by Tahnee Fritz
I could have saved them. I could’ve ended their pitiful lives as zombies and gave them the chance to live again. They didn’t need to go out this way, not even the one I’m sure wouldn’t have been cured.
I turn to Ryder and the others. Jason shakes his head and lowers the gun when our eyes meet. He’s the only one of them with a gun and he’s not responsible for this. He believes in this cure and therefore wouldn’t jeopardize any part of spreading it to the world.
“I knew you’d come back here.” The voice comes from behind me and I slowly turn around.
My nose had failed me this time. I don’t know how I missed his scent or how I didn’t hear him approaching us. Maybe I was too focused on saving Greg or trying to find the people who were here yesterday. Those aren’t good enough excuses for me to not notice Trevor, the man with an evil plan for me. And here he is. Standing a few measly feet away from me, lowering a gun to his side.
After seeing him standing alone with a smile plastered to his devilish face, I know there’s something else going on here. I keep my eyes focused on the enemy and my ears strain to listen for other movement. I can hear the nervous breathing and quiet sobs coming from the people behind me. They’re afraid and by the other sounds I’m hearing along with them, I know what’s frightening them.
* * *
We’re surrounded. Trevor had his gang of men and women scattered all throughout this village waiting for us to show up. I still can’t figure out how I didn’t smell them or hear their breathing when we got here. The hunger pains must have been so strong, they knocked out my super senses for a bit and it’s taking a while for them to catch back up. Because of my inability to detect other people around, we are all surrounded with guns aimed at our backs and heads. There’s not a gap big enough between the bad guys for us to try an escape attempt.
We are completely screwed.
“You can drop the gun, boy.” Trevor shouts.
I turn my head. Jason is still holding the gun tight in his grip. It’s the only form of protection they have without me and I know he doesn’t want to give it up. I also know what will happen if he refuses to toss the gun to the ground. Trevor will have one of his goons either shoot him or knock him out and take the gun away from him. The best thing for all of us is to do what these people say right now. At least until I have a better plan at getting us the hell out of here.
“Toss the gun, boy, or you will have one hell of a headache.” Trevor orders again as one of his men points a gun to Jason’s head.
His nervous chest is heaving with every breath he takes. He knows he has no other option if he wants to stay alive. He tosses the gun to the ground and it clanks on the concrete at the feet of the man aiming the gun at him.
I turn back to Trevor. For a man who’s a good foot taller than me, he really doesn’t seem all that intimidating. Carter scared me more than this guy ever could. Yet, he stands here with a smug look on his face as if he’s actually going to win this thing and get away with me in his grasp. I have a newsflash for this guy, I don’t go down very easily. It’s going to take a lot more than a few guns and some pissed off people to get me to give up.
He walks closer with a smile on his face, “You killed a lot of people when you ran off yesterday. Some of them were my own, good men with families to look after that are now my responsibility.”
I roll my eyes, “I’m so sorry you have to deal with that. Shame you’re little sob story doesn’t make me feel bad about it. Maybe it has something to do with how your precious guys killed a good friend of mine.”
“For someone so valuable, you really have a smart mouth.” Trevor replies. “You should watch what you say before something bad happens.”
“What are you gonna do? Hurt me? Put a gun to my head and threaten to pull the trigger?” I retort, “Go ahead. If you think I’m afraid to die, try getting bit by a zombie and a vamp and see how you feel.”
“I wish I could, but being human is so rewarding. I can do whatever the hell I want and with you, I can accomplish so much more.” He says.
“Yeah, well, you can’t have me.”
He laughs as he steps around me and I follow him with my eyes, turning as he moves. Ryder is not far away from him and his eyes are glued to me. I don’t like being separated from him. Even though it’s just a few yards, it feels like miles being in a situation like this. If things go wrong, which they most likely will, I can’t protect him like I could if I was right next to him.
“I don’t understand why you’re being so derisive about all of this. Given the powers you now have, you should be standing right here next to me, wanting what I want.” Trevor turns to face me, “You have the greatest gift this world has ever known and with it you could control it all. You could decide who lives and who fends for themselves against the zombies and vampires. You could decide who you bring back to life and whom you let suffer for all of eternity. Anyone would want that kind of power.”
His offer doesn’t sound the least bit appealing. If I was a deranged lunatic, I might agree with what he says. I have a little more sense when it comes to dealing with the great gift I have to offer. I know how to use it and I know it’s the right way.
“I guess I’m a nobody then, because that’s not how I would decide the fate of the human race.” I reply.
He shakes his head, “You’re a naïve young girl. An idiot to be exact. That’s why I’m here, so I can make you give me control of the world. So I can decide who lives and who suffers. Without this, the world will continue to go so far through the gates of hell, it’ll never come back.”
I shrug, “Well, like I said before, you can’t have me. You can threaten all you want, but you’ll never have the cure.”
He takes a deep breath and says, “Think that all you wish, but I always get what I want. I have ways of making you give in to me and soon enough, you will.”
