Rounding the passenger side of the car, she had scanned the road, spotting a pile of rags. She had walked toward the rags, holding her breath against hope, praying . . .
“Get the fuck back here, Lorna.”
She had turned to see Seth’s purple face, spittle collecting on his lips as he had screamed at her again. The familiar dread had seeped into her pores, setting her nerves on end. Oh my God, he did something bad again, I know it.
Ignoring Seth’s protests, she had continued on. She had heard his furious footsteps behind her as she had approached the blood-soaked rags, the fixed stare of a young boy with his bloody hands still holding his dying dog by the leash. The large short-haired dog’s tail had wagged uncertainly as Seth had grabbed her arm and turned to viciously stomp on the dog’s head; once, twice, until the tail lay limp.
“You stupid bitch, didn’t I tell you what would happen if you gave me any trouble?”
He had slapped her hard, her face numb, stars swirling in the darkness of her mind. As she had wiped blood from her split lip with the back of her skeletal hand, he had continued to rail at her, demonic eyes flaming.
“We don’t have time for this. How would you like me to dump Jennifer right here by the side of the road?”
Lorna’s gaze had turned back to the two motionless lumps on the road as the enormity of what had actually happened registered.
“You ran them down deliberately, didn’t you, Seth?” Her voice had pierced the cold air, low and deceptively calm.
“Get the fuck back to the car, Lorna. That tire isn’t going to change itself.”
Lorna had balled her fist, unwilling to let it go. “You sick piece of garbage, I will not allow you to kill anymore.”
Seth had shut his mouth and stared at Lorna. He had looked her up and down, slow and insolent. The gleam in his eyes had brightened as his face had lit up with a brilliant sick smile.
Suddenly the click of a dozen rifles had sounded, the clicks themselves no less shocking as their bullets might be. A voice had carried crisply across the cool air. “Are you going to answer the nice lady, Seth? She wants to know if you ran them down deliberately.”
Seth’s face had drained of color as they were surrounded by a motley group of men of various ages and states of emaciation who had appeared up on the ridge that separated the access road from the freeway: lean and hungry looking men.
A tall man in his late forties had nodded his head toward the dead boy. Another shorter man, his beard wild and matted, had scrambled down to lean over him. His hand had gone to his face, now awash in anguish. His broken voice had carried back to the tall man, who appeared to be their leader.
“Doc, it’s too late. He’s gone, Dukie too.”
The man called Doc had clenched his teeth and ambled down the ridge to make his way to Lorna and Seth. The other men had closed in. With a nod from Doc, two men had slipped behind Seth, wrenching his arms behind his back, and had snapped on a pair of plastic cuffs. Doc had turned to face Lorna. He had given a measured nod.
“Madam, I presume from the conversation we just overheard that you and ol’ Seth here are not exactly friends?”
Lorna had tried to consider her answer but her thoughts had raced so fast she couldn’t formulate a plan. With her heart tripping madly, she had decided some version of the truth would be best. She couldn’t afford to piss off Seth, there was no telling what he would say or do. What if he told the men about Clyde’s shelter? They might want to try to break in themselves.
Lorna had stolen a glance at Seth. If only I could use these men to break away from him. She had quickly considered her dilemma, remembering they were almost out of gas and would be forced to carry Jennifer the rest of the way. Can I do that on my own? In my condition? Oh Lord, I think I’m going to need Seth after all.
“I’m Doctor Benjamin. Just call me Benjamin, or Doc . . . or royally pissed off.”
His stern but respectful countenance, precise diction and clear intelligence had suggested to Lorna that she might be able to leave here peacefully if she was careful. Doc Benjamin had motioned with his hand to his men who hastened to remove the remains of the boy and his dog.
“But I am a reasonable man, so I will ask you again, who are you and what is your relationship to Seth here?”
Lorna had begun to quaver as she had seen the car door open in the distance. Oh no, baby, stay in the car. She had watched as Suzy had stepped out of the car to see what was going on.
“Keep your mouth shut, Lorna. I’ll handle this.” Seth’s voice had clearly carried a menacing undertone. With that, Benjamin had leaned over to give Seth a backhand, knocking him to the ground.
“Did you hear me ask the lady a question? Is your name, madam? Do you need some help with your hearing? Avery . . .” he called out.
A behemoth-like Avery would have stood out no matter what the prevalence of food was. But Lorna’s attention had been drawn to the equally enormous machete gripped in his ham-like paw.
“I want you to help Seth here with his hearing. I need him to understand who I’m speaking to.”
With those instructions, Avery had bent over, reaching down to tug on Seth’s ear. With one deft stroke, he had removed the ear, his machete slicing deftly through skin and cartilage. Lorna had not been sure Seth had understood what had happened, even as blood had flowed down the side of his head to mix with the dirt and blood left by the boy and his dog.
