“What’s your story? Do you still fight? You said he tested you.”
“I used to, but I fell in love with Kirk’s daughter, and her daddy ordered me to stop fighting when she got pregnant. Now I just help patrol the city and do odds and ends, like shoveling these graves.”
“You two about done?” Kirk yelled. “Let’s get those stiffs in the ground and get out of here.”
We went about the grim deed of burying the bodies, and I said a quick prayer before I was taken back to my dorm.
* * *
Kirk promised me a visit from Jackie, and I waited around, but she didn’t show up. It irked me that they controlled when I could see her, and I hated the fact that I was locked up in this room. It made me mad enough to punch a hole in the wall.
When someone tapped on the door, I hurried over.
“It’s me, Eva. Please don’t attack me when I unlock the door.”
“I won’t,” I said. “Come on in.”
“Ten minutes,” the guard said when he opened the door to let her in.
“They let you visit?” I said.
“Not exactly. I’m here to explain where Jackie is.”
I swallowed hard. “What’s going on?”
“She was in a fight last night.”
“What!? She isn’t supposed to be fighting already.”
“I know, but she was hurt pretty bad. She’s in no condition to walk over here.”
“But Kirk said I could see her.”
“I don’t think he even knows how bad she is.”
I could feel the anger flooding through me. “I’m going to kill them!” I shouted.
“Dean...”
I knocked my dresser over and punched the wall again. My knuckles began to bleed, but I ignored the pain.
The door opened, due to the commotion, and one of the security guards looked at my hands. “What’s going on in here?” he demanded. “You better not have hurt Eva!”
“It’s his blood,” she said. “He’s just angry. Everything is fine. Just let me talk to Dean and calm him down.”
“You’ve got some nerve asking me that, buddy,” I spat, unable to maintain my composure. “I don’t hit women, but I just found out my girlfriend is pretty banged up, so you obviously wouldn’t care anyway!”
The guard shrugged and almost laughed. “Ain’t my problem that your old lady can’t fight.”
I wanted to tear him from limb to limb, but Eva pulled me back, imploring with her eyes for me to knock it off. I took a deep breath and tried to calm down.
The security guard looked me up and down, laughed, and shook his head, then walked out. “You got six more minutes,” he said over his shoulder before he slammed the door.
Eva touched my shoulder. “She’ll be okay,” she said. “She’s supposed to fight again, but Asia is filling in for her.”
“I want to see her.”
“Somehow, I knew you’d say that. I can pull some strings and get you over there.”
My gaze narrowed. “Good, because I wanna see Asia too.”
“Don’t ask too much of me, Dean. If I pull too many strings, they’ll start to suspect...” She shook her head and said, “It’s one or the other, and Jackie’s not feeling too well. I’d suggest sticking with her for now. Asia seems to be doing just fine.”
“Yeah, well, she usually does,” I said. “Now what do I have to do to see Jackie?”
Chapter 16
Eva had promised me a short visit with Jackie, and I couldn’t have been more grateful. “Thanks for doing this,” I said.
“You’re welcome, but you’ve got to be...civil. I know it’s gonna tick you off when you see what condition she’s in, but I can’t have you punching somebody out. You’ll stir up a ton of trouble, for yourself as well as me.”
I bit my lip. “It’ll be hard, but I’ll try.”
She peered at me. “Try? Promise me.”
“I promise to stay on my best behavior. Just please take me to see her.”
“I can get you an hour, but that’s it.”
“I’ll take it.”
She blew out a long breath. “All right. Come on.”
I looked at her, and something immediately came to mind.
“What’s going on through that head of yours?” Eva said. “I see a storm brewing.”
“We’ve gotta get outta here. We can’t just sit around doing nothing while they let people beat us half to death just because they get off on it. I swear, I’m gonna bust out of this hellhole tonight.”
“You’ll never make it,” she insisted. “I’m working on a plan. You just have to be patient till I work out the kinks.”
