Quaking with pain, I rolled to the side and let out a muted groan. I tried to breathe, but it felt like I was sucking air through a flattened straw. Panic only made it worse and for a minute I felt like I was going to die right there.
“Don’t you pass out on me yet funny guy,” Dale said.
With Shriver’s help, he grabbed the back of the chair and set it back up. I leaned my head back and felt relief as oxygen found its way to my lungs. But it was a short-lived reprieve.
“Look at me!” Shriver snapped.
He grabbed me by the hair and yanked my head forward. Smiling, he leaned into my face and stared at me. I could smell the cigarettes on his breath and see every flaw in his yellowing teeth.
Dale laughed. He was sitting on top of a table a few feet away with his arms crossed. He looked mildly interested in us and was paying more attention to the woman to my left that was slowing coming to.
“You got any more jokes left in you?” Shriver asked.
I knew I’d regret it, but I couldn’t resist. With as much arrogance as I could muster, I stared him in the eyes and asked, “Who’s your dentist? You need to fire him.”
Shriver didn’t react immediately. I couldn’t read his face at all, but I imagined he was pissed off. But then he started to smile.
“Hot damn,” he yelped and clapped his hands together. “That’s the spirit. Make em work for it.”
He looked back to Dale with a grin then nodded his head. Dale shrugged. I could tell from the look on his face that something terrible was about to happen.
Shriver grabbed another chair and placed it backwards in front of me. He sat down facing me and leaned his arms over the back.
“Where are my manners?” Shriver asked and held his hands up. “We don’t even know your name. You got a name don’t you?”
“Well of course he’s got a name,” Dale added. “You gonna tell us your name?”
“Ma…” I started.
But Shriver brought his hand crashing across my face. It burned like I’d been hit with a fireball. My eyes welled with tears and I tightened my jaw in pain.
I saw stars for a few and the tingling of my skin left me disorientated. I really should’ve just kept my mouth closed. Maybe hitting my head so many times had made me stupid.
“What was that you said?” Shriver asked. “You gonna tell us your name or what?”
I glared at him then back to Dale. The sensation of the skin melting from my face made me shiver. This was a game I didn’t’ want to play, but I was hardly in a negotiating position.
“Spit it out already!” Dale suddenly shouted.
I flinched. They’d called my bluff and won. I wasn’t’ a tough guy, hell I wasn’t even funny. And there was nothing amusing about getting beat to shit.
“Name! Now!” Dale snapped.
“My…my name is…”
Another hand slammed into my face, knocking the words out of my mouth. My front tooth dug into my lip and my mouth filled with blood.
Shriver stood up and started to pace the room. He stepped over the other captives and circled me like an agitated wolf.
“You know how long they kept us locked up?” he asked. “Too long! This…this shit, whatever it is that’s going on, it was our way out.”
I could see in his face he was reliving his worst days. I thought back to what Carl said about the prison and figured these guys had come from another one, but their stories were the same.
“You know,” he continued. “They didn’t even free us. The whole damn building was falling apart and they left. They said it served us right.”
“Fucking cowards!” Dale chimed in.
“They left us to die, left us to burn or starve or be crushed to death like some damn animals. But now the tables have turned, they work for us now, you work for us. You clean, you tend to the yard, you make the food and serve us…we’re your kings! So, you better get in line, you better figure it out real quick.”
Shriver was a lunatic, a man so angry he couldn’t see beyond his own rage. But maybe Dale had some common sense, maybe he would understand that staying here meant we all would die. I had to try because no matter what, I wasn’t staying.
I turned toward him and lowered my eyes. Shriver was starting to calm himself down and had taken his seat back in front of me. I made sure not to look at him, but past him to the table.
“This is only going to get worse,” I started in a soft voice. “The earthquakes, the storms…those are just the beginning.”
Dale looked up at me and narrowed his eyes. He chewed the inside of his cheek and scratched his head.
“I know a place…some place safe. I’ll show you how to get there.”
Dale rubbed his chin like he was considering me, but Shriver didn’t want to hear another word. At a blinding speed, he leapt from the chair and stomped my face with his boot like he was kicking open a door in a swat movie.
The pain was blinding. The force of his kick lifted the chair off of the ground and sent me reeling backwards. I slammed into the floor as blood sprayed from my face, leaving me hanging to consciousness.
“Damn it!” someone shouted as the door burst open. “I told you not to kill him.”
“He ain’t dead,” Shriver retorted. “He’s breathing ain’t he?”
CHAPTER 24
THE ONLY WAY OUT IS IN
“Try not to move,” a voice said as I opened my eyes.
I was laying on a bed and could feel that my restraints had been removed. I tried to lift my arm, but it felt like spaghetti and merely flopped at my side. I knew it would be my only chance at escaping, but for some reason none of my limbs wanted to listen.
“It’s the drugs,” the voice continued. “You’ll come around in a bit.”
With a few deep breaths, my vision started to clear and I could make out a dark-skinned middle aged man standing over me. He was wearing a green t-shirt and had a stethoscope draped around his neck.
“You’re a doctor?” I garbled out in a barbaric drawl.
