by Bale, Sarah
This made everyone laugh. For the next hour, we made idle chitchat. I got the feeling they were doing it so my mind wouldn’t wander, but it didn’t help much. Was Daisy okay? Was she wondering why I hadn’t come? Was she even still alive?
“Fuck. There’s some of Air’s men ahead,” Grey said, snapping me out of my thoughts.
Sure enough, three dune buggies were on the road ahead. They were parked, facing us. Waiting for us.
“Think they were following us?”
Dave answered, “Maybe. They wouldn’t have been able to follow us the entire time, so they must have stopped here.”
I said, “Let’s take them out. We only need one alive to talk.”
Grey pulled out his gun. “I’m ready.”
Pressing the gas pedal, we sped toward the dune buggies. They took off, but they couldn’t outrun us. Instead, they did a zigzag pattern, making it hard to gauge where they would go next. Grey, Dave, and Harper rolled down their windows, leaning outside. They fired at the dune buggies. All three swerved, making a sharp right turn down an empty street. I followed.
The street was empty, so they must have turned down an alley. I stopped the truck.
“Anyone see them?”
Grey said, “They’re circling back. Only two of them this time. Must have shot the tires on the third.”
“We need to find that dune buggy and grab the fucker.” Turning to Dave, I asked, “Did you see which way it went?”
“On it. Noah. Harper.”
Noah and Harper jumped from the truck and took off on foot. As they moved, I could see how well they worked as a team. They blended with the shadows from the building and moved stealthily.
Dave said, “We need to make some noise, so they don’t get suspicious.”
Grey grinned. “On it.”
He opened his door and fired at the approaching dune buggies. One swerved, crashing into a tree.
“Holy shit. Didn’t think I’d hit them from this far away.”
Dave replied, “It’s their tires. They’re so worn down that it made it easy to pop.”
The second buggy stopped, letting the man from the first get inside. They turned, speeding off in the direction they’d come from.
“They’re looking for the other dune buggy,” I said.
I’d just finished speaking when an explosion rocked the ground, rumbling beneath our feet. Black smoke rose into the sky in the same direction Harper and Noah had gone.
“Fuck,” Dave yelled. “Fuck!”
He took off running.
“Dave! Get back here!”
My fucking brother had never listened to me before, so I wasn’t surprised when he kept going.
I started the truck and took off in the direction Dave had went. We turned the corner, following the cloud of smoke. A few turns later and we saw the dune buggy, burning. Biters stumbled out, drawn by the noise and the smoke. But Harper, Noah, and Dave weren’t there.
Grey said, “Turn around. We must have missed them.”
I made a U-turn in the road, scanning each building that we passed.
“Stop!”
I hit the brakes. Noah, Harper, and Dave came out with an unconscious man in their arms. They threw him into the bed of the truck with a loud thud, before getting in next to him, lying flat.
Grey said, “Boss, get us out of here.”
“On it.”
We’d traveled maybe fifty yards when we saw more dune buggies. But their small motors were no match to ours and we sped by.
“Think they know we got one of their men,” Grey asked.
“No. If they did, they’d be shooting.” I made a sharp left turn and said, “They might be out of ammo or might not know how to use the weapons they got at the base in Lawton.”
When I was sure we weren’t being followed, I glanced over my shoulder into the bed of the truck. The man they’d brought had cuts on his face, but, other than that, looked fine. They must have knocked him unconscious, though, because he was out.
I said, “We’ll find out what they were doing out here shortly.”
Grey let out a laugh. “Gonna put those fancy bone breaking skills to use?”
I nodded. I’d do whatever it took to get answers.
“Hell yeah. Been a long time since I beat the shit out of someone just for fun,” Grey replied.
Daisy
Air left the tent early in the morning. It was only then that I was able to sleep. And, surprisingly, no one had bothered me, so I was able to rest in my little corner of the tent, letting my thoughts drift. If I was going to get out of this, I had to keep my strength up and try not to think of Elijah too much. Thinking of him made me vulnerable and I needed to be strong or they would break me.
I made a list in my head of things I would need to make it back home. A coat. A weapon. Food, if I was lucky. Something to distract Air and his men. It didn’t sound like much, but I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy task to get any of the items I needed.
My stomach growled, finally making me sit. There was movement on the other side of the tent. Should I stay in here, or go out there? My choice was taken away when Air threw the flaps to the tent open.
“Get up.”
Something had happened. I could tell by the look on his face. Was Elijah here? Had he come to save me? Hope bloomed in my chest like a wildflower reaching for the sun. Air grabbed my arm, jerking me outside the tent. My ankle throbbed as he dragged me across the floor. A group of men waited, looking at angry as he did. The hope I’d felt mere seconds ago vanished.
“What hap-”
Air swung at me, striking me across my already injured cheek. Pain exploded behind my eyes, like a million fireworks going off. I cupped my cheek, as if that would help the pain I felt.
Air said to his men, “Each of you may hit her once in honor of our fallen brother.”
The men moved around me. I held up my hands, backing away. But there was nowhere to go. They moved in closer and tears filled my eyes.
