#lainey and isa

[actress4him]

June of Doom 2023

Previous | Next | Masterlist

Taglist: @painful-pooch

Day 9 - “I should have listened to you.” | Sprain | Defiance | Smoke 

Contains: lady whump with male whumper, captivity, restraints, beating, stress position, mild blood, implied starvation, head trauma, hair pulling, death mention, broken ribs, dislocation mention, brief dog and master imagery

.

.

There isn’t much to see in the basement. Lainey inspects every concrete block, every crack in the foundation, every plank on the steps, every lock on the door, and finds absolutely nothing useful. It still feels better than just sitting around, though. Not that she’s blaming Isa for sitting, she can’t even help it with that chain around her neck. That thing makes Lainey want to punch something every time she thinks of it. But she also has a feeling Isa wouldn’t be helping her look even if she could get up and move. 

It doesn’t take long for the man to return. She’s just come back down the stairs from checking out the door when the locks start to slide open, so she spins around and plants her feet, glaring up at their captor, trying to ignore the way her heart is suddenly threatening to break through her ribcage. 

He’s not much to look at, either. Just an unattractive, scraggly bearded man, like someone you might see loitering outside a gas station and walk quickly past on your way inside. For good reason, apparently. 

“Have you come to let me go?” she demands as he starts down the stairs. “To let us both go?”

He scowls back at her. “I see you haven’t yet learned your lesson about keeping your mouth shut.”

“You think I’m going to listen to you? Some low-life who gets his kicks from kidnapping and chaining up young women?” He’s getting closer, and part of her wants to back away, but her pride and anger won’t let her. “I bet you’ve never had a girlfriend before, have you? Probably never had any friends at all. Is this the only way you can get anyone to hang around you? Locking them in your basement?”

She sees the swinging fist coming, but can’t get out of its path. It smashes into her face with a force that sends her over backwards, head cracking against the wall as she hits the ground. Her vision cuts out, then comes back swirling and spinning. There’s something bitter and metallic pouring over her lips. It takes far too long for her to realize that it’s blood. 

As she sits there, stunned and in pain, the man advances. He grabs a fistful of her hair and yanks her up off the floor, dragging her toward the center of the room. Her feet stumble clumsily after him. 

“I told you to shut up. You’ll figure out I mean what I say sooner or later.”

He throws her down, and she just barely keeps her head from smacking concrete again. Her arm isn’t so lucky, unable to move from its restrained position and getting crushed between her body and the floor. 

For an instant, she sees Isa, sitting directly in front of the assault. She has her head turned to the side, staring off at some unknown point, face blank. 

Then a boot is buried in her stomach. Lainey doubles over, coughing and gasping for air that seems to have vanished. The man doesn’t wait for her to catch her breath, though. He keeps kicking, pounding the toe of his boot into her ribs and back and legs over and over and over again. She curls up as best she can, trying instinctively to protect her organs, but all she can do otherwise is lie there and groan and sob.

It seems to last forever. Part of her thinks she actually might die right then and there. But then the kicks stop. He reaches down and grabs her by her bound wrist, pulling her backwards across the floor. She moans again as her shoulders bear the brunt of the pressure and as every sore part of her is jostled. 

He drops her again, and a chain rattles behind her. A moment later her wrists are being pulled upward once more, but this time the chain sounds accompany it, and this time it doesn’t stop. They keep being dragged up toward the ceiling until she’s forced to move, scrambling with leaden limbs to get her feet underneath her and stand. The chain seems to be hooked to the ziptie around her wrists. She can’t straighten her back or lift her head, shoulders wrenched as far backwards as they’ll go and wrists stuck up high. 

And that’s how he leaves her. He doesn’t say another word, just walks off, footsteps echoing through the nearly empty room. She cranes her head to the side to see him pick something up off the stairs before disappearing up them.

She’s never been in this much pain in her life. Before now, the worst pain she could remember was a broken arm from her highschool softball days, but between her throbbing head, her burning shoulders, and the fiery pain that shoots through her ribs every time she breathes, this is way worse. 

“That was my food.”

She tries to look over at Isa but can’t get her head to lift that high. “Wh-...what?”

Isa’s voice grows a little louder, a bit higher pitched. “He was coming down to bring me food and water, and probably unchain me, and you screwed it all up disrespecting him like I warned you not to.”

Lainey scoffs, hardly believing her ears. “Do you…do you realize…you sound like a dog right now? Waiting for your…master to feed and water and unchain you?” She winces at the increased pain in her ribs that talking creates, trying to shift her position. “And…I’m the one who just got…beaten up so…pardon me if I’m not overly concerned about your food.”

“And whose fault is that?” It comes out practically a growl, the most emotion she’s heard out of her so far. “I told you not to make him mad. I told you it would get you hurt. I’ve been here for five years, remember? I’ve tried it all before. I’ve figured out how to survive. But if you don’t want to listen to me, fine. Refuse to save yourself any pain. Learn everything the hard way, like I did. Just…can you at least leave me out of it?” Her voice wavers at the end, going quiet again. “I haven’t eaten in days, because he was gone to get you. And the two bottles of water he left me ran out hours ago.”

Isa sounds like she’s about to cry, and Lainey finds her own throat tightening in sympathy. She hadn’t meant to rob Isa of her first food in days. She wants to help her, not cause her more trouble. But she’s being an idiot, isn’t she? The woman’s right, she’s managed to survive for five years, and it’s stupid for Lainey not to listen to her advice, no matter how much it makes her skin crawl to think of sucking up to that man. 

“I’m sorry.” She tries again to look at her, and manages to catch at least a glimpse of her face. “I should have…I should have listened to you. You’re right, it’s…my own fault that I got hurt. And I didn’t think about…you suffering from it.” She pauses, breathing through the pain and thinking about her response. “I can’t…promise that I’ll do exactly what you want. I’m not good…at holding my tongue. But, uh…I’ll try.”

There’s silence for a long time. It’s a struggle for Lainey not to find some way to fill it, despite her painful position. 

“I don’t want you to have to go through everything I have,” Isa murmurs finally. “And I’m…honestly terrified that you’re gonna make things even worse. Keeping on his good side is so tentative. I just want to keep things as…easy as possible. For both of us.”

“Yeah,” Lainey breathes. “I, um…I get it.” She considers her next words carefully before deciding to take the leap and say them. “Hey, do you…still have the water bottles?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you roll one over to me?”

“They’re empty.”

“I know, just…just do it if you can.” She can hear movement and the slight crackle of thin plastic. A few seconds later an empty bottle rolls to a stop several inches from her foot. “Hey, nice shot. Lemme just…” Very carefully, grimacing with each movement, she steps on the heel of first one sneaker, then the other, removing them and kicking them behind her. Then she strategically uses her toes to pull off one sock, too. Isa mutters warnings about dislocating her shoulders here and there, but Lainey is determined to make this work.

Stretching out the bare foot, she drags the water bottle closer. “It’s still got drops of water left in it, so if I focus, I can…” She lays her foot across the bottle and closes her eyes. This is much easier to do with her hands, but the foot will have to do in a pinch like this. It takes almost a full minute of concentration, but eventually the droplets start to grow, dripping down into the bottle. The process gets faster as it goes, until there’s water swirling all through the bottle, filling it.

“There we go.” Satisfied with her work, Lainey takes careful aim and shoves the bottle back in Isa’s direction. “I can’t make you food, but…I can at least do that.”

“Water magic.” The plastic crinkles in Isa’s hand again.

“Yep. I’m…not very skilled at it, but…expanding water that’s already there…isn’t so hard.”

There’s no answer for a moment, but it sounds like Isa is taking a drink. “Thank you,” she says softly when she’s done.

“Yeah,” Lainey replies, equally as soft. “No problem.”

#juneofdoom #day 9 #lady whump #lady whumpee #captivity whump #restraints tw #beating #stress position #mild blood #starvation #head trauma #hair pulling #death mention #broken ribs #dislocation mention #lainey and isa #two whumpees #urban fantasy #magical whumpee #water magic #whump series #whump event

[little-peril-stories]

I have been slowly working my way through Prince of Thieves on ao3, and thought I would come and find your blog after I was done with it. However, I just read chapter 30 (in fact, have stayed up too late so that I could read it when I saw what it was going to be) and I had to come and say THANK YOU for the delicious lady whump. That was my one complaint leading up to this chapter...the lady whump tag is how I found the story to start with, and I wanted Bree to get the same caliber of whump as Will was getting haha! So now I am very happy, and needed to tell you. Very well written story, I look forward to checking out more of your work when I finish it!

Firstly: Thank you so much for making my weekend with this message!! 💕🥰🥹

Secondly: 💕 LADY WHUMP 💕

(Sorry for making you wait so long for the real fun stuff. I'm so, so glad you enjoyed it...and wickedly delighted that you stayed up late to read that chapter.)

Also, to others who see this, @actress4him has SO much delicious lady whump in her repertoire! I can recommend In Irons (how cute is Adelaide??) and Lainey and Isa (just 😭), so go check out her blog if you're on the lady whump train!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the rest of The Prince of Thieves! I'm actually planning on self-publishing it later this year (and the edited version is just a *smidge* meaner to Bree in that particular chapter, lol 😇😅😈). Its ongoing AU The Queen of Lies has lady whump but of a pretty different variety, I'd say, and the upcoming TPOT sequel, The Court of Rogues...ho boy. Lady whump central.

Thank you, once again! Have an amazing day/weekend/whenever you see this. 🥰

#asks #lps the prince of thieves #lps the queen of lies #lps the court of rogues #thank you so much Jada this made me stupid happy #I love this #I love you #thank you #lady whump #women in whump

[possuminnit]

LAINEY ^_^ i'm soso tired but i needed to draw you something SO happy holidays HERE ISa very rough little doodle of possuminnit. YAY !

MEOW... I LOVE HIM SO MUCH HE KS SO SILLY.. OOUGH... HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU TOO ILYSM!!!!!<3

#ALSO GO SLEEP!!!!!!! #<333 #fave #oh his little face.... BUT A BOY! #asks! <3 #meowjoy

[katiebrett2]

Parker and Ryann Johnson have five kids: Bailey, Tessa, Lainey, and Isa.

This family is honestly really dull, and I can’t wait for the kids to grow up and have their own kids and drama.

#sims2 pictures #sims 2 pictures #Sims2 #s2 #s2pictures #North Price Hood #Price neighborhood #KatieBrett

[actress4him]

Whumptober 2023 - Day 13 - Lainey and Isa

I've been working on the next chapter of this story for a while now, but for now you get a bonus chapter - the rescue from Isa's perspective!

For most of the days this month I tried to use the lyric or at least the song as the prompt, but this is one of a few where that just didn't work out and I used a different prompt, instead.

Masterlist

No. 13: Infection | Panic

Contains: lady whump, sensory overload, needle mention, fever, captivity, thoughts of death, magical whump, touch aversion, implied sedatives

.

.

Isa can’t remember ever feeling this sick before. It isn’t the first instance in the time she’s been here that a wound has gotten infected, but she’s weaker now, likely. There’s no way she hasn’t steadily been getting weaker all this time. And now…it’s probably finally the end. Yes, she’s thought it many times before. She thought she was going to die just a few days after she first got kidnapped. She never dreamed she’d still be here five years later. 

But everything has been so much worse since Lainey ran. Sir is so angry. She isn’t sure anymore that he wants her alive. He seems like he wants to keep beating them both until they’re dead and he doesn’t have to deal with them anymore. So even if he does come back down here and sees how sick she is, she isn’t confident he’ll do anything about it. 

She sleeps, mostly. Fitful dreams, flashes of memories and nonsense fill her mind. Everything inside of her is burning. The few times that she’s awake, the searing pain across her back has her whimpering and curling her hands into fists. 

Through it all, she’s aware of Lainey’s presence next to her. She can feel her heart beating steadily, can occasionally feel her palm brush her forehead and hear her murmuring reassurances. The only regret she’ll have in dying now is that she has to leave the poor girl on her own. 