“Something like that. My name’s Tucker and before you go getting any ideas…there ain’t no getting out of here.”
“What did they give me?” I winced.
“I had to set your nose. Shriver did a number on you. It’ll be sore for a few days and the swelling should go down in about a week. They love to break people or do the best they can, it’s all their kind know.”
“Their kind?”
“Convicts…lifers. I was a doctor at the prison about ten miles from here. I stayed around when the guards left, trying to take care of the sick. Guess that’s why they didn’t kill me. It could be worse though. So, just do what they say, pull your weight and you’ll be fine.”
I remained quiet for a little bit. He was the first normal person I’d seen in a while and the way he talked about not getting out made me queasy. He was so certain, so contempt with just accepting his fate.
“Have you tried before?” I asked.
“Tried what?”
“Escaping?”
“The prison…the prison I worked at, it was maximum security. You know, for the worst of the worst. Murderers, rapists, just bad guys overall. That’s who you’re dealing with here and the only thing they learned while they were locked up was how not to escape. They’ve done a good job of locking this place up tight.”
“It’s a fucking house!” I snapped, sounding angrier than I meant to. “Sorry, I’m just a little out of it.”
“Don’t worry about it. It takes some getting used to.”
I nodded then swallowed. “But you didn’t answer the question. Have you ever tried.”
Tucker sighed then leaned back against the counter. “I’ve been here for a week and a half. Only one guy has tried to escape in that time, like I said they like to break people. His name was Sydney. They caught him and tied him to the fence and every day they cut off a body part until he bled to death. He’s still out there now, in the back…rotting. So no, I’ve never tried to escape.”
“But…but the earthquakes, the storms aren’t over. This place, this whole city is gonna be ripped apart.”
“How do you know that?”
“I work for the government, this is all I’ve been working on for nearly a decade. Trust me.”
Tucker narrowed his eyes and twisted his lips to the side. Skeptically, he scratched his head then straightened up. “So, you’re telling me we are all gonna die?”
“I know somewhere safe, somewhere the highest in the government have kept a secret, I can take you there.”
“I don’t know. I mean I don’t know you, I don’t even know your name.”
“You can trust me, my name is Ma---“
Tucker’s hand bashed into my cheek and it felt like my nose had just exploded off of my face. Every sensation came rushing back into my body and I quivered like I’d been laid on ice. Tucker started to laugh and as my vision cleared I scowled at him.
“Are you fucking serious man? I’m a doctor? I’m gonna help you escape?” he laughed. “Shriver get in here! This idiot is up.”
I was so confused. My head was spinning and I was too busy trying to cope with the pain to really appreciate what had happened. Even as Shriver waltzed into the room I was still out of it.
“Damn look at you!” Shriver shouted. “I messed your face up.”
“What do you want me to do with him?” Tucker asked him.
“Take him to the field, let him see how the rest of them get along. Then put his ass to work.”
“Up!” Tucker roared and grabbed me by the arm.
He pulled me from the table and as my feet hit the ground my legs buckled. I dropped to the floor and fell into the cabinets, knocking my head against the metal handle.
“Put these on,” Shriver growled and threw my boots at me. “Don’t need you stepping on a nail and dying before it’s your time.”
I rubbed my head and started to lace up the beige, hiking boots. At least if I managed to get away now, I didn’t have to do it barefoot.
I tied the last knot then slowly scampered to my feet. I fell again and shook my head to try and clear the cobwebs.
“Jesus,” Tucker groaned and grabbed me.
With his hand clenched on my arm, I managed to right myself. I leaned back against the table then balanced on noodles that were struggling to support me. Slowly, I could feel my body starting to wake up, my muscles straining to function.
“Move it,” Tucker ordered.
With a shove in the back, I made my way out of the door and into the hall. I tried to look around, but Tucker pushed me forward and I stumbled through the glass door and into the backyard. Collecting myself, I turned around and grilled him before looking out across the back.
“What is this?” I gasped.
“These are the ones that don’t listen,” Tucker replied with a sinister grin.
There was a group of men with dog collars around their necks. They were attached to nylon cords that ran the width of the backyard so that they could move across the yard, but no further. The men were shirtless with welts covering their torso’s and bruises covering their faces.
There were no fences, but I could see men with guns posted at the far corners. Another man roamed the yard and occasionally would stop and whack one of the prisoners across the back.
“Why?” I grumbled.
“Why not? You see this one here?” Tucker said as he reached down and grabbed one of the men.
He was in his sixties, with thinning, gray locks and spots of facial hair that looked like the rest had been pulled out. He was frail and his sagging skin was a clear indication that he was being starved.
Tucker gripped his hair in between his fingers and pulled the man’s head up until he was staring into my eyes. His piercing, glare sent chills through my arms and down the middle of my back. It was an empty, hopeless longing for death. They couldn’t have been here more than two weeks, but the man was broken, almost pleading for me to end his life.
“This one here, his name is Landry…Kirk Landry,” Tucker said angrily. “He worked at the prison. Look at him wrong and he gave you a shot. He doesn’t give shots anymore.”
Tucker pulled back harder, like he was trying to rip Kirk’s head from his neck. Kirk gagged and started to squirm in pain. His yellowing teeth gleamed under the sun, but Tucker just yanked a little more.
