Prophylaxis - 17. Chapter 17

Content/trigger warning: rape, assault, violence, injury, pain, torture, seriously it’s icky and not for the squeamish you should go read a nice romance…

Thanks to Maddam Redder for helping me with this chapter. And thank you to everyone who reviews. You make me want to write more.

I woke up aching, but without the disorientation I’d had when I had finally passed out the night before. I pulled my eyelids open warily, afraid of what I would find. I heaved a relieved sigh when I saw I was alone in the room. I didn’t think I could handle looking at that bastard’s face right now.

Jesus, I needed to get out of here.

I sat up gingerly, holding back a groan. I felt like shit. I sighed as the chain attached to my collar puddled in my lap. I turned to find it was padlocked to a thick ring set into the wall above the headboard. Fabulous. I tested it to find it was just as sturdy as the one in the bathroom had been. I glanced around the bedroom. Ugh, Lester was a fucking slob.

Dirty clothes were piled in one corner next to a dresser. Nearer to me, across from the bed was a desk scattered with papers. My chain wasn’t long enough to reach the dresser but I could get to the desk. I stood cautiously, listening for any sound of approaching footsteps. I stepped quickly to the desk, one eye on the door.

I searched the desk quickly for anything that might be able to help me. Nothing. Nothing I could use as a weapon. Nothing I could use to free myself from the collar, chain, or wall. Not even a pen to stab into his goddamn eye. It was mostly just papers.

I scanned them. There was unopened junk mail, bills, and piles of paper. In one drawer I found a crumpled paper. I smoothed it out and looked it over quickly. It was a letter from the Iowa City Police Department thanking him for his interest in a position, unfortunately there wasn’t currently an opening available, but they would keep his application on file. My eyes shot to the top of the page to see the date… It was from two months ago.

Lester wasn’t a cop in town, he had lied. It shouldn’t have surprised me.

I shoved the letter back where I’d found it and checked the drawer on the other side. This one seemed to be mostly filled with newspaper clippings. I pulled a few out. I looked at the one that looked most recent. It was a news story about a fifteen-year old boy from a town in Northern Iowa. His body had been found in a quarry. The police suggested that the death was likely from a fall, that the boy had been in the quarry illegally and had fallen. A tragic accident. There was some question of foul play, however, because some of the injuries on the body weren’t explained by a fall. There was a picture of the kid. It looked like a school photo. He looked like the kind of kid that would be screwing around at a quarry at night. He had a ring in his nose and lip, his smile looked forced. There was something in his eyes that tugged at my heart. This wasn’t a happy kid.

I looked through some of the other articles. There were a few mentioning attacks on boys. The oldest kid was sixteen, the youngest was twelve. Some of them mentioned sexual assault, some just physical assault. In all of them the kids were adamant that they had no idea who had attacked them and could give no description, not even the race or hair color of their attacker.

It sounded sketchy. None of them seemed to mention anything about being blindfolded. Only one of them had even voluntarily gone to the police. With the others the police got involved when the kid confided to someone else and that eventually led to the cops getting called. None of them had names or pictures, just saying it was a juvenile of a certain age. Most of the kids were described as “troubled” and the attacks happened late at night in places the kids shouldn't have been hanging out. Several were at parks well after they’d closed.

It reminded me of the first time Lester had ever raped me. It had been after he’d married my mom. He’d smacked me around plenty of times and he’d… touched me some, but it had never gone further than that. I was thirteen and Les had been working. I snuck out after Sunday dinner and stayed out late. I’d ended up at the far end of the park at an old pavilion no one but teenagers and druggies used. No one had been around that night but me. It was a big octagon with a cement floor. There were big bushes and trees surrounding it, growing into some of the openings in the rails.

It was always dark and kind of eerie, but a nice peaceful place to get away from everything when I was feeling overwhelmed. It was never totally quiet at night there, except in winter. Crickets chirped, tree frogs sang, sometimes a ‘possum or raccoon would shuffle through, and you could faintly hear the highway several blocks away.

I’d been sitting on the damp wood of a beat up picnic table smoking a joint when he’d caught me. He’d just yelled at me at first. He kept asking me what I was doing there, as though it wasn’t obvious. When he first insinuated I was there whoring I hadn’t even understood what he was talking about.

