.・゜-: ✧☾　☽✧ :-゜・.

𝐭𝐰- 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐱𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐞. 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬. 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐨 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢 𝐚𝐦 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐬. 𝐢 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐮 𝐝𝐨.
𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤. 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐥

𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐀 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐒 taught to never go outside alone. To never walk in the dark alone. To never talk to strangers. To always call her parents whenever. She never thought much of it. She believed that it was something every parent taught their children. Until her brother was born. He was never taught these things. Instead their parents taught him to always treat a woman with respect. To never comment on a girl's body or behavior. As Stella grew up she realized why her and her brother had been taught differently. When she was 13 she first experienced being cat called. When she was 14 she noticed how older men would look at her. At 15 she even encountered a man that asked her to follow him home.

In an apocalyptic world, you forget these things. You forget that the dead aren't the only threat in the world. You forget what people do, what they always have and always will.

Stella didn't remember much from the car ride to the strange room. Just that Merle at some point threw a cloth over her head leaving her in darkness. She remembers trying to fight him off but ended up with a sharp pain in the back of her head before everything went black. When she woke up, she knew that she wasn't in a car anymore. She tried to open her eyes but even when she did, all she could see was black. She opened her mouth to panic and scream but her words were muffled by the gag in her mouth.

Her hands were tied behind her back and her ankles were tied together. She tried to fight against the ropes but there was no use. As she tried to move she realized she was sitting on a chair. She had no idea where she was or where Levi was. She bit down on her lip until it bled and let the metallic taste seep into her mouth. The taste almost offered a momentary distraction from the overwhelming panic and fear that threatened to consume her. She tried to scream again but the gag stopped her. She tried to use her tongue to push it out of her mouth but failed.

Suddenly she heard the sound of the door creaking open. She froze instantly. For a moment she hoped that it was her father walking through the door to save her. But she knew that there was no one coming to rescue her

She heard as the heavy footsteps grew closer before the person stopped in front of her. She held her breath as she waited for whatever would happen next. Her heart hammered in her chest and her hands fumbled around for something to use but the ropes were too strong, leaving her unarmed.

Suddenly she felt someone rip off the cloth from her head followed by a strong light shining into her eyes. Her gaze flickered around as she tried to take in her surroundings. She was in a brick-wall room with a lack of furniture except for a table in the middle of the room separating her from a person sitting opposite her. It was a boy, in the same situation as Stella. He wore a cloth over his head so Stella couldn't see his face. For a moment Stella tried to believe that it was a random person. But as the man who had just ripped off Stella's cloth did the same thing on the boy in front of her she was met with a familiar face. Levi.

The boy's eyes shut instantly as the light seeped in. After his eyes had adjusted to the brightness his gaze quickly locked on Stella. As soon as he did his face was drained from all its color and his eyes flew wide open. He let out a scream, muffled by the gag in his mouth as he tried to fight against the ropes that were wrapped around his arms and ankles.

"He'll be with you in a second." The unknown man said before leaving the room.

As soon as he did, Levi immediately tried to push his chair closer to Stella but the ropes held him back. His face was a mask of fear and worry, full of fright just like Stella's. The two held eye contact as they struggled against the ropes. Stella's throat was sore from all the attempts of screaming for help and her ankles and wrists felt like they were burning as they repeatedly were rubbed against the ropes.

The minutes felt like hours. Stella had no idea how much time passed as the two of them struggled to free themselves before the door busted open.

Merle Dixon.

The man grinned as he stepped into the room. Stella's heart felt like it was going to burst out her chest as she waited for the man's next move. He walked slowly around the table. As he passed Stella, he let his sharp blade drag over her hair - an action that caused Levi to snap his chair closer to the two. Stella tried to remain straight and calm, almost unbothered in hopes of looking frightening.

Merle then continued over to Levi's chair. In one swift move he grabbed the back of it before dragging the boy out the room. Stella watched as fear consumed Levi's expression and she tried to scream. The Dixon man disappeared out the door along with Levi. Fear and worry consumed her as she was left alone in the room.

The walls were thin enough for Stella to hear as the door opened in the other room. The girl listened carefully as Merle dragged Levi inside. She could hear his struggle and the muffled screams.

