Chapter Text
You pulled the box truck up to the delivery depot, really just an over glorified storage shed, and put it in park to review your manifest. Medical supplies, toiletries, shelf stable food items, fuel for small camping stoves, some tools, a few replacement generators, and other items people would need to live relatively off grid. That was your job, you fell into an odd grey area amongst the killers and creatures that lived in this compound. You were a relatively normal looking woman, normal meaning that you weren’t totally covered in scars, baring a mouth full of sharp teeth, or floating conspicuously off the ground at all times, so you could interact with the general public to get supplies without any alarm bells going off.
Really, you thought it would be more exciting working here, sure the pay was good but it was really more of a glorified customer service job on both sides; be nice to the people in the stores so that you didn’t draw attention, and be nice to the killers you supplied so that you didn’t end up in pieces along the interstate.
Movement caught your eye in the side mirror.
It was a man wearing a weathered yellow hoodie with a black mask pulled partially over his face, it looks like Brian would be the one receiving the order today. He generally wasn’t one for conversation, but he never gave you a hard time either unlike some of his ‘colleagues’.
You jumped out of the truck and walked to meet him near the rear doors, the paper manifest wrangling around in your hand from the wind.
“Is the order complete?” Brian asked, not bothering with any pleasantries.
“No, there was a specific gauge of needle that was not available at the regular seller, next week I should be able to travel to another location to pick it up though.” You replied, handing him the manifest and pointing to the highlighted item, it wasn’t marked as priority so there shouldn’t be a problem.
Instead of replying the man continued to scrutinize the papers while you opened the shutter and started moving items to the front. You were about to step out to get the dolly but saw that Tim was opening the store room doors with the cart in hand already.
“Tim, how’s it going?” You nodded to the man that had dark circles under his eyes and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.
“Same shit different day,” He mumbled in response and began loading the heavier items.
Once Brian and Tim both started unloading the truck emptied fast, you assisted in putting items away, but when they were both distracted moving one of the larger generators you quickly snuck out of the back of the storage building.
To your relief, Ben was already waiting for you, floating (very conspicuously) by the back door looking bored. He perked up when he saw you leaving the building digging around in your jacket pocket.
“Well, did you get it?” He asked in his strange voice that seemed to jump and lilt randomly.
“No idea what it is but yeah, the guy at the tech store knew exactly what I was asking for,” You said, removing the computer part from your pocket and handing it to him. Ben inspected it and then nodded to himself.
“Good. Will you be here next week?” He asked, back to looking bored and uninterested.
“I should be, have some more parts you’ll need?” You asked with a raised eyebrow.
Without saying anything else he handed you a list and wandered off. You glanced at it, didn’t recognize any of the computer part names, and put it in your pocket.
Sometimes you would take special requests for the residents, either for favors or cash, in this case Ben removed a particularly damning surveillance video of you from a router several cities away. Sometimes they requested certain food items, art supplies, survival gear, particular brands of cigarettes, or even newly released books or CDs.
You turned heel back into the storage building just as the two men finished unloading the last generator, some of the other residents appeared to begin distributing supplies around. You recognized the women that worked in the infirmary and waved at her, she smiled and waved back while loading up the new medical supplies.
“They didn’t have any 22G IV needles at the usual store, hope you guys can survive without them until next week,” You told her and helped stack cases of gauze and sanitizer onto her cart. You were glad she was the one that came out to receive the medical supplies this time, quite frankly the red headed undead nurse that usually ran the clinic scared the hell out of you.
“We should be able to manage until then, it’s been slower than usual around here actually,” She replied as you both continued to stock up supplies. You both gossiped for a few minutes, and you couldn’t hide your surprise when the infirmary worker told you that she had actually started dating the scary as hell undead nurse.
‘Guess there really is someone for everyone’ You thought to yourself as you sent her off with the supplies.
Brian reappeared by the truck with a new manifest and reviewed it with you. You took your time jotting down notes on certain items, but everything should be relatively easy to collect before your next delivery. He also handed you an envelope full of cash that you quickly squirreled away into one of your pockets.
One might think that the hard part was over, you delivered your goods on time and had a checked off manifest, but you were never able to leave right away after receiving payment. Nine times out of ten, one of the compound residents will be stalking around waiting for you to finish unloading and approach you before you could leave to try and set up a trade. Sure, many of them could steal the items they wanted from their victims or the homes they invaded, but some of them had highly specific tastes and requirements that they could not get themselves at risk of exposing them. Even though it often puts extra cash in your pocket, some of the residents could be exceptionally needy and pushy with the items they wanted.
The tall quiet man with dark hair comes to mind, always requesting specialty paints and art supplies that were a pain in the ass to track down. But he always paid cash, so you always went out of your way to collect the items he requested.
And it seems like today would be no different, before you could open the truck door you noticed a woman approaching you from one of the cabins near the edge of the compound.
You felt a twist in your stomach when you recognized her. She was tall with long brown hair, wearing a jacket today but the times you’ve seen her without it you could see just how solid she was built. What stood out the most about her though was the fact that her left eye was replaced by an old clock face, hence the name, Clockwork. Again, another individual on the compound that intimidated the hell out of you.
Clockwork, or Natalie as you heard some of the others call her, seemed like she was in a perpetual state of being pissed off and was always gruff in her interactions with you. To be fair, most of the residents were short with you, but Natalie always made it a point to tower over you and dissect you with her one good eye. When she did interact with you while unloading she would often poke fun at you, watching you struggle with heavy supplies before effortlessly moving them herself.
You never looked at her face long enough to see if the clock in her other eye was actually functioning.
“Hold it,” She ordered before you could even touch the door handle.
You turned to face her, hoping you didn’t look as uneasy as you felt. Natalie had never actually requested any specific items from you, she would tease you about bringing her back something good but never formally made a deal with you.
“I need you to get something for me,” The clock eyed woman said, stopping a few feet in front of you and staring you down.
“Tell me what it is and I can see what I can do,” You replied, trying to stay professional without sounding uneasy.
“Art supplies, and a few extras,” She replied and stretched her arm out to lean against the truck door, effectively trapping you here until she got what she wanted.
You lifted up the manifest and took out a pen, “If it’s reasonable I can get it here next week, barring any unforeseen circumstances of course” you replied and held out the pen and paper to her.