He’d asked if I was trading my body for drugs. We’d been reading Little Women in school, so my first thought was of when one of the sisters had cut her hair and sold it. I’d wondered if that was even a thing people still did.

Shouting led to smacking which led to him pinning me down on the picnic table. That had led to… more. He’d even had a condom and a little tube of lube in his pocket. I hadn’t thought about it then, but now I wondered what he was doing walking around with condoms and slick on hand when he was on patrol.

I’d thought he was looking for me specifically that night, but what if it was just coincidence? He’d want someone who wasn’t likely to tell, or someone who wasn’t likely to be believed, or both. Like teenaged boys who were described as troubled and ran around in deserted places after curfew. Kids like me, kids like the ones in those newspaper stories.

I thought of the things he’d told me to keep me quiet and realized how easily he could have said them to others.

No one will believe you. You’ll get in trouble for being out here after curfew. You’ll get busted for the drugs. You were asking for trouble being out here so late. You’re just lucky it’s me and not some psycho murderer. Who are they going to believe, you or me?

My chest was tight as I dug into the drawer again. There were more bits of newspaper and under them thicker pieces of paper. I pulled some out. They were small rectangles of slick paper, on each one was a school picture of a boy. They looked like they had been cut out of yearbooks.

One picture caught my eye. The boy looked familiar. He had shaggy hair dyed flat black and poorly applied guyliner. He was a cute kid. I looked at the crisp black type below the image.

AARON WALTERS

I remembered him. He’d been a few years ahead of me in school. He was mostly a loner who hung out with the potheads. He’d sat near me once in the library and I’d had to move. The emotions swirling around him were terrible. There was shame, anger, disgust, confusion.

A few months later he’d killed himself. The rumor was he had gotten drunk, taken a whole bottle of pills, and then hung himself. I was too wrapped up in my own shit to have more than a passing thought that it was sad, and that whatever pain the kid had was gone. I was jealous of that.

I shoved the pictures and clippings back in the drawer and ran a hand over my sore face. Christ. I’d thought I was the only one. How stupid was I? I guess I just hadn’t been able to bear the thought of it happening to anyone else.

I looked down to see I’d missed one clipping. The one about the boy who had been found dead in the quarry.

God. Lester was a monster.

I’d met all kinds of things people might call monsters. In general they were okay sorts with a few bad seeds, like that fucker who had hurt that werewolf girl. As far as I knew there was nothing inhuman about Lester except whatever was inside his head. Something was clearly very fucking wrong with that motherfucker.

I heard steps approaching and jerked to shove the last clipping back in the drawer.

What now?

I quickly threw my naked and bruised ass back into the bed, yanking the blanket up to my neck. My heart was beating like a jackrabbit’s when Lester opened the door. I didn’t bother to feign sleep. I didn’t think I’d be able to make my eyes close.

I don’t know what I expected. Maybe Lester jumping into the room wearing a Halloween mask and wielding a chainsaw. When he wandered in wearing jeans and a tee-shirt it was jarringly anticlimactic.

“Nathan!” He called jovially.

I fucking hated being called that. Call me Nathaniel, Nate, or Mick. Lester always fucking called me Nathan.

“I’m glad you’re up.” He smiled at me affectionately. “I wore you out. You almost slept the day away.”

He sat on the bed next to me. I forced myself not to pull away from him.

“How are you feeling today?” he asked.

“F-fine,” I lied.

“That’s great,” he said cheerily. “I have big plans for tonight.” I stiffened as he leaned toward me. “It’s going to be great.”

I held myself still, very still, as he kissed me.

That evening Lester surprised me.

“We’re going out?” I asked in disbelief as I watched Lester load food into the biggest picnic basket I’d ever seen.

Lester nodded enthusiastically as I watched from the dining room chair I was curled up on. I was naked except for the collar around my neck. If I tucked my knees to my chest I felt a little less exposed. I wanted to sneak up behind Les and bash him on the head with something… something heavy. I might have tried if I thought my chain would reach. I was currently fastened to the wall behind me, the chain hooked higher than I could reach.

I looked to the window. It was dark outside.

“Can I have-“ I stumbled over my words when Lester’s eyes snapped up. “Could I please have some clothes then, since we’re going outside?”

“It’s okay, we won’t be going where anyone will see you.” He smiled reassuringly.

“But it’s cold.”

Lester’s smile widened. “I’ll keep you warm.”

