The Survival Games (Book 2): Hide & Seek
Page 13
That evening, because of the ceremony, dinner is held in the hall attached to the church. Candles are lit everywhere and large crosses adorn the walls, Invictus must have had a kick collecting all of this for Kaleb. It was intense and overbearing, just like Redemption’s leader.
I take a seat opposite Avery on one of the floor cushions as soup is served with some type of cracker. I’m wearing a pair of jeans and a halter top that one of the younger girls offered. She has no use for it now that she’s heavily pregnant and due to give birth in the next month or so. I wasn’t going to wear it originally, I wasn’t a teenager anymore, and since the last two years had been a little rough on my body, I didn’t exactly have a figure to die for. However, Avery assured me it was a good choice, given it showed off Kaleb’s brand on my back.
And she was right, it doesn’t take long for Kaleb to home in on me. He sits down next to me, far too close for comfort, but I give myself a stern talking to. Seduction for survival is the name of the game, and it's the one I’m pretty good at.
“Avery tells me that you’re interested in our cleansing ceremony,” Kaleb murmurs into my ear.
I say nothing but nod and do my best to look coy. Avery has told him that I’d like to train under her, ensuring that Redemption's expectant mothers have the best care. She insisted that I be allowed to witness the ceremony and the aftermath this evening as a ‘test’ of sorts to see if I am capable of what Kaleb requires. She said he seemed intrigued by the idea, but she wasn’t sure if he believed her words, and so it was up to me to convince him.
His hand slides onto my leg, and I try not to flinch as he squeezes my thigh. “Does that mean you plan to stay here?”
“I’d like to, if you’ll allow it.” I look up at him through my eyelashes. If I could fake a blush at this point, I would.
“And your son?” Kaleb’s hand has moved away from my leg and is instead making its way up the exposed skin on my back.
“Avery tells me that Litchfield is no more.” I swallow, the words stuck in my throat as I regurgitate his lies. “My son is gone…”
“I am sorry for your loss.” His sincerity is fake, it’s too thick and cloying like honey. “But it is our gain. I’d love to have you here at Redemption with us.”
I bet he would, slimy motherfucker. His fingers trace over my brand, the mark he burned into my body without my permission or my knowledge. I make a silent promise as his nails dance over my scarred flesh: I was not going to be owned by another man ever again.
I smile at him sweetly. “Don’t you have to prepare for the ceremony?”
He stands and offers out his hand to me. “Would you like to help?”
I can see the lust in his eyes, and I do everything I can to not shudder as I stand and follow him into the church. It’s just the two of us inside his office as he locks the door behind him.
Stepping towards me, I can smell some sort of alcohol, they brew their own here so it doesn’t surprise me that he’s getting drunk before the ceremony. I would too if I was a child killer. He grabs my wrist and pulls me into a kiss, his tongue, like his hands, seek to invade every crevice of my body, and while I will myself to relax, to become pliable like Play D’oh and to not resist, it starts to get hard to breathe. It feels like there’s this weight on my chest, and I can feel myself shutting down as I want to curl up into a ball and hide. He pushes us up against his desk, and my hands feel around as I try to steady myself. My fingers touch something pointed and sharp, and I tuck it away in my hand. His nails dragging down my back sting, the way he tugs my hair, his cruel kisses that force open my mouth, they all make me want to cry, but I choke it back. I resist the urge to jab the letter opener hidden in my hand into his neck. Not yet. It wasn’t time yet. You’re doing this for Luke. So that you can escape. I repeat it like a mantra for what feels like forever until a sharp knock on the door interrupts us.
“Apologies, Brother Haines, but it’s time to start,” a gruff masculine voice calls through the wood.
Breaking apart, Kaleb’s breathing is ragged as his erection pressed against my leg. He runs his thumb across my bottom lip as I try to hide my disgust.
“We’ll finish this later,” he promises before giving me another kiss and showing me out of the room, unaware of how close he came to me stabbing him.
