“One more minute,” Shawn said in a singsong voice.
Kowalski nodded. “Yeah, that’s right buddy, you can do this! One more minute!”
The prisoner looked like he was about to pass out, the exertion of holding himself up there too much for his aging body. Several of the guards began chanting fall, fall, fall, but he held on, crying with the effort.
“And, time,” Shawn said, sounding almost disappointed, and one of the guards reached up with a long cane to pull the rope against the top of the pen.
As soon as his legs hit the fence, the prisoner let go, and flopped down onto the gym floor with a scream upon impact. Kowalski knelt next to him, wishing he could help him up without his hands tied behind his back.
“That was a hell of a show, buddy,” he said emphatically. “You pissed off a lot of people, I’m proud of you.”
The man nodded, gasping for air. “Thanks,” he rasped.
“Take him back with the others,” Shawn snapped, and two guards dragged the poor prisoner back to the pen.
Kowalski got back to his feet as the blonde led his captive Sergeant over.
“You assholes really need to get laid,” the Private grunted.
Shawn grinned. “Oh don’t worry, we do.”
“Guess I wasn’t that far off with the mouth comment, then,” Kowalski shot back.
“Oh, we have women.” The blonde chuckled. “They’re just… secure.”
The soldiers paled, and exchanged a disgusted look.
“Who knows?” Shawn continued, waving at a set of guards. “If you’re nice, I just might let you visit the pleasure palace before turning you over to your superiors.”
“No thanks,” Kowalski snapped as an armed guy roughly grabbed the back of his collar. “I prefer the old fashioned way of winning the attention of a woman.”
“Suit yourself.” Shawn shrugged and whirled on his heel, heading back to the stairwell they’d originally been aiming for before their little detour to the gymnasium. At the top of the stairs, there was a classroom door with a padlock on the outside, and a crude sign made out of cardboard that read Pleasure Palace. Kowalski clenched his jaw at the sound of sobbing emanating from within.
A few doors down, Shawn stopped and the guards shoved the soldiers into the detention hall.
“It’s not much, but this should keep you comfortable while we run down to storage and secure some communication equipment,” the blonde explained.
Kersey rolled his eyes. “So, you just expect me to call my S.O. and tell him to bring up some food so we can continue on our mission?”
“Pretty much, yep,” Shawn replied with a nod, crossing his arms.
“It’s not gonna work,” the Sergeant assured him. “But you do you, man.”
Shawn chuckled, shaking his head. “We’ll see, soldier boy.” He slammed the door and there was a dull thunk as they locked it from the outside.
Kowalski immediately went over to the window, shoving open the shutter with his shoulder to find bars on the outside. “You would think with this much open real estate they would have thought to build on the right side of the tracks.”
“Who knows, maybe they did,” Kersey replied with a sigh.
“Sarge, how in the hell did things get fucked up this quickly?” the Private demanded, shoving against the shutters in anger. “I mean it’s only been a week and a half and these assholes have gone full on Lord of the Flies cosplay, complete with murder games and a goddamn rape room. Is this what the country is now?”
“Nah, these guys aren’t the norm,” the Sergeant assured him. “Still plenty of good people out there. And once we give them a place to go and a way to get there, we’re gonna rebuild.”
Kowalski rested his forehead against the dusty window in defeat. “I sure hope your right, Sarge. I sure hope you’re right.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Bretz and Mason tore out of the church, the former dry heaving over his own shoes and the latter full-on spewing over the side railing. Bill stood at the bottom of the steps, not having wanted to go inside to look. He plugged his nose with his hand as the putrid smell wafted from the door opening and slamming shut.
“Told ya that you didn’t want to see what was in there,” Linda said, arms crossed and foot tapping.
“Yeah, well, be happy that we did, because now we’re pissed,” Bretz said as he straightened up. “We are going to take these motherfuckers out.”
“Come on, let’s get back to the house,” she waved for them to follower her, glancing up and down the street. “It’s not safe out in the open, especially now that Shawn knows you’re here.”
