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WARNING
This chapter has a lot of triggering speech and descriptive writing.
Especially in relation to SA.
So, please take caution reading this chapter. If you feel you're at risk of being triggered then please skip this chapter or private message me for a non triggering summary. I'm more than happy to do that if requested.
Thanks.
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Olivia watched helplessly as the men waltzed casually in the cabin with eyes never straying from her. Or rather from her mildly exposed body; she could thank her previous attacker for that given he had ripped her shirt off of her and cut her jeans into short shorts, leaving her in nothing more than a sports bra on her upper body.
She felt her fear intensify as the men all continued to move towards her lustfully, each one seeming as eager as the last.
"Pretty little thing," one of the older of the eight men said with his hand running along his lower lip and his other fumbling eagerly with his belt buckle.
"Feisty too," another chuckled while gesturing to their injured counterpart who still remained crouched in front of Olivia, his eyes staring intently at her without any real words spoken.
"Good," the first replied with a smirk as he removed his thick jacket and tossed it carelessly on the nearby armchair. "I love it when they fight." He admitted, causing a shiver to run down Olivia's spine as her heart raced wildly in her chest and her eyes brimmed with tears.
She couldn't see a way out of this. No matter how much her heart yearned for one.
It was eight against her. She was heavily outnumbered and far too unarmed to fight back effectively - not that that would stop her trying.
"Fucking pigs," she spat out with hatred dripping from her tone, causing the injured man opposite her to swing his open palm out, connecting it harshly with her left cheek with an echoing clap.
The force of his movements sent her head whipping to the right painfully while that familiar copper taste filled her mouth; this time her own blood. She breathed in deeply while withholding the pained cry that yearned to escape the confines of her mouth.
She would not give them that pleasure. She would be silent in the face of their beatings upon her.
Though that didn't stop her sharp intake of breath when the same man gripped her chin roughly and pulled her face forward so he could crash his dry lips against her bloodied ones. Meanwhile, his hands roamed her body like an inexperienced teenager; groping and prodding anything warm beneath his rough fingertips.
"Get off me!" Olivia growled dangerously against his lips before biting down on his lower lip hard and bringing her knees up to hit him in his crotch.
"Fuck!" The man groaned as he fumbled to the side, his body slamming with the wooden floor as he clutched his manhood painfully. He slumped with head shaking and breathing heavy, his lip pouring blood.
"You fucking whore!" The largest of the men shouted while motioning for three of the other men to assist him.
"Get away from me!" she shouted out in more of a pleading manner than intended as she writhed and fought against the ropes bounding her. "No!" she cried out as the men each gripped her tightly, pinning her down as the larger one moves to cut the ropes bounding her legs and arms before reaching out and scooping her feet in his hands. Then, with one smooth motion, he dragged her to the centre of the living room space with a sickening smirk on his lips.
"I'm gonna enjoy this," he expresses while unbuckling his belt and removing it altogether. He tosses it aside and with a smirk shot to his buddies he slowly lowered his stained jeans, leaving him stood only in his shirt and boxers.
"Don't!" Olivia cried out as another man from the group ran his rough hands down her neck and collarbone, running them along the curve of her breast until he reached the hem of her jeans. She felt his fingers unbutton them swiftly, even as she kicked out and fought against those still pinning her down.
"Keep fighting." The injured man again speaks up while leaning against the nearby sofa, watching his men work to undress her while the larger one slips a hand into his boxers. "We like that." He tells her with a laugh. One that chills her to the bone as all hope for a rescue or escape disappears entirely.
"Please..." she breathes as tears stream down her face and her jeans are finally and rather heavy-handedly tugged from her body; leaving her exposed in just her sports bra and underwear.
"Yeah, beg." The large one grunts as his hand continues its movements in his boxers, moving back and forth along his hidden shaft and igniting further fear within the young, terrified woman.
She feels her heart break as the men again pin her down, preventing her from fighting back even as she continues to struggle against them. Their touch is rough and mean, no ounce of care behind it.
She hated it.
