“You lost, boy,” said Henry. “It’s over, and you have lost. To the victor go the spoils! But as far as I can tell, you don’t have anything that I need.” He cast a wicked glance over his shoulder at Abby. “Except for one thing, that is.”
“Zach!” Abby whimpered, her voice cracking. She knew what was in Henry’s mind.
“Touch her and you die, asshole,” Zach muttered, still working his arms. He could feel the duct tape stretching, but it was holding firm. Suddenly, his fingers brushed against something sharp. It was a piece of glass from the window he had smashed! He quickly grabbed the fragment and began to saw at the duct tape as Henry laughed and strode back over to Abby and then rested his hands on her hips.
“You remember what I said about animals, Zach?” he asked. “An animal’s gotta eat, and an animal’s gotta fuck…and I already ate.”
With a sudden tug, Henry yanked Abby’s pants all the way down to her boots! She screamed and cried for Henry to stop, for Zach to help her, as she struggled desperately with her leather restraints. Zach sat as silent as a stone, but a dark, fiery wrath was in his eyes. He continued to slice at the duct tape and twist his arms, trying to break free, but still he was trapped.
“I’ve never had a girl as young as you before, so I guess this is a ‘first time’ experience for both of us,” Henry said as he pulled Abby’s underwear down despite her thrashing.
“Daddy, please help me!” Abby sobbed. She knew that she couldn’t stop Henry. She knew what he was going to do to her, and this absolutely horrified her. She could not believe that this was actually happening to her! It almost seemed like a sordid dream, but she couldn’t wake up. She started to despair, wondering if this was going to be as painful as she imagined it would be. She looked over at Zach, her tear-filled eyes pleading with him to rescue her.
But Zach still sat quietly, sawing at his binds with the piece of glass. If Henry had been watching, he would have seen Zach’s face turning red and the veins in his arms and neck bulging out from his skin. His arm muscles trembled and quivered violently as he pulled his arms apart from each other. He could feel the fibers of the duct tape that was binding him starting to fray and rip, one by one. And slowly but surely, his arms came farther and farther apart.
Henry gripped Abby’s naked thigh with one hand to hold her still as he worked to undue his belt with the other. He had gotten his pants halfway down when suddenly there was a loud tearing sound. He looked up just in time to see Zach charging forward like a goaded bull! He barely had time to step back and buckle up his belt before Zach jumped up and Superman-punched him in the head.
Despite Henry’s huge size, he was sent reeling backwards. Zach hit him again and then again, following up with a round kick to the gut, slamming Henry against the wall. The whole building shook as dust fell from the roof and the wood behind Henry fractured. Without losing any momentum, Zach stepped forward and delivered a powerful front kick into Henry’s stomach again. The wall shook again as several holes in the wood broke open behind Henry. Zach took a couple steps back, ran forward, and jumped, planting both of his feet high on Henry’s chest.
The force of Zach’s kick, plus Henry’s huge size, combined with the old, time-worn wood of the garage punched an opening in the wall, sending Henry stumbling out into the heavy rain. He lay groaning in the mud as Zach quickly set about getting Abby free.
“Hurry, Zach!” she screamed. He first undid the restraints at her wrists and then her legs. As soon as she was free, Abby rolled off of the bedframe and pulled her underwear and trousers back up.
“Go get our stuff! Go, GO!” Zach yelled. Abby took off into the rain, back towards the house, as fast as she could run. Zach went over to the new hole in the wall and saw Henry struggling to his feet. He charged forward again and spear tackled Henry into the ground.
He stood up and stomped on Henry’s head. He tried again, but Henry caught his foot and flipped Zach onto his back. But as soon as he hit the ground, Zach rolled toward one side and then violently torqued his body back towards Henry, smashing his nose with his elbow. They both got up quickly, and Henry swung wildly at Zach.