“Agreed,” the Corporal said, and motioned for the young woman to lead the way. He ushered Bill ahead of him, he and Mason bringing up the rear.
“Told ya these boys are fucked up,” Johnson declared from the couch as the quartet entered the house.
Mason shook his head, still a little green. “Yeah, I could have went without ever seeing that.”
“So, what’s the play?” Baker piped up, leaning forward in his seat.
Bretz took a deep breath. “Don’t know yet. They’ve got snipers on the roof, and god only knows how many armed men inside. Not sure we’re going to have the firepower to take them out.”
“Linda, are there any places in town where we might be able to find some ammo?” Baker asked.
She shrugged and crossed her arms again, taking a seat by the door. “Not that I’m aware of. They did a pretty good job of clearing everything out, at least on this side of town.”
“What about the hotel by the diner?” Mason snapped his fingers.
Linda’s brow furrowed. “What about it?”
“Well, the doors were shut and there were a mess of zombies tied up outside of the place,” the Private replied. “It’s like they were guarding it.”
“It wasn’t like that the last time I went by there,” she mused. “Granted that was before they…” She swallowed hard. “Before they forced me to be their… guest.”
Bretz and Mason shared a puzzled look, but then it dawned on them why she was beaten up in a way that looked a lot more calculated than just random apocalypse scrapes.
The Corporal clenched a fist. “Oh we are definitely taking these assholes out,” he growled.
“Well, anybody here know how to pick a lock?” Bill asked, flopping down on the couch and wincing as his kneecaps crackled.
Johnson raised his hand. “My sister kept losing her keys, so she’d call me to come let her into the house whenever it’d happen,” he piped up. “I kept telling her to just give me a spare, but she said she didn’t feel comfortable knowing there was another key out there.” There was an awkward moment of silence as the group stared blankly at the Private. “Yeah, I know, she wasn’t the brightest bulb in the pumpkin patch,” he said, waving them off. “Lucky for her, she was prom queen and had her a sugar daddy by the time she walked across the stage for graduation.”
Bretz rubbed his forehead. “For future reference, a simple yes will suffice in the future.”
“What can I say?” Johnson grinned. “I’m colorful.”
“All right,” the Corporal continued, “here’s what we’re going to do. Mason, I want you to take Bill back to the train. You sit tight and stay quiet. If there’s trouble, reverse course. If you don’t hear from us by sunrise, y’all continue on without us.”
“Yes, sir,” Mason confirmed.
Bretz glanced around the rest of the room. “As for all of us, we’re going to figure out what’s inside that hotel. If they’re protecting something that much, it has to be something valuable.”
As Mason and Bill stepped towards the front door, the Private grabbed the engineer and jerked him back, dragging him back into the living room. “There’s a patrol,” he said quickly, and everyone leapt to action.
A trio of armed men approached the house, sawed-off shotguns at the ready.
“Fan out boys,” the lead one declared as they entered the front hal
l, “I’ll take the living room. The front door was shut, so somebody’s been up here.” He parted from his companions and moved slowly up the hallway, heading into the living room. A shit-eating grin broke out over his face at the sight of Linda’s slender frame on the couch, with her back turned to him. “Oh, there’s that pretty young thing I like so much,” he drawled, licking his lips. “You ready to come home to daddy, lil’ girl?”
“She’s not going anywhere with you,” Bretz said, voice ice cold as he pressed the barrel of his assault rifle against the back of the guy’s neck. Linda sat up, curling her knees into her chest and watching with wide eyes as the scene in front of her unfolded.
“Boy, you see this here shotgun?” the intruder sneered. “With this spread it’s gonna turn you and everything around you into Swiss goddamn cheese.”
“That’s cute that you think you can do a forty-five degree turn, aim, and fire in the time it would take me to pull the trigger,” the Corporal said.
The guy chewed his bottom lip, his trigger finger twitching a bit. “Hey, maybe you’re right, maybe I’m right, or you know, maybe we both just need to kick it down a notch, talk about things instead of being in a Mexican standoff.”
