by A. M Martin
The storage door of the gym bangs open pulling me out of my memory. I jump a little at the noise. Shit that scared me, at least I didn't scream like Tara.
Vanessa and Tony walk out and look just as stunned to see us as we do to see them.
Tara recovers first and I stare like a fool. I was not expecting anyone to be here.
“What were you guys doing in there?”
Tony and Vanessa share a glance.
Vanessa smiles and giggles.
“Nothing,” Tony says. He tries to sound innocent, but fails miserably with his smirk.
I roll my eyes. Idiots. The whole lot of them are nothing but idiots.
“What are you two doing?” He crosses his arms looking at us like we were in the wrong by being in the gym.
And we are. No one is supposed to be here when the market closes down.
“The greys are here,” Tara rushes out as she steps forward. “Nikki is leaving. She says it's not an honor to go with them like the elders told us. Umm... I'm going with her.”
Vanessa's face goes white as a sheet, the more Tara talked. She obviously knows the real reason for the greys.
14
I leave all three of them in the middle of the room staring after me as I go through the door to 'their love shack'.
I scan the shelves with the flashlight, I grab what I was after and head back out of the small room. My heart pounding too fast to be considered normal.
Tony's asinine laugh follows the click of the door closing behind me.
“You’re crazy Nikki.”
“Maybe I am,” I reply as I walk towards the three of them standing by mine and Tara's packs.
When they finally see what I have clutched in my hands, Tony laughs again and Tara's eyes go wide.
“Maybe she's not crazy Tony,” Vanessa's says in a quiet tone that stops his laugh.
“Wait. What?” He asks, looking confused.
Picking up the pack I made sure everything was zipped up and start strapping it on, listening to the two of them.
“The greys are here,” Vanessa gasps. “I just turned twenty. They'll take me.”
“What, no. You’re with me. They can't take you. That's not the deal,” Tony shouts.
I look at Tara just standing there and snap my fingers. She looks at me and I point to her pack. She scrambles for it, never looking away from Tony and Vanessa. Her mouth was gaping wide, eyes flickering between the two.
“I'm the only female within the age range.” Vanessa whispers, her hands clutched at her chest.
Tony's face grew pale. “No. They can have Nikki.” He says, pointing a finger my way. His face is red with frustration or fear. Who knows when it comes to him?
I snort. Like I'd let that happen, maybe over my dead body, but I’d put up one hell of a fight.
“But I thought it was an honor to be chosen. Why are you so afraid?” Tara asks, tears shining on her cheeks.
“They lie to the younger kids Tara. How can you not know this?” Tony snaps out, pulling at his short blond hair.
Now that my pack is on, I slide the metal baseball bat, I took from the storage room in-between my lower back and the pack. I tighten up the straps. I don't want the ball bat to fall out.
“You know Josie?” Vanessa asks quietly.
“Loon Josie?” I say making sure she's talking about the same person I'm thinking of.
She turns away from Tony and snaps at me, “She is not a loon. She's traumatized.”
“Ain’t we all.” I mumble.
"What. Why?" Tara gasps.
Does she even know what traumatized means?
“She was one of the honored ones,” Vanessa says darkly, doing air quotes.
I hook the bow and arrows on the hooks hanging off the pack. I clip them on several different places. I'll have to come up with something different when I can. At the moment I just want miles of trees to be between me and this damn place.
“How long?” I ask.
“She was there for two years. The only one who ever came back and she doesn't talk about it.”
“She doesn't talk at all. She just looks at the sun all day.” I reply.
“Who knows what happened to her to make her that way.” She turns to Tony, “She's a runner, we can make it out there with her help,'' she says with a begging tone to her voice.
“Tara get your pack on and go grab a bat.” I snap seeing her holding onto her pack with both her hands, still watching the mess of Tony and Vanessa.
Tara grabs the flashlight I hold out as she passes by me.
