The Next Luna

5

Zoey

A hard kick from Nat's steel toe boot woke me up. "Sit up." I did as I was told. My body hurt but not near as bad as I thought it would. A bowl of what looked like regurgitated clumps of mush was thrust at me. "Eat." It smelled just as bad as it looked. I gagged and shook my head. His hand shot out and grabbed my hair, pulling my head back in an awkward position. "You will eat this, or I will shove it down your throat." Clamping my lips together, I shook my head as best as I could. There was no way I was eating that. It smelled like he dug it out of the sewer. Letting go of my hair, his hand gripped my chin. He squeezed hard, digging his fingers into my jaw as he pulled down, prying my mouth open. I tried to fight him off, but he used his body to hold me against the wall. His knee dug into my chest. He moved the bowl to my lips and dumped some of the contents into my mouth. Before I could spit it out, he shoved my mouth closed. Holding it so I couldn't open it. The contents tasted even worse than they looked and smelled. I gagged as I tried to pull my head away and spit it out. Adjusting his hand slightly, he used his thumb to massage my throat, triggering my reflexes to swallow. He repeated this until the bowl was empty. I fought the whole time. I was sure I was going to be sick. There was no way whatever he was giving to me was healthy for me. When the bowl was empty, he threw it off to the side and held me pinned to the wall with my head pushed back for what seemed like forever. When he finally let me go, I leaned over, coughing. I still felt like I was going to be sick. "Throw up as much as you want, sweetheart, enough of it is in your system now. You won't be putting up much of a fight from now on." With that, he turned and walked out, picking up the bowl on his way out. I continued to gag as my body worked to reject the disgusting chunky liquid. It left a metallic taste in my mouth. My insides felt like they were burning as some of it came back up. 

Not long after, Nat returned. This time with a glass in his hand. He kneeled down next to me and stroked my hair. "Shhh, now, it's alright. Here sweetheart, use this water here to rinse your mouth out. I know it tastes gross, but we had to be sure you don't shift before we are ready." I looked at him in confusion. What the f**k was he talking about? Shift, did I fall asleep watching the Syfy channel, and this was all some sick nightmare brought on by some crazy-ass show? He smiled sweetly at me, offering me the glass of water. Slowly I reached out and took it. It smelled like water and a small sip test of it, and I was sure he wasn't lying. I rinsed my mouth out, spitting the liquid off to the side where I had thrown up. I wasn't ready for another beating. Hell, I didn't know if I could take it. I felt weak all of a sudden. I just wanted to lay down and go to sleep. When I was done rinsing my mouth out, I offered it back to him. He shook his head, "drink it all down, sweetheart. Don't want you to get dehydrated, now do we?" Slowly I drank the rest of it. Then and only then did he take the glass back from me. Patting my head like I was a dog, he stood up, "good girl." I narrowed my eyes at him. He kept talking to me like I was some kind of pet, and I didn't like it. He raised an eyebrow at me, "got something to say b***h?" I didn't say anything. I simply continued to glare at him. Which he apparently didn't like because I was soon being pulled up off the floor by my neck. My back slammed against the wall before he used his body to pin me to it. His hand tightened around my neck, squeezing slightly, making it hard to breathe. "Maybe you didn't get enough of it. I will have to bring more down in a bit. Unless you wish to behave now?" I nodded my head which granted me release. I fell to the floor as I gasped for air. f**k he was strong. "Good. Now get some rest." He turned and headed back upstairs. Fresh tears ran down my cheeks as I sat there. I had to find a way out of this. No one knew where I was. No one probably had even realized I was missing. The only person in the world that cared for me was dead. We were set to leave for a month. No one would have come by the house for any reason. Our mail wouldn’t even be delivered to the house. Mom had already arranged for it to be held at the post office. Our closest neighbor was a mile up the road and an older woman who often didn't leave her house. Mom's work wouldn't even be expecting her until we were scheduled to be back. Nat said my father had gotten their message, but he didn't know who I was, so why would he come for me? Hell, even if he had gotten the message, that didn’t mean he understood it or even cared to try. I leaned back against the wall. There had to be a way to help myself. I tried pulling on the chains again, but they seemed to sting even more than they had before. I cried out in frustration. I hated this. My mom always told me to never give up, never let someone control my life. It was my life. I should live it for me, no one else. And I would be damned if I was going to let this asshole beat me into submission. 

"Did you notice how he avoids the chains?" That little voice again. Was I going crazy? It wasn't as loud as before, but it was there. I heard it. It had a point, though. He did avoid my chains. Every time he got close to me, he made sure my hands were pinned off to the side. I pushed myself up off the floor now. It hurt, my whole body hurt, but I had to be ready for when he came back. I turned, so I was facing the wall. "Gather the chain up. When he comes down, we can use it as a weapon." I did as the voice told me. It burned my hands. I did my best not to cry out from the pain. Just as I got the chain gathered and ready, I heard heavy footsteps on the stairs. I waited until I felt him right behind me, then I made my move. I swung the chain around, hitting him full force in the face with the chains. He stepped back, screaming as he bent over, holding his face. To my surprise, though, he hadn't been alone this time. The guy that had snapped my mother's neck like a twig was there. His fist came down hard, slamming my head back into the wall from its sheer force as he punched me. My vision blurred as my legs gave out, and I fell to the floor. The last thing I heard was the guy next to me laughing and Nat’s curses from across the room.