“Please don’t-”
The first man spit in my face before shoving me as hard as he could. I fell to the ground, crying out. This seemed to fuel the men on as they each took their turn hitting and kicking me. My chest ached and I couldn’t catch my breath. Did they break a rib or was that anxiety driven?
At some point I must have passed out. When I came to, Air stood above me.
“You’re lucky, lady. Next time we’ll take a finger as payment on top of the beatings.”
I shook my head and tried to back away from him, which was nearly impossible. I ached everywhere and my arms and legs were tingling. I knew that wasn’t a good sign.
He squatted. “They did not strike your stomach, so you may thank me for that.”
“Why?” My voice didn’t sound like me. I cupped my mouth, realizing how swollen it was.
“In case you still carry the leader’s baby.” He smiled. “Once we know for sure, we’ll decide if we’re going kill you.”
Panic rioted within me, but I was frozen in place. That was the reason they hadn’t killed me? Because they thought I was still pregnant?
He brushed a piece of hair from my face. “If you have a son, he will live with us and take Samson’s place. If you have a girl, you will both give your lives to our cause.”
I shook as tears filled my eyes. No!
He stood. “Go to the tent, lady, and rest.”
I tried to move, but cried out. They might not have kicked my stomach, but everything else hurt. No, hurt didn’t even begin to describe what I was feeling. Hot tears choked me as I forced myself to stand. I wouldn’t let them break me. At least, that’s what I told myself.
Five
Elijah
Andrews had the gates open when we drove up to the hospital. He raised an eyebrow when he saw Dave, Noah, and Harper lying on top of the man in the back of the truck. The man had woken up a few minutes ago and was struggling to get away, so they had subdued him.
“Any news,” I asked.
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He shook his head. “None. Haven’t seen a single one of them today.”
Which was odd. Since arriving in our area, we’d seen at least two of their men each day, looking. Watching. Waiting. Now they had leverage. Was that why they hadn’t come around?
“Any chatter on the radio?”
He shook his head again, looking away from me. It wasn’t his fault that there wasn’t any news.
I said, “We caught one of their guys. Going to see if we can get him to talk.”
Andrews replied, “Use the old barn in the south pasture. No one will bother you out there and there are still some tools you might find… useful.”
I drove past the hospital, heading to the old barn. It was falling apart, but would serve our purpose. Grey and I got out and went inside. The musty smell made my nose itch. Grey walked to a shelf, pulling down garden shears that were rusted. He eyed them before looking at me.
“You sure you want to do this?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“Just hear me out, Boss. Let us do this. There’s no telling what the prick is going to say to toy with you. We can question him and do all the dirty work.”
“I appreciate what you’re offering, Grey, but I need to be the one to do this.”
Grey said, “I’ll tell them to bring him in.”
I looked around the barn and went to the workbench. There were pliers, nails, a mallet, and a hammer. There was even a chair and rope. Everything I’d need if push came to shove.
There was a commotion when Dave and Harper came into the barn, the man between them. Noah was next, looking a little green. Grey came in last, closing the door behind him, making shadows bounce off the walls. Dave and Harper shoved the man into the chair while Grey tied him down.
“Please, let me go! I didn’t do anything.”
Dave struck the man across the cheek. “Shut the fuck up. We don’t want to hear it!”
“But it’s the truth!”
Dave hit him again, splitting his lip. The man, who was in his mid-thirties, clamped his mouth shut as tears rolled down his cheeks.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I said, “He’s right. We don’t want to hear it. What we want are answers.”
The man nodded. “I’ll tell you anything.”
“What’s your name?”
He shook his head. “I have no name.”
Grey let out a snort. “Guess this fucker is going to do things the hard way.” He picked up the pliers, opening and closing them. “You better watch yourself.”
The man’s eyes were wild. “Wait! They call me Samson. That’s the name I’ve gone by for a long time now.”
“What were you doing out there today?”
He replied, “I was told to follow you. See where you went.”
I asked, “And who were you to report to?”
“Air. Everyone reports to him.”
Grey asked, “How far did you follow us?”
His throat bobbed as he swallowed. “Only to Mustang. My brothers and I were hungry, so we stopped.”
Which is where we’d run into them, so that much was the truth.
Harper let out a snort. “Some fucking solider you are.”
“Please, you don’t understand. We cherish the moments we get away from the main camp. It’s well deserved freedom.”
I asked, “What do you mean?”
“If you don’t join the group on your own, you are forced to go through a series of beating for months. They beat you until they break you. But even then, you’re not free. They wait until you have no desire to flee before they’ll let you go out on patrol.”
Dave asked, “How many of you are there?”
“Like me? Not many. But there are at least one hundred who are in our group.”
“Did they all come to the City?”
He shook his head. “The women and younger children stayed behind with our leader, Apostle Judas.”
“The who?” Grey asked.
“Apostle Judas, our leader.” The man made a face. “No, not my leader. Their leader.”
Dave gave me a look. Was this man telling the truth?
I asked, “How did you come to be with the group?”
