by Jordan Ervin
“Don’t make me do that again,” Cate said, lowering herself while speaking in a low voice. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Go to hell,” Sarah growled as she slowly crawled back toward her daughters, her muscles twitching and weak.
“Jen, why don’t you go see to the next batch. Saul will be here shortly and I can take it from here.” Jen nodded her head and left the room, eyeing Sarah with pity. Cate hesitated before standing with a frown. She walked over to Sarah’s daughters, smiling as she knelt down in front of them. “I know what is about to happen to you girls might seem bad at first, but it’s just a natural part of life. There’s nothing wrong about it.”
“Shut up, you bitch!” Sarah roared as she crouched down, a wounded mother bear growling as a pack of hunters closed in.
“Girls, if you don’t fight, they won’t hurt you,” Cate said. “Remember that. I’d hate it if they had to toss your bodies in the river too because you couldn’t obey. The water’s cold, but death is colder.”
Cate stood and walked to the door, her black baton dangling from her wrist. Sarah turned to her terrified daughters. She wanted to tell them it would be okay, but she knew they’d see right through her lies. So instead, she simply embraced them and wept, praying for a miracle.
“God, please,” Sarah whispered in the dark. “Help us.”
“It all started a couple of months after that interview with the president when six farm families approached us.” Saul spoke casually as he, Judah, and a guard walked through the dim interior of the complex. Judah smiled back quietly and as he fought down the urge to draw his hidden knife and stick it in the other man’s back. “They wanted to set up a partnership and barter food for protection. Like everyone else, we were too weak and afraid to know what was best for us. We knew we needed to band together with others. My group numbered a few hundred at the time and we were discussing the terms of a partnership when a few of our boys decided to have their way with one of the farmer’s daughters. The farmers got violent after that and wanted our men to pay for what they had done, but we weren’t exactly willing to comply. We ended up killing most of the men, though we lost eight of ours in the process. The boys wanted to keep the women who had survived as payment for our losses, but eventually others wanted in on that action too. With a few more…acquisitions, we had a trade that was bringing in men from all around the region. Food nourishes, water hydrates, safety encourages, but I’ll tell you what, sex sells! It wasn’t long before our operation blew up something huge. We now control downtown and have about two thousand armed men helping us maintain this empire. Work hard like the others and you’ll have whatever you want.”
“And all these men risk the road just for a night of sex?” Judah asked.
“Men and women, but they come for a lot more than that,” Saul replied. “We keep the girls as cheap as we can. Most of the men come for the inexpensive prostitution, but they’d end up paying outrageous prices for food, ammo, clothing, and everything else we got going on here. It’s kind of like putting the milk in the back of the store, if you know what I mean. Those who come here have to pass by everything else to get what they really came for. By the time they’ve left, they’ve filled their cart with way more than they needed and wonder why their pockets are empty.”
“So you keep things running downtown while others venture out to find the girls?”
“Believe it or not, we got more girls coming to us willingly now days than not,” Saul replied. “Not all of them are that way, but they’re becoming increasingly desperate. We take good care of those who are willing to work with us. Those who aren’t…well, we do what needs to be done.”
Judah nodded quietly as they turned a corner, doing what he could to calm himself. He looked into the open doors, fighting back tears as he glanced at one broken woman after another, each sitting on a bed alone. Despite Saul’s words, Judah had a hard time thinking any of them were truly there by their own choice.
It pained him to think about how quickly America had fallen. It hadn’t taken much more than a few months of chaos to bring a once decent society to its knees. He wanted to help every woman he saw, but Judah thought of himself as nothing more than a frightened teenager trying to keep his fear and asthma at bay. He knew he’d soon need to crush those fears and summon the courage of a raging bull if he were to save his family. Two minutes passed by, his heart thumping increasingly faster with each second. Eventually, the three of them rounded another corner, passing by a closed door before approaching another.
“Here we are,” Saul said.
“I want to go in alone,” Judah said quietly.
