Vault

Savage

Wentz does not remove his heavy booted foot from my back. I have to lay on the floor and hear them talking. After a while, I just accept it, put my arm under my cheek and lay there as they bring over plates of food to the men at the table. I also can smell something wafting over from the kitchen, the smell of meat cooking. My stomach turns knowing very well that the vault did not have any meat left.

They parade in and out of the food storage like it is some sort of holiday passing food to one another and stuffing their faces with months and months worth of food storage. Things that the kitchen had been saving for special occasions for years getting quickly gobbled up by the raiders sitting in the booths. I can hear them discussing the best ways to bring the remaining food back with them, most of what they are not stuffing into their mouths are getting shoved into crudely made sacks. I try to block out what they are saying when they start discussing how to bring dwellers back for food.  I shudder and feel a tear slip down my face. Why can't Wentz just put me out of my misery now? I don't want to be anyone's pet, I want things to go back to yesterday, I would marry Allie if it meant this never had to happen. What will happen to me? Will I just be pulled along until Wentz gets hungry enough and decides to eat me? 

Suddenly the boot is lifted from my back, I open my eyes in shock when I am hauled up from the ground and onto my feet.

"Where you going, Wentz? We need help the camp expects us back tomorrow." One of the guys asks angrily. Wentz smiles and pulls me against him and tilts his chin up toward the others. I can see they all back down when he levels them with a stare, exactly who am I dealing with here?

"Going to have a little fun with this before I have to give up these nice private soundproof rooms." Wentz laughs and the other guys do as well. I feel my heart plummet into my shoes. This. This is a whole hell of a lot worse than when I was expecting. I try to break away as we walk out some of them even slap him on the back. Tears flow down my face knowing what he is suggesting, and the fact that my struggles are useless he, even with only one arm, drags me out of the room. 

We walk down the hallway and he opens a door, looking inside to see if it is empty and then when satisfied walks into the room. When the door slides shut he releases me, I run into the corner and curl in a ball. "Don't touch me." I cry looking around for anything to stop him. He eyes me up and down and holds his hands up.

"I'm not going to touch you. Show some goddam respect I only left so you didn't have to lay on the bloody floor anymore." He snaps, he lets out a long sigh running a hand through his hair he crosses the room and flops down on the bed and kicks off his boots. They clatter onto the metal ground and I look at him from the corner. 

"Your... Your not going to do the thing you said?" I stammer and Wentz looks up from the pillows and smiles.

"No. Why did you want me too?" I flush red and he laughs. "Just know dweller I am not exactly like the others. I didn't choose this. You don't have to trust me but do listen when I say to do something because even though they know I claimed you I can't protect you if you run away." He stresses the last part of the sentence giving me a serious look before flopping back onto the pillow.

"Why me? There is..." I trail off a second and swallow around the lump that forms in my throat "There was a lot of women and other men in this vault so why did you choose to protect me?" I ask and Wentz doesn't respond. I wait awhile for his answer but quite snores sound from the bed and I realize he has fallen asleep.

I quickly stand on the floor and eye up the door. I ponder my options for a moment, wondering just how long it would take me to make my way up the winding hallways, sets of stairs and up out of the vault door. Maybe I could make it? I sigh because even if I could make it outside I have no clue what I would do after that. I look back to Wentz, asleep on the bed and remember how he said he can't protect me if I run away from him.