by Meyer, Tim
Sam nodded. “Bring her to me,” he said. “I want to talk to her. Find out what she knows about the nutjobs we ran into. Maybe she has some information we could use.”
Tina sighed heavily, making her disapproval known. “All right, Sam. We'll play it your way.”
“Thank you.”
Tina turned and headed for the doorway.
“Dad?” Sam heard from behind the small crowd.
“Matty?”
“Is there anything I can do?” he asked. Matty walked next to his father's bed.
“I don't know, Matty. Stay with Dana. Keep her company.”
“What about the girl?”
“What about her?”
“Well...” Matty said, looking around the room nervously. “I mean, she's going to need friends, right? Someone to show her around? To make her feel at home?”
“Let me talk to her first, son. Before we roll out the welcome wagon.”
“Okay. Just saying I can help, that's all.”
“I appreciate it, buddy. But for all we know, she's one of them.”
“You really think so?” Brian asked. “After what we saw?”
Sam recalled the blade being place to the girl's tender throat. “No, I don't. But let's not get complacent.”
-5-
Tina found herself halfway down the hallway when she stopped. The figure before her had his arms folded across his chest, a satisfied grin plastered to his recently-shaved face. “Our fearless leader is on the mend, I hear.”
“So you've been eavesdropping, have you?” Tina asked.
Soren held up two fingers. “Just a little.”
“What do you want?”
Soren shrugged, his smile not wavering a single centimeter. “Nothing. Just a concerned citizen trying to acquire some information on Samuel's condition. If there is anything I can do for him—”
“I don't have time for your shit, Soren,” she said, walking past him.
“Oh, that's right. You're going to retrieve our mysterious guest so Sam can interrogate her.”
Tina turned to him. “Like you wouldn't do the same goddamn thing.”
He nodded. “You're right. I would. In fact, I think I should be the one to talk to her. Maybe I can get the information we need, while Samuel can get the rest he needs. That way we can properly get a handle on things.”
“I'll tell you what you can get a handle on.”
“You've been hanging out with the Mouth far too much lately, I see. No need to be crude. I'm only trying to assist in Samuel's efforts, not impede them.”
Tina wrinkled her forehead. “And you think you can help us?”
“Yes, I do. I think I can be of great use, considering the situation.”
“And what is it you can do for us, Soren, that we can't do ourselves?”
“I have the natural ability to tell when one is telling the truth, and when someone is, well, being less than truthful.”
“Really? You're a human bullshit detector? Ever apply that skill to the shit you shovel down these people's throats on a daily basis?”
“Ah,” Soren said, approaching her. “You're not accepting of other's viewpoints, I see. Even when they're in the best interest of all and not simply the few.”
“I suggest you return to your room, Mr. Nygaard. Continue planning your little coup, or whatever it is you do in there.”
“Is that what you think I'm doing?” Soren laughed. “Plotting a takeover? Turning the good people of Costbusters against Sam? I'm sorry. But you've completely misread my intentions.”
“Oh no? You're not trying to turn these people against Sam? Getting them riled up? Trying to get them to journey across the country?” Tina shook her head. “What do you call that shit?”
Soren shrugged innocently. “We've become a family here, Tina. Even you must be able to see that. I'm only looking out for what's best for the entire community. I mean no harm to him or anyone else.”
Tina scoffed. “Enough of your bullshit. What do you really want?”
Soren's eyes slimmed. “The same thing you and everyone else wants. Information. Let me speak with the young lady. Once I'm done, we'll know exactly what's going on and how to plan accordingly. Isn't that what Samuel wants? What you want? What everyone here wants?”
“You're playing a dangerous game, Soren. You won't like how it ends.” She turned, heading towards the maintenance closet where the girl was being kept. “When Sam's ready to talk, he will.”
Soren smiled, watching her drift further down the corridor.
“If things continue this way, Miss Givens, the community that Samuel built here will be torn apart,” he said. “Why can't you see it?”