She looked down at you for a moment before taking the paper and jotting down her supplies, she raised an eyebrow as she looked over the manifest.
“Your handwriting is shit,” She snorted before handing the manifest back.
“Thankfully they didn’t hire me to write,” You shot back, quickly avoiding eye contact to review what she had written down. She was right too, your handwriting looked terrible compared to hers, in the margins she neatly wrote down a short list: some brand of drawing charcoal you had never heard of, specialty art paper, erasers, and some blending stumps.
“Seems doable, it’ll be $50 upfront for the supplies and another $30 for delivery. It should all be ready for next week’s shipment,” You managed to look up at her and gripped the manifest.
“$80 is a little steep for some art supplies, why don’t you give me a discount for all the times I’ve helped you unload” She narrowed her green eye and took a step closer to you, a sly look on her face.
“You can always get them yourself, if I give you a discount then I’ll have to give everyone a discount,” You retorted, trying to stand your ground without starting a fight. You learned quickly that if you were a pushover here people would, some literally, eat you alive.
“Is that so…” She said and her mouth twitched into an almost smile, the scarring near the corners of her mouth made it a little grotesque. She reached her hand into her green jacket pocket, you tensed up, expecting her to pull out a knife or pick to stab you with. It wouldn’t be the first time someone here pulled a weapon on you. You had seen her in the warmer months when she was wearing her tank top, so you knew she had the muscle to back up her threats.
Thankfully though, when she pulled her hand out it was full of crumbled bills, no sharp objects that you could see.
She dumped the money, several crumpled twenties, onto your clipboard without much ceremony and gave you a long look.
“You better have my shit next week,” She grumbled and turned back towards the cabins, you let out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding and quickly got into the cab of the truck.
The drive out of the compound was always eerie and didn’t do anything to ease your nerves, a dark winding road deep in the forest that always felt like it was being monitored. You weren’t exactly sure how it worked, but at a certain point it felt like you’d pass through some kind of field and be back in the normal forest. You never got used to it, even though you’d been delivering to the compound for a little over a year, when you had asked what happened to the previous driver they just told you to do your job. After your first drive though you noticed some increasingly concerning stains near the floor of the truck that answered all of your questions.
This under the table delivery job definitely wasn’t your dream career, but a criminal record and desperate need for cash didn’t make you the most employable candidate in the normal world. Eventually you got mixed into a rough crowd and were given the option to drive or die. It took some getting used to seeing the different residents that lived on the compound, black eyes, sharp teeth, unusual scars, and more scared you badly when you first started. It eventually got easier, but you always kept your guard up.
Luck seemed to be on your side as well, the compound’s layout was so confusing that initially you got lost on your first delivery. You were so terrified you didn’t even want to get out of the truck, but you knew if you left or failed to deliver it would be a death sentence.
There were multiple cabins dispersed around the compound seemingly without rhyme or reason, now you knew that these housed the residents. You had shakily approached the one closest to you and knocked on the door, expecting to be pulled in when the door opened by some other worldly monster. Instead, a woman with black eyes, equally black hair, and partially burned skin opened up, giving you a confused look.
She asked you who you were, and you were barely able to stutter out that you were delivering supplies for the first time and got horribly lost. The woman, who eventually introduced herself as Jane, pointed you in the right direction and even helped unload. There are many other residents who would’ve just killed you without asking any questions, but luck seemed to be on your side that day.
Now you knew the area like the back of your hand, there was the supply depot you dropped all deliveries off to, the infirmary, some larger buildings you assumed they used for training, and then the cabins. Some were located more centrally, while others were further out in the woods, some even beyond what you could see from the main road. After multiple visits you were also able to piece together that there was some kind of an entity that kept a handle on things, sometimes you’d hear whispers of his name, but immediately decided that it was way out of your paygrade.
Eventually you made it home, parking the cargo truck behind the gate of your small house and locking it behind you. Quickly disarming the home alarm system you rushed inside and locked the front door, deadbolt and handle. Just because you were getting used to being around some of the compound’s residents didn’t mean you were less paranoid. You still had recurring nightmares where one of them would follow you home after you failed to get a specific item and it never ended well.
Letting out a yawn you quickly set out to warm something up for dinner and sat in front of your computer. It took a lot of planning to get all of the supplies, and the sooner you started the better.
You mapped out what stores you’d need to go to inorder to retrieve BEN’s requests, and set out on searching the art supplies Natalie had requested. Given the scattered results you knew it was going to be a long week with a lot of driving.
Rubbing your eyes, you shut down the computer and went to bed.
The next day you took your regular car out to start collecting some of the smaller supplies, your tired eyes squinted painfully at the sun, you tossed and turned all night despite your best efforts to sleep.
The first stop would be the computer store, then the camping supply store, and if you had any time left you’d swing by one of the art supply stores you frequented for the other residents.
You pulled into the shopping center parking lot and went into the computer store, handing the worker your list without even trying to guess what half of the items were. The worker didn’t even raise an eyebrow, so thankfully most of the items must’ve been pretty standard. Doing your best to cross reference the list BEN gave you to the items in the bag, you hoped they were all correct and marked them off of the list.
The sporting goods store was in the same plaza so you didn’t have to go far. Your eye twitched as you moved the squeaky cart through the aisles, picking up a case of fuel for camping stoves and a few tarps. You squinted at your list, this was the first time they’ve asked you to get water purification tablets and you had no idea where they were.
Seemingly sensing your confusion, a worker approached you, “Can I help you find anything?” He asked with a smile.
“Yes actually, where do you guys keep the water purification tablets?” You gave a forced smile back, hoping that it didn’t look too fake.
“Let me show you, they’re right next to the first aid kits” You dutifully followed the worker and thanked him when he pointed out the vials of tables sitting on the shelf.
“You sure do come in a lot,” The worker awkwardly added, trying to strike up conversation.
It was hard to fake being nice when you were this tired, but you had no choice.
“I work for a company that arranges long distance hiking trips for a few different groups,” The practiced lie came out so smooth you almost believed it.
“That’s so cool, I would love to go on a hike like that sometime,” The worker raised his eyebrows, you knew you had to cut him off quickly.
