Midnight Squad: The Ties That Bind

by J. L. M. Visada

  “What are you going to do?” I croaked, I was having a real difficult time forming a coherent thought. I was terrified, and nobody could help me.

  “Us? Nothing. We’re just here to offer you a way out. No, other people with far stronger motives are at play here.”

  “What if I say no?” I could barely speak.

  “Then you say no. Why should we care what one of you talking monkeys says? Now, we’ve done our part. So let’s chat about something else, shall we?” He spun me like a top. I caught a glimpse of his face, he was gloating, absolutely reveling in my terror.

  “Please let me go.” I begged.

  “But we have such a long night ahead of us, and we have so much that we want to chat about.”

  “Excuse me, may I cut in. The lady promised me a dance, and I believe it is time to pay up.” I looked up, and Sam was standing there.

  “Oh fine, we’ve done everything we came here for anyway.” Legion let go of me and then disappeared into the crowd. I almost collapsed from the relief of it all. Tears were streaming down my face.

  Sam took my by the shoulder, “Hey, are you okay? Did he do something to you?”

  Just reminded me how big a coward I’ve been for most of my life, and gave me a chance to run away from everything one more time. I turned a blind eye to Elizabeth’s plans, and even joined up with her at the expense of my friends once. Sure, part of it was that I wanted to take care of my mother, but also it was just easier to go with the flow and turn my back on them when they probably needed me most. Hell, I couldn’t even be a good Benedict Arnold because the moment things looked like they were going to get rough on Elizabeth’s side, I switched back to the good guys. I’ve spent the last couple months trying to be a good role model for my sisters, but who am I kidding? The best thing I could do would be to encourage them to run away from me as fast as possible. I’m just a chicken that goes out of my way to avoid committing to anything. When the going gets tough, I suck my thumb and hide. Every failure, personal and professional ran through my head, and each time I took the easy way out. Legion made me think about all this, but all I said was, “No, but thank you. If you’ll excuse me Sam, I need to go back up to my room for a moment and fix my makeup.”

  I made my way out of the room. I wanted to bawl, but I was determined to keep it together at least until I made it to our floor. I stepped onto the elevator, and was surprised when Sam and Jes both stepped in with me. Part of me wanted to be alone, but considering Sam had possibly just saved me from that…thing, I tried to be appreciative of their company.

  The elevator finally took us to the top floor, and we all got out. Sam and Jes followed me quietly. When I got to my door, they were still standing right behind me. “Um listen guys, I appreciate you coming up here with me, but I need a couple moments to get my makeup fixed. So do you mind waiting out here?”

  “Actually, I had other plans.” Sam grinned menacingly.

  “Wha-“ And the next thing I saw was his fist.

  When I regained consciousness, my head felt like it had been kicked like a soccer ball. The room was blurry at first, but eventually the world came back into view. “What happened?”

  “Oh wonderful! I was hoping you’d wake up. This next part wouldn’t be any fun at all if you weren’t able to scream and beg me to stop.” Sam’s voice had taken on a sinister tone.

  “What? What do you mean?” I tried to sit up, but realized I was naked and tied to my bed, spread eagle.

  “It’s simple, really. You’ll receive my seed, and in about two hours my spawn will rip its way out of your belly. Just think, your last moments will be spent bringing a beautiful new cambion into the world.

  “What!” I jerked up, and nearly pulled my arms out of their sockets. The pain was blinding, but I can’t lose consciousness now, “Why? I thought you and Jes were our friends. You just save me; you helped us with the werewolves. Why on earth would you want to do something like this?”