“Talk about things, huh?” Bretz asked, rolling his eyes. “Why so chatty all of a sudden? Is it because you think your boys are gonna come save the day?” As if on cue, the other two intruders appeared in the other doorway.
They entered, flanked by soldiers, who kicked their knees out from behind them.
“So, here’s what’s gonna happen,” Bretz continued. “You move, I’m gonna shoot you. My friend here is gonna come grab that shotgun, and you’re gonna keep playing statue, we clear?”
His prisoner sighed. “Yeah, we’re clear.”
Johnson stepped forward and grabbed the shotgun, shoving it into the side pocket of his pants. Bretz moved around so he could look at him squarely.
“You did the smart thing, there,” the Corporal said, cocking his head. “Now, I have a few-”
Linda leapt up from the couch and kicked the prisoner between his legs.
He whimpered and dropped like a stone, rolling back and forth on his back. “Oh, you fuckin’ whore,” he groaned.
“Well. I guess I’ll ask my questions in a minute,” Bretz said, and took a step back to watch the show.
Linda’s eyes went maniacally wide, and leaned over to undo the guy’s belt. She tore open the gaudy American flag buckle and ripped the leather from the loops and then straightened up, kicking him in the thigh.
“Roll over, George,” she demanded, but he continued to writhe in pain on the floor. “Roll the fuck over, fat man!”
He still didn’t comply, and she brought her foot down hard on his crotch. Even through his protective hands, the force made him retch with pain.
“Stop, please stop,” he gasped.
She stared down at him menacingly. “Roll. Over.”
She raised her foot again and he complied, rolling onto his stomach. Linda leaned over and looped the belt around his neck, pulling it tight through the buckle to create a tight leash. He gagged as she jerked on it, gasping for air.
She lowered her mouth next to his ear. “You’re my bitch now,” she growled, and then loosened the noose a bit to allow George a breath. She handed the belt over to Bretz. “Hold this for a minute, please.”
The Corporal took the belt in hand, staring down with amusement at his new prisoner.
Linda walked over to the other two on their knees, leaning over to study each of their faces. She squinted as they sweat under her scrutiny, and finally she straightened up.
“Kill the one on the left,” she demanded. “The one on the right did us no harm.”
“Oh god, please, no!” the one on the left begged, shaking his head frantically. “I'm so sorry for what I did to you. Please, I don’t want to die.”
Johnson pursed his lips and looked to Bretz with a questioning gaze. The Corporal gave a little shrug, and his Private swallowed hard.
“Ma’am.” Johnson cleared his throat. “I don’t know if I feel comfortable-”
“Do it,” Linda snapped, “or I’ll do it my goddamn self.”
The prisoner burst into tears, honking sobs like a terrified goose. Johnson ran a hand through his hair, and the woman snarled, reaching over to grab the knife from his belt. He stared, dumbfounded, as she whipped around and got down on one knee, pressing the blade against her offender’s throat.
“You know, I could make this nice and easy for you,” Linda growled. “Jab this into the right spot on your soft little neck, and bleed you out real quick. Just a tiny little prick…” She dropped the blade and tapped the flat of it against the front of his crotch. “Kind of like you.” She cocked her head, returning the knife back up to his cheek. “But I think back to the times you visited me. How you didn’t make it nice or easy for me. And when it was quick, you took your frustrations out on me.” She reached up with her free hand and touched the still fresh wound on her cheek, baring her teeth in a soundless hiss. “I think turnabout is fair play, don’t you?”
He shook his head, still sobbing. “No, please, no, I’m so sorry, I’m-”
She plunged the knife into his belly, right to the hilt, and he made a noise somewhere between a gag and a gasp. Blood gurgled in his throat and he groaned as she twisted the blade, crimson running out over his chin.
“I’d love to keep this up and make you suffer for as long as humanly possible,” Linda said, jerking the knife back and forth in his soft flesh. “But my new friends and I have shit that needs to get done.” She tore the blade hard to the right, slicing open his guts completely.