Tina flipped him the bird before disappearing around the bend.
-6-
Naked, they spooned each other. Detective Tina Givens held onto Bernhardt, tightly wrapping her arms around his muscular chest. She felt dirty, a filth that no amount of soap could cleanse. Committing adultery had never been on her bucket list. It was a fantasy that had only been that—a fantasy. Nothing more. Had there been opportunities in the past? Sure. She had worked with plenty of unfaithful men over her ten-year career, attractive men she did fantasize about. But she never gave into her impulses. Not once had she the desire to act upon them. Until the moment she met Detective Louis Bernhardt six months ago when he transferred from some town in Upstate New York. She knew immediately that she had to have him. Many dreams were spent on his body, what it would look like without a suit covering it, in her bed, on top of her, pounding away like a jackhammer. Many times she had awoken wet, and soon after, her dreams became daydreams until it reached a point where that's all she could think about. So much tension had built up over the months that she thought she might implode. She knew he felt it, too.
She tried not to think about the family photo during sex. It was hard. Alice or Ada's (she still couldn't remember) eyes flashed in her mind. Staring at her. Judging her. Calling her a slut, a whore, a good-for-nothing home-wrecking bag of shit. Afterwards, after the debauchery was over, she felt ill. She almost excused herself to the bathroom so she could puke, as if that would somehow purify her soul. No amount of vomit would cleanse her conscience and she knew it. Her actions would follow her everywhere she went for the rest of her life. There was no ridding herself of it. It'd eat away at her slowly, like a cancer until it drove her absolutely nuts or she stopped caring. Maybe if she came clean to Alice or Ada, maybe only then would she feel free from her filthy triumph.
Yes, she had to do it. It was the only way. She had to come clean. He'd hate her for it, but who cared? He shouldn't have been fucking around on his wife. Betraying her. Betraying his family. It was his fault as much as it was hers. And they'd both have to suffer the consequences.
Just when she was about to open her mouth, tell Bernhardt that she had made a mistake coming here, the bedroom door swung open. Tina's heart dropped, disappearing somewhere in the deepest depths of her bowels. Bernhardt's head left the pillow faster than he could blink.
“You son of a bitch...” a woman's voice said.
“Alice?” Bernhardt almost cried. “Alice, what are you doing here?”
“I knew it,” Alice said. “I knew you'd do this to me again. I fucking knew it!” she screamed.
Tina suddenly wished the bedroom window was open—she wouldn't hesitate diving out onto the roof and jumping naked from the second story, as long as it meant she could escape the sticky mess she found herself in.
“Alice, please. It was a mistake. It won't happen again—”
“Are you fucking kidding me? After all we've been through? After the move? After being far enough away from your other sluts? You start up all over again? What kind of man are you?”
Crying, Bernhardt raised his hands as if he wanted his wife to hug him from across the room.
“No more lies, Louis,” his wife said.
Bernhardt and his wife eyed the pile of clothes next to the bed. His silver revolver lay atop the
small mound, resting in its holster, glimmering like buried treasure peeking out of the sand.
“Alice,” Bernhardt said, pleading, “whatever you're thinking, I need you to stop and talk to me.”
“We're done talking, Louis. You'll never learn.”
She broke for the gun and Bernhardt dove from the bed, still wrapped in the sheets. They reached the pile of clothing simultaneously and began wrestling over the revolver. Bernhardt felt the sharp sting of his wife's fingernails digging into his face while trying to pin her to the floor with his legs. As he reached for the gun, she shoved her knee into his groin. Howling in pain, the revolver fell from his hand and bounced into the center of the room. Jumping out of bed, Tina raced over and picked up the gun. As Bernhardt and his wife continued to fight, she thumbed back the hammer and fired into the bedroom ceiling.
“That's enough!” she shouted.
Startled, they separated, their eyes focused on the gun Tina held above her head.
Bernhardt held out his hand. “Give me the gun, Tina.”
