I stifled a gasp when I realized she had no nails. They were all gone. She didn't even have teeth.
"What are you doing with her? Put her out of her misery!" I exclaimed to the girl.
This was wrong. Terribly wrong. I was horrified.
The girl spun towards me. "Leave!" She screamed.
Her mother started screaming with her. She wouldn't stop. The noise got louder and louder.
Too afraid to have my back face them, I backed out of the house.
When my foot stepped outside, I bumped into someone. I opened my mouth to scream, but got cut off by hands covering it.
"Don't scream," it was Seth's voice.
I sagged against him in relief, suddenly feeling safe. He pulled me away from the makeshift house.
The crickets were quiet now.
"What were you doing in there?" Seth asked, spinning me to face him. His dark eyes were angry.
I stumbled over my words. "I heard a noise."
Seth pressed his lips together, fighting his anger. "Brianna things are different then the time you were born. When you hear a noise do not investigate. Come get me." It was a command.
I shoved away from him. "Who are you to tell me what to do?"
Seth grabbed onto both of my elbows and yanked me closer. His anger evaporated and a different look crossed his eyes. "I have no right to tell you what to do, but I worry."
I couldn't muster any anger now. I wanted to be angry, though. I wanted to be furious. I wanted to yell at him and fight with him. I couldn't get the horrifying image of the diseased tied to that chair in there out of my mind. The scratches down her face...
I shuddered.
Seth's copper hair fell into his eyes when he looked down at me. "What did you see in there?"
Closing my eyes, I breathed heavily through my nose. "That girl was in there with someone she called her mom. It was a diseased tied to the chair and she was feeding her rats."
Seth didn't seem surprised at all. He gave my hair a soft tug and motioned for me to follow him. "Some people believe that one day there will be a cure. They don't want to kill their family. They can't bring themselves to do it."
"At least, they have hope." I mumbled.
Seth made a noise under his breath. "There will never be a cure. Think about it. The diseased brain cells are fried. There is no coming back from that."
I didn't respond. There would be a cure. All it would take is time and effort. I felt bad for the girl in the tent. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I ever saw a family member in that condition.
"The supply truck should be here soon." Seth informed me.
We were standing outside of the makeshift house.
I scuffed my shoes in the broken down gravel. "It's so quiet here."
"Most towns are like that now, unless they are next to a military base."
I looked up into his dark eyes. "Where did you meet Jessica? Who is she?" Curiosity overcame me.
Although Seth maintained eye contact, I knew the moment he opened his mouth it would be a lie. It was a funny feeling I had. "I told you. She saved me that night at the base."
I lifted my eyebrows. "She just happened to stumble upon you and save you? Why you? Why not anyone else?"
Seth tensed. If I wasn't watching so closely, I would have missed it. "I'm not sure. I would tell you to ask her, but she isn't here now."
At the noise of crunching gravel, we both turned our heads to look. A semi-truck was driving down the torn street.
"The food and supplies are here." Seth stated.
I held off on my questions for now. He was always so vague of every answer he was willing to give. He accepted that I was not Evelyn way too easy. And this Jessica girl? He was holding off on her.
At the noise, people started filling out of their homes. They watched with solemn eyes. I would have thought they would have been happier at seeing food. One person, in particular, didn’t appear to like the sight of the semi. The scrawny man turned back inside his box home.
"Took them long enough," David spoke from behind us.
He came out and stood beside Seth and me.
When the semi came to a stop, two people jumped out and went to the back. In a few minutes, more people came out. There was a group of about twelve people. All of them were wearing black cargo pants and a black tee shirt. Most of them were men. Mean looking men. There was only two woman who looked just as mean as them.
"They look so rough." I said.
"Enforcers." David responded.
I twirled a lock of my brown hair between my fingers, feeling a little nervous. There was something about the word enforcers that gave me chills. As if sensing my fear, David placed his hand on my shoulder.
"Do not worry. Enforcers are probably one of the best people that could exist."
I kept my mouth shut. They were real soldiers placed at the front of the line to murder people. How could that make them one of the best people that could exist?
David spoke again. It was like he was reading my mind. "They sacrifice their lives for innocent people all the time. Sometimes between what is right and what is wrong becomes a blurred line. Look at them right now. Risking everything for these hungry people."
David was right, in a sense.
"I will go help them unload." Seth walked away.
The muscles in his back were rigid, but he walked with confidence. Strength. The enforcer's turned and looked at him. One man barked out a loud laugh that I swore shook the houses around us. He clapped Seth on the back. Hard.
