by Meyer, Tim
“Can't you see I'm praying?” Soren asked.
“Sorry, man. Didn't think it was a big deal. Door was open.”
Voicing his frustration through his teeth, Soren launched himself to his feet. He turned slowly toward the door and folded his arms across his chest. As he examined his obedient lamb, he smirked. “You don't think very much do you?”
“Listen, dickhead, I've been pretty loyal to you—”
“Loyal to me, or disloyal to Samuel?” Soren tapped his chin with his pointer. “Hmm. I wonder.”
“Look, I came by to tell you that Sam and Tina flew the coop. Okay? They're on their way to east bumble-fuck. And if they find those cannibals, they're probably not coming back.”
“And would you have a problem if they didn't return?” Soren asked.
Chris didn't know why, but everything that came out of Soren's mouth sounded like a riddle he was incapable of solving. “Hell no I wouldn't have a problem with it. I mean, that Tina chick is okay. Could sure use her, you know, if what you think is happening actually happens. But, Sam? Couldn't give a fuck if he hung himself in the maintenance closet.”
“His daughter. You love her?”
Chris smirked, half-embarrassed, half-incredulous. “Love is a strong word there, chiefy.”
“Infatuated?”
“Sure. I guess.”
“She likes you.”
“Who could blame her?” Chris asked, spitting brown gunk into an empty water bottle.
“Your confidence is overwhelmingly nauseating.”
“Thanks. I think.”
A few seconds passed in silence. Down the hall, people talked in troubled tones. They couldn't hear exactly what was taking place, but they knew the nature of what was being discussed. The future. If there would even be one.
“What should I have them do?” Chris asked. “Should they pack?”
“Yes,” Soren said. “They should pack tonight.”
“Great, I'll spread the word.”
“Tell them to pack quickly and lightly. Take only what they'll need to survive. Not a single thing they can live without.”
“Got it.” He rotated, facing the hallway.
“But not you, Chris.”
Looking over his shoulder, Soren noticed the confusion on his face.
“Gather a few men. Trustworthy men.”
“For what?”
“To prepare.”
Chris shook his head. “Prepare for what?”
“For war, Chris.” Soren grinned. “To prepare for war.”
-11-
TWENTY MINUTES AGO
From behind the corner of the small consignment shop, Bob pointed. “See there.”
Matty squinted, nodding.
“That's the spot I've been scoping out for the past week.”
Matty eyed the wrought-iron fence enclosing the zoo. At nearly twelve feet tall and dangerously pointed at the top, climbing over it was not the preferred method of entry. Both entrances were guarded heavily; Bob spotted several two-men rotations stationed twenty-four seven at each end. Sometimes they didn't make themselves known, but Bob knew they were there thanks to the binoculars he had “borrowed” from a pawn shop several blocks over. Hiding. Waiting, for stragglers to come along. Innocent stragglers who needed food and shelter and refuge from the orange globe of death hanging above them. Bob watched as a few lonely survivors stopped, hoping the zoo would be their answer to life. He never saw those people come back out of the gates. He heard their screams though. All through the night he heard their screams.
He pinpointed the weak section in the fence where two wrought-iron posts were missing, leaving a fifteen inch gap that the two of them could squeeze through.
“We enter there.” Bob reached into his pocket. “According to the map I took from the convenience store...” he unfolded the map hastily. “...that should put us right about here.”
Matty followed his finger.
“I scoped out the layout from the top of the office building back there. From what I could see it looked like they're holding people in these cages here.” He tapped the spot on the map labeled Training area! No Guests Allowed!
“That's where Mom is?”
“I think so.”
“You think so?” Matty asked. “Or you know so? Before you said you saw her. Being held in a cage.”
“I think I did,” he replied, folding the map back up and stuffing it into his back pocket.
Matty pinched the bridge of his nose. Despite wanting to see his mother again, he knew the idea was bad the moment it rolled off his stepfather's tongue.
