****
Dallas opened the final door just as the sun was rising. Roper catapulted at the door, red anger in her eyes, and hatred on her face.
“Whoa, love,” Dallas said catching her as the door closed. “Easy.”
“Oh my god, Dallas.” Roper clung to her. “I was so afraid I’d never see you again.”
“Shh. I got you, love. I got you.” Dallas held Roper to her for a moment before leaning back and looking in her face.
Roper wiped her eyes. “Have you come to get us out of here?” Roper gazed into Dallas’s eyes a moment before seeing the answer. “Oh. I see. We’re fucked. Is that it?”
“I wish that was the case, baby, but no. They’ve just let me out to talk to everyone, calm everything and everybody down before someone gets hurt.”
Roper blinked. “Calm. Us. Down? Dallas, these sick fuckers plan on raping us. We can’t let that happen.”
Dallas caressed Roper’s cheek. “I know. I know. Listen to me. I don’t have much time. I need you to keep your head. I need you to stay alive. They’re going to hurt you if you don’t, and that…” Dallas shook her head. “I can take anything they throw at me except that.”
Roper backed away. “Stay alive while some pudwhacker rapes me?” She shook her head. “Isn’t gonna happen. You know me better than that. I won’t roll over and give these assholes what they want.”
“Babe—”
“No, Dallas. I would never, ever be the same after that. It would break me. I’ll go down fighting before I just lie there and take it. Don’t ask that of me because, as much as I love you, I love me, too, and the woman you love will die if I just give in.” Roper shook her head. “Won’t do it. I’m sorry.”
Dallas had feared this would be her stance and she also knew it was futile trying to convince her otherwise. Roper was nothing if not determined.
“Besides, Zoe and Hunter will come get us. We just have to—”
Dallas shook her head. “I think…I’m not completely sure, but I think they’re—gone.”
Roper’s face fell. “Gone? What do you mean gone?”
“That’s what Ingrid said. She saw these bubbas shoot up the bus and kill the Chips in cold blood.”
Tears came to Roper’s eyes. “Why? Why are they doing this? What’s the matter with them?”
“They’re crazy. This is what man looks like without rules, without order. They are doing it because they can. But trust me, babe, as long as we stay alive, we’ll get out of here. I swear to you, I’ll get us out of here. You just have to not do anything stupid.”
Roper paced across the small room, her chain rattling. “I can’t do it. You know I can’t. It’s just not in me. I’m sorry.”
Dallas grabbed her by the shoulders. “Listen to me. This is only temporary. You can do whatever you need to do to get through this. I need you to come to terms with the fact that this is only a blip on our radar. I’ll get us out of here, Roper. You have to believe me. You have my word.”
Roper looked into Dallas’s eyes, tears falling down Roper’s face. “I never thought the fucking zombies would be the least of our worries, you know?”
“I do know. Go to your happy place. Ride horses in the wind. Remember they can do whatever they want to our bodies but they can never break our spirits. Not if we don’t let them.” Dallas gave Roper a gentle kiss. “They think we’re sisters, which is just as well since these Neanderthals would surely treat us worse if they knew we were gay. You can’t let them know that.”
Roper nodded. “I’ll do my best, lover.”
Dallas wiped a tear from Roper’s cheek. “I have to go.”
“I love you, Dallas. As long as I know we’ll be together when we get out of this, I can endure anything.”
Dallas smiled and brushed Roper’s hair off her forehead. “We will. I love you so much. Not even these bubbas can put a dent in that. I’ll see you soon, baby. Remember…happy place.” Dallas pulled away from Roper just as the door opened.
“Time’s up.”
“Roper? I need you. Stay alive. Please.”
The door closed with an ominous click that nearly shattered Dallas’s heart.
“Today, you’ll shower, eat, and then head on over to the test site,” Sarge said on the way back to Dallas’s room.
“Test site? What test site?”
“Didn’t JB tell you? Only special women get to procreate. The others gotta be put down.”
Dallas gritted her teeth and asked, “What do you mean, special?”
“You’ll see. If all goes well,” he leaned closer, “I’ll get first crack at your sister.”
