Surrounds (Bonds) Read online

  "Hey..." She trails.

  "We can't afford for you to waste another meal by throwing it against the wall in your anger." He turns from her. "When you're willing to eat, I'll bring it back." He leaves, locks sliding into place as her prison door glides shut.

  The young woman is left to blankly stare at the closed door, her hands find her face. A moment later, she loudly screams.

  Chapter 4

  Lacey

  Henderson usually only appears in the morning and sometime when she assumes is nearly dark, with meals, books, never offering him companionship, nor an explanation. So, when the iron door began to scrap open in-between those two times of his visit, her body stiffens and she quickly sits up on the bed quickly, book falling from her fingers.

  It's Henderson, though honestly, she had been expecting someone else. Who? She couldn't tell. But it's her prison guard who stands just in the open door, breathing heavy, wetness, which looks a lot like blood, red, red blood on the front of his grey T-shirt, his long brown hair a mess on his head. His irises are wide, wild.

  He takes a step in her direction and she flinches back. He looked desperate, crazed. She's never seen him look like that before, ever. Henderson was 'always' calm and relaxed, nothing bothered him, nothing ruffled his feathers. It was in a sense why she had broken up with him. He never showed his emotions, she couldn't handle it anymore.

  "We..." He breathed out a shuttering breath, gaze going to her nightstand. He walked quickly to it, blindly shoving the items into a backpack she hadn't noticed before. "We have to go," he tells her upon finishing. "Now." She flinched as he, in one quick step, was in front of her, grabbing up her book and shoving that into the bag as well. He tried for her arm, but the girl moves, backing back on her bed. "Please, there's no time..." He begged, brown eyes boring into her.

  "What's going on, Henderson?" She asks quietly, voice uneven.

  "Listen to me for once," his voice broke off. "We have to leave now."

  It was his weakened voice and shaking body which had her left hand finding his offered one. Quickly she was nearly lifted from the bed and yanked after him. She nearly falls, her legs numb and her own panic increasing. He never acted like this. Something was wrong, very wrong. Was she finally getting rescued, was he freaked about being caught?

  They dart quickly down a narrow hall and up a flight of wooden stairs, falling into a basement clogged with boxes and dust. There wasn't enough time to really look around before her body was being yanked up another flight of stairs and into a kitchen. It was Henderson's kitchen, his parents. She had no idea she had been in his house the whole time. It was a startling realization.

  He lets go of her once they are upstairs, moving to the island's counter. He grabs a gun - her body stiffens. He quickly tucks it into a holster on the counter before clipping it to his waist. A thick backpack also sits on the counter, he grabs it, quickly shoving canned foods into it, as well as a flashlight, a map, and other items. She blinks, her mind slowly lifting from the heavy fog enclosed around it.

  His wide eyes land on her before he quickly stalks to her, grabbing her by forearm and dragging her into the living room. It's darker inside the living room, the windows, once large bay windows which had allowed sunlight in were covered by thick planks of wood. Mrs. Henson's expensive couch was disheveled, cushions in disarray; the coffee table was littered with empty cans and books. It wasn't Mrs. Henson's tidy home at all. It was then she completely understood something was wrong, very wrong.

  "Henderson..." Her voice was painfully loud in the abnormal silence in which she finally noticed. "What's going on?" Her voice trembled, suddenly the fact that there was something she was missing became horribly obvious.

  Not answering her, Henderson tugs her quickly to the window by the front door, pulling her behind him he bends, peering through the tiny slits between planks of wood. He quietly pants, his hold on her nearly painful.

  Her patience and her panic were intertwining and feeding off of each other. It wasn't fair how he was keeping her blinded like this. What in the hell was going on?

  "Henderson... tell me."

  (L)

  Chapter 5

  Alasa

  She folds her legs underneath her, wincing quietly. A sigh escapes her lips as she looks down at her fur, blood soaked hands. They were numb and painful simultaneously, she had pricked herself while clumsily skinning their food dozens of times.

