Catherine stared at the dark haired woman and then she started to nod, there wasn’t anything to really think about, the world had changed around them. It got dark and allowed dark people to roam more freely than they had ever been, those kind of people were slowly taking over this need world. They did it with force and fear. Turning a blind eye as good people, the kind of people you fight for, died off.
So Catherine didn’t give a second thought either, she cocked her arm back and let her right fist fly forward connecting with the dark haired woman’s jaw, it felt like punching through drywall, hard at first then Catherine the jaw giveaway and the dark haired woman went tumbling to the ground.
The dark haired woman’s hands went up to her mouth and she cried out, “What the hell!”
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Faith asked.
Catherine shook the tingling sensation from her knuckles out of her hand. She watched Faith pull the dark haired woman to her feet. Catherine continued to rub her knuckles. The music and moans filled the air, but the two women heard Catherine loud and clear when she finally spoke.
“I’ve been left behind before, it made me wonder what this world was becoming. It made me question what was wrong with me? What did they see in me, that made it so easy for them to leave me to die. Those questions almost broke me, and Sue” Catherine stopped for a moment looking down at her knuckles, there was a pain running through her hand now, but it was nothing compared to what that dark haired woman must have felt, or what Sue was feeling now.
Sue needed Catherine. “Sue isn’t like me, those questions would kill her. So we won’t be leaving her, or anyone behind,” Catherine said as she walked past the women slowly making her way towards the zombies that were moaning and pulling at their chains. “Besides I owe that top hat wearing bitch a play date!”
Catherine wished she could mask it as payback, part of her wished she could have just walked off and continued her search for her family, but Catherine knew, just like Robert and Justin, Sue was one of those people you don’t let go of. She was one of the people you protected.
Catherine was pulled out of her thoughts as a zombie leaped forward, snapping its jaws at her. Catherine walked slowly forward till they were face to bloody face, she could see that the zombie was missing one of it’s eyes and a large hole in it’s neck was just pushing out dark red blood and rancid meat as it kept pushing forward.
Catherine just stared at the zombie until the blood from his head splashed across her chest as the dark haired woman slammed a hammer into the man’s skull. Catherine turned to look at her.
“I fucking hate the circus,” the dark haired woman said as she leaned down to pull the hammer out of the man’s head. “So what’s the plan?”
Catherine’s head turned toward Faith who was sitting on the floor with her knees to her chest, slowly rocking.
“Is she gonna be okay?” Catherine asked.
The dark haired woman looked over at Faith and she waved her hand while rolling her eyes. “Yeah, she’s just easily spooked that’s all.”
Catherine looked at the woman, then at the chained up zombies who were fighting to be free. “And this doesn’t spook you?” Catherine asked.
The dark haired woman smiled and shook her head, “This?” She looked back at the monsters and said “There’s far worse out there than this.” The woman’s hand came out with a smile “Tennessee” She said.
Catherine stared at Tennessee with a blank look on her face and she said, “That’s your name?”
Tennessee nodded walking past Catherine she said, “It is now.” Tennessee started walking over to Faith and she got down on her knee.“Come on Faith, time to put our big girl panties on.”
Catherine didn’t know what to make of the two, she wasn’t sure if she could trust them, but if she was going to get this done and make it out alive, she needed them. “My name’s Catherine, Catherine Briggs,” she said
“Okay Mrs. Briggs. What’s the plan?” Tennessee asked as she started to walk back over with Faith in tow.
Catherine smiled for a moment, she hadn’t been called Mrs. Briggs in forever. She never knew how much she missed hearing it until that moment, it made her feel connected with her husband once again. She looked over at Faith and Tennessee.
“First things first, we need weapons!” Catherine slowly turned around and her eyes came back onto the zombies who were fighting to be free, fighting to taste a little blood, “And we need them!” Her caramel finger pointed at their audience of the dead.
Tennessee smiled and bumped Faith with her hip laughing. “I think I like her,” she said.