My eyes widened, but I didn’t argue further as he finished loading the basket. I knew it wouldn’t get me anywhere and it would probably just end up pissing him off. That was the last thing I wanted. So, I sat patiently and waited. It wasn’t too much longer until he undid my chain from the hook and led me into the garage and to his car. I frowned at my poor lonely little Kia sitting there in his oversized garage. There was room for two cars with space to spare for a little workshop area.

He had me sit in the front seat. He drove the whole way with one hand on my knee. Luckily we didn’t go far. He parked and was quickly out if his door and around the car to open mine.

“So, I read that there’s supposed to be meteor showers tonight.” Lester was still smiling as he yanked the chain connected to my collar. I stumbled out of the car, nearly ending up on my face.

We’d driven less than a mile from Lester’s house to a clearing in the middle of a copse of trees. I could see clear starry sky above me. I hunched over, cold. Fucker couldn’t even give me a pair of sweatpants or a jacket? At this point I’d take one of those useless crocheted throws that were more holes than blanket.

The end of my chain was quickly locked to a sturdy spot under the car. I stood awkwardly, wrapping my arms around myself, as Lester spread a big blanket on the grass. I was lucky we were having a warm snap or I’d be freezing. Even so, my feet were cold on the bare ground.

Lester had wrestled the big basket to the middle of the blanket then sat down. He patted the blanket next to him and looked at me expectantly. I sat gingerly, as far from the man as I thought I could get away with. I glanced at him, noticing anger pass over his features but then it was gone.

He sighed heavily. “Stop acting so skittish. Haven’t I been good to you today?”

I nodded automatically. “Yes.”

He’d only slapped me once when I’d resisted giving him a blowjob, he clearly deserved a medal.

“Then quit looking at me like a kicked puppy.” He grabbed my arm and tugged me closer. “Come here.”

I went along, allowing myself to be snuggled up to his side. It was warmer, but I still felt a cold inside me that had nothing to do with the temperature.

He reached into the basket and brought out two sandwiches. I perked up at the sight. I was starving. He hadn’t fed me all day. I reached for the food but he pulled it away.

“No,” he said wickedly. “If you want to eat, you have to give me a kiss.”

I swallowed hard. I had to eat. If I was going to get away I couldn’t be starved. What was a kiss anyway? That was easy.

I curled closer to him, trying to hide my disgust as I felt his body against mine. I closed my eyes as I pressed my lips to his, trying to pretend he was someone, anyone, else. He parted his lips and I knew what he wanted. I slipped my tongue past his lips and felt the slimy wetness of his tongue against mine. It made me nauseated, but I kept on, forcing my tongue to rub against his. I pulled back as soon as I thought he’d accept. I stopped myself from wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

“That’s more like it.” Lester said as he handed me the sandwich. “Though try to look happier about it next time.”

I nodded, quickly biting into the food, afraid he’d find an excuse to take it from me. It was turkey, which was fine. It had tomatoes on it, gross. I ate it anyway. I didn’t look up until it was gone.

“Hungry, weren’t you?”

I nodded.

“What do you say?” he asked.

I paused, confused for a moment, before I answered. “Thank you.”

He smiled as he reached into the basket again. “Pop or water?”

“Water, please.” I remembered to be polite.

He held up the plastic bottle and waggled it in the air. “What will you give me?”

I looked at him blankly. Fuck. “Um… another kiss?” I could do this. I could fucking do this.

He rubbed his crotch suggestively. “How about a kiss here?”

I couldn’t keep the disgust off my face, I struggled to snap neutrality back into my features. I was too late.

“God, you act like you are some prissy nun or something.” He snarled. “My dick not good enough for you?”

“N-no, that’s not it.” My eyes were wide with panic.

He sighed heavily. “I didn’t want to have to do this.” He sounded like he was trying to get control of his anger. He shifted to reach into his pocket.

“You don’t have to!” I protested, not even knowing what he was going to do. “I’ll be good, I promise!”

He pulled something round and plastic out of his pocket. When he popped it open I realized it was one of those little pill containers. Sure enough he dug a little tablet out of it before snapping the plastic circle closed.

“What is that?” My voice was quiet, frightened. I fucking hoped that pill wasn’t for me.

“It’s for you.”

Dammit.