  A frown settles over her features. She looks up as 'he' comes in, grabbing up four of the ten rats not cooking in the iron pot, tearing into them with sharp animal like teeth, raw. Blood squirts out and onto the floor and seeps from his mouth, she watches him, her lips lifting backwards in disgust. He catches her watching and she quickly looks away, crawling to the boiling, iron pot of rat, checking on her meal.

  A growl from him has her attention once again finding his hunched frame. Her indifferent facial expression twitches as she takes in the tail of a rat hanging from his lips. She waits for him to do something, usually his growls meant 'Hey, skin this', if not 'Now, get on your back'. Being here, it was fairly simple, horrible, but what was expected of her was simple.

  Her body shivers, cool air seeping through the cave and digging into her flesh. It had began to cooler recently, her lack of clothing made it worse. Her arms wrap around herself as she waits for him to do something.

  Finally, after a few minutes of staring at her, with almost a questionable look on his face, he growls and lands on top of her, forcing her back onto the ground, his nose finds her neck, he then sniffs in deeply. She completely stills.

  (L)

  It's cold, so cold she can barely move from her balled up position beside the fire. Her body constantly shivers and her fingers are numb, she's sure her lips are blue. A cough tears painfully through her and she feels light headed.

  A growl from her left has her slowly lifting her head, blue eyes landing on 'him'. He's staring at her, his head is slightly tilted, very much like a confused dog. She looks away from him, not at all feeling up for what like likely wanted. He would beat her, but her body was numb from cold.

  She balls into a tighter ball, waiting on his blows. He once again growls and he's standing over her now, she can feel him. She forces herself to look up at him, her body shaking horribly.

  "Cold..." She whimpers out brokenly. "I'm cold," she tells him. "I'm to cold."

  He looks down at her, his confusion raw and real. It halts her in thought. He honestly doesn't understand what it's like to be cold. What exactly is he? He understood the need for a fire in the first place and he understood she ate her food after it was cooked, but he couldn't understand her being cold?

  He wasn't human. He couldn't understand her and she couldn't understand him.

  Her gaze leaves him, as she once again balls into herself. If things continued like this, she wouldn't last too long, which scarily, wasn't a horrible thought. A sigh leaves her. She would soon catch hypothermia if not become violently ill. This monster wouldn't be the one to kill her, and honestly, that gaze her happiness.

  She thinks she'll finally be able to escape this awful existence that her life had become, finally be free again. She falls asleep with that on her mind.

  (L)

  She wakes up, which is fairly disappointing, but there is warmth, which confuses her. She opens her heavy eyes, seeing the fire's flames dancing a few feet from her. Her stomach churns as she quickly sits up, a blanket, thick and blue tumbles off her shoulders. She looks down at it with a frown, her fingers grip at the fluffy material. Movement across from her draws her attention to 'him', he's across from her, legs crossed as he watches her.

  A little unnerved and very confused, she gently swallows and licks her lips. Why was he...? His gaze falls down to his left, he then tosses a bag at her. She catches it, brows furrowing. Chips, a bag of cheesy tuffs. Her mouth waters. She quickly looks up at 'him' and he only stares back as if she's a painting to be thoroughly studied.

  She quickly tears
open the bag a few seconds later, fingers digging into it, fishing out a few chips putting them into her mouth. A moan escapes her as she chews on the only slightly stale chips. She finishes her bag of goodness in half a minute, her stomach aches but her hunger is still strong. She licks her dirty fingers, savoring the taste, then looks up at the beast who torments her, hoping he has more. Then she notice a green backpack, it's strap wrapped firmly around his left hand. He continues staring at her.

  She bites her lip, her wanting gaze on the backpack. Would he have more chips in there? "What's that?" Alasa questions pointing, surprising herself. He only tilts his head. He then holds it out to her.

  She hesitates, but untangles her achy legs from the blanket and slowly crawls over, watching him. Once close enough, her left hand reaches out for it very slowly not wanting to do anything wrong. He only watches her, letting the bag go once her hand wraps around it's strap. It flops onto the ground, heavy, which she wasn't expecting. She tugs it backwards, a few feet away from him before fully turning her attention to the bag.

