by Tatiana Xavi
Whatever he saw in the scope was enough to push aside his doubts. As the sun lowered in the sky, I whispered to Daddy, asking what he saw. He shrugged, without looking at me.
“I don’t know. Something big and ugly. And there was more than one of them.”
Glancing back at where we had been, I felt something watching us. Yet by the time we stopped at a little house for the night, I didn’t notice the sensation of being hunted anymore. Ryan also relaxed as he and Morgan ate dinner.
Sitting next to the window, Daddy used the failing light to study a map and figure out the fastest way to reach site four. Based on his frowns, I didn’t think he was happy with our options.
Abner didn’t say much, but Daddy liked him, trusting him more than Ryan. Daddy clearly saw more the night at the camp than he was willing to forgive.
Abner kept watch while the rest of us slept. Around midnight, I awoke from a bad dream where I was trapped under rubble. Waking full of anxiety, I found Abner staring out of the window. When I moved, he didn’t jump. He was calm as if his military training kicked in once the sun went down.
The next time I woke, Ryan was keeping watch while Daddy planned our next move. On the floor, Zippy cuddled next to me and smiled softly.
“Do you feel it, baby?” she whispered.
Still half asleep, I shook my head.
“Neither does your daddy, but Ryan and Morgan do. We need to start walking again.”
Back on the road as the sun came up, Abner brought up the rear, holding the big gun from the truck. While it was heavy, he liked how much damage the big gun could do. Leading us, Daddy moved at an unrelenting speed as if he could mentally will us to site four.
Morgan kept up with the pace in a way that made me think she was worried about what might be hunting us. Ryan was worried too because he spent a lot of time walking backward, maybe afraid to turn his back on the hunters.
Around noon, we paused on a small highway and stared down at a city spread out before us. It wasn’t a very big place, but Overton was once full of restaurants, apartments, and hip stores.
Now it was a ghost town without a zombie in sight. We hadn’t seen zombies since the ones returning from Bellamy’s massacre. Had the monsters hunting us scared off the zombies or did they just eat them?
Something growling forced everyone to turn quickly and aim our weapons. A fleshy thing disappeared into the brush on the less developed side of the highway where all the investment dollars hadn’t been spent before the plague. Half a block up, I saw another creature peek around a house. Soon it was joined by a few others creeping closer.
The creatures seemed to know we were armed and watching them, so I wasn’t sure why they growled. Had they wanted to see our reactions or did they hope to push us toward the ghost town?
“Ryan?” Daddy asked in a tone which invited the younger man to suggest our next step.
“Those are different ones,” Ryan said, staring at where the creatures lurked.
“Evan,” Zippy whispered and pointed down the highway where we were headed.
More creatures prowled, waiting for us to reach their ambush. The growling was a signal from one group to another. Like animals, they didn’t realize we could figure out their game plan.
“I don’t like that city,” Abner said, reaching for his cigarettes.
Daddy touched Abner’s hand and shook his head. “I know it’s hard, bud, but you’ve got to give them up. The smell is a dead giveaway to zombies.”
“There are no zombies here,” Morgan said, frowning at Ryan.
Thinking about the camp, I remembered how the area seemed relatively zombie-free. While many of them might have left, I sensed something had driven them away. Much like something had driven away the zombies from his area.
“We’re getting crowded in,” Daddy said, gesturing in the direction we had come from. “We can move into the city to see if they follow. Or we can keep walking and fight it out with them.”
Daddy was waiting for Ryan’s opinion. We had never run into these creatures in our little patch of the world between the two enclaves. Abner didn’t know what they were either, yet he was willing to shoot through them to avoid entering the city.
The inhuman part of me sensed predators everywhere. Though whether staying on the highway would be any safer than the city, I was pretty sure we were screwed either way.
“Let’s move into the city,” Ryan said. “Notice how those things seem to be on one side of the highway as if the other side is off limits. Maybe we can dodge them.”