Suddenly she’s jolted awake, though she can still barely convince her eyes to open. There’s something close by…a car. The rumble of the engine vibrates in her chest. Is Sir…leaving? He didn’t leave them extra water, though, did he? He really does want them to die.

But wait, no, that’s…far more than a car. The vibrations are growing, filling her lungs so that it’s hard to breathe. She glares up at the ceiling, fluorescent lights dancing and shimmering, trying to make sense of it.

“What is it?” Lainey’s voice floats by.

“Something…coming…” she mumbles. “Cars?” Dragging her hand up to her chest, she rubs at it weakly, trying fruitlessly to dispel some of the pressure. There are so many cars up above them. Loud cars. Cars full of people that are now spilling out, footsteps pounding the ground. “Too many…too many cars and…people.”

Lainey says something in return, but she doesn’t hear. Everything is just getting worse. There are noises drifting down the stairs, yelling and banging, but even worse than that is all of the movement. It’s so much more than she’s felt in such a long time. Dozens of heartbeats, feet running here and there, engines still idling. It crawls underneath her skin, from her center out through her limbs and into her fingers and toes, up the back of her neck into her skull. It feels like someone is pounding a mallet into her sternum. 

Closest of all is Lainey’s excited voice and elevated heartbeat. She wants to tell her what’s happening, wants to ask her to make it stop, but all she can do is moan and attempt to disappear into the floor. She can’t breathe, she can’t think. 

Just when some of it starts to calm down some, some of the footsteps and heartbeats start moving closer, bringing loud voices with them. Someone is in the basement. It fills her with automatic panic, but she can’t even stop to figure out what it means past the suffocating sensations taking over her body. It’s starting to turn painful. Little pinpricks all over, like fingernails digging into her skin. It won’t stop.

Then someone touches her. Touching means pain, always, but she can’t get away from it. All she can do is lie there, flinching and whimpering as it becomes harder and harder to draw in air. It’s too much. They’re tugging at her shirt, making her back flare with fiery pain, and moving her arms around and messing with the wound on her leg. 

All the while their heartbeats pound, pound, pound. Their breaths rake across her skin, their voices pierce her skull. The footsteps above have turned from fingernail pokes to needle pricks, and the engines might as well be cars running over her chest. 

Make it stop, make it stop!

But it doesn’t. It goes on and on and on, the hands touching and then lifting her, making everything on her body cry out. There are straps that chafe against her already raw skin, and she’s being jostled, carried, taken away. She doesn’t know where they’re taking her. She doesn’t know where Lainey is. They can’t leave the basement, Sir will be so angry, and she can’t take anymore. She wants Lainey, she wants to wake up and all of this be a fever dream, she wants to stop feeling.And finally, finally, she does. There’s a prick in her arm that she barely feels above everything else, and suddenly everything starts to fade away. No more vibrations, no more pressure, no more pain. Heavy with relief, Isa drifts off into a deep sleep.

#whumptober2023 #no.13 #infection #panic #altprompt #original content #fic #captivity tw #sensory overload tw #needle tw #death mention tw #fever tw #sedative tw #lainey and isa #lady whump #lady whumpee #magical whump #magical whumpee #touch aversion #superpowers #whump series

[actress4him]

June of Doom 2023

I have somehow managed to create an entirely new series with entirely new ocs out of thin air just for this event. My plan is to make all these prompts into one continuous story (some of them will be combined, some out of order), so wish me luck and we’ll see how it goes!

Let me know if you want to be tagged in the future pieces of this series!

Day 1 - “You don’t want to do that.” | Collapse | Locked Door | Fear

Day 2 - “Get in.” | Sobbing | Survivor’s Guilt | Salve

Contains: lady whump with male whumper, kidnapping, restraints, blindfold, knife, long-term captivity, fantasy prejudice, death mention

.

.

The first thing Lainey notices when the car trunk opens, letting in the slightest bit of sunlight beneath her blindfold, is that the air smells fresh. There’s no trace of car exhaust or street vendors or anything that she’s used to smelling in the city. It smells like…dirt and leaves. Like the forest when she goes hiking on occasion. And it’s quiet, too, other than a few birds singing. 

If the bumpy roads and route that apparently took them the entire night weren’t enough indication that she’s been taken out into the middle of nowhere, this seals it.

The harsh hands that had first grabbed her by the dumpsters behind her work latch onto her arms again, yanking her up and out of the trunk with frightening strength. She cries out in surprise, struggling to find her footing on cramped legs before he’s prodding her into a walk. The sharp tip of a knife she’d only caught a glimpse of last night pricks at her spine. 

“Look, um…I don’t know what you want from me, but…my family doesn’t have much money or anything. My dad’s in construction and my mom does alterations. And my boyfriend isn’t rich, either, he just works at the coffee shop next door to my store. So if you’re looking for ransom money…”

“Get in there!” His hand slams into her shoulder from behind, and she stumbles forward, toes stubbing against a wooden threshold and nearly sending her sprawling on her face. They’re inside some kind of building now, she can tell even though the rough fabric across her eyes prevents her from seeing anything but darkness. The smell of fresh air fades away, replaced by must and old wood, and the stillness grows to an almost suffocating level. 

“You know, it’s kinda hard to walk through a strange place blindly and with my hands behind my back! If you want this to go more smoothly then maybe you should just take off all this crap and -”

“Shut up, before I add a gag to ‘all that crap’.”

She presses her lips together. Talking too much when she’s anxious has always been a struggle, though this time it’s more like terror than anxiety. Her parents had always warned her about bad guys and talking to strangers and all of that stuff, like all parents do, and that’s extended into her young adulthood as concerns about those prejudiced against magic-users grow. But she never thought she’d get kidnapped. 

“They’re gonna be looking for me, you know,” she blurts, unable to hold it in. The man is steering her with one hand on her shoulder, presumably avoiding furniture and making their way through the building. “My family. They’ll find you. They’ll make you pay for this. The police will find you and throw you in jail for the rest of your li-”

The knife leaves her back only for the hilt to smash into the back of her head. She stumbles again with a gasp, her head spinning and aching. 

“I said to shut up.”

Biting her lip, she does her best to comply. 

They halt their march, and there’s a series of clicking, scraping, and squawking sounds from directly in front of her. Locks, her throbbing head supplies. Quite a few of them. Her heart goes from pounding in her ribs to climbing up her throat. 

“Down the stairs.” 

That’s all the warning she gets before she’s pushed forward again. Her breath catches as her foot is forced to move, feeling tentatively at the darkness in front of her until she finds the first step down. Her second foot joins it, then she feels for the next step.

“You’re too slow.” He grabs onto her arm and begins barreling down the stairs at what seems like a breakneck pace. Her feet somehow mostly keep up even though her brain is screaming about not knowing where the steps are, and anytime she does miss one his hand just yanks her back upright. She’s pretty sure she’ll have a bruise on that arm from how hard he’s holding her. Maybe some on her ankles, too, from banging them around on the steps. 

Her legs are trembling by the time they make it to solid ground again. “Remember,” she huffs, the adrenaline of the trip making her tongue loose again, “that whole thing about it being hard to walk blindfolded?”

To her surprise, he responds by ripping it off her head, tearing out a few strands of hair with it. She winces at the pain and the sudden influx of light, but quickly forces herself to take in her surroundings. 

It’s quite obviously a basement. There are no windows, the only light coming from buzzing fluorescent lights overhead, and the floors and walls are all concrete. One wall is lined with cabinets, the contents of which she’s sure she doesn’t want to know, and the floor is dotted with mysterious stains that she’d also rather remain a mystery.

That’s as far as her observations take her, because it’s at that point that her blue eyes clash with a pair of dark brown and her thoughts screech to a halt. There’s another girl down here. She’s just sitting there, on the floor, curled up against the wall and staring back at her with a blank expression. Her face is streaked with dirt, and there’s blood crusted up in her hairline. Her black hair has been chopped off, short and uneven. She looks small, and frail, and far too thin, and…kind of like she shouldn’t be alive.

Footsteps on the stairs jerk Lainey out of her trance. Spinning away from the woman on the floor, she sees the man - the first good look she’s actually gotten at him, though it’s still just his back - halfway up the staircase. Leaving her down here. Leaving her to turn into a phantom of a person like this other girl. 

“Hey!” She runs after him, awkwardly since her hands are still ziptied behind her back. “You can’t just leave me down here! I’m a human being, okay? I have rights!” She stomps up the stairs, a much easier task now that she can see. “And I told you already, you’re gonna be in so much trouble when the police find you, you’re -” 

He’s walking through the door, about to disappear, and she picks up her pace, heart pounding. “Hey! Stop!” The door slams, the locks all clicking and squeaking back into place. “Get back here! You’re gonna regret taking me, I swear!” She can’t bang on the door with her fists, so she kicks it, instead, slamming the toe of her sneaker into the wood over and over again.

“You don’t want to do that.”

She barely hears the quiet, rasping voice over the ruckus she’s making, but it echoes against the concrete and catches her attention. Pausing her assault on the door, Lainey frowns over her shoulder at the woman down below. “I’m not just gonna sit here and take this! This door isn’t that strong, you know what? I could probably even kick it down if I wanted to…”

“If you keep causing a scene, you’re going to make him mad, and he’ll come back.” The pitch of her voice never changes, and she doesn’t move even her head from her position. 

“Good! If he comes back, that’ll give me a better chance to escape. He didn’t look that big, maybe I could overpower him and get out the door.” Never mind that he’d been strong enough to easily lift her, right now she’s just desperate to get out. Facing the fact that she’s trapped here is too terrifying to even consider.

She can’t stay here. She can’t.

A sliver of emotion finally finds its way into the woman’s next words. “If he comes back, he’ll hurt you. And if he’s mad, it’ll be ten times worse. So if you have any sense, you’ll sit down and shut up and conserve your energy for when he comes back on his own schedule.”

Something about what she says steals any remaining fight from Lainey’s body. She stares at the locked door for a long moment, breaths coming too fast and too shallow. “He’s…he…” She backs down one step, getting the distinct feeling that she doesn’t actually want to be standing here when the door opens. Her gaze is pulled back to the woman on the floor. “What does he…do?” She doesn’t want to know, but she needs to.

“Hurts us.” Her voice has gone back to flat and emotionless. “Well…hurts me. I can only assume that you’ll be the same. Having someone else down here is…new.”

Slowly, she plods back down the stairs, looking over the drab room again until she’s standing directly in front of the other woman. She doesn’t want to sit down. Sitting feels like settling in, and that feels like giving in. 

“Does he…want…?” Her eyes flick up and down the girl’s body almost involuntarily, as if she’ll be able to see the evidence of exactly what’s been done to her. 

Somehow the woman seems to read her mind. “No. Not that. Just anything else he can think of. Should I assume you have magic, too?”

Her stomach flips. She’s not used to being called out like that. “Um…y-yeah?” She said ‘too’, so it’s probably safe.

“Yeah. He’s one of those types. Thinks he’s doing the world a favor by keeping us out of it.”

“Great,” she sighs, shifting back and forth on her feet. A few seconds later, she flops down to the floor. She’s not giving in, she’s just exhausted from not sleeping last night and from all the adrenaline that’s starting to dwindle. 

“How long…have you been here?” Another of those questions she needs to know the answer to but doesn’t want to hear it.

“What year is it?”

“What?” She feels suddenly lightheaded, though her brain is too busy swirling to pinpoint why. “It’s, um…it’s 2023. June first.” Just in case she’d actually meant to ask month or day, instead.

Her previously empty expression shutters, eyes shutting and jaw tightening. It takes a long, anxiety-filled moment for her to respond, and her voice is hoarser than before when she does. “F-...five years. I’ve been here…five years.”

Lainey feels like the floor has dropped out from underneath her. She might say something, she’s not even sure, she’s too busy flailing in midair as she falls, trying to find something solid to stand on. Five years. Five years of being locked in a basement being…tortured. Five years of no one finding her. That’s not going to happen to her, right? It can’t. She has family, she has people who will be looking for her. 

