Hellions: Badlands: Next Generation

by Natalie Bennett

  “Its muddy,” Addy noted when we reached where we needed to cross over.

  “This is more like brown slush,” Maliki remarked, making sure I was steady on my feet as we headed up the far pathway.

  It was at the half-way point the smell became noticeable, as did screaming in the far distance. We immediately slowed our pace going on high-alert.

  “That isn’t the scream of someone dying,” Addy was the first to point out.

  “No, but someone is in a lot of fucking pain,” Zane replied.

  Rounding around the side of the building, we came upon rows of blue barrels. I took a glance inside one that was missing lid and found it full of old blood.

  The smell increasingly grew worse, emanating across the property as a whole. The screaming was coming from the house.

  We moved silently, edging around old animal remains and liter. Geer was the first to speak up again when we neared the end of the abattoir. “So are we rolling up like, surprise, hijo de puta. Or are we doing this stealthily.”

  “Where did you guys find him at?” I asked.

  “He was one of our first initiations. He’s much brighter than before, though,” Maliki answered.

  “We stay together. We’ve got no idea what we’re walking into and the backyard is fenced in,” Zane said, adding a second later, “Watch where you step and watch one another’s backs.”

  That last part was a given.

  No one seemed to be outside and as we crept closer to the house the sound of people talking carried from one spot in particular.

  Every window was open so it was easy to pick which room it stemmed from.

  The screaming had died down some, sounding hoarse now but still just as anguished.

  “All I see is a front door and there’s no way we’re sneaking on that porch without making noise. Piece of shit doesn’t look like it could even hold all of us,” Maliki said.

  “Let’s try around back. There has to be a reason for the fence and probably another door too,” I suggested.

  Flattening ourselves against the chipped exterior, we started edging towards the back. When reaching the window, Zane moved across first, followed by Addy. It was my turn next. Wisps of a tattered white curtain were the only thing blocking us from view.

  Doing this when it was dark had been a decidedly smart move. There wasn’t anywhere to hide out here and the sun would only added to our exposure.

  I prepared to move next, but one look inside the room had me freezing in place.

  Addy hadn’t taken the time to see what inside but my expression had her doing the same.

  “No one is paying any mind to this window,” I mumbled, not taking my eyes off the bed situated against the far wall. Zane, Maliki, and Greer all moved closer to see what had captured my and Addie’s full attention.

  “That’s fucked up,” Zane said softly.

  Coming from him that was a testament of just how screwed up the scene was.

  A woman was tied to a bed, rope wrapped around her legs and her wrists so tightly it was cutting into flesh leaking a pus from an infection.

  She was filthy and completely naked covered in old mud and sweat. What looked like vomit was on her chest; it was that which drew me to the Anubis tattoo.

  Taking a closer look I knew just who she was. The brown hair and fact she was giving birth were confirmation this was, Izzy.

  Her sister had said she would have had her baby or been on the verge of. That was too many coincidences for her to be anyone else.

  Three men stood around her, one in a filthy pair of overalls and tall rain boots. The others were dressed casually in plaid shirts and jeans.

  A woman with graying hair and another who looked about my age were also in the room, each on one side of Izzy.

  “You’re close,” the older lady rasped, pressing down on Izzy’s womb.

  The brunettes head fell back to the pillow and another anguished yell tore through the air, rope going taut as she struggled.

  My stomach turned in complete disgust over the entire situation. Sometimes even I had to ask what the fuck was wrong with people.

  “We need to move while their distracted,” Zane said, pushing away from the window.

  Knowing he was right I reluctantly allowed Maliki to nudge me forward. We had to be smart about this. As long as she was still laboring she was okay, they wanted the baby.

  The house was mid-sized and shaped like a square, placing the backward a few cautious steps away. Zane carefully pushed open the piece of plywood that had been rigged as a gate.

  Greer made his way past us and entered first without having to be told, protecting his Venomous prince.

