His eyes pleaded with her as she sent a rough hand down into his closest pocket and came up with her freedom. Enjoying the fear on his dirty face, she jumped out of range of his kicking feet and immediately unlocked the hated chain - it fall into the dirty snow.
"I should lock you to the bumper and leave you here!" She landed a vicious kick to his knee as she stepped over him, going back to the hood of the car. She stripped while he watched, letting him see the dozens of purple and yellow bruises, and the dark blood crusted to her thighs. There was loathing in her look as she used the grimy skirt to clean up, and her face mocked him as she threw it in his direction.
She pulled on a pair of warm sweats with a taunting smile. "Who wears the pants now, you piece of shit?"
Melvin said nothing, only watched her and the Taser that stayed close by her hand. Her eyes kept track of his slow backward progress as she got what she needed from the weathered wagon.
"What're you gonna do?" His voice was even, though he was starting to shiver.
Sam snapped on the pack and closed the suitcase before turning to look at him. "Henry always carried that knife, the one he used to cut my hair! Find it and stay away! Don't make me kill you."
"Just 'cause you had a pass don't mean you're worth a shit out here in this world!" the captive man spat, hatred lining every inch of his face. "I hope it haunts you that we went right by that compound!"
Samantha walked away without responding to any of his taunts, threats, lies, or pleas, thinking she would have to watch out for him. Melvin deserved to die, that was the only way she would really feel safe, but she just couldn't, not unless it was needed. One premeditated murder was enough. The feel of it was…heavy, as if a chain had just been clamped upon her soul - binding it to this world.
Samantha moved fast, glad when the snow became thicker and the wind blew fiercely. It muted Melvin's screams and would cover her tracks better. It also might kill her if she waited too long to take shelter, but Sam didn't stop right away, going by house after warm, empty-looking house, to keep her enemy from seeing where she went. She longed to drive one of the vehicles she was now climbing over and around, but they had spent the first few days after the War looking for something quieter, easier on gas, and she'd been forced to tell them about EMPs and that they'd been lucky Melvin's van - parked under a sewer overpass - had started. Anything with electrical components in a damage zone was now junk.