by Brown, TW
***
“Five people in three days?” Will rubbed his face with his hands and shot a look at Joel. “You think this is the best thing for morale?”
“I don’t give a damn about morale,” Joel snapped. “What I do care about is that people follow orders. I also care about the safety and security of this community. That young lady this morning was caught for the third time in as many days asleep at her post.”
“So what does a person have to do around here to just simply be executed?” Debra ran her blade along the stone, paused, examined the blade’s sharpness, and then returned to the task, obviously not satisfied with it yet.
“Rape, murder…negligence that results in the death of another of our citizens…desertion.” Joel ticked each item off on his fingers.
“So that guy being held in the cell right now is to be executed?” she pressed.
The man’s name was Shaun Simpson. He and a woman that he claimed to be his wife had shown up at their gates five days prior. Early this morning, the wife had been found trying to climb the fence and escape the compound. Initially, she’d been held as a potential deserter. During questioning, the woman revealed a number of bruises on her abdomen and thighs from the abuse perpetrated on her by the man who had claimed to be her husband.
Leanne Sasser related her story to a pair of female guards—one of which immediately sent for Debra—about how she’d become a prisoner of Shaun Simpson. She’d been a dancer in one of Vegas’s many exotic reviews. At almost six feet tall, and with a dancer’s body, Leanne had been no stranger to gaining the attention of men. When all hell had broken loose, she’d been trapped in her apartment for almost a week when Shaun Simpson and three other men arrived. They’d set about searching the apartments for supplies and discovered Leanne. She’d been so grateful, that she almost willingly gave herself to the men. After all, she reasoned, they’d saved her life.
Over the next several days, she quickly began to regret being saved. Her treatment grew more abusive by the day, eventually, the men showed no regard for her at all. She was almost happy the day they got trapped inside a small grocery store. She thought that she would die there, and was almost ready to accept it.
Shaun had somehow managed to overpower one of his fellow survivors who happened to be on watch one night. He created a diversion that brought the walking dead to where the other men were sleeping and then escaped with Leanne. For the next several hours, they ran for their lives. Each time they thought they’d found sanctuary, either humans or the undead would force them to run again.
The next day, they’d seen Joel’s little party as they headed out on that failed attempt to save Conrad Parks. Shaun had just managed to elude the gang that Joel and his party all but annihilated. He decided that perhaps it would be to their best interest to join up. He’d made one thing very clear to Leanne; he would protect her, but she would adhere to the story that they were a couple. If he found out she tried to escape him, she would end up zombie bait.
Debra had Shaun brought to her quarters that same hour. He was bleary eyed and stunk of alcohol which was already going to put the man in hot water. He was scheduled to be on the morning rover patrol, and the rules were that no alcohol was to be consumed within twenty-four hours of any job that revolved around security or working on the community’s power grid.
Debra had looked the man up and down for a moment as he stood with his hands folded over his genitals. She’d smirked when the two guards who’d dragged him in and threw him on the ground had obviously not given him time to dress. His skin was pasty and flabby. It was made all the more unattractive by the thick reddish hair on his chest and back. He had splotches of freckles that were so dense in some spots that it almost made him look like he had some sort of horrible condition. His ginger-hued hair was thinning, and a pronounced bald spot was forming on his crown. As he pushed up to his feet after being thrown to her floor, she noted that even his teacup-sized bald spot had large, ugly freckles.
She’d stared at him for minutes, enjoying the feeling of seeing the man break out in sweat before her eyes despite the chilly temperature in her room. His knees had been scraped either during his apprehension or as a result of having been thrown to her floor, and one of them bled freely until a trio of rivulets ran almost the length of his shin.
“You like to threaten women?” Debra finally asked, pulling a knife from her belt and running the point of it under her nails.
“What….no…who…?” the man stammered.
“Leanne was caught trying to climb over the fences.” She paused and looked up, fixing the man with her hard gaze. “What does it say for you that a woman would rather risk being eaten by zombies or punished for desertion rather than spend another minute with you?”
“I never did anything but save that woman,” Shaun tried to protest, but his words were weak and forced. His gaze went to the floor; which, for Debra, was a dead giveaway that he was lying to her.
“Maybe I should be your new girlfriend.” Debra stuck her knife into the top of her desk and stood. “Would you like that, Shaun? Would you like me to be your new girlfriend?”
The man shrunk back, his head shaking slowly in the negative. Debra stood and moved around her desk.
“Am I not pretty enough?” she cooed with false sexuality, batting her eyelashes at the man and running her hands down her sides.
In a flash, she lunged forward, sweeping the man’s legs out from under him with one booted foot that caught his ankles hard enough to make him yelp in pain as much as in surprise. Dropping down to her knees, she straddled the man and had him by the throat before he had the chance to understand what had happened.
“Or am I just a bit too unlikely to take your crap?” Debra leaned down, her nose almost touching his. “You like your women soft and beatable, isn’t that right?”
Shaun tried to shake his head, but Debra squeezed his throat tighter and he froze. His face began to turn a dark shade of red, and a few blue veins began to show up at his temples.
