Tennessee nodded as she walked over towards a table to the left of the stairs, “All you had to say was you didn’t have a plan.” Tennessee said while walking off to search through some boxes on a nearby table.
Faith smirked as she walked past Catherine who was shaking her head. “They have throwing knives?” Faith said, and before she knew it Tennessee appeared by her side.
“I’ll take those,” Tennessee said.
Faith shook her head and said, “No, I found them!”
The two women went back and forth but before Catherine could tell them to ‘shut the hell up’ a loud bang was heard, followed by screaming.
Tennessee grabbed one of the knives, “We’ll both take one but when this is over the set is mine.”
Faith nodded her head and grabbed one of the knives. Slowly, they made their way up the steps, one behind the other with Catherine leading the way. Catherine held her bat tightly, the blood on her hands mixed in with the blood on the tape of the wooden handle. The zombies were getting louder outside, Catherine wanted to believe they wouldn’t notice, that they would just think it was from the tent or some random zombies that came along, but all that was just wishful thinking. Catherine wanted to believe that she still had the element of surprise, but as she pushed open the door at the top of the steps she knew that the element of surprise was long gone, she had to go into this believing they knew she was coming.
Catherine turned her head left and then right as she stepped through the doorway. She peered around the corner into the kitchen then looked back at Tennessee and Faith. “All clear,” Catherine said softly.
Tennessee and Faith came onto the main floor, each holding a knife tightly. Tennessee’s knife was held out horizontally in front of her face, so that the bladed acted as a barrier to whatever were to come out from the corners of the house. This also allowed her to have one hand free should she need to open a door, throw a punch, or any other number of things. Faith was a whole other story, she had both her hands wrapped tightly on the knife and her knuckles turning a shade whiter than the rest of her body. Faith held it out pointy end first as she came around the corner, this would allow her to stab anything that was in front of her, which isn’t a bad tactic when you know what’s in front of you.
A large staircase came into view as they turned the corner with their shoulders pressed against the wall, Catherine could hear yelling coming from the top of the steps. She held her bat at the ready as she started moving towards the sounds, her foot hit the bottom step and she looked down at it, she could see smears of blood running up the staircase.
She looked back at Tennessee and Faith, giving them a nod as she said, “Let’s go.”
When she turned back to take another step, the room went pitch black. Catherine heard a faint moan in the background. She turned to see where it was coming from when Tennessee came crashing into her.
“You fucking bitch!” Tennessee shouted as she landed on Catherine.
Laying on the bottom step Catherine quickly pushed Tennessee off of her. “What the hell is your problem?” she whispered.
Tennessee’s hand went to her lower back, her fingers ran over the wet and warm burning sensation that was the source of her reaction. “She fucking stabbed me,” Tennessee whispered back.
Faith just stood there shaking with the knife in her hand. “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry Tiff-” before Faith could finish her words Tennessee up and placed the cool metal of her knife against Faith’s cheek
“You’re not, but if you keep it up. You’ll be real sorry,” Tennessee said.
Catherine slowly started getting to her feet, she looked at Faith with her red cheeks and tears building up in her eyes. Faith was shaking, Catherine watched her knees moving back and forth for a moment before she pulled Tennessee back and put her hand on the Faith’s shoulder.
“You stay down here and make sure those things don’t get in the house.”
Faith’s eyes were still fixed on Tennessee who had lowered the knife when Catherine had got to her feet.
“Okay Faith? Just stay down here,” Catherine softly reinforced one last time before looking at Tennessee, whose eyes were fixed on Faith.
Tennessee slowly looked over at Catherine and coldly said “What?”
Catherine stood there with her Bat at the ready, eyeing Tennessee. Catherine didn’t trust her, which wasn’t odd because she didn’t really trust anyone these days, but she knew for a fact that there was just something off about Tennessee. Her reactions or overreactions were warning signs during more normal times. Yet in a period like this, people with warning signs were kings and queens. Able to do and act while others questioned and related. Tennessee rolled her eyes, which was starting to seem like her trademark move as she started for the steps.