"I don't believe we've met." Merle's voice was heard from the other side of the wall. "You Stella's boyfriend?"

"Don't you dare touch her." Levi spat at him. Merle must have taken the gag out.

The Dixon man just chuckled at Levi's words before his voice quickly got serious again. "You don't even know why you're here, do you? I didn't mean no harm. I lowered my gun, you raised yours. But then again, you're just a boy. A dumb one."

A silence was laid upon the room. Stella tried to scooch closer to the wall to listen.

"When did you join the group?" Merle asked.

"Back in Atlanta." Levi said shortly.

"What a shame we didn't meet earlier. Too bad we had to meet like this." The Dixon man continued. "So tell me, Pretty boy. Did you join them before or after they left me on that roof? Either way, you must have heard the story multiple times. I bet you lot pussies gather around and laugh about it. What your group did to me, leaving me like that, people wouldn't do that to an animal."

"They went back for you." Levi said. "All of them. Rick, Daryl, T-dog."

"T-dog." Merle repeated. "The one that dropped the key. Tell me where's he at?"

Levi remained silent for a moment. Stella knew that T- dog and Levi used to be good friends. She realized that she hadn't had the time to ask him how he was doing after T- dog's death. She knew that it was a sensitive subject and she knew what would happen if Merle said the wrong thing.

"He didn't make it." Levi finally said, his voice sounded weak.

"Well, I hope he went slow." Merle said. Stella's whole body stiffened as she waited for Levi to react. She prayed that he wouldn't do anything stupid, even though Merle would deserve it.

After a moment of silence Merlie asked. "How about the rest? How about my baby brother? You can't tell me he's alive and then hold off on where he is."

Stella held her breath as she waited for Levi to reply but the answer never came.

"No? Well, maybe the sheriff's pretty daughter will help me out?" Stella could imagine the big grin on Merle's face as he spoke. "Tell me something- When she's scared and she's holding you close, and her trembling skin is close to you. Her soft lips are touching you. Feels good, doesn't it?"

His words disgusted Stella to her very core.

"I know guys like you. You've got balls on you, I can tell. You don't scare easy. But guys like you always have a weakness. Yours is her." Merle said, referring to the blonde in the other room. "Now, I wanna know where my brother is."

His words were followed by a muffled whimpering in pain. Levi.

Stella didn't even want to imagine what Merle was doing to him in there.

"How 'bout I go have a chat with blondie in ther-" Merle didn't get a chance to finish his sentence before he grunted in pain. Levi must have punched him. The Dixon man just laughed before his knuckles connected to Levi's face followed by the boy grunting. Stella let out a muffled scream as she tried to move closer to the door in hopes of reaching the other room. But that was another failed experiment. She heard as Merle continued to strike at the boy's face. She cried out for him and squirmed violently in afailed attempt to free herself from the ropes. Her vision blurred with tears as she fought desperately. She was stuck. All she could do was listen as the scene played out in the other room. Listen as Merle's fist continued to strike at Levi. She felt useless.

After what felt like hours, the fighting on the other side of the wall stopped. Stella held her breath, thinking that Merle might have killed the boy. Her throat had gone dry and her ankles and wrists ached. Her eyes were swollen from all the tears that had flooded down her face. Her whole body ached. Everything hurt. Her head was throbbing and all she wanted to do was to return back home.

The door busted open and Stella's eyes met Merle's. She immediately noticed his bloody knuckles and the big smile on his face. But it wasn't a nice one. As the man stepped deeper into the room, Stella saw that he dragged something after him. He stopped in front of the wooden table and shoved the chair in front of him. On the chair sat Levi, hunched over as sweat and blood flooded down his cheeks. The boy's hair hung in front of his face, hiding his beat up face. Stella cried out for him. For a moment she was relieved that he was alive. But as he tilted his head up, revealing his bruise and blood covered head Stella almost believed that death was a better option. His eye was swollen and the skin around it had shifted to a dark purple color. Blood ran down from his nose and wounds on the sides of his face. His lip was busted and he had several cuts on his cheeks. Stella barely recognized him. His face didn't look real, like a figure made out of clay. She screamed violently, making spit fly everywhere.

How could someone do this to a young boy? A grown adult just tortured a teenager. Stella's fear had transferred into something much stronger and more powerful. A growing sensation that consumed her.