  It was a camping sack, an expensive one at that. Her dad use to take her and her sister out camping sometimes, he always bought the expensive items. Her dad was all about flash and show, spending more money then needed on most things, including camping items. He could afford it. He had a bag like this one, but his was a dull yellow.

  She unzips it carefully, throwing glances at 'him'. He only watches her. She tugs out a green jacket first, quickly shrugging it on. Next is a pair of women cargo pants, a couple bottles of water, a few cans beans, some of those camping food pouches, matches, flip flops, a machete, which without any thought, the young woman slides it to the beast before continuing to look inside the bag, her smile never falters and only grows at all the items. She's at the very last item in the bag when her smile finally weakens, it's a photo, a photo of a young family - a mom, a dad and identical little boys all grinning happily in front of a white background, dressed in matching spring time colors - pink, yellow, green.

  She frowns, holding the black framed photo in her hands, it had been wrapped in a grey T-shirt. This bag belongs to someone one. Her gaze lifts, landing on her monster. Had he taken it from them? Had he hurt anyone for it? The very thought has her wanting to take the warm jacket off, but the icy breeze creeping across her skin argues against. There was nothing she could do about it, taking off the clothing would be very dumb.

  She takes a haggard breath.

  (L)

  Chapter 6

  Lacey

  "I'll tell you..." Henderson looks at the floor, backing away from the window, taking her with him. He tries forcing her onto the couch to sit, but the girl refuses, staring at him blankly. He lets go of her arm and sits onto the couch himself. "Six months ago they came..." He trails voice cutting off suddenly. He tugs his left hand quickly through his sweaty hair, his shoulders lower as he takes a shuddering breath.

  Lacey folds her arms over herself, staring at him, waiting on him to continue. "Who came?" Her question is layered with impatience and annoyance. "Who came, Henderson? Aliens?" She questions sarcastically, fed up with his reluctance to tell her anything.

  "No..." He answers with a frightening amount of seriousness. He glances up at her. "I don't think of them as aliens. Some might..." His head shakes, "but I don't think so."

  Lacey lowers herself beside the obviously distressed young man, staring at him. "What?" Her brown eyes bore into his face, trying to see if he was joking.

  His hair falls into his face. The girl finds it odd, but has no idea why. "They call them demons, all of them appeared out of thin air, " His hands ball into fists, " It was subtle at first, tiny things, far away and nothing we would have to worry about. Thy have wild powers, insane, crazy powers... strength...odd in appearances..." He looks down at his balled fists, his hands were trembling. "You don't... There was a war at first, they see themselves as superior, as stronger, as better. And a war began, the Creatures were having none of it, animalistic, they function off of primitive behaviors, anger, strength, chaos, and insanity. The creatures... most of them can take a dozen bullets at a time, you can guess how this war went then, right? They have these animal like creatures who... never mind. There are wars going on all over right now, between humans and who Creatures but the government collapsed months ago..." He frowns as if she was unsure if he was making any sense. "I... The battle of for what's left of the eastern United States was lost and humans who live there have been enslaved and are in hiding. Your father and my own were leaders of a small band, you fell ill before we were all suppose to make our way to Mexico to join a standing Fort, you wouldn't have made the harsh journey. So, I stayed behind with you and hid you in the basement." His gaze flits down. "I should have told you a long time ago."

  "I don't believe you." Lacey says bluntly. How could she? What he was saying was insane and level nine nutty. "Why are lying? What's really going on, Henderson?"