Her words sparked my stubbornness. “You don’t know me very well. I will get out of here. I’ll take out every guard, and Jackie, Asia, and I will run without ever looking back.”
“Not without getting yourself or those girls killed.”
“We can take them on.”
She sighed. “You don’t get it. If we get caught, we’re screwed. You heard what Kirk said about body bags. He wasn’t joking. I know. I’ve seen what they do to people who won’t cooperate.”
“So we won’t get caught,” I said.
“You will if you don’t do it my way. We have to have a clear-cut plan. Going rogue isn’t gonna help. Too many hotheads have tried that, and they’re dead because of it.” She sighed. “I know you want out of here, and we can go. We just have to wait a little longer, plan a feasible escape. There are some guards who will help us, but I need a few more days to work it all out.”
“All right,” I said halfheartedly, then nodded.
“Good. Just hang on. I’ll be right back. She then walked outside and said a few words to some security guards.
The next thing I knew, I was being led to the girls’ dorms. Inside that part of the complex, they took me straight to Jackie’s room. Eva and the guards left to give us some time alone.
“Jackie...” I said, aghast at how horrible she looked.
“Dean? I-is that you?”
I gripped her hand. “It’s me. What happened?”
“I got my butt kicked. That girl was so fast, with reflexes like lightning. I can still fight tonight. I’m just a little sore. I’ll be okay.”
“Asia is taking your place,” I said.
“No! I can’t let her do that.”
“It’s a done deal. Just get some rest.” I glanced down at the sheet and saw some dried blood. “What’s this?”
She just looked at me, and her eyes gave away the painful secrets she was trying to hide from me.
“What are you not telling me?” I asked.
Jackie slowly pulled down the sheet. “I got stabbed. She sneaked a knife in, used lethal force.”
A wave of anger washed over me, and I suddenly felt homicidal. I wanted to kill every last one of them. “Why would you hide that from me?” I asked.
“I didn’t wanna worry you. You have enough to deal with. It’s just a flesh wound, no biggie. It’ll heal up in no time.”
“No biggie? Look, we’ve gotta get out of here right now. I’ll carry you if I have to.”
“You can’t take on dozens of armed guards while carrying your wounded girlfriend. Give me some time to get better, and give Eva time to pull a plan together.”
“No! I don’t want you fighting again. We leave now.”
“No, Dean,” she said, shaking her head and wincing in pain. “We have to be smart about this. I won’t be able to live without you. I can’t go back to your brother and sister and tell them we didn’t really think the plan through and you got killed because of it. Just give it another week. I’ll be better, and we’ll know the place better.”
“You’re asking too much.”
“I’m trying to keep us both alive!” she said. “Leaving unprepared won’t get us anywhere. There’s a whole army of those men out there, all blindly dedicated to Kirk, buying into all his bull about community. They’re ready to kill anyone who wants to escape.” She
sighed. “He’s nuts, and so are his followers. I heard about that test Kirk put you through. I also know that two other guys didn’t survive it.”
I swallowed hard. “Yeah. We buried them.” I gripped her hands. “Did Kirk put you through any of his zombie tests?”
She shook her head. “They don’t make the girls do it.”
“Thank God.”
“We’re not the stars, just wrestling divas. Even if it is cutthroat, I think we’re more for show, to please the guys.” She sighed. “We’re just an escape from reality.”
“This whole thing is crazy.”
“One minute we’re in a gun fight, and in the next, we’re bound and gagged, in the back of a speeding van.” I let out a long breath. “Have you seen Asia?”
“She’s fine, holding her own. Already won a fight.”
“What dorm room is she in?” I asked.
“She’s on the other side of the building.”
“They’re separating us on purpose, you know,” I said, “just like any proper maximum security prison.”
“We won’t have a life sentence. We’ll get out. Just take it one day at a time and cooperate with them. Don’t make threats or challenge them. We need to blend in, show them we are worthy of respect. We need to become friends and build a rapport with them, get them to let down their guard. Then we’ll make a run for it.”
