Dead World Rising

by Katerina Petrova

  'Ha, that's just what the others said. Yes it's real, and the people there have no idea what Nathaniel's compound really is. I just know that if we tell them, they'll help us,' I said.

  'How do you know about this?' Frankie asked. 'I've met them, Nathaniel and his people trade with them. The leader Vera always comes with her people, she's a good woman. If we approach them, we'll have the numbers to go up against Nathaniel's men, and win,' I answered strongly.

  I saw Jensen's eyes lit up, he smiled in agreement of my plan.

  'I think it's definitely worth asking them,' Frankie agreed.

  'So do I,' Finn chimed in.

  'Aye, you've got a point there lass,' Tamara piped up. They talked among themselves for a little while, it seemed that this was a plan everyone was happy with. After a hour or so of talking about it, they all agreed but they said the same thing I did. If Sanctuary wouldn't help, then they weren't going to help Nikkita's friends.

  In truth I hoped that we would get help, I didn't want Nathaniel to get away with what he'd done to Maggie and to countless other people. No one knew it, but I too had a vengeful streak, I was just smart about it.

  I couldn't help letting my anger get the best of me, after all I'd seen in that awful place, all the horror and the pain. I woke in my room surrounded by the other women, Leah wasn't here today she'd been asked to stay with one of the women who would give birth any day now. A new girl named Helena had arrived late last night, she was a tiny little thing, with hair of sunshine gold, eyes as dark as the night sky and skin of mocha brown. She was so slender, so small that she couldn't have been any more than five feet tall. I didn't know how old she was but I doubted Helena was even out of her teens.

  She was to be one of Maddox's wives, he was the one who found her so he had claimed her. It was the rule here, well that was one of many rules. She cowered in the corner like frightened rabbit trapped in headlights, too afraid to move or even make a sound. I edged closer to her, in hopes of giving her some comfort.

  'I'm Jade,' I said in a whisper.

  'M-my names Helena,' she mumbled nervously.

  'How did you come to be here?' I asked. 'I-I lived with my father and two brothers in a small village not thirty miles south of here. It was just the three of us, we bothered no one, but then one day I was walking to the river and I heard mens voices-' she spoke so quietly, so fearfully.

  It was clear that she had been through something awful, no doubt Maddox and the others had killed her father and brothers.

  'It's alright, you don't have to tell me,' I told her softly.

  'What about you? How did you end up here?' 'I was held prisoner by another group like this, then the leader Nathaniel came along and took some of the women and brought them here. Among them was my daughter Maggie, I pleaded with the leader to let me come with them and he agreed,' I answered quietly.

  'I'm sorry, is your daughter alive?' She asked carefully.

  'Yes, Maggie lives with the leader, she remains physically unscathed here but even I can see just how much this place has affected her.'

  'How do we get out of here?'

  It was question most of the new prisoners had, each time it was asked I would answer with the same thing response.

  'You don't, if you try they find you, if they find you they kill you in the worst possible way,' I had to be blunt in order to discourage her from attempting to flee. I was used to the look of anger and disbelief on the women's faces, but Helena's expression reminded me of my daughter Rowena. She was the strong and fierce, Rowena took no crap from anyone and often had to be the voice of reason with her siblings.

  'I'll not let them touch me, you'll see. Come the end of the week, I'll be a free woman,' Helena said with her head held high.

  Sure enough, true to her word Helena did come up with an escape plan. She might have looked like a little girl, but she was far from it. Able to convince even Maddox that she would so easily yield to him and that her own sexual appetite rivalled his. I would see her walking with Maddox, with his arm around her holding her close. Helena would look at me and smile, and for the first time since being here I actually believed that someone would make it out of here alive.

  The night before her planned escape, she lay next to me smiling.

  'Just one more night and I'll be free.'

  'I truly hope you make it,' I told her softly.

  'Come with me Jade, your a good woman and I could use someone like you on my side,' she replied happily.

  While the thought of leaving here was tempting, I knew I could never abandon Maggie.

  'I can't, my daughter is here and I won't leave her here alone,' I said softly.