“It’ll make you feel really good.” Lester’s voice was soothing and low. “All those inhibitions that are making things hard for you will be gone, and you’ll feel amazing. You’ll love it. I’m going to make you feel so good, baby.”

“I don’t want it.” I begged as I started scooting away from the larger man.

“Don’t be that way,” Lester said sternly. “I’m trying to be nice to you.”

“Please, I don’t want it. I’ll be good.” I repeated.

“Open your mouth,” Lester insisted. “Put it under your tongue.”

“N-no.” I was at the edge of the blanket now. “Please. I’ll do whatever you want. Please, don’t drug me.”

Being forced to enjoy or want anything sexual from Lester was about the furthest thing I wanted. So far, I’d been hurting enough that I could push away Lester’s pleasure and separate it from myself. I’d honestly been happy to not be forced to ride along with his enjoyment and orgasms. Lester had been disappointed after I’d given him his blowjob today that I hadn’t gotten hard. I’d been elated.

Now Lester was going to try to take that away from me with drugs?

Hell to the fucking no.

When he grabbed me I struggled, shouting, “No!”

“Just take the pill, dammit!” He yelled, yanking me toward him.

“No!” I yelled again.

“Goddammit, Nathan!” He shouted, slapping me across the face.

A slap had worked well to make me compliant that afternoon. It didn’t faze me this time. I was not taking that damn pill.

We struggled for a few minutes until he had me in a head-lock. He tried forcing the tablet past my lips, I clamped them together. He wrestled me to my back and sat on my chest, pinning my arms to my sides. He pinched my nostrils together, keeping the pill to my lips. I held my breath until spots where dancing in my vision. When I finally had to take a breath I tried to suck it in through barely parted lips with my teeth clenched tight.

It wasn’t enough though and he got the damn tablet in my mouth. I could see he was about to cover my mouth, so I turned my head quickly and spat that little fucker out of my mouth as far as I could. I mentally cheered as I saw it sail into some bushes several feet away. Lester would never fucking find it.

“God DAMN it!” Lester roared, eyes scanning the ground for the little pill. His eyes snapped to mine when he didn’t see it. “You are going to pay for that, you stupid little shit.”

He scooted off me and I tensed, expecting to be hit any second. I sucked in a terrified breath and rolled to my hands and knees. I tried to scramble away, blanket bunching under my hands and knees. The goddamn fucking collar jerked me to a halt. I’d forgotten the bastard had tethered me to the car like a fricking dog. He ignored my ridiculous attempt at getting away from him. He lumbered upright, growling under his breath as he stomped back to the car.

Images popped into my head of Lester hopping behind the wheel and taking off, dragging me the half mile back to that shitty little house. Surviving the graveled road rash would probably depend on how fast he went. I pushed away a flash of hoping he’d just floor it and break my neck. No. Fuck that.

Lester went to the trunk, not the driver’s door. He popped the trunk with a quick turn of the key and rummaged around inside. My hands were unconsciously wrapped around the collar’s chain, pulling desperately. I only noticed when my fingers cramped and pain registered from the metal digging into my palms. I tried to slow my breathing and my heart. He was probably getting rope. He’d tie me up and fuck me. He’d done it before. I’d survived it before. I’d survive it again. Breathe. Breathe.

He did pull rope out of the trunk. There were other things in his hands as well. Was that a flashlight? I nearly ended up on my face when he suddenly grabbed my chain and yanked it towards him. He’d dropped what he’d held next to the car. I was forced to crawl toward him over the dirt and grass as he reeled in my chain. When he got me near the car he stepped on my chain, keeping me close. With his other foot he kicked me in side, my air left me with a grunt as I toppled to my side. Hadn’t seen that one coming. Shit.

He was on me in a flash, yanking my arms back along my sides. He quickly tied my right wrist to my right ankle and then repeated the action on my left side. I squirmed and jerked but I was barely able to slow him, let alone stop him. I was left with my face in the dirt and my ass in the air, arms stretching and forcing my knees to stay bent. I was fucking stuck. I couldn’t move.

“You’re always expecting me to do something bad to you, like you don’t just bring it down on yourself.” Lester panted beside me, catching his breath after struggling to tie me. “You can’t just be good? Can’t just let us have one fucking night without your bullshit?” He groaned with frustration. “But if you are going to be this way, then fine. You’re always expecting me to do stuff to you, I’ll give you what you want.”