She sucks in a desperate breath. “But…how…? You…didn’t you have…someone to miss you?” She’s heard of the cases where people go missing and are never found, of course. They’re always presumed to be dead, though. Not still surviving in a basement after five years. 

The girl shrugs one shoulder, eyes still shut. “Thought I did. Maybe they tried, and gave up. Maybe they never actually cared to start with.” 

“Maybe they, um…maybe they’re still trying. Me being kidnapped might help give more leads. I mean, my family will definitely be looking for me. My co-workers would have known right away that something happened, I just went out to take the trash and never came back.” She nods firmly. “They’ll find me. Find us. He can’t keep getting away with this for long.”

Opening her eyes slightly, the girl stares at her for a moment before shaking her head and closing them again. 

Lainey isn’t going to let it discourage her, though. She has to keep believing her own words or she’ll spiral. “Hey, what’s your name?”

She swallows. “Isa.” Her eyes open again, though her gaze stays on her knees. “Isabela, technically, but…everyone always called me Isa.”

“Isa,” she repeats, trying to get the Spanish vowels correct. “I’m Lainey. I’d say nice to meet you, but…”

“Yeah.” Isa gives that one-shoulder shrug again. This time, something clinks against the wall behind her, and Lainey becomes suddenly aware that she’s wearing a metal band around her throat.

“Wait, are you…chained to the wall?” She leans forward to see, and Isa flinches before trying to cover the movement by wrapping her arms around her legs. Her arms are dotted with bruises and scars of various kinds that stand out against her brown skin, and her wrists are so small that she’s pretty sure she could wrap her smallest fingers around them. 

“Yeah. He doesn’t do it too often. But he’s been gone for the past…few days, I guess, and he doesn’t like letting me roam while he’s out.”

She says it so matter of factly, like it’s just a part of life that should be expected. “He’s a creep and he can go curl in a hole and die,” Lainey growls, fists clenching behind her back. 

“Sure.” Isa leans her head against the wall. “Just don’t make him mad. He likes to be called ‘sir’, and he doesn’t have a lot of patience for having to repeat himself. We’re both better off if you just do what he says.”

Lainey grits her teeth. “That’s not happening. Look, I know you’ve been here a long time and you’ve had to…do whatever you had to to make it. But there’s two of us now, and only one of him. There’s more of a chance that we can overpower him or outsmart him. We could escape.”

Shaking her head, she stares up at the ceiling. “You shouldn’t get your hopes up like that. It’ll only hurt more when they come crashing down.”

She can’t imagine what Isa has been through. Doesn’t want to think about the fact that she may soon go through some of it, herself. But she can’t understand why she refuses to even consider trying to figure a way out of here, when she now has somebody to help her. 

Unable to sit and do nothing any longer, she levers herself off the floor and begins walking the perimeter of the room, familiarizing herself with every inch of the space. “I’m gonna figure out a way out of here, no matter what you think.”

.

Next | Masterlist

#juneofdoom #day 1 #day 2 #lady whump #lady whumpee #kidnapping #restraints tw #blindfold #knife tw #captivity whump #prejudice tw #death mention #lainey and isa #two whumpees #urban fantasy #defiant whumpee #jaded whumpee #whump series #whump writing #whump event

[actress4him]

June of Doom 2023

Previous | Next | Masterlist

Taglist: @painful-pooch

Day 4 - “Does that hurt?” | Delirium | Hypothermia | Stabilization

Day 5 - “It’s not as bad as it looks.” | Handcuffs | Swelling | Flinch

Also qualifies for @whumpawoman ’s Whump Girl Summer, Alt. Prompt - “Look at Me”

Contains: lady whump, graphic broken bone, restraints, fainting, brief emeto mention, captivity

.

.

Isa is still hunched over on her knees, breathing through the pain shooting up her arm, when a hand lands lightly on her other shoulder. Instinctively she jerks backwards, which only doubles the pain. She throws her head back and cries out hoarsely.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, hey, look at me, it’s just me. Just me.” Glancing over, she can see Lainey holding up her hands, cuffs jingling. “Are you…are you okay? That’s a stupid question, obviously you’re not okay, but…crap.” Her hands drop to her lap. “He just…broke your arm, like it was nothing. I don’t…I can’t…” She shakes her head. “I hate him!”

She can’t deal with the chatter right now. “It’s fine. I just…need some time.”

“It’s not fine, would you quit acting like all of this is fine? I know it’s what you're used to, but it is far from fine and you deserve far better than this, okay?”

She knows that being treated like this isn’t alright. Intellectually, at least. It’s hard to remember sometimes, though. In fact, if she’s honest with herself, it’s really only due to Lainey’s presence that she’s started remembering it now. This isn’t normal.

But that doesn’t help her situation any, so she can’t really afford to dwell on it. Maybe that’s why it’s easier to accept that it’s normal for her, at least, instead of worrying about what she can’t change.

Lainey sighs heavily. “Is there…anything I can do?”

Isa starts to shake her head no. She just wants to sit, and breathe, and cope. But she has someone here now who’s willing to help her, and she’d be stupid not to take advantage of that. “There’s a…the cabinet. On the far end.” She motions toward it jerkily before returning to digging her fingernails into her upper arm. “It’s unlocked. There’s a kit in there. And a, uh…a piece of wood.”

Immediately Lainey is up and crossing the room to look in the cabinet she indicated. She holds up the two items in her cuffed hands for Isa to see. “This?”

“Mm-hm.”

She comes back and sits cross-legged in front of her. There’s already a bruise forming on her cheek, matching the ones around her broken nose. “I’m kinda surprised he lets you have first aid stuff.”

“Yeah, well, he…wants me to stay alive…for whatever reason. We have to be careful with it, though. It doesn’t get replenished often.”

Lainey nods in understanding, opening up the kit on the floor. “So…use the wood to stabilize it and wrap these bandages around?”

“Yeah.” It’s good that she has at least a basic knowledge of first aid already. Means she doesn’t have to explain everything, and she can hopefully count on her to do things herself if there comes a time when she can’t help.

Clenching her jaw, Isa carefully moves her arm out where it can be better reached. Lainey sucks in an audible breath through her teeth at the sight of it.

“Ugh. Aw, man, that’s…it looks so wrong.”

“It’s not as bad as it looks.” Isa runs the fingers of her right hand lightly over the misshapen arm. She’s definitely had worse. “Most of it is swelling. Though this…” Her fingers stop on a slight lump in the skin. “This is gonna have to be pushed back into place.”

“Oh, man…”

She glances up at Lainey, who looks a bit paler than usual. “I can do it. I’ve done it before.”

“No, no way. I’m not making you do that yourself. I’m…you’ve got me now, I can do it.” She hesitates, hands hovering in front of her. “Just, uh…tell me what to do.”

“I usually do it against a wall. Makes it easier to brace.” Isa turns her body so that she can splay her arm across the wall, and Lainey scoots herself around closer.

“The fact that you have a usual method for this is…disturbing.”

Ignoring that comment, Isa points to the spot on her arm. “This is it right here. All I can tell you other than that is just…get in a sturdy position and push. And don’t stop if I scream or whatever.”

“Oh man. Okay.” Lainey moves in closer, shoving strands of messy brown hair out of her face. “I can do this. Okay.” Bracing both hands against the arm without pressing down yet, she glances over at Isa. “Alright. You ready?” While Isa nods, she sucks in a deep breath and squeezes her eyes shut, then focuses in on the arm once more.

Looking away, Isa grabs a handful of her shirt and clutches it tight.

“Okay. Three…two…” Before she gets to one, she shoves with all her strength. The bone pops back into place and Isa screams even more hoarsely than the first time before everything starts to go dark.

She can faintly hear a surprised shout and feel herself falling to one side. An instant later, she opens her eyes and finds herself lying on her left side with her arm stretched out in front of her. Lainey is gingerly wrapping the worn, slightly bloodstained bandage from the kit around both her arm and the makeshift splint.

“Hey,” she says softly when she glances over and sees Isa’s eyes open. “You okay? Kinda freaked me out there. Good news is, having to keep you from smacking your head on the floor distracted me enough that I didn’t end up hurling everywhere like I thought I might.”

Isa picks her head up and looks over her bandaged arm. It’s so weird, having someone else do this for her. She’s not used to it, and part of her doesn’t want to trust it, but Lainey seems to have done a decent job. “How’s it looking?”

“Almost done. Wish we had an ice pack to get some of this swelling down, though.”

“Yeah, he doesn’t do fancy things like ice packs.” She glances up at the other girl, who’s tucking the end of the bandage as best she can. “You seem like you know what you’re doing, at least somewhat.”

One corner of her mouth quirks upward. “Softball, remember? We got hurt all the time. I picked up a few things from the medics like splints and recovery position. I’m no expert, though.” Sitting back, she looks over her work. “How’s that? Does that hurt?”

“Yeah,” Isa answers honestly. “But not as bad as it did when the bone was out of place.” She begins sitting up, slowly, moving her arm carefully into her lap. “Thanks.”

Lainey shakes her head. “You need a hospital, and some of those heavy-duty painkillers they gave me when I broke mine years ago.”

“He definitely doesn’t do painkillers.” Using her good hand, Isa scoots herself back to lean against the wall. “I’ll be fine. Like I said, I’ve done this before.”

“You shouldn’t have to, though.”

Isa doesn’t have an answer for that.

#juneofdoom #day 4 #day 5 #whumpgirlsummer #alt prompt #lady whump #lady whumpee #tw broken bones #mild gore #restraints tw #fainting #emeto mention #captivity #lainey and isa #two whumpees #urban fantasy #magical whumpee #whump writing #whump series

[actress4him]

June of Doom 2023

Previous | Next | Masterlist

Taglist: @painful-pooch , @robinbugbanned

Day 11 - “We’re out of time.” | Firearm | Backseat | Self-defense

Day 12 - “It’s no use.” | Explosion | Fainting | Trembling

Also qualifies for @whumpawoman ’s Whump Girl Summer Day 7 - Sisterhood

Contains: lady whump with male whumper, captivity, gun violence, mild blood, death mention

.

.

“He left a chain out.”

Isa raises her head from where she’s curled on her side, blinking wearily at Lainey. “What?”

“Look!” She picks the chain up off the counter with a loud scrape and rattle, dangling it in the air for Isa to see. “He forgot to put it away before he locked the cabinet!”

Frowning, Isa lies back down, clearly not grasping the enormity of the situation. “Okay.”

“No, Isa look, it’s…” She crosses the room quickly, ignoring all the aches and pains that always accompany every movement, and crouches down next to the other girl. “This is finally something different. He’s never made a mistake like this before. There could be something we could do with this!” She examines the chain carefully, mind churning.

Isa wrinkles her nose. “Like what? We’re not going to chain ourselves up, he does that plenty.”

Lainey rolls her eyes. “No, like…this is heavy.” She hefts the metal in her hand, an idea beginning to form. “Especially the manacle part. What if…what if I could swing it at his head and knock him out?”

Now she’s got Isa’s attention. She picks her head up again, an incredulous look on her face. “What? No, Lainey, that’s the worst idea I’ve ever heard in my life.”

“Is not.” She huffs in frustration, swinging the chain like a pendulum. Isa doesn’t believe they can escape, she gets that. But why can’t she see this possibility when it’s literally right in front of her face? “Look, this thing is a weapon. He’s left us with something we can actually use to gain the upper hand here. I’m telling you, this could very easily knock somebody out if used the right way.”

“If.” Isa rolls over onto her back, grimacing as some part of her body apparently protests, and rubs her face with her hands. “You’re not as strong as you used to be, you’ve said it yourself. And if you missed, or you didn’t hit him hard enough the first time…do I need to explain to you how bad it would be?”

“Do I need to explain to you how bad it is, staying here for the rest of our lives and doing nothing to try and fix it?” Isa’s right, failing at this would be…catastrophic. But that’s why she doesn’t plan on failing. And if somehow she does…she’d rather get punished for trying to escape than sit on her butt and not try.