  'I figured as much, but I had to ask.' The next morning I woke to the sound of screaming, the four other women in my room were huddled in the corner tears streaming down their eyes. At first I didn't understand what they were screaming at, but then I looked down at my hands to find that my body was covered in blood. I knew it wasn't my own, I slowly followed the trail of blood with my eyes.

  As the pool grew larger, I saw Helena's eyes frozen open in terror. Her mocha coloured face had been cut from ear to ear, her beautiful child-like smile was no longer visible through the torn flesh and copious amounts of blood.

  I didn't scream or shout as I moved to sit next her still warm body, how could she have been so stupid to think she could trick Maddox? I should have warned her, or done something. As I held her in my arms, cradling her tiny body I wept. She was a good hearted girl, who deserved better than this.

  I didn't know how long I sat, covered in her blood, but sometime later Maddox walked in with a bright beaming smile on his face, standing tall as if he was proud of what he'd done to her. He came with some of the other men, they too looked smug at the sight of Helena's mangled body.

  'Get that thing out of here, stick it on the front of the church let it be a message to all those who would dare to trick me,' he ordered.

  I clung to her body, unwilling to let them violate her even more.

  'No, you can't have her!' I screamed angrily.

  Maddox laughed as he stood there, not at all phased by my angry outburst.

  'Give it to us, or I'll stick you on that church as well,' he bellowed. 'Never!'

  'Boys get that thing away from her, and bring Jade to the church as well,' he answered still laughing. I screamed and fought as they grabbed Helena from me, the men dragged me to the church where Nathaniel, Maggie and most of the village had gathered. I saw the look of terror on Maggie's face as they threw me at Nathaniel's feet, for a split second I thought I saw a look of sadness cross Nathaniel's face.

  'This one argued and tried to stop us bringing the other one here,' Maddox said happily.

  Before Maggie could say anything Nathaniel waved his hand at her, I knew that even if she protested Nathaniel had no choice but to punish me.

  'She needs to be punished, but don't kill her. We need her,' was all Nathaniel told him.

  'You heard him boys, string that dead thing up and put Jade next to her,' he laughed. I knew there was no point in fighting, it would only ensure that my punishment would become much graver. I didn't cry as they nailed Helena's body to the large double wooden doors. Aside from the lack of a cross she looked just how Jesus would. Her hands and feet were nailed to the door, I feared I would be subjected to the same thing but in many ways my torment was much worse.

  Maddox didn't let his boys deal with me, he dragged me to the door himself. As the look of hunger and joy crossed his face, I feared he would violate me in front of the whole village. He held me by the throat and slammed me into the doors.

  'If I had my way, I'd fuck you right here and now. But for some reason the boss wants you intact, so I guess this is your lucky day,' he whispered. I felt the shiver of fear run through me, what other form torment could be worse? I didn't have to wait long to find out, they attached chains to the top of the doors, I was strapped in by the other men while Maddox tore at my clothes. I dare not close my eyes
as they enjoyed humiliating me for I knew if I did they'd only come up with something much worse. As Maddox stepped back to enjoy his handy work, I looked down to find my top had been torn in two, my trousers split to the point that you could see my white pants.

  'The girl to your right betrayed us, she lied, deceived and plotted against us. She has faced death as her punishment, Jade here knew of her plans but didn't say a word. She fought my men when they sought to bring the traitor here, so now she will spent seven days and seven nights alongside her fellow traitor. I am a merciful man, this is Jade's only second chance. Next time, she too will endure a fate worse than death!' Nathaniel shouted to the crowd.

  No one spoke or gasped, no one dared. For the next week, I woke up each morning to the wind whipping my hair, to the sight of Helena's rotting, bloody body. I held in my own bodily functions for as long as I could, but even I couldn't hold them in for a week. By day three I was covered in my own faeces and each morning the women would gather to look upon my saddened face. By the time I was brought down, my anger and fury had grown tenfold. It was on that day, that I swore one way or another I would have my revenge.

