Badlands: Next Generation Collection Read online

  COPYRIGHT

  BADLANDS Next-Gen BOX-SET by Natalie Bennett

  © 2021 by Natalie Bennett. All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any written, electronic, recording, or photocopying without written permission of the publisher or author. The exception would be in the case of brief quotations embodied in the critical articles or reviews and pages where permission is specifically granted by the publisher or author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Editing by: Pinpoint Editing

  DEDICATION

  To the badass tribe that always supports me.

  #TPR

  Wreckless. Wild. Legends.

  DEGENERATES

  Blurb

  Reckless. Wild. Legends.

  Adelaide.

  Reckless.

  Debauched.

  Savage princess.

  Zane.

  Wild.

  Depraved.

  Venomous prince.

  One midsummer night that cruel bitch called, fate, decided we needed to meet, setting off a chain of events that would change both of our lives forever.

  Hating him was innate.

  Loving him was unexpected.

  I was the nitro.

  He was the dynamite.

  Together we were catastrophic.

  Playlist

  (Spotify)

  Papa Roach—Crooked Teeth

  Bishop Briggs—Welcome To My Dark Side

  Jagwar Twin—Long Time Coming

  Coolio—Gangster’s Paradise

  Fall Out Boy—Young And Menace

  Bullet For My Valentine—Venom

  Fivefold—Lost Within

  Billie Eilish—Ocean Eyes

  Juice Wrld—Lean Wit Me

  Aquilo—Silhouette

  In This Moment—Sick Like Me

  Sam Smith—Dancing With A Stranger

  The Weeknd—Wasted Times

  Halsey—Love Is Madness

  The Clicks—Slow Fade

  Breaking Benjamin—Feed The Wolf

  5FDP—When The Seasons Change

  Xande—We’re Bad News

  Meg Myers—Adelaide

  5FDP—Bloody

  Sam Hill—Prey To Jesus

  Breaking Benjamin—Red Cold River

  Sam Smith—Fire On Fire

  Why Don’t We—8 Letters

  June—Body Wars

  Billie Eilish—See Me In A Crown

  Emily Raymond—Hallowed

  Bishop Briggs—River

  BMTH—Crooked Young

  Lacuna Coil—Losing My Religion

  5FDP—Stuck In My Ways

  Bishop Briggs—The Way I Do

  Breaking Benjamin—Psycho

  Bad Omens—Hell I Overcame

  Niykee Heaton—Devil

  Eminem/Skylar Grey—Twisted

  Marshmello—Happier

  The Weeknd—Hurt You

  Miley Cyrus—Nothing Breaks Like A Heart

  Lil Wayne—Don’t Cry

  Billie Eilish—When The Party’s Over

  Billie Eilish—Bitches Broken Hearts

  Witt Lowry—Wonder If You Wonder

  5FDP—M.I.N.E

  5FDP—I Refuse

  Demi Lovato—Only Forever

  Halsey—Him And I

  Family Tree

  Romero + Cali

  Adelaide

  Lucifuge

  Belladonna

  Grimm + Arlen

  Nyx

  Samael

  Cobra + Blue

  Braxton AKA Butcher

  Cameron

  Lilith

  PRELUDE

  In Nomine Satanas Cum Potentia Inferni

  Badlands

  [Bad-Lands]

  -noun

  1. Often referred to as hell on earth.

  2. A place where humanity has ceased to exist. Cannibals lurk in the shadows. Stronger factions take out the weak.

  It’s a place where the satanic Savages reign supreme beneath the tyranny of a man revered as the devil himself, a deviant self-made king.

  That same man just so happens to be my father.

  My mother is his queen.

  I don’t mean that in the pet name sort-of way, either; that’s legitimately how she is seen.

  I can’t tell you what the world was like when a government was in place, whole cities weren’t abandoned, and death wasn’t always waiting to harvest your soul.

  Fortunately, I wasn’t born yet, because that kind of world sounds like a nightmare.

  What I can tell you is that the Badlands isn’t a place anyone weak-hearted would willingly choose to live, and for me, it was home sweet home, my very own wonderland wasteland.

  I’m Adelaide Deville.

  Savage princess.

  Satan’s daughter.

  A tad bit debauched.

  I’m part of the poisoned youth.

  We’re a generation of degenerates.

  We’re heartless, reckless, and all around fucked up.

  But most importantly, we’re family.

  I can honestly say that I never had much to complain about. My life was mostly smooth sailing with the occasional bump in the road.

  One fucking night was all it took for that to change.

  Meeting him was a cruel act of fate, something I had never believed in until I quite literally ran across his path.

  His name was Zane.

  He was wild.

  He was depraved.

  He was a Venomous prince.

  Hating him was innate.

  Loving him was unexpected.

  I was the nitro.

  He was the dynamite.

  Together, we were catastrophic.

  Unus

  fatum

  ducunt volentem fata, nolentem trahunt

  Chapter One

  Unus

  I lived for nights like this.

