I ended up peeling about fifty potatoes, and Blue and Lazlo got conned into helping clean a rabbit and fox for dinner. Lazlo didn’t last very long, because he threw up, and then he got to go lie down in the living room.
We all ate lunch at the table, including the three little boys that lived here. The only one missing was Lia. When I asked about her, Korech informed me that she was fasting to get closer to God. Other than that, the meal didn’t seem that different from any other family dinner. Lots of talking over one another, even laughing.
Blue kept getting suckered into doing manual labor, like fixing a hole in the roof and the rickety backdoor. Korech tried on several occasions to get a moment alone with me, but I always made some excuse.
It helped that Lazlo followed me like a shadow. Harlow spent the whole day learning how to be domestic, and somehow enjoyed it.
After supper, I caught sight of Ripley running by, but she was very far away. The tigers kept her at bay, and I didn’t like it.
That night, I allowed myself one more shower, even though I had to take it with three other girls. I didn’t want to condemn Harlow to this life, but she wasn’t my responsibility. She wasn’t my sister.
I didn’t want to leave anyone unless I had to, but I had my brother to think about. He needed me more than she did. I couldn’t stay here much longer.
I was curled up in bed, getting a good night’s sleep while I still could. I thought I heard something, but when I opened my eyes, I couldn’t see anything in the darkness of the windowless basement.
I closed my eyes, settling back in to sleep, and then the bed started to move. My heart stopped as fear spread over me.
– 9 –
I rolled onto my back so I could punch whoever had crawled into my bed. I hoped to catch sight of them, so I could figure out where to fight back.
“Remy,” Lazlo whispered, realizing just in time that I was about to hit him. “It’s me.” I finally started making out the contours of his face.
“What are you doing?”
“We gotta go.” Lazlo looked back over his shoulder.
“Now? Right now?” I asked.
“Yeah, Blue is upstairs being a lookout, but we can’t stay. Korech told me. I’m sinful and corrupting the girls, and if I stay, he’s going to have to take action to cleanse me,” Lazlo informed me hurriedly.
“What does that even mean?”
“I didn’t want to know, but Blue asked, and all Korech’d say was that people don’t always survive a cleansing.” He shivered, his body shimmering like a mirage in the darkness.
“He basically threatened to kill you?” I struggled to keep from shouting.
The thought of Korech just talking about hurting him enraged me. I felt surprisingly protective of Lazlo.
“Yeah. Unless I leave. So… we gotta go.” He’d been leaning on the edge of my bed, but he stood up.
“Is that the truth?” Harlow asked quietly, her voice coming from the bed behind me.
“I haven’t lied to you yet, kid, and I’m not gonna start with this,” Lazlo said. “If you wanna come, you gotta do it now.”
“I’ll go with you,” Lia piped in, shocking all of us, I think.
I looked up at Lazlo, but it was too dark to see his expression. If she wanted to come with, I wouldn’t stop her.
I sat up and threw my feet over the edge of the bed, feeling around in the dark. My clothes were folded on the end of the bed, but I didn’t bother changing into them. If we had talked loud enough to wake Lia, I’m sure we had woken other girls. It was only a matter of time before they sounded the alarm.
“Harlow, get your stuff,” I commanded.
She didn’t say anything, and for one unnerving minute, I was afraid I’d have to drag her out of here against her will. Then I saw her silhouette as she sat up, and I let out relived breath as she gathered her own clothes from the end of the bed.
Despite what I’d said earlier about not forcing anyone to leave, I couldn’t leave Harlow here, not with a man who had threatened to kill Lazlo. I didn’t know what I’d do if she tried to fight me on leaving.
I sent Harlow up the stairs ahead of me, and I hurried behind her with Lazlo at my heels. I didn’t check to see who was following us. I didn’t want to know.
Part of me felt guilty for leaving any of the girls here, but I didn’t really have a choice. I didn’t have time to argue and convince them, especially when most of them wouldn’t be convinced. Besides that, I couldn’t ignore the fact that Korech had kept them all alive thus far.
