Freedom -Negan-

Chapter 1

I woke up as someone was dragging me across the ground. Darkness. A hood must have been placed over my head. All I could see was faint outlines of trees and very limited amount of light through the fabric. A cloth gag was in my mouth and tied behind my head. My hands were tied behind my back where they dug into the ground, scraping against the leaves, rock and small sticks. A thin rope was digging into my underarms as someone pulled me across the ground.

Deep breath.

Listening would be the smartest action seeing as I couldn't exactly... see. I began moving my head slowly to try and figure out what direction the noises were coming from. Men's voices were coming from behind me and in front of me, making me assume that we were in some sort of line formation.

God, my head was throbbing. I tried to remember what had happened to get me here. How did I let myself get snuck up on? I'm always so careful before I go into any place.

The fucking store. I was too busy thinking about the past and allowed these assholes to sneak up on me.

The men around me were talking and laughing. I was too far away to hear any conversations distinctly, but some words stuck out like "whores" "camp" and "fun". Not a great combination, but it gave me a good idea of what they were planning to do with me.

My right hand slid over a sharp rock sticking out of the ground, slicing my skin open. I winced and a muffled grunt came from my mouth. I squeezed my palm and felt the warm blood slipping through my fingers.

"Look-y here, boys! She's finally awake!" Came booming from above me. "Just in time, too."

"Thought we would have to wake her ass up. You hit her fucking hard, Ben." Another voice coming closer.

I started struggling against the rope as I heard laughter from the other men. I knew it was useless, but I wasn't going to make it easy for him to drag me anymore. A boot collided with the side of my left shin sending a sharp pain up my leg.

"Stop that squirming shit. We're almost there and I don't want to have to tell Ben to knock you the fuck out again." The second mans voice said. "You'll definitely have a rude awakening."

Laughter from the other men. I took another deep breath and tried to be as still as possible. Saving my outbursts for later when my hands hopefully weren't tied up. Footsteps came closer and closer to me until I could hear them walking beside me. "Or maybe a welcome one depending on how long it's been." The second man's voice rang in my ear almost as a whisper so only I could hear. My jaw clenched, but I kept myself from kicking and screaming at him knowing it would egg him on. I bit down on my mouth gag to keep me from speaking and to distract myself from the pain in my right hand.

I needed to be smart. My anger always got the best of me and was not going to be helpful in this moment. Silence and cooperation would give me the advantage of thinking. Coming up with a plan. I wasn't going to be able to get away now. Not with all the men watching my every move. As much as I didn't want to be brought to their camp, I need to stay still and avoid being inured any further so I could have the best chance of getting out.

I wiggled my toes around to feel my knife I kept in my right boot, but they were smart and had taken it out already. Most likely not their first time kidnapping someone based on their precautions – hood, gag, hands tied, weapons gone.

If I had to take a guess, I was dragged for another 30-45 minutes before we stopped and the man who whispered in my ear spoke again.

"We come bearing gifts!" Followed by what sounded like knocking on wood.

Creaking filled my ears as a large door opened and I was dragged once again. The smell of a barn filled my nose and images of my upstate New York childhood home came to mind. Cows, goats, horses all living together. Now you can add me to the list.

I was dragged across a concrete floor until I heard the man pulling me opening another door. I felt hay against my fingertips and more digging into the open wound in my right hand. The man dragged me until a wooden wall grazed my left fingertips. He dropped me to the ground fully and roughly grabbed my hands tied behind my back, hyperextending my shoulders. I felt the cool temperature of a pipe he was tying me to and pressed my hot, bloody palm into the metal for some relief. I edged backwards so my back met the pipe.

"Night, whores. Keep your mouths shut" The man with the same voice that dragged me spoke.

"Hey!" I yelled through my gag. "Hood. Off" I tried my best to sound coherent, but I could barely understand what I was saying.

"I said keep your mouth shut." The man said from directly above.

I tried to get my legs under me to stand, but the way he had tied me didn't allow my bindings to slide up the metal pole. The man kicked my feet out so that I fell straight on my ass. I groaned and tried to stupidly kick at him even though I had no idea where he was. He grabbed my ankles and slammed them both on the floor so that they remained immobile. I squirmed to get away from his grip, but to no use.

"You're going to be a fun one." The man spoke with a disgusting huskiness in his voice. "But you need to shut the fuck up right now. Save your screaming for tomorrow."

Screw it. I screamed as loud as I could. The man grabbed my head through the hood and threw it into the wall to my left. If I didn't have the hood over my head, I would be seeing stars. I was dazed for a second but turned by head to where I could hear his breathing and laughed at him.

He grabbed my head and threw it against the wall once more to which I black out.