I don’t know what I was expecting for the church side of the ceremony, but it is kind of what it says on the tin: A Baptism. The chosen child is chosen by drawing a name out of a large goblet, and then they have their head wetted and prayers are said. The baby in question is a little girl called Abigail, she can’t be more than three months old, and her mother is a woman named Laura. Laura says nothing as she hands her daughter to Kaleb, her face full of pride, and my palm itches as I push away the urge to slap some sense into her.
Another goblet is passed around, and everyone drinks deeply from it. The atmosphere begins to change as people get caught up in Kaleb’s words, cheering and singing. Avery refills the wine several times, and as she stands before me with the chalice, she shakes her head ever so slightly, warning me not to drink. I lift it to my lips and pretend to drink, there’s a strange smell to the red liquid, bitter, and as I pour the cup up to my closed lips, I can see some sediment at the bottom of the cup. A few of the women have started dancing as one of Kaleb’s men plays the piano and another accompanies on a guitar. Fear wasn’t enough, he was drugging them into submission too. No wonder they believed his religious hocus pocus, it was all a carefully constructed fantasy.
Kaleb nods to me and Avery, and I make sure to smile at him. He seems pleased at that as he bundles up the baby and motions for us to follow him. As we leave, I can see Laura stripping her clothes as her body sways to the awful music.
Wordlessly, we follow Kaleb and one of the men into the woods. I can’t see a trail, but Kaleb and Avery seem to know the way as they weave in and out of the trees. Moonlight filters in, tiny slivers here and there, reaching out towards us as we go deeper into the forest. They look like silvery fingers, stretching out, trying to trip us up. Finally, up ahead, I can see a structure in the dark. It isn’t until we get nearer that I realise it’s an altar made of stones and bones, with weeds creeping up the sides. Blood stains the rock, and I have to swallow to stop myself from being sick.
Kaleb places the grizzling Abigail on the top of the altar and says some sort of prayer over her tiny body. Avery told me that they are never present when the monster comes, they normally leave the sacrifice and move away, observing from a safe distance. Then once the screaming stops and the creature has retreated back into the darkness, they head back to the village. Tonight, I’m not going to let that happen.
As Kaleb lifts his hands above his head, reaching to the sky, calling upon his gods, I take the letter opener I stole from his office and ram it into his chest. As I do that, Avery takes one of the scalpels she’s hidden up her sleeve and cuts the throat of the disciple. The dim moonlight catches on the liquid as it sprays and runs out onto the forest floor.
“Stupid bitch!” Kaleb screams, trying to grab me as I stab him again and kick him away. He falls back, and I use that as my signal to scoop up the baby and run.
Avery stands in shock, looking down at the man she’s killed with her own hands, and I can see the panic set in, even in the dark.
“We need to go,” I shout as I grab her jumper and tug her with me.
She stumbles along in a daze, feet dragging.
“Avery! Now!” My throat hurts as I scream, Kaleb is using the altar to get back up. His blood now smeared on the rocks as he props himself up. The look he gives me is pure evil, and I know what he’s thinking before he even moves. I pull on Avery harder, shaking her out of her trance as Kaleb comes after us. We’ve just stolen his sacrifice, and he doesn’t intend to let us get away with it.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Donovan
I manage to get Lily back to where we’ve camped out with minimal fuss, but in the back of my mind, I spend the whol
e time questioning myself. Should I have told Gemma where we were? What if she ratted us out? Would she do that? The old Gemma wouldn’t have, but I don’t know what she’s been through the last couple of months. I don’t know her anymore.
“Was that a safe decision?” Lily asks, hanging onto the sleeve of my jacket as we near the others.
“I don’t know,” I reply honestly. I hope I hadn’t fucked us all over.
Everyone is still asleep when we get back, except Fischer, who just nods as she settles in to get some rest, having been my lookout. I lean against a tree trunk, my mind reeling as I keep watch. Lily settles in beside me, and she reminds me of Luke, the way she needs to place a hand on me to reassure myself that I’m really here. Isn’t it crazy how the world falls apart and there seems to be only two ways to deal with the mess? You either close yourself off and trust no one, like Leo and Sammy, or you attach yourself to anything that shows you any human compassion, just like Lily is doing now. I would definitely need to have that conversation with her, but it could wait for now.