Dallas’s rage raced through her veins like lava. “You don’t know her very well, but my guess is if you ‘take a crack’ at her, you best be prepared to have your tiny nuts cracked like an egg.” She walked into her room and put her ankle manacle on before slamming the door. All her false bravado evaporated the moment she was alone.
She’d never felt as helpless as she did right then.
****
Zoe
It didn’t take Wendell very long to get one of the long-abandoned cars running.
“Some car batteries have a better shelf life than others,” he said. “Of course, we’ll need more gas, but once we have enough, barring any complications, we can be back in Angola in eight to ten hours, certainly before nightfall.”
“Excellent work, Wendell,” Hunter said. “Zoe? You’ve been awfully quiet over there.”
Zoe dug the toe of her Doc Marten boots into the dirt. “Doesn’t feel right leaving them, ya know? What if they’re in danger right now? What if we come back and we’re too late?”
“Zoe, you saw those men, that place. If we get caught, what good are we to them? If we’re the only survivors from the bus, going back is our only option. Only fools rush in, and we’re not going to be foolish.”
Zoe nodded. “I know that in my head, but my heart tells me we should stay and do what we can. I just can’t shake the feeling that we might be too late.”
Hunter motioned for them to get in the car. “Then let’s get a move on. We’ve got a long road back.”
Once they were in the car, they headed east, back over the same treacherous roads they’d come.
It was slow going compared to the Fuchs, which could push abandoned cars off to the side. They had to go around or slow down to wedge between cars long forgotten. The going was laborious and tense. Many of the abandoned cars were filled with zombies banging on the windows as they drove by.
“The cleanup of the interstate will take years,” Hunter said as they rolled down a freeway that looked more like a parking lot. “Just getting all the cars off the road will take forever.”
“That will depend entirely on how many able-bodied survivors there are, but yes, clearing them all away will take a very long time.” Wendell stared out at a zombie caught on a barbed wire fence. “I used to imagine what the cleanup of the country would look like. Now, I’m not so sure that will ever happen.
“Makes me wonder what they were thinking while they were sitting on the freeway and those things started turning people into man eaters.”
“Einstein would know,” Zoe muttered from the back seat.
“Yeah, I bet he would.”
“He’s a remarkable young man,” Wendell said. “He would have made something of himself in the real world.”
They had been on the road for twenty minutes when Hunter pointed to a green Lexus surrounded by man eaters. “Isn’t that Eddie’s car?”
Zoe leaned forward. “Sure as shit is. Looks like that dumb ass got the car stuck. What a fucking putz.”
Hunter slowed down to a near stop and looked in the rearview mirror at Zoe. “We have to help him. You know that, right?” He turned now to face Zoe.
She looked away. “Whatever. I’m not lifting a finger to help that asshole.”
“Zoe. I know I’m no Dallas, but I’m pretty sure she’d want us to stop and help him.”
“
Dallas might. Roper wouldn’t. She’d say fuck him, and that’s what I say.”
Hunter sighed. “Then at least come out to protect my blind side, okay?”
Zoe and Hunter grabbed their bows and deftly shot each of the zombies in the head. Wendell remained safely inside the car watching the melee.
“Nice shooting,” Hunter said as they retrieved their bolts. “I appreciate your help.”
Zoe nodded once. “Waste of time saving his useless hide.”
Zoe and Hunter stepped over the truly dead undead and rapped on the window of the Lexus.
“Triple A at your service,” Hunter said.
“Which stands for Asshole, Asswipe, and Assmuncher,” Zoe growled.
Eddie rolled the window down halfway “Thank god you came. The car got wedged and before I knew it—”
Hunter stuck his face in the window. “You left Zoe back there, Eddie. By herself. To face six armed men. You just turned the car around and left her there. Why the hell should we let you come with us now?”
“Asshole,” Zoe muttered not so much under her breath.
Eddie looked at her. “Look. I saw those guys coming and decided I should go for help. I wasn’t leaving her. I was gonna help her.”
“Help?” Hunter repeated. “How was running away going to help her?”
“Asswipe,” Zoe uttered a little louder.
