He sat up. “You know what?”
“I know who you are.”
“Who’s that?”
“You’re a spy from the other camp.”
Ice water flooded his veins, but he remained quiet.
She peeked through the curtain to make sure they were still alone before saying, “I’m Rebecca’s granddaughter.”
“You?”
She nodded and leaned closer. “I have a message for you.”
He narrowed his eyes as he debated whether to trust her or not. “What message?”
“My granny says you cannot win Ke Tau’s trust. You cannot do what he does, what he’ll expect you to do.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because you’re a good man. You cannot do such evil.”
Her words hit him hard, and he wondered if she was right. Can I? Can I torture and kill innocent people? Act like a monster?
A flash of remembrance hit him. Doe eyes in caramel skin, fading as death stole over them. Death delivered by his hands. Valerie.
“How do you know I’m not a monster? How does your grandmother know?” He gazed at his hands with revulsion. The very hands that crushed the life out of Valerie’s neck when he found out she’d cheated on him. “I’m a killer.”
The memory flooded back like a tidal wave. The anger and betrayal. Seeing his wife with another man, and the fear in his eyes when Michael leveled the gun at him and pulled the trigger. Valerie’s screams. Her pleas for mercy. Mercy he hadn’t granted. The life leaching from her eyes.
He should have gone to jail then, but he didn’t, saved by the very virus that brought about the end of the world. I’m the devil.
Mpho reached out and gripped his fingers, startling him from the vision. “Maybe you were once, but you’re not anymore. You can’t go through with this.”
“I can.”
“You can’t,” she insisted. “You’ll fail.”
“What do you propose I do then?” he demanded in anger. “What does your clever granny suggest?”
Mpho sat back on her heels. “We’ve been preparing for a while now to overthrow Ke Tau and his men.”
“We? Who’s we?”
“The women, the children, the old men.”
Michael scoffed. “You’ll never win.”
“Not alone, but if you attacked, we’d have the advantage of surprise.”
He blew out a breath as he considered her words. “Attacked when?”
“On the full moon. We’ll make certain the men are drunk, and when you strike, we’ll rise from within. They’ll never expect it.”
“The full moon?”
She nodded, her eyes shining with eagerness. “All you have to do is escape tomorrow and take the message to your people. On the full moon…”
“We attack,” he finished for her.
“Yes.”
“How do I know this isn’t a trap?”
“You don’t know, but you must trust me.” She grabbed his hand and pressed it to her chest, right above her heart. “You must know how I yearn for his death. He killed my father. Feel my hatred.”
He looked into her eyes and saw the strength of her feelings projected back at him. “I believe you.”
She sighed and sank back onto the mattress. “Thank you.”
He lay down next to her and stared at the ceiling, contemplating her words. It made sense. It was a logical plan. It can work.
Outside, the first of the revelers stumbled into the room, followed by more. The sounds of sex rose around him. The grunts of men and the pained cries of girls being taken against their will. We have to stop this.
He turned his head toward Mpho and met her soft brown eyes. “I will do it.”
She nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m glad, but for now, we have to convince the others you are with them.”
He closed his eyes and gritted out a denial. “I can’t take you. I can’t. You’re a child.”
“I’m nineteen.”
“No.”
“Then pretend.”
He opened his eyes and stared at her.
“We can act it out, but we must do it soon.” Her chin nodded toward the curtain, and there he saw a silhouette. A man, watching like a sentinel. Luckily their whispers couldn’t be heard over the din.
Michael compressed his lips and rolled over onto Mpho with a pig-like grunt. He pinned her to the floor and ran his hands over her sides while she whimpered in fear.
With one hand, he ripped open her shirt. The sound of tearing cloth was loud in the night. He averted his eyes from her small breasts and made as if to open his fly. She pleaded with him to stop as he shoved his hips between her legs. Their shadows played across the curtain, a horrifying show in black and white.
Even simulating the act made him feel dirty as he pretended to thrust at the girl beneath him. She acted the part well, crying and sobbing with piteous sorrow.