“Stage fright, huh?” Saul said with a smile as the guard laughed. “Well, I can pretty much guarantee you’ll get over that quickly. Besides, there ain’t no way I’m letting you in alone with two new assets. Last thing I want is to find out the new guy decided to bust in the teeth of a pretty dame on his first go.”
Judah paused momentarily before nodding his head. Saul smiled, grabbing the door handle and pushing the door open. As Judah’s eyes adjusted to the darkness inside, he almost gasped.
He quickly found his mother as she huddled in the corner with his sisters—naked save her bra and underwear. Eva and Grace were still clothed, though a few clean dresses their size were draped on the side of a bed. None of them looked up as Judah, Saul, and the guard entered. Judah wanted to run over to them and cry with them, tell them everything was going to be alright. But he knew the moment they saw him, they’d likely reveal his identity and give him away. He glanced around the room for Alexandra, but she was nowhere to be seen. After a moment of hesitation, he glanced over at Saul. Saul smiled back, nodding his head in approval.
“Well,” Saul said. “Get on with it.”
Judah forced a grin onto his face—an act no more difficult than summiting Mount Everest without oxygen. Judah looked back to his weeping family and slowly walked forward.
“Now I’m going to need the three of you to keep your mouths shut if you know what’s good for you,” Judah said loudly as he approached. Sarah opened her eyes wide and glanced up at Judah, surprise filling her face. Eva and Grace looked up, their shocked eyes focusing on him as they realized who was talking. Sarah turned to them and squeezed their arms.
“Girls, listen to the man,” Sarah said. “Just do what the stranger says and it will all be alright.”
“Wise words,” Judah said with his best attempt at a growl. “I’m not going to hurt you if you play along nicely.”
“Okay,” Sarah said quickly as she rose slowly. “Just don’t hurt them. Please, don’t let your men harm us.”
“Oh, I’m not going to hurt them,” Saul cut in with a wicked grin. “I can’t say the same about my friend here.” Saul paused, looking Sarah up and down before smiling. “Now you are a pretty one, aren’t you? I think I might have you for myself.”
Sarah hesitated before forcing an uncertain smile onto her face and looking over at the Cate. “Why not the both of us?”
“What?” Cate said, her eyes wide. “I’m not here to—”
“Then what are you here for?” Sarah asked angrily before shaking her head. “You just going to watch? You going to sit it out like you said you always do?”
“She said that, did she now?” Saul asked.
“I never said—”
Sarah stepped forward, raising her voice and cutting Cate off. “I’ll make you a deal. You make sure not to hurt my daughters and Cate and I will do whatever you two want.”
“There is no way I’m going to—” Cate began.
“Deal,” Saul said with a smile. “Judah, listen to the lady and take it easy on her girls.”
“But Saul,” Cate protested. “I’m not—”
“You’re nothing more than a whore,” Saul spat. “I see you’ve grown soft being out of rotation with the new girls. Maybe a few beatings and a week or two back in the swing of things would do you good.”
“Saul,” Cate began, “
It’s not like that.”
“Then get those clothes off and prove me wrong,” Saul growled.
Cate shot a red hot glare over at Sarah before slowly removing her coat. Judah glanced over at her as she tossed the coat to the side, wondering what his mother was up to, before his eyes found the baton dangling on Cate’s waist. Sarah looked over at Judah quietly. Judah unbuckled his vest and tossed it to the floor. He then reached up like he was going to pull his shirt over his head. Instead, he grabbed the hilt of his knife and drew in a deep breath.
“Wait until Hank hears about this,” Saul said as he turned to Cate, dancing on one foot as he started to tug his boot off. “It’ll put his afternoon with that thrashing bitch to—”
Judah drew the knife and lashed out at Saul. The knife cut through Saul’s throat like a jetliner through the clouds. Sarah reached down as Cate was tugging her shirt off and ripped the baton away. She stuck it against Cate’s chest, pressing the button and electrocuting her. Judah leapt toward Saul’s shocked guard, ramming the knife through his chest as surprise filled his eyes. He reached out with his left hand and covered the man’s mouth, suffocating his scream as he plunged the knife into his heart three more times.