“Except what is claiming the other side?” Abner asked, unwilling to go into the city.
His mind made up, Ryan understood if we took on the creatures ahead of us that running would be necessary. Morgan couldn’t keep up, and Ryan would be left behind with her. He obviously hoped the city offered a different outcome.
Next to me, Daddy was tired. Not only physically, but the mental and emotional pain of the last few weeks had finally caught up with him. He seemed uncertain in a way I hadn’t seen him in a long time. Everyone wanted him to solve their problems, but he was just one man, and it had been a long year.
“Daddy, whatever we chose is going to be scary,” I whispered, hugging him. “We’ll do our best.”
“I don’t like getting herded like sheep, and that’s what this feels like.”
Abner nodded. “Whatever’s keeping the city quiet ain’t something I want to meet. We heard all kinds of crazy shit about what happens out here in the Badlands. Candy called them Badlands too. She said the subs are swallowing up more and more of the country. The generals must have thought the same thing because they sent out scouting teams. We’re supposed to see what could be returned to the government. They claimed to be worried about militias and other outlaw types. They also said the zombies couldn’t be controlled, but they hadn’t met Death Girl. I don’t think those generals knew what was happening out here.”
After Ryan helped Morgan over the highway railing, they moved toward the quiet side of the city.
“Those things are waiting for us,” Ryan said, glancing at the lurking predators, “and I’m not giving them what they want.”
“Then you’re on your own,” Daddy told him.
A standoff took place, and I knew Ryan wanted me to side with him, but I didn’t know the correct answer. While the city might bring our deaths, staying on the road could do the same. If the answer were easy, Daddy would have made his choice already. Though he and Abner still didn’t want to go into the city, they looked at the things in the brush on the side of the road and knew we might not make it past them.
For Daddy though, the unknown was preferable to taking me into a deathtrap. As the creatures prowled closer, growing more emboldened as our numbers shrank, Daddy sighed in a defeated way. Climbing over the railing, he helped me and Zippy do the same.
While Abner didn’t want to go it alone, I also sensed he came along so he could protect Morgan, Zippy, and me like he hadn’t protected Candy.
As we walked down the empty streets, Abner hummed a song I couldn’t place until Daddy gave him a bump and told him to be quiet. We’ll Meet Again was a song my grandpa hummed on long summer days. Grandpa died from the plague and Daddy said the old bastard was probably hanging around his house, eating anyone who made the mistake of visiting.
After the first block, I knew we were being watched. The feeling was different than when the animals on the road watched us. More of the sensation like when we walked through towns full of hiding people. I suspected this city wasn’t deserted at all, but what lived here?
Ryan walked up ahead. One hand held Morgan’s; one gripped a gun he wasn’t great at using. I worried about him up front because Daddy was usually on point. The front was where trouble appeared. So was the back where I was walking.
Zippy pointed out faces watching us from the windows. The people hiding in the buildings waved at us. Daddy didn’t wave back, just kept walking. Ryan and Morgan were moving faster now, nervous
about all the waving people and the missing zombies.
Abner walked at my side with Daddy in front of us. Zippy was in front of him, keeping up with Morgan and Ryan. Everyone glanced back and forth at the people in the windows who were smiling and waving. Some were on the rooftops, and they also seemed happy. They didn’t talk, though. Didn’t welcome or warn us. Just smiled and waved.
On a rooftop a block away from us, an Asian man wasn’t waving like the others. Knowing the man was warning us, I poked Daddy’s arm and pointed.
Daddy and Abner slowed down to look at the man while Zippy, Ryan, and Morgan kept walking, unaware we had stopped. The man wasn’t yelling, but he wanted to. He was frantic, and Daddy and Abner lifted their weapons and told the others to slow down.
Just then, a lady darted into the street and waved. Jumping around us, she had a weirdly happy look on her face like Bellamy got when in one of her moods.