“Go on, you fucking slut!” Alice screamed. “Fucking give it to him! It won't be long before he's fucking someone else behind your back!”
“Shut up, Alice! We can figure this out. We can fix this...”
She shook her head wildly. “Fuck you, Louis! Fuck you, you piece of shit!”
Alice took hold of Tina's wrist, pulling her into the struggle between her and Bernhardt. She tried to free herself, but her pleas were deafened by their shouting and swearing. Soon, all three of them were rolling around the carpet, the gun being twisted and turned in all directions. Another shot fired. Tina covered her ears and rolled onto her stomach. She looked up to see a smoking bullet hole in the center of a wedding photo hanging on the wall next to the bathroom. Glass shards littered the floor next to her. As she crawled toward the doorway, away from the fighting, she felt Alice fall on her back, knocking the wind out of her lungs.
“That's enough, Alice! Are you fucking crazy?” Bernhardt yelled.
With the revolver in hand, Alice pulled Tina by her hair and pressed the barrel against her temple. “Yes, Louis, I am. I'm crazy for ever thinking you would change; that you would be a better man, the man I married almost twenty years ago. You'll never change as long as you have sluts like this one hanging all over you. Maybe if I make them go away,” she said innocently, “then maybe you'll change.”
She squeezed the trigger gently.
“Alice, don't!”
“I love you, Lou—”
The glass shard piercing her throat killed her words. Blood exploded from the gash like water from a busted fire hydrant. Soon the carpet was saturated and speckled with the same dark fluids that covered Tina's hands. Slowly, she released the shard, leaving it in Alice's neck, and took to her feet. She staggered back a few steps, the muscles in her legs feeling almost nonexistent. She used the wall to keep herself from falling.
Gripping chunks of hair with his fists, Bernhardt cried. “Tina...” he whispered between sniffling bouts. “What did you do?”
Picking up the gun, she turned the weapon on the bloodied woman. The sound of her choking on her own blood filled the room.
“Now hold on,” Bernhardt started, but his voice was lost over the sound of Tina's angry screams and the roar of gunfire.
-7-
“You know you can talk to us,” Sam said, sitting up on his mattress, his back propped up against the wall. “We're not the bad guys here.”
Sitting on a chair in the middle of the room, the girl avoided eye contact with him. Instead, her eyes were focused on the wall, vacant of thought and wet with tears.
“Maybe you shouldn't push her, Sam,” Shondra said. “She'll talk when she feels comfortable.”
“There's no reason she shouldn't feel comfortable,” Sam said, turning his attention back to the girl. She was younger than Becky, but older than Dana. If he had to guess, she was probably around Matty's age. “Let's start with something simple; what's your name?”
The girl's eyes left the wall, finding Sam's. She opened her mouth, but no words were expelled.
“My name is Sam Wright. That's Shondra. Tina was the woman who brought you here.” Sam nodded to across the room. “That's Brian in the corner, and Mort next to him.”
“You can call me 'Mouth'. Everyone else fucking does.”
The girl's lips flinched.
Sam turned and motioned for his daughter to come forward.
“I know you're scared. It's all right. We're all a little scared,” he said. “I'd like you to meet someone else. This is my daughter, Dana.”
Holding up her hand, Dana smiled. “Hi there. You don't have to worry anymore. We're all friends here.”
“That's right,” Sam said, placing his hand on Dana's shoulder. “We're like family here. In fact, I have a son, Matthew, and another daughter, Becky. They're both here. And I look after them just as much as I would you. We all would. We all look out for one another; we protect each other. You can tell us anything you want to, and nothing bad will happen to you. I swear on my life.”
She nodded. “My name's Lilah,” she said at last.
“Well, that's a good fucking start,” Mouth mumbled.
“Lilah,” Sam repeated. “Beautiful name.” Sam offered the girl his hand. Slowly, she met him halfway, lifting off her chair, grabbing his sweaty palm. “Can you tell me what happened? Before we found you.”
