by L. J. Cuff
Emma slowly nodded. “Yeah… I… Um… Sure… I guess...” A tear fell down her cheek.
“Emma?” Claire whispered, feeling the teardrop on her hand.
“Sorry,” Emma said as she sniffled, “It’s just that… Well… We used to be a peaceful settlement… Even with everything happening outside, we welcomed people, gave them food and shelter… Let them stay if they so wished it… We were happy but then… Well… Then, the raids began… They weren’t so bad at the beginning… People would come, steal a couple of guns or some chickens… You know, small stuff…” Emma took in a deep breath. “So we started doubling the guards… We all thought it would work so we just continued farming and living our lives… But then the Beasts came…” Emma paused.
“The Beasts? You mean the infected?” Claire asked.
Emma shook her head. “No, these were not infected… These were people dressed in other’s skins… They came and began taking our people…” She paused to wipe more tears from her eyes. “It started with just a few missing guards but then it turned into whole families being taken in the middle of the night… We were all so worried…” She put her hands in her lap. “You know, before the Beasts, we had a semi-democracy set up… We voted in our leaders so they would have a chance to step down and also others could stand up… When the Beasts started coming more frequently, we didn’t know what else to do…” Emma paused as she regained her composure. “We voted in the person who would protect us the most.” She said with a bit of resentment in her voice.
“So they put you guys in the cells to keep you safe?”
“No… These were punishments… Forced labor was used as a sentence for stealing or trespassing… Or at least that’s what it was at first…”
“And what about now?” Claire inquired.
“Now… Well… If you do anything Ben doesn’t like or you happen to be a newcomer that wasn’t seen by the others then this is where you end up…”
“The others?”
“Yes, the others. You know, the ones who aren’t here, are free to be out there and do as they see fit…” Emma took in a deep breath as she saw the first glimmer of light coming in from the window. She nodded in the direction to bring Claire’s attention to it.
Claire glanced over her shoulder then signalled for Owen for the two of them to lay down away from Emma.
Just as they arrived on the other side of the cell, the door to the outside swung open. “Rise and shine! It’s time to get to work!”
Everyone shuffled out of the jail cells. Claire walked two people away from Emma while Owen was directly behind her. She showed no emotion as Emma signalled for her to take the larger baskets to the right. Emma left the area first with her basket as Claire glanced over her shoulder. Owen was about to grab the same kind as Emma but Claire accidentally knocked it out of his hands.
“Sorry, how clumsy of me,” She set it down and offered a smaller, berry-picking basket. “Here, have this one, it’s not dirty.”
Owen took it and followed the others to the berry shrubs. It was closer than the large wooded area where Emma went, more visible but also allowed them to see how many guards were walking around.
Owen watched a guard pacing in front of them. He glanced over his shoulder at Claire who seemed to be engrossed in what she was doing. He sighed audibly then bent over to pick the berries.
“Owen,” Claire whispered in his direction.
He looked up at her in disbelief. Looking over to the guard’s area, he saw there was no one there. “What the…?” He asked.
“They seem to come and go every few minutes…” Claire responded.
“Any idea how many of them there are?”
“So far there’s only been three through here… Maybe more are hanging around elsewhere.” She looked up at the midday sun then down at her row of berries. “This is going to take a while,” She said under her breath as she got down to picking.
***
“Dennis? Is it?” Ben asked pacing in front of him.
Dennis glared at him from the chair he was tied to. He pursed his lips and glanced over his shoulder. “Is this how you treat all your unwitting guests?” He asked.
Ben smiled broadly as he watched Dennis sit in front of him. He lifted up his foot and placed it on the arm rest. Kicking it up, he caused the chair to fall backwards, hitting the floor with a loud, hollow thud. Dennis briefly rolled his eyes and returned his glare to Ben.
“Is there a purpose to this?” Dennis inquired.
Ben stepped to his side and crouched down. His maniacal smile left plastered across his lips. He reached down to touch Dennis’ arm followed by the ropes holding his wrist. After a moment of silence, Ben opened his mouth to speak then stopped. He looked down into Dennis’ unyielding gaze then finally spoke. “This doesn’t faze you, does it?” He asked.
Dennis shook his head, keeping his eyes fixated on Ben. “I have seen and experienced much worse than any of this.” He stated with conviction.
“Interesting,” Ben responded, slowly nodding his head. “So, how would you like to join us?” He asked, signalling for the men in the background to leave.
“What’s in it for me?” Dennis inquired, watching the two men leave.
Ben lifted the back of the chair, stopping when it was at a forty five degree angle for the urine to slide off. “Well, for one thing, we’ll let you out of this,” Ben responded, patting the back rest next to Dennis’ head.
“What if I like sitting in my own feces?”
Ben smiled broadly again. “You’re a funny man… We’re planning a raid against the Beasts and we could use a good war general.”
“The Beasts? You mean the infected?”
Ben’s smile was quickly wiped off his face. He pulled a chair over so he could look Dennis in the eyes. “Is that what you call the cannibals that where human clothing as if it were sheepskin?” Ben asked.
Dennis was about to speak when he stopped himself. Looking into Ben’s eyes, he could tell what was happening. “So what is it you’re proposing?”
