for more supplies, leaving me alone with the rest of the men. Lilly ended up being my only protection, keeping me busy with chores and out of sight of the others as much as possible. She rarely spoke to me though, aside from barking orders. Thankfully, BP and the others were gone for weeks, maybe even a month or two. I had begun to hope that something had happened to them, that they may never return. However, none of the others seemed too concerned about their absence.

             
The highlight of my days would be getting a few words in with Tommy, whenever we found the time, which was not often. Our friendship became strong during that time, we bonded like a big brother with his little sister. Although he was younger than I, he took on the role quiet well. Even protecting me from the others, distracting them away from me whenever he saw them getting too close. He was a good little boy.

             
Every so often Lilly would repeat stories of Amy, stories from before she became hungry, stories from before the world changed. It was those brief moments that got me through those days, and kept my mind off of the others taunts. Amy was always on my mind. It was my job to feed and clean up after her. Lilly avoided the shed as much as she could, too afraid to look at what her daughter had become. I found it sad, sad that they let her live like that. Alone, and changed in a dark musty shed. Why didn't they just put her down, let her rest, I didn't know.

             
Every time I looked into her eyes it was as if I could see the real Amy within them, it was like she were staring out a dusty window. It made me wonder if she actually was still in there, aware of what was going on, lost within her own mind. It made me wonder. Would I ever end up like her? Would I still be able to see the world while trapped inside my own body? I hoped that if I ever did go, someone would end it, rather than to chain me in a shed.

             
One horrible day, while I cleaned up after Amy's last feeding, the skinny-man – Logan, came stomping into the shed. He startled me for a moment, but I just kept my eyes down and focused on scrubbing the chicken blood from the floor. I hoped that if I ignored him he would just go away, but as always, my hopes were ignored.

             
“Hey there, Tight-Lips?” he said with a dirty smile across his face, all the while rubbing himself. “I tell ya what, you treat me good and I'll make sure you get some extra slop for dinner.”

             
He chuckled, and in a desperate attempt I made a quick dash for the door. He was much faster, rushing over and grabbing hard onto my arm and tossing me back down to the floor, kicking the door shut in the process. I cowered back onto the floor, keeping my eyes on his feet as he circled me, breathing heavy with each step he took.

             
“Stay right there, bitch.” He curse at me, pointing his dirty finger in my face, “I kill you, Oh yes I would.” He paused for a moment, pacing back and forth like a mad-dog. “I could just tell him you tried to escape.” He smiled and walked back over to Amy. “There is only one real reason that your still alive, fresh pussy.”

             
He stared into Amy's eyes quietly, yet still rubbing his crotch. Every time she lashed out at him he would grab himself harder, not once did he flinch. As my father would say, 'He had a few screws loose.' Every so often he would reach up and brush her hair back behind her ears, pulling his hand back just as she turned to bite. Unfortunately she was never fast enough.

             
“If it weren't for fear of turning, I'd tap this ass.” He said, still staring into Amy's eyes. “You just gotta get past the smell, and I ain't talking fish.” He chuckled again as looked back at me with those empty and evil eyes.

             
He continued to pace about the shed, fiddling with different tools and other junk lying about. Every so often he would shoot a nasty glare in my direction, and that creepy smile never left his face. I wasn't sure exactly what he was going to do, but I prayed that Lilly, or even Tommy would soon come in and stop him.

             
“Let me show you what you be missing,” He said while chuckling as he reached down his pants and pulled his penis out. “Not bad, eh? Big enough to satisfy your tight holes.” I didn't want to look, but did anyway.

             
It was ugly, bent and it almost had too much skin hanging off the end. I have only seen a few before, including my father’s once when he was taking a shower. Much cleaner and less skin then Logan's, maybe he just needed a shower. At least a quick rinse in the river to wash away that smell which was almost as bad as Amy's. Logan spit in his hand before rubbing it aggressively over it. Quickly it got bigger, and slowly changed color until it was almost purple. The bend also seemed to worsen, making the tip point further to the right. I wanted to look away but was afraid of what he would do, instead I just knelt there and watched as he stepped closer to me.

             
“Tell you what, Mia, is it?” I didn't respond. “Tell you what Mia, you suck me off, and I'll leave you alone from now on.”

             
I remained quiet as he continued to rub his penis back and forth in my face. A thick white film smeared from it and on to his hand, building up like a layer of cottage cheese. Thankfully he backed off moments later and laughed out as he pulled his pants back up. His attention then turned back to Amy.

             
“Never had a chance with Amy, before she turned of course, Paul's not too big at sharing.” He said before spitting in Amy's face. Casually he reached out and grabbed a rusted blade hanging from the wall and gently began to caress her breasts with it, keeping his eyes locked on hers as she thrashed about in anger. “Too bad too, I'd treat her real nice, not like Paul did.”

             
He snapped a gaze back at me again, fearfully I just look back down towards the floor. He remained silent for the moment, and even though I never looked up I could feel his gaze burning into me. I thought about making another run of it, but my legs would not move, I was frozen in fear.

             
“Yeah, BP gonna wreck you when he gets back.” He chuckled that evil chuckle again. “He gonna tear that vaj up good, if you know what I mean?” He paused another moment as he stepped closer to me, dropping the blade to the floor. When I glanced up, his unzipped pants were directly in my face, his brown stained undies slightly hanging out. Then, in an almost sweet and gentle voice he whispered, “How would you like a kiss, sweetie?”

             
Immediately looked back down towards the floor. My heart thumped hard in my chest and a cold-sweat broke out across my forehead. I was shaking and breathing heavily, for a moment I thought I was going to pass-out. Instead, he broke my trembles with another monstrous chuckle. He had his fun, and as he began to zip up his pants he stepped back away from me still laughing like a rabid hyena. Fortunately he stepped back a bit too far. Amy's teeth plunged deep into his shoulder with such force that his blood instantly poured out on to the floor and sprayed upon walls. Logan screamed out while reaching back, trying to break free from her tightly clenched jaws.