  The weather was perfect—a much needed reprieve from the sweltering daytime blaze. There was the tranquility that came with everything being at a standstill, and an initiation was minutes away from taking place. This meant new members, and new members meant bigger numbers.

  After growing up in the underbelly of a fucking subway station, I was still rebuilding the broken empire my father left me, and in my empire, every Venom mattered.

  That is, after they proved themselves.

  I was diligent to the point of being excessive when it came to ensuring that no one faulty made it into the family, which is why I absolutely refused to deal with two types of people.

  One: pussies.

  Two: disloyal motherfuckers.

  There were a few other immediate disqualifications, but those two were of utmost importance. Those were the two that would get you killed.

  The Badlands showed no mercy to anyone. It didn’t discriminate against color, faith, or gender. It challenged you to do one thing, and one thing only: survive. If you didn’t have the means to do that, then you died a painful fucking death, often slow. If you were lucky, it would be fast.

  I myself had no qualms about snuffing out someone’s life to get what I wanted or ensure my survival.

  Remorse was for people who actually felt the need to touch base with their conscience. I’d long ago decided I was better off without one.

  That’s where the initiation came into play.

  Standing at the edge of the tree-line, I kept watch over Trix as she worked her magic. Quick as ever, she picked the lock o
n the front door and entered the shack of a house. Four minutes later, she was back on the porch giving a silent thumbs up to let us know we were good to go.

  “You ready, man?” Maliki turned to Ace and asked.

  “Been ready,” he replied, eyes never leaving the house.

  “All right, then,” I said, pulling my mask down, “let’s get this show started.”

  The three of us stepped from the shelter of the trees, leaving Tobias to follow with the duffel bag.

  Trix patiently waited for us to approach before giving a quick rundown of everyone’s locations.

  “Just like I predicted, the girl’s room is on the left. Parents are on the right. They’re all out cold.”

  I peered into the house through the open door, straight down a small, dark hall, and nodded. I’d never doubted her layout theory. Trix had been watching this place for days, and she was rarely wrong when it came to scoping out a target. She knew how crucial the details were.

  It always started with the plotting. We never did anything without a solid plan.

  A plan ensured our asses were covered from all angles, and we knew what we were walking into. One could never be too careful.

  Entering the house, I looked around to get a feel of the people who lived here. Behind me, Tobias gently shut the door and locked it.

  “Place looks a lot better on the inside,” I said.

  “Eh, still looks like shit to me,” Maliki responded, keeping his voice low.

  “Everything looks like shit to you, Malik.”

  “Not you, Trix.”

  She rolled her eyes at him and walked deeper into the living room.

  I was fully convinced that if she liked dick, these two would have gotten together long ago.

  I ignored their banter, going straight for the room on the left.

  “Get the rope ready,” I directed Tobias. “You two get Mom and Dad,” I said to Maliki and Ace.

  I took the three steps down the hallway and paused outside a door with a frilly pink K on it, listening for any sign of movement on the other side.

  Not hearing anything, I grasped the globe-shaped knob, turning it slowly and pushing it open. I’d expected at least a squeak from the wood, but there was nothing.

  The bedroom smelled like lavender, more than likely due to the candle burning on the nightstand.

  If that didn’t indicate this was definitely a chick’s space, the lacey ass curtains with blue bows did.

  I shut the door behind me and stepped right to the bedside to get a better look at the sleeping girl. Her chest rose and fell in a steady, relaxed rhythm, a mass of brown curls cushioning her head.

  It never ceased to amaze me, the things someone could sleep through. Or maybe I was just a byproduct of the environment I was raised in. I sure as fuck wouldn’t remain sleeping if someone entered my room in the middle of the night. The slightest sounds woke me up.

  A scream carried from across the hall, and this chick still didn’t budge. She was completely oblivious to the monsters lurking inside her home.

  I reached down and ran my index finger over her freckled cheek. She was cute, in a ragdoll sort of way. Something you played with before popping the head off, shredding and ultimately discarding because at the end of the day, it just wasn’t all that interesting.

  Her mother’s pleas for mercy as she was dragged from bed were what finally had her brown eyes opening wide. Confusion shadowed her features as she stared up at me, undoubtedly trying to figure out who the man in the mask standing above her was.

  I cocked my head to the side and remained silent, pulse quickening in anticipation as terror washed her previous expression away. She prepared to scream, sucking in a sharp breath through plump, parted lips.

  “Nuh-uh,” I chided, wrapping a hand around her freckled throat.

  A faint squeak still managed to slip through before I could get a good grip.

  Keeping hold of her with one hand, I used the other to lower my jacket collar and then lift my mask, doing so in a deliberately unhurried motion.

  Brown hues wildly searched my face, zeroing in on the Venom brand inked on the side of my neck. Her eyes’ went so wide, they looked as if they’d bulge right out of their fucking sockets.

  This was exactly why I wore the mask in the first place. It had nothing to do with wanting to be disguised and everything to do with gluttonous pride.