Hatred.

"One tough son of a bitch, this one." Merle smiled as if the situation was amusing for him. "My old strategy clearly didn't work on him. So I'll try another one."

The Dixon man stepped outside the room before grabbing something in the hallway. As the door flew open again, Stella was met with the horrifying sight of a walker. It was connected to a grabber, held by Merle.

"Alrighty! I want you two to imagine how I felt fighting my way off that roof, one hand, losing blood, walkers chomping down at me every step of the way." Merle led the walker deeper into the room. It swung its arms in the air with its mouth wide open. Levi, who was drained from all power and energy, barely reacted. His body leaned forward, looking almost lifeless. Terror washed over the Grimes girl as the dead got closer. It reached out its arms, swinging them in the air, right in front of Stella's face. She threw her head back, trying to dodge it.

"Last chance. Where's your group?!" Merle shouted over the sound of the walker snarling.

Stella remained quiet. She was ready for the walker to dig its yellow teeth into her skin. She was ready to die for her group. After seeing and hearing everything that Levi had just gone through in the other room, all to save the group, she couldn't give all of that information away. She couldn't let all that pain be for nothing. In that moment, the walker didn't scare her.

"Dammit!" Merle cursed. "Suit yourself!"

He backed away from Stella, giving her a moment to catch her breath, as he walked closer to the door. Once he stood in the doorway he let the walker go, releasing it from the grabber before kicking it deeper into the room and closer to Stella. Merle smiled as he shut the door leaving the two teens alone with the flesh eating monster. Panic coursed through her veins and her eyes darted around the room, desperately looking for a way to free herself. Luckly, the walker didn't seem to notice Levi or just simply ignored him since he looked like he was already dead. Instead it headed straight for the blonde. Stella tried desperately to move or find a weapon. In a moment of panic, she used her feet to kick the dead away from her, causing her chair to fall back. Her body slammed onto the ground, leaving her in an even more vulnerable position.

The walker had fallen on its back, giving Stella a few seconds to act. She twisted her body to the side, bringing her to her knees, still strapped into the chair. With all her force she pushed herself to her feet, rising from the ground just as the walker did the same. She rushed forward, spinning around only inches from the dead before letting the back of the chair collide into the dead. The force caused it to fly backwards, crashing into the wall behind it giving Stella another moment to look for a weapon.

In a moment of desperation she raced backwards, slamming the chair into the wall hoping for it to break. She repeated the move two times before the walker had risen to its feet. This time its attention was fixated on the beat up boy in the chair opposite of Stella. Levi didn't seem to notice him. Maybe he had passed out or just too exhausted to even care. As it stumbled closer, Stella used her feet to kick the wooden table over, falling on top of the walker. 

In one swift and forceful move, the Grimes girl rushed into the wall, causing the chair to finally break, freeing her arms. The walker paced towards her, losing all its interest in Levi. Stella managed to dodge it and it collided with the wall behind her. Her fingers wrapped around a wooden piece from the broken chair. With all her force she swung the weapon through the walkers eye moments before it dug its teeth into her skin.

The dead fell to the ground, almost bringing Stella's exhausted body with it. Adrenaline pulsed through her veins. Before she could catch her breath she hurried over to Levi. Falling to her knees in front of him, she gently cupped his sore face in her hand, bringing his face up slightly. Just seeing the state he was in made her eyes pool with tears. His gaze met hers but it looked distant, like it didn't belong to him. The girl ripped out the cloth from her mouth before she spoke.

"You're gonna be okay. I'll get us out of here." Stella tried to reassure the boy as much as she did herself. She began to free his ankles from the ropes around them, continually looking up at the door to make sure Merle wasn't back. But he never came. Instead, as the door slowly opened, it revealed an unknown man. He was in his late 40s and his face wore a serious expression.

Stella quickly stood up and held out the wooden chair piece, like it was going to do any damage if it was put in a fight with the gun resting in the man's holster.

"Woah, I'm not here to hurt you." He raised his arms in the air. "I'm just here to talk."

He walked slowly and calmly over to the flipped over table and lifted it back up. Stella took a few steps back to make the distance between her and the man bigger.

