by Brant, Jason
Cass noticed the way the woman softly touched the guard’s hand as she took the radio out of his grasp. She had no doubt they were frequent competitors in genital jousting.
Valerie keyed the handheld radio. “This is Valerie.”
Heavy breathing came through the speaker for several seconds before a man finally spoke up. “Listen to me very carefully, Val. There are five fucking assholes between you and me—four men and one bitch. They cut my face! My goddamn face!” The man paused, sucking in a ragged breath. “I think they’re coming to you. The bitch said they were looking for the people Higgins delivered to your place, and—”
“King?” Valerie’s face reddened as she tore her eyes from the radio, fixing them on Cass.
“—don’t kill ‘em! You hear me? Don’t touch a hair on their fucking heads. They’re mine. Gonna tear their guts out and spread them across my goddamn fucking lawn! You hear me, Val?”
Cass lunged for the radio, trying to snatch it from Valerie’s hands. She reacted on instinct at hearing Higgins’ name. Whoever was on the other end of the conversation could only have been talking about Lance and the others.
“Grab her!” Valerie shouted as she jumped back. “Grab her, for God’s sake!”
Bill wrapped his thick arms around Cass from behind, lifting her from the ground in a bear hug. His hot breath warmed the back of her neck as she struggled. Her feet kicked back, connecting with his shins, though he didn’t react to the blows.
She tried to headbutt him, but couldn’t make contact.
Seeing Bill had her contained, Valerie raised the radio to her mouth again. “King, shut up!”
King didn’t. “Bastards got the demons so worked up they trashed half my home and killed four of my people! The bitch killed two others!”
Valerie fumbled at the controls, trying to switch off the radio.
“They’re a bunch of tanned pricks, got it? You’ll know ‘em when you see ‘em. I’ll pay any price for a long-haired piece of shit named Lance, Val. Any goddamn price you want! He cut my face, so I’m going to cut out his fucking heart!”
Cass fought to free herself as Valerie finally cut off the radio.
30
Because Brandon scouted ahead of the group, he spotted the massive mound of earth rising into the sky first. Pausing in the middle of the road, he squinted against the sun as he inspected it from afar.
Figuring the structure to be at least two or three hundred yards away, he guessed they were safe from the demons hiding inside.
“That’s enormous.” Lance stopped beside him. “We’d heard about these a long time ago, but it’s the first time I’ve seen one in person.”
“It’s like a massive anthill.” Brandon pointed at it. “See the holes running along the sides?”
“Yeah?”
“We’ve seen them inside those, even during the day. They stick to the shadows, but they pass in front of the holes from time to time.”
“Like they’re keeping guard?”
“I guess. We’ve had people watch them through binoculars, but no one wants to get close enough to really check it out.”
Lance ran a hand through his hair, pulling it back from his face. “They must have hollowed out a lot of earth to build something that high.”
“I’ve seen a lot of these, but that one is one of the biggest.” Brandon thought of the one between Baltimore and D.C. he’d discovered a few months prior during one of his farthest scavenging adventures. That nest hadn’t stood as tall as this one, but was easily twice as wide.
No one knew how far down the nest stretched under the mound. They didn’t even know how far the underground structure branched out, but most figured it to could go for miles in any direction. They’d discovered a lot of connecting tunnels over the years, but hadn’t dared enter them to see how far they went.
The creatures had constructed an entire infrastructure of tunnels all over the place. It made it impossible to track their movements with any kind of accuracy. They could pop up anywhere, digging a hole right under someone’s feet.
Living in The Light, with its concrete and metal construction, gave them more protection from a surprise attack than somewhere out here in the middle of nowhere. At least the demons couldn’t dig the ground right out from under them.
Lance started walking again. “Let’s get as far away from that thing as possible.”
As he looked at the massive mound, Brandon’s mind went to Charlie. He’d tailed the strangers north, against Emily’s wishes, to find his would-be girlfriend. Following the assumption the bandits had abducted her, he’d hoped to follow the same trail as Lance and the others to hopefully find her.
But what if the bandits hadn’t taken her?
What if she’d wound up in one of those nests, consumed by the demons? Or even worse, turned into one.
Though the demons were nocturnal, they didn’t always sleep underground during the day. The scavengers for The Light had to be careful while they searched through big buildings, mindful of dark rooms and basements. A demon could lurk in the back of grocery stores or the shadowed corner of an office building.
Maybe Charlie hadn’t met the fate he’d assumed.
The thought made him queasy.
Sweat ran down Brandon’s back, soaking his shirt.
He glanced at the sun, wishing for some clouds to conceal it, even if just for a little while.
They’d traveled for hours.
His feet hurt.
The skin on his arms and neck had reddened.
The others didn’t seem bothered by the autumn sun, but Brandon spent most of his days running around the city in the shadows. He had a decent tan, but nothing like theirs. He was admiring how healthy and beautiful Eifort’s skin was when the woman turned his way.
He averted his eyes in a hurry, embarrassed at the thought of her catching him ogling her.
“Do you hear that?” Eifort asked.
“What?” Lance halted beside her.
She didn’t respond for a moment, cocking her head to the side a bit. “Sounds like a car.”