“Unfortunately we only contract out with certain groups, like ecologists and biologists that have really hike out for their research,” You shrugged your shoulders, “But if we ever open up to the public I’ll let you know.”
The worker seemed disappointed with that answer but finally left you alone. Taking a deep breath, you marked off the tablets and went back to shopping.
It took you longer than it should’ve to leave the sporting goods store, you had to spend a lot of time sorting through sleeping bags and other miscellaneous items, with all of the heavy duty clothes and gear they requested the compound must be preparing for winter.
Finally you made your way to the art store, considering some of the requested brands were higher end you decided to go to one of the more local art supply stores. When you entered the snooty cashier barely acknowledged you, which was a relief considering you had had your fill of human interaction today.
It was easy to find the charcoal supplies, there was an entire aisle dedicated to the medium. You studied the brands and finally found the one that Natalie requested, eyes glancing over the neat handwriting again. The paper, blending stumps, and erasers were also pretty easy to track down, you spent a little more time scanning through the aisles, admiring some of the paints and brushes before checking out.
Deciding that that was enough running around for the day, you decided to pick up some take out and returned home, remembering to load your items into the box truck before you forgot. You spent the rest of the time finishing up your route, making sure the medical supply store would be your next stop tomorrow so you could get the missing IV needles.
The rest of the week passed by in a blur, driving around town to multiple big box stores to pick up more food and medical supplies. Much to your dismay the medical supply store you usually shopped at was still out of the correct needle gauge, so you had to drive two hours to a different store to collect them. There was a home improvement store next door at least so you were able to pick up a few propane tanks as well.
The nights before you made a delivery were always tense, you felt a tight knot forming in your stomach and tossed in your bed. There was never a specific time they wanted you to deliver, but usually late morning and early afternoon seemed to work best. At least that way you weren’t stressing out all day to make a later delivery.
When the sun started to peak out over the horizon you decided to jump in the shower and start getting ready. You noticed that there was already some frost forming on the windows, given how sketchy the heating and cooling was in the truck you decided to wear a thicker jacket and socks.
Forcing down some toast and coffee for breakfast you reviewed the manifest again, making sure that all of the items were marked off. You always physically checked the items in the truck before you left too, it never hurt to be too careful.
Once all of your checks were done and the truck had warmed up, you started on the long drive to the compound. It was about a two hour drive, mostly on a highway then onto some sketchy side roads, which just gave you more time to stress. You took a deep breath and turned on the radio for a distraction.
Eventually you reached the last stretch of road that led into the forest, you always stopped several times to make sure you weren’t being followed down the heavily wooded path. The same creeping sensation washed over you when you passed through the field, even the trees seemed to encroach further into the road. The radio always cuts to static at this point so you quickly shut it off.
After about twenty minutes or so, the first cabin came into sight, you took a left when the road forked and finally saw the supply building up ahead. You pulled around and backed the truck up to the doors like normal and waited.
You flinched as you saw Ann, the nurse that still scared you more than most of the residents, walking up to start the unloading process. Grabbing the manifest you opened the truck door and walked out to meet her, feeling the full chill of the morning air hit you.
She always wore a medical mask, so the only parts of her face you really saw were her red eyes. She, like many of the other residents, didn't say much.
“Good morning, here is the completed manifest,” You managed to get out and handed her the clipboard, turning away quickly to open the back of the truck to start unloading. Several other clinic staff were already waiting by the doors ready to help, but you didn’t recognize any of them.
Wordlessly, Ann read over the list and double checked items as they were being moved into the storage room. You and one of the clinic staff both worked together to move the propane tanks and heavier items, with so many people helping this morning it didn’t take more than 30 minutes to unload everything.
You shut the back of the truck and locked it as Ann approached you.
“Everything is accounted for,” She said briskly, handing over the new manifest and envelope.
“Understood,” You replied, thankful that she immediately left back towards the clinic.
Tucking the list and envelope away, you walked towards the back of the storage building, not surprised to find BEN already waiting there. You handed the computer parts off without much fuss, again receiving another list of parts he wanted for next week. While he went off with his new items you started to review the list, still not knowing what any of the parts were. You were sure the employees at the computer store loved you since you usually just bought whatever they handed you, regardless of the price.
A sudden hand on your shoulder nearly made you jump out of your skin, quickly spinning around to try and confront whoever it was that grabbed you. You shouldn’t have been surprised when you saw Natalie with a smirk on her face, obviously glad that she had startled you so badly.
“A little jumpy this morning, aren’t we?” She grinned, hands shoved deep into her jacket pockets to fight off the cold.
“It’s easy to be jumpy here,” You replied with your hand over your chest. This job definitely took years off of your life.
“Well? Did you get what I asked for?” She leaned in closer and looked at you expectantly.
"Of course I did, follow me,” You replied and quickly backed away from her, leading her to the passenger side of the truck. Unlocking the door you reached under the seat and pulled out the large paper bag.
When you handed it to the clock eye women she made a show out of removing each item, looking them over to make sure they matched what she paid for. She quickly tucked them back into the bag when she was done and gave you a measured look.
“So what, are you BEN’s girlfriend or something, is that why you don’t charge him?”
The question caught you off guard, “What? No- he just did a big favor for me so I get him the computer parts he needs,” You said, honestly a little offended that she asked, it must’ve shown on your face.
“Don’t get all worked up,” Natalie snorted and crossed her arms, “What kind of favor do I need to do so I can get free stuff.”
You couldn’t tell if she was joking, “Considering that there aren’t any more security tapes of me floating around I think I’m good on favors for awhile,” You huffed.
The taller woman raised an eyebrow, “Well the next time you need a favor come to me, I always need some new art supplies.”
“Sure thing… Natalie right?” You responded, a little unsure of her sincerity.
She looked a little surprised that you knew her name but nodded, “Try not to be a stranger now, delivery girl,” Natalie snickered and walked away.
At least you had upgraded to ‘delivery girl’ instead just ‘hey you’, looks like you’re moving up in life.
You didn’t notice anyone else lingering around for any requests so you got back in the truck, locked the doors, and left to head back home.
The rest of the week was essentially a repeat of last week, going between stores to collect all of the items on the list, dropping by an electronics store for the requested parts, and building up the same anxiety as delivery day got closer.