"You don't have to do this," she tried to plead as the large one crouches down until he is straddling her with dark lustful eyes and his firm member pressed against her churning stomach.
"No," he breathes against her cheek as he leans close, his gaze barely flicking to the man to their right who had begun unbuckling his own trousers with the same dark look in his eye. "But we want to." He groans while rubbing against her and running his tongue along her cheek.
The act alone causes a broken sob to echo from her lips as her body trembles and her eyes squeeze shut tightly. She wanted to block it out. To ignore what was inevitably going to happen to her. She tried to think of Joel and the love he held for her but she couldn't. She was too terrified.
It's made worse when she hears the men around her argue over their turns with her, seemingly unable to agree on who would get to have a go next. It was a sick conversation to overhear, especially as the victim.
"Shut the fuck up!" the large man suddenly snapped as his hand moved towards her breasts, daring to slip it beneath the material of her bra. "You'll all get your turn so let me enjoy mine." He ordered while turning his focus back onto her, his smirk still present as his finger snuck beneath the material, grazing her skin and earning yet another broken sob from the young woman.
She felt her walls crumbling around her; weighing her down as she internally broke apart.
She wanted to see Joel again. She wanted to hold Ellie and hear one of those awful puns she often shared with the pair. She wanted her life back.
"What the fuck-" the large man suddenly mumbles as gunshots ring through the air outside, his gaze snapping to the men around him with confusion.
"They found him," one of the men announce after peering out the window at the commotion occurring outside. "That bastard they were travelling with." He explained while rushing towards his pistol that rested on the table top. Then, with a quick gesture for two men to join him - one of which had already unbuckled his trousers - they left. Heading out to fight alongside their fucked up group.
Olivia felt something in her rise up. Be it desperation or hope, she didn't know, but the second it rose up, her knee lifted, connecting with the large man's manhood hard. Then, she did something neither of the remaining five men had expected, she cried out for her love.
"Joel!"
"Shut her up!" The injured man ordered his friend, who in turn rushed to her side and attempted to cover her mouth. However, his attempts were futile as she slammed her teeth into his hand, tearing through the skin and removing not one finger but three from his hand.
He screamed in agony as he pulled back his hand, clutching it and crying out about the three fingers she had bitten off mercilessly. Meanwhile, Olivia spat the digits from her mouth and again cried out for Joel.
She knew he'd be weak. That he would still be recovering. But the truth was, no matter his state, she needed him right now. And deep down she knew he'd never let anything stop him from coming to her aid. They had each others backs through and through. They'd proven that repeatedly.
So, all she had to do was fight off her attackers long enough to buy him time to get here.
"He's gonna kill you. All of you." She tells the men still holding her down with a dangerous smirk as blood trickles down her chin. "You're fucked." She chuckled darkly while finally finding the strength to lean upright in one swift motion, connecting her already throbbing head with that of the man holding her down on the right.
"Shit!" he cried out as he clutched his head while unintentionally releasing his grip on her. It was just long enough for her to reach out and take the knife he had strapped to his thigh before bringing it mercilessly up through his jaw, straight up into his skull.
Then, as his eyes widened and the life drained from his body, she pulled the knife out and quickly turned to jam it into the jugular of the man pinning her on her left. He too struggled for a moment as he clutched his throat and gargled on his blood; choking on it.
"He's outside!" one of the three remaining men called out while rushing to the front door with a hammer in hand; prepared to attack Joel the second he stepped through the door.
"Watch out!" Olivia screamed as Joel stepped into the house and just narrowly missed being hit straight in the temple by said hammer.
Though, before she could move to help him fight against his attacker currently pinning him to a table, she felt a large figure drag her to her feet and place a knife against her throat. Leaving her to helplessly watch as the injured man helped his friend fight Joel off.
It seemed like time slowed as the Southern man's gaze met with hers and the second it did, his eyes visibly darkened and a newfound strength overcame him.
She watched in awe and shock as he swung his leg round, knocking the uninjured man's legs out from under him before swiftly driving his shiv into the top of his skull. Then, as the man Olivia had injured earlier rushed at him, Joel scooped up the hammer beside him - the very same hammer the dead man had attempted to harm him with.