Faith covered her mouth with her hand and mumbled “I think I’m gonna be sick.”
CHAPTER 5
“G et her up!” The Ringmaster’s commands echoed through the summer night.
Sue used to look forward to nights like this. The kind of nights with a cool breeze, giving you a break from the burning heat that most Georgia summers provided, and hidden in the wind was that sweet scent of the countryside. Yes it was nights like this that Sue’s heart longed for, but as she felt the cold touch of dirty hands grabbing at her and dragging her body through the summer night, all Sue longed for now, was this night to end.
Blood ran from open wounds with every small movement, but she couldn’t feel it, not in the way she thought she should. No all she felt was cold, wet, and numb. A dull tingle ran up and down her back which caused Sue to hold her eyes tightly shut. Sue was fading in and out, one moment she saw the ropes of the tent, then darkness. The next moment she saw the night sky in all it’s bright beautiful glory, and then darkness. Sue felt like she was lost in a dream, but as her eyes started to flicker back open, she had woken to a nightmare. A quick river of red made it’s way along the old wooden floor where Sue’s head laid.
Sue pushed up slightly then dropped down, she could feel the pain now, it was like razors being continually dragged down her back. Sue bit down on her lower lip and prayed that the shock would come back, that her body would go numb once again. Sue heard laughter around her as she pushed again but only her head raised for a short moment before it came flying back down into the blood.
The sound of her head slamming into the floor caused the three clowns to turn their attention towards Sue. A red smile grew on The Ringmaster’s face as he slowly made his way towards Sue.
“Well, well, well! Look who finally decided to join the party!” His shouting sent a ringing through Sue’s head.
She closed her eyes as she forced her body to roll over to her side. Her blonde hair just mopping up the blood that was covering the ground around her. Sue finally got to her knees, only to feel a hard blow to her back sending her crashing back down into the blood.
Blood covered the side of her face and was mixing in with tears as she tried to push herself up once again, but there was no escaping The Ringmaster’s black boot that kept her pinned to the floor.
The Ringmaster leaned down resting his arms on his knee and he softly whispered to Sue, “Where you off to honey?”
Sue’s hands slowly started moving towards her back, but were quickly slapped away by The Ringmaster. The large black boot came up and Sue felt the weight lift off her lower back, she took that moment to muster every bit of strength in her and shot up. Sue raced towards a nearby open window. The blood and tears blurred her vision, but she could feel the cool breeze blowing past the curtains in the room.
Sue threw her hands out grabbing hold of the white silk curtains. She didn’t fool herself into believing she was safe, she didn’t lie to herself thinking she could leap from another window and make it out okay. Sue didn’t have hope, all she had was the need to be free. Dirty hands wrapped around Sue’s hair and drag her body down to the blood soaked floor once again. Very quickly Sue realized freedom wasn’t a possibility and that her life as she knew it, was over.
There was no escaping this...
“Pick her the fuck up!” The Ringmaster shouted.
There
was no overcoming this...
“Put her in the trunk,” The Ringmaster continued.
This was evil…
You don’t escape evil! You don’t overcome evil!
You just lay there, broken, scared and you pray it gets tired of your tears.
Happy and Frownie had their hands tightly around any body part of Sue they could grab, she felt the pain in her arm, her ankle, and then all at once in her back as they dropped her into a small wooden trunk. Sue’s hands went over her face as she tried to clear away the blood from her eyes. When her vision cleared Sue could see the Ringmaster standing over her once again. His face was covered with dirty pale white paint, there were black rings around his eyes and bright red lipstick that was madly drawn over his lips. The lipstick made his teeth pop as he started to smile at her, they were pure white and straight. Something that Sue found odd in the back of her mind, but it was a thought that couldn’t make it past the fear that took over the forefront of her mind.
“You’re cute. Sweet even,” The Ringmaster said.