“I told you, go ahead threaten me with death all you want, but I really don’t care too much if you kill me. You’d be destroying the thing you want most.” I say.
He chuckles, “Oh, I don’t need to hold a gun to your head to get what I want. I do, however, need to find the one thing that will hurt you the most by not having it around.” He turns his attention to my small group, “I have a feeling that thing might just be one of these people standing right here.”
I watch as he approaches seven very frightened people that are huddled together. Trevor stares at them for a moment, then glances back to me with a smile. He walks around them, staring at each one of them and stopping right in front of Annah, then raises his gun.
“Could it be your own sister that would tear you apart?” he points his gun to Annah’s head and looks to me, noticing the look on my face, “Not a sister.”
He takes the gun away from her head and scans the other two girls. They are sobbing and holding each other and he decides they don’t mean the world to me. He glances down to Joshua and lingers for a minute. His eyes dart from the boy and over to me before he shakes his head and keeps going. He moves over to Hank and stops walking again. The gun pressed to the older man’s right temple and Hank closes his eyes.
“Maybe it’s your father who’s here with us.” Trevor glares back at me.
“My father’s dead.” I say.
“Good, then we don’t need him.” he pulls the trigger and Hank falls limp to the ground.
The girls scream and I clench my hands into tight fists. I can feel my fingernails ripping into the palms of my hands and my breathing quickens. I just saved that man’s life and now it’s completely gone forever.
“You’re going to regret that.” I say.
Trevor ignores my comment and moves on to Jason, taking aim with the gun, “Maybe it’s your brother.”
“Stop this.” I seethe.
He shakes his head and moves to Ryder, “Or maybe even your boyfriend.”
I take a step forward and say, “That’s enough!”
A smile comes to his lips and I just gave away the most
important thing on the planet. I let it show that Ryder is the one person I care about the most. The only person that would tear me to shreds if I lost him. Trevor can see the look on my face, the anger pouring through my body, and he knows he won this round. He grabs Ryder’s arm and pulls him away from the others, the gun pointed at his head.
Why did I have to act like an idiot and let my emotions give everything away? That’s not how one survives when life hangs in the balance.
“I guess we found what drives you over the edge, little girl.” Trevor says. “This boy will do a fine job getting you to do what I want.”
“She’ll never give you what you want. She’s stronger than anyone else on the planet and better than you’ll ever be.” Ryder says with a struggle.
Trevor twists Ryder’s arm behind his back and I hear him grunt from the pain. Everything that man does to him is only making the rage rise even more inside me. I can feel it growing, worse than when it’s hungry. I guess love is something that drives it crazy just as much as blood. Trevor takes his gun and slams the barrel against Ryder’s head.
“You’ll keep your damn mouth shut boy or I’ll end this before it even begins.” Trevor demands, pulling Ryder’s arm tighter behind his back.
Through my peripheral vision, I can see Jason taking a few steps closer to Trevor. He gets stopped by two women with guns and he’s not able to be the hero I can tell he wants to be. Ryder has a pained look on his face as I stare at him. There’s only one other time I’ve seen his life get threatened like this. I didn’t like it then and I hate it even more this time around.
“What’s it gonna be?” Trevor shouts to me, “Give me what I want or watch me paint the street with his blood?”
I lock eyes with Ryder, fear floods his face as he stares back at me. I can’t believe I let this happen to him all over again. His life hangs in the balance all because of me. Because I had to get out of the city. There’s something wrong inside my head that refuses to let me live a normal life without some sort of chaos running amok. I think it might be time to let the chaos die so I won’t have to force myself to choose between the one I love and the possibility of an even worse world.
My hands stop clenching and I keep my eyes glued to Ryder. His life would be much easier right now if we never came out here. He would be safe and sound back in Des Moines where I know he wants to be. It would be best if he just went back there now and forgot all about these few, long days outside the city.
“Trevor,” I say, swallowing whatever pride I have left, “if I give you what you want, Ryder and the others go free. You let them leave and you promise me you won’t go after them.”
“Bridget, no!” Ryder shouts.
Trevor keeps the gun pointed to his head and raises his eyebrows at me, “I think that can be arranged.”
I nod, “Good, but there’s one more thing.”
“Oh yeah?” he asks.
“You can’t have the cure until I know they’re out of here and if I see even one of your asshole goons make the slightest hint at going after them, the deal is done and you can consider yourself dead." I say.
He removes the gun from Ryder’s head and replies, “Deal.”
Trevor pushes Ryder away from him and motions for his men to let my group leave. They move out of the way, creating a small gap in the wall they surrounded us with. Jason passes me a confused look as he stays close to the girls and Joshua.
I’m not sure what to say to any of them. This is the worst thing my mind could have ever come up with. I know they’ll hate me for doing this, for causing the world to spiral further into the fire pit it’s dangling over. If I don’t do what I have to do, they’ll all die and I can’t let that happen.
Ryder rushes up to me, a frantic look on his face, “What the hell are you doing? You can’t go with them. You can’t let them use you for something that is going to destroy the human race.”
“Just go with Jason and the others. It’s better this way.” I reply.