I must have drifted off for a little while because I’m jerked awake and pulled to my feet roughly by an angry Galen. His face is twisted with a rage I haven’t yet seen on the man as he shoves me against another tree and throws his fist at my face.
I let him punch me. I could have stopped it, but I defied him, and he’s very much part of the army hierarchy. He needed to hit me.
“What the fuck are you playing at?!” He’s in my face now, hands twisted in my clothes as he seethes. He can’t shout in case he draws unwanted attention, so instead he’s growling at me.
“What is she doing here? I forbade you. I told you no!” he hisses, pointing at Lily, who’s now awake and afraid. Fischer is on her feet too, poised ready to intervene, but I shake my head at her.
I hold my chin up and say, “I am not a soldier, Galen, I follow your orders out of respect. Not because I have to.”
“Fuck! First Fischer and now you? What is the point of me risking my neck for you dicks?” He steps back and lets out an exasperated breath. Now that he’s unleashed his anger, he’s deflating, and that’s exactly why I let him manhandle me.
“What’s done is done. Get ready to move out,” he commands, as he wakes Sonia and Luke.
“It’s not dawn yet…” I point out.
Galen glares at me with his hands on his hips. “We don’t have the luxury of waiting until dawn thanks to your little escapade.”
I bite my tongue, he wasn’t going to like what I was going to say next. Not one bit. Galen narrows his eyes at me, he knows something is coming.
“We have to stay put, there might be others coming.”
“Others? What the fuck have you done now?” he demands, taking a step towards me.
Fischer places herself in his way. “I’ll wait with Donovan in case anyone else wants to join us, you can go ahead with Sonia and Lily.”
“And the kid?” Galen waves a hand at the groggy Luke, who’s sat up looking confused.
Sonia snorts as she stands and stretches. “Pfft, as if he’ll leave Donovan’s side.”
“I’m staying with Donovan too.” Lily’s voice comes from behind me, I hadn’t noticed her sneaking up beside me.
“Collecting strays there, mate,” Fischer jokes as she gestures toward Lily, who’s once again grabbed onto my arm
“I know,” I sigh and roll my eyes. I never asked for one person, let alone two. I was better on my own, didn’t they realise that? Well, they would eventually.
After a moment or two of pacing, Galen concedes defeat. “Fine. Sod it, we wait until sun up. But after that, we’re gone. Understood?” He points at me, glaring, and I nod.
“Get some more sleep,” I say to Lily, who goes over to Luke and hugs him like she may never let go. I watch as they both curl up together and a small part of me wishes I could have that in my life again, but my time had come and gone.
Fischer sits down next to me, her legs crossed as she watches me. She looks tired, but determined, and that’s one of the things I loved about this soldier. She was a fighter. Someone who wanted to make a difference.
“So, who are we expecting?” she says, as she fiddles with the lace on her boot. I can see a hole starting to wear in them and make a mental note to get Alex to steal her another pair when we get back to Litchfield. Kelp was a stingy fucker when it came to supplies.
“People from my old Basecamp.”
“I thought there were no survivors?” She sits up a little straighter.
“Eight. Six of them are here.”
“Wow…” She gives a low whistle. She knew the carnage that had been left behind at the farmhouse, she’d been one of the soldiers who’d gone to find them. “Do you think they’ll all come?”
I rub my face, exhausted. “I don’t know. It means trading safety and food for uncertainty just for the potential of a better place. Is it worth the risk?”
“If we never took risks, we’d all be dead right now.” Fischer smiles. “There would also be no zombie virus, but you can’t win them all, right?”
I can’t help it, but I laugh, not that our current situation is a funny one.
A rustling and the soft noise of people whispering grabs our attention, and we both jump to our feet. I grab my gun and knife, and with Fischer at my back, we slowly follow the noise.