  “It’s safe,” he said less than a minute later. “But…uh…I don’t know how to explain this. There’s a…pot?”

  We shared a glance amongst each other and then entered the yard one at a time.

  “What the fuck?” I muttered.

  Sure enough there was some type of round metal contraption sitting on top of a makeshift rack. The fire lit beneath it licked up the sides.

  From where we were standing you could hear the bubbling of water inside of it and clearly see the form that had been submerged. Upside down and body bent at an awkward angle, dangling from a thick chain, the heated water covered someone’s entire upper torso.

  “Is this some new age torture method?” Addy asked.

  “No, just not used for your dietary needs. They can cook the organs to perfection this way,” Maliki explained.

  “How do you know this?”

  “I had a thing with a cannibal.”

  Addy and I both turned to look at him. That didn’t bother as much as the fact that I was under the impression he and Gwen had been together since he was a teen.

  “One of the last things I expected you to say,” Addy quipped, speaking low.

  “There’s a door,” Zane interjected, gesturing to the right backside of the house.

  “You think they’re keeping them inside?” Addy asked him.

  Something pinged from the far end of the backyard, cutting off his response. There was so much random bullshit scattered about and laundry hanging to dry, that it wasn’t possible to tell exactly which place the sound had come from.

  “There’s something back there,” Greer stated the obvious.

  “Take your gun out and keep it ready, watch the gate and the door,” Zane ordered him. Then to us, “Stay close and be careful.”

  “Let’s go.” Maliki placed his hands on my hips and made sure I walked in front of him, staying behind Addy.

  “You know you don’t always have to take the rear.”

  “Yes I do. You never need to worry about what’s behind you.”

  I weaved around a bent metal lawn chair. “What about what’s in front of me?”

  “We’ll handle that together.”

  I’d actually been joking but his response could not have been any less serious.

  “You’re kinda sweet, you know that?” I said softly, taking a quick peek over my shoulder.

  Zane laughed quietly, apparently not agreeing with my analysis. “Maliki isn’t sweet. He’s one of the meanest motherfucker you’re ever going to meet.”

  “He’s in love with your pussy. And you…I guess.”

  When my newly acquired boyfriend didn’t dispute either claim I found myself glaring at the back of Zane’s head. It made so much sense why the two of these assholes were so close.

  We ducked beneath a few dingy sheets strung up on a clothes line, coming to a pause when we emerged at the very back of the yard.

  “It’s like a kennel,” Addy said, gesturing to a long fenced in enclosure.

  Night was rapidly approaching and with the sky almost black it was hard to see all the darkened corners of the cage. What was visible, were rusted chains drilled into some type of heavy metal object and a thick padlock securing the gate.

  “There’s someone in the back,” Maliki stated quietly.

  Another ping sounded fr
om that general direction as if to confirm what he had said.

  “How did you know that?”

  “I can see her outline.”

  Her?

  “Rin?” Zane called quietly.

  There was a sharp intake of breath followed by the scraping of a chain, and then the redhead came into view.

  “Zane? Maliki?” she practically cried their names. “Get me out of here!” The demand was drenched in pure desperation.

  She looped her fingers through the fencing, revealing nail beds with no finger nails. Her only clothing was a dirty bra and pair of underwear, no shoes—covered in dirt and severely underweight. I could count her ribs.

  All of that aside she was alive and that was more than enough reason to make the other things seem trivial.

  She couldn’t have been with these people long either, they’d have ate her long ago.

  “The padlock.” Addy stated. “How do we get past that?”

  “Sue has the key. She keeps it in her front pocket,” Darrian helpfully supplied. “It will open lock around my ankle too.”

  “Which one is she?” Zane questioned without missing a beat.

  “She’s an older woman with gray hair. We need to hurry before the bu—.”

  I cut her off as I realized she was in the kennel alone. “Where is Ace? The panhandler said he was with you.”