  “Saved you?” Sam laughed, “I was hedging my bets by taking you to the werewolves so that they would bump more of you off. Who knew they were so incompetent? I was sure they’d get rid of at least one of you, and rough the rest up enough that maybe I could swoop in and take a couple of you with me. I stayed hidden while you all fought. It was an educating experience. I’d planned on breeding with as many of you as possible, but once I saw how powerful the others were, it became clear that you were the weak link. I was going to try seducing you earlier today, but I saw you and that vampire whore together, and I realized my chance to do this quick and easy had passed. Luckily, the person in charge had a backup plan. I texted them my problem, and they told me they would be sending someone. I never expected Legion, though. You’ve all really pissed off some big players. So Legion came down to distract you and turn you into a scared little rabbit so that I could swoop in and escort you to safety. You practically led us into the trap yourself. I’m so glad you refused his offer. Now, I can’t fight the rest of them, but after my progeny rips its way out of you, I’ll be greatly rewarded by my master. He’s demanding that you all be made an example of. Who knows, maybe I’ll get lucky and catch that vampire cunt and her man needing a sympathetic shoulder to cry on. Then I can crank up my pheromones while they are distracted, and maybe I take one, if not both of them. Of course, I am getting a little ahead of myself. I’ll never be able trick them until I deal with you first.”

  “Deal with me?” I was trying to follow what he was saying, but the room was still swimming a little. A concussion wasn’t out of the question.

  Sam unzipped his pants and pulled out his manhood. “Now, you might feel a little discomfort at first, but don’t worry because my pheromones will kick in eventually, and you’ll find yourself looking forward to bearing my children. Most of your kind find the impregnation orgasmic. Of course when my spawn is ready to extricate itself...well that isn’t nearly as pleasant, I’m afraid.”

  “Grim! Penny! Anybody? Help!” I saw Jes standing in the corner. She looked physically ill. “Please help me?” I begged her.

  “It’s adorable when you humans beg. It’ll make you screaming to receive my seed later all the more satisfying.” Sam took his shirt off, and just let his pants fall to his ankles. “My daughter won’t help you.”

  “Daughter!” My mind just couldn’t wrap around what was happening.

  “Of course. I impregnated her mother. She’s my spawn, and someday she’ll receive my seed and usher forth a new generation of cubus. Maybe I’ll use that stupid soldier boy’s soul to breed her.”

  This was a nightmare. I felt the bed shift as Sam began making his way up to me. The bastard practically slithered up between my thighs. He was hard and ready. I strained against my bonds, but I couldn’t escape. I looked to Jes, “Please…help…me!” Tears were streaming down my face.

  “I’m sorry…I can’t” Jes looked paralyzed with fear.

  Sam grabbed my face and forced me to look him in the eyes. “There’s nothing more satisfying than staring into terrified eyes, and seeing the exact moment when they’ve been properly broken.”

  I screamed, and Sam lunged forward. I felt him begin to push against me. There was no escape. He was going to rape me, and I’d spend the last couple hours of life waiting for some creature to rip itself out of me. I did the only thing I could think of to keep him back…I peed for all I was worth.

  Sam backed away, “That’s just disgusting. Do you think I want to rut into you on this filth? If I had more time I’d make you clean it up, but unfortunately, it’s just a matter of time before one of your friends comes looking for you. I could have made this pleasurable for you, but now I’m going to introduce you a world of pain. Now…scream for m-“

  *Thunk*

  Sam slumped down onto my body. He wasn’t moving. Sam was out cold. Jes grabbed at the ties on my wrists.

  “I’m so sorry you had to go through that.” She said. “I had to wait for Sam to be completely distracted. I only had one chance to stop hi
m, so I’ve been biding my time.” She freed my right wrist, and started at my right foot. Meanwhile I was struggling with the knot at my other wrist.

  “We have to hurry. I hit him pretty hard, but it won’t keep him down long. When I get you untied you need to run to the elevator. Get downstairs. It’s better to be naked and alive than clothed and dead. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

  I nodded. I freed my other hand, and Jes untied my other ankle. Together we pushed Sam off of me. He flopped onto his back, but I could see he was already starting to stir. “Run!” Jes screamed and pulled me towards the door. The room was spinning, I definitely had a concussion. I wanted to run, but anything more than a quick shuffle would have left me sprawled across the floor. I could barely stand up.

  “Bitch!” Sam roared. He was out of the door and after us before we’d even made it halfway to the elevator.

  “Please let that elevator still be on this floor!” Jes ran up ahead and hit the button. Unfortunately, the elevator wasn’t on our floor, and the stairs were on the opposite side of the floor. I kept moving toward Jes. I could hear Sam charging down the hallway.

