“No. She hasn’t woken at all. Jonathan says she was stabbed, but that was days ago. The wound is old,” Julianne replied.
“That’s strange. I thought she was only injured in the car crash. Then who were those people chasing her?” Breytenbach wondered.
“Maybe they’re the ones who stabbed her. Maybe she was running away from them and they caught up to her, pushing her off the road,” Julianne said. “Where are they now? What exactly happened out there?”
“We’ve got two of them locked up in a cell, but the other two died on the scene,” Breytenbach said. “Ronnie says he was in a town not far from here looking for supplies when he heard gunshots.”
“Gunshots?”
“Yes. He says he and the team rushed outside in time to see a car speed away with two more in pursuit. He followed and came upon the crash scene. My guess is Nadia lost control and went off the road into a tree.”
“Poor girl. No wonder she’s in such bad shape. What happened then?”
“These guys, four of them, were closing in on her, guns ready, when Ronnie came upon them. They didn’t ask questions. They simply opened fire, but as you know, Ronnie’s truck, the Caspir, is bulletproof so it didn’t help them any. Two died on the spot and the other two were captured.”
“What about Nadia?”
“Ronnie found her in the car, unconscious, and had a heck of a time getting her out,” Breytenbach said.
“How so?” Julianne asked.
“Her dog wouldn’t let him near her.”
“Oh, him,” Julianne laughed. “Such a cute dog.”
“Not for Ronnie. It was Kirstin who managed to calm the pup down.” Breytenbach replied. “It’s a good thing Ronnie and the others were there when it all happened. Those guys were out for blood.”
“Have you questioned them?”
“I have, and so far, they’re keeping silent.” Breytenbach was quiet for a minute before continuing. “This is so frustrating. I can’t help but think there’s something wrong. Terribly wrong. I mean, where’s Cat and Lisa? Who stabbed Nadia?”
“I know. It’s awful,” Julianne said, squeezing Nadia’s hand.
Breytenbach sighed. “Let me know when she wakes up. We need to get to the bottom of this.”
“I will, but I think you should question those men again, Christo.” Julianne’s voice hardened. “Whoever did this to her must pay. Jonathan said she’d take days to recover…if she ever does.”
“You’re right. Maybe it’s time to press the prisoners a bit harder. God, knows, it’s not as if they’re innocent. Not when they were trying to kill our Nadia.”
“Look in on the children for me, would you? I’ll be home later on,” Julianne said. “In the meantime, I’ll stay here with her.”
Nadia listened to Breytenbach leave the room, silently screaming at him to stay. She tried to move, to speak, to squeeze Julianne’s hand, but it was impossible. Finally, exhausted, she sank into a deep sleep, and yet another nightmare dug its claws into her.
This one was not a memory. It was simply the stark image of Cat and Lisa standing in the middle of a field holding hands. They were surrounded by the undead, but strangely, the zombies did nothing to them, ignored them as if they were one of their own. Because they were. Cat and Lisa were dead, their faces blank. She was too late. It was all for nothing.
Chapter 18 - Cat
Cat stared at her reflection in the mirror. She hardly recognized herself, looking like a character from a Mad Max movie. She was dressed in the outfit Jay had chosen for her. Leather pants, knee high boots with buckles running up the sides, a long-sleeved mesh vest over a push-up bra. All black, of course…even her nails.
Her hair was braided back at the sides, with a crest running along the top similar to a Mohawk while a black band had been painted across her eyes from temple to temple. She looked like an apocalyptic warrior princess which was exactly what Jay wanted her to be when he presented her to his Ravager hordes.
How had he put it? A Queen fit for a Ravager King. Cat snorted. She wondered if he ever listened to the crap that came out of his mouth. If it wasn’t so ridiculous she would’ve cried, but the time for tears was over. She’d cried enough in the past few days to last a lifetime. All she could do now was face her fate with all the dignity she could muster.
Time had not been kind to her since her encounter with Jay. Aside from her daily sessions with Petra, Cat was kept prisoner inside her room, not allowed to go anywhere. It was awful, each minute longer than the next. Still, Lisa was safe, as was her mother. A small mercy.