Brandon listened, hearing nothing at first.
Then the low rumble of an engine came from far away.
“Holy crap!” He frantically searched for something to hide behind. “It’s the bandits! What are we going to do?”
“Relax, kid. If it’s those assholes, then we just hit the jackpot because we’re going to find out where they took everyone.” Lance pulled the pistol they’d found in the gas station from his waistband. His features hardened. “Then we’re going to make sure they don’t do this to anyone else.”
“How? There are a lot of them.” Brandon wrung his hands.
The engine grew louder.
“I doubt it’s them.” Eifort freed her own gun from her pants. “We’re in the middle of nowhere. It wouldn’t make sense for them to drive around here looking for survivors.”
“How far away are we from this camp?” Lance asked Brandon.
“Uh…” Brandon struggled to remember what he’d seen the last time he’d checked the map. He’d guided them to one of the bigger roads heading north, hoping they could follow it most of the way there. “I don’t know. Ten miles, maybe more. Probably more.”
Lance said to Eifort, “Might be someone from there making a trek out for supplies.”
“If it is, we can snatch them and make them take us back there.” Eifort’s tanned forearm flared as she squeezed the handle of the gun. “And if they aren’t from there, we’re going to take their vehicle anyway.”
“How do we do that?” Lance asked. “You have a plan?”
“Yup.” Eifort handed her pistol to Greg. “Hide behind those cars over there. Don’t come out until they’re out of their vehicle.”
After he took the pistol, Greg plodded over to a green sedan that had been pushed off to the shoulder. Someone had cleared all the cars from the road, giving anyone driving at least a lane and a half of navigable space.
Brandon
thought it must have taken a long time to move so many vehicles over such a lengthy stretch of highway.
Eifort grabbed the bottom of her shirt and pulled it over her head, tossing it Lance.
“Uh… what are you doing?” Brandon summoned all his willpower to keep his gaze from lowering to Eifort’s breasts.
He failed.
She wore a frayed, faded purple bra.
Brandon marveled at the realization that he’d seen more boobs in the last day than he had in his entire life. He’d never had any luck in school with girls. When he had finally connected with Charlie, at least on a small level, she’d disappeared.
“Avert your eyes, kid.” Lance smacked him on the shoulder. “She’s going to distract whoever is in the car, so we can get the jump on them.”
“With her boobs?” Brandon sputtered. “Are you serious?”
“It’s working on you, isn’t it?”
Eifort reached behind her, and he heard the pop as she undid the clasp on her bra.
Brandon felt a weird tightness in his stomach.
Stared at her like a deer caught in headlights.
“I—”
“Go on the other side of the road from Greg and get down behind that big-ass truck over there.” Lance grabbed his shoulders this time. Spun him around. “I’ll be there in a second. Ya perv.”
On stiff legs, Brandon practically ran toward the massive, extended-cab truck. His face was burning and sweaty, and it wasn’t just from the sun. He’d thought Eifort was hot as hell, but had never expected her to start taking her clothes off in front of him.
“You’re going to give the kid a coronary,” he heard Lance say to Eifort. “What’s the play here? You take the first guy out? We get any others?”
“That’s the plan,” Eifort said. “Depending on how many there are, anyway. Wait for my move.”
“Got it. Be careful.”
“I will.”
Brandon reached the truck, easing down behind the tailgate. He couldn’t believe a naked lady stood in the middle of the road a few feet away.
Lance dropped beside him a moment later.
The vehicle drew closer, the sound of its engine growing.
“If a lot of people get out of this car, I need you to circle around behind them and stick up the driver if he’s still in there. If not, grab the vehicle and back it away from them. The car is the main goal, got it?” Lance asked.
“What will you do?” Brandon felt fear creeping up again.
Ever since he’d met these people, he’d gone from one crazy situation to the next. They were constantly caught up in some kind of never-ending cycle of insanity.
“We’re going to disarm whoever it is, then find out what they know and where they’re coming from.”
“And if they have guns?”
Lance didn’t respond.
He focused on the pistol in his hands instead.
Brandon’s heart raced.
The car approached.
“Here they come,” Eifort called from the road.
31
“That idiot never knows when to shut up, does he?” Valerie handed the radio to a tall, thin guard standing beside her. “He lied and said he was someone else because he knew I wouldn’t take his call. He’s an idiot, but maybe not as stupid as I thought.”
“You said you didn’t know anything about that other camp.” Cass’ rage had heated to a boiling point.
Bill held her tight, hoisting her off the ground. She’d stopped squirming for now, but was waiting for the moment he loosened his grip even a smidge.
Valerie shrugged. “I lied. But the good news is that it sounds like you don’t need to go anywhere after all, since your husband is on his way here.”
In spite of her fury, Cass felt some of the tightness in her stomach ease. Even though she’d refused to listen to anyone who insisted Lance was dead, she’d suffered from her own doubts. Knowing he wasn’t just alive, but was also coming for her, made her want to laugh, cry, and scream all at once.
Cass’ mind raced. If Valerie had lied about knowing anything about the other camp, and was even in contact with them, then what else had she lied about? Everything?