His heart twisted when he realized that for her, this probably wasn’t an act. How many nights has she suffered like this for real beneath the body of another man? How many?
When at last he could realistically end the farce, he rolled over and pretended to snore. After several minutes, the sentinel was gone, run back to Ke Tau with the news that his new man was a monster after all.
A small hand crept onto his shoulder, and Mpho whispered in his ear. “You are a good man, Michael. Now sleep. I will wake you before dawn.”
Exhaustion crashed over him. Before he knew it, slumber stole over his senses and dragged him to the deep.
The next day, Mpho kept her word and woke him when the light was still grey and the sun a distant dream. He rolled out of bed and washed again with the bucket of water she brought him and a sliver of soap.
She took his dirt-streaked clothes and provided him with fresh ones. They were old and stained, but he felt profound gratitude to be clean once more.
With small scissors, he trimmed his nails and beard before wolfing down a jug of water and a plate of food. It was the same food as the previous night, and this time he thought to ask.
“What meat is this?”
She eyed him solemnly. “Dog.”
His stomach rolled, but he forced it down anyway. He’d need the calories before the day was out. Before he left, he paused. “Thank you, Mpho.”
She nodded. “Goodbye, Michael.”
As he picked his way through the sprawling figures of snoring men, he wondered if he’d ever see her again.
***
An hour later, he stood outside a small suburban house with Ke Tau and the others. The gates were chained shut and the windows covered in newspaper. Waist-high grass covered the lawn.
There had been no opportunity as yet to escape, and he wondered if he’d ever get his chance. That damned son of a whore Hiran is watching me like a spider watches a fly circling his web.
At a signal from Ke Tau, they jumped over the gate and stormed the house. With a crowbar, they forced open the security gate and crashed inside.
Startled cries rose into the air as they barged their way through, Ak47’s pointed in front of them. Two men rushed into the hallway from the bedrooms, each brandishing a gun.
“Drop your weapons,” Michael cried. “Drop them!”
At the sight of so many guns, the two men tossed their own and raised their hands. The oldest, a middle-aged man with spectacles, pleaded with them. “Don’t shoot. Please, don’t shoot.”
The other, a youngster of about seventeen, stared at them with wide blue eyes. His coloring and features indicated he was likely the older man’s son.
“Get everyone out here, and we won’t hurt you,” Hiran ordered as he stepped forward. “Now.”
“You promise not to hurt us?” the older man asked, his face hopeful. “You won’t hurt my kids?”
Fuck, it’s a family, Michael realized.
He looked on in growing horror as the older man called over his shoulder, “Ruby, come out here. Now.”
A girl, ba
rely fourteen, stepped out from a side door. Her hands were clasped in front of her and visibly trembled. She stared at them with tearful eyes.
“Is that it? No one else?” Hiran asked. “You’d better not lie to me.”
“I promise. It’s just us three.”
Next to Michael, Carlito sidled closer. His eyes shone with excitement above his hooked nose. He licked his lips with the tip of his tongue while he stared at Ruby and grinned.
“Keys?” Hiran asked.
“What?”
“The keys to the gate. Where are they?”
“O…over there.” The man pointed at a bunch of silver keys on a side stand.
Ke Tau, who up until now had hung back, stepped forward. He surveyed the three survivors in front of him with a crooked smile. “Mosi, make sure he’s telling the truth. Search the house, and bring in the truck. Lock behind you. This is going to take awhile.”
Michael sucked in a single breath. The trap was sprung. Both he and the family were now caught in Ke Tau’s web.
“The rest of you, let’s play a little game,” Ke Tau said with undisguised relish.
Carlito lowered his gun and slipped his knife from its scabbard. He stepped toward the father who now realized his mistake and stepped back with hands raised. “No, please. Don’t do this. Don’t hurt us.”
Carlito flashed a wicked grin as Boipelo handed him a roll of duct tape. “Now, now. Don’t fight. You’ll just make it worse for yourself.”