To Lorna’s mortification, Seth had begun to cry, and Benjamin’s men had hooted and jeered. Lorna had cringed, knowing that if they got away with this, Seth would take his humiliation out on her and the girls. She had shouted out, her words tumbling off her lips. “My name is Lorna. I’m traveling to find my husband. Seth is a traveler I met on the road some months ago. He’s helping me drive. I’m so sorry about this accident. But it was an accident.”
Doc Benjamin had looked straight into Lorna’s eyes as she spoke, causing her to squirm. His eyes had followed her every twitch.
“I must have misunderstood your conversation with ol’ Seth here. I thought you were accusing him of deliberately running our boy down.”
“Oh, no sir . . . I mean, Doctor Benjamin.”
He had moved closer to Lorna, so close she had been able smell his ubiquitous rancid breath. Exhaling her own, he had backed off quickly.
“It was purely an accident, sir. No harm was intended. We’re horrified and stressed by our actions. I didn’t know what I was saying. I’m sure you can understand that.”
Doctor Benjamin had looked from Lorna to Seth.
“I rightly can understand that. But you killed a promising young boy. And that dog of his could have fed my men and the women for a full day. As soon as you compensate us for our loss, you can be on your way.”
Lorna had breathed a sigh of relief as Seth had continued to whimper on the ground. “Oh, right . . . of course. We have water and pots . . .” She had watched Benjamin’s unyielding expression. “And a few blankets . . . I’m sure you could use those. Uh . . . wait.” She had lifted her hand in vain for the men had spotted Suzy.
Benjamin had given Lorna an enigmatic glance, ripe with expectation. “I think we should have no problem coming to a suitable arrangement.”
With that, the men had turned toward the vehicle. Benjamin had put his fingers to his mouth and given a piercing whistle. From over the ridge had flowed a torrent of women—young women . . . with blank faces. They had run to the men, lining up behind each of them. Some girls as young as twelve and possibly less had stood at attention behind the men who had cultivated possessive grins. Some men only had one or two girls, some five or six. Benjamin had none.
“All right now, you know what to do.” And off they had run to the car. Like locusts, they had ripped every thread of cloth, every bit of metal, all of their food and water and their map out of the car. One of the older girls had run back to Benjamin.
“You better come see this, Doc.”
With that, the entire group, minus Seth, had moved over to the vehicle. As Lorna had hurried behind them, Suzy had run into her arms, eyes big and frightened. Lorna had paled, catching a lingering glance from Dr. Benjamin as he had made his way to the back seat of the car, their possessions now strewn about in small piles.
“Who do we have here? Is she sick?” He had hurriedly backed away from the car.
As Lorna had realized Benjamin was a doctor, duh, she had begged him to examine Jen. With a nod, he had pulled a breathing mask out from a pocket, waving for the rest of his gang to hasten and do the same.
From out of their rags, they had all removed a breathing mask. Jealously, Lorna had waited while they put their protection in place. All kinds of diseases were circulating. Many were airborne. In the breakdown of civilization, one of the first things to go was hygiene. When toilets didn’t flush and soap was nonexistent . . . Seth’s plan to stay away from other people by sticking to the back roads and woods had kept them from catching any of the numerous viral diseases that had decimated towns like wind blowing over matchsticks.
Twenty minutes later, Dr. Benjamin had climbed out of the car.
“I can’t see anything wrong with her. She shows no overt symptoms of anything. Without lab work, I’m just guessing, though. Most of my work before the bombs was just guesswork anyway. I don’t even think I’ve ever met a real doctor.”
“You’re not a real doctor?”
Benjamin had looked affronted at her admonishment.
“Well, I am a physician’s assistant. I worked in a hospital for almost twenty years. Don’t you know there are no more doctors? I am the doctor. I’m the best you can get.”
Tiring of the discussion, Benjamin had signaled the women, who picked up Lorna and Seth’s possessions and scurried over the ridge out of sight.
“Whoa, hold on there. You can’t leave us out here with just our car.”
“I’m not going to. Keys, please?”
“I don’t have them.”
As Lorna had watched, a man had run back to Seth to rifle his pockets. Other men had eased Jennifer out of the car and laid her out on the ground. Lorna had raced to her side.
“Get your hands off her.”
Benjamin had flicked the recovered keys to another man. Lorna had stared as he drove off with the car. All had been quiet as they waited for the car to return. Ten restless minutes had passed before the car had returned, stopping in front of Lorna. Stuck in the open back had been a child’s wagon, modified to carry possessions with a tightly secured board, creating a large platform from which to load.
“You have got to be kidding me.” Lorna had watched as the modified wagon had hit the ground and the vehicle had driven off again.
“On the contrary, dear woman, you don’t know me so I will forgive you. Does it look like I am a kidder?” Benjamin’s eyes had bored into her own, then he had glanced again at Suzy. “Please help Seth to his feet, gentlemen.”
He had signaled to his men. Seth had hobbled over to Lorna, his cheeks tear-stained, his pride in Benjamin’s pocket. Lorna had tried not to look at the blood leaking from his missing ear.
From over the ridge had run one of the young girls who, with an encouraging nod from Benjamin, had proceeded to quickly bandage Seth’s ear. She had stepped back and run off back over the ridge. Benjamin had inspected her work.