I stoop low to the floor, and pick up the thick blue blanket I had laid down earlier. Hooking it through the left shoulder strap and making sure it doesn't hang down in the way of my legs. It would be stupid to trip over a damn blanket.
With Vanessa and Tony still talking, they paid me little mind as I eat up the distance between me and the side door leading right to the back fence. Which leads to my freedom.
“I'm leaving,” I say a little loudly to get everyone's attention. Tara hurries to my side as Tony and Vanessa look towards me.
“Please Tony,” Vanessa pleads.
“How do we even know it's a collection? Because the snotty brat says so,” Tony sneers at Tara who in turn whimpers, scooting closer to me.
Why can't they just leave us alone? I'm running on a small window of time and it's shrinking by the seconds.
“They killed Paul,” I sneer back and watch both Tony and Vanessa grow pale. “There's at least twenty pets out there and who knows how many hounds.” I say pointing out the window above us.
“I thought the greys were here. What are you talking about?” Vanessa asks.
I don't even answer. I turn towards the door and look down. A nice shiny chain with a lock is threaded through the double doors. Preventing anyone from entering or leaving. A groan slips past my lips.
“What! What is it?” Tara says, jumping from foot to foot looking everywhere.
“A lock.” I snap out.
“Oh.” A small smile comes on Tara's face but in seconds it's gone, replaced by a frown, “What are we going to do now?”
I reach in the top of my shirt and pull out two thin lock picks stashed in my bra. Kneeling in front of the evil lock I insert both lock picks slowly and going by feel I try to find the grooves inside the lock, hoping to pop it open without the damn key. It's a hit or miss sometimes.
“Wow, you know how to pick locks,” Tara gushes, looking over my shoulder.
“Yeah, kind of.” I bit the inside of my check till I taste the coppery flavor of my blood. “I taught myself. It came in handy.”
We. Cora. God, how I miss her. Miss them.
“Fine,” Tony mutters in defeat.
“Where are you even going?” He snaps out at my back.
“Away from here,” I mumble.
“You don't know where you're going?”
“No.”
“See. I told you V. She's crazy.”
I smile when the lock pops open and look over my shoulder at Tony. “Yeah and the crazy ones live.”
There's more heated whispering between the two.
“We're coming with you,” Vanessa says.
My hand pauses on the door handle. I turn around, narrowing my eyes. She looks like she's about to go on a trip to Disney and Tony looks plain pissed off.
A sneer breaks out on my face. “You two don't have any packs. You're not using what's in mine.”
It's harsh, I know that. But I aim to survive as long as I can. My eyes close as our last moments fill my vision.
◆◆◆
My arms are hooked around Cora’s thin shoulder. Hers around my neck as we hobble, skip, and run down the cracked asphalt. I swallow hard as I see the trail of blood we're leaving behind. Cora's right arm is wrapped around her stomach.
“I can't.” She gasps, falling to her knees and taking me with her.
“Please Cora.” Tears run down my face, leaving tracks in the soot as I look at my s
ister. My last family member.
Her pale face scrunches up in pain as a racking cough shakes her body. Her other arm wraps around her stomach, which is cut open like a gutted fish.
I watch as dark blood drips on the road.
I clench my fists and hold back my screams. It wouldn't help. The screaming. Sure, it might make me feel better for a few seconds, but it wouldn’t help.
I look towards the small yellow house across the street. Most of the paint is gone and the windows are busted out. It will have to do. It's better than staying on the road. Staying out in the open where anything could see us.
“Just a little longer,” I whisper, pulling her back to her feet. She whimpers but helps me help her climb back onto her shaky legs.
I take most of her weight as we head up the broken stairs and through the once white door hanging on by one lonely screw. We walk right into the living room and I gently lower her on the couch. The only furniture left intact.
She looks up at me from the dusty couch. I wince at her bloodshot eyes and the line of blood trailing out of the corner of her mouth.
“Don't quit,” she whispers, fresh tears glistening in her eyes.