After the loud man said something, the rest of the enforcers walked over and greeted him. They seemed to like him already.
Seth turned and look over at me. I dropped my gaze fast a blush rising in my cheeks. I was staring. Another booming laugh, but I forced myself not to look.
"Seth is a good man." David interrupted my thoughts.
I looked up into his hazel eyes, the exact same color as my fathers. Dark circles covered hung below his eyes. He looked exhausted.
Why was he telling me that? "I know."
"Do you ever plan on making your feelings for him known?"
My heart skipped a beat and I gave David a surprised look. "What in the world are you talking about?" I did not have feelings for Seth. At all. Yes, he was a little good looking. Yes, he sometimes gave me a funny feeling in my stomach, but I did not have feelings for him.
David's lips turned up into a small smile. "I see the way you look at him. I've felt how protective he is over you."
I gave David a sassy look. "What are you doing? Playing matchmaker? “I did not look at Seth in any way.
David suppressed a smile. Something lightened in my heart at seeing it. Even though he wasn't my father, it felt good to see that smile. I had almost forgotten what it looked like when my dad smiled.
"I better go introduce myself." David gave me a curt nod and walked over to the group of enforcers.
When he arrived, they all turned and looked at him. It hit me then. These people didn't realize who he was. No recognition showed in their eyes. They didn't realize he was the one calling all the shots. I watched the way Seth reacted to him coming over. He listened very hard to what he was saying and nodded his head every few seconds. It was obvious that Seth looked up to him.
Hearing the metal door open behind me, I turned to see who was coming out. It was Ares and Adam. Ares made Adam look small. He towered over him by a good two feet. Ares eyes landed on me. His face was in a stone mask.
He didn't say a word to me but kept walking towards the semi.
"I don't think he likes you very much." Adam told me, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Adams green eyes appeared a little dull this morning.
I nodded. "Nobody likes me."
"I like you."
It only took Adam fifteen seconds to make things awkward again. "Okay." I brushed him off and turned back to watch them unload the semi. They were taking huge boxes out. All of them were heavily loaded with guns. Stephan would
have a fit if he saw this.
"Do you not like me?" Adam placed both his hands on my shoulders and began rubbing a tight knot out. I stiffened, but under his sure hands, my body slowly relaxed. A groan left my lips.
"I think you're a wonderful friend even though you've pulled a gun on me twice." I murmured.
Adam dug his thumb into a tight knot. It hurt, but I soon felt the pressure release in my back. "I heard David talking to you. You like Seth?"
Annoyance filled me. "What is this? Middle school."
"What's a middle school?" Adam asked.
Well, I guess the school systems worked differently now. I ignored his question and moved out from under his touch. I turned and gave him a stern look. "I do not have feelings for you, Adam. I probably never will." I was being honest. Adam held a place in my heart as a dear friend. Nothing more and nothing less. If we were in the twenty-first century, he would have known I was friend zoning him.
Adam's green eyes lit up with laughter. He rubbed his eight o clock shadow on his jaw and shook his head a little bit. "You're so cute when you get angry."
My hands balled into fists at my side. "I am not angry, nor am I cute." Who calls a woman cute? Cute is for puppies and kittens.
Adam lifted his hands. "Okay, okay. Calm down."
"I am calm." I said through clenched teeth.
He was baiting me. Making me angry on purpose.
I heard a crash and looked back to where the enforcers were. During mine and Adam's little banter they managed to set up a huge tent. They were bringing all the boxes of food inside of it. They seemed to be bringing other things inside too.
"What all did they bring with them?" I asked, forgetting I was angry with him.
"Food, clothes, stuff for better shelter, toothpaste, tooth brushes, water, and necessities."
I looked at all of the people standing around, not approaching. "Why isn't anyone going over to them?"
Adam took my hand and began walking me towards the enforcers. "If they all rush at them at once, the enforcer have to use force to get them to get back. A riot started before when they were brought food and shelter. All the people fought each other and the rebellion trying to get to the food. Now they do it in a single file line. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They feed the ones who need the food the most, first."
I nodded in understanding. When we reached the enforcers, one of them stopped and stared at me. In a flash, he pulled out an automatic gun and pointed it directly at me. Seth was faster. He unarmed the man and twisted his arm behind his back making him fall to his knees.
"No," was all Seth said.
The enforcer looked at me with blazed eyes. He was older. Pushing his thirties. His eyes looked a little crazed. Hate radiated off of him.
The man didn't question it, and loosened his posture. Seth stepped back and handed him his firearm back.