The man continued to beg. “Please, do what you want with me, but let my children leave.”
“Now why would we do that?” Ke Tau asked. “Why would we let such sweet young flesh run free?”
Realization dawned in the father’s eyes. With a cry, he flung himself at Carlito. The two collided, and the older man gasped as Carlito’s thrust his knife between his ribs. He exhaled a slow breath of air, and his mouth worked as Carlito sawed deeper into his chest with the blade. Crimson blood spilled over his lips.
The boy cried out while the girl screamed, “Daddy, no!”
She flung herself forward, but Boipelo caught her and held her struggling body against his while her brother looked on in terror.
“What a pity. We could have had some fun with the father,” Ke Tau shrugged and grinned at the remaining boy and girl. “Oh, well. Guess they’ll have to do, hey Michael?”
“Guess so,” Michael replied with a shrug.
“Tie the boy to a chair. Let’s see how tough he is,” Ke Tau said.
With emotionless eyes, Hiran stripped of the teenager’s clothes until he was left cold and vulnerable in only his socks and boxers. Then he strapped him to a chair with tape while his sister watched on in terror. Their father lay on the floor in a growing pool of blood, his face slack in death.
“Done,” Hiran said.
“Carlito, warm up our guest, will you? He looks a bit chilly,” Ke Tau said with a sinister smile.
“With pleasure,” Carlito replied as he removed a lighter from his pocket. He flicked the top off and rolled his thumb across until a naked flame burned brightly. This he lowered to the boy’s thigh until it touched the skin.
Hoarse cries tore from the teenage boy’s lips, harsh and unforgiving. The flesh of his leg blistered and rose, turning bright red and angry. Michael blanched but forced himself to watch with an expression of indifference.
Ruby screamed and struggled against the grasp of Mosi as Carlito tortured her brother. “No, Lonny, no! No!”
Her struggles earned her nothing more than a slap across the face. Michael wracked his brains for a way out, not only for him but the two youngsters as well.
“Aren’t you going to recruit him?” he asked Ke Tau.
“Sometimes I do, but I know people and this one…” Ke Tau shrugged. “He won’t fight for me.”
Michael opened his mouth to argue, but a glint in Ke Tau’s eyes warned him not to. He wants me to fight, to show the real me.
He gritted his teeth against a rising tide of nausea that threatened to betray him. Rebecca was right. Mpho was right. He could never have done this. He could never have hurt these children. I have to get out of here. Now.
Chapter 11 - Lisa
Lisa ran through the night with nothing more than a knife, a gun, and a flashlight. The rain had softened to a mild patter, and the rumbling thunder grew distant. Occasional flashes of lightning still lit up the dark, but the worst of the storm was over.
As she ran, she cursed. “Why? Why the fuck did I leave him alone? I should have stayed.”
The sight of the dying Joanna flashed before her eyes. Guilt pulsed through her veins, and she sped up. Why? Why did he do it? I thought…I really thought he might be different.
Their last conversation ran through her mind, and she couldn’t help but wonder if it was her lack of trust that made him decide to escape. Even so, he had no right to hurt Joanna.
Her legs churned, and she hardly slowed when she reached the outer gates, scaling them in one swift move. “I’m coming for you, Kabelo.”
After making her way past the barrier and across the moat, she sprinted into the night. Her flashlight bobbed up and down; its light was just enough to show her the way. She stuck to the road, and her feet crunched on the gravel until she reached the tar.
Weeks of hard labor had strengthened her body and now stood her in good stead. Her breath flowed in and out of her lungs in a steady rhythm as she fell into a jog. Her gait was smooth and even.
After a time, she switched off the light when the clouds parted to reveal the moon. Its silver light lit the way like a beacon. “Run, little rabbit. Run.”
There was no need to try and track Kabelo. She knew where he was going. Ke Tau. All she had to do was catch him before he got there. I hope Joanna’s okay.