  Chapter 6

  Maggie

  It had been two weeks since Jade had been gone, I missed her terribly but I was also glad that she could rejoin our family. It was a relief to know that she wouldn't have to suffer any more, I'll never forget the sight of her chained to the church door. Each morning when I got back from looking at her, I begged Nathaniel to let her down but he refused. He had to stay strong, he couldn't let his men think I was swaying him. I dared not cry in front of the others, but the image of them pulling her down, of seeing her so defeated will haunt me till the end of my days.

  I felt beyond sad that I couldn't rejoin my family, but I knew I was too far gone to just go back home. I'd changed too much in these last months, I wasn't the girl they knew and my sweet brother wouldn't be able to deal with who I was now. Whenever I thought back to the girl I was, I could hardly believe that it was me. The things I'd had to do since being here, would stay with me forever. More than that, I knew how things had to be and the way my brother lived he was going to get himself killed. No, it was better that he think I was dead, that way he would hopefully go home and forget about me.

  Today I had to join Nathaniel and rest of the town, one of his men had royally fucked up, and now he was going to be severely punished for it. Doing the cruel things no longer bothered me, in fact it gave me a weird sense of satisfaction to have such control over someone. As I walked out the front door, all eyes turned to me. Since they'd discovered that I wasn't dead, and that my ''death'' had been a ploy they'd all been wary of me. Even Ellen who I had been close with in Dave's compound, now stayed away from me. We'd told them the same thing we'd told Nathaniel's men, most of them couldn't believe I'd told Nathaniel about my family. They saw it as a way of getting out of here, that I'd ruined. I didn't care much for their thoughts or opinions of me, just because they could return to a normal life doesn't mean I could.

  I reached the clock tower to find two cars, I knew exactly what punishment Nathaniel had in store for this man. I knew this man, his name was Byson. He'd fallen in love with one of his wives, and tried to escape with her. Nathaniel didn't mind his men falling in love or being kind to their wives, but to try and disrupt the way things work here and to blatantly disobey Nathaniel's orders, Byson had to be punished.

  I took my spot next to Nathaniel, I looked into his eyes, I could see the sadness behind them. In the months I'd been here, I'd learned to see beneath Nathaniel's exterior. Underneath that hardened shell, was a man who hated the people he commanded, while he had no qualms about hitting a woman he still took no pleasure in it. Unlike many of his men who were genuinely sadistic and cruel. I knew deep down that if he could get away from his men without the women being put in more danger he would. Byson was chained to both cars by his hands and feet, I could see the look of terror on his face as he knew what was coming.

  'I'm sorry boss, it won't happen again,' he cried. Ignoring him, Nathaniel turned to the rest of his people. 'You've seen what happens when the women betray me, now you'll see what happens when my men betray me!' He shouted at the crowd.

  'Please, no!' Byson cried again.

  'Start the cars lads,' he told them. I watched as they slowly drove the cars in opposite directions, I saw his flesh slowly ripped apart. His screams pierced my ears as the blood spurted in all directions, I jumped back as some landed on my jeans. I knew why Nathaniel had told them drive slowly, he wanted to show his men just how ruthless he could be. I looked on as his limbs were ripped from their sockets, the sight of it not even phasing me. The cars stopped as Byson breathed his last breath, it was only then that I noticed the woman that Maddox had hold of. She was on her knees screaming, with tears spilling down her face. I recognised her as Lola, she'd been here far longer than I had.

  'Chain her up,' Nathaniel ordered. For a minute I thought she was going to suffer the same fate as Byson, but she was only chained to the cars by her arms. It was then that I saw Nathaniel picked up the Corpse Crusher, a long wooden bat with thick metal spikes on.

  'Please, no! Don't hurt my baby,' she wailed.

  'We will have no reminder of the traitor,' he shouted at her. I could see the looks of disbelief and utter horror on the women's faces, some were even crying, holding on to the person next to them. Yet I could not look away as he swung his bat, serves her right, I thought. You couldn't get away with anything here, I didn't even feel guilty that I was the one who told Nathaniel of her and Byson's plan. I looked Lola straight in the eyes as she screamed in agony, even though we hadn't known she was pregnant, I knew what Nathaniel's plan was.