“I think we should—”
“Come on! There's no better time than now!” Bob shouted, gripping his stepson's hand.
Together they raced across the empty street. Newspapers tussled across the pavement, barely visible in the dusky shadows. The only light came from within the zoo. The obnoxious hum of the generator droned in the distance.
Matty ran toward the gap faster than he thought his legs would propel him. His heart kicked like a piston, slamming against his chest with a prisoner's fury. He could feel the hammer in his throat. Sweat poured from the top of his forehead. Before diving through the gap and entering the bamboo brush on the other side, Matty turned to Bob, looking for his final approval. Slowly, Bob shook his head and waved him on.
He hurtled himself forward and landed on his stomach. The soil was soft and wet, hinting it had rained not long ago. Had it rained? Matty couldn't remember the last time water fell from the sky. It might have. His mind quickly wondered what would happen to the earth if it never rained again. As he slithered through the soil, using the thick bamboo branches to pull himself along, He wondered if survival was futile, especially if the world was condemned by an impending, cataclysmic climate shift. So far, they had survived. But how long would it last? How long before Mother Nature adapted and kicked them out of her promised land for good? He didn't want to think about it. Not now. Not when seeing his mother, confirming she was alive, was so damn close. So damn close. He glanced through the branches and leaves and saw a walkway. A few more feet and he could reach out and touch concrete.
Voices. Somewhere close. Footsteps with clarity.
Matty stopped, not daring to move an inch. Behind him, he heard Bob rustling the branches as he crawled like a WWII soldier seeking out the safety of a trench.
“Why are you stopping?” Bob asked in a loud whisper.
Matty turned to him and placed his finger on his lips. Pointing ahead, he watched Bob's face expel more sweat.
The voices continued. Neither of them figured out what they were talking about. It was like they were speaking another language. After a series of incoherent mumbles, the footsteps started again. Bob and Matty watched two pairs of shoes sneak by. They heard one of the guards say, “If they're here, we'll find them.” Matty felt his stomach sink; his nerves stirred.
They're looking for us!
He turned back to Bob, seeking direction and pleading with his eyes to turn around. Even if his mother was in there—what were they going to do? Bust her out? They didn't know the layout of the zoo very well. Finding her would be a guessing game. Even if they did get to her and break her free from her cage—what then? Where would they go? How many guards would descend on their location? What if there were more prisoners? Would they have to break them out, too?
Too many questions Matty didn't think they had enough time to answer floated through his thoughts. He was about to open his mouth and tell Bob that something didn't feel right, that they should head back and come up with a better plan, something better than his half-ass idea to go all Steve McQueen on the cannibal's lair, when a hand clamped down on the back of his neck and dragged him out of the brush.
Matty screamed. He hadn't meant to. His throat released the shrill cry before he could react. He was thankful Lilah wasn't there to hear it. Or was she?
His knees scraped against the pavement as the hulking figure yanked him along. He turned h
is head back to the bamboo foliage and witnessed Bob receiving similar treatment. It took two men to retrieve his long frame. Bob kicked, screamed, and cursed at the two heavily garbed men.
Defeated, Matty sighed.
“Hey there, All-Star,” a girl's voice said from behind him. “Long time no see.”
He turned and saw Lilah standing before him. Smiling, she folded her arms across her chest.
“Welcome to my home.”
He felt his bowels loosen.
-12-
He couldn't remember a specific instant in his fifteen (almost sixteen) years of existence when he felt more embarrassed. Sitting in the chair, his hands bound behind him and waiting for the cannibals' illustrious Master, Matty tried not to beat himself up too badly. He couldn't help it. How fucking moronic you could you be? he asked himself. How could you not see it? Her! She was one of them the whole time! And you followed her! Because of what?
Because he thought he loved her. Hell, a part of him lobbied that he still did. Love. Such a stupid fucking thing.
In that moment, Matty wished he was in Costbusters helping his father regain the people's trust. Far away from those uninviting cages and the overpowering stench of animal dung. The smell flipped his stomach like laundry in the dryer.
