The fighting continued for what seemed like days but may have been only a few hours. It was almost impossible for Samantha to keep tabs on the chaos above and around her, although she did try. There seemed to be few actual groups and more individual combatants, which stood out solely because of its novelty. Absent were the rallying cries she had heard innumerable times in war movies; this seemed like a giant free-for-all with an alarming number of participants. As much as she still wanted to hope that the fighting was for another reason entirely, the few words she could make out all seemed to be related to her. Samantha felt a familiar sadness rising in her as she thought of all the people who were injured, dying, or deceased because of a mistake she had made. She tried desperately to remind herself that she did not ask them to fight; she did not have any idea that this would be the result of her actions or just her existence itself. This was much harder to do alone, especially since it was amplifying the withdrawal effects of her medications.

After a while, Samantha noticed that she was becoming desensitized to all the noise. This was a familiar feeling to her, as well. She couldn't remain hypervigilant forever, and she did have to pee. She felt her way over to one of the holes she had dug previously and crouched over it, her back leaning against the burrow's dirt wall. Luckily, the leaves from the tree branch hadn't hardened yet, and she was able to brush them off as best she could so that she could come as close to wiping as one could without the reassurance of toilet paper. She untied her pajama pants and slid them further through her panties, exposing a non-bloodied stretch of fabric ready to be used just as she had the previous time. She re-tied the garment around herself and tried her best to catch the bloodied spots in a knot, keeping them from touching her skin. She looked upward and sighed, wondering hopelessly if there was any way she would get out of this safely.

She made her way back to her fur bedding and tried not to think of food. If anything were impossible right now, finding something to eat would be at the top of that list. She remembered her promise to Ao-ao and began to summon her memories of her brief time spent with such a unique friend. It was hard for Samantha not to long for the warmth that radiated from Ao-ao and the calmness she felt as she snuggled herself into that thick fox fur. She could almost smell Ao-ao's clean, warm scent, thick with earth notes and a hint of musk, the smell of the plants and roots through which Ao-ao's life was woven. The smell was familiar in a deeper way, but before Samantha was able to place it, she noticed that the noise from outside had quieted, and only one set of footsteps was audible among the rest of the din.

Unexpectedly, Samantha heard a loud boom from above, and light immediately poured through the hole that had once been a chimney. A large, humanoid figure dropped through the roof, landing in a crouch that exposed only the top of a shiny, black head of hair. The shadow's head tilted downward, but Samantha could see a broad set of darkly tan shoulders and the muscled arms that led down from them, ending in enormous, thickly veined hands and long, graceful fingers with pronounced knuckles and almost conspicuously short fingernails. The thigh and knee at the base of this figure were thin but sturdy, and didn't even tremble upon impact. What looked like a wide black link of chain still hung vertically from the hole, but the shadow figure seemed to sense Samantha's gaze upon it and it moved rapidly down, with just the impression of a hook at the end before the hole was covered once again.

With that, there was silence. Although the darkness was complete, Samantha still had the feeling that she was being assessed by this stranger. She took a moment to gather her courage, and managed to inquire softly but steadily into the darkness, "Who are you?" An impossibly deep, nasal voice responded in kind, "My name is St. Benjamin. Who wants to know?" His voice sounded like he was trying to swallow the world. "St. Benjamin? My name is Samantha, if you'd like to call me that," she replied, trying to maintain the steadiness she had managed before. "What are you doing here? What happened outside?" Samantha asked, getting the feeling that St. Benjamin was not interested in volunteering information. "What do you think happened, female?" he said, and although Samantha had not seen his face, she could almost picture the sneer upon it now.

"I assure you," Samantha said, displeased with his attitude, "if I had any idea, I wouldn't be asking. I'm not from around here. Not from anywhere close. I have no idea where I am, who you are, or the reason for any of that," she paused, gesturing above and around her with an arm that jiggled cutely, which only increased her annoyance. She tried to remind herself just how much easier it was for her to get irritated when she was in withdrawal, and how easily irritation led her straight into anger. She took a deep breath in through her nose, trying to repress the feelings that would almost certainly not serve her here, and let it out in a sigh. "If you could help me," Samantha continued, now much more composed, "I would be much obliged."

She heard St. Benjamin chuckle sinisterly, "But of course, beautiful female. Where should I begin? What would you like to know? And what will you give me in return for answering any of the questions you might ask me?" Samantha found herself briefly at a loss for words, wondering just how outclassed she was in this situation. She was the ignorant one, and she was up against a man who had probably just murdered a lot of people. Deciding to go with the tried-and-true honesty that was her go-to with a few notable exceptions, she told St. Benjamin what was on her mind. "Tell me about yourself. Tell me about this land, help me understand its similarities and differences in comparison to where I've come from. Help me find a way to survive, if I can. I'm sick, and if I can't find a way to get better quickly, I'll die. I don't know what to offer you," she said more slowly, trying to listen for subconscious cues from St. Benjamin, "I don't know what you want from me or otherwise. If you tell me a few things that you want, hopefully we can make a compromise."

St. Benjamin did not speak, but Samantha heard him moving closer and closer to her. He was stealthier than she gave him credit for, however, because she could now feel his breath against her skin. "I want you," he said breathily, "I want your body, alive or dead. I want to possess you in every way that I can." He paused, moving his head closer to her body, and inhaled deeply. "You smell delicious. No matter what, you must be mine. I can smell that fox on you, and if he returns, I will kill him in front of you if that is what it takes," he finished. Samantha gasped; she had forgotten about Ao-ao's scent. "Please," she begged, "don't hurt Ao-ao. That fox is my only friend, and if you cause," she choked slightly, "him any harm, I will do whatever I can to keep you from ever obtaining anything you desire."

This time, St. Benjamin laughed at her directly. "I think," he practically purred, "that the more I tell you about your beloved Ao-ao," he paused to snort derisively, "the less you'll care what becomes of him. But fine," he agreed, "I accept your terms. I will give you information and the fox's safety, and you will give me yourself," St. Benjamin almost moaned, as if he were tasting her already. Samantha's voice caught in her throat partially due to the nearness of this stranger, but she choked out, "I didn't agree to that - I, I meant -," and he cut her off there. "To tell you the truth," he said cooly, his smooth voice wrapping itself around her as if to taunt her, "you don't need to agree to anything. Do you have any bargaining power here? How will you stop me from doing whatever I please?"

Samantha gulped, realizing that for now, he was right. "I can still fight you," she said with the last of her strength, but she knew that it was as good as admitting defeat. "Good," St. Benjamin said, his breath hot in her ear, "now listen to me carefully. If you have any questions, and from the looks of things, you will have questions, you had better think about how to ask them without angering me. You have no idea how patient I'm already being with you, female, and I would advise you not to test me." St. Benjamin finally sat down next to Samantha so that they were shoulder to shoulder facing one another, and he reached one finger underneath her chin, tilting her soft face up to meet his own. "Now," St. Benjamin said darkly, "let's talk."

----

Author's Note:

It's my 10th chapter, y'all! I know this is a bigger deal for me than it is for you, but at this point I'd like to post "bonus chapters" written by my "writing assistants" (read: cats) in another work I'll be publishing. For every ten chapters I post, I'll update my second work with a chapter from them. They work hard too, so I want to give them the credit they're due! Until next time!