“N-no!” I yelped. “I don’t want it! I want a nice night! I want a nice night!”

I felt a touch on my bare ass and jerked against the ropes, only succeeding in pulling my legs wider. My breath huffed against the damp grass, pulling the taste of dirt into my mouth. I felt my cheeks being spread and something hard probing my entrance. The fuck was that?

I was dry, but the hard thing wasn’t terribly wide. Lester forced the first inch or so inside me without too much pain. I tried to breathe and not tense too much.

“You know I had a dog a few years ago?” Lester said conversationally as he slowly pulled that inch of hardness out of me and then pushed it back in.

“Lester, please,” I whimpered, hating the tremble in my voice.

“The little shit chewed up everything so I got rid of it,” he continued as though I hadn’t spoken. “It even chewed up some of my tools.” He pushed harder and I felt something rough at the edge of that first smooth hard inch. “Those I just tossed in the trunk to have around.” My hands clenched as the jagged surface was forced into my asshole, hot pain clenching my muscles. “Little bastard even chewed the handle of this screwdriver. It’s so tore up it’s uncomfortable to hold while you use it.”

A pained mewl trickled past my lips as he pushed that torn up plastic inside me. I felt it pull and drag excruciatingly against the walls inside me. A screwdriver. He was going to fuck me with a chewed up screwdriver handle.

“Please, don’t, I’ll be good,” I cried. God, this was going to hurt, might even fuck me up on the inside. Shit.

“Too late,” he growled before shoving the cold hard plastic all the way inside me.

I screamed, feeling like I was being torn apart from the inside. As quickly as he shoved it in he yanked it out again, prolonging my shriek.

“Huh, look at that,” he murmured to himself. “Made you bleed already. Well, that might be useful later.”

Then he plunged it back inside me.

He didn’t seem to mind my screams, clearly not worried about anyone hearing me. We were out in the middle of fucking nowhere. I don’t know how long he spent scraping out my insides. It felt like hours, though I know it couldn’t have been that long. I felt wetness on my ass and thighs, cool where the breeze brushed me. I tried focusing on the blades of grass in front of my eyes, dimly lit by the moon and stars. It would work for a few seconds, my mind starting to drift, then a sharp stabbing pain in my guts would bring me back to myself. I sobbed in relief as he finally yanked it from me, sharp plastic catching and pulling my flesh before being forced free. The pain inside me was sharp and bright. Had he perforated my bowel? Was I bleeding into my abdominal cavity?

“There, ungrateful little bitch, nice and wet now aren’t you,” Lester spat at me. “You want to see? You need some light?”

I heard a click, indirect light allowing me to see my little blades of grass so much more clearly now. I heard Lester moving and I bit back a whimper.

“There now… isn’t that pretty?” he said softly as the light shifted, shadows leaping and falling around me.

I flinched hard as he stretched an arm in front of me. I was blinded as the flashlight shone straight into my eyes. He turned it away, but it took me a moment before I could see what was in front of me. Lester held a flashlight, one of the long heavy ones cops and security guards tended to carry. It was metal and thick. I wished I was free and had it in my hands. It was heavy enough to bash in a man’s skull, I wouldn’t stop until I knew he was dead.

Then the big flashlight was clicked off and pulled back. I blinked in the sudden darkness, missing the light.

“Yeah, definitely wet enough,” Lester said as he moved behind me again. I felt something cold and hard against my abused ass. I recognized it as the butt of the flashlight. “Mmm, yeah, fuck this is going to be good.”

I had a flash of realization, eyes widening. “Lester! No!”

Then I was being stretched impossibly wide. My mouth opened but no sound came out, no breath in or out as he forced a metal tube thicker than my wrist inside my torn and bleeding hole. I heard Lester grunt in pleasure as I felt him press his stone hard cock against my blood slicked thigh.

“Fuck, baby,” he ground his cock against my flesh as he pushed harder, making the metal go agonizingly deeper. “Fuck you look so good like this.”

I felt when the handle hit a stopping point, unable to go further. It left a sickening ache spreading through my belly. He pushed again, trying to make it go deeper. Unsuccessful, he began twisting and turning the flashlight, it slipped in another inch as a sharp pain shot through my guts. His thrusting against me sped as he whispered terrible words of praise. He growled low in his throat before shifting his grip on the flashlight. The thrust of the flashlight was sudden and powerful. I felt a sickening pop as resistance gave way and the metal suddenly slammed inside me fully. My scream was rough as it grated my throat, already sore and hoarse.