The Ringmaster placed his hands on the large lid and he let out a laugh. “You got that girl next door look, you know that? The one you fall in love with but forget about once you go to college and discover drugs and blow jobs.” Looking over at his brothers who had pulled up seats by the doorway, The Ringmaster’s eyes slowly started making their way back to Sue. “It’s nice, to know that somethings haven’t fully changed,” he said as his hand went toward Sue’s face. Sue spun her head back and forth, but his fingers just locked onto her cheeks, forcing her lips to pucker.
The Ringmaster smiled and said, "Something happened to the world. People lost their minds! And to be honest with you, I think it’s glorious.” That bright red smile got wider as The Ringmaster started to lean into the trunk till he was face to face with Sue. “You can see it can't you blondie? People call it insanity, but it's really just human nature. We can only evolve so much, till we come crashing back down into the pit."
The Ringmaster broke out laughing as he squeezed Sue's cheeks harder, leaving deep red marks where his fingers were. He kept his hand on the lid of the trunk as his laughing died and his bloodshot eyes fixed upon Sue once again.
"So tell me! How deep in the pit are you?" He smiled as he softly whispered into Sue’s face brushing his lip against hers. “How deep?” The Ringmaster let the words hang in the air for a moment, then leaned closer and kissed Sue, forcing her lips onto his.
When his head came back Sue’s eyes were locked on him, he smiled and slowly released her. “Speechless?” The Ringmaster asked. Laughing he looked at his brothers and said, “I have that effect on women don’t I boys?”
The words sent a rush of emotions through Sue’s body, she thought it would be a chill, that funny little rush of fear that fills up your body, but it wasn’t.
What went through Sue was a blazing heat, her skin was hot, and the vein on the side of her head was pulsating. What went through Sue was rage. Sue shot up and let out a scream that came from deep in her stomach.
“I’m gonna fucking kill you!”
Her words were met with a laugh and the slamming of the large wooden lid into her head. Sue’s body dropped back into the trunk and she held her forehead, trying her best to push back the blood that was spilling out.
Sue could hear metal knocking against the wood of the trunk and then a loud click. Next all Sue could hear was the footsteps slowly making their way away from her. Sue sat up and pushed the lid up as much as she could, it was locked but she could partly see through the crack.
Sue’s eyes focused past the darkness of the truck to the three clowns in the room. “What you gonna do with her?” Sue heard the soft question come from the lips of the smallest clown, who was in the process of cleaning off his makeup with a dirty rag.
Frownie almost fell off his chair when he was slapped on the back, the echoing sound was followed by a loud laugh.
“What the hell do you think we’re gonna do with her? Huh?” Happy asked with a smile. He started to walk out of Sue’s view, but she could still hear his deep voice as he said, “The freaks have to eat! We got to eat!”
Happy’s matter of fact tone gave Sue a chill. He spoke like kidnapping and murdering was just apart of their lives now. Sue’s eyes rested on Frownie as he just stared down at the floor, he bit his lip and shook his head slowly as his hand slowly started to form into a fist. There was a long moment of silence that allowed Happy’s words to take over the room. Sue was just about to drop back down to the base of the trunk when she heard that soft voice once again. “That’s not my name,”
Frownie kept his head hung low, looking at the dirt that covered his white sneakers, he rubbed one foot over the other, trying to push some of the dirt away. Yet it wasn’t going anywhere, it was a dark brown powder that was all over the floor of the tent, and with all their late night ‘shows’ it covered everything else. There wasn’t anything he could remember seeing that didn’t have that brown tint. No matter how hard he rubbed he just couldn’t get it off. Frownie went to clean it off with his finger when he felt his face being lifted in Happy’s large hands.
Happy was fast, faster than a man his size should have been, he had rushed from one side of the room to the other before Sue could blink. Frownie’s feet started to kick as Happy picked him up slightly off the ground by his cheeks.