Henry may have been a giant, but Zach was a deadly human weapon. He dodged Henry’s fist and hit him in the ribs. Henry tried to hit him with a straight left, but Zach dodged again and kicked Henry’s inner thigh as hard as he could. The sudden shock to his femoral artery brought Henry down to one knee, allowing Zach to grab Henry’s head and slam his knee into his face repeatedly. Henry slumped forward, falling to his hands and knees when Zach released him, but then flew backwards as Zach kicked him in the head. Zach wasted no time in mounting himself on top of the fallen colossus and began to hit him again and again, trying to crush his skull with his fists.
Meanwhile, Abby had unlocked the closet and retrieved their weapons. She stuffed the pistols and knives into her pack quickly and then threw it on her left shoulder. She picked up Zach’s ruck, winced at its heaviness, and then put it on her right shoulder. She picked up Zach’s rifle and was about to go when she noticed a set of keys sitting on the counter. They looked like the keys to the truck outside. She figured that they might need these to get away safely so she grabbed them and then rushed back outside.
She ran back to the garage to find Zach sitting on top of Henry, smashing his face in with his fists. She could see that Henry was still breathing, but he was not moving. He couldn’t even move his head or lift his arms to defend himself. Still Zach kept hitting him.
Zach had once told Abby that he had a demon inside of him. He said that this demon had showed up when he first went to war and had transformed him from a boy into a warrior, a professional killer. It kept him alive during all those years at war, but at the price of becoming a permanent part of Zach. He kept it chained up in the deepest, darkest pit of his heart, and that’s where it usually stayed. But it fought this imprisonment. It would rattle its chains and shake the walls. Zach was usually good about keeping it incarcerated, but here and there, only in the most dangerous and infuriating of situations, the demon would win the fight and then Zach could not control it.
Abby had always thought that Zach had just been attempting a type of dark poetry to allude to his warrior spirit. She had never seen him get truly angry. In fact, he rarely even became frustrated. But now Abby could see that Zach had been speaking as close to literally as one could get. She almost didn’t recognize Zach in this state. His eyes glinted with a savage glow. He grunted hoarsely like an animal each time he hit Henry. The blood on his face and hands gave him a terrifying visage. He actually looked like the demon he had described, and it scared Abby a little.
Despite what Henry had done to her, the innocence of Abby’s golden heart took over and she felt pity for this broken man. Surely no one deserved to die like this, not even one who inflicted painful deaths on others.
Zach stood up now, and for a moment Abby was relieved, thinking that he had decided to end his onslaught. But Abby’s hopes of a merciful end to the violence were dashed as she watched Zach saunter over to a huge rock just to the side of the dirt driveway a few feet away. He bent down and wrapped his arms around it. He grunted and his legs trembled as he struggled to lift it, but he finally got it up to his chest. Abby’s jaw hung open in shock as she realized Zach’s cruel intentions. She had to end this!
“Zach, stop!” she cried.
Zach looked up, saw Abby, and said, “Look away, Bug.” His voice was dark and deep and it had a menacing tone that chilled Abby. He then took a step towards Henry.
“No, Zach! Don’t kill him!”
Zach looked dumbfounded. “Abby, he needs to die!”
“No, he doesn’t! He can’t hurt us anymore! Just stop!”
“But-”
“I know what he did, what they all did. You killed them because you had to. I understand that. But Henry can’t even lift up his head. He can’t hurt us anymore. Give him a second chance, Dad. Please. Don’t be like him.”
This last remark really
stung Zach. “Don’t be like him,” she had said. Did it really mean this much to her? Would killing Henry bring Zach down to his level? Zach thought not, but Abby apparently thought so. Losing Abby’s respect and admiration, and ultimately her love, was the last thing that Zach wanted.
Zach saw the fiery conviction in her deep grey eyes, a fire that burned even hotter than the one in his heart. He knew that Abby had taken her stand and would not be moved. He sighed as his demon was once again wrapped in chains. He cast the rock he was holding to the side and then crouched over Henry. “That girl just saved your life. Remember that,” he whispered.