He timed it perfectly, expertly even. Waiting until the man was close enough before swinging the hammer around roughly, connecting it with the man's head not once, but twice until he fell to the floor with a thud, unconscious.
"Joel," Olivia breathed out with tearful eyes, her body trembling as she fought weakly against the large man's grip on her.
She saw the look in his eye; the fury, the protectiveness, the love, the hatred and the need to hold her in his arms safely. It was all there for her to see as he breathed heavily and glared darkly at the man behind her.
His hand loosened it's grip on the hammer in his hand, allowing it to fall to the floor with a clang as he never strayed his gaze from the man he would soon kill.
"You come any closer and I'll slice her fucking throat," the large man warns with a fearful tone, his hand that held the blade to her throat now trembling slightly.
"Nah, see you won't." Joel assured in a low husky tone, his gaze flicking to meet with Olivia's as he offered her an almost invisible nod; an indication to do the very thing she had been waiting to do.
She sucked in a deep breath and with all the strength and courage that remained within her beaten body, she swung her head back, colliding it with the man's face and causing him to stumble back. And the second he did, Joel sprung into action.
He rushed at the large man, knocking him to the floor hard while managing to force the knife from his hand. Then, with unmatched fury and rage, he swung his fists down against his face over and over again.
Olivia stood back, resting her back against the wall as she watched him with tears now streaming down her cheeks. She felt her arms wraps around herself as she lowered herself weakly to the floor with knees coming up against her chest.
Meanwhile, Joel continued his assault. Pounding against the man's face mercilessly without thought for anything else. His only goal right now was to beat the living shit out of the man who had tried to harm Olivia. To make him suffer by his hands. He wanted this fucker dead. Now.
But then, he heard her voice.
It was broken and quiet, like a whimper.
Reaching into his heart and tearing through it painfully. That voice was enough to pull him back in, to break through the rage fuelled assault he was inflicting as he suddenly stilled on the spot with the bloodied dead man now beneath him.
He frowned as his head slowly turned, his hazel eyes finding her dim, tearful green ones.
She looked broken. More than he had ever seen her be before. And given her appearance in just her underwear, he could only assume the acts the men had attempted to commit upon her. The thoughts alone rising a deep disgust and hatred within him as he stumbled away from the dead man before moving towards her crumpled form.
"Liv," he breathed out as he crouched in front of her, his eyes soft and consumed with a need to comfort her in this moment.
Though the second her name left his lips, a broken cry rose up her throat and her body moved of its own accord, diving into him desperately as she sobbed into his shoulder.
"Joel..." she clutched his jacket tightly, as though afraid he would disappear suddenly and leave her alone once more. He sighed against her tousled hair, allowing his arms to wrap tightly around her as he carefully picked her up and carried her to the nearest bedroom. Then, with the same love and care he had always showed her, he placed her upon the bed.
"You're okay," he promised while removing his jacket and wrapping it around her shoulders before again crouching in front of her broken form. Cautiously, he reached up, running his calloused fingertips along her jawline and gently tilting her head up to look him in the eye, which after a moment, she does.
"I'm sorry," she murmured.
"Don't do that." He drawled firmly while running his hand up the smooth of her face, avoiding her swollen lip and eye long enough to caress her cheek. He smiled as she leaned into his touch, craving it as she so often had before today. She seemed to find comfort in it. "This wasn't your fault, Liv." He reminds her gently.
Olivia shook her head, her brows furrowing as she slid off the bed to sit closer to him. "They took Ellie," she informed him shamefully. "I wasn't smart enough or strong enough to protect her." she mumbled guiltily, causing the older man to sigh with a shake of his own head.
"We'll find 'er. But right now I need to make sure you're okay." He murmured softly as her head dipped once more in thought and her hands tugged at the jacket around her shoulders.
He frowned while standing abruptly, causing the young woman to snap her gaze up to him with evident fear. He felt her hand clutch the material of his jeans, refusing to let him leave her if he so intended. "Please don't go," she pleaded.