"Have a seat." He nodded toward a folding chair, placed in the far end of the room but Stella ignored him. Her body remained frozen in its place. The two stood on each side of the table while Levi still sat tied to his chair, spitting out blood. Without noticing she had stepped away from the boy in an attempt to make the space between her and the man bigger, which had resulted in Levi sitting closer to him than Stella. Now she stood opposite of the two with only the table to separate them.

"I'm gonna have to ask you to drop your weapon." The man said, referring to the wooden stick in her hand. His demand only made Stella's grip tighten around it. He sighed before his hand found its way to the gun in his hoster. He pulled it out and placed the end of it to Levi's head. Stella's heart stopped.

"Drop it. Now." His words immediately made Stella release her grip on the wooden piece before letting it fall to the floor. She shakly put her hands in the air as a sign of surrender. "I didn't want us to meet like this." The man continued and placed his gun back in his holster. "Let me restart. I'm the governour."

What kind of crazy person calls himself the governor?

"What's your name?" There was something about the way he smiled that scared Stella. It looked forced and fake, almost evil in a way. She couldn't quite place it but she knew one thing for sure - she didn't trust him.

Her eyes were fixated on Levi, who had gained some of his strength back - enough to look back up at her. Their gaze met and the two shared a moment of fear wanting nothing more than to protect each other. Stella had completely forgotten about their fight the other day and the hatred she felt for him only a couple of hours ago. It didn't matter to her anymore since something inside her told her that one of them was going to die in there and she prayed with everything inside her that it would be her.

"Your name?" The man asked once again. Stella noticed the sudden frustration in his voice.

"Stella, Stella Grimes." She hated her voice. It sounded weak and shrill.

"Merle tells me your Dad is the sheriff. That true?" The governor asked but gained no answer. "I get it, you're afraid. But just tell me where he's at and we'll bring you to him."

Once again, Stella remained silent. She wasn't dumb. The governor had to do more than that to get the truth out of her. She did her best to keep her face a mask of fearlessness as she stared at the man without answering.

"No?" The man's lips formed a straight thin line as he lifted his head slightly to the side. "Fine. Let's try something else." His expression darkened. "Look at me."

Stella's body became impossibly still at his request. The girl's gaze shifted from Levi to the man. She watched as his eyes trailed over her body and she felt the sudden need to cover up. She folded her arms over her chest in an attempt to shield her body. His eyes continued to travel over her and she quickly understood what the man's intentions were. A lump formed in her throat and fear crawled up her spine.

"Take off your shirt." Stella could feel the man's words in her very core, not in a good way. In the most chilling and frightening way. His voice was unbelievably firm and calm, like his request didn't just shatter Stella in pieces.

No matter how much people tell you about it, teach you about it and warn you about it, you're never going to be prepared for it. Stella never thought she would ever end up in this situation. These things only happen in movies and used as a subject when gossiping. They would never happen to her. That's what she believed. She never thought they would even happen during an apocalypse.

Stella's eyes immediately shifted to Levi who now looked wide awake.

"No!" His narrowed eyes stared at the governor with pure hatred. She knew that there was nothing he or anyone else could do to save her at this moment. She was alone.

"Go on." The man leaned back in his chair and Stella felt completely disgusted. She swallowed hard knowing that the governor wouldn't cause her any harm if she didn't cooperate, he would hurt Levi. Her shaky hands grabbed hold of the rim of her shirt before dragging it off her body. As she did, she could feel a piece of herself leave, a piece of her innocence. Like the clothing had stripped her off her soul and childhood. She felt like the smallest thing in the world. She wanted to collapse in tears of humiliation and fear.

The governors eyes trailed over her body and it felt like needles at her skin. Her lungs felt like they had been drained from air and she struggled to breath, dreading what could happen next.

"Stella," Levi's voice was impossibly weak.

The blonde stared at him, her eyes glistening with tears.

"Leave her alone." The boy made a failed attempt to sound frightening.

The governor didn't seem to pay attention to the boy's words. Instead he stared at Stella who stood almost fully exposed to him. A tear spilled from her eye and she had to use all her strength to keep the rest of them to fall freely.