The body flopped wetly to the floor, innards spilling out onto the carpet, twitching a few times as the life drained out of him.
Linda wiped the blade clean on the back of his shirt and then stood, staring down her nose at the dying man. She spit on him, saliva hitting him square in the forehead, and then turned to Johnson, holding out the knife.
“Thank you,” she said.
He shook his head, and unclipped the sheath from his belt. “Girl, you know how to use that thing better than I do. Why don’t you hang on to it?”
“Much appreciated,” she replied, and graciously accepted the gift, clipping it to the waistband of her pants. She turned to the other prisoner, still on his knees, pale and fearful at the sight of his comrade’s innards all over the floor. “Don’t worry,” Linda continued, “I’m not gonna hurt you. I remember the only time these assholes brought you to us. They tried to force you to partake, and you didn’t. You actually had the balls to stand up to them and do what was right.”
“I’m so sorry,” he blurted, quiet tears spilling down his cheeks as he stared up at her. “I wish I could have done more… I wish I could have stopped them…”
“If you had tried, you would have ended up dead,” she cut in, shaking her head. “I’m not angry at you. However… I do have a question for you, and it’s a real simple one.” She paused for effect, bending to stare down at him. “Are you with Shawn? Or are you with the rest of us?”
“You get Shawn out of the way and I’ll do whatever you want me to,” he said immediately.
She nodded, straightening back up. “Good. Now, I don’t want you to have any conflicting emotions, so we’re gonna leave you tied up here nice and snug while we go take care of the Shawn problem at the school. You okay with that?” She waited for his nod, and then cocked her head. “I don’t remember your name.”
“Charlie,” he replied, just as quickly as before.
She smiled. “Okay, that’s good, Charlie. That’s good. We’ll talk soon.” She turned away from him, and Baker and Johnson took him off to the back room to get him secured and comfortable.
Linda stepped over to Bretz, and took George’s leash. He was much more terrified looking now, unsure of what his fate was going to be at the hands of the avenging angel. She jerked on the belt, causing him to gag and heel next to her.
Linda motioned back towards the church. “There’s an old four-wheeler path that starts about a hundred yards north of the church,” she explained. “It runs east, then south towards the tracks. It’s a bit of a hike, but you shouldn’t have to worry about any patrols.”
“You up for a hike, Bill?” Mason asked, rocking back and forth on his heels.
“Next time I say I can sleep on the train,” Bill replied from his vantage point leaning in the doorway, “y’all do me a favor and let me sleep on the goddamn train. I was supposed to be getting some rest and now I’m going on a fuckin’ nature hike.”
Linda shook her head and leaned over to the Corporal. “He’s a surly one, isn’t he?”
“You have no idea,” Bretz replied.
“I heard that!” Bill called over his shoulder as he headed out with Mason, and there were chuckles all around.
Bretz leaned down and pulled out a zip tie, securing George’s hands behind his back. Linda yanked hard, choking him until he got to his feet, face red from lack of oxygen.
“Well, what do you say we take the new dog for a walk and head down to the hotel?” she asked. “See if we can’t find out what’s in there.”
The Corporal bowed at the waist and motioned to the door with a flourish. “Ladies first.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Goddamn girl, ease up, I’m moving,” George gasped as Linda practically dragged him along the street, leading the trio of soldiers.
She narrowed her eyes and tightened the noose briefly to remind him who was in charge. “You’ll speak when spoken to,” she snapped. She let off a little bit and he coughed.
They reached the parking lot of the hotel, leaving a wide berth from the eight chained zombies in case one of them got loose. They’d been secured with four in the front and four on shorter chains in the back, giving a double line of defense.
Bretz furrowed his brow. “Well. Ideas?”
Baker scratched the side of his face and walked across to one side of the little horde, stepping closer than his group. He jumped up and down and they quickly moved over to him, grabbing at the end of their tethers.
Dead America The Second Week (Book 2): Dead America: Heartland Part 2 Page 5