by Tonia Brown
I calmed my ire by reminding myself of that simple fact. Judge not lest ye be judged. She did what she had to do in order to survive just as I did what I had to do. I also reminded myself it wasn’t her fault I was here. It was mine, and mine alone.
I closed my eyes and lowered my head. “You’ve done wrong by me and mine in many ways. I won’t apologize for my anger.”
Gill touched my face, holding her hand against my cheek. “I don’t expect you to ever forgive me. I am sorry for what I have done, but I can’t take any of it back. That part of my life is over, and now I have to atone.”
Looking to her, I said, “You’re atoning by running off to Iron Station?”
She took on another hard look as she released me. “Yes. By running off to Iron Station.” Gill went to the door and retrieved a bundle of clothes from the floor. She tossed them to me. “I wanted to see you before I left. I don’t think we will see each other again.”
“As sad as that may seem, I can’t manage to get upset about it.”
“I understand.” She lost her defiance for a soft moment. “I also wanted to let you know that I am taking Vincent with me.”
“Vincent?” I said. Now that was a surprise. “How is he?”
“Not good, Theo.”
“Chambers said he was alive.”
“He’s alive, he’s just not well. His leg will heal and he can get around with help, but he hasn’t spoken a word since he arrived. He barely eats or drinks. I think Dillon has broken him this time.”
I sneered at her. “No thanks to you.”
She turned away from me. “I am not here to argue who is at fault. I just wanted to tell you that I am going to get him out of here. I am taking him with me. I need to get him away from his nephew.”
“And me,” I said. “You get him far away from me. Dillon only hurt the man because of my insolence. I am trying to behave for his sake but I can’t promise how long I can keep this up. The doc needs to stay far away from me from now on.”
Gill didn’t argue this fact either. I rifled through the clothes, dressing as she turned her rag to the filthy wall and bonds I hung from. I watched her for some time as she took care in getting the bricks and metal as clean as she could manage.
“I take it I’m going right back up there?” I said.
“Yes, unfortunately,” she said. “Though I think he understands you need out of those chains and to be walked around at least once a day. I’ve also asked him to let you go to the bathroom like a human being.”
“You think he will listen?”
“I think he will. He knows you’re gonna need some exercise every day, especially if he’s thinks you’re going to…” her words trialed off as she caught herself saying something she didn’t mean to say.
I narrowed my eyes as she chewed her lip in thought. “Going to what?”
She shook her head and continued scrubbing, avoiding me.
Testing my legs again, I got slowly to my feet and went to her side. I laid a gentle hand on her shoulder turning her about. “Tell me what’s going on.”
Gill locked eyes with me and said, “Ken?”
“Ma’am?” the kid called from the slot.
“He’s hungry and thirsty. Can you run and get us some bread and water?”
“Dillon didn’t say nothing about food.”
“I am this man’s nurse and I say he needs food.”
Ken hesitated. “I’m not supposed to leave my post, ma’am. All the other men are finishing the stands.”
I eyed her at this news. Stands? So that’s what the wooden structure was. What in the heck was Dillon planning?
“Please?” Gill said.
“I don’t know,” Ken said.
“I ain’t gonna run off, kid,” I said. “Where would I go?”
Gill shot me a look of warning. “That’s not what he’s worried about.” Louder she added, “I will be fine alone. Me and Theo go back a bit. He won’t hurt me. Will you?”
“No,” I said. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Just run down the hall and grab some off of Vincent’s tray. He isn’t eating anyways. You won’t be but a second and I promise I won’t tell.”
The kid dithered again. “Well, if you promise you won’t say nothing.”
“I won’t. Now go. Quickly.”
No sooner had the kid’s footsteps faded from the door, Gill pushed me onto the bench and began talking in a quick flurry of words. While I wanted to find out what that was all about, I had bigger things to talk about.
“Doctor Chambers has been using your blood for—” she started.
I grabbed Gill up by the shoulders and said over her, “You listen to me now. You can’t go to Iron Station. You have to get Vincent to the border.”
She paused in her rambling and stared at me. “I am not going anywhere near the border.”
“Because Dillon will come after you. I know.”
“No, going back east is too dangerous—” she tried to argue.
I talked right on over her again. “Go. Defend yourself. Kill his men if you have too, but you get your ass to the border and you ask for a man by the name of Bowing.” I hissed at my faulty memory. “Damn, what was his first name? He’s a scientist. He was working with that Tinsdale fellow.”
“Jacob Bowing?” Gill said.
I started. “Yeah. That’s him. How do you…”
Gill gave me a pity filled frown. “Oh, hon. You don’t know just how lost we really are.”
“Lost?” I echoed.
“Who do you think has been working with Doctor Chambers?”
I lost my grip on her. “You’re kidding.”
“I wished I was. There is a whole team working on the cure. Dillon holds all of the cards here. The border is the last place I would go. This is bigger than just Dillon.”
I put together her hints and didn’t like what I saw. “Someone back east has been helping him.”
