Merrie woke up burning. Black smoke wafted around her face but it did nothing to stop the beams of brilliant light that seared her face and cut at her bare breasts. She only had a second to look up into the burning light before agony slammed into her. She felt her skin blacken and crinkle, the sun eating away at her delicate skin. The black smoke was her own being being evaporated in the heat and brilliance.
With a scream, she flung herself away try to find some place to dodge.
Something grabbed her collar and she lost her balance. Still screaming through the agony, she tried again. Her collar dug into the side of her neck as she pulled away from it.
The light was too bright, she couldn't see anything. Blinded, she could only flailed as she tried to pull away. Everywhere she touched was lit by the sun and she couldn't find any respite from the agonizing pain of being burned alive.
Her high-pitched scream of agony beat against the narrow walls of Horge's home. There were other sounds but she couldn't focus on them in her desperate need to escape the burning light.
She dug into the ground trying to find some freedom. The smooth ends of her wrists did nothing to the hard-packed ground. Desperate, she tried to summon magic for a spell but between the agony and the light, she couldn't calm her thoughts for even the most basic of spells.
Her left leg collapsed in a flash of agony. Reflexively she looked back at it but couldn't see anything in the glare of light. However she could smell her flesh burning away and the agony of having sunlight dissolving her.
“Out of my home!” bellowed Horge, his voice loud enough to overcome her cries.
“Move!” It was a familiar voice but she didn't have the attention to focus on it.
Merrie flailed to the other side, pulling on the collar until it dug into her throat. She reached for any darkness but couldn't find any. The unbreakable collar continued to dig into her skin as she yanked on it, pulling repeatedly until she felt the skin beginning to break.
She hit someone's legs and bounced off. Rolling on her back, she came up on the other side and tried to crawl away. Her one good leg caught on a rope of some sort and she felt flat onto the sun-warmed ground.
With a scream, she flailed.
“Pay attention to me,” growled Razor, one of the prisoners from the wagon.
“Keep away from my bitch!” roared Horge.
“Yeah, yeah, let us stop the screaming first otherwise you'll just have smoke to fuck.”
Something heavy draped over her. It smelled of thriban and dried cum. More importantly it was think enough to blot out the sun. Merrie collapsed with it, hitting the ground hard as the scream died out of her throat.
“Out!”
“Hold on,” yelled the other voice, Razor.
There was the sound of a fist hitting. Then the thump of a body hitting the wall.
Razor groaned. “F-Fuck….”
“That's my bitch. Mine! Keep away!” Horge raged as he stomped closer. The fur was ripped off Merrie and she was once again exposed to the sun.
Her scream beat against the walls.
Mace swore. He grabbed something and yanked hard. She only heard the creak of something and then a shelf fell on her. Wood slammed into her back and side, crushing her. The agony of the light faded as she found a shadow to cringe in.
“I'll kill—”
“Do you like that fucking cunt!” bellowed Mace.
Horge roared back. “She's—”
“—going to die if you don't get her out of the fucking sun—!”
A fist ended Mace's words. He crashed into the wall and slumped.
Silence.
Merrie sobbed as she tried to crawl into the darkness. Her burned leg wasn't working anymore. Every time she moved, it felt like it was only holding onto her body by a thread. No bone was exposed, only the darkness smoking out of her.
Horge suddenly inhaled.
“That's right,” said Slender in a quiet voice. “Take a deep breath, idiot.”
Horge growled.
“Nope, if you don't want me to cut your throat, take a deep breath.” Slender seemed remarkably calm.
A long, shuddering breath filled the room.
“Razor?” asked Slender.
“Y-Yeah?”
“Close the door and check Mace. I got him.”
The door creaked but the light didn't go out. Razor grunted. “Fuck, how do you close this.”
The door slammed shut and the room was plunged into blissful darkness.
“Asshole!” snapped Razor. “You almost took my fingers off!”
“Fuck you,” growled Horge. “Get out and leave my bitch!”