  I stumbled, and Jes caught me. “Stay here at the elevator. I’ll hold him off as long as I can. When it opens, get inside and push the button for the lobby. I can’t promise I can stop him, but I’ll try.” She propped me beside the elevator, “I’m sorry about this…I really am.” Then she was off and running back towards Sam.

  Jes leapt and hit Sam right at the waist. For a few seconds it looked like she was actually going to give him a good old fashioned beat down, but then Sam began tossing her around like a rag doll. “Fucking cunt! I bring you into this world, and this is how you repay me!” Sam threw her onto the ground and began stomping and kicking her. She wouldn’t survive long at this rate. I pushed myself to get back to them both.

  “This is so stupid. This is so incredibly, and epically, stupid.” It felt even worse when I heard the elevator ding behind me. If I turned and really tried to run I might just barely make it back to the elevator before it closed, but Jes wouldn’t survive if I did. It wasn’t like I could do much to save her, but I still had to try. I never even turned to glance back at the elevator. I just kept closing in on Sam.

  I finally got close enough, “Hey, asshole!”

  Sam spun around, and I kicked him square in the family jewels as hard as I could. Of course the only problem was that he didn’t have any family jewels to kick. Instead, my foot got lodged in Sam’s vagina. Sam howled in pain and began twisting to try and get my foot out of him…er…her?

  “What the fuck!” I screamed as I fell onto my butt. Confusion was etched on my face. I realized immediately why it was probably a good idea to listen to Penny’s ramblings about cambions and how dangerous they are from now on. I was buried up to my ankle in cubus coochie, and to add insult to injury, that thing’s penis was flopping around like it was taunting me. This thing was hermaphroditic? It was the nightmare that wouldn’t end.

  Sam grabbed my foot and pulled it out of him with a pained scream. Then he began kicking my legs and hips. “You fucking whore! When I’m done with you, you’ll beg for death!”

  I heard feet running towards us, but I was starting to black out. My vision was getting blurrier, but I was pretty sure I saw a flash of red hair. I had a fleeting thought that it was Penny, but it couldn’t be. Penny almost always kept herself under control. She actually prided herself on her control, but this thing was like a tornado of rage. I heard bones snapping, and flesh being ripped. Penny was screaming incoherently, and hissing like an angry wet cat. Something meaty flopped onto the ground beside me. I fought to stay awake long enough to make out what it was. It took a lot of effort, but eventually I realized what it was.

  It was Sam’s penis.

  Chapter 25

  “Please, just let me go! I was just following orders!” Sam screamed. He sounded terrified, but also weak. Of course I wasn’t doing much better. My eyes opened, and the world started swimming.

  “Let you go? I’m going to flay the skin off your body. You hurt someone that belongs to me. I’m going torture you…slowly, and when I run out of ideas, I’ll turn you over to Grim and sit back and let him do his absolute worst to you. Let me tell you, that man is a real beast when properly motivated, and trust me…I know all kinds of ways to motivate that man.” Penny sounded absolutely vicious.

  I sat up, and Niki handed me a glass of water, “How are you feeling?”

  “I’m not sure. I’ve been better, but I guess all things considered I should just be happy I’m still breathing.” I took a long sip of water.

  “Yeah, Penny bit you to heal you up, but this was as much as she could do. The bruises are gone, but it wouldn’t surprise me if you weren’t pretty sore for the next few days.” Danika said as she helped me to my feet.

  Sam gave another guttural scream, and started begging again. It was then that I realized that Penny had him in the room next door. “What is she doing to him?” I asked.

  Katy shook her head, “She’s showing him her true nature. Penny’s a vampire, and she just caught someone poaching in her territory. So she’ll make an example of him. Vampires are ultra-possessive, and Penny’s no exception. You probably won’t even recognize him when she’s done. Hell, from what I saw he’d have a hard time recognizing himself in the mirror already. Of course, that’s how vampires are. They’re mean, vicious, and the rest of us are just something for them to possess.”

  “Penny’s not like that at all. She’s just angry right now.” I practically bit Katy’s head off.

