In Between the Beyond (#1 in the Rotten Water Series)

Chapter Twenty-Six: Retaliation

Bunker C - May 23, 2017 - 9:14 p.m.

Tense Nguyen

Fifty-three days had gone by since Tense last saw Martin or his friends, having only Liza and Gauge to talk to, but since the loss of JJ, Gauge hadn't quite been the same. Almost every conversation they had included Gauge rambling on about how guilty he was for pushing the rott into JJ, ultimately getting him killed. Tense and Liza always attempted to weigh in and let Gauge know it wasn't his fault, but they were dismissed every single time. Gauge was set on the fact that JJ was dead because of him.

Currently, Tense stood in front of Fiona's door, waiting for her to open it and let him inside. His hands were cuffed and he had a day's worth of troubling work stationed on his back, but Fiona's request to meet him privately was by far the most taunting thing to come out of his day. He feared she'd open up and tell him a friend from the other bunker died or that she somehow found out about Miquel's plan to save them and had him executed. Her door opened, and she stepped up to the doorway, smiling, wearing high-cut shorts and a see-through tank top. "Come inside, Tense," she greeted.

"What, you give up on calling me 74?" Tense asked sarcastically, confused by her attire, stepping into the room. She closed the door behind him, nudging for him to take a seat on the bench. He obliged, hesitantly sitting down, noticing candles set up all around the room.

"How old are you?" Fiona asked, carefully sitting in her own seat, placing one leg over the other.

"I'll be eighteen on June 7th, why?" Tense asked, raising in suspicion.

Fiona smiled, biting her finger. "That's good enough for me," she said slowly, reaching for her tank top strap, pulling it down her shoulder.

"What the hell are you doing?" Tense asked, feeling his stomach drop.

"I'm tired of waiting," she groaned. "Every man here is too old, except for you and Gauge, and only one of you isn't a cokehead. I've craved for too long, I need to feel something..." She pulled the second strap down, taking her shirt completely off, revealing her nude front.

Tense slammed his eyes shut, feeling his heart beat rapidly in his chest, "please, stop..."

"Make me feel what I deserve," she moaned seductively. "I want it, you want it."

"I don't, please, stop!" Tense shouted, shaking his hands in the handcuffs, trying to break free of them.

Her hands touched his legs, slowly sliding up to his thighs, but Tense kept his eyes closed, begging for her to stop. "Take your pants off for me and I'll uncuff you." His eyes shot open, internally crafting an idea.

He smiled, pretending to be into what she was doing, biting his bottom lip, "take my handcuffs off first and I'll do whatever you like."

"Oh?" she questioned flirtatiously, resting her hand on his crotch.

"Mhm," Tense murmured, rubbing his thumb on her knuckles.

She smiled, pulling the key out of her pocket. "You're not gonna kill me, are you?" she asked, giggling.

"Why would I do that when I can get something so much better?" Tense asked, mentally rolling his eyes at the words he was saying. She inhaled softly, clicking the handcuffs open, pulling them off Tense's wrists.

"Now let's get those pants off, shall we?" Fiona asked, throwing his handcuffs on the floor.

"You got it," Tense claimed, instantly jumping to his feet, grabbing her by the head, then slamming her entire body to the floor. Fiona gasped, coughing roughly.