  Henderson leans forward, his elbows propped on his legs, he blankly stares in front of him. "You don't have to believe me, you'll see it for yourself." Finally his mask of indifference completely shatters as a sigh leaves him. "I had no intention of ever letting you out of basement." He tells her honestly. "I had no intention of letting you see what the world had become. It was selfish of me and dumb.... What if something happened? You would have been trapped in that basement until you starved, but, I didn't care about that, I selfishly kept you locked up down there. I was suppose to take you to your father once you were healthy again, but I was afraid and you didn't even..." He cuts his rambling off sharply and shakes his head. "We have to leave, there was a family a few streets over from here, hiding out in their home. A mom, dad and a little boy. The father and I use to trade items... but last night I smelled smoke, and when I looked outside the whole area was covered in it. This morning I headed over and found half a dozen Creatures picking through what was left of the family's home." His left hand once again finds his hair. "I assume they were taken, which means we could be found out about. We have to leave, try getting to Mexico. We can try finding your father and mine..." He trails, seeming to lose himself in thought as he once again sighs.

  He's stressed, she can see that, and if what he tells her isn't a lie, it's understandable. But...The young woman struggles with what Henderson is telling her. It was way too much. Too much, too soon.

  "Why don't I remember any of this?" She questions weakly. Lacey looks at the boarded windows. All that could be going on outside? All that could be going on and she had no idea.

  "I dunno..." He lightly shrugs, glancing at her. "You were violently sick... you caught a deadly bug only a few people actually are lucky enough to live through." She frowns at him and he looks at her sheepishly, realizing what it was he had actually said. " I... was given a brief course from my dad on how to take care of you and... you got better after a few weeks, but you forgot... everything."

  She tries absorbing this, going over what he had said. She had always trusted Henderson before the whole thinking he had kidnapped her situation, she could do it again. Henderson wasn't a bad person, a little emotionally constricted, constipated really, and indifferent at the worse times, but he wasn't a liar and he had been looking out for her. She owed him in away, yes, most of his actions had been selfish and he was obviously on creep level fourteen. Not telling her anything, was shady, but he had was helping her. In his own way, right?

  Still... He had blinded her by not telling her all this months ago. She couldn't find it in herself to forget that.

  "What... now?" Lacey finally speaks again. "What now..."

  Henderson looks startled, it being nearly ten minutes since he had finished speaking. He frowns at her, leaning backwards, studying her face, for what wasn't very clear. "We head for Mexico." She wonders when he became this annoyingly dramatic.

  (L)

  Chapter 7

  Alasa

  Sometimes Alasa makes up stories with the family from the framed photograph. Sometimes
it would be happy stories about how the family grew and aged - mother and father would grow old, both sons would age as well, becoming successful men, possibly a doctor and a lawyer. A happy close family they were. Sometimes her stories would be very sad - father would run away from his family, from his responsibilities, leaving his wife and kids, mother would have to raise her kids by herself but the boys wouldn't grow up right, both would be bad, starting a life of crime.

  But in both, that family was alright at the very end.

  She's staring at the family when she feels him behind her, she briefly glances over her shoulder at him. His gaze is on the frame.

  "That's mom, the father and sons... children," she tells him pointing at each member of the family. She has no idea why she's doing it, why she's bothering with it. It was likely the lack of interaction with anyone else, not wanting to forget how to speak and start growling like him. She waits for him to react, to growl in warning, when nothing happens, she continues. "I think he's a doctor... maybe a CEO of a company... the wife, well, she likes being had home with the twins, both five. That one, he looks like a Cody, he's a wild one, he likes sports and being a terror..." She then points at the other boy, "His name is Nathan. Nathan is shy, he likes books and snuggling with his mother. He's a good boy..." She tries not to flinch when 'he' noiselessly sits beside her, his body nearly over her as he looks at the framed photo. "I... They like camping as a family and zoos, both twins like animals." She finishes, her insides beginning to twist, not use to having the beast this close without having a particular action following. She's afraid.

  The beast lowly growls, it's not threatening, but her body stiffens anyway. She frowns at the father's smiling face, a shaky breath escapes her as she feels him nudge into her. She looks up at him, his gaze on her photo. His look is almost... questioning. Another growl from him has her scooting away, dropping the frame onto the floor. He only looks at her with darkening eyes.