Ryan pushed Morgan behind him as the smiling woman was joined by a teenage girl who also jumped around. They smiled big and waved wildly and bounced high on their bare feet, but they didn’t make a sound. Other people came out, and they were also silent, yet too animated. It made no sense to be so silent while that excited.
Frowning, I stared in the direction of the man on the roof who wanted us to run. Where could we go though? The people were all around us, jumping, waving, and smiling. Laughing silently like mimes, they surrounded our group. Ryan, Morgan, and Zippy were quickly blocked off from us by the crowd.
“Daddy,” I said for no reason just before feeling hands on me.
Suddenly the people grabbed for us, still smiling and jumping. Morgan screamed, and Zippy cried out. Yanked into a building, I reached for Daddy, but a man jumped in his way, blocking him. Shoving the man out of the way, Daddy yelled my name. Daddy disappeared as the door shut between us, people screamed, and the quiet town roared to life.
Daddy opened fire followed by Abner’s big gun. Struggling against two teenagers who held me, I couldn’t get my twisted arms free to fire my weapon at them. As they dragged me down one hall after another, I finally fired into the ground, hoping to scare them. Yet they were too busy screaming wildly to fear me.
Wrestling free, I fired at the young man, and the bullet hit him in the stomach. He flopped on the ground, bleeding and waving at me while screaming. The whole town still raged with the screaming people including the teenage girl who charged me. I shot her dead, and she was finally silent.
I had only killed one live person before who had been looking to take me away from Daddy. When I saw the boy still flopping around reaching for me, I decided only to attempt kill shots. The people in this town were dangerous, and no one was stopping me from returning to Daddy.
Running down the halls, I shot two more people. I looked for a way outside, but there were too many people in the hallways, and I kept changing directions. Even disoriented in the mazelike building, I lost the attackers until I turned a corner where a mass of screaming people rushed at me.
Backing away, I emptied my gun into the crowd. Those who weren’t killed kept chasing me. Stumbling backward, I fought to reload before they reached me. When they got too close, I turned and ran.
Racing down another hallway, I treated the screaming humans like zombies and ignored all the noise as I took my shots. I didn’t let the chaos distract me from my goal of returning to Daddy.
In the end, none of my training mattered. Once I turned a corner, I saw a two-by-four swing at me. Firing at the person, I was certain I hit them. Yet it was too late.
Falling backward, I struggled to remain conscious. I raised my hand with the gun in it until the screaming people stomped on me and the weapon skidded away. Pushing up, I wanted to fight back and hurt them for hurting me. Then they kicked me in the face, and I passed out wishing we had taken our chances on the road.
Chapter Ten
Waking to a splitting headache, I found myself in a dark room lined with cells. In the cell next to mine, a body laid motionless. Stripped of my supplies and some of my clothes, I wore only my bra and pants. Cold on the concrete floor, I stood even though it was difficult to remain upright. I used the wall to brace myself and willed my legs to work. They complied, and I was soon examining the cell for weak spots.
Muffled gun shots made me smile because Daddy and Abner were still fighting. I promised myself I would see Daddy soon, but I needed to escape first.
The body in the next cell twitched and let out a loud moan. Moving away from her, I was wary of another trick like the smiling people upstairs. My cell was definitely in a basement with the only lights coming from the low watt bulbs dangling from the ceiling. Shoving against the cell door, I was shocked when it whined in protest. Either I was suddenly super strong, or these cells were poorly made. Whatever the explanation, I was breaking free and finding Daddy.
By the tenth time slamming into the bars, I felt ready to crawl into a corner and weep in agony. My body hurt so much, but I couldn’t give up and stay in this place when Daddy was working so hard to find me. Trying again, I felt the lock weakening. Ramming the door five more times, I was finally out of the cell.
No longer on the ground, the woman in the next cell reached for me while moaning, “Cow.”