“There wasn’t anything I could have done to help her, Hunter, except get help.” Eddie opened the car door and got out. “Come on, man. Can I ride with you?”
Hunter started to answer, but Zoe cut him off. “All our gear is in the back and there isn’t any room. We could use the two vehicles, though. We can use the Prius to move that car over there and get him unstuck.”
Hunter studied Zoe a moment before shrugging. “Sure. It’s worth a try.” He motioned for Wendell to drive closer. When Wendell was about ten yards away, Hunter walked over to explain the situation and their plan to take both vehicles to Angola.
Eddie cast a gaze to the ground and then back up again. “I’m really sorry, Zoe. If I knew you were in trouble, I, I would have stayed.”
Zoe chuffed. “Because you’re a stand-up kinda guy, right? Do I look stupid to you? You ran because you’re a fucking coward.”
“That’s not true. I wanted to get help because you saved me and…and I owed you.”
She smiled. “You still do.” Zoe watched Hunter and Wendell position the Prius so it slowly pushed an older Toyota out of the way, dislodging the Lexus from the group of mangled cars. It took a few minutes, and Zoe had to shoot three more man eaters while they waited, but eventually, the cars became disentangled.
“Jesus, Eddie, what made you think you could get through there?” Hunter asked, wiping his hands on his pants.
“The Fuchs didn’t have a problem. I just thought it was faster than going around. I won’t make that mistake again.”
“Good. I’ll ride with you. Zoe and Wendell can take the Prius. Stay together.” Hunter slid behind the wheel of the Lexus.
“One sec, Hunter. I have a few things I need to say to old Eddie, here.” Zoe put her arm around Eddie and walked them both away from the cars. “You left me out there, buddy, for six Jethros who wanted to rape me. Rape me, and you just left me there.”
“Like I said, man, it was a mistake.”
“Seriously? That’s what you’re going with? It wasn’t just a mistake, Eddie. It was a stupid, self-centered choice you made that could have put me in a whole world of hurt.”
“But it didn’t. It’s all good, right?”
“Good? Really? You think leaving me to be gang raped is something Dallas would overlook?”
Eddie stopped and turned to her. “Dallas doesn’t need to know. Come on, Zoe. You’re not still sore are you?”
Zoe stared at him. “Sore? Nah. But you do understand why I can’t let that sort of selfishness go unpunished, right? Dallas wouldn’t, and Roper sure as shit wouldn’t.”
“Unpun—”
In one swift motion, Zoe pulled her ten-inch survival knife from her thigh sheath and drove it deep into Eddie’s abdomen. “That’s for bailing on Dallas and Roper, you cocksucking motherfucking coward.” Then she turned the knife clockwise and pulled up on the hilt. “And that’s for ditching me you Assmuncher.”
When Eddie fell to his knees gasping, Hunter cried out, “Zoe, no!” Opening the door, Hunter leapt from the Lexus.
Zoe ignored Hunter and grabbed Eddie by the hair. She placed the bloody edge of her knife to his throat. “You never learned anything from those two women, did you? Without loyalty, you got nothin’, and to me, Eddie, you are nothin’.” She slit his throat and kicked him to the dirt where he gurgled a moment before bleeding out.
“You, you killed him.” Hunter stood next to Zoe, immobile. “You fucking killed him.”
Zoe’s eyes were cold and hard. “And I’ll kill anyone else who doesn’t help Dallas and Roper get the fuck out of there.” Zoe walked back to the Lexus and tossed her crossbow in the back.
“Whoa, Zoe, what the hell are you doing?”
“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m taking the Lexus and going back to those goddamned warehouses. There has to be a way in there. If I get caught, I get caught. As long as you two make it back to Angola, we have backup, but I am not leaving them behind. And don’t waste your breath trying to talk me out of it. I can’t just leave them, Hunter. I just can’t. They wouldn’t leave us.”
Wendell joined them. He looked down at Eddie’s body. “No one really liked the guy anyway. I believe Zoe has made her intentions clear and we’re burning daylight. You won’t talk her out of it, Hunter, so I suggest we get going.”