Moonlight shone through the kitchen window. Blue waited by the basement door at the top of the stairs, watching out for Korech or Nevaeh. I looked back to see who had come with us, and Lia had followed, along with Vega, whose dissension made more sense than Lia.
Without saying a word, we rushed through the house. It was dead silent, and if we made a sound, Korech had to hear us. I held the screen door open as everyone else ran outside, and I gently closed it behind them, making sure it didn’t slam shut.
“Get in the car,” I whispered as they darted out into cool night air. “Blue, you drive.” I had my jeans in my hand, and I pulled the car keys from the pocket and then tossed them to him. “But don’t start it yet. I gotta get Ripley.”
“You’re gonna look for Ripley now?” Lazlo asked as Blue unlocked the vehicle.
“I’m not leaving her.”
“Hurry. He’ll notice us missing soon,” Vega warned, but she didn’t look scared. I wasn’t sure if I found that comforting or creepy.
As the girls crawled into the SUV, Blue paused and exchanged a look with me. I had to look for the lion, but I didn’t want to risk the safety of everyone else. At the first sign of trouble, Blue needed to get out of here, protecting the girls, even if I wasn’t ready.
I searched around in the moonlight, lifting up my nightgown so I wouldn’t trip on it. Lazlo went with me, apparently helping in some way. Neither of us yelled for Ripley. We couldn’t, not if we wanted to get away without Korech hearing us.
“Aw, hell,” I sighed. I couldn’t see any sign of Ripley, and we didn’t have much time. “I don’t know what to do.” I turned to Lazlo, hoping he would have an idea, but he just stared at me strangely. “What?”
“Nothing,” Lazlo shrugged. “I’ve just never seen you with your hair down.” My stomach fluttered. “Also, your nightgown is almost completely see-through.”
“Oh my god.” I rolled my eyes and covered my arms over my chest. “I should’ve just let Korech kill you.”
He smirked and might’ve had a witty retort, but the porch light suddenly turned on, bathing us in bright yellow light.
The front door banged open, and we turned around in time to see Korech’s dark silhouette as he came outside. Nevaeh followed right behind him, carrying a shotgun.
Lazlo and I stood a few feet away from the SUV, and I considered diving behind it to hide. But with the porch light shining on us, they had to have seen us. We could only try talking with them, but reasoning with insanity rarely boded well.
“What’s going on?” Korech asked, his voice eerily pleasant. He moved towards us, while Nevaeh fell a few steps back.
“Nothing. We just decided to leave.” I straightened my shoulders and stood tall.
A breeze rustled my hair, and my mind raced trying to think of an escape plan. I was fairly good at fighting zombies, but even with their strength and speed, zombies weren’t the same as fighting a strong, healthy man. They didn’t have any reason or intelligence, and their bodies were much softer and more pliable the longer they’d been infected.
Physically, I was no match for Korech. Lazlo was somewhat muscular, but he was barely taller than me, and I doubt he’d ever fought in his life.
“You shouldn’t be rushing off in the middle of the night. It’s a dangerous place out there for young girls,” Korech said with a smile that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. “Especially going off with him,” he nodded towards Lazlo. “
He’s going to corrupt and destroy you.”
“He’s demon possessed!” Nevaeh spouted. She raised her gun a little, but it seemed more of an involuntary reflex out of fear.
“Hey, let’s take it easy.” I stepped forward and held my hands up.
“They need to leave,” Korech nodded at Lazlo. “He is not welcome here anymore.”
“Just let us get out of here!” Lazlo shouted, pleading. “We wanna leave!”
“I can’t have you endangering any of my girls.” Korech reached behind him, taking the gun from Nevaeh.
I could dive at him to try to grab it, but he was too far away from me. He’d have it aimed at me, and if I ran straight for him, I’d be an easy shot.
I glanced over at the SUV and considered sacrificing Lia and Vega to leave. Even if that didn’t make me feel like a monster, I had a feeling that wouldn’t be good enough anymore. He might be willing to let me go, but he already had his claws in Harlow, and he knew it.
“We’re not your girls,” I said. “We don’t want to cause you any trouble. We just want to leave.”