Her eyes darted back and forth rapidly. “I got separated from my family. I was walking down the side of the road, after the sun went down, of course...” She paused, swallowing a lump.
“Go ahead,” Shondra said. “It's okay.”
“These guys drove by. Said they could help me find my family.”
“Had you seen them before?” Sam asked.
She shook her head. “Since The End happened, I haven't seen anyone except my family.”
“Those people abducted you?”
She nodded. “At first they seemed decent. Then... then they went crazy. They took me to get food because I said I was hungry. They went into the convenience store where they... had bodies. Stored. I heard them say they planned on eating them.”
“We saw what they were doing. It's okay. You can skip past that part. What happened next?”
“They took me into the pizza parlor. Said they were going to do things to me first. Before they... ate me.”
Tears poured from her eyes. Her head collapsed into her hands. Shondra went to her, placing her hand on her shoulder, rubbing in a comforting, motherly manner.
“Sssh,” Shondra whispered. “It's okay. You're safe now.”
“They're savages!” she cried. “They were going to rape me!”
The mood in the room changed. Everyone shifted uncomfortably as the girl cried on. They wore empathetic masks, but no one knew how to talk to her, how to console her, how to make it better. No words came to mind. No advice. Nothing. Just silence.
“I can't imagine how you must feel,” Sam finally said. “But if there's anything we can do to help, please, let us know.”
She stared at him, her glossy eyes still leaking tears down her cheeks. “You can help me find them; my family.”
Sam suddenly felt every eye in the room on him. Slowly, he nodded. “We can do that.”
With a frown, Dana started to speak, but she held back upon seeing a smile run across Lilah's face.
“Thank you, mister. That means the world to me,” she said, wiping the tears dangling from her eyelashes.
“My pleasure, Lilah.” He pointed to the cuts and bruises on her legs. “You're pretty lucky. Those scratches could've been a lot deeper.”
“Are you a doctor, mister?” she asked, squinting. “You look like a doctor.”
Sam laughed. Some of the others chuckled softly.
“In a previous life.” Sam forced himself to smile. “Lilah, I need you to do something for me. Think of it as a favor for saving your life and helping find your parents.”
“W
hat is it?”
“I need you to pretend you have amnesia. If anyone asks you questions, you have to act like you don't remember. Can you do that?”
She nodded. “Yeah, sure. Anything you want.”
“Thank you. Thank you very much. Well, Lilah, we have food, water, shelter, and good people here,” Sam told the teenager. “You don't have to worry about the crazy people out there.”
“They're not people,” Lilah said timidly. “They're monsters.”
He nodded. “There aren't any monsters here, at least. Maybe later, when you're feeling more comfortable, you can get to know everyone. As for now...” Sam spotted Matty standing in the doorway. “Matty? Why don't you show Lilah around?” Sam turned to her. “You can get a sense of what goes on here.”
Brian stepped forward. “What if people mob her with questions?”
Keeping his eyes on the girl, he said, “Stick to the amnesia story and they'll leave you alone, I promise.”
Lilah shrugged. “Okay.”
“There's no need to be afraid, honey,” Shondra said. “Everyone here is really friendly.”
She nodded. “I'm just tired. That's all.”
“Well, maybe you'd be better off taking the tour tomorrow night then,” Sam said.
Lilah agreed, smiling.
“Matty?”
“Yes, Dad?”
“Take Lilah around the offices, just so she knows where the washroom is.” Sam nodded to Tina. “You mind if she bunks with you?”
“Not at all,” she replied.
“Good. It's settled then.” He turned back to the girl. “Go with Matty. We'll talk more tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Mr. Wright.”
Sam smiled. “Call me Sam.”
-8-
“I think you'll really enjoy it here,” Matty said to Lilah, as they rounded the bend together, nearly plowing into the two figures before them.
“Whoa!” one of the men said. “Watch where you're going there, All-Star.”