Role Play

‘I don’t think so.’ Emily turned to face the man, trying to make her voice deep and menacing. ‘For I am not merely some waif wandering through the woods.’ She was getting in to this role-playing stuff! She was a little taken aback to see that rather than just one man, there were actually three. All three wore cloth outfits with leather-looking panels on the arms and shoulders. Their costumes were good, but clearly not the same quality as her own.

‘I am Negana, Queen of The Saviours.’ With a flourish she swept her cloak back over one shoulder revealing her high boots, leather skirt and black breastplate. She regretted this immediately: she knew she looked good, but did suddenly feel a little immodest. Still, Negana didn’t seem to be a modest sort of girl so she might as well go with it.

The three men looked surprised for a moment, glancing at each other with what Emily took to be worried expressions.

‘Bullshit,’ laughed the man in the centre of the three. This was the one who had been issuing orders just now. He stepped forward, his two friends taking his lead and approaching. They circled around slightly, moving to Emily’s sides.

‘If you were Negana, you would strike all three of us down without hesitation.’ He pointed his sword at Emily’s face. She saw the blade was thick, made of some sort of rubbery material painted silvery grey. ‘So, Negana, why don’t you hit me with one of your magic spells?’

Damn, thought Emily. Wasn’t Ted supposed to have given her some spells to use?

‘I thought so,’ smiled the man. ‘You are not Negana. You are just some rich girl using daddy’s credit card for cosplay.’ The other two men were emboldened now and moved forward to hold Emily’s arms tightly. ‘It is a nice costume,’ he continued, ‘let’s get a better look. Pass me her cloak.’

The guy on Emily’s left was shorter than her, and unfastened the clasp at her throat allowing the cape to slide off her shoulders. ‘Here you go Tom,’ he said, tossing it over. The man on her right said nothing, just staring intently at her face with a broad smile. Either menacing or a bit simple, Emily couldn’t tell. This really wasn’t going the way she had hoped.

Tom briefly ran the fabric of her cape through his fingers then dropped it to the floor. ‘I want to be sure she isn’t hiding any weapons. Give me her armour.’

‘No,’ shouted Emily, ‘you can’t do that!’ She struggled, trying to free her arms from the two men flanking her, but was not strong enough. The guy to her left was feeling around her back, trying to work out how to undo the straps for her breastplate but she continued to struggle, making it difficult for her. Tom stepped forward and produced a length of thin cord. ‘Give me her arms,’ he instructed his friends, then tied her wrists together tightly. ‘If you won’t do this the easy way…’ he smiled, pulling her over to a nearby tree. Throwing the loose end of the cord over a low branch he pulled Emily’s arms up over her head then tied the line so she was held up straight. She protested loudly throughout this rough treatment but her words fell on deaf ears. This was meant to be a game, she thought. And so far it wasn’t much fun at all.

‘Now,’ said Tom, ‘we’re going to take you in, put you in our prison. You rich cunts, you think you can come here in your expensive outfits, looking down on the rest of us. Just because I can’t afford nice armour,’ he stroked her breastplate, lingering over the silver nipples, ‘doesn’t mean you can treat me like a piece of shit.’

This guy clearly had some serious issues, and Emily was scared of him. She didn’t believe she had treated him badly at all. ‘Look,’ she tried to reason with him, ‘I didn’t buy this stuff, I’m working here. This is the costume they gave me.’ The man to her left spoke up. ‘Tom, look: she has a white wristband, not like our green ones. Maybe she is staff?’

Uncertainty flickered across Tom’s face for a moment, and he looked up at Emily’s wrist. Then his face hardened again, he seemed to have come to a decision.

‘I don’t care, I’m going to –‘

His words were cut off by the sound of screaming, somewhere close, coming closer fast.