“I won't.”
I go to get up. I need to find something to help. Anything. We're not new to cuts or the like. Surviving like we are. Living like we are, you’re sure to have your share of battle scars.
There might be something in this house that someone missed. They took our bags when they jumped us and not having time to look for them when we escaped, we have nothing to help her with. Nothing! I haven’t felt this damn hopeless in a long time.
“Nikki.”
I stop and bend back down, so I can hear her speak. She's already so weak. My heart clenches, bringing more pain than I've felt in a while.
“You can't fix this.”
I open my mouth.
“No Nik.” She shakes her head and a gasp comes from her bloody lips. “You can’t fix it this time.” Her eyes close as she grimaces in pain.
“This is it. I'm going to see mum and Amy. Dad and Dallas. Jason” A smile lights up her face.
I grip one of her bloody hands with both of mine, our blood mingling together, sitting down on the couch beside her. Shaking and trying to breathe from my fear. From the dread and the helplessness.
“It will be ok.” She gasps, which turns into a coughing fit.
I just squeeze her hand tighter. Knowing she's right, that this is it. And there's nothing I can do to stop it. I can't stitch her up and close the wound. I bite my lip.
“You have to survive Nik. Keep on going. Be alive. Live.” Her voice is nothing but a murky whisper. A dying breath.
I shake my head. Tears run down my face as my heart battles to burst from my chest.
“Do it for me. Do it for them. Live Nikki.”
I look into her honey brown eyes and finally see a sense of peacefulness that's been missing for so long. Maybe she's the lucky one.
I nod.
“I'll live,” I whisper hoarsely as the light dies from her eyes.
◆◆◆
“Nikki.”
Snapping fingers in my ears brings me out of my memories.
I look up at Tara who shuffles backwards. There was a strange look on her face.
I wipe the tears off my face and look around.
I'm not at that house anymore with my dying sister. I'm here in this gym. Leaving so I can live. Because of Cora. Because of them.
Her voice still echoes in my head. “Do it for them. For me, Live.”
“Are you okay?” Tara whispers, frightened.
I nod. I'm not okay. And that's fine, but I'm going to live.
“Where did they go?”
“To get their things,” Tara says looking at me with glossy eyes.
I nod and turn back to the door. My hand is on the cool metal handle. This is it. It's time to run. It's time to live.
15
Cracking open the door, I peek out into the darkness. It looks as clear as I can tell. I don't dare to flick on the flashlight though. It would help, but it's a beacon from us saying, ‘'We're here. Right here. Come and get us.'
Taking in a much-needed deep breath, I hold it and listen. The night sings with its normal songs. The crickets chirp, the frogs croak and the rushing sound of water in the river fills my ears. Normal sounds. Here goes nothing.
Without taking my eyes from the blackness stretching out around us I whisper, “We are leaving. Climbing over the fence, across the river and up the hill into the trees. You need to be fast. Quiet.”
The hair-raising howl is like a gunshot starting a race. I bolt from the brick building, sprinting as fast as I can. Keeping the noise of my pounding feet as quiet as I can.
“Keep close,” I breathe out.
I turn the corner of the building and Tara is right on my heels emitting a quiet whimper. I don't blame her for the whimpering fear. I feel it as well in the back of my mind. Fighting for dominance over me. I won't let it win, at least not yet. I need to get out first, far away from this place and then I'll let my whimpers out and probably a few tears too. I’ve survived worse. I’ll survive this.
I skid into the fence, hitting it with a soft cling. I wince at the noise, holding my breath. When I don’t hear anything, I let my air out.
Standing on my tip-toes, I reach up high to the first oval link, slipping my fingers through the small hole. The metal is warm against my sweaty palms. Shoving the tips of my shoes through the holes I start to climb. It's a lot harder than it sounds. Barely holding on with a few fingers and the tips of my toes with a twenty-pound pack attached to my back.