“Right. Then we’ll go back to Fairport, grab Nick, Val, and the others, and leave and never come back.”
“In the glass house, you told me about the island. It sounds like the perfect hiding place.”
I pondered back to that first meeting. “I remember how bad I wanted you to come with us. I’m glad you did.”
She bit her lip. “Can you believe I wanted to stay there at that glass house? I know I’ve said it before but I was a complete idiot.”
“Nah. You were just...a newbie, and you’d been pretty sheltered up to that point. When this all started, nobody knew what they were doing.”
“Claire and I definitely didn’t. I can’t believe you stuck it out with us.”
“You’ve grown so much. You’ve learned to fight for your life, and I couldn’t be more proud of you.”
“How did you put up with Claire? She was so whiny.”
“She’s grown, too, come a long way in a short time. She’s not the same girl anymore, and she’s like family to me. I’m so glad we met you guys.”
“We’ve all changed a little,” she said.
“Yeah. Remember how immature I was? My brother was livid, having to drag his baby brother around.”
“Well, you’re not a baby anymore. We’ve all grown, and we’ve been through so much.”
I gazed into her eyes. “I’ve lost you twice already, and I won’t let you go a third time.” I thought back to watching her take her last breath in Kingsville, and I’d lost her again when Charlie had taken her away. I gripped her hand, taking note of her bloody knuckles. “Yeah, we’ve definitely been through some tough times. I know we’re not out of the woods yet, but we’ll just keep fighting hard. That’s what survivors do. We can’t give up, no matter the odds.”
“I love your pep talks. You help me keep going, stay strong, and fight. I’ve learned so much from you.”
“We have no other choice but to fight. If we give up, we die.”
“I know.”
“I guess you’re right about waiting,” I said, glancing at the well-guarded door. “Let’s study the layout, learn the routine of the guards.”
“Eva has shown me around a little. I know we’re fenced in with barbed wire. We’d need tools to cut through it, but we could try to scale it or overtake the guards and unlock the gates. There are guard towers around the main perimeter, just like in prison. They monitor the perimeter for intruders, zombies, and escapees. They also patrol the area with Jeeps and trucks.”
“Ah, the final line of defense.”
“Yeah, and they’re all well armed and trigger happy. They’ll shoot anything that moves.”
“We can use the cover of darkness,” I said, “and we should study the length of time between passes.”
“They come hourly. We need to find holes in their security and take advantage of them.”
“They also make rounds and check us at regular intervals. We should all start making mental notes. We also need to get our hands on some weapons.”
She blinked. “Easier said than done, but I can try. Maybe we can rig up some homemade ones. Meanwhile, how good are you at artfully dodging shanks?”
“Hmm. Seen one too many prison movies, huh?”
“No, I’m serious. These people are crazy. You need to be just as crazy as they are.”
“You don’t think I’m crazy enough already?” I asked, winking at her.
“Well, that’s beside the point. You need...a nickname, like those wrestlers have. It’s gotta instill terror in your opponents.”
“So I’m thinking Deanie the Weenie is out of the question, right?”
She giggled and playfully smacked me. “Something a little more...intimidating. Maybe, uh... ‘The Beast’ or ‘The Body Snatcher’ or something.”
I sighed. “Is that really necessary? This isn’t the WWF.”
“You’re right. It’s not. Because if you lose here, you might get killed. People have to identify with you, bond with you. You have to create a memorable character, brand yourself. The more people root for you, the better Kirk will like you. I’m Raging Bull.”
“Hmm. You don’t look like Robert De Niro to me, but the raging part is right. I can tell you’re furious at these people.”
“Are you talkin’ to me?” she asked in her gruffest possible voice, then broke into laughter.
“Wrong movie, babe,” I said.
She touched my face. “I am mad, and I refuse to be kept here as a prisoner.”
“We’ll get out of this,” I whispered.
She nodded, then looked away.