“Good old Kirk here loved to put me in solitary. I once did 65 days straight. Now, now Kirk works for us, right along with the rest of his soulless coworkers.”
He let Kirk go and shoved him back to the ground. “You don’t have to be out here, you can work, earn your keep, hell maybe one day get a room of your own. Choice is yours.”
I stared down at Kirk and then to the rest of the men they had locked out there. I felt a level of pity for them, but I couldn’t concern myself, I needed to escape.
“I don’t want to be out here,” I said simply.
Tucker smiled. “Good. Sounds like you’re starting to learn. Follow me.”
We headed around the side of the house and I got my first chance to look at the landscape. We were in the middle of nowhere. Off in the distance, across a flat plane, I saw another house. It was maybe two miles away, but other than that there was nothing, but empty fields and a barren dirt road.
Windows ran along the side of the house and near the corner there was an unfinished wooden door. It had a square window in the center and as we passed I managed to steal a look inside.
I could see food and guns right out in the open, like they didn’t have a care in the world. It was there supply room and it looked like they’d been collecting for months. That, or stealing from everyone they abducted and put to work.
“Hey!” Tucker snapped. “This way.”
I followed him around the corner. We made our way to the front of the house and passed a large green tent, like the kind the military would use. I paused and tried to look inside of that too, but Tucker pushed against my shoulder.
“Don’t worry about in there. Maybe, maybe one day Theo will let you have some fun.”
“Theo’s in charge?” I asked him.
“For now,” he replied casually. “Just do what you’re told and you’ll make out alright.”
I nodded and we kept walking. We headed to the front of the house to a faded, white carport. Underneath, there were rows of tables and large buckets of water. The tables were stained in blood and filthy rags and entrails were all over the ground.
A man was sitting near the back of the carport. He wore a camouflage hat with dingy, brown hair sticking out of the sides. His hands were tucked into the pockets of his jean jacket and he had his boots propped up on the table, relaxing.
A red and beige four-door pickup truck, with a trailer attached, was parked to the side. The engine was running, but it didn’t look like anyone was inside.
“Benson, I got your replacement,” Tucker called out as we got closer.
“Good…I hope he’s not squeamish,” the man at the back said as he took his hands out of his pockets and stood up. “What’s your name?” he looked to me and asked.
The memory of getting my ass beat was fresh in my mind and I shivered at the thought. Squinting, I cast a look at Tucker and he nodded.
“You can answer him.”
“Max,” I replied.
“Well, Max, you any good with a knife? You ever gut someone?”
“Huh?”
Tucker laughed. “I got shit to do, Benny, have fun.”
He turned and walked off, leaving me with Benson. I swallowed and started looking around. There was a lot of blood and I wondered if maybe I’d said something wrong. Maybe this wasn’t a job after all.
The grass was stained and spotted with black patches where old blood had dried. Guts dripped from the table where someone had tried to rinse them off, but done a piss poor job. The space underneath the carport was like a slaughterhouse and I was cattle being blindly led to a bloody end.
Benson pulled a hoo
ked knife from his waistband and held it up. It looked sharp enough to cut through wind and I was sure it could easily disembowel me. He twisted it around in his hand, making sure I could appreciate the razor-sharp edge. The silver gleamed brightly, and I got the feeling, weapons were the only thing these people took care of.
I took a few steps back and felt my heart try to tear through my ribcage and run off. Benson grinned, and I couldn’t tell if it was amusement at my fear or anticipation of what came next.
“The balls,” he said suddenly. “You gotta start at the balls. You see that’s the trick, cut a little circle around then slide the blade gently up.” He motioned with the knife and zipped it through the air.
“Wh…what?” I asked.
“Shit…we’re cleaning hogs man, damn hogs. Tucker didn’t tell you?”
I didn’t respond. I scanned the yard, looking for hogs, or any other kind of animal. Before I could finish my search, Benson smacked me in the back of the head.
“You hear me?” he snapped.
I turned around and shook my head from side to side. “No, no Tucker didn’t tell me.”
“Well alright. Help me get the hogs out of the truck. We got a lot to do. Gonna have to teach ya real fast.”
I nodded and followed him to the pickup. For the next thirty minutes I helped Benson pull dead hogs out of the bed of the truck. They were heavy and still dripping with blood from where they were shot. The stench was almost unbearable and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed it sooner.
There was a total of six hogs that we laid out in the lawn. Benson looked at them for a moment then started to loop a rope around one of the hog’s legs.
“What we do is hang em upside down,” he told me.
He stood up and pulled the rope over a pole attached to the carport, hoisting the pig into the air. A stream of brown liquid poured from the things nose and splashed onto the ground.
“You can go ahead and practice on this one,” he said and held out his knife. “By tomorrow you’ll be on your own.”
Skeptically, I reached out and grabbed the blade. I looked at it then looked at the pig and frowned. I’d never done anything close to gutting an animal and the idea turned my stomach. Beyond that, the only thing I could remember from his little tutorial was to grab the damn thing by the balls.
Deconstruction- The Complete series Box Set Page 31