Before you knew it, you were back in the box truck, shivering as you pulled out of your driveway and started on the long drive. This morning you had to wait to defrost the windshield, you scolded yourself for not wearing a thicker jacket, given how cold it was it would start snowing soon too. That would only make the deliveries take that much longer, you hoped in vain that they plowed the creepy road up the compound.
You found a good radio station to distract yourself with and were pleasantly surprised at the lack of traffic this morning, you arrived earlier than usual. The sooner you made the delivery the sooner you could leave.
This time you even remembered to shut off the radio before it could unsettle you by cutting out to static suddenly. The supply building was right where it always was, and you backed up to it, waiting to see who would receive the delivery this morning.
You saw some of the clinic staff heading your way, motioning for you to get out of the truck. It made sense, this delivery was a little heavier on the medical items than normal, the resident must have been more ‘busy’ than normal this time of year requiring more medical care.
Stepping out, you greeted them and handed over the manifest for them to review then started unloading everything with the others. Same as usual, all items accounted for, checked off, and a new manifest was received. Before you could head to the back of the store room though, Brian approached you. He had an additional piece of paper to attach to the new manifest, telling you that next week’s delivery would be a little different.
Instead of making the delivery in the morning, there was a facility where you had to stop by later in the day to receive an order, only then could you come back and complete the delivery. Although he didn’t say what the special item was, the fact that it was from a medical waste facility put a pit in your stomach. Given the time you were supposed to pick up the package, you wouldn’t be making your delivery until nearly 6pm, meaning it would be almost dark when you left. You didn’t like that at all, but couldn’t argue.
With that out of the way, you stepped out back behind the building to give BEN his computer parts, but much to your surprise he didn’t have a new list of parts to give to you. You figured he’d approach you next time if you needed anything.
Zipping up your jacket, you turned to go back into the delivery building and get back into the warmth of the truck cab, but someone stepped in front of you.
Startled, you looked up only to be face to face with a man you had never seen around the compound before. His hair was cropped short, and he had a multitude of strange tattoos that creeped up his neck and the sides of his face. He looked angry, which immediately made you uneasy.
“You're the one people go to if they want a little something extra delivered, right?” He asked, taking a step closer to encroach into your personal space even more.
You took a short step back and replied in a strained voice, “Yes, I can collect some additional items for a fee.”
He cracked his neck and looked down at you before asking, “How much for some oxycontin?”
His request caught you off guard, “Oh, unfortunately that’s not something I can get my hands on. I was told that anything like a controlled substance or something that would bring too much attention to me is something I can’t-” Before you could finish he shoved you down to the ground, it caught you so off guard that you landed flat on your back, knocking the wind out of you.
A vein bulged in his head as he stepped over you and snapped back, “I’m not asking you, I’m telling you.”
You tried to scoot back away from him while catching your breath, “-I’m really sorry- I can’t get it- I was given strict instructions-” Trying to respond between gulps of air. You saw him start to lift his foot up, like he was getting ready to stomp on you, so you threw your arms up to try and protect your face.
Before his foot was even fully off the ground, a loud crunching noise, almost like a large branching tearing off a tree, filled the air. The man was suddenly on the ground next to you, but you couldn’t make sense of the sudden turn of events while you were still out of breath.
“That’ll fucking teach you,” A familiar voice snarled, and you looked up to see Natalie holding a broken 2x4 as she glared down at the now downed man. Judging by the small pool of blood gathering by his head you thought he might be a little more than just unconscious as well.
She noticed you looking up at her, so she reached down to grab you by the arm and pull you up, a little too effortlessly for your liking.
“You good?” She asked, her face still twisted in anger, and dropped the now broken piece of wood she was holding.
“Um yeah,” You replied and took in a deep breath, “He just knocked the wind out of me.” You dusted off the back of pants and tried to ignore how your legs stung in the cold air. “Thanks for having my back.”
Natalie gave you a serious look before a grin broke out on her face, she put an arm around your shoulder and squeezed you a little, “Guess that means you owe me a favor now, delivery girl.”
Suddenly you felt a little disappointed, thinking that she was helping you out to be nice, hoping that she didn’t notice how your face dropped a little. “I suppose you're right, just please don’t ask for drugs, ok?” You tried to joke.
“Nothing that exciting I’m afraid, let me write it down for you.” She turned you around, still guiding you with her arm around your shoulders, and started walking back to the truck with you. With her arm resting on your shoulder you could feel how solid her bicep was, it made you flush a little but thankfully she didn’t seem to notice.
“So… am I going to get in trouble for this you think?” You asked, trying to ignore the growing worry and embarrassment you felt.
“Probably not, that jackass was new and was already starting trouble, I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it dollface.” Natalie replied casually, letting go of you without acknowledging the new nickname at all.
Choosing to ignore it, you pulled out the new manifest and handed it over to her so she could write down what she wanted. You watched as she tapped the pen against the clipboard a few times before jotting something down.
“Why don’t you ever hang around after you finish making your delivery?” She asked suddenly, looking up from her list..
You met her gaze, trying not to focus on the clock snug in one eye socket, “Oh, I don’t think it would be a good idea for me to linger. I’m not exactly tough enough to hold my own with the… people here, like you just saw,” You awkwardly replied and rubbed your sore elbow. You weren’t exaggerating either, there was always the thought that clouded the back of your mind that it would only take one pissed off resident to end your employment here for good.
“That’s a shame, but if you hang out with me no one would give you a hard time,” She said and handed the clipboard back to you, seemingly waiting for a response.
“True, you are pretty scary, but I usually have to get back to start planning the next delivery right away,” It wasn’t totally a lie, but you shifted under her gaze as you replied.
“Have it your way,” She said and crossed her arms, “But if you’re ever looking to get into trouble you know where to find me.” You weren’t sure to respond, cheeks red from the teasing and the cold air, instead you looked down at the list and saw it was some of the same art supplies, with a few additional items.
Before she could walk away you added, “Next week they’re having me deliver later in the day, I don’t want you to think I’m skipping out on your favor,” you let out an awkward laugh, failing to lighten the mood.
“Good to know dollface, see you next week,” She waved as she walked off towards one of the bigger buildings.