David walked over. "This is Evelyn." David nodded his head towards me, then looked every single enforcer in their eyes. "She had a trial, was proven innocent, and we will move on now. No questions." David's voice was dark.
Nobody opened their mouths to question him, and they all went back to work. Every few seconds that passed, at least, one of them would look at me. I could see the urge to kill in their eyes. I shuddered and moved closer to Adam.
Even if his and my friendship was a little rocky, I at least felt safe by his side.
Chapter Eighteen
The huge tent was filled with a lot of supplies. I wondered where they got everything. I had never seen so much stuff filled into a small space before. I could barely take a step without tripping over a box. The people in their makeshift homes were pressing closer and closer.
They looked like walking zombies. The girl who had fed her diseased mother a dead rat stood the closest. She shook like a fragile leaf in the wind. Her eyes stayed on me at all times.
"Alright everyone. I want you all to get into a single file line. I want the weakest ones at the front and the strongest at the back of the line. If anyone cuts, pushes, or shoves you will immediately be sent to the back." David's voice boomed across the lot.
In a moment’s notice, there was pushing and shoving. A line slowly formed. Everyone stared on with crazed hungry eyes. There were only a few children. They were at the front. The sun was completely out now. I wiped sweat from my forehead and watched as the enforcers opened boxes and pulled food out.
Ares opened an ice cooler that contained meat. A lot of meat. The female enforcer was pulling out fruits and vegetables. I had expected them to pull out canned foods or Twinkies, not fresh food.
I turned and looked at Seth. "Where did they get the food from?"
Seth kept staring straight forward, barely sparing me a look. "Don't worry about it."
I stiffened. What had I done wrong now?
"They went hunting on the way over here for the meat. Everything after this meal will be canned foods. They brought seeds for the people to plant things themselves and to live off of what nature has to provide." Adam walked to the side of me.
"Oh." I watched the enforcers pass out the food on plastic plates. The people dug in ravenously, using their hands to eat. I had never seen anything like this before.
I watched Ares lift his automatic gun and point it at a man who went to charge at one of the enforcers. The man backed off instantly.
"How long will we be here?" I asked, turning my back on Seth and facing Adam.
"Not long. I have different situations to attend to and everything seems to be under control here." David approached us, hearing my question.
David seemed a little relaxed. His once stiff posture was more loosened. The usually tense muscles around his eyes weren't there. He appeared to be at ease. Once he got closer, and I was able to smell him, I choked back a laugh. I was not expecting that. He reeked of weed.
I hadn't thought much about drugs, but I automatically assumed with the condition the world is in, nobody would be growing. David caught my eye and winked. He knew I knew. Adam looked a little confused. He must not have recognized the smell.
When did David even have time to disappear and get high? He was one sneaky man. He obviously needed it. I remembered the big discussions on whether or not drugs should be legal. It was scientifically proven to be good for many medical reasons, yet Americans made such a huge ordeal out of it.
David glanced around at everything. "We should probably be going now. There is a riot in Paradise."
Ares lifted his head and looked over when he heard the word riot. "Did you say paradise?" Ares muscles in his arms bunched as he put down a huge box. The scar across his face looked more prominent in the sunlight. He watched David with ruthless eyes.
David nodded. "Yes. It broke out last night."
Seth made a surprised noise under his breath. "Is it Stephen's followers that are rioting?"
"No." David shook his head. "People from around the town came and started a riot. They are not only harming The Unit, but civilians as well. Right now, over there, there are no good guys or bad guys."
David opened his mouth to speak more, but I interrupted him. "How could you possibly know this? You've been with us the entire time."
David didn't answer me. He just simply stared at me for a few seconds before grabbing one of the smaller boxes. "I suggest you guys eat on the road and get as much energy as you can. It's going to be a long few days."
David said his goodbyes to the enforcers and walked over to the truck. I was surprised when I saw Ares follow him. I would have expected him to stay with the other enforcers.
Adam stayed right by my side as we walked to the truck. I looked around and realized something. I haven't seen Chantel all morning.
I looked at Adams green eyes. "Have you seen Chantel?"
Adam furrowed his brows, thinking. "I haven't. Let me go check and see if she is still sleeping."
Adam disappeared in that woman's makeshift home. I glanced at David and Ares to see that they were whispering to each other furiously.
I had an odd feeling in my stomach. Something wasn't right. Chantel never slept in. When I heard a shuffle come from the box house that the girl fed her mom in, I couldn't help but go look. Maybe Chantel was in there. Maybe she was like me and she heard a noise too.
Revolutionary Love (The Revolution Series Book 1) Page 17