  The fear now sweating from her pores was a testament that the empire I’d rebuilt was starting to thrive again.

  It was proof that we were no longer the faction being laughed at or at the bottom of the hierarchy because of my father’s blight.

  “Relax,” I soothed, lessening my grip slightly. “There’s no need to scream. I’m not here to hurt you.”

  I felt her swallow beneath my palm. Her terrified, uncertain eyes studied my face for a semblance of truth. She wouldn’t find any.

  Something clattered to the floor in the living room, ending our little staring contest and making her jump.

  “What’s your name?” I asked, though I couldn’t give two fucks. I simply wanted to distract her from what was being done to her parents—just for a few seconds longer.

  Plus, after doing shit like this for so long, you learned a thing or two. Names had power behind them. A person’s name was a connection to their identity and individuality.

  “Ja…Jamie,” she whispered through trembling lips.

  “Okay, Jamie. I’m going to let you go now, and you’re gonna be a good girl and walk with me to the living room, all right?”

  She nodded her head, two quick jerks of submission. Dropping my hand, I stepped back so she had enough room to climb from the bed. Not taking her eyes off me, she lifted the blanket from her lower half, exposing a thick pair of creamy thighs.

  Her hands moved at light speed to adjust the blue nightgown that had risen in her sleep, but it still wasn’t fast enough to hide her lack of underwear.

  I pretended not to have seen, keeping my face impassive as she slowly stood up.

  “Wh…” She stopped and took a breath, straightening her spine so she stood at full height. “What do you want?”

  Clearing my throat, I flattened the smile trying to creep across my face. Her sudden false bravado was almost enough to make me wanna toy with her for a bit longer, but this wasn’t my night.

  “Jamie, I already told you. I want you to walk to the living room.”

  She blinked at my use of her name.

  “I promise I won’t hurt you. Just come with me,” I assured, using my most convincing tone that had yet to fail.

  This time proved no different.

  Jamie swallowed and nodded again, now inching her way towards her bedroom door. I allowed her to open it and step out into the hall before making any move to follow.

  From the sound that left her mouth, I knew she was going to run towards her parents, which was exactly what Trix was waiting for.

  “Mom!” she screeched, taking off just as I stepped out behind her.

  She never once stopped to consider where the people I’d arrived with were. So, so stupid. At the end of the hall, Trix’s arm shot out and caught her right across the throat. A violent cough erupted from her chest, followed by a yelp as her body hit the hardwood floor.

  “Down, girl,” Trix ordered, kicking her in the sternum when she tried to get back up.

  Her mother sobbed around the wad of socks that had been shoved in her mouth.

  With an exaggerated sigh, I pulled my mask back down and walked the short distance down the hall.

  “I could have sworn I told you to walk. Now look at the situation you’ve found yourself in.”

  Continuing past her fallen form, I took in the familiar scene spread out before me. It was always the same scenario with just a few small differences.

  Tobias was holding Jamie’s mom in place, standing behind her to keep her from going anywhere. The dad was tied to a wooden chair that Maliki had positioned to ensure he had a clear view of wher
e his wife was standing, and now where his daughter was pinned on the floor, her pussy fully displayed.

  “All right, get this shit done,” I said to Ace, stepping out of the fray so I could observe.

  “Uh, yeah. Sure.” He crouched down in front of the duffel bag, rubbing the back of his head.

  Maliki and I shared a look over his kneeling form.

  I glanced at Tobias. His hazel eyes met mine, went to Ace, and then flickered back. I gave a slight shake of my head.

  Normally, I’d have chalked this up as a loss, but Ace had only killed once before, so I was going to give him the benefit of the doubt and a nudge in the right direction. Sometimes, a person just needed to be pushed towards their salvation.

  Moving back to where he was kneeling, I crouched right in front of him so he had no choice but to look at me, and asked, “Do you remember why you wanted to come here?”

  He met my stare.

  “To be one of you.”

  “No.” I shook my head and rose.

  “You wanted Maliki to find this place, to come here, because the bitch with the socks in her mouth falsely accused your brother of rape, and then,” I stepped to the side so he had a full view of the man tied to the chair, “this asshole beat the shit out of him with a tire iron, and you know what’s worse? The fact that he didn’t kill em!

  “He smashed his skull in and left him half-alive for you to find with his goddamn brains spilling out.”

  Head nodding in agreement with everything I said, the memory of that day rising back to the surface, he began digging through the duffel bag again.

  “Let’s not forget what caused all this,” Trix added, putting more pressure on Jamie’s chest where her boot still rested.

  “A lie,” Tobias sneered. “She wanted that dick and got caught in a lie when her hubby found out her pussy had been sampled by another man.”

  “He’s right,” I continued. “All of this is a result of one person’s choices, and you’re here to prove you can deliver the consequences that came with it.”

  Ace licked his lips and tucked a strand of his long hair behind an ear.

  Glancing up at me again, he asked, “How would you do it?”