He got up and walked over to Abby. She wrapped her arms around him and said, “I’m proud of you, Dad.”
“Thanks, Bug,” he replied. Abby handed Zach the truck keys as he shouldered his ruck and grabbed his rifle. She followed him over to the nearby truck as he unlocked the doors and they tossed their packs on the floor.
“Is that…is that all you got, you…fucking pussy?” Henry called as he slowly rolled himself over, struggling to speak. “You don’t got…the balls to kill me! Come finish this! There’s one Marshall left standing! Come finish this, you…mother…fucker!”
Zach looked back at Henry. He was on his knees, breathing heavily, his arms hanging limply by his sides. He wanted to oblige that monster’s request, but Abby took his hand and said, “Be the bigger man, Zach. Let’s go.” Zach nodded and then got into the truck with Abby, slamming the door closed.
“Don’t you dare drive away from me, boy! You will rue the day that you left me here!” Henry shouted but Zach and Abby ignored him. Zach slid the key into the ignition, turned it, and listened as the old engine sputtered to life. He glanced in the rearview mirror only once to see Henry still sitting there, murder in his eyes. Then Zach put the truck into drive and slowly rolled down the dirt lane. They exited through the gate that they had come in through, leaving the Marshall Farm behind them forever.
Abby turned the rearview mirror towards her and saw her face. Using the bottom of her shirt, she vigorously wiped her face clean of the spoiled make-up, crying softly as she did. She wanted to erase every last memory of that horrible nightmare of a house.
Zach looked at her with a broken heart. He could see her hands trembling and the paleness of her skin. He couldn’t even imagine the terror that Abby had felt just a few minutes ago and it killed him to see her so traumatized. How could he have let this happen to Abby? He should never have let them get into that situation. They should have left before their guns were taken away. But he let it happen anyway, and he had allowed Abby to be exposed to unspeakable horror. This was his fault, and he hoped Abby could one day forgive him.
“If…you want to talk about-” Zach slowly started to say.
“No,” Abby interrupted, her tone curt.
“Okay,” Zach replied, nodding his head.
Abby finally got her face clean and then slumped back into her seat. She looked at Zach, who was concentrating on the rough road, and saw all the blood, cuts, and bruises on his head and arms. His right eye was almost swollen shut, and the gash in the side of his head from the 2x4 looked awful. He had suffered so much pain for her, because of her, and he had spoken not one word of complaint or how she should have listened to him in the first place.
How could she have let this happen to Zach? She should never have forced him to go down there. They should have just moved on with what food they had. But she was too immature to see the big picture like Zach had. She hadn’t felt what Zach had obviously felt. And now she had allowed him to be exposed to unspeakable pain. This was her fault, and she hoped Zach could one day forgive her.
They drove for a few minutes in silence. Suddenly they said in unison, “I’m sorry.” Both of them looked shocked that the other was apologizing.
“I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you,” Abby said.
“No, I’m sorry I didn’t get us out of there sooner,” said Zach. Then they were silent again. Abby scooted across the bench-style seat and leaned into Zach.
“Hold me,” she whispered. Zach wordlessly slipped his arm around his daughter and held her close to him while he drove, and Abby began to cry softly again.
She was still shivering from the cold rain, but leaning against Zach made her feel warm. She never felt safer than when she was in her father’s arms. He would always protect her. So long as his heart beat in his chest, he would not allow any harm to come to Abby. She listened to the rhythmic drumming of the rain against the metal roof of the truck and soon fell asleep. This time, she did have a dream, about a time years ago when she and Zach had a home and a peaceful life…
“Do you remember Pythagorean’s Theorem?” Zach asked.
“a2 + b2 = c2” Abby answered.
“Good. And what is that used for?”
“To find the length of the long side of an acute triangle.”
“Very good, Bug!” Zach said. He had only been with Abby for two months, but already she was turning out to be a very bright young girl. She was not quite thirteen years old, and she could already grasp some of the basics of geometry, a subject most kids are not introduced to until they are in high school.