Judah glanced back just as his mother smashed the baton against Cate’s face, knocking her to the ground. Cate fell, moaning as she hit the ground. Sarah growled as she lunged atop Cate and proceeded to beat her relentlessly with the long Taser. She bellowed as the black stick rose and fell and rose again, flecks of blood flying through the air. After a few moments, Cate’s body stopped twitching. Sarah looked up at Judah, white hot indignation filling her wide eyes. She glanced down at her blood-soaked body and shook her head.
“We don’t have much time,” Sarah finally said before standing and approaching the corner of the room. She reached down into one of the buckets, doing what she could to grab handfuls of water and wash the blood from her body. “Quick, Judah, pour it over my head. Girls, each of you find one of those dresses and put it on. We’ve got to get out of here fast.”
Judah ran over and grabbed the bucket, pouring it over his mother. “Where’s Alexandra?”
Sarah wiped away the water from her eyes, glancing at the wall to Judah’s right with unsure eyes. “Hopefully alive,” she said as she ran over to the bed. “Where is Trey?”
“I left him back with Elizabeth and Eric,” Judah said. “Eric was still unconscious and—”
“Wait,” Sarah said as she grabbed a purple dress and turned around. “Eric’s alive?”
Judah nodded his head. “He was breathing when I got back to the camp, but I couldn’t stay behind. I came here as soon as I could. I thought I would…oh God, Mom, I tried to get here before….” He looked over at his sisters, fighting back the tears that quickly welled up before turning back to his mom. “Did they touch them?”
“No,” Sarah said as she pulled the dress overhead. “They didn’t touch us.”
“And Alexandra?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” Sarah said, looking behind her at her girls as they finished tugging their gowns on them. “We’ve got to move.”
“Okay,” he said, reaching down and unbuckling the pistol that was holstered on Saul’s leg. “I’ll lay down some cover fire and draw their attention. Just get them out of here. Find a way to cross the river and we can meet up in a couple of weeks at that college where Alexandra’s sister lived.”
“No,” she said.
“Mom, we have to—”
“Cate said they only allow women outside to be lined up on display. Now you got yourself in here acting like one of them. You think you can keep that up a bit longer?”
“I can,” Judah replied. “Though acting like them makes me want to throw up.”
“Good,” Sarah said. “The day it doesn’t is the day I disown you. Keep it up for now. I need you to play your part and we’ll act like girls being put up for display. We’ll find Alexandra and once we’re outside, we wait to make a break for it. All of us…together. No questions.”
“Fine,” Judah said, fastening Saul’s gun to his leg. “Where is she?”
“In the room next to ours,” Sarah said, pointing to the far wall. She turned to Eva and Grace, handing them two dresses. “You two keep your eyes down and your mouths closed. It’s going to be okay. If we get separated, you just run for the bridges and don’t stop for us.” They nodded their heads quietly. Sarah paused before reaching toward the bed. She shuffled through her old clothes quickly before tugging her Bible free. Sarah handed it to Judah and nodded her head as he tucked it into one of his pant pockets. “Alright, let’s go.”
Judah shoved Saul’s body to the side so that he could open the door. He paused before reaching over his corpse and tugging the knife his father had given him free from the other man’s chest. He wiped the blade clean on Saul’s shirt and tucked the dagger in his belt. He rose and opened the door, glancing down each way before stepping into the hallway. He nodded back to his mother before slowly walking over to the second door. He paused, unsure if Alexandra was alone or not. He turned back to Sarah and whispered.
“Was anyone else in there with her?”
“I don’t know,” she said.
Judah nodded and took a deep breath before drawing his weapon and opening the door.
