“A Fighting Chance” chapter 14
An NC-17 rated James McAvoy/Michael Fassbender fanfiction. Includes violence, non-con, rape, slash. Read at own risk!
Chapter 14
James threateningly raised the branch a little higher into the air. He had made sure to position himself between the man and the cabin, blocking his way. But the man with the bloody nose in front of him seemed undeterred and kept advancing slowly but surely. James knew that there was no chance of reasoning with him and he readied the branch for a swing. His opponent's dark eyes shimmered in the light from the lamp by the cabin door and suddenly the man lunged forwards much quicker than James had anticipated. James had no time to react and he only managed to swing the branch halfway when the man crashed into him, head first into James' stomach, wrapping his arms around him at the same time. The two men tumbled through the nettles by the staircase and collided with the cabin wall with a loud smack. James almost lost his grip on the branch, but he clinged on to it feverishly as the man began throwing punches. His fists hit him in the sides, almost knocking the wind out of him. James groaned in pain as he tried to block the blows with his left and free hand, but he knew that he had to distance himself from his attacker in order to even be able to hit him with the branch. Refusing to let go of his weapon in the dark, James lifted his left hand from its defensive position and punched the man in the face, trying to aim for his already bruised nose. The man let out a loud shriek as James' fist hit its target and he automatically took two steps backwards onto the gravel road. Blood was oozing from his nostrils, hitting the ground as a pitch black fluid in the dark and for a moment he froze in surprise. James couldn't afford to hesitate. There was now just enough space between them for the branch to deliever a proper blow. He had to do it now and he had to do it right. He would only have one shot at this. Immediately James lifted the branch and again he positioned it as a baseball bat on his shoulder. He focused and tried to take a correct aim, but the dark and his trembling made it difficult. The seconds seemed to tick by and his opponent was regaining his composure. James knew he had almost run out of time and tightening his grip hard around the branch he swung it full force. A whistling sound could be heard as the branch cut through the cold air and the man's eyes opened wide in shock. Quickly he tried to duck, but James had anticipated this and had aimed slightly low. The man roared in something that resembled fear. The branch then hit him right above the ear with such a force that the branch snapped into two pieces. For a split second the man's expression was a mixture of pain and terror before his body registered the blow. He then fell face first onto the gravel road, landing in the black pools of his own nosebleed. A piece of the branch landed next to his limp body while James was still clinging onto the other half. James' breathing was shallow and raspy and carefully he nudged the man with his foot. No reaction. Trembling James let out a relieved gasp as he dropped his broken weapon and supported his hands on his knees for a moment. As he swallowed he noticed that his throat was completely dry and his tongue felt like sandpaper. His lungs were smarting and finally he discovered that he was actually freezing now. Dizzy from exhaustion James stood back up and walked to the staircase. He wanted to run, but right now his body wouldn't allow it.
"Anne...?" he tried to yell, but it was more like a hoarse cry. There was no response from inside the cabin. Walking up the stairs James was terrified thinking about what he might find in there. Various gut wrenching scenarios flew in and out of his mind and he took a deep breath as he grabbed the handle and pushed the slightly ajar door fully open. Light flooded out into the dark and he shielded his eyes with his hand. For a moment he just stood there waiting for his narrowed eyes to adjust to the bright, yellow light. Finally he could make out the room in front of him. The cabin looked very similar to the one he had been in himself... His stomach turned. On the floor by a low bunk he immediately recognized some lilac clothing. His eyes then locked on a figure lying with its back to him in a fetal position on the bunk.
"Anne...!" he yelled in a raspy voice and ran towards her, almost tripping over his own feet. He knelt next to the bunk and looked down on his wife. Her hands were tied with a hemp rope behind her back and her blonde hair covered her face. James felt how the ball of fear in his stomach started growing again. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder and thankfully discovered that she was breathing. And she was fully dressed. Carefully he rubbed her shoulder through the thin fabric of her blouse.
"Anne... Anne, honey, please wake up!" he heard himself pleading. She didn't respond. Letting out a frustrated moan James leaned over her and gently brushed the hair away from her face. A swollen bruise covered her cheekbone and he felt his stomach turn again. Dried blood had formed small smudges on her face.
"Oh god..." he whispered and shook her slightly, trying to wake her up. She didn't react. He knew that he had to get her out of there. Quickly he started to untie the rope around her wrists. As he did so he noticed to his frustration that undoing the knots was hard because of his trembling fingers. After several attempts to undo the final knot he finally succeeded and the hemp rope dropped to the floor. James swallowed and wiped the cold sweat off of his forehead with his arm. Why couldn't he wake her up? Was she unconscious due to a blow or maybe they had drugged her too? He didn't know. He was just praying that she would be alright. Shoving his arms under her body he took a deep breath and lifted her up. Almost stumbling he turned around and headed for the door with her in his arms. She was tiny and didn't weigh much, but still carrying her made every fiber in James' body scream in protest. Feeling himself shudder in a mix of physical effort and freezing he carried Anne to the door. For a moment he leaned against the door frame to catch his breath. He then carefully took one step at a time very slowly down the low staircase, fighting to keep his balance. He was terrified that he might drop her, but with a determined movement he ignored the pain rippling through his exhausted body and stepped onto the gravel road. In front of him was the black LDV G10 van with its sliding door open, the cargo room facing him. The two men were still lying on the ground where he had left them, not moving a muscle. Wobbly on his feet James carried Anne to the van and gently placed her on the cargo room's cold floor. He then remembered a detail from his time in the van and reached for the blanket placed next to the fire extinguisher by the door. He immediately pulled out the blue blanket and tugged it over and under Anne the best he could. She was still completely unresponsive, but breathing evenly as he leaned over her. Caressing her face gently James could feel tears well up in his eyes. He shook it off and stood back up, reaching for the door handle to the driver's seat. It popped open and he stepped up on the running board, looking inside the van - and his gaze immediately found the ignition. No key. James heaved himself up into the driver's seat and feverishly rummaged about in the glove compartment as well as the behind the sun visors. Still no key.
"God damn it," he whispered as he jumped back down onto the dusty road. His legs felt like jelly. One of the men on the ground had to have the key, he thought. James walked over to the man he had knocked out by the tail gate of the van. He nudged him with his foot. The man didn't respond and James knelt down and searched his jeans' pockets. Nothing. Frustrated James let out a small groan and got back up. He walked over to the man lying almost by the staircase to the cabin and poked him in the side with his foot. He didn't respond, he was seemingly out cold. Facing the cabin James knelt down next to him and started to examine his military trousers. They had so many pockets and James hastily rummaged about in every single pocket one by one. Shaking in the cold he cursed under his breath as he finally reached the last set of pockets by the man's hip. Something cold grazed his fingers. Quickly he grabbed it and eagerly pulled it out - it was a set of keys. One of the keys had a black top with the letters LDV printed on it. Relief washed through James as he stood back up and almost incredilously he studied the key for a moment in the dim, yellow light from the lamp on the cabin wall. His breath formed small, foggy clouds in the crystal clear air and he turned back towards the van behind him.
"Going somewhere, love?" a voice suddenly said, abruptly piercing the silence. James jumped and spun all the way around - staring directly at Michael. His face looked white and ghost-like in the dim light, covered in pitch black splatters of blood. Standing between James and the van Michael threateningly took a step closer.
"Didn't expect this, did you, huh?" he said in a low, rumbling tone of voice. James felt like his entire body had been turned into ice. His knees wanted to give in just by the sound of Michael's voice and small, white dots had already begun to dance in the corners on his vision. Michael clicked his tongue as he he pierced him with his blue glare.
"Come here...!" he growled and took another step towards James.