“There we go,” Lester commented with satisfaction.

Static hummed in my ears as he gently slid the metal back out of me and then back in again, my hands clenching and unclenching helplessly. When he realized he could get the tube back in all the way without too much trouble he repeated the action, faster this time. Then faster again, until he was fucking me with the long thick handle.

“Ah, fuck, yeah.” He grunted, rubbing himself against my thigh. “You like that, don’t you, dirty little whore?”

I sobbed, fingernails digging into my palms. God, I wanted to die. Why didn’t he just kill me?

“You like feeling all filled up, don’t you, bitch?” His breath panted into the cool air. “You want to take it all the fucking way inside you. Be used like you fucking deserve.”

He slammed the metal in me and held it there. My head jerked up as I shrieked again. Then it was gone, yanked out of me and tossed aside. Then he was pressing inside me, I hardly felt him compared to that horrible thick rod of metal.

“Gah, now you are a loose whore.” He smacked my ass hard, startling me. “Tighten up. Clench, slut.” He slapped me again and I flinched. I felt my gaping hole closing slightly. It must have been good enough for Lester, he didn’t smack me again. He gripped my hips tight and set to fucking me fast and hard. Grunting and moaning, he didn’t last long. Excited by my blood and pain, he came inside me, groaning and shoving himself deep.

“Yeah, baby,” he panted, heavy weight draping over my back, crushing me. “That’s right.” He swallowed, mouth dry from moaning and thrusting. “I’ve been going about this all wrong. You’re fucking mine. I don’t need you to fucking like it or play nice. You’re mine and I will do what I fucking want when I want. I don’t need you all rainbows and sunshine. You’ll fucking learn to smile when I want you to and you’ll learn to fucking bend over and take it when I want you to.” He stood unsteadily. “And I’ve got just the thing back in the shop to make you know your place.”

I heard my chain clink then a car door opening. It was hard to breathe, difficult to get a deep enough breath. Something hurt deep in my belly, like nothing I’d ever felt before. It was sharp and hot, flaring out from somewhere behind my belly button. I jerked in surprise when I felt hands on my ankle.

“Settle down,” Lester grumped. “I’m just cutting you loose.”

I stilled myself as well as I could as he jerkily sliced the ropes off me with what felt like a box cutter. My body didn’t seem to want to work right, and I ended up sliding onto my side in the grass. Moving sent hot blades into my belly, making my body twitch in pain.

“Come on, I put a towel in the back seat so you don’t make a mess.”

I wanted to hiss a scathing apology about my blood and his semen on his cheap-ass vinyl, but instead I just lay there panting like a grounded carp. Lester sighed heavily and leaned over to pick me up. I was covered in clammy sweat by the time he’d shut the door behind me. Fuck, it hurt so badly. My hands fluttered over my stomach, afraid to touch. I probed gently and sparks shot in front of my eyes. To the left and below my navel was a fist-sized ball of swollen pain. It felt hard and slightly distended there. Had he ruptured something inside me? Fuck. I needed a hospital.

Every bump jarred me painfully as I curled myself around my pain. It seemed miles to get back to Lester’s. I expected to be dragged back into the house after I heard the garage door close, probably back to that awful bathroom again. Instead, Lester left me in the car. Lights in the garage flickered to life. Metal drawers opened and shut, tools or god knows what clanged. I was content to lay in the backseat and try to breathe. I’d started to feel strange after a few minutes. My skin tingled and felt tight all over. Hell, it almost felt like my hair had little nerve-endings vibrating rapidly. When the tingling started the pain pulled back slightly. It seemed to go from spine-snapping agony to really horribly fucking awful, but any improvement was welcome.

By the time the door by my feet swung open I was able to breathe without setting stabbing pains into my gut. My belly didn’t appreciate Lester dragging me out of the car. He tried to set me on my feet, but the roar of pain in my midsection left me crumbling to the dusty concrete.

“Stop being so dramatic,” Lester growled.

I looked up at him, teeth gritted in pain, and waited for him to hit me or move me. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to walk by myself. Lester’s head cocked to the side and his eyebrows drew together.