The road passed beneath her feet at a swift pace until she reached the crossing into Riebeeckstad. Here she was forced to slow down and navigate her way between the cars that clogged it. While a passage through had been cleared by Breytenbach’s team, infected were an ever-present threat.
She encountered no zombies, though, and passed without incident. Her gaze fixed on the horizon, and she estimated she’d reach Welkom within an hour. The minutes passed, falling by the wayside as the distance between her and town shrank.
The entire time she ran, she expected to see the slender figure of Kabelo in the distance. But he must have been faster than she expected because before she knew it, she hit the outskirts of town.
Here she slowed to a stop to reevaluate. Catching the boy on the road outside of town was one thing, but going into a zombie-infested urban maze after him was another. Especially alone.
“Crap. What do I do now?” Her voice echoed around her, but it provided no answers to her dilemma. She looked over her shoulder in the direction she’d come from and bit her lip. “Should I go back?”
Then she remembered Joanna lying on the ground while the blood pumped out of her frail body. Kind Joanna. Helpful Joanna. A person who’d never hurt anyone or anything. Her resolve hardened into steel.
She slipped her knife from its scabbard and held it in her right. In her left, she held the flashlight though she didn’t switch it on. The light would only draw infected. On light feet, she snuck into town, taking the shortest route to Ke Tau’s place.
At first, it was easy going. The road stretched long and straight with a large empty field on her left and barren houses on the right. She walked down the middle, her eyes peeled for zombies, and her ears perked for unusual noises.
Enfolded by the quiet that accompanies the end of the world, Lisa pushed deeper into town. Her tread was light, but now and then a bit of sand or gravel would crunch beneath her soles. Her soft breaths sounded loud to her ears, and the faint crackles of rodents scurrying in the field were like gunshots to her sensitive hearing.
Her bare arms prickled in the cold night air. She’d taken off her soaked jacket earlier. Now she stopped and unwound it from her waist to slip it back on. The dam
p cloth rasped across her skin and elicited a shiver from her core.
A loud crack came from the open field next to her, and she whirled. A towering figure lurched from a clump of bushes and fell onto her upraised hands. Lisa’s knees buckled under the weight of the heavyset zombie. She strained to stay upright as it shoved into her arms. Her muscles trembled as teeth she couldn’t see clicked shut in front of her face.
Panic surged through Lisa. She ground her heels into the asphalt, lowered her head and pushed. “Get off me, you fucking monster.”
The thing growled as it staggered back. With a swing of her arm, she hit it on the side of the head with the flashlight. Turning on her heels, she ran before it could attack again. I’m not sticking around for a fight with that thing!
Her feet pounded across the tar as she put distance between her and the zombie. Her breath rasped in and out of her lungs, and her heart bounded with the adrenalin rush.
After a time, she stopped and sucked in a few precious lungfuls of oxygen. She couldn’t hear any signs of pursuit, but now her surroundings had changed. She was much deeper into the suburbs, and danger lurked everywhere.
Lisa turned in a circle; her eyes strained for more lurkers. At that precise moment, a cloud drifted in front of the moon. It cut off the faint glow of silver and dumped her into a pit of black. Her fear ratcheted up a notch.
“Shit, shit, shit,” she whispered.
As if in answer, a rasp alerted her, and she ducked beneath two outstretched arms in the nick of time. Another pair of fingers hooked into her hair. With a cry, Lisa wrenched her head back. A few strands ripped free with a sharp burst of pain. She fell to her knees and scrambled across the ground between several pairs of legs.
The clouds moved again, and the moon reappeared. Its cold light shone down on a growing throng of infected, all drawn by the noise. They shuffled across overgrown lawns and tripped across hedges. Gleaming eyes peered at her from all directions.
Lisa jumped to her feet and sprinted down the road. Her legs carried her away from the swarm, but they streamed after her like locusts in search of green pastures. Warm blood flowed down her shins, and her palms burned, a legacy of her fall on the road. At least, she still carried the flashlight and knife. I need to hide. Somewhere. Anywhere.
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