CHAPTER 172: CH 172: TRUTH AND DARE (1) - (EDITED)

(A day before Dave and his two wives left the beast tamer base)

**

The moon hung heavy outside the window, casting silver shadows across the hall as Dave closed the bedroom door behind him. Inside, his two wives had just drifted off to sleep, their soft breaths like whispers against the silence of the night. He lingered for a moment, watching the slow rise and fall of their chests, before quietly stepping away and heading down the corridor.

The spare room he entered was empty, its walls barren and pale under the flickering light of a single touch. With a low breath, Dave raised his hand, and right out of nowhere, a figure on a bed, appeared inside the room, stumbling slightly as if she was torn from another reality.

Tasha blinked rapidly, her eyes widely open as it adjusting to the room. Her body was tense, instinctively wary, every muscle of hers was on edge as she scanned the unfamiliar space. The stone walls, the empty dimly lit room, and the cold air prickling her skin, it was all strange. And then, like a ghost emerging from the dark, Dave stepped into her view.

Her breath caught in her throat as she recognized him.

The last time she had seen him, her arms and feet had been shackled, bound tight to ropes while being fucked to cloud nine. She didn’t know the rest of the story but when she woke up, she found herself in a dark space. She hadn’t seen Dave right up till this moment.

At that very instant, Dave had started releasing her binds, loosing the ropes that were used to bind her to the bed, rendering her unable to move or escape. He then offered her a gown to wear.

Tasha thought it was a prank, but she soon realize that it wasn’t, and she could move again. She sat up slowly, her hands holding her to the bed as she gaze at Dave, her eyes never leaving Dave’s.

"You crazy bastard," she spat, her voice sharp and shaking with fury. "What did you do to me? Where the hell did you take me?"

Dave’s lips curled into something between a smirk and a threat. He stepped closer, his voice low and slow, like a predator savoring the moment.

"For your first question..." He gave a deliberate pause, letting the silence stretch just enough to unnerve her. "I did a lot of things to you. But, do you want me to be specific?"

Her nostrils flared.

"As for your second question..." He gestured casually to her, referring to the void space, "What do you think of the place?"

Tasha’s eyes burned with rage. "You bastard!" she hissed.

She launched herself forward with her fists flying, desperate to strike him, to make him feel even a fraction of what she had endured. But Dave was ready. More accurately, it was Tasha’s movements that were slow.

Even though normal human movements are slow to Dave, with how long Tasha had been tied to the bed, she was so weak and her movements have been so slow. His hand shot out and caught her wrists mid-air, his grip thick like iron.

She struggled, snarling through her gritted teeth, but Dave held firm, unyielding. Then, leaning in, he brought his face close to hers. His breath brushed her cheek, and his eyes locked with hers: dark, unreadable, and calm in a way that only made her angrier.

"Try again," he whispered, not as a taunt, but as a quiet dare.

"Do you really think your threats mean anything right now?" Dave’s voice was calm, too calm. Each word slipped from his lips like silk hiding a blade. "You don’t even know where you are."

The moment his words landed, a chill rippled down Tasha’s spine. It was the kind of cold that didn’t come from the air, but from somewhere deeper, instinct, maybe, or dread. Her bravado faltered, and for the first time, she look worried.

Her gaze darted around, searching the place she was. The room was cloaked in murk, with the dim light barely reaching the far corners. Shapes blended into the darkness, their outlines warped and unfamiliar.

She turned slowly, hoping to catch some hint of anything recognizable, but all she could see was the bare wall and a heavy door with no handle on the inside. No windows. No sounds except for her own breathing and the low chuckle from Dave.

He had purposely chosen this place. It was used as an all-purpose store, with no windows present, neither did they fixed the doorknob of the door, which had been broken for a long time. Besides, with the ongoing apocalypse, no one really cared about the broken door. And it’s not like they cared about it in the first place.

Tasha’s throat tightened as she blurted out her next words, "Wh-what do you want?" she asked, her voice quivering against the stillness. The words came out smaller than she intended, the defiance in her tone slipping into fear.

Dave tilted his head slightly, studying her as one might study a puzzle. "Nothing much," he said lightly, almost conversational, as if they were talking over tea and not in some eerie abandoned storeroom. "Right now, we’re going to play a game."

Tasha narrowed her eyes. "A game?"

He smiled. "It’s called Truth and Dare."

Her brows furrowed as she corrected him, "You mean Truth or Dare?"

But Dave’s eyes gleamed, a glint of amusement flickering within them as he slowly shook his head. "Nope," he said. "Truth and Dare, not truth or dare. You’ll be doing both, that’s what makes it fun."

Dave then slowly loosened his grip on Tasha’s wrists, letting her hands drop back to her sides like lifeless weights. Without another word, he turned and began to circle around her, each step was deliberate, like a predator tracing the edge of its prey’s cage. His footstep echoed softly against the floor, the sound bouncing eerily off the walls.

Tasha remained still in the center, her eyes following him warily with an uneven breath.

"Now," Dave said, drawing out his word like he was savoring it. "How do we play this fun and amazing little game that I call Truth and Dare?"

He flashed a crooked smile as he moved behind her, his voice low and steady.

"It’s simple," he continued, tone dipped in mock cheerfulness. "I’ll dare you to do something, and you must do it. No hesitations, no excuses. And every truth I give you, you will carry like a message. You’ll take it to whoever I send you to, and you’ll tell them exactly what I’ve told you. Word for word."

He stopped in front of her now, his hands placed in his trouser pockets, as he tilted his head slightly as if admiring her reaction. "That’s why I’m calling it Truth and Dare. Both. Always both."

Tasha let out a sharp scoff, her lip curling in disgust. "You’ve got to be kidding me," she snapped. "Do you hear yourself? Who in their right mind would want to play your twisted little game? Are you actually insane, or just stupid?"

Dave’s smile didn’t fade, but the warmth in his expression vanished like sunlight behind storm clouds. His eyes, once vaguely amused, turned cold, sharp enough to pierce.

"Insane?" he echoed softly. "Maybe."

Then he stepped closer again, so close she could feel the heat of him, the quiet violence coiled just beneath the surface.

"But whether I’m out of my mind or not doesn’t really matter, does it?" he murmured. "Because you will play the game."

His voice dipped lower, nearly a whisper now.

"Or..." He leaned in until his breath tickled her ear, "I could always send you back. Back into the void. Back into the dark. All alone."

A flicker of something passed through her eyes; anger, yes, but laced with a reluctant shiver of fear.

At the mention of that place, a tremor slipped down Tasha’s spine before she could suppress it. Her breath hitched for a second, barely noticeable, except to her. The memory came rushing back in fragments, jagged and raw.

The dark place she had been stuck in for God knows how long.

It was an endless dark place. The suffocating silence pierced only by the low, beast growls that echoed all around her. She hadn’t seen the beasts, but their presence was known to her, as she would hear large footsteps echoing through the place.

The place is beyond just the veil of darkness, pacing, breathing, and snarling was the only thing she could hear for the past few hours. At one point, something had brushed against her leg. It was coarse, a damp fur or maybe claws. She didn’t know, but she knew what was doing it, and she couldn’t dare to shout or it’d have been her end.

She was powerless, alone, trapped in that dark space. And hearing that Dave was the one behind it, her brows had started furrowing slightly as he body shook out of fright.

It was shaking so much that she had clenched her fists to still herself. She even lifted her chin as if posture could replace control.

At that moment, Dave’s voice had sliced through her thoughts. "So," he asked, almost lazily, "will you play... or not?"