  “Gone, they took him last night.”

  From Zane, “Took him where?”

  “The pot.”

  Elongated silence.

  “The one in the center of the yard?” Maliki asked.

  “They keep them there for forty-eight hours. It cooks the organs how they like them,” she replied quietly, repeating what Maliki had already told us.

  With no time to get emotional, Zane turned towards us. “This bitch is in the house. We have to go in.”

  “No, Z! Don’t leave me here,” Rin begged, shaking the fence.

  He walked over and spoke softly to her. “Calm down, I’m not leaving but I have to get the key.”

  Addy eyed them with an unreadable expression on her face. Blinking after a few seconds she cleared her throat and reached behind her, hand coming back with the Glock, Zane had taken from her when they first met.

  Honestly, I thought she was going to shoot his ex fling and be done with it, but that idea seemed to be solely my own.

  “We can get the key. You stay with her.”

  An immediate, “Fuck no.”

  Zane whipped his head around and glared at her as if she’d just suggested something abhorrent.

  “We’ll be quick,” Addy replied, already backing up. “Remember I did things like this long before you came along, pretty prince.”

  I bit my lip to keep from laughing at her taunt. That would only antagonize him and we really didn’t have time for angry Zane.

  He stepped away from the fence just as she hurriedly ducked beneath one of the sheets.

  Paying no mind to the pissed off muscle-head, I naturally followed her. No way in hell was she going in that house without me.

  “I got em, Z,” Maliki assured, appearing at my back a second later.

  We re-weaved around all the debris in the yard, readying ourselves to enter a den of flesh eating carnivores.

  Passing by the pot, I glanced over at Maliki to make sure he was okay.

  I hadn’t known Ace well, or at all really. From our short time together he seemed like the kind of person you’d want to have on your side. He didn’t deserve to be cooked up for some weak asshole’s dinner.

  And weak was exactly what cannibals were. They didn’t have the means, be it mental or physical to provide for themselves or their families like hundreds of other people in the Badlands had to do, so they resorted to this. It may have been hard to get your hands on a cow, pig, or chicken, but there was never a shortage of human.

  “We always lose some of the newer recruits from time to time, but this shouldn’t have happened to him. He was supposed to be safe with us.”

  “This wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t have known someone would take him.”

  He slightly raised his brows. “Where in there did you hear me blame myself?”

  Of course, he would never do such a thing. Asshole.

  “How many rounds do you have?” he asked after a beat, nodding to the gun now in my hand.

  “I’m full. You?”

  “Minus one thanks to Buddy’s skull.”

  “I’m good too,” Addy stated, flicking off her safety.

  Greer saw us approaching vigilante style, and was instantly tuned in to what we were doing.

  “Do you want me to come in with you?”

  “No, Zane and Darrian are still at the back of the yard, make sure nothing heads that way,” Maliki replied. To us, “If we go in quiet we may be able to catch them off guard.”

  “So in other words don’t kick the door down?”

  “Satanas, Addy, no. Try the knob first.”

  I gently shoved her out of my way and twisted the rotting handle. With a tiny squeak it popped right open and gave us entry to a kitchen—a surprisingly clean kitchen. But even with all its cleanliness the peculiar smell coming from an old cook-top could not be masked.

  I stepped in first, the Glock secured in my hands and slightly raised. Addy and Maliki were like extra layers of skin following right behind me. He shut the door and we stood for a few seconds, trying to get a better idea of the homes layout.

  “Dining room,” Maliki said, pointing his Springfield’s barrel to the doorway off the right of the kitchen. “Living room.” Pointing to the obscured doorway ahead of us. “Bedrooms and a bathroom are going to be on left side of a hall.”

  I nodded and began to creep forward, remaining in the lead. “She isn’t screaming anymore. When did she stop?” I whispered.

  “About four minutes ago,” Addy answered.

