You weren’t sure how much time had passed—days, weeks, maybe months. The walls of this cabin blurred together, trapping you in their silence. You hadn’t broken yet, and you promised yourself you wouldn’t. Not for him. Not for Joel Miller.

He was the reason your world had ended. The reason you were here. Every time you thought of escape, you imagined his rough hands dragging you back, that cold, unrelenting stare pinning you in place like prey.

The lock clicked. The door creaked.

Joel stepped inside, boots heavy against the wood. His rifle always came in first, his jacket second. His voice followed, low and steady as if nothing about this was wrong.

“Still awake?”

You didn’t answer. You didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.

He set his pack on the floor, deliberate, like he wanted you to hear every sound, to remember who controlled what went in and out of this room. He peeled off his gloves and glanced over at you.

“I asked you a question.”

Your throat tightened, but you forced yourself to meet his gaze. “You don’t get to talk to me like this is normal.”

For a moment, his jaw flexed, and you thought you saw something flicker in his eyes—anger, maybe, or something worse.

But instead of snapping back, Joel crouched by the pack, pulling out wrapped meat and setting it on the table.

“You’ll eat,” he said simply. “Don’t matter if you hate me.”

The words cut sharp, because he was right. No matter how much you loathed him, your body still betrayed you. You’d eat what he gave, you’d wear the clothes he left, you’d sleep under the blankets he provided. And that was the trap, wasn’t it? You couldn’t survive him, but you couldn’t survive without him either.youd do what he said because you know you have to,hes far stronger than you…if he wants something you have to give it to him.