Letting out a puff of air you jumped into the cab of the truck and cranked the heat on. Even the lukewarm air was a relief compared to the icy air outside, your cheeks were burning but it wasn’t entirely from the cold. It surprised you that you had actually gotten your feelings hurt when Natalie was just looking for an excuse to get some free supplies. You shouldn’t have been so naive, you knew what you were getting into when you took this job, everyone here was a killer, a liar, or a monster to some degree.
Gritting your teeth you put the truck into drive and pulled out, when you got home you’d take a warm bath and try to forget about it.
When you got home, you unceremoniously tossed the manifest onto your kitchen table and went straight to the bath, letting the warm water distract you from today’s events and the work you had to do this week. The bruises that formed on the back of legs made it hard to forget though, and the ‘special pickup’ they wanted you to make on the next delivery made you uneasy.
Despite the stress the days passed by in a blur, the only difference being is the scattered snow storms that rolled in throughout the week. None of them had been terrible, no blizzards yet, but the snow was sticking on the ground so the cold was here to stay. It made driving around town a pain in the ass though, trudging through slush filled parking lots then loading supplies into your car, only to fight with the traffic on the way home.
You had actually finished buying everything on the list a few days earlier than normal, well, almost finished. Natalie’s neat handwriting was on the page, outlining the art supplies you were to get for her to clear up your debt. You wondered how long she’d make you pay for that since her intervention had saved your life, so be it if you had to buy some sketchbooks and charcoal for the remainder of it.
The upscale art store was dead as usual, weekdays were normally slow which is why you went. The same uninterested cashier was sitting at the register, flipping through a magazine and barely sparing you a glance. Going back to the same aisle you were in last week you quickly found the same charcoal and paper that the clock eyed woman requested previously. There were some additional items she had written down as well, some red markers and pencils, a different brand of erasers, and some kind of spray adhesive that took you forever to find.
Pacing around the store you let your mind wonder, admiring the different colors of oil paints on the shelf. You started to wonder what kind of art ‘Clockwork’ made, she sure seemed to like the charcoal medium, but you had never seen any of her work. On some of your delivery trips you’d occasionally see her sparring with some of the other residents or jogging through the woods, if she helped unload you’d overhear her chatting with the others. You can recall one time you saw her at a distance and she was sketching on her art pad, but you weren’t able to get close enough to see what it was.
You wanted to know more about her, but at the same time when it came to the personal lives of the residents at the compound you generally stayed away, not that any of them were inviting you in anyways. Getting more involved than you already were was guaranteed to start trouble, the only thing being open to additional requests has given you was a few bruises and more items to track down on top of your already full list.
Letting out an exasperated sigh, you paid for the items and went back home, steeling yourself for the next delivery.
It was exponentially worse waiting to deliver later in the day. The additional package wasn’t going to be ready for pickup until 4:30, after checking and rechecking the manifest to make sure all of the items were in the truck, you took to nervously cleaning and pacing around your house until it was time to leave.
Finally it was close enough to start the truck and brush the snow off, you had put on your warmest jacket but it was still freezing. Hopefully the heater would hold on until you got home.
The pickup location was at a medical waste facility that was about 40 minutes before the compound, so at least you wouldn’t have to navigate your way back to the main highway. The roads were relatively empty, the newer blanket of snow keeping most people indoors.
It was actually kind of relaxing, the radio playing softly in the background while the snow covered world passed by in the window. The heater was finally pushing out hot air too, not just room temperature, you felt spoiled.
The exit you had memorized was there before you knew it, so you followed the road down towards the nondescript factory until you were back behind the building. The truck idled while you waited in the pickup spot, knowing that someone would approach you with the item.
As if one que, a worker wearing dark coveralls and safety glasses rolled out a cooler that had a large biohazard sticker and several other warnings fixed to the hard surface. You nodded at him and stepped out of the truck to unlock the shutter.
He didn’t say a word as he hoisted the cooler up into the bed, simply handing you a piece of paper that you chose to ignore and tuck away when you saw the words ‘human remains’ listed under the contents table. Once it was secured and the shutter was locked, you jumped back into the warm cab of the truck and headed back onto the highway.
There were several scripted responses you had memorized in case you were pulled over on the way to the compound, but you weren’t sure how you could casually explain away medical waste.
Turning your focus back to the road, you started to worry as large pieces of snow began to fall from the sky like little cotton balls. The weather report hadn’t said anything about late day snow storms, hopefully you’d be heading back before it got too bad.
Of course, you were wrong.
The snow kept falling down harder the closer you got to the compound, it even started sticking to the roads. The normal exit you took just before the compound was icy and snow packed, but the truck was able to maneuver it safely without sliding around too much.
It started to get dark out as well, the storm clouds obscuring the sun earlier than usual. Your stomach was twisting into knots by the time the supply building came into sight. This delivery must’ve been important too, you could already see several residents waiting by the doors to start hauling items in.
One of the doctors from the clinic was marching up to you before you could even put the truck in park.
“Did you pick up the package?” He asked, wasting no time with pleasantries as his dark eyes intently focused on you.
“Yes, here’s the form they provided me, it’s the first box right in front,” You replied and handed him the single sheet of paper you were given. Trying to hold back a shiver you unlocked the truck’s shutter and went to grab the cooler’s handle.
The man literally slapped your hand away and motioned for one of the other residents to help him, “We’ll take it from here,” He snapped.
Without saying anything, you backed up and let them haul the cooler out, but instead of setting it in the supply room they walked it towards the clinic.
‘Not my problem anymore’ You thought as Tim stepped forward and took the original manifest from you.
“It’s freezing, let’s get this over with,” He said and started working with the others to unload the truck with snow still cascading down.
You ignored the stinging cold in your hands and kept moving items, the quicker the work the sooner you could get home and get warm. Given how quickly the snow seemed to be piling up you wanted to get out of here asap, you didn’t want to spend the night in a ditch on the side of the highway, waiting for a plow to come find and rescue you.
When the last of supplies were out, Tim handed you a new manifest, this time with no special pickups thankfully, and you quickly turned to get back into the truck.
You got halfway to the door before your feet started to slide out from under you, the new blanket of snow hiding a patch of ice. Your arms started to flail out, but before you hit the ground, a hand shot out and grabbed your forearm to pull you up.
Whipping your head around, you locked eyes with Natalie, her long brown hair was covered with a warm looking fleece beanie and she was wearing a heavier jacket than normal.