“Come on, let's go get your girlfriend.” Tennessee said softly into the darkness.
Catherine watched her only for a short moment before she started up the stairs behind her. The duo were only halfway up the staircase when Catherine turned to look back at Faith, she felt for the woman, much like she felt for Sue. There were just two kinds of people left in the world, survivors and the dead. Catherine knew which one she wanted to be, she just didn’t know which one the world saw. Her eyes focused on Faith through the darkness, she was standing there with the knife resting in her hand by her side. Catherine wanted to put on a smile, to let her know it was going to be okay, she wanted to hug her and let her know it was alright. Catherine wanted to do a lot of things, but like Tennessee said before, there wasn’t much time for anything. She needed to get herself ready for what was coming, her head turned back towards the steps and Catherine could hear loud laughing coming from the room to the right of the staircase. It sounded like a woman’s voice and as Catherine started to get closer with every step the voice started to become more and more clear.
“Sue?” she questioned softly.
Tennessee held her knife up and slowly started making her way towards the door. She looked over at Catherine who was standing tall with the bat ready for a massive swing while Tennessee was hunched over. One hand holding the knife, other making it’s way for the cool metal of the doorknob.
“One,” Tennessee let the words out softly, she was risking her life for a person she only knew for an hour, diving into the fires of this madness to ensure that Sue made it out. “Two,” all because Catherine wanted to finally play hero, the thought angered Tennessee and she bottled up that anger for what was to come.
Catherine held her bat firmly in her hands as she thought there must be more to Tennessee. Catherine was sure anyone who was willing to fight alongside you has to have some bit of good in their heart. Tennessee could have left, escaped when she had the chance, but she didn’t. Tennessee wasn’t anywhere near the level of being trusted or being a friend, but as Catherine stood behind her waiting for that final word before they blasted into whatever Hell awaited them, she knew that Tennessee was no threat to her.
“Three.” The words came out soft and slowly, the whole event seemed to be moving in slow motion.
That was until the door came flying open, pulling Tennessee along with it. Tennessee went slamming into the floor, right in the middle of the doorway. The knife quickly skated across the wooden floor. As Tennessee started to get her legs back under her, she could see Daniel’s dirty black boots come into view. Her eyes slowly made the long journey up to Daniel’s face.
“What the hell!” Daniel let his words rush from his lips like a roar, the statement was so powerful it caused everyone’s eyes to focus on the doorway.
The large clown wasted no time reacting to their unwanted party guest, his boot came flying into Tennessee's chest sending the woman flying into the banister of the staircase. Tennessee's body crashed into the wood, sending some of the rods falling down the steps. Catherine’s head spun right to Daniel, the large clown ripped his purple wig off his head. Catherine’s fingers tightened around the handle of the wooden bat, she could feel the cold blood stained
tape rub along her fingers as she stood with her legs slightly apart. She was getting ready for whatever attack the large man had in store for her.
As Daniel’s head turned towards her a voice shouted, “Stop fucking around and kill those bitches!”
Catherine didn’t have to see the bastard to know the voice belonged to The Ringmaster. She took a step back slowly and Daniel started taking steps towards her, rubbing his knuckles one hand at a time as he glared at Catherine through the black rings of make up that surrounded his eyes.
“You heard the man. Now how about we just put down the bat, like a nice little girl,” Daniel said with a smile as he took another slow step closer to Catherine. Her slow backward footsteps came upon the very edge of the staircase. “Come on little girl, just..”
Catherine’s head was hung down towards her baseball bat as she said softly, “I’m not a little girl.”
Daniel stopped moving and a smile grew on his face, “Oh no?” he asked.
Catherine’s head shot up quickly and she shouted,“No!”
And with that word the bat came swinging down low towards Daniel’s knees, but before it could connect with any bones or cause any damage, it slammed into Daniel’s open hand. The giant’s smile grew larger as he slowly started to pulling the bat, he held a tight grip on the wood. No matter how hard Catherine shook it, she couldn’t break it free. Her feet pulled along the dirty blood stained floor.
