No Tomorrow

.

"That....is weirder then usual for even you."

"I'm just trying to look out for you honey."

*

Something cold splashed onto my face and I woke up to a dirt smeared man sneering at me as he held a crushed water bottle up to my face, my arms were out to my sides above my head and my feet were bound together with a mesh wire that cut into my skin; I couldn't even touch the ground. Far off I heard the noise whispering across the leaves again but any time I tried to move my led filled limbs I whimpered in pain.

"Good, I want you awake for this part- there's just something so intoxicating about a woman's muscles clentching when she's scared~"

The man cackled before he brandished a large knife and licked the edge of the blade before putting the tip of it to my throat and dragging it all tthe way down the collar of my shirt, I groaned and tried to angle myself away from him but the pain made me stop; further on back in the trees I was finally able to see the face of another man crouched low to the ground with a finger to his lips and a crossbow perched over his knees.

God...if you're still there, please kill me....please kill me before this man touches me...

The man sliced through my shirt and I nearly screamed when the cut severed one of my bra straps and cut into the flesh just above my left breast, causing me to swoon when the blood began to flow down to my stomache; the man furthest armed his weapon with an arrow as he got closer and I just closed my eyes so I wouldn't have to see what's coming next.

"Close your eyes, but I always get what I-"

The man cut off with a gurgle and I didn't bother opening my eyes until I heard the thud his body made falling into the ground mixed with more footsteps.

"Hang on...don't move so I can get you down from there."

Warm pressure touched my feet, then I felt fingers touch each of my wrists before my body slumped forward and he caught me in his arms before my head hit the ground, the man cradled me to his chest with his right arm and dabbed at my face with what appeared to be a faded red rag.

"Where are they?"

"....I don't know...I passed out before he dragged me here...can't imagine it's too far though."

The man looked over my shoulder before he bent himself at the knees and gently set me down at the base of the tree that I was just tied to, folding a very large looking knife in my hands before he righted himself again.

"I won't be long, keep that for now just in case something tries to find you before I get back."

I curled my fingers around the hilt of the blade and the man just took off into the trees again, his feet making the same whispering sound that it had earlier; my arms shook if I tried lifting the knife so I gave up and just stared down at my bleeding chest wound. The blood itself was already congealing on my skin and the wound itself was slowly closing up right before my very eyes.

Who the hell was that?

I twisted the knife around and sighed before letting my head rest back against the trunk of the tree and closed my eyes, my body totally drained of anymore willpower at this point.

Just....let me die already..please...I don't ask for anything else..

My brain slipped beneath the black cloud of unconciousness within seconds.

*

"Christ Daryl, who the hell is this?''

I heard several sets of lungs breathing at the same time but the voice who spoke was female, I felt a soft cushion at my backside but I didn't dare risk letting them know I was awake yet; I kept my breathing slow as if I was still sleeping.

"Look for yourself, Lori."

I heard fabric shifting around and caught traces of my own scent mingled with the sweat of the others and I heard a sharp intake of breathe.

"Belle Jefferson, certified scientist at....goodness, she's far away from home isn't she?"

My coat....I thought those men would have destroyed it....

More fabric snapping, then a new male voice that sounded really pissed off spoke next.

"The hell were you thinking bringing her here? We don't need another mouth to feed damn it."

"We nothing Shane, you weren't there to see what I did. She was about to be raped or worse and it was on my way back, so..."

A warm hand touched my cheek and I resisted the urge to flinch.

"Poor thing....she's so beautiful, I wonder how she got caught up in men like that.."

"Careful Carol."

Footsteps filed out of the room but I still heard two sets of lungs breathing in uneven unison.

"You brought her here, she's going to be your responsibility Dixon."

"You don't tell me what to do."

"You and your brother are wearing out your welcome here, watch your god damned back or you're out, the both of you and this little bitch too."

The voice went away and I waited until it was gone to sit up and blink several times until I could see clearly and sure enough, the man who rescued me was there at the foot of the bed; my brain felt foggy like I was coming down from some major high...if he found my coat, maybe the needle survived..

"I thought you'd be awake for that."

The man sat down on the bed with my coat in his lap and dug around one of the pockets for a second before he pulled out a purple tube from its depth and held it out, my heart leaped in my chest; his knuckles were split with blood but the tubing seemed fine still.