“That’s your name now, you little shit!” Happy’s fingers dug into Frownie’s cheeks, then he tossed Frownie into the wall and pointed a finger at him. “We should have left your ungrateful ass behind!”
“Now, now boys. There’s no need for us to act like animals now is there?” The calm voice came from around the corner of the trunk.
Sue’s eyes slowly started scanning the room, moving towards her left, but when she came to the corner she was eye to eye with the monster who was running this wicked show. Smiling wide, Sue could see the cracks growing along the red lipstick as his white teeth got longer and longer.
“You enjoying the show?” The Ringmaster asked with a whisper.
Sue couldn’t pull her eyes away from him. The sight of him kept her still, it sent a wave of fear through her body, her heart was racing and she could feel the tears starting to build back up behind her eyes. The Ringmaster slowly moved his hand on top of the lid of the trunk and Sue could feel it pushing down against her head once again, she put her hands up to fight back against the force.
It was a small show of force that the Ringmaster was using, but Sue was using everything she had and it wasn’t worth a damn. Sue watched as the crack started to get smaller and smaller, she almost gave up all hope until she heard a voice from the other side of the room
“That’s enough Matthew!” Frownie’s voice echoed, it wasn’t soft and questionable like before, no, this time it was strong and commanding.
Everyone’s eyes turned towards Frownie, Happy leaped forward till he was standing right in front of Frownie who was sitting with his head hung down, staring at his dirty shoes.
The Ringmaster slowly stood to his feet and put his hand up, “It’s okay Daniel.” He said causing Happy to take a slow step back. “Clearly Adam has something he would like to get off his chest.” The Ringmaster pulled up a chair and swung his leg over it. Seating backwards he leaned forward and smiled a “So tell us Adam, what’s on your mind?”
Sue’s eyes went towards Adam, who looked more like a normal young man than a crazed clown now that he cleaned off most of the make up. As her eyes rested on him, she took him in, he wasn’t scary, or evil, in fact, he looked like any other guy she would have seen in class or at a party. The dirty rag came down from his face and Sue could see the ever soft glow of his light green eyes. Adam tossed the rag to the floor and cleared his tousled blonde locks from his face. Sue kept her hands up holding up the lid as Adam’s head slowly turned, for a moment their eyes met and then his gaze went towards his brother Matthew, the monster Sue will forever know as, The Ringmaster.
“I don’t
understand why we keep doing this. It was one thing when we were hurting for food, but now! We don't need to do this,” Adam finally said.
The Ringmaster smiled and nodded before turning his head towards Daniel. “You hear that big brother, little brother doesn’t understand.” The Ringmaster said it softly and let out a light laugh, but Daniel wasn’t laughing.
He stood there staring down at his brother with chalky white makeup mixed in with his black bread. Sue watched the mountain of a man as his fingers slowly started to crack forming his hands into two large fist.
Adam could feel his older brother’s eyes on him and did his best not to turn his head towards Daniel’s direction.
“I just mean, we aren't trapped anymore, we can travel. We can find food, we can survive without, without-” Adam’s hands went over his face and he sighed.
Whatever the matter was, it seemed as if Adam had been battling with it for some time now, he was sweating, and while his words were clear and defiant, there was a bit of fear hidden away in his tone.
The Ringmaster nodded and looked back at the trunk and Sue quickly dropped the lid. Balling up inside the trunk Sue could hear footsteps once again and then the voice of The Ringmaster echoed throughout the little trunk.
“Well sweetheart, looks like you got my brother all flustered.” The Ringmaster’s glare turned back towards Adam as he continued. “I mean that must be it right? Blondie giving you the butterflies?”
Sue could hear metal knocking against the trunk once again as The Ringmaster softly said, “You want a little taste?”
Adam shook his head and shot up out of his seat toward his brother, but was pushed into the wall by Daniel.
“Fuck you Matthew!” Adam shouted.
Planet Dead (Book 1): Bloodthirsty Page 7