“Am I making you angry?” Debra whispered, easing up on the man’s throat and sitting up just enough so that she could look down and see all of Shaun’s face.
“I don’t…I didn’t—” he began, but Debra silenced him by placing her fingers over his lips.
“Shhh, don’t speak. You see, the moment you talk, I’m gonna have to assume that you are lying, and being lied to pisses me off.” She narrowed her gaze, her eyes little more than slits with darkness glittering in them. “You don’t want to really piss me off, do you?”
Shaun gave the slightest shake of his head. Debra smiled and let one of her hands reach behind her until she found his flaccid manhood. She gripped it in one gloved fist and then looked back down to lock eyes with the man beneath her. His eyes were wider than ever and she watched a single bead of sweat trickle down his left temple and vanish into his ear.
“P-p-please,” he whimpered.
“Did Leanne beg for you to stop doing whatever it is that you did to her? Did she cry as you beat her? Did she scream against the gag you stuffed into her mouth as you pounded her ribs thinking that nobody would notice that like they would a black eye or busted nose?” Shaun shook his head causing Debra to squeeze tighter. He changed his shake to a nod, and now tears leaked from the corners of his eyes. “Did you pretend that her cries during sex were simply out of pleasure from what you were doing to her?”
There was a pause, and when Debra squeezed again, he nodded once more.
“What do you want from me? What do you want me to say?” he bawled. “I saved her. She owed me…I protected her.”
“No!” Debra snarled, this time squeezing hard enough to make him yelp in pain. “You victimized her, kept her hostage, and you raped her.”
“I never raped her!” Shaun protested.
“You told her she had two choices…fuck you or be tossed out into the wild.” Debra released her grip and popped up to her feet in one swift move. Just as fast, she snatched her knife
from the desk and knelt back down between Shaun’s legs. “You can call it whatever you like…but it’s rape.”
With a flick of her wrist, she sliced Shaun’s penis down the center from the tip. He screamed in pain and began to thrash back and forth. Debra stepped over him and opened the door to her quarters. The same soldiers that had brought Shaun Simpson to her stood outside at a military parade rest.
“Get him off my floor and to the infirmary. I want him saved if possible.” She stepped back and allowed the two guards to enter and grab the writhing form. “If he dies…big deal. But I’d like him to be saved if it doesn’t tax our resources. Tell the folks in medical they are not to use anything to lessen the pain.”
Shaun had survived.
He was being kept in a cell at the moment. The last report from the guard was that he seemed to be succumbing to an infection; that was an unacceptable ending in Debra’s mind.
“We haven’t had a trial, but if he’s—” Joel began.
“A trial?” Debra spat. “Are you serious?”
“Very,” Joel said calmly. “We are not animals. There are still formalities that must be adhered to if we are going to build a proper society.”
“There’s no way in—” she began, only for Joel to cut her off again.
“So why don’t we go down to his cell and get that formality out of the way.”
It wasn’t a question, and Joel was already on his feet. Debra cocked an eyebrow in curiosity at the man and then glanced over at Will who only shrugged in response. The trio exited Joel’s office and made their way to the cell where Shaun was being kept. The guard hopped to his feet at their arrival, making certain that he was not mistaken for being asleep while on duty.
“Mister Landon, sir,” the man said in a rush, making a mess of getting caught between trying to bow and salute at the same time.
“We’re here to see the prisoner.”
The guard fumbled with the keys and opened the door, stepping aside to allow the trio of Joel, Debra, and Will to enter the room. A man lying on a cot looked up, his pale face almost gray.
“Your name Shaun Simpson?” Joel asked calmly. The man nodded. “Did you inflict those bruises on a young lady named Leanne Sasser?” He nodded again. “And did you tell her that her safety relied on her allowing you to have sex with her at your discretion?” This time the man’s eyes flicked to Debra. He paused for a moment, but eventually nodded very slightly.
“Bring him to the top of the dam,” Joel said, turning on his heel and leaving the room.
He walked to his room and picked up the microphone that had recently been installed. There were speakers throughout the complex. If things worked as they were supposed to, his voice would be heard by everyone present inside the fences.
“Attention, all citizens.” He paused and took a sip of water. Once he felt he’d given enough time for everybody to stop what they were doing and give him their full attention, he resumed speaking. “I want all personnel not on watch or performing a vital task to meet atop the dam in ten minutes. That is all.”
It only took about five for everybody to gather, but Joel waited the entire ten. Occasionally, his eyes went over to where Debra and Will stood on either side of the kneeling Shaun Simpson. The man’s head was down, and his shoulders shook every so often with what Joel assumed were sobs. He’d held the man in disregard, but now he found that he despised him. He hated weakness. Anybody that preyed on those weaker was the epitome of that state of being.
At last, the time had elapsed and Joel stepped forward. His back was to the Arizona side of the dam, and all his people were gathered in front of him. The white stripe that marked the two states’ borders were right at his heels.