“What the…” He leaned over, hand reaching. I flinched, but he just caught a lock of my hair and rubbed it between his fingers then tipped my chin up. His eyes raked over me. “Weird lighting in here.”

He shook his head and hoisted me up, causing the expected level of breath-sucking pain. As he moved me my hair swung in front of my face. It took me a moment to see it, then I just blinked stupidly. I’d always had plain, flat, boring brown hair. Now it looked… lighter, maybe even streaked pale in places. Fucking weird lighting. That or all this bullshit was getting to me and I was going rather suddenly and flamboyantly gray.

I grunted as the world shifted and I landed flat on my back on a long wooden work table. I felt sawdust slide under my ass as I tried to curl up and protect my stomach. Lester caught me before I could move more than a few inches.

“Stay on your back,” he demanded as he snagged my wrist.

I couldn’t fight him, and I’m ashamed to admit I didn’t even try, as he tied one wrist and then the other to the legs of the table with thick scratchy twine. I didn’t even rate rope or chains at that point. It was strong enough to do the job, though. My arms were held down straight and taut, shoulders bent uncomfortably. It wasn’t until he tied my right leg down that I started to struggle.

I remembered this position. Years ago he’d tied me like this and then burned a W into my chest with a soldering iron. He’d been going for a whole word, but hadn’t been able to finish.

My stomach protested as I kicked at Lester, but it didn’t stop me from doing it again. He caught my calf in a bruising grip and slammed my leg down, the rough twine cutting into my skin as he secured me. I struggled, wiggling and panting, naked on that fucking table as a set of fluorescent bulbs hummed serenely over my head.

Lester looked ready to grab me, but then relaxed as it became clear I wasn’t going to be shimmying loose anytime soon. I followed his movements with wide eyes as he stepped to a small counter a few feet away. He moved something around that clinked like metal and then turned back to me. I froze under his gaze, muscles clenched in pain and fear. His fingers trailed over my twisted shoulder. My skin was tingling again and I thought I’d hurt my belly more with my struggles. It was a hot pain that tried to pull my attention from the bastard stroking his fingers across my chest.

“I’ve been working on these,” Lester began. “I wasn’t going to use them. I was just… mad, I guess.”

Something cold and hard touched me, dragging over my nipple. I kept my eyes on Lester, not looking down.

“I think you need it, though,” he continued in a musing tone. “I’ve been going about this all wrong. You need to learn your place.” Lester shook his head. “I can’t baby you, much as I’d like to. So, this,” the thing that had been touching me leapt into my vision, thick brass wire twisted into a capital H with another piece sticking from the back like a handle. “This will make sure you don’t forget again.”

“No.” My voice was hoarse and strange. “No, don’t do this… I’ll be good. Fucking Christ, I’ll be good I fucking swear. Lester… please.”

Lester stopped moving and was still, his shoulders hunched. Then I heard the quick grind of sparks being drawn from metal followed by the breathy whoosh of flame from a torch. I ignored the stabbing in my belly as I fought the twine holding me down. It was barely more than fucking yarn. Goddammit I needed to get away before… before he… Fuck.

When Lester turned back to me I was panting and sweating. My heart kicked into overdrive when I saw what Lester was holding carefully with pliers. The H’s glow was fading quickly, but I didn’t think for a moment that meant it was quickly cooling. I pressed my back flat to the wood, as though I could sink through it as he approached me. His free hand pinned my aching shoulder tight as he lined up.

“No, please, no no no no…”

“Shh, don’t move. You’ll make it come out crooked.”

I felt the heat against my skin, felt my body trying to warn me, hot thing, move away. Then my skin was searing and I screamed. The pain in my chest blended with the pain in my stomach. I saw and heard static that peaked then slowly faded. Then his hand was holding me still again, my eyes flew wide. I only caught a glimpse of the O shaped from hot brass before it was being pressed into my skin.

The smell of my own burning skin curled into my nostrils and turned my stomach. I gagged, setting razors into my belly again. Gentle fingers stroked my hair.

“I’ve got a bucket right under your head. If you have to puke you just go ahead,” Lester said soothingly. “And if you pass out I’ll either just finish or wait for you to wake up. We’re halfway done now.”

