Chapter 1

Near the Arizona/Utah border, North America, Earth
Sometime in the year 2022
(One year after the beginning of the end, A.K.A. ‘The Reset’)

The girl lay shivering in the corner. The floor was hard concrete and the room dark, cold, and getting colder. Even though she was in a deep basement, she could still hear the wind outside. It must have been a raging blizzard for her to notice. She tried to roll her emaciated naked body onto her other side, but the chain and shackle attached tightly to her right wrist did not allow for much movement. The scraps of cloth and rags that the beast had given her did little to retain her tiny body’s heat.

As always, she was starving. The bones lying about had been gnawed down to nothing and with her teeth now sore constantly, the bones would stay as they are. She was torn between her desire for the beast to return with enough food to give her a few scraps and her hopes that he would freeze out on the surface which would end her continuing torment.

She had been miserable, hungry, beaten, and abused for so many months that she no longer dreamed of what once was. Her world had been reduced to pain, hunger, and cold. Now, when the beast used her body for his pleasure, she no longer felt the humiliation, or the shame, or even the guilt. All that had been replaced by the relief for the slight bit of body heat the beast imparted as he worked on top of her. Sometimes he would collapse on her afterward and for a while, the cold was lessened.

She heard the outer hatchway opening and rolled her head towards the door. It opened and the beast appeared, pausing to carefully scan the basement. His eyes did not linger on her once they noted she was still alive. After dismissing any threats, the beast entered the basement. He carried a bulging sack and was dragging a frozen carcass of what looked like a dog. The beast tossed the carcass over near her but just out of her reach. She stared at it with a bit of shame as she started salivating.

The beast left the basement to return to the surface. He soon returned with an armload of wood and twigs and set about getting the small iron stove lit. The fire would be small as he was miserly with the fuel. The beast then started to sort the sack and set the frozen cans of food it contained to one side. One had split open but the frozen contents were still worth eating and it was placed on the stove in a pan to thaw and warm.

Some short time later the girl was shaken awake. The beast held a cup of warmed water and proceeded to let the girl sip a few mouthfuls. He then removed his bulky smelly clothing and piled them on the floor, pulling the girl onto the pile with the chain. He then presented himself to the girl so she could bring him fully erect with her mouth.

Soon, the beast was rutting away on top of the girl. She mostly ignored the motions as she enjoyed the heat of the clothing pile. The beast finished rather quickly, and she was shoved back into the corner while he dressed. He brought her a bucket and demanded she use it. He then took it outside to toss the contents and returned inside with snow. This was set by the stove and would later be given to her for her to use to clean herself.

As she waited, the beast opened the can which was now thawed and warm from the fire. The smell caused her stomach to clench and her hunger roared itself known. The beast quickly ate the bulk of the can and tossed the remains to her. She scrambled to catch it one-handed, luckily not spilling any. She quickly scooped the remains into her mouth with her small left hand, wiping the can and her fingers clean in the process.

The beast had watched her the whole time. “Yer looking like shit, little girly. Getting mighty scrawny. Better eat up!” it said with a toothy grin.

She thought that the beast was not looking too good either. Another tooth was missing and the sores covering its face had spread. She watched the beast get up and inspect the carcass and then toss it closer to the stove to continue to thaw. As she stared at the pile of fur, she remembered her own dog.

Misty had been a bit bigger than this one and she remembered the fun times she and Misty had had exploring the canyons and deserts nearby her family’s home in Saint George, Utah. When she had finally received her driver’s license, Misty had been her only companion and protector on the quick overnight camping trips she would go on. They would drive miles out into the nearby state recreation lands in her father’s old but sturdy jeep.

That had been before ... before the world ended. It had ended both figuratively and literally. The figurative ending had come when she had been awakened in her family’s cabin by the sounds of gunfire as her parents and Misty had been killed by the beast. Her father, a ‘passive’ Mormon, had not fought back when the man had broken into their cabin. The man ... this was before he became the beast ... had quickly restrained her and sacked the cabin.

She still remembered the terrible hike into the canyons east of her family’s cabin. Her hands had been tied and she had stumbled along with a large pack hung over her shoulders. She had watched the literal ending of the world on that hike.

She had known that there were supposed to be a lot of meteors coming and that they were going to destroy most of the world and kill a lot of people, but she couldn’t possibly have imagined the fires and smoke, the panic and violence, death all around. It had been like a huge thunderstorm had been crossed with a forest fire and an earthquake. The skies had been terrible with gale winds and lightning, the blowing hot dust and gloom. Each breath choking her from the smoke of the burning town of Saint George miles behind them, the ground trembling and shaking.

Eventually, they had reached his den, this cellar bunker, and hunkered down. What followed became a new and even deeper Hell on top of the Hell her world had already become as her kidnapper began to take his pleasure from her many times a day. The days became weeks. The beast had beaten her every time she spoke or uttered a sound and she grew silent and detached. Her only awareness was the feeding times which came every day or so.