“Don't worry, Matthew,” Bob told him. He was sitting next to him, bound to a chair meant for someone a quarter of his height. He looked worse for wear. They had beaten him badly, in front Matty to boot. A few cuts had opened up on his cheeks and the saggy skin around his eyes had already started to purple, making him look like the talking Raccoon character in Matty's favorite comic book. “I'll find us a way out of this.”
Matty was too smart to believe him. He didn't tell his stepfather there was no way out, that this was the end of the line. He felt death's cold embrace settle in his bones. Whatever was going to happen over the next few minutes wasn't going to be pretty. The surrounding area had a dispiriting quality to it and he felt the mood infiltrate his psyche, draining him of his energy, his will to live past that fleeting moment.
Through his mental haze, he locked his sight onto the face of a figure standing less than ten feet in front of him. His smile harbored two rows of sharp teeth. He instantly thought of Shark Week. As the man neared, he noticed black eyeliner circling his eyes and long, black hair lying on his shoulders.
“Well. Well. Look what we have here. Intruders.”
“Please don't hurt us,” Bob begged.
“Please don't hurt us!” Malek mocked childishly. “Would you like some cheese with that whine?”
Behind him, a few of his hooded cronies snickered.
“You. Old man. You were the one we've been looking for. My men said they'd get you eventually. Said they'd lay a trap for you. And that you'd walk right into it.”
Bob narrowed his bruised eyes.
“Oh, what? You really thought we'd just leave that section of the fence open? No, that was a trap. And you stepped right into it.” He turned his attention to the boy. “And you brought a friend! How nice. Two for the price of one. What a deal.”
Lilah stepped beside Matty. “I know this one.”
Malek appeared very interested. “Oh? Someone you opened your legs to in your previous life? You always did have strange taste in men, Lilah. Mother said so on many occasions. Behind your back of course.”
Lilah rolled her eyes, unamused. “Remember that guy I was telling you about? From Costbusters? He used to be the manager there or whatever? The guy who ran the joint?”
“Yes...”
“This is his son.”
Malek's face brightened. “Oh, really?”
“Yes.”
Lilah rubbed Matty's shoulder. He didn't know why, but it comforted him.
“That's very interesting... Matty, is it?” Malek approached, bending down to Matty's eye-level.
Matty didn't answer him.
“Be nice,” Lilah told her brother.
Ignoring her, Malek placed a hand on each of Matty's cheeks, forcing them to lock eyes.
“You can be very useful to me, Matty. You realize that?”
He didn't dare speak a word.
“Come on, Matty. We're friends now. Don't be like that. That would make me angry and when I get angry... well, let's say you probably don't want to see that happen.”
The smile running across Malek's face chilled Matty's skin.
“Be a good boy, and I'll be a kind Master.”
“You leave him the fuck alone, you monster!” Bob shouted. He snarled, looking like a monster himself.
“Relax, Frankenstein. I only want to talk,” Malek told Bob.
With each word the Master spoke, Bob's skin reddened more. “I said, leave him alone. You want to talk to someone, you talk to me, you piece of shit.”
“But, Bob,” Malek said grinning. He rose to his feet quickly, standing before the man who had already been taught a valuable lesson earlier. Clearly, he didn't retain the important message. Malek reared back and kicked Bob's testicles as hard as he could. Malek hated when his mother forced him to play soccer as a kid, but thanked her silently when Bob screamed like a woman in labor. “I don't want to talk to you.”
Bob howled as Malek turned his attention back to Matty.
“Now, Matty. We have ourselves a little pickle here. I'll break it down for you: See, I very much want what is inside that Costbusters. It's very important for the survival of my camp that we obtain every last bit of what I'm after. Every. Last. Bit. Get it?”
Matty stared blankly. “What is it you want?”
“People, Matty. I want the people. The reasons are my own, but a smart kid like you—well, you can probably use your imagination. Now, I know it's going to be quite difficult for you to give up your friends, but let me promise you this—your family will be spared. My men and I won't lay a finger on them.”