“My guess is a whole bunch of someones. They want this, Theo. Someone back there wants the power of an immune army and Dillon is going to give it to them.”
My thoughts shot back to Tinsdale, and that moment in my cabin when he begged me to take him back to the border. How he thought if the right people knew what was going on, they would protect him. I wasn’t sure there were any right or wrong people any more. The way I saw it, there were only wrong and wronger folks.
“Miss Gill?” Kenneth said.
Gill and I jumped at the sound of his voice. We were both so caught up in the moment, neither of us heard his return.
“Ken?” she said.
“Are you done talking, ma’am?”
She looked duly guilty. “Yes. Thank you for giving us a chance to say goodbye.”
The door slowly opened as the kid peered into the room. “I have your bread and water if you still want it.”
“I do,” I said. I took them from the kid and proceeded to eat and drink my fill at Gill’s warning to take it slow. Once I ate as much as I could reasonably stand, Kenneth announced that it was time for me to return to the manacles. He snapped me back in place, closing the thick locks on my feet, then hands, then waist.
Gill took a long look at me hanging on the wall, pity filling her face. “I am really sorry about all of this. You have no idea how sorry I am.”
“You can atone by taking care of Vincent for me.”
“I will.” She stepped up and kissed me softly on the corner of my mouth.
It was a nice gesture, one that would’ve been lovely between old friends or lovers. In this case, I wished my hands were free so I could wipe her touch off of me.
“When do you leave?” I said.
“Not right away,” she said on her way to the door. “Vincent still can’t travel in his condition. As soon as he is ready. A day or two at the latest. T
hen we are getting out of here. You take care of yourself.” She left without looking back.
Ken nodded at me in almost a respectful gesture, then turned toward the door.
“Hey, kid,” I said. “Can you leave the lights on for a bit?”
“No,” he said, and closed the door behind him. The slot opened briefly and Ken said just loud enough for me to hear, “But I can forget to turn them off.”
The slot closed and once again I was alone with my desperate thoughts. At least I had some light, at least for a little while. I didn’t so much mind the darkness. I just wanted to be in the light for a bit. God only knew how long I would hang in the darkness again.
I couldn’t believe that Tinsdale’s contact was here, working for Dillon. By choice? Certainly not. The poor man was probably abducted and smuggled into the Badlands, just like Tinsdale. The question was, did Dillon just take delivery, or arrange the whole thing? I guess that didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. The only thing that mattered was that Chambers and a whole passel of other brilliant minds had been turned to the task of finding a cure for Dillon.
And only Dillon.
The last person on earth I would trust with digging my grave much less curing the world.
I didn’t have to wait long for another visit. Maybe an hour or so later, Dillon himself came to see me. I could tell right away that he was in a sullen mood. Not outright angry, just brooding. He stood in the open doorway and stared at me.
“Dillon,” I said.
“I see Gill came by before she left,” Dillon said.
I looked down at myself as best I could, considering I was all tied up with no place to go. “She paid me a little visit. Cleaned me up good. Gave me these fancy duds. I understand I have your wondrous mercy to thank for all of that.”
“My mercy?” Dillon raised an eyebrow at me. “Is that what she told you?”
“That’s not exactly how she put it. She said you were the bastard who allowed me a few moments of humanity.”
“I see. Well, let me be the first to correct that misapprehension.” Dillon approached me until he stood a few feet in front of me, he put his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “She made a deal. With me. On your behalf.”
“What kind of deal?”
“I promise to treat you a bit better, and she agreed to go to Iron Station. Where she will work on her back from now on.” He crossed his arms and watched my reaction with interest.
I didn’t give him the satisfaction of a reaction to enjoy. I didn’t even shrug. Well, I couldn’t shrug anyways, hung up as I was.
“Nothing to say about that?” Dillon said. “She’s whoring herself out for you, Theo. Don’t you have an opinion about it? You seem to have an opinion about everything else these days.”
Of course I had an opinion. I agreed with her. The bright, flickering flames of Convergence burning to the ground danced behind my eyes every time I closed them. I understood her contrition, and pitied her for it.
“She’s a grown woman,” I said. “She can make her own decisions.”
“Really? That’s all? Wow, I am impressed. I thought you had a soft spot for her. I know you at least had a hard one for her.” He grinned and let that little jab sink in. “Did she let you visit with Vincent before she left? I told her she could. She said it wouldn’t be good for you, which is why I suggested it, of course.”
“No, she didn’t.”
“Aww,” he said in a mock pout. “That was mean of her. And here I thought she liked you.”
“What do you want from me?” I said, trying desperately to change the subject. “You want to torture me? Fine. You wanna make a slave of me? Fine. You wanna dress me up like a doll and toy with me? Do whatever you want. Just make up your mind, already.”