“It’s only been a week since you’ve seen me and you’re already jumping into my arms?” She laughed, her hand still gripped your forearm while you tried to register what just happened.
You shook your head, you had been so focused on getting out of the compound before you got snowed in you forgot to get Natalie her art supplies from the cab of the truck.
“Doesn’t take much to leave you speechless, does it dollface?” She teased you, but she looked a little more serious than before.
“Sorry, your supplies are right under the seat, let me grab them for you,” You ignored her teasing and pulled away towards the truck’s door.
“What, no time to chat?” She asked with a raised eyebrow, the expression looked a little silly on her face given how the clock slightly altered the normal symmetry of her face.
“I’m sorry I’m not trying to be rude, I’m just trying to get out here before it gets dark or I get snowed in,” You apologized but tried to avoid eye contact, starting to feel awkward for being short with her.
Natalie raised her hands up in mock defense and replied, “Well then I won’t keep you waiting, wouldn’t want you freezing to death on the highway.”
“I appreciate that,” You said as you grabbed the bag out from under the seat, handing it over to the brunette, “They don’t have me picking anything up next week so I should be back at my regular time,” You added as you got into the truck.
“I’m not sure what supplies I’ll want next week, assuming my favor’s still good and all. Do you have a phone number or something I can call if I think of something?” She asked, crossing her arms from the cold.
‘None of them have asked for a phone number before…’ You thought to yourself, it’s not like this job gave you a work cell or anything.
“I was never given a number to give out,” You replied, trying to think back on your ‘orientation’, which was essentially just Tim telling you not to ask questions and do what you’re told. He did have your number just in case there was something important to add to the order.
“What about a personal cell?” She asked, leaning into the warmth of the truck cab.
Before you could respond a gust of wind shook the truck, snapping your attention towards the road that seemed completely buried in the snow now. Natalie backed off, noticing the grimace that crossed your face.
“Looks like you have to go, I can go without some new supplies until next week. Get home safe delivery girl,” She knocked on the side of the truck and strode away, leaving you a little dazed as her form became obscured from the now blowing snow.
Shutting the door you tried to focus on the road. It was hard to see under the snow, and the conversation you had with the clock eyed resident left you feeling a little flustered. The heater in the truck was definitely slowing down now too, but thankfully when you put it in drive the truck dutifully pulled forward and cut through the snow.
You switched the headlights on, gripping the steering wheel a little tighter when you saw just how dark it was now, the sky was turning a dark purple. There were no streetlights until you hit the highway, so you just had to hope that you’d be able to see the road.
The truck moved along steadily, sliding occasionally when the tires caught a patch of ice. You were nearing the very edge of the compound when you felt the truck begin to list to the left. Pushing lightly on the gas pedal and trying to correct your course, you let out a string of curses as the truck continued to slide on the patch of ice, only stopping when the two right side tires were firmly buried in the ditch that ran along the road.
Even though you knew it wouldn’t help you pressed the gas pedal down to the floor, kicking up snow and ice but the truck didn’t give an inch.
“Oh fuck,” You breathed out and put the truck in park, sitting in silence for a solid 5 minutes thinking about what you should do next. It was nearly pitch black outside now as snow continued to fall, leaving a thick cover over the windshield.
‘At least the heat was still on,’ You thought with some relief, reaching your hand towards the vent. Your heart sank to your stomach, the air blowing out was noticeably cooler now.
You tried to rationalize your next steps but started to spiral. It was dark out, and if you tried to approach one of the cabins there’s no telling who, or what, would be waiting there for you. If you walked to the supply depot, again, in the dark, you weren’t even sure who would be around. If you got lost in these woods there’s no way you’d ever find a way out.
Looking at the dash you saw you had a little over a half a tank of gas left, it might last until sunrise but with how the temperature was dropping there was no guarantee you’d survive that long. You pulled out your cell phone knowing that there was no service.
Your knuckles started to turn white as you gripped the steering wheel, trying to form some kind of a plan. Maybe you could…
Three loud knocks on the driver side window made you scream, catching you completely off guard as you jumped in your seat. Jerking your body to the side, you saw the outline of someone standing at the window.
You squinted hard to see through the dark and the still falling snow, and suddenly recognized that it was Natalie standing at the window, motioning for you to open the door. Taking in a shaky breath, you slowly opened the door and turned to look at her.
“You ok? It looks like you’re stuck in the ditch pretty good,” She asked, loud enough so that you could hear her over the idling truck and shrieking wind.
“Um yeah- I mean no not really, I’m stuck in the ditch and I think the heater is dying. I’m not sure what to do. I don't want to be here after dark,” You started to ramble, and you felt tears welling up in your eyes.
“Well you’re not getting this truck out tonight, we’re still getting more snow and it would be worse if you got stuck further down the road. Come on, you can spend the night at my cabin and we’ll dig you out in the morning,” Natalie said and extended her gloved hand out to you.
You hesitated, trying to weigh your options. Freeze to death in the truck, go out on your own and get snatched up by whatever creatures are roaming around in these woods, or trust the woman that you know nothing about, other than the fact that she’s killed people before.
“Are you sure I won't get in trouble? They didn’t exactly cover this in training,” You swallowed hard, already making up your mind but removing the keys from ignition.
“Like I said, no one will bother you if you’re with me. Now hurry up, I’m freezing my ass off out here,” Natalie grinned as you took her hand, slowly helping you out of the truck.
You were immediately chilled to the bone after leaving the safety of the cab, the wind was blowing like crazy, making the snow sting as it hit the exposed skin on your face.
“My cabin isn’t too far from here, you got lucky,” Natalie shouted over the howling wind, her arm now linked with yours to keep you from falling, you had to admit that you felt a lot safer next to her even in the blowing cold.
“I wouldn’t call this luck,” You shouted back, already feeling nervous as she cut though the woods, no longer following the road. No turning back now.
After walking a few minutes you lost sight of the truck, but saw a faint light off in the distance. As you both got closer you saw that it was a cabin, a lamp was on infront of one of the windows.
“Almost there,” Natalie shouted and started walking a little faster, pulling you along with her. By the time you got to the front steps you couldn’t hide how hard you were shivering, thankfully the taller women didn’t waste any time unlocking the door and ushering you inside.