“I can only imagine what they call Asia.”
“Bonecrusher,” she said, stifling a grin.
“Of course.”
“Hey, it works,” she said. “What about Zombie Slayer? It’s kinda true, and since everyone hates the zombies, you’ll be a hero. All you have to do is tell stories of all the zombies you’ve killed, and it wouldn’t hurt to exaggerate a little. In fact, play it up big time. If everyone likes you as a fighter, they’ll readily accept you into their community, and then you can move about more freely. It’s all about gaining their trust.”
The door opened, and Eva walked in. “Time’s up. Let’s go.”
I kissed Jackie goodbye.
Eva rolled her eyes. “I’d tell you to get a room, but you each already have one,” she said. “Can you just hurry up, before your make-out session earns me a broken nose?”
“Bye,” I said to Jackie. “You be careful out there.” I then reluctantly followed the limping Eva out of the building, with about six guards in tow to make sure we didn’t try anything funny. “Thanks for arranging that,” I said.
“It was no problem,” she said.
“So...what’s your story?” I asked as we walked.
Eva turned to the guards. “I’m fine,” she said. “You guys can go. I’ll get him back to his room.”
One of the guards looked at me suspiciously. “It’s against protocol to leave a rookie unguarded, but I owe Eva,” he said. “If you so much as hurt her, that pretty little girlfriend of yours is all mine. You got that?”
“Loud and clear.”
“He’s harmless,” said Ned. “There’s no need to treat Dean like a prisoner, and we can give him a little space. We want him to feel comfortable here.”
The other guard backed off. “Fine.”
I shot a nod to Ned as he and the others walked away.
“Wow. A moment alone.”
“They like you,” she said. “They want you to stay, to fall in love with this community so you never want to leave. At least Ned does. Kirk too.”
>
“Speaking of that, why are you here?” I asked.
“Does it matter? Just get me out of here.” She stopped and looked at me, with snow slowly falling into her hair. “Sorry. That was rude of me.”
“It’s okay. I shouldn’t be prying. You don’t have to tell me anything.”
“No, it’s all right. I’m asking you to risk your life to rescue me. The least I can do is fill you in a little on who you’re dealing with. I was in a car accident. I was hurt, thirsty, starving, and at death’s door. A herd of zombies took full advantage and attacked, ripped up the other passengers in no time. Kirk and his group brought me here about six months ago. They stitched me up and gave me hope. They told me I’d have to fight if I wanted to stay, and it didn’t seem like a bad gig at the time. After all, they gave me shelter and food. I was safe here, and I was so tired of running. I wanted a home, a place to fit in. I agreed to stay and fight, but it didn’t take long for me to realize just how horrible it is. The fights are beyond vicious and not fair. That’s how I injured my leg, and it will never heal right.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Kirk is just using people. This sanctuary isn’t worth the risk, and while it took me a while to realize it, I know now that I’d rather survive in the outside world. Since I was their best female fighter at the time, they wouldn’t let me leave. I couldn’t believe I’d gotten myself into this mess, but once you join the club, you can never leave. It’s like the mafia. When I got hurt, I started losing fights, and Kirk punished me by beating me a few times. They decided I was no use as a warrior anymore, so they gave me other duties, new responsibilities. Kirk assigns me all the dirty work, as payback. I’d hoped he’d just let me go, but he’ll never do that. He told me the same thing he told you, that death is the only escape. He said, ‘Get used to it...or we’ll happily put you out of your misery.’”
“The dude is crazy,” I said.
“For sure, but I have met some friends here. Some of the guards are even okay. Kirk is spiteful, though, and he holds a grudge against me because I got injured and couldn’t fight anymore. I’ve had to cooperate, to just do whatever I have to do to survive. For months, though, I’ve been watching for my opportunity, a chance to escape. I’ve made it a point to get chummy with all the guards, developing relationships with them and making them think I am trustworthy. That’s the only reason they left me alone with you now.”
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