VILLAINESS [TWD]

➴122

"Are the cuffs necessary?" I question.

"It's for the-"

"If you say it's for the paperwork, I'll gut you," I warn, cutting Lance off.

"Well, it is," he says and shrugs.

"Asshole," I mutter under my breath as he walks away.

Apparently, despite being behind Hilltop walls, I committed a crime of assault. Since I also snuck out of Commonwealth without permission, I was detained back home and brought on the road.

If I thought about yesterday too much, I would picture Mom and Anna's shouts of protest as I was arrested against the side of the big house.

"Hey," Aaron calls. "Take a drink."

I accept the bottle he held up to my mouth, letting him pour some water in my mouth.

"Thanks," I tell him.

"We'll figure this out. I'm sure it'll be over with in no time," Aaron promises.

I roll my neck around uncomfortably in the position I was sitting in in the back of a Commonwealth truck. 

"No talking with the prisoner," a soldier orders.

"Kiss my ass," I prompt.

"Ellie," Aaron scolds and pats my leg. "Just hang in there."

I huff as he walks away, too. I watch from the tailgate as Lance gathers the soldiers, Daryl, Aaron, and Gabriel. They speak, though I couldn't hear from this far.

I think about the Commonwealth jail cell that I was in before. They were probably going to throw me back int here just as an 'I got you' moment.

After a long time, Daryl, Aaron, and Gabriel walk over to me- flanked by Lance and a couple of soldiers.

"We'll see you back at Commonwealth," Daryl tells me.

"We're splitting up?" I question.

"A unit is going to clear any dead ones from the woods. A few are escorting you back to Commonwealth," Lance speaks up.

I squint, not trusting a word he said.

"Be good," Daryl warns, then drops his voice so only I can hear him as he walks by. "Watch your back."

Gabriel pats my back and Aaron sends me a nod and a smile as they leave with a team of soldiers.

Once it's just Lance and I, Lance smiles. I glare back and clench my fists that were bound behind my back.

"So.. are you ready for this journey?" Lance asks. "It won't take too long, I promise."

I watch Lance all the way around the truck. He gets into the passenger seat and so I watch him through the window. Two soldiers get in the tailgate with me, both of their guns in their hands. Then, the truck drives away.

--

We didn't travel long before we pulled up outside of a worn-down cabin.

The whole ride, my head was filled with 'what if's and plots to protect myself, though I came up short on how I would make it out of the worst-case scenario.

"This isn't Commonwealth," I note as Lance gets out of the truck.

"It isn't our final destination," he agrees, resting his forearms on the truck beside me. "It's just a pit stop."

"It's not your final destination.. But, it's mine?" I see through all of his bullshit.

"It's a shame, really. I saw potential in you and your family. Hilltop. But, you proved yourselves to just be another rabid group of freaks with bloodlust."

"You're the one that stopped in the cabin in the woods to shoot me where no one would find out," I fire back.

"None of this would have to happen if you would have fallen in line. If your mother would have aligned herself with the Commonwealth."

Pure anger flows through me and I lean over in his face. "You can take your Commonwealth and shove it up your ass."

Lance smiles.

The sight made me so sick that there were no words to describe it.

So, I back up enough to spit in his face- directly in his left eye.

A soldier shouts in alarm and grabs my bound hands and jerks me to my feet. Lance takes out a handkerchief and wipes the spit from his face.

"Go to hell!" I shout at him, trying to kick him, but the other soldier grabs my legs. "You're a weak, pathetic, sad piece of shit!"

The soldiers wriggle me around and unload me from the truck. I continue kicking and fighting as they drag me through the yard and into the house.

The rage was so blinding. I knew something like this was coming, so it wasn't betrayal. It was the knowledge of being trapped in a corner with no way out. I knew it was coming and there was nothing I could do to change it.

Finally, I get one foot free. I slam my boot against the soldier's shoulder and my feet fall to the floor. With the sudden momentum, the soldier holding my upper body leans forward. I spin around fast to lessen his grip, then knee him in the face, though I feel his mask cut my leg open.

My hands were still handcuffed behind me. I run to the back door. I'd figure a way out of the cuffs later. The butt of a gun slams against my stomach and I retch in response, falling to my knees.

More soldiers bustle into the cabin and I find myself being manhandled by at least seven soldiers. They drag me back to the main room and sit me in a chair.

Though I tried to fight, kick, bite, and claw my way out, I couldn't move once they wrapped duct tape all around my legs and chest to keep me tied to the chair. With every motion I tried to make, the tape pulled at my skin. I could feel splinters break off into my back and arms from being bound to the old wood of the chair.

I blow hard to get hair out of my face. My eyes widen when I make contact with who is sitting in front of me.

"It's been awhile," she says and leans forward. "Let's catch up, shall we?"

"Leah," I whisper.

 𝒶𝓊𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓇 𝓇𝒶𝓂𝒷𝓁𝑒𝓈--

the fact that this book is about to end,, what