Catherine’s forearms burned, her legs tightened, and she pulled. She did her best not to look up at him. To avoid the large paint covered smile as much as she could. But as the toes of her boots connected with his, singling the end of their tug of war, Catherine could do nothing else but slowly turn her head towards him
“I’m not gonna ask again, give it to me bitch,” Daniel said slowly into Catherine’s face.
She could taste the man’s breath in her mouth. It was a mix of vodka and meat, what kind of meat Catherine didn’t want to know.
Catherine’s grip on the bat began to weaken. From somewhere below her she heard a weak laugh. “You want it! Here!” Before she could process the voice Catherine felt the bat release causing her to stumble back a few steps.
Daniel’s eyes went wide. Catherine could see every bit of white, every small little red vain that made the road map of his black soul. They’re eyes were locked on one another, trapped in this moment of shock, but it was Daniel’s eyes that broke first. He moved them slowly down towards his large bloody boot. Catherine eyes quickly followed and what she saw was a gleeful Tennessee smiling with a bit of blood at the corner of her mouth.
Tennessee’s hands were wrapped tightly around the handle of her throwing knife, and the knife was buried deeply into the middle of Daniel’s boot.
Tennessee was looking up at the mountain of a man and she laughed letting go of the knife as she quickly screamed, “Bitch!”
With that Daniel let out a scream of his own, but it was short lived as Catherine swung the bat to the back of the large man’s head, knocking him to the floor right next to Tennessee. Tennessee shot up to her feet and leaned over to try and pull the knife out, she twisted and turned it causing Daniel to shake with every move.
“Come on, come home to mama!” Tennessee said.
“You two whores don’t seem to know your place do you?” That voice grabbed Tennessee and Catherine’s attention. They focused on The Ringmaster as he came through the doorway with Sue by his side, her hair tightly held in his fist as he dragged her through the doorway.
“I’ve been a lot of things, but I’ve never been a whore,” Tennessee said softly, then looked over at Catherine, “You ever been a whore?”
Catherine slammed her baseball bat into her open palm and shook her head with a smile, “Nope, Papa ain’t raise no whores in his house.”
The Ringmaster laughed as he pulled Sue’s hair forward so hard that her body went slamming down into the floor at his feet.
“Jokers! Sweet, pretty, little fucking jokers. That’s good,” he said.
Letting go of Sue’s hair, The Ringmaster quickly slammed his foot into the middle of her back, pinning her down to the floor. He leaned forward placing his weight on her.
“It’s real good because I enjoy a laugh as much as the next guy.” The Ringmaster smiled as he his words continued, “So tell me jokers, have you ever heard the one about the four whores in the whore house?” The Ringmasters eyes moved from Catherine to Tennessee, they slowly danced from one woman to the other then his face looked shocked and his hand went up covering his cartoonish lips as he looked down at Sue. “Your friends have never heard the joke about the four whores in the whore house! Can you believe that blondie?” The Ringmaster started laughing and slapping his hand onto his knee, with each slap and each large laugh, Sue could feel the bones of her rib cage pushing harder and harder into the wooden floor.
Sue’s head turned towards Catherine. Catherine could see the blood on the girl’s face, mixed with the tears that came falling from her eyes as that large boot pushed down onto her. Sue was trying to say something. She was trying to push out words, but the pain wasn’t letting her. She just put her hand out to Catherine and softly mouthed her request. It was a sight that sent a chill through Catherine’s body, to know that she didn’t even have the strength to speak much less fight. To know that Sue was so broken all she could do was mouth ‘Help me’.
Catherine placed both her hands around the handle of the bat, taking a quick step forward. The Ringmaster raised a finger and slowly started waving it back and forth.
“No, no, no,” he said softly as his right hand went to his back and quickly reappeared with a loaded revolver pointed down at Sue. “Not so fast Honey, we’re just getting ready to start the party!”