My arms start to shake too soon and I feel sweat break out on my body. My stomach muscles are tense, hell my whole body is, straining to hold my weight as I climb. Staying in this place has made my body go soft. It's not good when you're trying to survive out here on your own.
Tara's soft grunts reached my ears. A small smile comes to my lips. At least I'm not the only person this place made soft.
We've crossed the halfway point on the fence, almost there, when I hear Ben's words.
“One left. A girl named Nikki.”
I bite my lip and move faster. My heart is pumping furiously in my body.
“Look inside,” someone barks.
Idiots, the lot of them. If they had any brains, they never would have made the kind of deal they did with the greys.
It won't be long before they start searching outside.
“Faster Tara.”
I gasp at the fear in my own voice and that scares me even more. I don't have time for this fear. Fear makes you do stupid things and I cannot afford to be stupid. I start moving faster. Grunting and cursing softly under my breath.
Reaching the top, I slip my right hand into the narrow space between the top of the fence and the barb wiring. I clench my already overworked muscles tighter. Holding on with one hand and the tips of my toes, I start untwisting the blanket around the packs strap. It goes faster than I thought and I breathe a sigh of relief when I toss the blanket across the barb wire. God, I hope the blanket is thick enough. I don't feel like getting sliced and diced tonight.
Bringing up one hand, then the other, I squeeze the blanket covered barb wire and begin to pull myself up higher. My left leg swings over the top and hauntingly I go to sit down, straddling the fence. I don't feel any pokes and a breath of hot air whooshes from my mouth. I keep moving. Swinging my right leg over and twisting my torso, my hands are the only thing keeping me from falling. I move my legs and feet, finding the oval opening in the fence. Slipping the tips of my shoes in, I make my way down. Moving much faster than the climb up.
Pausing to take a breather, I raise my head up looking at Tara still on the wrong side of the fence.
“Come on Tara, you gotta move,” I whisper.
I start moving down. I hear her frightened whisper as my feet thump on solid ground.
“I can't. I don't want to get cut. I can't.”
>
I look up and squint my eyes. I see her small body trembling. She really is scared.
“Okay,” I breathe out as calmly as I can. “Deep breath. That's good Tara. Do what I did. One leg at a time. And you’re not going to get cut.”
“Yeah, okay,” she says in a trembling voice and finally gets one leg over.
“You're doing good. Now just get your other leg over and work your way down. It's easier coming down. I promise.”
She listens and very slowly works her way across and down the fence.
There's the sound of victory screams that stop my breath. My heart. They seem to come from every corner of the compound. Shit, they must have found something or someone.
My eyes close. Or they found us.
16
“Come on Tara. Faster,” I snap out, becoming more nervous.
Bouncing from foot to foot, I hear it. Oh god, my heart just stopped. The howls. One right after the other, it all blended together in a terrifying song. I stop bouncing and with dread boiling in my body, I look up.
I see glowing eyes on the roof of the compound, staring at us.
Brown eyes.
Grey eyes.
Red eyes.
Green eyes.
Copper eyes.
Blue eyes.
Six. Six sets of eyes on the roof, locked onto us with their freaky glow in them.
I start to pace back and forth from the fence to the river. My pulse thundering in my ears.
“Jump damn it!” I screech out at Tara. I no longer need to be silent. They know where we are.
She looks at me with wide eyes, silently saying I've lost my mind.
I haven't, not yet and I’m sure as hell not going to lose my life tonight. My head is turning in every direction looking for the glow of eyes.
“Tara, if you don't jump. I'm leaving you on that fence.” I grind out, my hands clenched at my sides.
I'm not going to get caught even if she reminds me of my sister, she's not her. She’s not Amy. Amy died that first week. I told Cora I would live and if that means leaving Tara behind on that fence then so be it. Still a little part of me hopes she will jump. That she will be able to stay with me. And it's not like it's that long of a jump. It's similar to leaping out of a second story window.