“Bring the fight to them…”
Dennis slowly nodded. “Ok, but I’m going to need far more fighters than what you have and be able to train them.” He responded.
Ben stood up and pulled a knife from his back pocket. He quickly removed all of Dennis’ bindings, dropping them to the ground. He pointed to the side door. “There’s men waiting near a jeep next to the exit. They’ll show you the place.”
Dennis furrowed his brow. “We can go there during the day?”
“Safer now than at night,” Ben responded before giving Dennis a gentle shove on the back. “You’ll do great things, I’m sure… And if you’ll excuse me, I have to go administer another trial.” He said, turning around and heading out another door.
Dennis stepped out into the daylight and looked around. He turned to face where he’d been held. It was a stately manor with curtains drawn over every single window. He glanced over his right shoulder where there was a stone path but it seemed to stop in the middle of the yard where there were rows of young apple trees growing. Looking over to the left, he noticed the large wall. It stood over ten feet tall. The bottom few feet were rows of bricks but above that stood columns of wood.
“Dennis?” A voice to his left called out.
Dennis turned to its direction. “Yes?” He asked.
“It’s time to go… Otherwise, we’ll lose our advantage…” The man humbly responded.
Dennis nodded and made his way to the waiting jeep.
***
A massive horn blew but its sound was different from the horns that usually called everyone to the fields. Claire and Owen looked at one another, and then saw people walking away, leaving their baskets in their work areas. Owen furrowed his brow and shook his head. Claire shrugged and signalled for him to follow with her. They walked behind as everyone made their way to a large, open area.
As Claire looked around the large, grassy area, she saw Emma. Claire and Owe
n made their way over to her. She was watching forward, just like everyone else which is exactly what Claire and Owen did. There was a large podium adorned with flowers. A kneeling woman occupied one side of it, her hands clasped in her lap, held together with chains. There were people standing to the left and the right of the podium, each holding what appeared to be a leaf and dressed in white.
I guess those must be the others, Claire thought, watching them.
She leaned in close to Emma and whispered, “What’s going on?”
“Just watch,” She responded.
Ben entered from the large house on the right. He solemnly held onto a megaphone and tilted his head forward to greet the people in the white robes. He stepped up onto the podium, past the young woman.
“My friends, family,” Ben proclaimed into the megaphone. “We are here to hold the trial of one Nathalia Goodwin.” He pointed to the women kneeling on his left. Her hands were delicately placed in front of her with tears streaming down her cheeks. “She stands accused of trying to entice a man away from his wife.”
Claire rolled her eyes. What total crap, she thought, shaking her head slowly.
“Who here accuses her?” He called out, over his shoulder.
“I do!” A woman with a blue sash responded. She held up her hand and stepped forward. She spoke loudly but because of the distance, Claire couldn’t hear most of it. From looking around the crowd, Claire saw she wasn’t the only one who couldn’t.
“Nathalia, how do you plead?” Ben asked, pointing to the woman who was poked by one of the guards. She didn’t respond. She merely stayed still.
“You the people, how do you find?” Ben asked, looking over his shoulder at the others.
They all began chanting “Guilty” while thrusting their fists into the air.
Ben lifted his hand, bringing the megaphone momentarily away from his mouth. Silence befell the crowd as everyone bowed their heads. Claire continued glaring at Ben. He slowly brought the megaphone up to his lips and spoke. “Then it’s decided… Should she be exiled or jailed?” He asked.
“Exile! Exile! Exile!” The others chanted, raising their fists to the air again.
Two men grabbed the woman by the arms and pulled her off the podium. Claire looked around and saw the people around her were cheering as the woman was dragged to the large door.
The horn blew loudly as the gate opened. The woman struggled in vain against the two men as they brought her outside the gate. They removed her shackles and walked back inside the gate. The woman turned to come back only to be met by guns.
“Exile! Exile!” The people shouted as shots were fired towards the woman’s feet. She glanced over her shoulder then looked back at the people aiming at her. She took in a deep breath and spun herself around. She began walking down the road leading away from the gate. As it closed behind her, Claire thought she caught a glimpse of someone or something lunging towards her, and the sound of a muffled scream.
The horn blew one final time signalling for everyone to disperse. Claire and Owen walked in silence as they made their way back to their cell.
***
Dennis stepped out of the jeep and looked over the small, ramshackle cabin standing before him. He took in a deep breath of air and began coughing.
“Well, it certainly smells like the right place,” He said, covering his mouth with his arm. Making his way to the back, he could see how truly small it was. This is barely bigger than a tool shed, he thought, inspecting the windows.
Standing at the back, he heard two car doors close. He looked around the corner and saw his companions standing outside of their respective doors. He went back to his inspection of the place. Noticing one of the windows was open, he inched closer. There was no hint of a putrid stench. He put his nose closer but there was nothing. He stood himself up and took a step back.
Sniffing the air, Dennis noticed the only thing he could smell were the lavender flowers behind him. He began kicking the dirt around but there was nothing else on the ground. He made his way back to the front of the cabin and looked back at the jeep.