“You aren’t telling Higgins to bring you just survivors who want a safe place to stay—you’re telling him to grab anyone he sees. But your insane anti-man bullshit means you won’t take a guy who doesn’t have a certain skill you need, right? That’s why Higgins dropped off two of my friends with that King guy—because you didn’t want them. And that’s how all the women and children ended up here, plus a doctor and a surveillance expert.”
Valerie motioned to the guard. “Toss her in time-out. We’ll figure out what to do with her later.”
Bill lowered her to the ground, but still held her tight. The other guard came up behind her, then pulled her wrists together. Cass tried to pull free of their grasp, but couldn’t even wriggle her arms because of their strength. The second guard secured her wrists together with a zip tie. Bill eased his grip on her, but kept his hands on both shoulders, holding her in place.
“You piece of trash.” Cass glowered at Valerie. “You’re splitting up families to fit your warped agenda.”
“You’re pretty sharp, I’ll give you that. But warped? Really? How can you say that after seeing what we’ve built here?” Valerie shrugged again and raised her hands, palms up. “You’re right, of course. I refuse to take any unskilled males who will do nothing but suck up our resources and corrupt our children. Higgins gave your friends to that moron King because he knew I wouldn’t take them.”
“You lunatic!” Cass struggled against Bill’s grip, but that only made him tighten his hands on her shoulders. She’d guessed at what Valerie was doing, but hadn’t expected the woman to come out and admit it. Knowing she’d sold Lilith’s husband off simply because he was a man had pushed Cass over the edge. “I’m going to tear this place down with my bare hands.”
Valerie laughed. “And this is why I don’t tell some of you about the tough decisions I make around here. You simply aren’t capable of understanding them yet.” She nodded at Bill. “Now get her out of here and meet me at the front gate with Phil, Dave, and Frank. And make it fast.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Bill grunted.
He spun Cass around before shoving her back the direction they’d come. His hands remained clamped on her shoulder, the fingers digging painfully into her muscles.
“How can you be fine with this?” Cass asked him. “With separating fathers from their wives and children?”
The galoot didn’t answer, just marched her along.
“You realize she thinks you’re a worthless dummy just like other men, right?” Cass tried to twist around to make eye contact with him, but he forced her to face ahead. “What’s in it for you?”
“Lots of pretty girls around here,” he finally said. “And not many guys. I have my fun.”
“You sold your soul to get laid,” Cass said. “Maybe she’s right about you after all. Just wait until she’s tired of you. She’ll have you in the back of a truck heading down to whoever in the hell King is before you know it.”
They rounded a bend. After a short distance, a building came into view behind some trees. A small log cabin with two windows in the front and a chimney rising out the back was set back from the road. A tiny porch wrapped around the door with stairs leading to a gravel driveway.
“It ain’t right, what she does sometimes,” Bill finally agreed. “But I can’t argue with the results. This place is a paradise, and it’s because of her and the way she does things. So I keep my mouth shut and do as I’m told. Maybe she’s right, anyway. Maybe men like me shouldn’t be in charge.”
“What is this? Original sin?” Cass asked. “Just because you’ve got different plumbing doesn’t make you guilty of something you didn’t do.”
“Maybe. I dunno. All I know is that we’re alive here, and that’s a damn sight better than everyone else.”
“Alive in your cage. Co
ngrats.”
As they reached the building, Bill marched her up the stairs and jammed a key into the door handle. It swung open to a room that encompassed most of the dwelling. A table and chairs sat near the right wall, a refrigerator and some cabinets on the left.
Three cells lined the back wall.
Bars stretched across the front of all three and divided the cells.
A young woman, a teenager by the looks of her, stood in the center one, her hands wrapped around the bars. Everything about her was petite, from her tiny hands and short stature to her trim waist. Fiery red hair, badly in need of a wash, draped over her shoulders.
Her thin, cute face remained passive as she watched Bill guide Cass inside.
“Don’t do this,” Cass said as he fumbled with his key ring, trying to find the right one to open the left cell door. “You know it’s wrong.”
“I’m just following orders, lady.”
“You saw what happened to me when I got here.” Cass stumbled as he finally swung the door open and shoved her inside. “And now you’re locking me up because I found out my husband is alive? Are you fucking kidding me?”
Bill closed the door. His brow furrowed, and his lips pressed together so tightly they almost disappeared. “I’ll talk to her. Now turn around and put your hands through the bars so I can cut you loose.”
Cass did as she was told. “You know you can’t reason with her.”
“She listens to me.” Bill snipped at the zip tie looped around each wrist, cutting her free.
She turned to face him, rubbing her wrists.
“Did I cinch those too tight?” Bill asked.
“No, I just always see people do this in movies when their handcuffs are taken off.”
The big man chuckled.
Cass hoped she’d gotten through to him a little bit. He’d shown at least a small amount of concern by asking her if the cuffs were too tight. Maybe she could convince him to help her. Maybe not.
If she wanted to get out of here with everyone else when Lance arrived, then she had to be ready for him. Being stuck in a prison cell would complicate things for Lance and Megan. Unless they managed to get the keys off Bill, they wouldn’t have a chance of opening her cell door.