  Another nod and then I kept my mouth shut. Boots moving silently over mellow yellow flooring, I ignored a plate on the counter with something sitting in a pile of some saucy substance.

  On the stove a brown rusted pot was filled with potatoes and some type of meat that had been browned—meat that obviously wasn’t from a cow or pig.

  Hearing low voices and the soft sound of someone crying, I cautiously peeled back the black sheet hanging across the doorway. The hall beyond was dark, but light spilled from a room three doors down.

  I edged forward keeping a close eye on each door that was shut in case someone was lurking behind them.

  From a gruff voice, “Too much stress,” drifted into the hall followed by a feeble, “Let me see my baby.”

  “Your baby is dead,” an older woman’s voice replied.

  A choked sob followed her monotone statement, growing louder in volume as the words hit home.

  “There’s no need for tears, dear girl. You will be joining her soon. Jack, deal with this please.”

  Making sure Addy was behind me, I glanced back at Maliki and he wordlessly moved up to stand by my side. Together we closed the distance to the bedroom, reaching it just a few seconds too late.

  The man in overalls held an axe above his head, swinging it down a fraction before my finger pulled the trigger. There was a piercing scream cut short as the thick blade split apart Izzy’s face with a sickening crack.

  A bullet found a home in Jack’s spine.

  Izzy’s blood jetted across the pillow and sprayed up the floral wallpapered wall.

  The man named Jack stumbled forward releasing an agonized groan. Everything thereafter happened in quick succession. Maliki took out the remaining two men with perfect headshots, leaving me to handle the women.

  The one who looked my age attempted to run at us. Her movement caused the first bullet to shoot clean through her throat, the second lodged in her chest, dropping her to the floor.

  Sue was even easier, she stood in place with a smile on her face as if she’d come to terms with her fate. She too received a headshot. Before her body could fully com
e to rest on the floor Maliki and I were at her side and searching for a key, leaving Addy to watch the hall.

  “Around her neck,” Maliki stated, pulling at a leather makeshift necklace.

  My eyes went to the small lifeless bundle that had fallen awkwardly beside her.

  Leaving him on the floor didn’t seem right. I placed my gun in its holster and gently scooped the baby up. He was so small, so light. His eyes were closed and aside from him being stillborn he looked perfect, but he was so cold and so...dead.

  Carrying him over to the bed, I sat him on the end so that I could pull Jack’s body off his mother. Understanding my intent without needing explanation, Maliki tore the key away from Sue and then came to help me. He grabbed the back of Jack’s neck and pulled him backward, dropping him to the floor. A sharp breath indicated he wasn’t dead yet.

  Ignoring him, I gripped the handle of the ax and pulled, removing it from Izzy’s face on my second attempt.

  Her nose, mouth, and forehead all had been cleaved clean through.

  Empty eyes stared at me as a sudden rush of blood bubbled up and spilled from the split.

  Knowing we were on a timetable, I pulled my Scythe out and cut the ropes that were binding her wrists, and then the ones keeping her legs spread. Her placenta was partially out of her, cored still attached, but it wouldn’t matter much if it remained.

  I’d known since seeing a photograph of Izzy that the chances she was alive were slim to none. But I didn’t think I would be a few feet away when she departed. Had I been a second sooner I could have saved her, but saving wasn’t what I did. My specialty was killing and that’s what I was best at.

  Still, it didn’t seem right to leave her or her baby to rot so openly—and they would rot. They’d decompose in this room with the same people who held them captive.

  Once she was free I hurried across the room and grabbed each of the tattered curtain panels.

  I placed one on top of Izzy’s face and the other over the baby once I laid him beside her. “Let’s get out of here,” I said to Maliki, who’d taken to watching me in silence.

  “Did you get the key?” Addy asked as soon as we hit the hall.

  “In hand,” Maliki answered, holding up the silver object in question.

  We filed back out of the house in record timing and he handed it off to Addy. “Get that to Z, we’ll be right there.”