“I’m going to do this. You’re not going to talk me out of it. And I could really use your help, so I’d like it if you quit arguing and just accepted that this is happening.”

Isa shakes her head slowly. “How am I possibly gonna help your madcap plan?”

Grinning, Lainey jumps to her feet. “By using your magic! You can tell me when he’s coming so I can get ready. I’ll hide over here…” She strolls toward the alcove, where she’ll be out of sight of the stairs if she stands against the wall. “Oh, and maybe you can sit right here, at the corner, so he has to walk over here! Then you can give me some kind of verbal signal, we’ll have to decide what that should be, and I step out and swing it right at his head!” She demonstrates the action, rather poorly and awkwardly, unfortunately. The way the alcove is set up, she’d have to use her left hand to swing a direct path toward the man. Frowning in concentration, she moves back and forth a few times, trying to decide if there’s a way to use her right hand and get the same momentum.

“So not only are you going to get yourself punished for trying to hurt him and escape, you’re going to get me punished, too, for participating and using my magic.”

“No, I’m going to get us both out of here. Can you please have some faith for once?”

“No! Because this is a ridiculous plan that’s never going to work! And I’ve told you before, you’re not bringing me along on any wild escape. If you happen to somehow be able to knock him out and run, go for it. I will cheer you on and wish you the best. But I’m staying here, so that you have a better chance of actually making it.”

Lainey turns to face her squarely, fists clenching. “And I’ve told you before, I’m not leaving without you! So if you’re going to refuse to even try to run, I might as well give up this plan now. Put the chain back where I found it and pretend I never saw it.” The thought makes her want to scream and cry, but not as badly as the thought of making it to safety with Isa still trapped here. She doesn’t care what she says about finding help and coming back, she can’t trust that she’d still be alive and in one piece by the time she returned.

Slowly, painstakingly, Isa pushes herself up off the floor, propping herself up with her hands. “You’re seriously going to give up? Because I can’t come?”

“Because you won’t come,” Lainey corrects. “I know you think you can’t. But I swear we can figure out a way. I’ll carry you if I have to, just…please, Isa. Please let me help you.”

“You can’t carry me,” she deadpans. “You’re not much better off than I am.”

“I’m not in great shape, but I can do what it takes. And you can too!” She points straight at Isa, her frustration and desperation growing every moment. “Why won’t you just try and save yourself?”

“Because I’m scared!” The cry hangs in the silence that follows it. It’s not like neither of them knew that it was true, but having her say it out loud is different. More heart-wrenching.

Isa curls in on herself, hugging her legs. “I’m scared, Lainey. I’m scared of what he’ll do, I’m scared of you not making it out, I’m scared of me not making it out, I’m scared of one or both of us dying.”

Lainey stares down at the floor for a moment before replying. “I know.” Then her own admission - “I am, too. I’m scared of all those things. But either of us choosing to stay here scares me more than anything else.”

She’s quiet for another minute, rubbing her fingertips along the cool metal of the chain. “I’m going to practice. Will you…keep an ear out for him?”

Isa nods slowly, eyes on her feet. “Yeah.”

For the next while, Lainey practices stepping out from behind the corner and swinging the chain at an imaginary head over and over again, until her arm muscles are burning with that good, familiar soreness she used to thrive on at softball meets. She tries to think of different scenarios, of him passing the corner and seeing her before she can step out or him not coming far enough at all, tries to pinpoint how tall he is compared to her and how high she’ll have to aim.

Isa stays silent the whole time, but eventually she struggles to her feet and crosses the room to sit where Lainey had indicated earlier. She takes that to mean she’s planning to help, at least, which gives her a renewed sense of determination. Now she just needs to do her part, and convince Isa to run with her.

“Are you sure this is going to work?”

Lainey stops what she’s doing at Isa’s quiet words, looking down at her. “I’m positive.” Or at least she’s refusing to acknowledge the parts of her mind that aren’t so sure. “I’m going to at least stun him, which will give me plenty of opportunity to hit him again and knock him out. And as soon as that happens, we run for the stairs. You can even start heading that way before me, to give yourself a head start.”

Isa sighs. “Lainey…” Before she can say anything further, she stiffens, eyes cutting toward the stairs. “We’re out of time,” she whispers frantically.

Her heart suddenly pounding, Lainey dives behind the wall, pressing her back against the concrete blocks. Sure enough, the locks begin to creak seconds later.

“If I do this and you just sit there and refuse to come, I promise you that I will stay and take the punishment for it,” she whispers in a rush. Maybe it’s blackmail, just a bit, but she doesn’t care. She’ll do whatever it takes.

His footsteps sound on the wooden steps. The hand holding the chain is sweating, but she doesn’t dare adjust it, trying to hold everything completely still so it doesn’t make the faintest clink.

He pauses at the bottom of the stairs. “Where’s the other one?”

Too late, she realizes that they never came up with a cue to use. She’s just going to have to rely on Isa and whatever she can hear.

“In the corner, resting.”

Immediately her heart lurches at her hiding place being revealed, but she takes a deep breath and calms it back down. It’s fine, this is good. He needs to come over, he needs to know where she is. There’s not really another place she could be, anyway.

“Thinks she’s too good to bother getting up for me now?” Footsteps again. He’s coming her way.

“She might still be asleep,” Isa mumbles, but that doesn’t make sense as a cue, right? She’s on edge, weight on her toes, waiting, trying not to give into the urge to jump out too early and ruin everything.

Then it comes, short and straightforward - “Lainey!”

Just like she’d practiced, she pivots her body around and brings her arm forward with all her strength. The look of shock on his face just before the manacle makes contact is golden. Unfortunately, he’s a bit taller than she’d anticipated, and it smashes into his jaw instead of his skull.

Still incredibly satisfying. But not enough to knock him out.

He stumbles sideways, a string of curses spilling from his lips. “Go!” Lainey shouts, and to her immense relief she sees Isa scramble to her feet out of the corner of her eye.

She can’t focus on her right now, though. Switching the chain to her right hand, she steps forward again. She hadn’t practiced with her right arm. But it’s her dominant side, she’s more confident in it, and her left hand is so sweaty she’s afraid that the chain will slip right out of it. Besides, it’s much easier to hit a target that she can actually now see. Seconds after the first hit, the manacle slams into him again, this time squarely on the back of his head.

He falls forward, just barely catching himself against the wall where Isa had just been sitting. It’s clear that he’s disoriented, but just to be sure, Lainey swings the chain at him one last time.

It’s too bad that she can’t stay to watch him hit the floor, but she still hears him fall and internally cheers as she books it for the stairs.

Isa has only made it three-fourths of the way up, clutching the stair rail, when Lainey passes her. “Keep coming! I’m gonna look for keys!” If they can take his car, their chances of escape will be so much higher. Especially for Isa.

Throwing open that cursed door is a momentous occasion that she can’t stop and enjoy. Instead she plunges into the house - more like a cabin, from the looks of it - searching for the way out and for where car keys might be kept. It’s disturbingly…normal. A bachelor pad, obviously, with little in the way of decor or extraneous furniture, but otherwise just a normal cabin where a normal person would live. No one would ever guess walking in that there were two women being tortured in the basement.

The good news is that it’s small, so it doesn’t take long to find what seems to be the only door leading outside. And hanging on a hook beside the door is a car key.

“Got it!” she shouts, snatching it up. This is actually going the way she planned. This is actually working. They’re going to get out of here, she can feel it.

She hears the basement door shut and jogs back that way. Isa is leaning heavily against it, meticulously sliding and turning all the locks into place. Part of Lainey wants to urge her to come on, to leave it be, but the triumph of being able to lock him in the basement for once wins out.

As soon as the last lock is done, though, she grabs Isa’s arm and throws it over her shoulders. “Come on, let’s go! I’ve got the car key!”

Isa is silent as she half-drags her back through the house and out the front door, but Lainey can hear her harsh breathing and occasional bitten-back noises of pain in her ear. She’s torn between feeling bad for causing her pain, knowing it’s for her own good, wanting to slow down for her, and wanting to push her faster than what already feels like a snail’s pace. Her own body is holding up fine for now, the adrenaline doing its work as she’d predicted, but it’ll all catch up with her in a little while. Which is just another reason that they need to get going fast.

The car is parked out front - an older model grey sedan, nothing special. A wave of memories of being locked inside the trunk washes over her, but she forges ahead regardless, escorting Isa to the passenger side before running around and yanking the driver’s door open. The interior smells like must and stale food. As Isa falls into the passenger seat, panting, Lainey jams the key into the ignition and turns it.

The engine sputters, but fails to turn over. “No, no, come on, don’t do this to me, we were doing so well…” She tries again with the same result. “Come on!” A third time, pumping the gas pedal, and it finally roars to life, the radio immediately blasting out country music. “Yes!”

Isa swats at the radio dial while Lainey shoves the gear shift into reverse, throwing her arm behind the other seat so she can turn and see out the back as she swings the car around. Gravel flies out from underneath the skidding tires. “We are getting…the heck…out of…”

“Lainey!”

The strangled gasp from Isa has her spinning around to look out the front at the cabin. The door is opening. He’s stumbling outside, a stream of bright red blood trickling down the side of his face.

“Shoot! Crap, crap, shoot, dang it!” Her hand fumbles at the gear shift, finally managing to throw it into drive before slamming her foot down on the gas pedal. The driveway leads off into the woods, disappearing down a hill only yards from the house. Freedom is so close.

“It’s okay, it’s fine. He can’t get us, we’ve got the car and he’s got -”

A loud crack splits the air, making both of them jump and duck instinctively. “A gun,” Isa chokes out, hand gripping the door with white knuckles. “He’s got a gun!”

“Shoot!” She winces at her poor choice of words, glancing in the rearview mirror as the car careens down the narrow road. They can still get away. They have to. She just has to drive, and drive fast, and get them out of harm’s way.

Another shot rings out, and the car jolts, swinging out of control sideways. Isa cries out, she’s not sure if it’s from pain or pure fear. She doesn’t have time to check. She’s trying desperately to keep the car straight and moving despite the way one of the back wheels is now dragging, but then the back windshield shatters. Both girls jump again, screaming, and Lainey loses the tenuous control she had. The car nosedives off the side of the road into a bed of leaves and brush. Lainey’s hands scrabble at the steering wheel, her foot pumping the gas, but all she gets in return is spinning tires.

“Lainey he’s coming, he’s coming!”

The terror she feels is reflected in Isa’s voice. She jams her foot into the pedal one more time, flinging mud everywhere, then throws open her door. “It’s no use, get out! We’ve gotta go, get out, run!” There’s no way they can outrun bullets. Can they? Maybe if they head straight into the forest, dodge behind the trees…

She nearly falls out the door in her haste. Isa is stumbling out her side, and Lainey spends precious seconds debating whether she should go to help her or just start running. He’s coming up on them way too quickly, striding across the gravel like he’s confident that he can catch them without having to run.

Isa is starting toward her now. “Go, go!” She waves her hand frantically at Lainey, who does start running but stays sideways, looking back at Isa and the man.

“Come on!” She should go back. Isa’s not going to be fast enough, she’s trying her best but he’s gaining on her. Making a split second decision, Lainey changes her course, darting back toward Isa to see if she can drag her along.

She can’t let her get caught. She promised she’d help her, that they’d get her out of there no matter what kind of shape she was in. If she gets caught now, after going against her instincts and putting her trust in Lainey…she’d probably never forgive her. Besides the fact that he might kill her.

She’s running, but somehow it feels like she’s making no progress. The man’s eyes are trained on Isa. The look on her face is desperate and pained and terrified, but the terror takes over completely when his hand reaches out and snatches her backwards by her shirt. Her scream imbeds itself in Lainey’s chest.

Her feet skid to a halt of their own volition. “Isa!”

“Go!” His arm slings across her chest, pulling her back into him, but she leans into it with all her might, sobbing. “Lainey run!”