With a whimper, Merrie curled up tighter as she clutched her burned leg. The skin had peeled back completely to expose the shifting darkness inside. She could feel the icy vapors slip past her fingers. Unsure of what to do, she curled herself around it and prayed her body would heal.
Slender chuckled. “You ever had a puppy, thriban?”
“W-What?” asked Horge.
“A puppy, a bitch. You know, dogs that pee on the carpets and need to be taken on walks?”
“No, why would—”
“Well, then listen. You currently have a bitch which means you have to take care of her. This bitch doesn't like sunlight. It kills her. I don't know why, it's scary as fuck to see happen. Me and the others kind of have a little loyalty toward her, so I'd like not to hear her screaming from clear across the village.”
“Keep—”
“Keep away from her. Yeah, none of us are…. Look, are you going to attack or can I take the knife away?”
Horge growled and panted for a moment. “I won't hit you again… for now.”
Mace groaned. “What bull hit me?”
“Horge,” growled the thriban.
With another groan, Mace staggered over and then knelt down next to Merrie. “Well met, Horge. I'm Mace. The man with the knife is Slender and Razor is behind me. We came in on the wagon that brought your bitch.”
Mace pulled Merrie's hair from her face. “Are you going to be okay?”
She whimpered. There was a brief sensation of her body recovering but it would take hours if not days. She could heal herself faster by transforming, but she couldn't do that in front of the other prisoners. Slowly, she shook her head.
“Yeah, that's how I've been feeling for weeks. Will you survive?”
She considered speaking but then nodded. “If I can avoid light,” she whispered.
Mace smiled and he stroked her cheek. His fingers traced down to her throat before he pulled up a rope that had been tied around her collar. She followed it with her eyes to where Horge had knotted it to a bar near the ceiling. With a sigh, he released it and caught the hair on the other side of her face. “Good girl.”
A little shiver of pleasure flooded through her.
He looked up. “Horge?”
“Yeah.”
“Bitch needs darkness to heal. We don't have to be here but—”
“Then get out.”
“—you need to listen. Do you like fucking her?”
“… yeah.”
“Do you want to keep doing it?”
Horge grunted.
“Then keep her in the fucking dark.”
A loud bell rang out.
Mace sighed and he pulled his hand away from Merrie. “That was the work bell, wasn't it? We're late?”
Horge grunted. “Yes. No more surface jobs today.”
“Well, time to learn about those tunnels,” Razor said with a dejected tone. “I was hoping to go a few weeks before being sent down there. Fucking thriban doesn't know how to take care of the naked puppy girl.”
Slender snorted.
Merrie peeked up. All four men were looking at her. The other wagon prisoners looked haggard, even after only two days apart. Slender winked at her while Razor turned to the door. Her tail thumped slightly.
Mace ran his hand on her arm. “Do you want to stay here?”
Razor froze and looked back.
Horge growled, his body towering over the others. “I'll kill you if you try.”
Slender toyed with his knife. “Depends on what the bitch says. If she wants to leave, you can't take us all on.”
The room grew tense.
Merrie nodded. “I'm okay,” she whispered. “I just need it to be dark… and maybe food and water.”
Mace turned to Horge. “Got that?”
Horge looked at him with a scowl and then back to Merrie. Slowly he nodded.
"Good. Now let's… grab that blanket. We'll put it over the shelf and make a tent for her. It will be hot but at least it won't be bright.
It took only a few minutes for all four to set up a small, pitch-dark tent for Merrie. It grew quickly cool from her body temperature and she slumped down on one of the furs underneath her. It was crusty with cum but she didn't care.
“Don't you take her,” growled Horge.
“Wouldn't think of it but I wouldn't mind checking on her after the tunnels? No taking… just checking.”
Merrie closed her eyes. Her leg was throbbing in agony and she found it hard to concentrate.
“Fine. You can visit Horge's bitch, but only if I'm here.”