  “I’m just calling it like I see it. She and Grim are both in there taking turns playing bad cop, psychotic cop. Penny’s being the bad cop right now. Grim hasn’t even started yet, and we might want to move away from their room by the way. It’s going to get a whole lot noisier when Grim gets his hands on that cubus.”

  “Penny mentioned cubus earlier, what exactly is that, anyway?” I rubbed my eyes. My vision was starting to get a lot clearer, the cobwebs were clearing,

  I winced as another agonized scream ripped from the room next door, “No…please not my fingers. No...NO.NOOOOOO!” Sam howled in pain.

  “How about we all go to another room somewhere farther away from what they are doing. We can talk all about this somewhere that’s less nightmare inducing.” Niki said as she started ushering us out of the room and presumably to somewhere much quieter.

  “No. Thanks girls, you all go find somewhere quieter. I need to go be with Grim and Penny.” I couldn’t believe the words coming out of my mouth.

  Niki begged, “Don’t be silly, let them handle this. There’s no reason for you to go watch those two do that.”

  I took a deep steadying breath, “I have to. If I’m going to be with them, then I need to know if I can accept them at their worst.”

  Katy’s eyes narrowed, “I figured you’d swoop in to take my place the first chance you got, but I have to say that I thought you’d at least wait a couple days before throwing yourself at them.”

  Anger started bubbling up in me, but I reminded myself that Katy was stressed. Her parents were in a real bad way, and on top of that, we had her running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to build a ghost trap for Janine’s body. That combination would put anyone in the mood for a fight. “Katy, I’m sorry. I don’t want to upset you, and I know your plate is pretty full. I wouldn’t even consider being with them if you were all still together, but as much as I care about you…I want to be with them. I’m not going to argue with you about this. This is just how it is. You can accept that, or you can find the door. I love you like a sister, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to shape my life around what’s convenient for you.”

  “Fine, but just remember that as far as they’re both concerned, you’re nothing more than a prop for their fun. They will use you up, and when they’re done they’ll toss you aside, just like me.” Katy’s eyes were two slits of rage.

  She was tr
ying to bait me into an argument, and to be honest, I nearly stepped right into it with both feet. At the very least, I wanted to tell her to stuff it. As much as I wanted to tell her off, I’ve raised my siblings, and I know better than to argue with someone when they are itching for the opportunity. Nobody ever wins, and one of us might say something we can’t take back. “Excuse me. I have somewhere I have to be.” I stepped around her and made my way to Grim and Penny.

  I knocked and then stepped inside. There was blood everywhere. Sam was…ruined. They’d stripped him of his clothing. One of his hands was crushed, the other was missing fingers. The bloody nubs were gauzed up to stop the bleeding, but they still oozed a little, and so did his crotch. Someone had done some really rough field medicine to keep him alive. If I was going to guess, I’d say it was Grim that did it. My eyes followed the blood and gore around the room until I saw Jes in the corner. She was duct taped to a chair facing away so that she didn’t have to actually see it. I almost demanded they let her go, but then I remembered that she had been a part of this up until the very last moment, and anger just started boiling through my veins. She betrayed me, and almost got me killed.

  Of course, the same could have been said about me not that long ago and suddenly the anger was washed away with guilt. Being on this end of the betrayal wasn’t nearly as easy to stomach. I felt even worse once I realized the biggest difference was that Jes hadn’t known us at all when she betrayed us, and meanwhile, I’d gotten pretty close with the others before I turned my back on them. Grim forgave me, and helped the others to forgive me. Even if I spent the rest of my life trying to show my appreciation for what he did, it probably still wouldn’t be enough.

  “DD, you probably don’t want to be here. This isn’t going to be pretty.” Penny said.

  “I have to be here. If we’re seriously going to be together, then I need to see the good and the bad. I can’t just stick my head in the sand and pretend you guys never did it. I need to know whether I can handle the whole package because, if I’m in, then I don’t want it to just be for the good stuff.” I looked at Penny, “I want to be here for the good and the bad. I don’t want to be with you only when it’s convenient. I want to make this work, and to do that I have to be part of this.”