CYOA Page 188
You're pretty good at knifing guys from behind, but from the front? Not so much. Unlike Joel, you need to have the element of surprise on your side because you can't overpower your enemies. Once you get free, you'll have to find a way to escape. Failing that, you can ambush (or maybe trick?) whoever comes to check on you next.
You manage to hide your knife under your butt, and you very 'cooperatively' position your hands behind you for the hunter to tie (a little lower than they were before). You cringe and squirm when the guy cops a feel, smirking, but then he leaves you alone. You're the first one I'll kill when I get out of here, asshole, you promise him in your head.
You wriggle your hands, straining against your bonds... I just need them loose enough to fucking... uugghhhh... You can't quite reach! You wriggle your ass, too, and you're able to scoot the knife back a little more. You can get your finger on it! But you need to be able to pick up the fucking thing, and maneuver it...
You work at this for a long time, with little progress, which is very disheartening, but you keep shutting down any emotional response that threatens to bubble up. KEEP WORKING, you command yourself.
You don't lose all hope until you're finally, finally about to pick up the fucking thing -- and you drop it! DID I SERIOUSLY JUST FUCKING DROP IT RIGHT NOW OH MY GODDDDD--
Yes. Yes, you did.
You wallow in self-pity, complete with tears of frustration and everything, for about five minutes. Then you start wondering... since you can't pick up the knife off the floor, can you move yourself down to the floor and go from there? Maybe it would even be easier that way? It's at least worth a shot.
You are able to budge the chair with a sort of hopping motion. You can see the knife when you turn your head. Okay, so if I position it juuuust right, like... ...there... ... and I kick back...
You can't get enough momentum to launch your chair backwards, though. ...maybe to the side? You do the hopping thing to reposition yourself, then lean heavily to your right, push with your feet... It takes a couple times, but you do manage to knock yourself over! And it probably hurts less this way, banging your shoulder into the shitty carpet rather than banging your head on the back of the chair when it hits the shitty carpet. You didn't quite position yourself perfectly, though, so you have to do a little more wriggling... you can't see the knife, but you have an idea where it is...
... ...Someone's coming up the stairs! ...and about to enter your room... "What the fuck is all the racket-- ohhh! What's this? Do you think you're clever, knocking your chair over like that? Huh?" The hunter -- same one as last time -- turns his head as sideways as yours is and looks you in the eye. "And what exactly did you hope to accomplish by this?"
He pauses, as if actually expecting an answer out of your gagged mouth. You just glare daggers at him.
"If you wanna lay down so bad... go ahead. Here, I'll even help you out--" He grabs your knees and rotates you and the chair a quarter-turn away from him. "There. Now you're on your back. You like that better? That's good, that's good... see, the way I understand it, you're gonna be spending a lot of time on your back in your new home. Might as well get used to it. Might as well... get some practice in."
What the fuck is he talking about?! His tone... his leering... it makes your skin crawl.
"Too bad they want you... unspoiled." He crouches beside you, and you turn your head away from him. " 'Course, my thing is... what do we even know about you? They assume you're a virgin. But no one checked. You know? Maybe that asshole wasn't your dad. Or, even if he was... that don't mean he wasn't diddling you."
Joel! WHAT HAPPENED TO JOEL-- You turn your head back toward the prick and will him to read your mind. As if he'll indulge you with answers -- truthful answers.
He just smirks. "Got your attention now, huh? Well -- ain't my problem, how they work that shit out. And I don't need to sample the goods... you're not really my type. Little young for me."
...Seriously? Is that why you fondled me on your way out before, you stupid motherfucker?! You turn your head away again.
"I almost feel sorry for you. I do. Sucks to be a little girl in this world. Yep, it sure does."
He actually sounds sympathetic now. What the fuck is the deal with this guy? And what the FUCK are they going to do with you? Sell you as a sex slave or something?!
... ...Well, what else could he be talking about, right? Oh my God...
"Dude, what's going on up there?" a voice from downstairs yells. "They're here! Get her ready!"
"That was fast. They must be in a real hurry to meet you." The hunter stands up, then leans over you to grab either end of the chair and pull you upright. He doesn't do anything gross this time, but his mere proximity to you makes you tense up completely. He starts to undo your hands... and makes no mention of a knife on the floor. It is pretty dark now, so maybe he can't see it! If you can just grab it--
But your hope deflates again when you hear more footsteps on the staircase... and another hunter (you think it's Ned) enters your room. "Need some help?"
"Fuck off," replies the hunter untying you.
"I'm serious -- this one has that look about her... she'll kick you in the nuts."
Well, who WOULDN'T?! Best way to cripple a dude... fingers in the eyeballs are good, too... You wouldn't resort to such dirty tricks if it was a clean fight with someone your own size. But there are no such rules here...
These two have that trash-talking-buddy vibe about them (maybe all hunters have that, and it's not just that they're all dicks to one another as well as everyone else?). They work together to untie you while still restraining you. Ned seems to be the less-trash-talking one. ...Why is my brain even registering such useless trivia? THINK--
You're not going to be able to pick up your switchblade. Neither of them saw it... but Joel will see it, when he gets here... which, he totally will, cuz he's NOT dead... he'll know you were here, and somehow, he'll figure out where you went from here. I guess they don't wanna sell HIM as a sex slave. But that doesn't mean he's dead. He'll come after me!
You don't even get a chance to kick either of them in the crotch. They're both too on guard against it, and the pervy one has a gun on you now. You doubt they'll kill you and fuck up whatever trade they've got going on here, but... it's still nerve-wracking. Maybe they'd shoot you somewhere nonlethal? The house is full of hunters, with apparently more that just arrived... even if you could stun these two long enough to get to your knife, what are you going to do? Pick them off one by one when they come up the stairs?
...Well, yeah, maybe?? What else can you do right now? What options do you have? You have to try...
You struggle. You do whatever you can think of to slip out of their grasp, to duck away... knee them, elbow them... but you can't make any headway. Ned holds you against him with an iron bar of an arm, dragging you along. You can try to trip them, you can kick uselessly... but your hands and arms are immobilized, and with the fucking gag still in place, you can't bite or even so much as spit. Basically, all you manage to do is make it as difficult as possible for the two assholes to get you down the stairs. Perv seems annoyed by this, and Ned just seems mildly amused.
A sudden bright light in your face makes you squint. "A little spitfire, this one," a new voice says... a creepily silky voice.
"Told you," Ned smirks... at Perv, you would presume. "It's the red hair, man. Makes 'em wild. I think we should charge extra for redheads."
...Despite what he said before, it sounds like he has a pretty good idea of what's to become of you.
Continue to page 261.