  'Aaaah!' Lola screamed as the metal spikes pierced her stomach. I saw the blood spurt from her stomach, unlike the other women I did not recoil in horror. One whack, two, three and she was barely conscious. He hadn't killed her, but he'd made sure to kill the baby inside her. Nathaniel ordered Ellen and one of his men to take the women the hospital house, while he stood there cleaning the bat.

  'I hope you've all taken notice of this, any more defiances and you'll suffer far worse than this,' he told them. The women went back to their duties, some were tasked with the vile job of cleaning up the mess out here. I followed Nathaniel silently back to our house, my mind didn't linger on Lola's screams but instead it wondered back to something I'd been thinking of for the last couple of weeks.

  I'd never had sex for pleasure before, and I kept thinking how I didn't want Dave's violation to be my only memory of sex. My bruises had healed, the only reminder of Nathaniel's beating was a small scar on my neck. But that didn't matter, what did matter was that I'd learned not to make that mistake again.

  As we entered our bedroom Nathaniel took off his blood stained clothes, his body was one to admire. His torso was ripped and muscular, his pale skin seemed to glow in the sun light. His hair, which had grown to his shoulders flowed freely as he took it out of the bobble, his blue eyes stood out on his face. As he took off his trousers I saw just how muscular his legs were, how on earth had I never noticed this before? I sat down on the bed and took off my own blood stained clothes, I'd grown a little in the last few months. My breasts now looked like those of a women, my figure was no longer too skinny, I had the body of a real women instead of a child. I looked at him as I undid my bra revealing more than a handful.

  'I'm ready,' I told him.

  His eyes widened, I could see the lust that he tried to hide. I stood up and took off my pants, watching his expression carefully. He stood still as I walked over to him in all my glory, it didn't take much to make him hard. I wondered how long it had been since he'd had sex, I could feel my own body awakening as I pressed myself against him.

  'Are you sure?' He looked at me carefully as if expecting me to change my mind.

  'I want you,' I told him hearing the lust in my own voice. He grabbed me by my waist, pulling me close as I felt for the first time, his lips o
n mine. It was our first kiss, but it was also the kiss that explained everything. Despite how we met, or the beatings he'd had to give me, I just knew in my heart that we'd be together. I wanted him, I needed him. I moaned as he kissed over the scar on my neck, I raised my legs, wrapping them around him. He held me tight as he swung round and slammed me into the wall, I was so excited that I felt as though I were on fire.

  'Oh god,' I moaned as he playfully fondled my nipples. He reached down between my legs, sliding his fingers inside me. I could feel myself becoming wet at his touch, I had no idea this could feel so good. I didn't think about the last time I'd had sex, or how awful it was. I thought only of how much I needed this, I needed to feel this pleasure, to know that I could enjoy sex.

  I untangled my legs from his waist and he set me down, I took his hand and led him to the bed. I gently pushed him down, I needed to feel in control of this. I climbed on top of him, pushing his arms up to hold them in place as I kissed his lips, and then his neck. Feeling his body shiver and hearing him moan only made me more excited. I ran my fingers down his rock hard abs, I stroked his length feeling it harden at my touch. I kissed my way down his body until I reached his cock, feeling it in my mouth as I ran my tongue up and down. I pulled away after a few moments, I wanted to feel pleasure now.

  'Fuck me,' I whispered in his ear.

  'I want you,' he told me hungrily.

  'Then take me,' I replied lustfully. He pushed me down on the bed, running his fingers along my womanly body, my skin tingled at his touch. He once again slid his fingers inside, two of them this time. As he slid them in and out he kissed his way to my clit, I screamed with pleasure as I felt my body ignite with a fire I didn't know I had.

  'I need you inside me,' I moaned.

  I was amazed at how good it felt to have him become one with me, I clung to his waist as he entered me feeling every inch of his wide length. I was so wet that it didn't hurt, it just felt like heaven. I pulled him down to kiss me, tasting my own juices on his lips. In the midst of our fiery passion, he whispered something no man had ever said to me.