Matty shook his head. “Not sure... w-what you w-want me t-to do.”
Malek rubbed his knee. “Don't be scared. Take comfort in knowing that this is not your fault. You couldn't do anything to prevent it. Just like mankind couldn't prevent the End of Days. Right?”
Matty nodded.
“I want you to guide us, Matty. I want you to open the doors of Costbusters, and let us in.” Malek smirked. “After all, we cannot enter a place we haven't been invited to. Right?”
His cronies chuckled beneath their hoods. Matty glanced at Lilah. She wasn't laughing. In fact, she didn't seem amused at all. Malek's actions seemed to put her off completely. Matty adored her for this.
“You think you're v-vampires?” Matty asked, almost laughing.
Malek reacted as if Matty had spit at him. “Think? No, Matty I don't think. I know it. You know how I know? Because the darkness is our friend and the sun is our enemy. We are creatures of the night. We require the blood of the living to survive. That's where I need your help. There's enough meat inside Costbusters to help us move onto the next town. Where we'll find another Costbusters. And the next. Until we move across the country and feed until there is no more meat left.”
“Then what?”
“Then... then our lives will be complete.”
Matty stared at him. “You don't l-look like v-vampires.”
“Excuse me?”
“Vampires. You don't look like them.”
Malek laughed. He turned to his pals, then to Lilah. “Cute kid.” Facing Matty, he held his smile as wide as he could stretch it. “See these? These are perfect for meat. Perfect for draining the body.”
“Oh?” Matty said, pretending what Malek said was interesting. “Were you born that way?” he asked.
Malek's smile faded.
“Were your parents vampires?”
The kid's tone dug beneath Malek's pale flesh.
Lilah shook her head subtly, warning Matty not to take this any further.
“A few years back, archaeologists discovered a 'vampire graveyard' in Poland. Their incisors were long as daggers. It was determined that the subj
ects—who were beheaded by the by—were born that way. Isn't that amazing?”
Malek glared at the kid, his lips twitching uncontrollably. “You think you're funny, kid? You think it's cute to poke fun at someone's beliefs?” He snarled. “Didn't your parents teach you any manners?”
Matty's blood froze. He knew by the grave look on Lilah's face that he had taken his jest too far.
Malek reached out and grabbed Matty by the throat. He squeezed and Matty's eyes bulged.
Lilah gasped.
“I guess I'll be the one to teach you the lesson!” Malek squeezed.
Bob yelled, telling Malek to get his goddamn hands off him. “Take it out on me!” Bob yelled. “Leave him alone!”
Malek snarled.
Lilah came up behind him, gripping her hands on her brother's shoulders. Without looking, Malek popped her in the face with his elbow, sending her sprawling to the ground, blood running from a small cut on her cheek.
“You want to fuck with me, kid!” Malek screamed, letting go of Matty's throat. He pulled a knife from his pocket, placed it on Matty's cheek, and cut downward. A scarlet dribble ran down his face. Matty screamed, sounding much like a girl himself. “You had to make me do it! Didn't you?”
Lilah scrambled to her feet and lunged at her brother before he went back for seconds. She threw her arms around his throat, putting him in a sleeper hold. He tossed her off with a quick maneuver he had learned from the many fights he participated in as a youth. His sister's body tumbled to the floor once again. He glared at her, warning her not to attack him again. His guards looked on, not knowing what to do. Rollins cowered in the corner like a baby, holding a bottle of his recent recipe in his hand.
Licking the blood running down the knife, Malek turned back to the kid. He grabbed a clump of his dangling curls and pulled his head back, suspending the knife dangerously close to the kid's eyeball.
“Yup,” Malek observed. “It's funny what a small cut will do to someone. How many lessons it can teach.” Malek returned to his happy self. “What a handsome man you would've grown to be. Handsome men get all the pretty ladies.” Malek glanced over his shoulder. “Isn't that right, Lilah?”