In the dark, I can make out several figures making their way towards us. Fischer shines her wind-up torch at the small crowd, and relief fills me as I see Gemma’s face scowling at me.
“Jesus! You scared me,” she scolds. “You could have given us more specific directions, Donovan, we’ve been wandering around here for the last half an hour!”
“How many of you are there?” Fischer asks, struggling to get a head count even though the darkness is lifting.
“Nine of us. Is that okay?” Gemma sounds hesitant, as if she’s thinking about turning back.
“Welcome aboard!” Fischer says as she leads them through the trees to where Galen and Sonia are waiting.
The faces I recognise from Basecamp either hug me or shake my hand as they walk past. I count five out of the six in total, Matthew is missing, and to be honest, I don’t blame him.
“What’s the plan?” Gemma asks, as we bring up the rear.
“I have to go to Redemption, but Galen and the others will get you back to Litchfield in one piece. When I return, we’ll go to Rosehill.” I grab my bag as Galen introduces himself to everyone and explains about Litchfield and how we get there.
“You can’t go to Redemption, they’ll kill you,” Gemma scoffs as we start walking down the hillside, away from the Invictus base.
“Why?” Luke has come up next to me and grabs onto my sleeve as we go.
“Because you’re a man,” Gemma points at Fischer, “your best bet is sending her in.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Fischer asks, listening in to our conversation.
Gemma does this half-shrug thing, as if she can’t quite find the words she’s looking for. “Redemption is a weird little cult.”
“Yeah, Lily filled me in on that,” I reply as Lily comes up behind us, practically walking on my shadow.
“The only men allowed there are the disciples, they kill anyone else.” She gives me a hard look. “Donovan, I don’t know why you have to go to Redemption, but all you’re going to find there are indoctrinated pregnant women and Kaleb, their fucking prophet or some shit.”
“No,” I say firmly. “I’m going to find Anna.”
I will find her, even if I have to walk the entirety of this fucking stupid country.
“Is that your girlfriend?” Gemma asks, her head tilted at me, and I become aware of everyone listening in to our conversation. Even Fischer seems to have slowed her steps to bring her closer to me. They’re all waiting for my answer, and they’re going to be disappointed.
“It’s not like that,” I explain with a huff. Luke smiles and looks away, but his grip on my hand tightens.
“Because she had better be unharmed, or I will kill someone.”
“You care too much, Donovan, that’s not like you. The only person you normally care about is Alex.”
Her words bite at me. Did she really think I never cared about them? I did everything I could to make sure Basecamp was safe, I risked my life to find supplies for them. I went to London to help vaccinate as many people as possible, I took charge of someone else’s child, and now I was trying to reunite mother and son. Hadn’t I given enough? No, people had died. Liza, Dan, Dai, Hazeldine... Layla, Elise. I should have done more. My head starts to pound as I’m swamped with guilt.
“I think that sounds exactly like him,” Fischer interjects, correcting Gemma with a glare. “He’s never once put himself first in the entire time I’ve known him. He’s one of the good guys.”
“I never said he wasn’t,” Gemma mumbles, not liking Fischer’s tone. I watch her, as her lips set defiantly, and she crosses her arms, the group at a standstill waiting to see what will happen. Gemma’s comments have always been backhanded, and I had gotten used to it. But it made me smile to hear Fischer’s words, all the same.
“You implied it,” Galen says sharply. “Now, are we going to stand around gossiping like a bunch of fishwives or keep moving?”
We walk for hours, trying to follow along the path of the motorway without getting too close. Invictus have been patrolling the roads since they realised that ten of their people were missing, the sound of engines filling the normally silent air. They’ve been looking in the woodlands too, but we just move further away the second we hear something, narrowly missing them in some cases. The current zombie count is seven, which is relatively low, but those who came from Invictus with us are armed with bats, knives, and one had a sword. Fuck knows where he got that from, and as long as I’m not at the pointy end of it, I don’t care.