She remembered becoming very sick ... both of them sick ... for weeks. The food and water ran out about the time she started to recover. The temperature had dropped during that time as the sun had not been seen since the night the devastation began. The frequent earthquakes had started to taper off at least. The beast had also recovered from his sickness and had started leaving her for days at a time, wandering the wastelands scavenging for food. The hunger grew as the infrequent meals became even smaller. She did not even notice when the meat which had been brought back had unthinkable shapes and very odd tastes.

She was jarred from her recollections by the beast dressing in his cold-weather layers. He must be going out to one of his secret caches of fuel or food. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he opened the wooden hatch and began to climb the stairs. He had just closed the hatch behind him when ... BOOM! The hatch came breaking inward as the beast was flung back inside, landing on the hard cellar floor. The girl flinched when she saw his ruined face where the buckshot load had taken him. Her heart beat faster as she stared at the open hatchway but no one entered. The beast gurgled and made wet noises and his body began its death rattle. Soon, the cellar was quiet.

Nothing happened for minutes ... no sounds on the stairs or no shadows moving beyond the ruined hatch. Suddenly an empty tin can came flying in through the open hatch and landed, rattling around on the floor. After that, nothing happened for another minute. Finally, the girl heard the slow creaking of the stairs. Something was coming. She cowered in her corner, still and silent.

Finally, she saw something. It was a small mirror that was fastened to a stick of some sort. The mirror turned and angled; whoever was behind it scanning the room. She saw an eyeball in the reflection as the mirror swiveled to her and paused for a long moment. Finally, a tall man in a hooded long coat stepped quickly in, scanning the room swiftly. He held a shotgun and alternated pointing it at her and the beast’s corpse.

After the man had swept the room, he approached her corner and knelt, studying her.

“Well, what do we have here?” he muttered. He noted the chain and her bruised and raw wrist under the shackle. He used the gun to pull her rag blanket off of her causing her to clutch herself in the cold air.

“You’re not doing so hot are you little girl?” he asked.

The girl remained silent. She knew what happened when noises were made.

“Do you have a name? Can you talk?” the man asked quickly.

She hesitated then quickly nodded then shook her head.

“Huh.” The man muttered. He quickly stood and grabbed her rag blanket, thankfully throwing it back on her. She watched as he ignored her and quickly went around the room looking everything over and scavenging for food or anything useful. Next, he searched the beast. After finding the beast’s pistol, ammunition, and knife, the man stripped off all the beast’s clothes. He picked through the pile and kept a few items. The rest he tossed onto her causing her to scramble to cover more of her exposed body.

“Is there anyone else here? Anyone coming back?” he asked quickly.

She shook her head twice.

“You lying to me little girl?” he asked sharply, approaching her with his fist raised.

She cowered back and shook her head harder. She then covered her face and head with her free hand.

The man stepped back and considered her and the cellar for a while. He made a decision and then quickly left, going out the ruined hatch and up the stairs. After ten minutes he returned with a large black dog and a small bundle of wood. He pointed at the corner and said ‘stay’ and the dog quickly went and complied. He left again and soon returned, this time dragging a large metal watering trough.

He then proceeded to close and repair the hatch with a few scrap boards he had brought and some wire. When that was done, the man resumed rummaging through the beast’s sack of food and scraps. He found a can of something and got the stove going with a bigger fire.

Soon the man had more water heating and the contents of the can cooking. While he waited for the meal to heat, he inspected the carcass of the small dog. Quickly, he skinned the dog and removed the larger hind limbs. The rest he tossed over to the larger black dog in the corner. The remains of the carcass hit with a splat, but the dog did not react. Instead, it just stared at the man, waiting. The dog’s jowls had begun to drip saliva when the man finally said, “Eat.” The dog pounced and began to tear the half-frozen carcass apart, gorging itself.

The man found one of the beast’s dirty plates and poured half the contents of the can’s contents on it.

Looking at the girl, he asked, “Can you use a spoon?”

The question confused the girl. It had been so long since she had used a spoon to eat. Could she? Not wanting to upset the man and risk losing the food, she quickly nodded.

The man found a dirty spoon and set the plate and spoon near her corner. She just watched him, afraid to risk making him angry.

“Eat,” he said with a chuckle and she lurched for the food. It was hard for her to use the spoon. First, she had to use her left hand and second, her hunger robbed her of patience. She forced herself to calm and slowly began to shovel the warm creamed corn into her mouth.

The man had begun to eat the other half of the can when he stopped and said, “Eat that slow girl. I reckon it’s more than you’ve had for a while and it would be a shame for you to puke it up.”

He took a few bits himself before looking back at her and adding, “Although I bet you’d lick it right back up, you’re so hungry.”

She ate as slow as she could but all too soon, the plate was empty. She licked it clean.

After he had finished his meal, the man added water to the now empty can and swirled it around before drinking it dry. He then refilled the can halfway and brought it to the girl.