"Keep going." Once again, his words didn't stop at her ears. They continued to her core, prickling her skin and causing terror to crawl up her spine. The room felt like it was suffocating her. This time, she was too humiliated to even look in Levi's direction. In the corner of her eye she could see as he tried to fight against the tightly tied ropes.

"Stop! Leave her be, you fucking lunatic." Levi shouted. Suddenly he had found a new strength, squirming and screaming violently. "I'll kill you!"

The governor didn't even look in his direction. He kept his gaze on Stella as he once again pushed his gun against Levi's head. Stella watched as his finger moved frighteningly close to the trigger. "Keep going." The man dragged out his words as he spoke.

"No." Stella said shortly and watched as his face turned crimson. His knuckles whitened and she could tell that he didn't like it when people didn't follow his orders. Stella stood there trying to look fearless when in reality she was terrified.

"Keep going, or I'll blow his brains out right here." The man demanded.

"You leave her be! Stop!" Levi shouted and tried to squirm out of the chair.

Stella had never felt so small as she did when she peeled the bra off her body, exposing it to the governor. Her arms quickly wrapped over her bare chest and the act of fearlessness she had tried to keep earlier was instantly washed off. Tears streamed down her face and her body was shaking. She felt disgusted and humiliated, wanting nothing more than to curl up in a corner or in her mother's arms. She cried bitter tears of both fury and fear.

"I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" Spit flew from Levi's mouth as he screamed.

Stella watched the disgusting look on the governor's face as he joined her in a stance. He unbuckled his holster and threw it onto the table. Stella knew what was about to happen as he walked over to her. She saw what the man's intentions were and she knew that there was nothing that she could do. In that moment, all she did was try to prepare herself for it, knowing that she couldn't escape it.

The governor stopped right behind her and she felt his body slightly press against hers. She wanted to scream, fight or cry. She couldn't bear looking at Levi who continued to scream and squirm. She was too humiliated.

Stella could feel the man's warm breath on her neck and she tried to keep her eyes peeled on the other side of the wall. Her whole body twitched as she felt his fingers trace over the bare skin on her lower back traveling up her neck. Like he marked the body parts that would forever be to scared and disgusted to be touched by anyone.

His fingers found their way into her hair, tangling themselves in it. He leaned closer to her, sending Levi into a fit of rage. Words and curses spewed out of his mouth but the governor didn't pay attention to him. Instead, Levi's reaction seemed to egg him on as he roughly grabbed Stella's wrists before pinning them behind her back revealing the last bit of innocence she had. In one swift move he placed a hand on her  lower back before roughly pushing her head onto the table.

"I'll fucking kill you!" Levi shouted.

Stella let out a gasp in pain as her head collided with the wooden table. A metasilicate taste filled her mouth. The governor's hand harshly wrapped around the girl's neck, bound to leave a bruise. One move by the older man was enough to forever take a piece of Stella. Suddenly, her body didn't belong to her. Her skin, her hair, her voice. Her very innocence had been stolen from her.

But the man wasn't done yet. His hand unwrapped from his tight grip on her throat before tangling itself in her hair, gripping it roughly, jolting her head back. Stella cried out feeling completely hopeless. 

"I'll kill you! You're dead!" Levi continued to make a failed attempt to free himself from the chair.

Tears were now covering Stella's face and she pleaded for the man to stop. But his hands remained firm on her back and in her hair.

"Talk then." He said sharply.

Stella let out a cry and used all her last strength to pull away from him but he was too strong and she was too tired. She felt the man's body pressed up against hers as she laid there, bent over the table, slowly being stripped off her pride. The man took that from her. Stole something that was never his. His filthy hands permanently marked her skin, slowly breaking her into pieces. Whenever his skin and his hands touched her he left a mark on the spot that would forever burn like his hands were still there. The spot she'd forever get disgusted by if someone would touch it. The spot that never would be the same. Like a scar. He didn't only scar her body, but her mind as well knowing that from this moment on she'd lose a piece of herself. Something mental, that would never go away. The man was taking her remaining childhood. Her youth was stolen, at the hands of a man she didn't know.

She felt violated. Broken beyond repair.

_____ ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ _____
𝟒𝟕𝟑𝟕 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬
_____ ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ _____

𝐀/𝐍

𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭. 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐮 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐢𝐦 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞.