Nothing Left to Burn [DISCONTINUED]

Chapter 13 - Problems

Content warning: Mutilation. Sexual violence; rape.

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When Aven opened her eyes, her vision was fuzzy and her clothes and hair were drenched. She was shivering, simultaneously cold and hot where she sat in the summer sun on the forest floor. She tried to shake her head clear of its haze but only made herself dizzier. She let out a groan and tried to bring her hands to her face but they were secured behind her back, and there was a tight gag digging into her jaw.

"Look who's awake!" said a voice as a blurry figure crouched down in front of her and brought a hand to her throat, squeezing hard when she flinched and tried to move away. Her vision focused just enough for her to meet the man's dark eyes. He had white hair and a matching goatee, and his smile was sickening. "Here's how it's gonna be: You belong to me now. You are my property and I get to take you wherever I want, do whatever I want." The man grinned at her, showing all of his yellow teeth.

With another hard squeeze of his hand, he released her throat and trailed his dirt-covered hand over her bare collerbone, tugging the neck of her tank top to stare down at her breasts, laughing as she shook with fear and rage. She didn't move aside from her trembling, staying still as she assessed her options for escape.

"What, you cold? That's weird." He put one hand on her face while the other tugged her neckline further down so he could grab her breast. "Because you feel pretty hot." He grabbed her jaw tightly and in one motion pulled away the gag and smashed his mouth to hers. She screamed against him, shaking her head from side to side. When he didn't let up, she opened her mouth and clamped her teeth down on his lower lip. The man screamed and drew back, bringing a hand up to his deeply-punctured lip, blood seeping into his white beard like bright hair dye.

"You bi-" He didn't get the word out, because Aven slammed her head into his, using the momentum to jump to her feet. The man had still been crouching and lost his balance, falling back on his ass and giving Aven a split second to run. She tore through the forest with angry voices practically nipping at her heels. She saw a break in the trees leading to the highway, but before she could reach it two men cut her off. She almost fell, her feet slipping in the wet fallen leaves, but she steadied herself just enough to bolt off in another direction.

She ran and ran, but the image of the forest in front of her was warping, her vision was tunneling, and intense heat was overcoming her. She looked back, hoping her pursuers weren't close on on her tail, but as soon as she turned her head she ran straight into something and fell backwards to the ground. She heard the distorted echo of a deep, gravely chuckle and as her vision focused, the big, black blur before her turned out to be Negan, towering over her and grinning down at her with a ravenous look in his eyes.

"You're not going anywhere, doll," he said with mirth. It was like a threat, but somehow it felt different from the threat she'd just been running from. Aven's head swam again and when she focused again, the man was right in front of her face. But it wasn't Negan or the man with the white hair and bloody lip. It was her kidnapper from so long ago, scowling at her with cold, empty eyes.

Suddenly, his hands were wrapped tightly around her throat and he was squeezing with what felt like the weight of an entire car crushing down on her windpipe. He held her to the cold, concrete basement floor by the throat and she thrashed and kicked to no avail. One hand left her throat and she heard the sound of him unzipping his pants. Then she felt her shorts being yanked down her legs and she steeled herself for what was about to happen. But instead of feeling her legs being forced open, she felt firm hands closing over her shoulders and shaking her gently.