No, no she can’t, she can’t! He has Isa, she can’t just run off and leave her! That’s the one thing she swore she wouldn’t do!

Another gunshot makes her jolt, hands automatically covering her ears. Isa’s scream this time is strangled. She crumples in his arms and he lets her fall, and Lainey’s thoughts freeze.

He shot her. She doesn’t even know where, couldn’t see where the gun was pointing, but now she’s on the ground, what if she’s dead? Did he kill her? Right there, right in front of her?

The gun swings upward, points straight at her. Lainey takes one step backwards, then two. Run! her instincts are shouting, but Isa is right there…

Isa gasps a shuddering breath and turns her face up toward Lainey. “Go! Get help!”

Her heart feels like it’s tearing from her chest, but she turns and flees into the forest just as a bullet whizzes past her shoulder.

#juneofdoom #day 11 #day 12 #whumpgirlsummer #day 7 #lady whump #lady whumpee #mild blood #captivity #death mention tw #gun violence #failed escape attempt #lainey and isa #two whumpees #urban fantasy #magical whumpee #whump writing #whump series

[actress4him]

June of Doom 2023

Previous | Next | Masterlist

Taglist: @painful-pooch , @robinbugwhump

Day 8 - “Breathe, darn you!” | Shock | Amputation | Infection 

Also qualifies for @whumpawoman ‘s Whump Girl Summer Day 4 - Stress Position | Begging

Contains: lady whump, captivity, stress position, mentioned dislocation, referenced broken bones, respiratory distress, touch aversion, thoughts of death, fantasy prejudice, passing out, referenced burns

.

.

It’s Isa’s turn for punishment today. Sometimes he’ll hurt them both at the same time, but he tends to alternate back and forth between them, either giving them ‘treatments’ for the magic that supposedly ‘plagues’ them, or punishing them for having the magic to start with. This time he hung Isa by her wrists from the ceiling, toes just barely brushing the floor, burned her torso and arms with a lighter, and left her there, as he often does.

It hasn’t been too awfully long. She’s been left in stress positions for much longer before. Her main concern is that her shoulders will dislocate - not for the first time - so she’s trying to stay as still as possible, focusing on her breathing and not the pain in the entirety of her arms and the fresh sting of the burns. 

Only that’s becoming increasingly difficult with each passing moment. The pressure on her ribs keeps becoming more and more noticeable. Her breaths have been shallow ever since he hoisted her here, but now it feels like she can barely get any air past her throat.

“Are you sure you’re okay? You don’t look okay.” Lainey always gets really worried about her when she’s hurt, and has been checking in every couple of minutes since he left. It’s touching, though it sometimes makes her feel guilty for not being able to offer the same emotional support back. She worries about Lainey, too, of course, but she doesn’t know how to express it in the same open, honest way that the other girl does.

Right now, though, she isn’t sure she can answer. “I’m…” She huffs a few more quick, barely-there breaths. “I…I can’t…” She’s starting to panic. A tear runs down her cheek and dangles from her chin.

“Whoa!” Lainey is in front of her immediately, eyes wide and looking her over. “Hey, it’s okay, just breathe. Deep breath with me, okay?” She mimics the intake of oxygen that Isa is longing for.

“I…can’t!” 

“Crap!” Her eyes search Isa’s body again. “Is…is it the position?”

She nods frantically, unable to form any more words. 

“Crap.” Immediately Lainey springs forward, bending over to wrap her arms around Isa’s thighs and lifting with a pained grunt.

The slack lets Isa’s elbows drop and takes pressure off her lungs. Having someone’s arms around her is strange and makes her heart skip a few beats, but being able to breathe is taking much more of her focus. She desperately gulps in sweet oxygen. “You shouldn’t…your ribs…”

“I can’t just let you suffocate! I’ll be fine.” 

“You won’t, you’ll make yourself…worse, and…you can’t just…keep holding me until he comes back!”

Lainey stubbornly refuses to let go, no matter what Isa says to try and convince her. She’s beyond grateful to be able to breathe, but she doesn’t want that to come at Lainey’s expense.

Eventually, the younger girl’s arms start to tremble, and she begins to sway slightly. “Put me down, Lainey. I’ll be okay. You gave me a good break.”

She finally gives in, lowering her as carefully as possible and taking a couple of shaky steps backwards before sitting. “Sorry,” she says breathlessly. “Stupid diet he’s got us on. I used to be in a lot better shape.”

Isa just gives her a weak smile, trying to conserve her oxygen. The pressure isn’t as bad to start with as it had been, but it doesn’t take long to get that way. Lainey’s watching her closely and sees the moment she starts to struggle for breath again.

“Isa…”

“You can’t.” She shakes her head, eyes trained on the hand Lainey has pressed against her broken ribs. It’s obvious she made them worse, just like she said she would. 

“I can if it means saving your life.” 

She just shakes her head again, unable to say anything else. Black spots are starting to dance through the air in front of her eyes, the buzz of the fluorescent lights fading. Hardly any air is making it into her lungs now.

“-sa! Isa! Come on, breathe, dang it!” Lainey’s hands are suddenly on her face, holding her cheeks, but she’s too busy panicking over the lack of oxygen to panic about the touch. Then they’re gone again, and Lainey is racing across the room and up the stairs as fast as her wrecked body will allow her.

A thrill of fear goes through Isa’s chest. No, what are you doing, don’t get us in trouble! 

“Hey!” A loud banging sound just filters through the cotton that seems to be stuffed in her ears, cutting in and out along with Lainey’s voice. “Help!...need help! She’s g-...die, you…-ere! Please!”

The next few…minutes? seconds? pass in a blur. Isa thinks she can vaguely hear a low pitched mumble accompanying Lainey’s frantic pleas, but her vision has gone completely dark. She’s dying. After all of this time, all these years surviving in this basement, her time has finally come. The emotions that accompany the realization are too mixed to name.

Then she’s staring up at fluorescent lights and Lainey’s tear-streaked face. Her straight brown hair, constantly a disheveled mess, hangs over her shoulders and nearly brushes Isa’s face. 

“Oh my gosh,” she gasps, one hand flying to rest against her heart while the other swipes tears from her cheeks. “You…you’re okay, you’re alive. I didn’t…I thought…” The hand on her chest moves to her mouth, but is unsuccessful at holding back a sob. 

Isa draws in a long, purposeful breath, holding it in as if savoring it before letting it back out. “I’m alive,” she repeats, almost blown away by the concept. “How…did you…?”

The sound of the door shutting and the locks clicking startles her. Wide eyes glance toward the stairs, then back at Lainey’s face. “He…?”

“Thank goodness he heard me…and actually listened. I didn’t know if he would. I was about to come pick you up again when he opened the door, but I don’t know how long he would have taken if I hadn’t called him and I don’t know if I could’ve…”

“Is he mad? Did he punish you?” If she was the cause of more pain for Lainey, she’d never forgive herself.

“No, no punishment,” Lainey assures her, shaking her head. “He seemed…I dunno, just as aggravated about life and us as usual. But obviously he doesn’t want you to die, since he came and took you down and didn’t do anything to me for calling him.”

“Yeah…I don’t know why.” Isa massages her left arm, gaze sliding over to the wall. It hasn’t been that long since the break healed, and hanging from it made it sore. “You’d think if he wants to rid the world of magic so badly, he’d just kill us and be done with it.”

“Well I don’t want you to die. I know you did all this by yourself for a long time, but I can’t even imagine being alone. And more importantly, you’ve gotta stay alive so that we can get out of here together.”

Isa huffs a humorless laugh and shakes her head a little. “I can’t believe you still believe that’s going to happen.”

“It is. Either we’re going to get out of here, or someone’s going to find us.” She says it firmly, but Isa’s not sure she’s imagining that it sounds less sure than it did several weeks ago. “You and I are not going to die down here.”

“Okay, Lainey.” Not today, at least.

#juneofdoom #day 8 #whumpgirlsummer #day 4 #lady whump #lady whumpee #captivity #stress positions #tw broken bones #respiratory distress #touch aversion #death mention #prejudice tw #passing out #burns tw #lainey and isa #two whumpees #urban fantasy #whump writing #whump series

[actress4him]

June of Doom 2023

Previous | Next | Masterlist

Taglist: @painful-pooch

Day 6 - “You’re doing great.” | Injection | Nightmare | Duct Tape

Also qualifies for @whumpawoman ’s Whump Girl Summer Day 2 - Migraine

Contains: lady whump with male whumper, needle, fear of needles, injected with unknown substance, restraints, migraine, nausea mention, captivity

.

.

“What are you doing?” Lainey scrambles backwards across the room, eyes wide and trained on the syringe in the man’s hand. “What is that, don’t bring that anywhere near me! I draw the line at needles, okay? Alright actually I draw the line…a long time ago, at the hitting and the bone breaking and the kidnapping, but…but needles are an entirely different story.” Her back hits the wall, and she begins creeping along it sideways, not ever looking away from the terrifying point. “What is even in that? How do I know that it’s new, and not contaminated? How do I know you know what you’re doing? And why do you even need to give me a shot, anyway? I’m not sick! I don’t need medicine!”

Growling, the man tosses the syringe back into the box he’d gotten from one of the cabinets. It doesn’t make her relax any, and for good reason. All he does then is lunge toward her, trying to get his hands on her. She dodges with a yelp. Her reflexes aren’t what they should be, though, she’s slow from the atrocious pain in her ribs and lack of enough food, and it doesn’t take long for him to corner her, slamming her into the wall.

“No!” she screams, thrashing in his grip. “You are not sticking that thing in me! Let me go!”

He drags her to the cabinets with one arm around her waist, fishing in them with his free hand for something she doesn’t see, too focused on clawing and kicking and trying to escape him. Then she’s taken to the corner, where something metal is clamped around one wrist. He lets go of her waist but yanks her by the chain now attached to her, hooking it to an eye bolt on one wall, then latching onto her other arm and doing the same. With her arms now spread wide, all continuing to struggle gets her is metal cuffs cutting into her wrists.

The syringe returns and is rapidly approaching her. For once, Lainey’s defiance crumbles into pure fear. “Please…please don’t. Please don’t do this, I’m…” His fingers prod one of her outstretched arms, and she jolts. “Can…can I at least know what’s in it before you…?”

The needle pricks her skin and she whimpers, shutting her eyes tightly. This isn’t happening, this isn’t happening. She feels like she might pass out.

An eternity later, he’s done. Lainey gasps for breath, jiggling her arm up and down, trying to erase the feeling of the needle. A couple of tears escape down her cheeks when she opens her eyes.

The man is putting the box away and locking the cabinet. He leaves without having spoken a single word.

As soon as he’s locked the door again, Isa uncurls from where she’s been hiding by the stairs and limps toward her. “You, um…you okay?”

“No.” Her voice wavers. “I hate needles.”

Isa nods, biting the inside of her cheek. “I can…tell you what it probably was, at least. If you wanna know.”

“Yeah, I wanna know.” She doesn’t, what if it’s something awful like some deadly disease? But if Isa knows what it is then she’s likely gotten it before, and she survived. So that’s something. And if she is gonna die, she wants to know ahead of time.

“I mean, I don’t know actually what it is, but I know what it does. It’s, um…it’s to mess with your magic. I get the feeling he wants to get rid of it altogether, but he hasn’t actually figured out how yet.”

It isn’t a deadly disease, but it’s almost equally as horrifying. “What do you mean, ‘mess with my magic’? What is it gonna do?”

Isa gives her patented one shoulder shrug. “Not sure. I don’t know which one he gave you…or which one did what. Besides, our magic is different, so you’ll probably react differently than me. It may not do anything to your magic. All I can say with fairly definite certainty is that you’ll feel like crap for a while.”

“Fantastic.” Lainey shuts her eyes again, trying to calm down and process everything. Even though she understands - intellectually at least - why, the fact that Isa continues to just sit and watch these things happen to her bothers her a lot. “Why don’t you ever say anything? Why don’t you try to help me?”