“My old camp was starving. We came across Apostle Judas and his group. They gave us two choices. Leave or die. We left, but they followed us.”
What he said matched up to what Dave said had happened to him in Vinita.
Dave asked, “Why did they follow you after you did what they said?”
“That’s what they do to everyone.” He looked at Dave. “You were in Vinita. If you had left, we would have followed you. And you would have been given the same choice my camp was given.”
“And that is?”
He replied, “Air would have said that the higher powers demanded a sacrifice. Death would please them the most, but they would accept someone joining their group, to work for three and a half years.”
“Why three and a half years?”
Samson made a face. “It’s how long the great tribulation is supposed to last before the end of time.”
Grey said, “Un-fucking-believable. Does this Judas fucker really think he’s an apostle?”
Samson shook his head. “No, he thinks he’s the next savior of men, which is worse. The second coming, if you will.”
I said, “This seems like a load of shit to me. If it’s that bad, why don’t you just leave?”
Samson let out a laugh. “I allowed you to capture me today. Do you really think you shot the tire on my dune buggy from that far away? You were my way to escape Air and the hold he has over people!”
Dave shot me a look.
I asked, “Why didn’t you leave on your own?”
“You can’t just leave. Air hunts you down so he can kill you. But he doesn’t kill you right away. He fucks with you until you beg for death.” He shook his head. “That’s when the real fun starts. You’re beaten daily. Then, he starts cutting body parts off. If you survive all this, he stabs you in the chest and lets you become a biter. Even in death, he won’t let you go.”
With each word that he said, I pictured Daisy receiving the punishments. My stomach roiled, and I swallowed the sour taste in my mouth.
“How do we know you’re telling the truth?” Dave asked.
“Why would I lie about this?” He looked around, frantically. “You have to believe me.”
I did believe him. He’d told us everything we’d asked, except for one thing.
I picked up the shears. “Where is Air’s camp?”
His face paled. “It’s an old mall. About thirty minutes from here. We set our tents in the middle of the first floor, so we’d have eyes in all directions.”
He spoke so fast that it was hard to understand him at first.
“Is that where the woman you took yesterday is being held?”
“I- I don’t know. I was on patrol last night and today they told me to follow your truck. I haven’t been back.”
I glanced at Dave. He shook his head once, meaning he wasn’t buying the story.
“Tell you what. We’re going to let you go, but you have one last mission before you’re free. Go back to the mall and find out exactly where the woman is being held. When you come back to us with the information, we’ll let you go.”
He shook his head. “Please! He won’t trust me! If I go back, he’ll kill me!”
I shrugged. “Not my problem.”
His shoulders fell. “Then I’m dead either way.”
Harper squatted. “It doesn’t have to be that way, man. If you help us, we’ll help you. We’ll have eyes on you the entire time.”
“It only takes a single shot for it to be over,” Samson replied. “And Air is like no other man. He lives for battles like this and will anticipate it.”
I said, “We’ll give you some time to think about it.”
Motioning for everyone to follow, we left Samson tied to the chair. Outside, the air had grown colder and I wondered if another s
torm was on the way. I prayed not.
Dave asked me, “You okay?”
“I’ll manage.” I glanced over my shoulder. “Think he’s telling the truth.”
“Hard to say.” Dave frowned. “My gut says he is, for the most part.”
Harper nodded. “I agree. You can’t fake the fear that was in his eyes.”
That’s what I had been worried about.
I said, “Hopefully he’ll come around.”
Dave asked, “And if he doesn’t?”
“We’ll kill him and send his reanimated body back to Air.”
We left Samson in the barn, with Noah keeping watch outside.
Dave said, “You should get some rest. You look like shit.”
“Hard to rest when I don’t know what’s happening to Daisy.”
He glanced over his shoulder at the barn. “I know it’s hard, but it sounds like these guys like to fuck with people. Which is good. It means they won’t kill Daisy. Not yet, at least.”
“You really suck at trying to reassure someone, Dave.”
He replied, “All I’m saying is, no news is good at this point.”
Harper added, “Hopefully Jeff gets back soon. I’ll feel better once we have the tank here.”
Dave frowned at that. “Nikki is going to be so pissed when she finds out Jeff went by himself.”
We entered the hospital. Kat, Nikki, and Rocco were waiting for us. Nikki’s face fell as she looked around.
“Where’s Jeff and Noah?”
Dave went to her. “It’s not bad. We found a tank, but there wasn’t a trailer. Jeff volunteered to drive it back. Noah is here, working.”
She hit him in the chest. “You let Jeff go alone?”
Dave shot me a grin. “See?”
Kat asked, “Did you find anything useful out there?”
Grey caught them up on what we’d found at the pawn shops and at the armed forces center, even mentioning Paige and the three men she lived with.
“Think they’ll come here?”
“I’m not sure. One of the guys looked pretty rough.” I paused. “We also caught one of Air’s men. Have him locked in a barn and Noah is taking the first watch.”
Rocco said, “I’m going to join him. Always better to have two heads instead of one on a mission like that.”