Hunter swallowed hard as he moved closer to Zoe. “It goes against everything I know to leave you here alone.”
“I’m not alone. Somewhere out here, your dad is hiding. Once he knows I’m creeping around, he’ll—”
Hunter placed two callused fingers on her lips. “You’re sweet to believe my dad is still alive, Zoe, but we both know the odds of that are slim. Trust me. If Dad is alive, he’d have come to us already.”
Zoe wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. “Oh Hunter, I’m so sorry.”
“So am I.”
“No.” Zoe backed away from the embrace, her eyes hard once more. “I’m sorry that you have so little faith. Fletcher is one of the most kickass dudes I’ve ever had the privilege of meeting. He’s out there, somewhere. I know he is.” Zoe walked back to the Prius and grabbed the rest of her gear. “And he’ll either find me or I’ll find him. Now, get your asses back to Angola and get help. Don’t let me down, Hunter.”
“We won’t let you down,” Hunter said. “ I swear.”
“Especially since we’ve seen what happens when someone does.” Wendell checked Eddie over for weapons before heading back to the Prius.
Zoe stood by the open door and saluted. “Stay safe, boys. We’re all counting on you to bring in the big guns.” Zoe climbed into the Lexus and headed back toward the warehouse district.
“Never saw that coming,” Wendell said.
“Makes me glad I’ve never been involved with a woman. Are they all like that?”
Wendell tossed Hunter the keys. “Like her? Not really. It’s been my experience that most are far worse. With Zoe, you know exactly what you’re getting.”
“A homicidal maniac?”
The two men chuckled all the way back to the car.
****
Dallas’s people were escorted down the street to an area enclosed on all sides by a chain link fence with a metal pole in the middle.
“Holy mother of Jesus,” Cassie muttered when she saw what was inside the cage.
Chained to the pole was a zombie with a metal collar around his neck and leg irons on his ankles. He had worn a path in a six foot diameter circle. His torn and bloodied overalls hung on his skeletal frame.
“What the fuck is that?” Roper said. “Your pet?”
; “Keep it down,” Clint demanded. “When JB gets here, he’ll explain the whole gig, so pipe down.”
Dallas shot Roper a pleading look and was rewarded with cold steel eyes.
“Here he comes now.”
JB strolled up with Churchill and Einstein along with three more guards. Dallas noted that none held guns on either Einstein or Churchill.
“Morning, ladies,” he said, tipping his cowboy hat to them. He wore expensive dark glasses and a belt buckle of Texas the size of a dog’s dish.
Dallas looked hard into both Churchill and Einstein’s eyes. They looked sad and neither were able to maintain eye contact with her.
Survival guilt a day early.
“What the fuck is that thing?” Roper asked, pointing to the zombie. “What fucked up game are you people playing?”
JB stood in front of Roper and peered at her over the top of his glasses. “That thing is your most important test. The test of all tests. You see, we done noticed that them creatures are selective in who they attack and who they don’t.”
Roper looked at Dallas out of the corner of her eye. She could feel Roper’s hatred mount.
“While we don’t know why they eat some but not all of us, we believe it is the stronger women they don’t eat. The process of natural selection. Have you ever heard of it?”
“I figured you to be a rabid fundamentalist, not an evolutionist,” Dallas said.
“I’m a little of everything, Miss Dallas. You see natural selection is the process by which biological organisms with favorable traits survive and reproduce more successfully than organisms that do not possess such traits. It is the good Lord who creates these favorable creatures, and so in our effort to make sure we reproduce wisely, we make certain those not eaten by them things repopulate our planet. We will create a stronger mankind.”
“What the fuck is the matter with you, Jethro?” Roper said. “You get that fucked up theory out of a fortune cookie?”
Clint slapped Roper in the back of the head. “Show some respect.”
Roper whirled fist raised, but Churchill barked, “Enough! You will listen to what the Boss has to say.”
Roper slowly turned and stared dumbfounded at Churchill. “The Boss? Are you fucking kidding me? Didn’t take you long to roll over, did it? You big man on campus now, Churchill?”
Man Eaters (Book 3): Mob Rule Page 6