Zach had been giving her school lessons for about ten days now. On a scavenging trip to a nearby town, he had come across a school. Most of the things inside had been looted, but a surprising number of textbooks, reams of paper, and writing utensils were still scattered throughout the building. So he took some of these back with him. Abby was starting to warm up to him as her dad, and he wanted to find more activities he could do with her. And teaching her was not only helpful to her, but it made him feel more like her father. And so, every day, they spent some time on different lessons.
Abby loved it. She had enjoyed going to school in the ‘Before Times’, and getting to learn things again was exciting. She didn’t know it yet, but she was very smart and could quickly learn things that most people did not learn until they were several years older than her. She also appreciated how much effort Zach put into it. He was good at English related subjects, and knew a lot about history, but math had never been his strong suit. Sometimes Abby would see him reading the mathematics textbook at night, teaching himself so that he could teach her.
He was a good dad, gave her nothing but love, and had always treated her as if she was his own flesh and blood. He went to great lengths to provide her with not only the basics for life, but also some luxuries whenever they could be found.
Yes, Abby loved Zach. She had never had a father in her life, and now she knew what she had been missing out on all those years. She was his little princess, and he would do anything for her. But she was a good girl, and had vowed to never take advantage of his love for her.
Because he was always doing nice things for her, she wanted to do something nice for him. So late that night, when Zach was sleeping, she went over to his chest of supplies and took out some survival cord. She cut a long strand off and took it back to her bed. Using a match, she lit the tiny candle that sat on the dresser next to her bed and began to make a bracelet out of the survival cord.
She put her hair up into a ponytail and stuck the tip of her tongue out at the corner of her mouth, a habit of hers whenever she was concentrating on something really difficult. She had seen one of these bracelets in the ‘Before Times’, and had watched a video on YouTube that showed how to make them. But that had been over a year ago, and she tried to recall to memory how exactly it was done. She also did not know how big Zach’s wrist was, so she had to guess. She really hoped it would fit right. Finally, about an hour later, she finished it. She slid it under her pillow, blew out the candle, and then went back to sleep.
The next morning, after Zach had prepared breakfast and called her over to the table, she ran up with a big grin on her face, holding her hands behind her back. Zach smiled and said, “What’s got you so happy this morning?”
“Open your hands, and close your eyes, and I will give you a big surprise!” she said in a
sing-songy voice. Zach chuckled and did as he was told, holding out one open hand and closing his eyes. Abby placed the bracelet in his hand and said, “Open!”
Zach opened his eyes, and when he saw what she had made for him, smiled wide and said, “Abby, this is wonderful! Did you make it all by yourself?”
“Uh-huh! I did it last night!”
“I love it! Thank you so much!” Zach said as he gave Abby a big hug. Then she stepped back, but had a moment of fear when he started to wrap the gift around his wrist. “Oh, I hope it’s not too small!” she thought. But it fit about as perfectly as it possibly could. Abby relaxed noticeably and smiled again.
Chapter Four
Unfortunately, the truck had very little gas left, and it had barely lasted an hour before running out completely. Zach turned the headlights off and sat back with an exasperated sigh. He was exhausted and his body was sore all over. He glanced in the mirror and grimaced at his reflection. The right side of his head had a huge gash in it, and dark, dried blood clung to his hair and ran all the way down to his throat. His face was bruised, and he bled from his nose.
But it was worth it. Abby was unhurt, and that’s all that mattered. She was more important than life itself to Zach, and he would do whatever it took to protect her. She was still asleep, her head leaning against Zach.
It was still raining outside, but not as heavily as before, Zach noted. Hopefully it would be clear by morning. Zach made sure the doors were locked and then sat up straight. He would let Abby sleep until sunrise, he decided, but he’d stay awake to keep watch. He gently lifted Abby and scooted her back towards the passenger side a bit so that he could move around and stay awake. She stirred and made a noise, but did not wake up.
His Name Was Zach Page 6