He brought his face to mine. “For the record, I didn’t dress you up. That was part of Gill’s bargain. I couldn’t care less if you die of exposure down here, but she was cautious in her wording, so as long as she undresses for my men, you remain dressed. I think it will amuse you to know I also never intended to accept you as a slave. All I wanted was to get you into that wagon without a fight.”
I should’ve figured that one out too. I guess watching a town full of folks getting their brains blown out sort of clouds your perception of things. “You knew I would trade myself for Sam.”
“I did. I didn’t expect the whole manservant angle, but sometimes things just work out for the best. Don’t you agree?”
“Yes, yes they do.” I thought about Bowden getting the hell out of this place and far away from Dillon. That was for the best. So was Sam being gone. I loved the girly, and hated she suffered so, yet in some small way I was glad she had gone home to God. At least she wasn’t suffering in this place anymore.
Dillon stared at me for a quiet moment, as if trying to figure out what to do with me. All at once, he clapped his hands and rubbed them in excitement. “Well, then. Let’s get you down from there and into the yard. It’s time to start your training.” He waved his hand at the open door and a few men entered.
“Training?” I asked, unable to withhold my surprise.
“Did I stutter?” Dillon instructed the young Ken and some other guard to begin the task of unlocking my bonds. “Training for the fights, of course.”
“What in the hell kind of fights?”
Dillon glanced at me in confusion. “Didn’t Gill explain this all to you? Kenneth left you alone for, what, two or three minutes?”
The kid looked to the floor, away from me, as if in shame. I didn’t fault him for giving Dillon a full report. He did as his master asked of him. These fights must’ve been what Gill was trying to warn me about.
“No,” I said. “She didn’t mention any fights.”
This drew Dillon’s interest. “Then what did you talk about?”
“Other things.”
“Oh, really? What other things?”
I grinned. “You, mostly.”
Dillon blanched a bit.
“I won’t repeat what she said,” I said. “I’d hate to ruin your reputation in front of your men.”
It took him a few seconds, but Dillon regained his forced aloofness. “Bring him.” He headed out the door.
Ken and his fellow guard grabbed me by the arms and led me through the door behind Dillon. They guided me down the narrow hallway I had been dragged in through a week or so before. Now that I had my wits about me, and wasn’t drowning in my own guilt and sorrow, I saw there were several doors off of the hallway. I wasn’t the only one trapped down here. Judging from Gill’s words earlier, Bowden had been down here with me the whole while. I wondered if Chambers and her assistants were also down here.
The pair of men pushed me up a flight of stairs that led back out into the open air and through the door at the top. I squinted at the weak sunlight, glad to feel it on my face once more. Judging by the sun’s place on the horizon, I’d say it was early evening. Maybe an hour or so before sunset. There was plenty of light left for me to take in my surroundings, which I did in a slow sweep of the landscape.
We stood on the north side of the main house, which was still surrounded by the shacks and lean-to’s that made up the small town of Truth. Behind us, I could hear the squealing and grunting of the pigs, and the noises of men shuffling about on their day to day chores. Ahead of us, however, came banging and sawing and the shouts of a work crew laboring hard. And hard at work they were, too. The hulking, wooden framework was now an arrangement of long benches standing on three different levels of risers. The stands were surrounded by a sturdy looking fence that reached from the house at one end to a towering barn at the other end, edging near the stands on either side.
“I take it these fights are a spectator’s sport?” I said.
“Indeed,” Dillon said. He took off again toward the stands.
The
men pushed me forward and I stumbled along. The closer we drew to the stands, I could see the fence was about four feet tall or so. Dillon motioned to a pair of men who opened the gate, letting us through. We walked out to the middle of the field, where Dillon finally came to a stop.
“Release him,” he said.
The men backed away from me.
“Leave us,” Dillon said.
Ken eyed me then his master. “Are you sure, sir?”
Dillon cocked his head at Kenneth. “Yes, I’m sure, you little shit. Now go!”
The pair of men hustled away from us, crossing the field and back out through the gate. They close it behind them, then took up guard on either side of the exit. Now free to move about, I turned in place, taking in my surroundings as well as options. Not much to look at, all things considered. There stood another gate at the opposite end of the fence, in front of the barn. That one opened out into a narrow corral that lead straight to the doors of the barn. No escape there.
A smell drifted to me over the cloying smell of pig shit from the direction of the barn.
The smell of death.
I breathed deeply. “Revs.”
“Yes,” Dillon said.
“In there?” I nodded to the barn.
Dillon nodded in return.
I put all of the pieces together. The fights. The fence. The barn. The stands. “You expect me to fight revs.”
“I do,” Dillon said.
“While your men watch.”
“Marvelous, isn’t it? My men are coming from miles around just to witness the spectacle that is you, Theo.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s integral to my plan.” Dillon smirked. “And because I can.”
“You aren’t going to tell me why, are you? Fine, it’s probably something disgusting anyways. I don’t think I want to know.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Disgusting? I’ve called a gathering of my men, and while they are here they need entertaining. That simple. Is that disgusting enough for you?”