“Can you drink this without spilling?” he asked.

She nodded.

He took her plate and gave her the can to drink. He then filled the plate with water and set it by the black dog.

After that, the man bundled up and went back out. Soon, he returned with more containers of snow and slush which he set to heating on the stove. With that set, he sighed and proceeded to pull the beast’s naked corpse up the stairs and out of the cellar. He came back down and retrieved his large knife and a small box of trash bags. He was gone for over an hour before returning with a bag containing a few pounds of raw meat. The rest must have been divided up and hidden outside where it would soon freeze solid. Later, the man would have to carefully retrieve the parcels, always on the watch for predators, both the four- and two-legged kind.

He washed his bloody arms and hands in one of the pans of melting water. The room was quickly warming with the stove fully fueled. The man kept pouring boiling water from the pans on the stove into the large watering trough he had brought down earlier. He then got up and stooped over the girl.

“Now missy. I am going to make you a deal. I am going to take that shackle off and I won’t hurt you. You have to promise me that you won’t try and hurt me? Okay?”

The girl was confused but eventually gave a small nod in return.

“When you are free, I am going to help you take a bath and get you cleaned up a bit. Then, we’ll see about getting you into some of the old clothes that asshole has laying around upstairs. Now, you will be free and you can run away if you want, but know this, you will die out there faster than if you stay here. Understand?”

Again, the girl took a long time to nod.

The tall man went and returned with the large metal shears. His strong arms bulged as he forced the shears to cut the shackle bands. With a pop, the shackle broke and he pulled the two parts apart enough for her to remove her mangled and scabbed right wrist. The girl looked at her wrist and just blinked. Confused at what had just happened.

The man stood up and she flinched back but he ignored her and went to tend the trough of warm water. She looked around confused. The big dog had finished gorging himself on the carcass and was now curled up in her old corner asleep.

“It’s warm enough and there is enough for you to take a bath ... sorta. I even found some soap. Come here girl and sit in this tub.”

She just cringed back further, shivering.

“Girl! I won’t hurt you. Now come here!” he said forcefully.

Her body reacted before her mind did and she quickly crawled over to him and began to step into the trough. The water felt scalding to her although it was probably just warm. She ignored that and soon almost collapsed from the joy of the warmth. The man began pouring more water over her getting her dirty stringy hair wet.

He then rubbed a cake of soap in a wet rag and began to lather her hair and back. As he scrubbed away at her dirt, she flinched from the pain of washing her bruises. He then began to wash her hair ... almost tenderly at times as he massaged her dirty scalp. He then rinsed her hair and gave her the soap and rag.

“Here, you wash your face and front. Be careful with your wrist though. Don’t wash the scabs too hard.”

The man then went to heat more water. The girl looked at the soap and then with one hand managed to wrap the rag around the bar and began rubbing her front. Once the rag was fully lathered, she started on her face. As she cleaned herself, the girl noticed the water in the trough was filthy. But still, the warm water had stopped her chills for the first time in ages. When the girl went to wash her backside and privates, the rashes caused by laying in filth for so long hurt like hell. She tenderly washed the area as carefully as possible.

Soon she was done with her own washing and the man brought a new pan of water and slowly poured it over her head letting it stream through her hair and down her back. The girl almost whimpered at how wonderful it felt. He looked at her face and body.

“Looks like you are as clean as you’re going to get. Here is a towel that is not too dirty. Stand up and I will help you dry.”

He had to help the girl stand and then began to dry her quickly. He did not hesitate to dry every part of her body but he did it in a clinical way. Once she was dry, he pointed to a pile of clothes he had found in a box.

“Find enough to wear in that pile. Can you dress yourself one-handed?”

The girl thought about it and nodded.

The man then poured the last of the water into the trough and began to undress.

As she picked through the clothing and struggled into the few items that would fit her, the girl could not help glancing at the tall naked man. His body was much skinnier and healthier than the beast’s had been. He had the same sores that the beast had had, but fewer. There was also an angry red rope of a scar running down his back. And, although he was dirty, he did not smell as bad as the beast had.

The man finally was naked and sat gingerly in the small trough with his knees up to his chest and began to wash vigorously. He used an empty can to scoop water onto his stringy hair and then followed that with plenty of soap. Water spilled and splashed but soon enough the man was finished.

“Man oh man! That feels good. I have not had a warm bath in almost a month.”

When he stood the girl saw his full body for the first time. His thing was different from the beast, not bigger or smaller but cleaner looking. She hoped it would not hurt her when he stuck it in her. He had said he would not hurt her, but she expected him to lie like the beast had.

He dried himself quickly and found new clothing for himself from the pile. He then piled the rest into the other corner of the cellar and told the girl to crawl under for warmth. He poured the dirty water into pails and carried it up and out to be disposed of.

Back in the cellar the man looked at the girl and asked, “Did you find shoes and socks in the clothing?”