“Ladies and gentlemen, you have all been present for the times when I have had to sentence one of our people to the darkness. It is not a judgement that I take lightly. And I will say to you all that there may come a day when some of those so sentenced will be allowed to return to the light. They have committed crimes, and have been justly sentenced.” He cast another look towards Shaun and frowned. “But there are some crimes that will not be given a commutation. I want to make it clear right here and now, before all present, that if I hear that one of my people has committed the act of rape or murder, they will be tried, and when convicted, they will face a permanent punishment.” He paused again, and this time he turned to where Shaun was being kept. He strode to the man and gave a nod to Debra who unceremoniously yanked Shaun to his feet.
“Death.” He spoke that word just loud enough that all those present could hear. That single syllable seemed to float in the air for several seconds.
“This citizen, Shaun Simpson, has committed the act of rape. He forced one of our women to have sex with him under the premise that it would be the only way she could remain safe. I have found him guilty of this crime, and now I will pass sentence before the community.” He motioned for Debra and Will to bring him forward.
The man’s head rose and confirmed Joel’s suspicions. The tracks of his tears were visible and his eyes were bloodshot and puffy.
“I didn’t rape her,” the man whimpered.
“Trial’s over, you lost,” Debra snarled, punching the man in the kidneys and dropping him to his knees.
“If the victim would like to come forward and make any final statements to the accused, she may do so now,” Joel called out. He hadn’t expected any response, and so when a woman stepped forward, he was more than a little surprised. “Are you this man’s victim?” Joel reached a hand out to the woman, beckoning her to join him.
She nodded. The crowd up to this point had been quiet, but there is always a buzz of conversation when you have everybody gathered in one place. In this moment, there was nothing. Silence. The only sound was the thrum of the dam and the sounds of water below. Every person gathered had gone still. All eyes were focused on the woman who stepped forward from the crowd.
“What will you do to him?” Leanne asked. Her voice started soft, but gained strength with every word. “If you toss him over the fence, he’ll just do this again to the next girl he finds.”
“You bitch!” Shaun roared, struggling with his captors. “You were trapped and about to be zombie chow when I found your sorry ass. If not for—” His tirade ended with a loud grunt and exhale.
Debra stood over him, her shotgun unslung from one shoulder. The way she was holding it, Joel was certain that she’d just hit him in the gut with the stock of the weapon.
“I think this shows us everything we need,” Joel said after Debra gave a curt nod. “Before I summoned you all, the accused actually confessed to the crime he was accused of. This outburst only displays his true character. If anybody would care to step forward on behalf of the accused, I will allow you to express why you believe that leniency should be shown. Otherwise, we will move forward with the sentencing.”
Nobody moved, and the silence was replaced with a low buzz of conversation as people obviously talked amongst themselves; probably asking each other if anybody knew the man. After several seconds, and once it was clear that nobody would be stepping forward, Joel raised his hands to silence the crowd.
“The sentence for rape is death. Will the accused step forward.” It wasn’t a request, and when Shaun shrunk back and away, tugging his arm to try and escape Debra and Will’s grip, he was jerked around and cuffed on the side of his head by Will who now seemed like he just wanted this entire ordeal to be over.
“Shaun Simpson, you have been found guilty of rape. There can be no sentence that will give back to the victim that which you have taken. You are not able to make amends, and this community will be safer by removing you.” Joel paused long enough to look at Leanne. He noticed that her eyes were fixed on her attacker and that they gleamed with something cold and fierce. That truly made him feel good. If she retreated into a shell and became useless to the community, he would eventually have no choice but to have her removed.
“Fine, toss me out. I won’t ever
return, I promise,” the man almost pleaded. His voice was strained, and Joel could see his cheeks had turned almost purple.
“We can’t do that.” Joel paused to ensure that everybody heard what he was about to say next. “Nobody leaves here once they commit to our community. I won’t have somebody coming in, learning about how we operate, and then maybe sneaking out to join some other group that has designs on taking what is ours. That is what I have you swear to when you ask to join us, and I’m certainly not going to unleash your kind on a world already in a weakened state. If I let you go, and if you were to repeat these terrible actions, then I would be an accomplice. I can’t live with that possibility on my conscience.”
“Then wha—” the man started to speak, but Joel gave a nod with his chin to Debra.
He actually had no idea what she would do. He wasn’t even sure she would be the one to kill him. Will could just as easily do the job. He didn’t have long to wait.
Grabbing the man by the scruff of the neck, Debra went to the edge of the dam. She had one of Shaun’s arms wrenched behind his back, but the man still struggled since it was immediately obvious what she had planned. Will had let go, but he trailed along, a baton in hand to subdue if necessary.
Casting a look back at the crowd, Joel noticed that nobody had left, but a few had drifted either to the front, or to the back depending on the level of morbid curiosity that each possessed. Leanne was one of those who followed closely. By now, Shaun was struggling and starting to cry and beg for his life.
“Is this what we are now?” he pleaded over his shoulder. “Are we going to allow one man and his little circle to decide our fates? Is this—”
Will struck hard, the tip of the baton driving into the man’s kidney, buckling him and causing him to squeal in pain. Shaun Simpson fell to his knees, arching his back and then trying to twist as Debra wrenched harder on his arm until Joel was certain that he heard a pop.