Isa’s voice is quiet when she responds. “I can’t. It would…it would do you no good, and I would just get hurt, too. Remember what happened the last time you tried to help me?”

Of course she remembers. Isa was getting whipped, and because she’d tried to stop the man she’d gotten the same treatment. Her back still hurts days later. “I know.”

“I wish you would stop trying to help me.” She settles down on the floor by Lainey’s feet, every movement stiff and careful. “You’re making things far too hard on yourself.”

“I can’t help it. I can’t just sit there and watch you get hurt like that.”

Silence falls for a moment. Lainey tries desperately not to think about the needle and the unknown, magic-altering substance that’s now flowing through her body. “I’ve never actually asked you about your magic. It’s, um…enhanced hearing? Something like that?”

“Uh, no, it’s…I can feel…vibrations. Disturbances in the air. Stuff like that. Mostly movement, footsteps, heartbeats, breathing…” She tips her head back to lean it against the concrete blocks. “It isn’t as strong as it used to be.”

Lainey’s heart skips a beat. “Because of…this?”

“Yeah.” Isa looks up at her. Not for the first time, Lainey wonders about the scar that slashes across her lips, but she hasn’t had the courage to ask where it came from. “The good news is, he should have figured out by now what worked and what didn’t. So…unless he thinks something might work on you that didn’t on me, hopefully you won’t have to go through so many.”

“How many did he give you?”

She shrugs again. “I don’t remember.”

An uncomfortable feeling is slowly beginning to make itself known. It started in the arm he injected, but it’s spreading across her body and she’s finding it hard to ignore any longer. Her head is beginning to hurt, but elsewhere she can’t really pinpoint what the feeling is. She just feels…wrong.

“What is it?”

She glanced down at Isa. It’s rare for her to ask questions, so she must have had a weird look on her face. “I feel off. Headache. And…I don’t know, like my nerves are…crawling.”

Isa hums in acknowledgment. “I think I know the feeling you’re talking about. Sorry to tell you that the headache will probably get worse.”

It does. Steadily over the next maybe half hour, the pain grows from mild and annoying to head caught in a vice. And then keeps getting worse. She’s never had a migraine before, but she’s heard about the symptoms. They always sounded miserable. They feel much more miserable than she’d imagined.

“I think I’m gonna pass out.” She’s been trying to keep herself distracted with conversation, but she’s running out of things to say after so many days - has it been a week now? maybe more? - and her head is making it very hard to focus on anything else.

“You don’t want to pass out, you might dislocate your shoulders,” Isa replies matter of factly.

“Obviously I don’t want to pass out, I just…” She moans, wishing desperately that there was an escape from these blasted fluorescent lights. But no, they stay on twenty-four seven, buzzing their incessant buzz and flickering without any sort of pattern.

“Just focus on breathing.” Grabbing their current, almost empty water bottle, Isa struggles to her feet. “Here, you need to keep hydrated.” She twists off the cap and holds the mouth up to Lainey’s lips, tipping it to help her take a drink.

The water feels good on her throat, but churns in her already disturbed stomach. “I-I can…I can make more if we need it.”

Isa frowns. “I wouldn’t recommend using your magic while that’s in your system. I don’t know what kind of side effects it would have. We’ll make do.”

“But…what if I can’t after this?” The thought is terrifying. She’s never needed her magic before as much as they do right now, but she’s always liked it. It’s been a part of her for so long, and to think about it being taken away…

“I don’t think that’s going to happen. And even if it does at some point, it’s okay. I’ve survived this long without water magic. We’ll survive, too.”

No one says anything for another few minutes, Isa leaning her shoulders against the wall with her weight off her bad leg, and Lainey focusing on deep breaths with her eyes shut. Another wave of excruciating pain comes over her, and she cries out through gritted teeth, dropping her head forward.

“I can’t do this!” she pants. “I can’t take it anymore!”

“You have to.” She’d glare at Isa for that lovely bit of encouragement if she could lift her head up again. “I know it sucks, but…you’re doing great, okay? You’re…you’ve handled all of this really well. Ever since you got here. You’re strong, and…if anyone can get through this, it’s you.”

She didn’t expect that kind of talk coming from Isa. She’s always stoic, and distant, and never seems happy with the way that Lainey handles things. For a moment she doesn’t reply, thinking about how strong Isa is. She’s only had to survive this torture for a week, and she’s had Isa to help coach her through it and to do things like give her water when she’s chained up. As much as they clash sometimes, this whole situation would be so much worse if she was alone.

“Thanks,” she finally whispers. “I don’t feel strong right now.”

“I know.” Tentatively, Isa reaches out, hand hovering just in front of Lainey’s shoulder for a moment before dropping again without touching. “Hopefully not too much longer now.”

#juneofdoom #day 6 #whumpgirlsummer #day 2 #lady whump #lady whumpee #needle tw #trypanophobia #restraints tw #migraine #nausea #captivity #lainey and isa #two whumpees #urban fantasy #magical whumpee #magic whump #whump writing #whump series

[actress4him]

June of Doom 2023

Previous | Next | Masterlist

Taglist: @painful-pooch , @robinbugbanned

Day 15 - “Please.” | Blindfold | Pressure Points | Scream

Day 18 - “How long have you been like this?” | Fall | Sleep Deprivation | Blankets

Contains: lady whump with male whumper, blindfold, stress positions, choking, captivity

.

.

Isa hates the blindfold. She hates not being able to see what’s coming, even if her magic does tell her where everyone is and when they’re moving. She still doesn’t know what kind of weapon he might be holding, or where exactly on her body it might land.

This time is almost worse, though, because he’s not anywhere near her. She’s chained up - as she has been constantly since the escape attempt - on one side of the room, on her knees with her elbows tied together behind her back and wrenched as high as they’ll go. Lainey is against the opposite wall. Right before he’d blindfolded her, she’d watched him clasp one of the metal bands around Lainey’s throat, but instead of hooking it to the wall he’d hooked it to one of the chains on the ceiling, forcing her up onto her toes to keep from being choked.

Now…she doesn’t know exactly what he’s doing, and that’s what she hates. All she knows is that she keeps hearing little gasps and hisses of pain, and Lainey’s heart rate keeps climbing higher and higher. It’s hard to keep her own from matching it. Sometimes she wishes she could just turn off the vibrations that intrude in her chest and across her skin, especially now that there are two people around to track. She honestly doesn’t remember how she handled it, living a normal life with so many people around all the time.

But she can’t just ignore it. In a way, she’s connected to Lainey like this, not that it provides any support that she’s aware of. If the roles were switched, Lainey would be shouting at Sir to leave her alone, but Isa still can’t make herself do it. She’s in enough pain as it is, she can’t handle any more right now, and she doesn’t want to accidentally make things worse for Lainey, either.

There’s another noise, but this time it isn’t a gasp or a cry. With her ears straining to pick up any clues about what’s going on, she easily catches the jingle of a chain combined with a strangled sound from Lainey. It repeats again, and again. In her mind, Isa can picture her dangling from her throat, lips turning blue as she fights for air, the man just standing there watching her struggle.

“Lainey!” she cries out without even thinking. Immediately she bites her lip, trying to listen, holding back her pleas. Help her, please help her, don’t let her die.

Seconds that feel like an eternity later, there’s a raspy, shuddering inhale followed by a desperate bout of coughing. Isa sags in her restraints, face dropping back toward the floor. Her shoulders are burning from the way she was unconsciously pulling forward.

She doesn’t know how much more of this she can take. Before Lainey arrived, her life was horrible and miserable, but it was fairly predictable. Even after Lainey, it had settled into a mostly predictable routine again. But now? He’s gotten more angry. More reckless. It’s only been…maybe three days since the escape attempt - one day since Lainey returned - but he’s spent almost all of his time down here in the basement since then, coming up with more and more ways to hurt them. She’s never been this afraid that he’ll kill one of them before, and she’s not sure her body can hold any more pain.

Whatever he’s doing to her continues on for several more minutes. Isa flinches and grimaces with each quiet sound. Eventually, though, he has enough, and goes to the cabinets to put his tool away before heading toward the stairs. He delivers a swift kick to her ribs as he passes, causing her to jerk her shoulder nearly out of socket, then is gone.

“Lainey?” she ventures, listening to the other girl’s hoarse breaths.

“I’m okay.”

“Right. I’m sure.” She’s tempted to lift her head up despite the strain it causes, as if she’ll be able to see her injuries. “What…did he do?”

“J-just…a knife, mostly.” She pauses, her feet shifting against the concrete floor. “Besides the…kicking my knee…from under me.”

Isa grits her teeth in anger. Of course he did. “That…really scared me.”

“Yeah. M-me, too.”

It isn’t often Lainey admits she’s scared. Isa knows she is scared, but her saying it is a different story. She usually seems to feel like she has to stay optimistic and brave enough for both of them.

“Isa?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m…really tired. I haven’t…slept, like, at all since…since we ran. And I’m…” She moves her feet again. “I’m worried. That…I’m gonna…doze off, or something, and…”

Realization dawns on Isa. “Oh. You’re…you’re still chained by your neck?”

“Yeah.”

The temporary relief that Sir leaving had brought is gone once again, anxiety thrumming through her veins. “You could, um…you could talk to me? Tell me some more stories?”

“Yeah.” Lainey gives a little, weak laugh. “I don’t…I don’t know if I can think of any…right now. My brain is…yeah.”

“Oh. Um…” Now her mind is blank, too.

“Could…you talk to me?”

“Uh…” All this time together, and she’s still never told Lainey anything about her past. It isn’t that she has anything to hide, she just doesn’t usually have the energy for talking and doesn’t like to think about everything she’s been missing the last five years. But if that’s what it takes to save Lainey, then that’s what she’ll do.

“Um. I don’t…really know what to say, but…I mean, you told me about your little brother, so…I could tell you about my siblings?”

“Please. I’d love to hear about them.”

“Right.” Thoughts of her siblings were part of what kept her going when she first got here. Lately, thinking of them has been too painful. Gosh, they’re five years older now. Luisa was a junior in highschool when she last saw her, she missed her graduation. Did she get into the college she was dreaming of? Pablo wasn’t even in highschool yet and now he’d be…what, a senior? And Camila…she’s been married for six years now. She and her husband were talking about babies last she heard. They could have a four year old by now. She could be an aunt, and not even know it.

But Lainey needs the distraction. She can’t let her down. Blinking away tears that soak into the blindfold, she clears her throat. “Right, um…I have…three siblings. Two sisters and one brother. I’m the second oldest. They’re…they were my best friends.”

It hurts somehow worse than everything physical on her body, but the more she talks the easier the words flow. Before long she’s lost in memories and stories, and something in her chest eases just a little at being able to share them for once.

#juneofdoom #day 15 #day 18 #lady whump #lady whumpee #blindfold #stress positions #choking #captivity whump #lainey and isa #two whumpees #urban fantasy #magical whumpee #whump writing #whump series

[actress4him]

June of Doom 2023

Previous | Next | Masterlist

Taglist: @painful-pooch , @robinbugwhump

Day 7 - “What’s the bad news?” | Disoriented | Bite | Chainsaw

Also qualifies for @whumpawoman ‘s Whump Girl Summer Day 3 - Nightmares

Contains: lady whump, drowning, needles, nightmares, death mention, fantasy prejudice, captivity, restraints

.

.

She’s drowning. She was taking the trash out back, getting ready to close up the shop, when a sudden rush of water came out of nowhere, filling up the alley, sweeping her off her feet and along with it. She can’t breathe, her head is below water and she can’t find the surface. Every time she thinks she can feel the bottom with her feet, she’s just tumbled around by the force of the water. She needs air, she needs air, if she can’t get a breath soon she’s going to die…

Suddenly, with a great crashing of waves, the water is gone. She’s in the basement. The man is standing over her, a syringe in one hand, a whip in the other, growling, “You used your magic again didn’t you? Didn’t you? Filthy excuse for a human!”