The blast of warm air quickly melted away some of your anxiety, there was a small wood stove located in one corner of the cabin that had warm embers still glowing in it. Natalie walked over to it and placed a few more pieces of large wood onto them.
“This is better than freezing out in that truck, right?” She asked, pulling her beanie off and running her hands through her long brown hair.
“I’d say so,” You meekly replied and unzipped your jacket that was soaked through with melting snow, scanning the cabin for a place to hang it up to dry.
Her cabin was a little messy, sketch pads strewn across a small table, some clothes piled onto a chair in the corner, the sheets on the bed were messily tossed to the side. There was a couch that had a blanket tossed over it and even a small kitchenette, a closed door that you assumed was a bathroom was at the far end. It wasn’t the Ritz-Carlton, but it was much nicer than you thought it would be.
“Can I hang my jacket somewhere to dry?” You asked, starting to feel a little self conscious now that the danger of freezing to death had passed.
“Here,” Natalie grabbed your jacket and hung it up on a hook near the wood stove, you decided to put your boots next to the stove too so they could dry out.
“Guess this means I’ll be getting free art supplies for life, right?” She laughed and moved to put her new supplies away.
You stiffened up a little at her comment, trying to swallow that sudden hurt you felt. You cleared your throat to speak, “Look, I appreciate you helping me out, but you don’t have to keep pretending to be nice to me. Just give me your list after I make my deliveries and I’ll cover it, you don’t have to keep stringing me along.”
The clock eyed woman whipped her head around to look at you, art supplies temporarily forgotten, and stepped towards you. She looked angry, you mentally kicked yourself for saying that now, she could still give you the boot and you’d be right back to freezing to death.
“Is that what you really think of me? That I walked out into a blizzard to make sure you wouldn’t be stuck out there all night just for some art supplies I could easily get for myself?” She asked, you flinched under her intense gaze, she was right in front of you now but stopped her advance.
“Why else would you help me? The only reason anyone does help me around here is because they want something,” Your voice felt weak as you responded, suddenly feeling like you were two feet tall under Natalie’s imposing presence.
She let out an exacerbated breath and rubbed her temples, now looking more disappointed than angry. You had never been this close to her before, now you could see the scarring on her face more clearly, and you risked a glance to see that the clock situated in her eye was not functional, but looked more like a prosthetic.
“Man you really are dense, aren’t you?” She finally said and crossed her arms over her chest.
“I can be, yes,” You admitted, suddenly feeling embarrassed, “but when you’re delivering medical supplies to a literal demon that doesn’t have eyes you learn to shut down your common sense and avoid thinking too hard about anything here. What am I missing?” You countered, and it was true, for the sake of your sanity you had to compartmentalize some of your feelings to do this job.
“That’s fair,” Natalie chuckled and shook her head, “Then let me spell it out for you, I like you a lot, delivery girl,” Even with how serious she was being, she couldn't help teasing you with that nickname. “I was hoping that we could get to know each other a little better and spend some time together, of course I didn't think that it would take the threat of freezing to death for that to happen, but here we are.”
Even when she was confessing to you she was steady, it made you feel that more self conscious with how hard your heart was pounding, redness spreading deeper across your face. You still couldn’t hide the shock on your face when you replied to her.
“Oh! I guess I just thought that you were teasing me… I’m sorry for being so dense. I like you too, of course when I first saw you all I could really focus on was how attractive you are, I just figured you wouldn’t be interested in someone like me,” You started to ramble, tripping over your words as you tried to articulate your feelings for the clock eyed woman. If your face wasn’t red before it sure was now, you could even feel your ears burning.
Natalie was amused watching you flounder in response to her confession, but thankfully she didn’t let you struggle for long. Cutting you off mid sentence she placed a calloused hand under your jaw and leaned her head down to kiss you.
That finally shut you up.
You jumped in response but wrapped your arms around her neck and leaned up slightly to meet her, thankfully she wasn’t tall enough that you had to balance on your tiptoes for that. You felt her grin as she moved her hand away from your jaw and instead wrapped her arms around your waist, pulling you flush against her.
The cold wind screaming outside was a million miles away to you, now totally distracted as Natalie caught your lower lip with her teeth before breaking the kiss much to your displeasure. She grinned when you let out an impatient huff.
“Don’t get all worked up now, come on,” She said and pulled you towards the couch.
She took her jacket off and tossed it on the kitchen table, she was wearing a long sleeved thermal shirt but you were pleased to see that it was relatively form fitting. With that out of the way, she sat down into the corner of the couch, leaning back slightly as she motioned you over.
You moved to sit next to her, instead she grabbed your wrist and pulled you into her. You let out a surprised gasp and rebalanced so that you were straddling her.
“Don’t be shy dollface, I don’t bite,” She teased as one of her hands moved to rest on the side of your thigh.
“Forget the cold, you’re going to be the death of me,” You countered, and even though your skin was still flushed from her comments you enjoyed her teasing.
Instead of responding she pulled you down into another kiss, her hands now planted firmly on either side of your upper thighs. You leaned into her, resting your hands on her shoulders and sinking down on top of her. Her tongue swiped across your lower lip and you eagerly opened your mouth in response, sighing with content as she filled your mouth. You felt Natalie shutter under you when you gently sucked on her tongue.
Just as you were starting to feel short of breath the clock eyed woman broke the kiss, you sucked in a lung full of air as she moved down and started planting kisses on your neck. Hovering over your jugular vein she started to nip and suck the area, making you groan as you tried to lean in closer to her. She found a particularly sensitive spot that made you jump slightly in her lap, she focused in on that area, biting and sucking until the skin was bruised.
When she was satisfied with the mark she slid her hands up to the bottom of your shirt, “Let’s get this off, ok?” She asked.
Without hesitation you pulled the long sleeved shirt off and tossed it to the floor, her hands already feeling up your exposed stomach and back. You decided that you didn’t need your bra anymore either and made quick work of unclipping it and tossing it aside.
You could see a faint blush on Natalie’s face and suddenly felt a little smug, at least you weren’t the only one feeling flustered. Despite this she slid up slightly to plant another kiss on your lips before moving down to pepper your collar bones with light pecks, quickly moving down to your breasts.