“Not bad, she’s improving.” He had turned to Lorna. “I think we may be even now. I think it is time for you to move on . . . before I change my mind.” He had smiled encouragingly.
“But we won’t survive without our things. I demand you return our water.” Lorna had stood tall. From nowhere, Benjamin’s arm had shot out to grab Lorna’s arm in a death grip, the pain forcing her to stagger and drop to her knees.
“My dear, I’m sure my pleasing affect and melodiously educated voice has convinced you there is some way you can reason with me. I assure you that will not happen. You are beginning to test me and I don’t care to be challenged. That is a mistake. Avery?” The giant had come to attention.
“I want you to remove my gift of the wagon and take your machete . . . what is the young lady’s name?”
Lorna had paled, all blood rushing from her face. She had felt as if she would faint. Benjamin’s fingers had dug deeper into her arm, the pain fighting with the mind she had thought she was losing.
“Her name,” he had roared.
“Jen—Jennifer.” Lorna had forced the word but it had come out as a whisper.
“I want you to take your machete, Avery, and slit Jennifer’s throat.”
Avery had moved toward Jennifer.
“No! Please. Come on, Seth, Suzy. Let’s get Jen into the wagon.” She had turned to Benjamin, who released her arm. “We’ll go. Thank you for your . . . your gift.” She had bowed her head, pushing Suzy and Seth over to the wagon.
Before they had been able to take an extra breath, Benjamin’s men had appeared behind them.
“Just one minute, my dear. Your transgression requires further payment.”
Lorna had spun around, suddenly frightened by the proximity of Benjamin’s men.
“Further payment?” Her voice had squeaked with incomprehension, her features stiff and glacial.
On a signal from Benjamin, the men had surrounded Lorna, separating her from Suzy. They had passed the little girl from hand to hand, rushing her toward the ridge.
“Grandma, don’t let them take me,” Suzy had shrieked.
She had fallen to the ground, her fingers digging into the dirt, trying to claw her way back. “No, no, no, Gram, Seth . . . don‘t let them take me.”
One of the men had reached down and thrown her over his shoulder.
“Nooooooo . . .”
They had quickly disappeared over the ridge as her little girl’s screams had faded into the dark. Lorna had dropped to the ground sobbing. Avery had knelt with his machete to Jennifer’s throat.
“Look at me.” Benjamin’s voice had cut through Lorna’s sobs like the edge of a stiletto. She had raised her head slowly.
“I suggest you and the worthless Seth put the other young lady in the wagon and be off.”
“But Suzy’s only five years old. Paleesee,” she had begged pitifully. “We can’t just leave her. Take me instead.”
“You?” He had sounded incredulous. Laughingly he had added, “I admire your spirit, my dear, but you are simply unsuitable. I assure you, she will be well trained with the rest of the girls. The training is quite rigorous but most come through without scars. The young are quite malleable. There have been a few suicides but they would have proved unsuitable anyway.”
Lorna had wiped her tears with the corner of her torn shirt. “Suicide? Unsuitable?” she had numbly asked. “But why? Training? What are you going to do to my baby?” Lorna had rubbed her hands through her scraggly hair, her split nails raking down the sides of her face. She had doubted if she could take anymore, her mental reserves bankrupt.
“Don’t worry, my dear, I will personally take her under my wing. Unlike my men, I have yet to take a woman as my concubine. She will be my first.”
With the shock permanently imbedded in Lorna’s face, Benjamin had turned on his heels. As he had slipped over the ridge, his last words had echoed in her ears, never to be forgotten.
Seth had spoken up for the first time, as if nothing of any great significance had just happened, his voice regaining strength as he spoke. “Well, time to get the show on the road.” He had tried to lift Jennifer, to no avail.
“Are you going to just sit there and mope or are you going to help? They might decide to come back. I’m sure they saw me as a threat and might want to force me to join them. That would leave the two of you alone. You really need me now.”
“Oh yeah, I’m sure they’re scared of you.”
Lorna had tried to stand, her legs weak, her stamina beaten down, her thoughts and prayers on Suzy.
“What
did you say?” The gleam of control had been back in his eye.
She had witnessed his hands draw up into a fist. Unwilling to be a punching bag for a cowardly psycho again, she had pulled herself together, thought about how they could rescue Suzy, and had stepped forward to calmly face the man who she knew she would be forced to kill before she found her way to her husband with both of her granddaughters safely in tow.
*
Lorna’s neck had developed a crick and she adjusted her position on the bathroom floor, withdrawing her feeble hand from under Jennifer’s rags, her granddaughter clearly back in the grip of a deep coma.
She had yet to find the proper moment to fulfill her promise made the day they had lost Suzy. Lost? Was that the word she was using to convince herself that she needed to let Seth live? Without his cunning, she would never make it to Clyde and salvation. Her heart shriveled as she wondered what she had become.
Inching closer to Jen, Lorna caved into despair and closed her eyes.
The End
Dear Reader,
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