I clenched my teeth and took short harsh breaths, trying to settle my stomach. I didn’t know what kind of damage I might do to my insides with the effort from throwing up. When he turned around holding a glowing metal R, I stopped breathing altogether, muscles bracing for the branding pain. It came quickly, Lester positioning it smoothly then pressing it tight to my flesh. The static came again, throbbing through my bones this time, aching in my skull. I didn’t see Lester heat the last letter, barely felt his free hand holding me still. Then the pain speared through me and it was like something in my head popped.

I had a bizarre moment to think that this was what an aneurysm felt like, before every inch of my skin flashed cold like I’d jumped into a pond in the spring. Every inch of my skin tingled icily except where the hot metal had been pressed to my skin. Then I felt it in my eyes, like ice water was seeping into my eyeballs. I opened my eyes, but saw nothing but static. It seemed like I could even feel the tingling cold in my hair, which I knew was impossible. The last thing I heard was wind roaring in my ears.

My senses came back in a rush, eyes snapping open to see the fluorescent light swinging haphazardly above me. It was flickering wildly, throwing shadows. I sat up carefully, was amazed I was able to. My arms and legs were free. Strips of torn twine hung from my wrists and ankles. My stomach still hurt like a bitch, but I could sit up and I could move. My eyes darted around the room. Everything that wasn’t nailed down looked like it had been knocked over.

Where the fuck was Lester?

My eyes were drawn by the flame of the torch. It was on its side, blackening the counter. I scooted off the table to set it right, clutching one arm over my belly. It’d do me no good to be free if I let myself burn to death in a stupid garage. Instead of hitting concrete, my foot landed on something soft and warm. I let out a ridiculous shriek and hopped to the side. I flicked off the torch even as I looked down to see that I’d stepped on Lester’s prone form. I nudged him with a toe, but he didn’t move. I wasn’t even sure he was breathing. If nothing else he was out cold.

I still had the collar and chain on, but they weren’t attached to anything. I could get out. I could fucking get away. I looked at the keys hanging from the little clip on Lester’s belt.

Fuck that, I could drive away.

Bending over was hard. There was definitely something very wrong inside me. I ended up in a half crouching squat that let me reach the keys. Then it was like defusing a bomb, sure any moment the rat bastard would pop to his feet and grab me. He didn’t even twitch, though, as I crouched with keys in hand. I was about to straighten when I noticed something else, the outline of a cellphone in Lester’s pocket.

I held my breath and I think my heart may have even shuddered to a stop as I gingerly tugged that flat rectangle from his pocket. I stood too quickly once I had it in hand, sending a spike of pain in my middle and making me teeter with dizziness.

“Fuck, gotta get out of here.” I muttered woozily.

I staggered to my car, parked next to Lester’s, my chain dragging behind me. I was able to reel it in so I could close the driver’s door after me. A giddiness bubbled up in me as I hit the garage door remote hanging from the visor. I may have gone a bit fast backing out, gravel flew as I slammed on the brakes and threw it into drive once I was clear of the garage. Then I was down the driveway and onto the lonely gravel road. If I kept going in one general direction I would hit a paved road and that road would take me to people. A bump shot agony through me. And a hospital, I reminded myself. Definitely a hospital.

I only had to backtrack once before I found a paved road. I drove a few minutes on that asphalt before I got my bearings and knew where I was. I drove several more miles and then turned onto a highway I knew. The clock on the dash told me it was after one in the morning. I pulled into the gas station hoping it was open, but not surprised when I saw the interior lights were off.

I didn’t think I could drive anymore. It was getting hard to keep the car between the lines and the pain in my chest and stomach was lashing me with every movement. I parked under a floodlight and leaned over gingerly to snag the cell from the seat next to me. A flash of silver in the rearview mirror caught my eye.

I jerked and looked to the backseat, thinking someone was in the car with me, but there was no one there. I looked back to the mirror and was startled by a stranger looking back at me. His skin was a dusky tan, contrasting with pale blue eyes. Silver hair framed his face. I flicked on the interior light and flipped down the visor mirror.

Me. That was me.

Well, shit. I didn’t know what to do. I needed a hospital, but a closer inspection showed that along with a new color scheme I’d gotten some rather pointed ears. I didn’t look totally inhuman, but I didn’t look like myself either. A stabbing pain left me clutching the cell to my middle. Fuck. Ow. Jesus.

I remembered one number of someone who maybe could help me even if I was looking awfully fae. I squinted and jabbed in the numbers whose last four digits would look like ‘wolf’.

Please review!