Page 162 of Scavenger's Oath
Hitting the ground hard, my elbows scrape raw, gravel embedding in my skin. I scramble away, but my ankle is caught before I get far.
“Where the fuck d’you think you’re goin’, girl?” he snarls, dragging me across the harsh grit. “Should’a learned the first time.”
I recognise his voice. Rick. He’s an angry man, always looking for an excuse to dish out punishments.
My heel catches him in the face as I struggle. A grunt follows, blood immediately streaming from his nose.
“You bitch!” He grabs my hair and yanks, hard enough to make me screech.
Jeb barks out a laugh. “She’s had a taste of freedom. Forgotten her place.”
I twist, kick, dig my nails into anything I can reach. But there are too many of them. Hands everywhere—shoving, grabbing, pinching.
And then I hearhisvoice. Low. Smooth.
“Easy now, brothers. Don’t break her before Father Bennett gets back.”
My blood runs cold.
Derek.
He was the one who kept the others off me. Never believed in their made-up religion and only played the part enough to win his place as Bennett’s right-hand man. Even got me out of trouble a few times. Said he protected me. Cared about me.
I used to think he was kind, that he was truly looking out for me. But then one day, I asked him to help me escape. He went straight to Bennett, and I was chained in the barn for three days and starved. Derek had snuck in to see me and told me he did it for my own good… but the illusion had burst.
Now, he crouches beside me, eyes roving over my dirt-smeared face like he’s found something long lost.
“Well damn, Ivy,” he says, almost in awe. “Never thought I’d see this face again. Look at you, alive and well fed.” He glances over his shoulder at the others, grinning. “Benny’s all done with this bitch. Says the womb’s cursed to be barren. Another fallen Eve.”
I want to scream that I’m not barren. That I’m pregnant and it’s Bennett who’s infertile. But I keep my mouth tightly sealed.
Someone whistles low. “Does that mean we get a turn now, Brother Derek?”
“She ain’t a wife no more,” Derek confirms, smirking, knowing the power he holds as Bennett’s right-hand. “Father Bennett said he don’t give a shit what happens to her. Says she belongs to the house now.”
The others cheer. It’s a sick, savage sound that makes my stomach churn.
“Should’a let me have her back then,” Rick grumbles. “Wouldn’t’a lost half our brothers to those three masked psychos.”
My heart squeezes at the mention of them. Phoenix. Myles. Zane. My darling monsters.Will they find me? Are they planning a rescue?
Another, Terrance, steps closer and spits next to me. “You know how many bodies we had to leave behind that day? Frankie’s head was blown clean off! All ‘cause of your little boyfriend with the devil mask. My leg’s still infected.” He points to the dirty bandage on his shin. “Andyou’rethe reason.”
Another guy sneers, grabbing my chin and forcing me to look at him. “We should take turns with her before Father Bennett gets back. Brother Derek said she’s ours now. Right?”
The grip on my chin tightens as his eyes trail over me. Anger floods me and before I can think better of it, I spit in his face.
He scowls and slaps me hard enough that my head bounces off the ground, blood exploding in my mouth as my teeth catch my tongue.
That was a bad move. I can admit that, but I don’t regret it.
Because Zane, Phoenix and Myles showed me that things can be different. They loved my fire. They loved when I pushed back and never punished me for it. They made me feel like a goddess. Like someone who deserves more than I had settled for.
But I remember what it takes to survive this house, and brute strength won’t do it. And I have two lives to protect now.I have to be smarter.
“Unless you’re ready to atone, better wait till Father Bennett condemns her himself,” Derek warns, coming to my aid like healways did.
Going limp, I let them haul me up, dragging my bare feet across the dirt and up the bowing porch steps. I watch the weathered door creak open, feel the rotten breath of the house fan over my face.