"I'm just gonna get your pack," he informed her lowly while smiling reassuringly when she eventually nodded and released her grip. He moved quickly into the next room, allowing his gaze to scan the contents until he spotted her pack just to the far corner of it.
He walked swiftly with little care for the men scattered on the floor, unbothered by them. Then, as he scooped up her pack and turned to make his way back to her, he gave the large dead man another final kick to the head, that rage still burning within.
"They didn't... I mean... they tried... but-" her voice cut out with a strangled sob the second he stepped into the dimly lit room. His brows pulled together at her words and her current position curled up at the end of the bed.
"Liv, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." he told her while lowering in front of her and opening her pack to retrieve some new clothes for her - mainly because she looked freezing.
"I just..." she lifted her head to look him in the eye cautiously, a subtle fear behind her eyes. "I don't want you to look at me different..." she confessed with another tear rolling down her cheek.
The sight alone tore through Joel; he never could handle seeing her upset and injured, and right now she was both. He hated that she felt so guilty about she and Ellie having been caught. He could see she was blaming herself, that she was struggling with the events that had unfolded and the realisation that he was here and alive.
She was overwhelmed. How could she not be?
So, with her clothes set on the bed beside her head, he shuffled towards her and with carefully placed hands upon her pale, tear stained cheeks, he leant forward, pressing his lips tenderly to hers.
He felt her flinch for a mere moment before her mind seemed to catch up and remember who it was that was holding her and kissing her. He smiled against her lips as her hands wound around his neck, pulling him close while her lips worked in sync with his.
They each poured all they felt into the intimate action. Allowing the love, relief and hope for their future to consume this moment.
It was tender and sweet; something they both needed deeply.
"Nothin' could ever make me look at you any different." He assured her lovingly as he caressed her cheek once more after pulling back. "You're the love of my life. Nothin' will ever change that." He murmured.
Olivia felt her heart swell with love and relief at his words. Her chest felt lighter as that fear of losing him subsided, replaced with adoration. She smiled briefly while nodding, "ditto." she breathed out before sighing and allowing him to pull her to a steady stand.
"Do you need help?" he asked her as she reached for her clothes with a mild pained wince.
She shook her head, smiling slightly at the sincere question; no suggestive double meaning behind it. "I'm okay. But you should tie up one of them, see if we can get some information out of them regarding David's location." She suggested thoughtfully as her mind drifted to Ellie and her safety in all this.
They needed to be moving faster to find the teen. She knew that but truthfully she needed a moment to regain her strength, not just physically but mentally too.
"David?" Joel questioned with a confused frown.
"He's their leader." Olivia mumbled while carefully pulling on her black shirt with Joel suddenly assisting her when she hissed in pain. She smiled at the concern behind his eyes while stepping forward. Then with a hand placed against his chest and her eyes meeting his hazel ones, she leant up to press her lips to his.
She felt his hand rest on her hip while the other cupped her cheek, holding her like she were a fragile rose. It melted her to the core as she forced herself to pull back; reminding herself that Ellie was still in the clutches of that sick predator leader.
"Go." she urged him towards the living room where the unconscious man lay. "I'll finish getting dressed then come help you." She promised.
"Okay. Just, uh, take it easy." He told her while stepping back and moving towards the living room.
"Yeah..." she mumbled to herself sadly as that same guilt rose up in her. Guilt for not moving quicker to go save Ellie. Guilt for forcing Joel to come to her rescue. Guilt for feeling so internally broken. Guilt for not being good enough.
It was too much. So much in fact that it surged determination through her. Spurring her on to go save Ellie. She wouldn't lose the teen; they would find her. They would save her and take her somewhere safe to rest.
They would be a family again. With or without more blood on their hands.
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Authors Note
Hi guys!
I'm not really sure how I feel about this chapter to be honest. Feel some type of way about Joel and Olivia's reunion.
I guess, as much as I wanted it to be super romantic and full of kissed and hugs - I also wanted it to be realistic too.
So, I tried to find the balance of both which I'm truthfully not sure I managed. Apologies if you feel I did not do it justice.
Thanks.
- Hannah -