“I should’ve gotten stuck out here sooner,” You gasped as she moved to suck and knead on your breasts, the cold outside long forgotten as you felt a smile form on the brunette's lips. Feeling her tongue flick at the sensitive nub made you shudder and grip the couch.
When she eventually released her mouth you took the chance to pull at the collar of her shirt and teased, “Don’t hold out on me now.”
“Don’t be impatient dollface,” Natalie replied and pushed you all the way back, “but I do think it’s time to move this party to the bed.”
You didn’t need to be told twice, practically jumping up from the couch and dragging her along with you by the arm. Natalie couldn’t hide the grin on her face as she trailed behind you towards the bed, only faltering when you spun her around so that she landed on her back when you pushed her onto the mattress.
Before she could protest you were straddling her legs, sliding your hands under shirt to feel her toned stomach.
“Your turn,” You grinned, the thought of finally seeing her shirtless boosting your confidence.
Natalie rewarded you by peeling off her long sleeved shirt, much to your delight she wasn’t wearing a bra either. Tracing some of the scars scattered across her abdomen you leaned down and placed a light bite on her collarbone, nuzzling into her neck as you continued to nip at the sensitive skin.
The clock eyed woman let out a shaky breath as you moved your hands up to squeeze her breasts, she shifted her hips into you in a way that made you want to melt. It made you impatient, moving your hands down to her belt while you buried your face into her neck, finally finding a spot that made Natalie gasp.
Even with that distraction you were somehow able to unbuckle her belt and undid the button on her jeans, pausing briefly to pull back and look at the state Natalie was in. The sight sent a jolt of pleasure to your core, the brunette was equally flustered now, her face flushed and her breathing heavy.
“Can I keep going? Or should I walk back to the truck?” You teased, running your thumb over the top of her jeans.
“Don’t you dare,” Natalie rumbled and leaned up to crush her mouth against yours in response. Your hands moved up to her face and traced the scars there, not even noticing as she started to work her pants down herself until you felt her try to shift your legs out of the way.
“Come on then, get to work dollface,” Natalie huffed as she broke the kiss, pushing you to the edge of the bed.
Not wanting to keep her waiting you pulled her pants and underwear off quickly, kneeling at the end of the between her legs. Your heart was pounding as she shifted closer to you, seeing the dark curling hair that covered her crotch and how wet she already was.
Without wasting anymore time you buried your face between her legs, tongue lapping out between her folds. Natalie groaned and buried her hands in your hair, trying to push you in closer as you worked your tongue around her clit. Feeling her legs dig into your back emboldened you, kissing and sucking on the sensitive bundle of nerves.
You angled your head down a little so that you could slide your tongue into her, groaning as you finally tasted her, hands gripping her muscular thighs to anchor yourself as she continued to grind and buck into your face.
“Fuck dollface, don’t stop,” Natalie whined, pulling you by the hair until your mouth was back to working on her clit.
It was getting hard to focus between the heat pooling between your legs and the thighs wrapped tightly around you head, you quickly readjusted so that you slide your hand between her legs. You slid two fingers into her and curled them, continuing to suck and tease her clit with your tongue.
Feeling Natalie’s breathing become more erratic egged you on, even when the hands buried in your hair pulled just hard enough to bring tears to your eyes. Suddenly Natalie came undone, letting out a string of moans and curses as she shuttered with her orgasm. You continued lapping at her center until she gently tugged your head away.
You couldn’t help but feel smug at seeing how flustered you made the clock eyed killer, watching her catch her breath while you rested a hand on her solid thigh, tracing some of the scars there.
She saw you staring and gave you a crooked grin, “What are you waiting for? Summer? Take your pants off and get up here.”
That got you moving, nearly tripping over yourself as you removed your jeans and tossed them to the side. As you crawled onto the bed you raised an eyebrow at her since she wasn’t moving from her spot flat on her back.
“Well, sit on my face,” She motioned you over, effectively undoing all of your confidence.
“What? Are you sure? I don’t want to smother you,” You questioned.
She rolled her eye and grabbed your arm, dragging you over to her, “It’ll take a lot more than that to kill me, get up here.”
Still feeling unsure of yourself you carefully swung one thigh over her head and started to adjust, letting out a startled gasp as she roughly grabbed your hips and brought your sex down to her mouth.
You didn’t have time to readjust as her tongue roughly circled your clit, you clutched fistfulls of the bed sheets to try and steady yourself.
“Jesus Nat,” You moaned out, her steel grip on your thighs preventing you from even grinding down on her.
“You’re so wet, all for me,” Natalie mumbled out from under you, making you cover your face in embarrassment.
She wasn’t phased as she continued to devour you, sliding her tongue into you and nuzzling her nose against the sensitive bundle of nerves. With how worked up you were before you weren’t going to last long.
When she shifted her face so that she could fully suck on your clit you came hard, the swiftness of your climax catching you off guard. You felt Natalie smirk under you, dipping her tongue into to taste your release.
You tried to lean back to recover, but Natalie’s steel grip on your thighs didn’t falter. Instead she continued tracing her tongue against your now over sensitive sex.
“Fuck Natalie, it’s too much,” You cried out and dug your hands into her hair.
“Just give me one more dollface,” Natalie said, barely pausing before returning her mouth to your opening, alternating only to suck on your engorged clit.
You couldn’t focus as your thighs started to shake, the sounds of Natalie eating you out made you lose any semblance of control. Strangled moans escaped from your throat without you even noticing until you clenched your thighs tightly around the other woman’s head, crying out louder as your second orgasm was released from your core.
Mercifully, Natalie released your hips and let you fall to the bed, taking in shaky breaths to try and compose yourself. Pleased with herself, she wiped your arousal off of her face and laid down next to you.
“Maybe we don’t need to dig the truck out right away,” You laughed when you finally caught your breath, scooting over to rest your head on her chest.
Natalie let out a laugh as well, pulling you into her as she tossed a blanket over the both of you. “You’re taking me home with you tomorrow, I’m not letting you get away that easily,” She grinned and buried her head in your hair.
“It’s a date then, I’ll make you dinner and everything,” Your mind already racing at the thought of Natalie at your house, more importantly, in your bed.
She mumbled in response, already drifting to sleep. You were close behind her, suddenly incredibly thankful that you got stuck with this terrible delivery job.