He stood directly in front of the front door then glanced over his shoulder at the other men. He stepped forward, keeping a close watch on everything around himself. He shook his head then made his way back to the jeep.
“Is everything ok?” The tall man next to the driver’s side inquired.
Dennis looked at him then back at the little cabin.
“Why did you bring me here, Wayne?” He asked, glaring at the man.
“What do you mean? This is where the Beasts live…”
Dennis shook his head. “Am I missing something then?” He asked.
“I don’t understand.”
“Look around, there is nothing here… There’s always indications when people live somewhere… Either a washroom or bones or something… There’s nothing here…” He said, pointing to the sides of the building.
“But… But… This is where…” The man next to the passenger door began before noticing Wayne’s glare.
“Where what?” Dennis asked.
“N… N… Nothing…” The man responded, shaking his head while stepping back.
“Charles?” Dennis inquired, his voice lowering.
Charles quickly turned around and began running down the road. Dennis furrowed his brows as he watched him round the corner. He looked over to Wayne then back at the jeep. “Let’s go back to the village, when they come around again then we’ll have to find a way to tail them…” Dennis said, stepping over to the passenger side.
Wayne shook his head. “They must be around here somewhere… Whenever our guys come to raid them back, they almost always are ready for us…” He said, starting up the engine.
Dennis stared blankly at the sky as the jeep reversed. He heard through his open window a familiar sound coming from the distance. He could tell it was relatively close. Turning to Wayne, he asked, “Can we follow that noise?”
Wayne listened then looked back at him and shook his head. “Every time we’ve followed that, we’ve found nothing… Remember, these are not the so called infected… These are cannibals…” He said, continuing to drive.
Charles got into the car with a ghostly expression. His hands shook with fear.
“Oh shit!” Wayne called out, shifting gears and stepping on the gas. Dennis watched as a car drove directly in front of them. It sped up quickly until it was within a foot of the jeep. The front of the car had a spring loaded steel hook attached to it. Dennis took in a deep breath and reached down to the floor. He lifted up the shotgun and cocked it.
Wayne turned the jeep to avoid getting hooked but the other driver was determined. He quickly continued chasing them. Dennis steadied the gun and fired just as the car’s hook was brought underneath the jeep’s bumper.
Suddenly, the car sped up forcing the jeep backwards until it hit into a tree. Charles was thrown through the back window. Wayne was knocked unconscious against his wheel. Dennis put his head down against the dashboard, waiting for the others to get out of their car.
He watched as a dark figure stepped over to his door. It reached into his broken window with its gloved hand. He quickly sat up and grabbed it, pulling it hard enough to knock it into the jeep’s roof. Throwing open the door, he tossed it onto the floor. The figure did not stand back up.
Dennis stepped over to the car, keeping a handle on the figure on the ground. He saw something moving in the backseat. He lifted up his shotgun and was about to fire.
“It’s your lucky day, you little shit,” He said, reaching for the car door. “I don’t fire on people if I don’t know who or what they are.” He threw open the door to find a bound woman. He reached down and pulled the bag off of the woman’s head and found a familiar face. “What the hell are you-,” He began but before he finished, something hit him from behind. He spun around in time to stop the branch from a second hit.
Steadying himself against the car door, the figure lunged at him as he put his f
eet up in anticipation. He pushed his legs forward, kicking the figure away from him. The figure shook its head and grunted in his direction.
“So this is how we’re playing, huh?” Dennis asked, holding his fists in front of him.
The figure leapt towards Dennis’ feet, catching him off guard. He fell to the side, clearing the path to the car. The figure ran to the driver’s door and opened it, hitting Dennis in the head. He brought himself up to all fours, recovering from the head injury. The car engine roared to life.
I have to help Mary, Dennis thought, picking himself up off the floor. He reached out for the door handle unsuccessfully as the car moved in reverse. He tried running after it but found he couldn’t.
A shot rang out from within the car. A hole appeared in front of the driver and the car reversed at an increasing pace. It stopped as it hit a tree causing the jeep that it was towing to lunge forward.
The back door opened and Mary dropped out. Her hands still bound, her mouth still gagged, but she was free. Dennis ran to her side and helped her remove her restraints. She looked him straight in the eyes then back at the car.
“How did you end up in there?” Dennis asked as they both stood up.
“Ben had a fake trial…” Mary responded, rubbing her wrists. She nodded her head towards the jeep. “Think that thing still works?” She inquired.
***
Claire sat quietly in the cell eating her dinner. As prisoners, they only got to eat twice a day, in the morning and at night. She was thinking back to what she saw happen earlier as the gates were closing.
“I just don’t understand why they exiled her instead of just sending her here like the rest of us…” A young woman sitting right behind Claire began, “I mean, maybe I would’ve preferred exile over being stuck in here…” She said before taking a large spoonful of dinner and eating it. She quickly spat it out back into her bowl. “What the fuck is this crap?” She asked.
“They don’t let them in here because it’s too cramped already… Haven’t you noticed how no one ever leaves?” The other woman answered. Her voice turned to a more hushed tone and she continued, “That’s their official answer but haven’t you noticed that the instant people are exiled, they are attacked?”