His eyes immediately fell on the still body that lay on the bed, facing the other way. He glanced around the room, making sure it was empty before running over to the bed, slowing as he approached. Alexandra still wore the clothes he had last seen her in, though her shirt was ripped at the collar. Judah gently grabbed Alexandra by the shoulder and began to roll her over. As he did so, she began to thrash, pounding his chest with her clinched fists.
“Don’t touch me!” she roared. “Don’t—”
“Alexandra, stop; it’s me. It’s Judah.”
Alexandra gazed back at him quietly, her dark, terrified eyes widening as they bored into him. After a pause, she reached up and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him tight against her as she wept.
“It’s alright, Alexandra,” Judah said as he painfully pulled away from her embrace. “Come on. We don’t have much time. Sarah and the girls are here and we need to go quickly.”
She glanced over at Sarah before looking back at Judah and nodding her head. She stood up and immediately winced, nearly falling to the floor. Sarah ran over and grabbed Alexandra by the left arm while Judah supported her by the right. Alexandra began to cry again as she hung between them.
“It’s okay, Sweetie,” Sarah said soothingly. “It’s almost over.”
“Are you okay?” Judah asked. “Did they break something?”
Sarah glanced up at Judah as she helped lower Alexandra back to the bed. “Judah, I need you to go back to the other room and grab another dress. Something that looks like it will fit her. They won’t let her out unless she looks like one of us.”
“But I—”
“Just do it,” she said. “I’ll see what’s wrong with her.”
Judah nodded reluctantly before standing and quickly running to the door. He opened the door, peering out cautiously before running over to the other room. He entered and quickly shut the door behind him, running over to the bed to begin searching the pile of fancy clothes. He sifted through them, tossing dress after dress to the side. After a moment, he paused, realizing he wasn’t only looking for something that would fit her.
He was searching for a garment of beauty, worthy of the girl he had begun to love.
Judah wiped away his tears and grabbed a dark red dress before turning back to the door. As he stepped out into the hallway and turned toward the other room, he abruptly stopped.
“Who the hell are you?” a man standing before him asked quietly.
“I’m…,” Judah began, gulping down the lump in his throat. “I’m Judah.”
“Judah, huh?” the man replied. “You the boy Saul was talking about?”
“What?” Judah asked nervously.
“You kno
w, the kid with the particular tastes?”
Judah nodded back quietly.
“He in there?” the man asked, nodding to the door.
“Yes,” Judah said.
The man looked back at Judah as though he were searching for more before shaking his head in annoyance. “Well, is he finished yet?”
“No,” Judah said. “And I wouldn’t go in there. He about bit my head off. Told me to take this dress next door to the new girl.”
“That so?” the man replied. “Hank tell her to put it on?”
“Of course,” Judah said, playing along as he wondered how to get rid of the guy.
The other man glanced back at the door where the girls waited before looking back at Judah with a grin.
“Well, he said we can look but don’t touch,” the man said with a grin. “Come on, you need to see this girl.”
“I’m not sure Hank would—”
“Oh, give me that,” the man grumbled, grabbing the dress from Judah’s hands before turning to walk to the other door. “Now I understand you’re into little girls and all, but this woman might change that all for you.” The man reached down and turned the knob, the one way lock clicking. He pushed the door open and walked into the dark room. “Hank keeps saying hands off, but I say share the wealth. He can’t go on—”
Judah wrapped his hand around the man’s mouth and stuck his knife into his back. Sarah and the girls looked over in surprise as the man briefly struggled. Judah growled, sticking the man repeatedly until his body went limp and fell to the ground. Judah paused before reaching down and cleaning his knife again on the man’s pant leg. He grabbed the dress, turning it over and tossing it to Alexandra.
“Sorry for the blood on it,” he said. “Good thing I grabbed red.”
Sarah stared at him wordlessly. He was about to open his mouth when he realized Alexandra was standing there, gazing back at him in nothing but her underwear and bra. He quickly turned around to face the door.
“Sorry,” he mumbled as they started dressing behind him.