“He has you confused.” Korech held the gun at his side, and the calm assurance he had was unnerving. “Lazlo, I suggest you release my girls back to me, and then you leave, before I make you.” He lifted the gun just slightly, letting us know exactly what he meant by make.
“I’m not holding anyone hostage,” Lazlo insisted.
I could feel Lazlo looking at me, questioning what he should do next, but I wouldn’t take my eyes off Korech. Besides, I didn’t have an answer.
Korech tired of the conversation and raised his gun, pointing it directly at Lazlo. Harlow screamed inside the SUV, but thankfully, nobody got out.
Without thinking, I moved in front of Lazlo, standing between him and the gun, even though I wasn’t sure would deter Korech from firing.
“Wait!” I shouted.
“I’m through talking.” Korech centered his aim on me.
Nevaeh inhaled sharply next to him, and that’s when something occurred to me. I could take her. She didn’t have a gun, and Korech would react to defend her. His reaction might be shooting me, but if I ran fast enough, he might miss.
I ran at Nevaeh as fast as I could, veering far to the side so Korech knew I wasn’t charging him. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his aim change, trying to keep up with me, but I only ran faster.
Nevaeh screamed, and I tackled her, sending her flying back on the ground. She did nothing to defend herself, and I felt sorry for her. I punched her in the face, but not as hard as I could. I didn’t want to hurt her, but I had to do something to distract Korech.
A sharp pain hit the back of my skull, spreading a blind white light across my eyes. Korech had slammed the butt of the gun into my head, and it was frighteningly effective.
I never lost consciousness, but I completely lost focus. I couldn’t really see or hear or feel anything but shooting pain.
When it relented enough where my vision could clear, I heard Nevaeh crying. I wasn’t on top of her anymore, and instead, I was kneeling on the ground. Someone had a painful grip on my arm, trying to pull me to my feet, but my legs were reluctant to cooperate.
“Remy! Move!” Lazlo shouted. He was the one trying to drag me up.
I looked over to see Korech lying on the ground. Blood spilled from his abdomen, and he made unintelligible sounds. Nevaeh stood, blood running down her face from when I had punched her, screaming her head off.
“What happened?” I asked.
“I grabbed the gun and shot him,” Lazlo said absently, so apparently, my distraction had worked.
My body finally functioned again, and I got to my feet. Lazlo led me back to the SUV, but I pulled away from him. I got the gun off the ground. We could use another weapon, and it was only a matter of time before Nevaeh’s shock wore off, and she grabbed it herself.
“Hurry up!” Lazlo yelled.
He waited for me, so I ran to him, and we rounded the back of the SUV. A tiger stood there, summoned by all the commotion.
We both stopped cold, unsure of what to do. The tiger growled at us and bent low, preparing to pounce. Belatedly, I remembered I had a gun. I fired a warning shot in the dirt next to it, and that freaked the tiger out enough to back off.
“Go,” I told Lazlo and nodded for him to go around and get in the SUV. “I’ll be right there.”
He pursed his lips. I knew he wanted to argue, but for once, he just listened and hurried around to the passenger side.
I opened the back of the SUV, throwing the gun inside with all our bags, and called Ripley. Everything had fallen silent after I had fired the gun, and Ripley came flying around the corner of the ranch. She dove into the back of SUV, slamming into our bags, and Lia let out a frightened yelp.
Nevaeh wailed and threatened the wrath of God against us. Some of the other girls had come outside. They milled around Korech, crying and yelling.
I ran around the side, where Lazlo was half hanging out the car door. When I got close, he reached out and grabbed my arm, pulling me into the car and onto his lap.
Before I could even shut the door, Blue threw the SUV in reverse, and it lurched backwards. Through the windshield, I saw Ruth had another gun, and she pointed it right at us.
“Go, go, go!” I shouted, pressing my hands against the dashboard to steady myself.
“I’m trying!” Blue said through gritted teeth.
A shot fired overhead, but it missed us. Blue sped the SUV around, tearing off down the gravel road in a cloud of dust. Ripley growled, and the whole vehicle swayed. He almost lost control whipping around like that, but he managed to correct it.