Walking away, I heard her call me a cow a few more times before I reached a dark hallway. Stepping carefully with my bare feet, I listened for movement. Upstairs was flooded with noise - gunfire, screaming, smashing objects, and footsteps running back and forth. It took all my concentration to separate the noises down in the hall from those upstairs. Even with my headache, I heard footsteps approaching and hurried away from them.
Giving up on moving slowly, I ran away from the footsteps, hoping to find an exit. I opened one door after another, searching for the stairs that would take me to Daddy. One door led down a dark hall, another opened to a bathroom with the toilet torn loose, and a third opened to a closet with a moaning person inside. Opening doors and shutting them when they didn’t offer the exit I needed, I struggled to keep calm. Every minute in the basement itched at my skin. Something bad was coming, and I wanted out of there.
The footsteps followed me and increased in number as I chose one of the many dark hallways. A new set of footsteps soon approached from the direction I was heading.
Somewhere in the labyrinth were stairs leading out of this horror show. Growing agitated, I challenged the people standing between me and freedom. I knocked over a bearded man who reached out and grabbed my ankle. Stumbling, I pushed past a man wearing sunglasses and crashed into a bald man who grabbed me by my bare arms. His expression never changed even as he slammed me repeatedly against the concrete wall.
Though barely conscious, I struggled as he yanked me down the hallway by my hair. Once I was shoved into a room with a long metal table, my mind snapped back into action.
Several men were spread out in the room. Attacking the short man blocking the door, I hit him with enough force to topple him backward. Hope gave me a jolt of energy, and I charged the skinny man who now stood in my way. Kicking him, I followed with a solid punch, causing him to flinch and back away from the door.
They were so sure I would be easy prey. Even younger and smaller than them, I’d been taught by Daddy how to fight. I would hurt these men and find Daddy who I knew was fighting to find me.
The blade hurt for only a second before my legs gave out. My mind didn’t understand what was happening. One second, I was kicking the skinny man’s ass. Then I was falling to the ground as the blade cut my spine.
The bald man lifted me into his arms and carried me to the bloody table. Unwilling to be on the table, I fought. Though only my arms cooperated while the bottom half of my body hung limply.
“The cow is ready,” the bald man said in a whispery voice.
The other men spread around the table and stared at me. There was no lust in their eyes. No hunger either. They seemed dead, inhuman even. Bleeding from my back wound, I was dying in front of them, but they didn’
t care. They weren’t even happy to have won.
I wasn’t sure why I didn’t cry. I told myself I was quiet because of my training. Yet I was having a difficult time accepting how my legs didn’t work anymore. How could I survive in this world without the ability to walk? I could barely survive now.
Finally, I did cry. I shouldn’t have thought of Daddy, but I knew he wouldn’t be able to save me. No training could fix what was wrong now. Daddy did the best he could all my life to make me strong enough to survive. Once again though, I faced death.
The bald man took my wrist and bit into it. I tried to yank my arm away, but I was weak, and he was not. Watching him puncture my flesh, I thought to the zombie and how he chewed on me too. Being turned into food wasn’t a pleasant thing to watch.
The bald man didn’t tear away the flesh, but latched on and sucked hard. The bite hurt even more than the zombie’s bite. My skin burned like it was on fire where he was sucking.
The skinny man bit into my other wrist. Someone yanked my body down the table. My head skidded along the metal table while the men adjusted themselves to continue feeding.
Lifting my head, I saw the bearded man tear off my jeans. The short man stood on one side of the table and sunk his teeth into my thigh.
My skin was on fire everywhere. Closing my eyes, I prayed I would pass out from the pain. Then I felt pressure as my legs jerked open. Realizing I was regaining sensation in my lower body, I embraced the hope of walking again.
Lifting my head, I saw the bearded man rip off my panties. To his right, a man with crazy hair gnawed at my other thigh. Crying out, I couldn’t believe how intense the pain.
The man with the sunglasses approached the table. Keeping my eyes shut, I felt him cut open my stomach. Wound burning, it only intensified when he licked the blood.