He shakes his head, “No, I’m not leaving you to die again. I’m not going to let you do this. I don’t care if they kill me, I can’t let you go with them.”
“I care if they kill you, Ryder, and I’m not going to stand here and watch you die like Carter or Hank. I love you and if you love me, you’ll understand what I’m doing and leave. Just head back to the city and enjoy the rest of your life.” I say, then wrap my arms around him for a tight embrace, “Just promise me one thing.”
I feel his arms on my back, “What?” he asks.
I keep my voice quiet so only he can hear me, “Make sure you stop at the truck stop one last time before heading to the city. I’d hate for you to get too far and leave something behind.”
He leans away from me and passes me a confused look, “What are you talking about?”
I shrug, “Trust me on this one. You don’t want to forget something important.”
Ryder raises an eyebrow and I smile at him.
* * *
Ryder disappears with the others and Trevor’s men stay true to their word. They let them leave and I have to watch them walk away from this village. I follow them with my eyes until I can no longer see them walking on the trail that will take them to the truck stop. I know I confused the hell out of Ryder, but it can sometimes be better not letting him in on my entire plan. Sometimes, just giving off little hints at what’s really going on in my head is good enough.
I hear Trevor’s footsteps walking closer to me, that evil smile is still plastered to his face. His master plan has finally come to the end he’s always desired. He can have a few moments of peace after gaining the one thing he didn’t know he wanted until he found out it existed. I just love it when people think like that.
“Oh, little girl, you just made the best decision of your life.” Trevor says as he approaches me. “You couldn’t possibly understand the depth of everything I want to achieve with you. This world will finally have order again and I’ll be the one behind it all.”
“I really hope you’ll stop calling me ‘little girl’. It’s doesn’t really suit me.” I say.
“I guess knowing your name is a good idea. After all, I will be keeping you for a long, long time.” He states. “Tell me, what do people call you?”
“Bridget.” I reply, simply. “People have been calling me that my whole life.”
“How long do you think I’ll be keeping you? You aren’t human anymore, right, so there’s no telling how long you’ll live.” Trevor asks.
“Oh, you won’t be having me for very long. Actually, you won’t get to have me at all.” I reply.
The smile on his face fades away and he glares at me, “You must think you’re funny. Take a look around you, Bridget. You’re outnumbered, outgunned, you can’t possibly get away from us.”
I shrug, “Well, you’re right about one of those things. I am outnumbered. You just have to understand something, I’m not human anymore and the monster deep down inside me would love to come out and play for a while.”
“You think I’m afraid of you?” he shouts and the metal of guns starts clanking all around me. “You are a pathetic little girl who let herself get bit and taken down by those beasts who wander the planet like idiots. You are nothing and you belong to me now.”
I run my fingers through my hair and shake my head, “Sorry, but I belong to no one.”
He comes at me, rage burning in his eyes. I let my hand form into a fist and allow the frenzy to build inside me. I let the world around me disappear and all I can see is Trevor. He seethes at me as he stomps, getting closer and closer until I can hear his angry heart beating in his chest. Close enough for me to get the perfect shot with my fist and I connect it with his jaw, letting him spin around and stammer back a few steps.
That felt good.
That felt great actually. This man is taller, bigger, more intimidating than I ever could be and I’m the one who knocked him backwards. If only my dad were here to see this. I think he’d be extra proud of th
is one.
Trevor snaps his head around, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, “You’re gonna pay for that you bitch.”
He lunges at me and I take a quick leap into the air, letting him rush right underneath me. He trips over himself until he’s able to stand up straight. I land on my feet as a few of his goons come at me, three to my left, one coming up behind me, and four to my right. The first one who approaches me has a machete and he swings it, slicing the air in front of my chest as I take a step backward. He swings it again and I catch his arm before he gets too close.
Okay monster, time to come out and play.
I let my mind wander, taking me to a place so dark and evil, I can only hope I come out of it again. I let myself forget the humans I need to protect, forget all about my oath on never killing a single one of them. These humans standing with me right now, don’t deserve my mercy.
I take the man’s wrist and squeeze hard enough to get him to drop the blade. Next, I twist his arm in front of him, letting the crack of his forearm fill the air and he screams out in pain. He drops to his knees, cradling his now broken arm and I move on to the next two.
These two guys don’t have any weapons, other than the guns strapped around their waists. They are going to rely solely on whatever their fists and feet think they can do. The first one, his hair is greasy and black and he’s basically bones wrapped in baggy clothing, rushes me and a scream of anger escapes his throat. He takes a swing and I dodge it right away.
His pal, who is a little bigger and blonder, comes to his aide and grabs my arm before I can move aside. I glare at him, wishing he could see the rage in my own eyes behind the shades. Then, I wrap my fingers around his arm and jump up into the air, landing behind him and dislocating his shoulder along the way. He releases my arm and I lift my right leg, giving him a sharp blow to the middle of his back. The wind escapes him and he crashes forward on top of his little friend.
This is going faster and much smoother than I thought it would.