Catherine stood still, staring at the Ringmaster. His thumb pulled back the hammer of his gun. A chilling red smile grew on The Ringmaster’s face as if screaming ‘Game over! You lost!’ Catherine was waiting for that sound, the sound of the bullet racing through the air to find it’s soft target. She wondered if she could get a swing off before that sound, or maybe one after. It was a wicked thought, one that Catherine hated herself for even letting cross her mind, but it was true, once that gun fired she would have an opening, a small one, but still an opening nonetheless.
But the chilling sound never, came. There was no bullet flying through the air, just a body. A third person came leaping through the doorway landing on the back of the Ringmaster. The two men went flying forward right over the railing. Landing on the staircase below and as painful and shocking as the sound of their bodies hitting those steps was, it didn’t slow them down. They were both on their feet, taking shots at one another. It was like an unruly bar room brawl with The Ringmaster taking jabs into Adam’s ribs. Adam plummeted down the staircase and landed right at Faith’s feet. The Ringmaster smiled as he slowly started walking down the steps.
His eyes met with Faith’s and he softly said “Oh look what we have here.” He let out soft laugh till his eyes fully forced on Faith who stood in the darkness. She was shaking but even with her hands moving about in the darkness, he could still make out the barrel of the gun.
The Ringmaster stopped moving, he put his hand up slowly, “Hold on now sweetie. You’re gonna wanna be real careful with that.” The Ringmaster’s words came out soft and slow.
Faith took a step forward with the gun in her hands. From the top of the steps she heard Tennessee scream.
“Shoot the mother fucker Faith!”
The Ringmaster’s head turned back, “Shut the hell up!” he hissed out, but before he turned back around he smiled at Catherine and Tennessee. The duo looked at one another then back at The Ringmaster’s shit eating grin
“The fuck is he smiling about?” Tennessee asked.
Catherine shrugged, “No ide-” Before she could finish her statement Catherine felt her body go flying towards the floor blow.
When her chest slammed into the wooden floor she felt a large breath of air push ou
t of her lungs. Just like that she was winded and out of every bit of energy she came into the house with. She slowly rolled over to see what it was that knocked the wind out of her, but when she got onto her back all she saw was Tennessee’s legs kicking in the air as Daniel stood tall with both his hands around Tennessee’s neck.
“You stupid little bitch!” Daniel screamed into Tennessee’s face.
Catherine’s hand went out to her side in hopes of grabbing hold of her bat, but as his fingers brushed the hardwood she could hear the knocking and banging as it cascaded down the staircase. It rolled quickly down to the feet of The Ringmaster as if he called out to it. He still had his hand up looking at his older brother, then The Ringmaster’s head slowly turned towards Faith.
“Well it looks like we’re at a bit of a standoff aren’t we?” The Ringmaster said as he leaned over to pick up the bat
“Don’t, don’t do that,” Faith said softly.
The Ringmaster stood back up with the bat in his hand. “You’ve got the gun and my big brother, well...” The Ringmaster’s head turned backward once again to see Tennessee’s legs as they dangled in the air, then he smiled looking back at Faith. “He's got his hands full. So how about you just put down the gun?” The Ringmaster said with as he rested the bat along his shoulder taking one slow step down the stairs.
“Stop that!” Faith screamed.
The Ringmaster laughed. “Stop what?” he asked.
“Shoot…”
“Him.” Soft broken words could be heard coming from Tennessee’s slightly blue lips as she clawed at Daniel's hands. Tennessee’s nails tore into his skin, but the giant just stood there squeezing with everything he had.
Faith’s eyes were jumping from Tennessee to The Ringmaster. She didn’t know what to do, she was scared, she was worried, but most of all she was mad. Not mad that she was sold and held like some pig being harvested for the dinner. That thought did piss Faith off royally, but what she was mostly mad about in that moment, was that this was all left up to her. That like some sick cosmic joke the universe decide she was the best choice to end the madness and save them all.
Planet Dead (Book 1): Bloodthirsty Page 9