“N-no, no, I…it wasn’t me, I swear, I…I don’t know where it came from…” Her voice is timid, weak, and she can’t seem to make it any stronger no matter how ashamed about it she feels. 

“Shut up before I gag you.” He lunges forward with the needle, and she can’t move. Her feet are stuck as if in quicksand. All she can do is stand there and scream as he plunges the needle into her arm. 

Immediately the water comes back, swirling around her legs. She still can’t seem to move. It’s rising higher and higher, up to her waist, and she spots Isa across the room, chained to the wall by one wrist. She doesn’t say anything, but her fear is evident in her expression.

“Isa! Hang…hang on, it’s okay, I’ll…I can stop this…somehow…” She has to reach her magic. Water is her thing, she can’t let it get the best of them.

“Don’t use your magic!” Isa’s voice sounds like she’s miles away. “You’ll make him mad!”

“I can’t just stand here and let us both drown!” Shutting her eyes, she stretches deep inside herself, but she’s met with an empty void. There’s nothing there, not even a wisp of magic. “No. No that can’t be right, it…it has to be there!” She tries again, with the same result. A sob escapes as the water reaches her chest. ���It’s gone! My magic, it’s gone, he took it!”

The water brushes her chin as she stands helplessly, reeling from the lack of magic. Isa is staring at her, waiting for her to do something, but she can’t. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, it’s gone, I don’t know what to do…”

“Lainey!” 

“I wanted to save you, but I can’t…”

“Lainey!”

“I’m sorry, Isa!”

“Lainey wake up!”

Her eyes fly open. She’s lying on the floor of the basement, Isa hovering over her. Lainey looks around the room wildly, but there’s no water or man anywhere to be seen. 

“Where…where’d it go, did it work? Did I get rid of it? I couldn’t find my magic, I didn’t think I was gonna be able to…he’s gonna be mad, though, where is he? Does he know?”

“Hey,” Isa interrupts softly. “It’s okay. He’s not here.”

“He was, he was here, just a minute ago, didn’t you see? He gave me another shot. He told me not to use my magic but you were gonna…” Something clicks all of a sudden and she frowns at Isa. “How’d you get out of the chains?” She pushes herself up to sit, now aware that Isa’s been gently holding her wrist this whole time. She never touches Lainey. It’s…really nice, to actually feel a kind touch for once. The hand retreats as soon as Isa sees her looking at it, though.

“Lainey, I haven’t been chained up for a few days now. You were having a nightmare. Everything’s…alright, right now. He’s not here, I’m okay, you’re okay…and as far as I know, your magic is okay.”

A nightmare? It’s starting to make sense now. None of that was actually real, half of it didn’t even make sense, no matter how real it felt in the moment. She reaches for her magic, and finds it. It’s a bit weak - whether from the couple of different injections she’s gotten or the lack of good food and sleep, she doesn’t know - but it’s there. She can even call a few droplets of water to her fingertips.

She’s never had a dream where water was against her before. Water has always been her friend. The implications of that are…not something she wants to dwell on right now.

Rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands, she tries to shake off the remnants of fear from the dream. “Sorry. Sorry, yeah, it…it was definitely a nightmare. I was just…it felt really real, you know? Felt like I was still in it when I woke up.”

Isa nods. “I understand. You don’t have to apologize.”

“I probably woke you up.”

“I wasn’t sleeping. You’re fine, really.”

Lainey sighs heavily. “Thanks for waking me up.”

Isa gives her a grim smile. “Sure. I’d…hope that you would do the same for me.”

“Of course.” She turns her body around so she can lean against the wall next to her companion. “I don’t think I’m gonna go back to sleep anytime soon, so…have I told you yet about when I first got my magic, and nearly flooded the house?” Maybe she can mesh the scary elements of the dream into a funny memory in her mind and stop feeling so on edge.

#juneofdoom #day 7 #whumpgirlsummer #day 3 #lady whump #lady whumpee #drowning tw #needle tw #nightmare #death mention #prejudice tw #captivity #restraints tw #lainey and isa #two whumpees #urban fantasy #magical whump #magic whumpee #whump writing #whump series

[actress4him]

June of Doom 2023

Previous | Next | Masterlist

Taglist: @painful-pooch , @robinbugbanned

Day 10 - “Can you hear me?” | Starvation | Shackle | Hiding

Also qualifies for @whumpawoman ’s Whump Girl Summer Day 6 -“I’m not going anywhere.”

Contains: lady whump, starvation, long term captivity, death mention, restraints

.

.

“How long has it been?” Lainey’s voice is tired, her words a little slurred. Isa rolls her head over to look at her, her own movements slow.

“I don’t know. You’re the one who keeps up with that.” Though come to think of it, she hasn’t heard her say anything about it in a while.

Lainey huffs. “Not anymore. I lost track a long time ago. And right now…” She swallows, the metal band around her neck bobbing. “I dunno. Seems like it’s been years since he left. I know it has to have been more than a day, because…I don’t think I’d be this hungry otherwise? But then again I’m always hungry, so it’s hard to tell.”

Isa hums in acknowledgment. She barely notices being hungry anymore, except when it’s exceptionally worse like right now. Maybe she’s just so used to being hungry that she doesn’t know the difference. Or maybe her body has somehow adjusted for the lack of food and it’s actually not as bad as it used to be. She’s heard about stomachs shrinking before. She wouldn’t be surprised if that had happened to her.

“It’s been…less time than when he went to get you. I think.” She shrugs one shoulder, making the chain behind her clink quietly. “I don’t know, I told you before that my sense of time is shot.”

“Yeah. And now I understand why.” Lainey sighs heavily, staring up at the ceiling. “I understand…a lot more things about you than I ever wanted to. No offense.”

“No, I…I know. I didn’t want you to understand, either.” The things she wants to say swirl through her mind. She’s gotten better, she thinks, at having conversations sometimes, but it still can be hard to voice her thoughts. She takes a moment to sort through them before speaking again. “I would never, never wish any of this on you. On anybody, but…but it’s also…I’m…I’m not glad you’re here, but…” Shoot, she can’t figure out how to word it without it sounding awful.

“Yeah. I get that, too.” Lainey shifts to look at her sideways, giving a weak smile. “I’m not glad you’re here, either, but I’m glad I have someone with me. Even if you do drive me crazy sometimes.”

Isa scoffs despite the relief at having been understood, raising an eyebrow. “I drive you crazy?”

“Just because I understand why you don’t want to fight back or try to escape or whatever doesn’t mean I agree with it.”

Frowning, Isa looks away. Every time Lainey brings up her cooperation and refusal to speak up or fight, she’s filled with guilt and shame. But she can’t. Her reasons never change or lessen in importance, no matter how much she hates them. And maybe it’s the hunger speaking, but right now it’s aggravating her that she just won’t stop bringing it up.

“Do you want me to get extra punishments? Do you just enjoy watching him hurt me?”

“No! No, of course not -”

“Then why do you keep trying to get me to fight? It wouldn’t do anything but make him hurt me more! I’m not strong enough, Lainey. Even if we worked together, I would be no help. And there’s no way to escape this place, I would have figured it out by now if there was and so would you. You’re just asking me to cause more trouble for myself.”

“No, I’m not, I…” Lainey sighs again, bringing a hand up to scrub at her face. “Okay. Yeah. I’m sorry, I…I know that must be what it seems like, and that’s not what I mean. I don’t want you to get hurt. I don’t want either of us to get hurt, which is why I want to stop him and get the heck out of here. I know you don’t see how it can happen, and I don’t know how, either, but I can’t…I can’t give up.” The ‘like you have’ hangs in the air unspoken. “I can’t stop hoping there’s an answer and looking for an opportunity and standing up for myself and for you, because then…”

“Then you’ll be like me?”

“No!” It’s a defensive reply, a ‘yeah that’s what I meant but I didn’t mean to say it’. “Then I’ll…I’ll just wither up, and…be miserable, and…I don’t even want to think about it.”

You’ll be like me. She lost hope a long time ago, and she does feel withered up. She feels like an object rather than a person, one that has been used for too many years until it’s worn out and broken and useless. Lainey’s arrival had simultaneously made her feel more and less human - more because she actually has someone to interact with and remind her that she’s real and alive, and less because Lainey is more real and alive than she thinks she’ll ever be again.

“I’ll try to stop pushing you, though. I’m sorry I have.” She can see Lainey looking at her again out of the corner of her eye, and her words are earnest. “I just want us to both get out of here.”

Isa wraps her arms around her stomach. It seems to be trying to turn itself inside out, looking for anything to devour. “I’m not going anywhere, Lainey. I really do hope you get the chance and can escape, somehow, but…you’ve seen me. I’d slow you down, end up getting you caught. If you do ever get the chance to run…you need to just go. Don’t try to bring me along.”

“Are you kidding me?” Lainey exclaims. “There’s no way I’m leaving you in this basement. I would never forgive myself!”

She turns to look her straight in the eyes. “I’m serious. If this hypothetical escape ever happens, taking me along would be the worst decision you could make.”

Lainey rolls her eyes, sliding one finger underneath the band on her throat and tugging at it. “You’re so dramatic. Look, I’m not in the best shape anymore, either. I’m not gonna be super fast. But adrenaline can work wonders. I’m sure you’ll be able to keep up.”

Sighing, Isa leans her head back and closes her eyes. “I don’t have the energy to keep arguing with you.”

“Good, because you’re wrong, anyway.” Her chain jingles as she settles back into place.

Isa is absolutely positive that she’s not wrong about this. Even if she did somehow make it out of and away from the house without getting caught, she’s fairly certain they’re out in the middle of nowhere. She wouldn’t make it long hiking to find help, she can barely even walk across the room.

“If you ever manage to escape -”

“We’re going to.”

-“you should go on your own and look for help. That’s your best option - leave me here, find help, and send someone back for me.”

“But what if I can’t remember the way back? Or what if he punishes you for me escaping? He could even kill you!”

Isa sighs again, unable to find the strength to open her eyes back up. “Even if you can’t remember or he punishes me, there would at least be some hope. Someone would be able to start looking. It would be better than us both trying to go and getting caught.”

Lainey doesn’t seem to have an argument prepared for that, which is good. Not that any of it is ever going to happen, anyway, but just in case, Isa is not going to be responsible for costing her her freedom.

They sit in silence for a while, lost in their own thoughts and misery. Eventually Lainey moans, curling into a ball. “My stomach hurts so bad! When is he coming back?”

Isa throws her a sympathetic glance. “He won’t let us starve to death.”

“That’s reassuring,” Lainey huffs. “In the meantime, we suffer. As usual. And of course that’s assuming he doesn’t abandon us or die randomly or get held up somewhere. Would it have killed him to have left us a little food?”

“At least we have an unlimited supply of water this time.”

Glancing down at the almost empty bottles, Lainey grimaces. “Yeah. Hopefully.” She’s already refilled them once, but apparently she has to focus much harder now than she ever used to. Isa can tell she’s always scared her magic is going to give out at any point. Being starved doesn’t help magic flow very well, either.

“I don’t want you to push yourself,” she quickly amends. “But I also believe in you.”

Lainey flashes her a quick smile that’s nearly a grimace. “Thanks. I’ll keep doing my best.”

They fall quiet again. Isa shuts her eyes, and is nearly asleep when Lainey exclaims, “Wait a second. Were you implying earlier that I’m the one who drives you crazy?”

#june of doom #day 10 #whumpgirlsummer #day 6 #lady whump #lady whumpee #captivity #starvation #death mention tw #restraints tw #lainey and isa #two whumpees #urban fantasy #magic whumpee #whump writing #whump series

[actress4him]

June of Doom 2023

Previous | Next | Masterlist

Taglist: @painful-pooch , @robinbugbanned

Day 21 - “On three.” | Dehydration | Memory Loss | Choke 

Day 25 - “Don’t move!” | Natural Disaster | Drowning | Stranded

Day 26 - “I made a mistake.” | Ambulance | Hopelessness | Numb

Contains: lady whump, infection, police, referenced noncon drugging, guns, restraints, panic attack (ish), referenced gunshot wound, referenced touch aversion, referenced broken bones

.

