Lothian League
Marian Hegemony
The Periphery
26 December, 3149
The door to the guest suite slammed shut. Raiden Trogg turned to face Freyja, who stood beside the red-headed woman whose name she still did not know. "Your master will be glad you were the smart one. I wasn't sure he was going to be smart and let his slave do the dirty work and keep his family out of it, but you made that choice for him. Smart girl. Now, let Blaze there get you undressed and we can get this party started."
Freyja stared back at him in disbelief, unsure of what to do. The massive man shrugged. "Look, it isn't so bad, we're pirates after all, we've got all kinds of good drugs to make things feel fine. You'll have the time of your life."
She shook her head. "I'm not doing anything. I just came here to keep the Bakkers out of it. They're good people, and you needn't upset their lives for your frolicking and plunder."
He moved closer to her. She ran through options in her head. She looked for anything that could be used as a weapon. There was no way she could escape him without help.
"Now that's where you're wrong, princess," he laughed. "You're not getting out of here. You'll do whatever I tell you. You may as well enjoy it."
She backed up as far as she could, trying to trade distance for any help in her search for an advantage. "Not with scum like you. I may be on the ass end of the periphery, but I'll not give in to you."
She spotted the fireplace poker, and mentally tagged it as her best chance at a weapon. She knew she would only get one shot at this, and then Raiden's massive bulk would simply overwhelm her. She kept herself alert, ready to make her move at the right time.
"You're making this way harder than it has to be. You might as well do it my way" He had a dull hunger in his eyes as he spoke. As they moved around the room, Raiden caught his foot on the huge bear fur carpet. Freyja took her chance and ran for the poker.
With unbelievable speed, he adjusted to her lunge, and she found his large hand grab her by the neck. With almost casual ease, he lifted her by the throat and slammed her into the wall, driving the air from her lungs and leaving her gasping for air. He threw her onto the large bed and pinned her almost effortlessly.
Her vision narrowed as she struggled to regain her breath, a dark tunnel showing only her attacker. She felt a prick in her arm, and Raiden nodded. "I like a bit of a struggle, but you're fight or flight. Don't worry, Blaze just dosed you up good. You'll start to feel it soon, like your arms and legs are going numb. But don't worry, you'll be awake for everything. It's a shame, such a pretty little thing, but hey, you have to mark your territory, you know?"
He was right. She fought and struggled, for all the good it would do, but after a few seconds her limbs started to feel heavy. Even her breathing felt heavy, and all she could do was look up into the face of the murderous pirate atop her.
The drugs and shock began to blur her reality. It was as if time stopped. She felt the villainous oaf tearing her clothes off, and it felt as if her skin itself was being peeled away. She let out an ear piercing scream, yet no sound came out of her mouth. It was as if time itself fragmented, and she only registered small, jolting bits. At various times she felt like she was out of her body, looking down on the muscular pirate treating her like a rag doll. In other moments she felt as if she were being impaled on a fiery stake. Through it all, there was no sound, even as she saw the devil speaking and laughing. Eventually, a kind of unconsciousness rescued her and she felt as though she was falling. And she kept on falling, in silence for what seemed like an eternity.
Then suddenly, she was aware of herself again. She was back in her body. She could feel herself breathing. She opened her eyes, and the light was low. It could have been seconds, or minutes, but finally she grasped the reality of where she was. She felt pain. Dull all over, but burning in her core. She tried to raise her head, but she felt a hand against her cheek. It wasn't his hand, she knew that much. She raised her head slightly, and saw the female pirate with the blazing red hair. Blaze he had called her. She looked at Freyja with a sense of understanding.
"Relax. Don't try to move too quickly, the drugs are wearing off, but slowly."
Freyja gathered all of her awareness and tried to speak. "Have to get out".
The woman rolled next to her. "No, he's still here. You'll be okay, we just have to get you cleaned up a bit. Come on." Blaze coaxed her out of the bed and led her gently to the bathroom. She walked her into the shower and pulled on the lever, sending ice cold water coarsing over the both of them.
"What are you doing?"
The woman took Freyja's face in her hands. "I'm trying to help. In a little way at least."
"Fuck you" was all Freyja could muster.
Blaze persisted. "Look, I know I'm in with the bad guy, but sometimes we all do what we have to in order to survive. Raiden is the top dog, and I just try to survive. But look, you've just had your whole world smashed. I know it's fucked up, but this is a turning point for you. You can fall apart and be broken and let him win, or you can use this to fire you. It doesn't make any sense now, I know. I just hope some day it will."
They stood there in the shower, staring at each other for a few moments, before Freyja finally nodded. They quickly towel dried themselves, and Blaze wrapped Freyja in a big blanket made from some kind of animal fur that she didn't recognize. The other woman quickly walked across the room and dug through a bag, then returned to Freyja's side with a syringe.
"You're probably hurting all over. I'm going to give you some morphine. Just go to sleep. When he wakes up, if you're passed out, he will just leave. We'll be gone when you wake up. Remember what I said to you."
It was only a few moments after she felt the prick of the needle that she drifted off to sleep, hoping to never return.
No comments:
Post a Comment