It wasn’t until we were on the highway that everyone seemed to relax a bit. Blue didn’t slow down, and nobody said anything, but it got easier to breathe. I leaned back, then realized that I was sitting on Lazlo’s lap and leaning into him, so I straightened back up.
“You saved my life,” Lazlo said. From the corner of my eye, I saw him looking at me admiringly.
“Well, we can call it even.”
I got up off his lap, climbing over the center console into the backseat. Lia, Vega, and Harlow were already sitting back there, but I squished in between Harlow and the car door. They were all very skinny, thanks to the end-of-the civilization starvation, but it was still a tight fit.
“Whenever you get a chance, can we stop, Blue?” I asked, looking out the window at the blank landscape around us. “I need to change back into real clothes.”
“Sure thing,” Blue said. “I just want to get farther away.”
Blue pulled over on the side of the road about an hour later. I changed in the red glow of the taillights, and instantly felt better in a pair of jeans. I pulled my hair back up, and Harlow changed back into her regular clothes without saying anything.
“I’m really sorry we had to leave like that,” I told Harlow as I slid on my tennis shoes. She had her back to me and pulled on her shirt. “I know you really like it there.”
“We all do what we have to do, right?” Harlow replied flatly.
“Right,” I said uncertainly.
I wanted to say more to her, but she walked around the SUV and hopped back in without saying another word. She hadn’t said anything since we left, and I’m not sure how this was all sitting with her.
Blue and Lazlo wandered a little ways away to pee. Lia and Vega wanted to get dressed too, so I gave them some of my clothes. They changed in the back together, and I waited at the side of the SUV, next to the open passenger door for them.
Lia finished changing, my smaller clothes revealing her slender midriff. Her back was to the SUV, and she stared off in the direction of the ranch, not that she could see anything from this distance.
“Do you think they’re alright?” Lia asked.
“They’ll be fine,” Vega answered offhandedly, pulling a shirt over her head.
“With Korech injured…” Lia trailed off. “What if he dies?”
“It
’s up to God what happens after he dies,” Vega said. “‘He whosoever believeth in me shall not perish but have everlasting life.’”
“I know, but what about everyone there? How will they survive without him?”
“Lia, be serious.” Vega gave her a hard look. “We’re the ones that did everything. Korech spouted gospel and took advantage.”
“I guess,” Lia said but she sounded unconvinced.
Vega shook her head and rounded the SUV. I stopped her, shutting the door partially so Harlow wouldn’t overhear.
“Hey, what was he like?” I lowered my voice.
“I thought he was the Messiah,” Vega said quietly. “I thought he was going to save the world from the end times. Then after a while, I started thinking he might be the antichrist, but he has no power. Not for good or evil. Not even marked of the Beast.”
“What?” I shook my head, not understanding.
“The Beast. The antichrist. The fourth horseman is upon us,” Vega explained as if anything she said made sense to me. “The antichrist walks among us.”
“But it’s not Korech?” I clarified.
“No. He is just a weak, sinful man.” She looked away from me. “He had sex with all of the girls and called it a cleansing ritual.”
“What?” I was taken aback. I had strong suspicions he might be using the girls as his own personal harem, but Korech had referred to cleansing the boys. “Korech wanted to cleanse Lazlo. He wanted to have sex with him too?”
“I don’t know what takes place in the male cleansing rituals,” Vega admitted. “But the last time Korech ‘cleansed’ a man, it was Shiloh’s brother, and we had to bury him right after.”
“Seriously?” Lazlo came up behind us, and Vega looked over her shoulder at him, with that same eerie calm as Korech. “I narrowly escaped being raped and murdered?”
“I don’t know why that’s so shocking,” I said, trying to lighten the mood, and opened the car door for Vega. “You were almost killed by a zombie two days ago. Rape and murder seems a little mundane after that.”
“He wasn’t evil,” Lia interjected, her arms wrapped tightly around her, as if she were cold. Vega ignored her and got into the SUV, sliding up next to Harlow. “He was just misled. The devil works just as mysteriously as God does.”
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