.

Isa’s getting worse. Lainey has spent…hours, maybe - she’s sick of trying to figure out the passage of time - lying as close to her as she can get, checking her temperature with her hand every so often, watching her labored breathing and her eyelids fluttering restlessly as she dozes. Her ribs are killing her from this position, but she can’t bring herself to move. Isa’s skin has grown hotter since she first checked it. She’s more out of it, too, which she could just attribute to her being half-asleep but it’s like she can’t seem to fully wake up. 

She needs water. She needs medicine, but even water would be helpful at this point, before her fever dehydrates her. But the man, for the first time since he dragged Lainey back here, has now, of course, decided to stay upstairs and leave them alone. She’s itching to get up, to get as close to the stairs as she can and start yelling. Part of her thinks she should, regardless of what she told Isa.

But she doesn’t want to break her promise. And…rest is important, too, right?

She doesn’t know what to do. She’s so scared for her, can’t stop watching her chest rise and fall as if one of these times it’s just going to quit. 

And worst of all…Isa’s right. It’s been too long. They should have been here by now. Except she doesn’t know that for sure, and she keeps trying to remind herself that she’s clueless about time right now and she doesn’t know what all they might have to do first that might hold them up. But there’s this pit in her gut, a whisper in her mind saying that she just experienced two full days outside, she should know what it feels like. 

It feels like it’s been too long.

Lainey keeps up her vigil, trying not to fall asleep, herself. She stares hard at her fingertips and reaches deep for the magic that’s withered and tired inside of her, trying to force water drops to form from nothing, but that wasn’t something she was very good at even before she was pumped full of who knows what kind of drugs. Her fingers remain dry, and she’s forced to give up. She has nothing to offer Isa except her company.

She’s glaring at the staircase, on the verge of giving in and calling the man down despite Isa’s wishes, when suddenly the older girl wakes with a start, hazy eyes flicking up toward the ceiling. Her brow is furrowed, but Lainey doesn’t know whether it’s confusion, worry, or just the pain and fever. 

“What is it?” she asks softly, her own gaze following as if there’s something up there to see.

“Something…coming…cars…?” Isa mumbles. She swallows hard and grimaces, one hand sliding up slowly to rub at her sternum. “Too many…too many cars and…people.”

Lainey’s eyes widen. “Cars and people? Isa that’s a good thing, that’s a great thing!” They’re here. They came, they’re here to save them! Her heart is pounding out her chest but for once, it’s from elation and relief instead of fear.

There’s a sudden cacophony of sound from up above. Multiple voices are shouting so that she can barely make out anything they’re saying, though she catches, “Don’t move!” and “Hands where we can see them!”

Tears are pouring down her cheeks. “Isa, they’re here, they’re here!”

But Isa is moaning, clutching her shirt above her heart and attempting to bury her face into the floor. Lainey is torn between trying to comfort her and focusing on what’s happening upstairs. It sounds like they caught him, otherwise they wouldn’t have been yelling all those things. Any second now, that door is going to open for the very last time. She pushes herself up, barely even feeling the pull on her ribs in her excitement. If she could, she’d jump up to her feet and run to the foot of the stairs to wait for them, but with her feet shackled she’ll have to settle for sitting.

The locks start clicking and squeaking. For once, the sound doesn’t bring terror. The door flies open and a voice calls out, “I’ve got stairs going down, someone back me up.”

“We’re down here!” Her voice is so choked with emotion and with her rapid heart beat that she can barely get out the words. “Help us, please!”

Someone comes into view, wearing a navy uniform and crouching to sweep a gun across the space. Her eyes come right back to the two girls on the floor, and she starts down the stairs rapidly. A male officer is right on her heels, repeating her motions with his own gun.

“It’s just us,” Lainey tells them breathlessly. “Just us and…and the man upstairs. Please get us out of here.”

“We are.” The woman gives a quick glance into the alcove as she passes, then holsters her gun, slowing a bit as she approaches and crouching down beside them. “You’re safe now. It’s all over, okay?”

“You’ve got to help her.” Her emotions are a jumbled up mess that she can’t even decipher, so much relief and worry all at the same time. “She needs help, she’s sick, I think her back is infected. Please help her.” She stretches her hands out toward Isa, debating lying down so she can be close to her again. The girl is trembling all over, the hand that was holding her shirt now covering her ear.

The other officer is already back at the stairs, shouting up them. “Get the paramedics down here! And has anyone found keys?”

“Got ‘em!” Another officer thunders down the steps, two people in some other kind of uniform carrying kits following. The new officer has keys, which he brings over to Isa first, at the female officer’s instruction. 

“Hey, I’m just gonna get this off for you, okay?” he says softly, crouching down and reaching for the shackle around her neck. Isa only moans in response. She’s growing more and more agitated by the second, and Lainey’s worry for her matches.

“Isa, it’s okay. It’s the police, we’re safe now. It’s not him.”

The shackle is unlocked and pulled away, but she doesn’t seem to notice. She’s gasping for breath, digging her fingernails into her hair above her ear. As the officer moves toward Lainey with the keys, the other two - paramedics, she assumes - approach Isa, opening their kits and starting to reach for her.

Lainey tugs at the chain that tethers her to the wall, anxious to be free. “Wait, she, she doesn’t like to be touched, you have to be careful! And her back, don’t touch her back! You’ll hurt her!”

The woman turns to smile gently at her. “We’ll be careful, I promise, but we’re going to have to touch her some. As soon as you’re able, you can come sit next to her and reassure her if you want.”

Every whimper and hitched breath tears at Lainey’s heart. When the last of her restraints come off, she immediately starts a one-handed crawl to be by her side. They’ve pulled Isa’s shirt up in the back to see the inflamed lashes, and are currently trying to tug her hand away from her ear so they can take her temperature.

“She’s scared. She’s too sick to realize what’s going on, and she doesn’t like to be touched.” Lainey grips her knees to keep herself from reaching out, rocking back and forth slightly. She wants to be able to hold her hand or cup her cheek or anything to let her know it’s okay, but that will only make it worse. She also wants to slap the paramedics’ hands away from her, but she knows they need to help. 

She settles for leaning in and whispering, “You’re okay. It’s me, I’m here. You’re safe now.”

“Does she have any other injuries besides her back and these cuts?” the man asks as the woman finally manages to get the thermometer in Isa’s ear.

“She got shot,” Lainey blurts, pointing, “in her leg.” He immediately starts unwrapping the dirty bandage. “And um…I don’t, I don’t know, I can’t remember what else he’s done to her lately.” 

“That’s okay.” The woman reads the thermometer, then puts it away. “What about you? Are you injured anywhere?”

“Um. Broken wrist? And ribs. And…I hit my head a…couple of days ago, maybe? I didn’t pass out, but it bled.”

“Okay.” She focuses in on the gunshot wound that the man is inspecting for a moment, then turns her attention back to Lainey. “Stan is going to get the stretcher. Mind if I do a quick check on you while he’s gone?”

She glances over at her friend, who’s still on the verge of hyperventilating. “But…Isa…”

“We’re not going to let anything happen to her, I promise. As soon as he gets back we’ll get her loaded up and both of you on your way to the hospital, okay?”

Lainey nods shakily. The woman pulls a small flashlight out of her pocket and shines it in both of her eyes, watching her pupils contract, then puts it away and gently takes her hand to inspect her wrist. She’s carefully running her fingertips across the bouquet of bruises on her ribs when Stan returns, one of the officers helping him carry the stretcher down the stairs. 

They set it down, folded, right next to Isa, and both paramedics get in position to lift her onto it. “On three,” Stan states. “One, two, three.” 

Isa cries out as she’s moved, and Lainey clutches the side of the stretcher. The paramedics position her on her stomach and begin stretching yellow straps across her neck, hips, and legs. 

“Why are you tying her down? You’re going to make it worse!” They’re supposed to be helping her, not doing the same things he did.

The woman throws her a sympathetic look. “We’ve got to carry her up the stairs, and she’s moving around a lot. We can’t risk her falling off.”

It makes sense, but seeing her strapped down feels so wrong. Lainey can’t stop staring at her, knuckles turning white from how hard she’s holding the bar.

“Do you think you can walk up the stairs? We’ve got another ambulance on its way for you to ride in.”

Her eyes go wide. “No, no, I don’t need an ambulance. I want to stay with her.”

They glance at each other, then the woman nods. “Okay. I’ll walk with you, alright? Stan and Officer Calhoun can carry your friend.”

It hasn’t been that long since she was tearing up these stairs and running full speed through the woods, but somehow today she can barely make it up them. She’s weak, her legs wobbling and trying to buckle underneath her with each step. They eventually make it up, though, into the main part of the cabin. She purposely doesn’t look around. She doesn’t want to know the details of what it looks like, how this man lived when he wasn’t torturing them. Her focus stays ahead, on the stretcher holding Isa and on the front door.

Last time everything was a frantic rush. Even while she was in the woods for two days, she was constantly running and thinking and planning and worrying. Now she wants to take the time to breathe in the outside air, to gaze up at the night sky and marvel at stars she wasn’t sure she’d see again, to feel free.

And she does, some. But at the same time, stepping outside is overwhelming. Her attention is pulled in every direction, to all the people in uniforms talking all around, to…are those reporters? Her eyes are too blinded by the lights of the police cruisers strobing in the darkness to make out much of anything, just a lot of activity and sound all at once. Wincing, she holds up one arm to block the lights, and wonders if this is how Isa was feeling in the basement.

As they approach the back of the ambulance, she glances over to the side and stops short. It’s him. The man who’s been tormenting them for all this time is standing there, hands cuffed behind his back, being guided into the back of a police car. It’s such a strange feeling, seeing him restrained for once. Seeing him finally caught, knowing that it’s actually over. Her mind can’t fully comprehend it. 

“Ready to get in?” The paramedic’s voice jolts her out of her reverie, and she turns to see Isa already loaded into the ambulance. With some support at her elbow, she climbs in after her, taking a seat out of the way and returning to her vigil over her friend. The doors slam shut, the siren wails to life, and just like that, they’re driving away from their nightmare.

#juneofdoom #day 21 #day 25 #day 26 #lady whump #lady whumpee #infection tw #police tw #nonconsensual drugging #gun #restraints tw #gunshot wounds #panic attack #touch aversion #broken bones #rescue #lainey and isa #two whumpees #urban fantasy #magical whumpee #whump series #whump writing

[actress4him]

OC List:

Lainey and Isa

Whumpees:

Lainey

(Picrew: djarn)

She had a good life - family, boyfriend, job at a cute bookshop. But she also has magic, and not everyone is okay with that. So now she's trapped in a man's basement, trying her best to keep hope alive for both herself and the girl who was a stranger before all this started, and looking for a chance for them both to escape.

——

Isabela

(Picrew: djarn)

Five years ago, she was snatched away from her family and friends and locked away by a man who hates people with magic. Ever since then, she's gone through countless horrors all on her own. But she's not alone anymore. Now she has someone else stuck here with her, and she's not sure if the hope that Lainey's optimism brings makes their situation better or worse.

---------------

Whumper:

Sir

Lainey and Isa might not know his name, but his thoughts about them are clear - he's determined to both punish them for their magic, and figure out a way to cleanse them of it.

#character list #oc list #whump oc #whump blog #lainey and isa

[actress4him]

Lainey and Isa Masterlist

Series contains: female whumpees, male whumper, magical whumpees, kidnapping, captivity, fantastic prejudice, noncon drugging

.

Story

Kidnapped

Defiance

“I Can Handle It.”

Fracture

Drugged

Nightmare

Close Call

Starvation

Escape

Failed

“What Were You Thinking?”

Blindfold

Illness

Rescue

Too Much

#lainey and isa #two whumpees #whump masterlist #lady whump #whump writing #whump series #masterlist #masterpost