Cat sighed and sat down on the bed, picking at her black nail polish. Today marked the opening of the Crucible as Jay had so pompously named the Ring in which people would fight and die for his entertainment. On this first day, candidate Ravagers would fight for their right to be included in their illustrious ranks. Tomorrow, Lisa would fight for her right to live. On the third, and last day, Cat would compete for a man she didn’t want. She’d sacrifice her future for those she loved and marry someone she couldn’t stand.
It was more than most people could bear, yet she felt nothing. What did it help to rail against the inevitable? Her fate was decided, and all she could do was look after those who depended on her.
A knock on the door announced Jay, or the Beast as he looked to her eyes. He was dressed much like she was, only his black shirt was sleeveless, showing off his tattoos and muscles, and his head was shaved.
His eyes gleamed when he spotted her, and he nodded with approval. “You look ravishing, my dear.”
“Thank you,” she replied, the words meaningless to her ears.
He held out his hand, and she took it, following him outside and through the crowds of people gathering to watch the games. They parted before them, their eyes widening at the sight of Jay and Cat together. Jay radiated satisfaction. It was precisely the kind of effect he wanted to create, and Cat felt more like a trophy to be shown off on his arm than an actual human being.
He led her to a raised dais higher than the rest where he addressed the gathering in a booming voice once everyone had found a seat. “Fellow Ravagers, people of Queenstown, today marks the opening of the Crucible, a fighting ring where we can continue our traditions of victory and heroism.” He took Cat’s hand in his and raised both their arms high in the air. “Death before disgrace!”
“Death before disgrace,” his fellow Ravagers bellowed.
“Start the first match!” Jay added, before sitting down and dragging Cat down with him. Though her skin crawled at his nearness, she ignored it and perched on the cushioned chair provided for her.
People cheered, and two men wearing armor entered the Ring. One carried an ax, the other a mace. They saluted first Jay, then her, then each other. A man waving a red flag started the fight, and the two clashed with the loud clanging of steel on steel.
Back and forth across the sand they fought, sometimes drawing blood until finally, a winner emerged. It was the man with the ax, but after deliberation, Jay passed both and welcomed them as new Ravagers. “They fought well, don’t you agree, Kitten?”
“Yes, my love. They did indeed,” she answered with a smooth countenance.
Jay beamed in answer, and the next fight commenced. Five more matches passed without incident, and three more men and two women swelled the Ravager ranks. Cat watched it all with numb detachment, unlike the crowd who went wild, whistling and cheering. She honestly didn’t care what happened to any 0f these people. They were nothing to her.
The last fight, however, drew her attention, and she sat up straight to see better. The match pitted a teenage girl against a full-grown man, and Cat watched in horror as the man proceeded to beat the girl into the ground.
A backhand blow burst her lip wide open, and another bruised her cheek. The girl retaliated with a swing of her spear, but the man cut it half with a blow from his hatchet. He kicked her in the chest, and she fell onto her back with a cry, a cry abruptly cut off when he planted h
is boot on her throat. The girl thrashed on the sand, tugging at the foot cutting off her air circulation. Her face grew purple while the man above her sneered at her pitiful struggles.
Cat clutched the arms of her chair until her knuckles turned white. “Jay, stop him. He’s killing her.”
“So he is,” Jay said, without moving a muscle.
“You have to stop him!”
“Why? She knew what she was getting into,” Jay said with a shrug.
“You can’t mean that. She’s just a child,” Cat pleaded. The girl’s lips had turned blue and her eyes were glassy. “Please, Jay.”
“Are you asking for mercy for her?” Jay asked, his face expressionless.
“Yes, I am.”
Jay shook his head. “You’re a Ravager now, Cat, and we have no time for weakness. It’s time you learned that both as my future wife and Queen.”
He sat motionless while the girl choked to death, her struggles grew weaker until she stopped moving altogether. Cat watched until the end, her face drained of all blood. She dared not move or protest, for not far from her sat Lisa and Matilda, both under the watchful eye of Anthony whose hand rested on the stock of his gun in a definite threat.
The man was declared the winner, and the girl’s lifeless body carted from the Ring by two men carrying a stretcher, all while the crowd roared out their bloodlust through one united voice.
Cat stared ahead with an expressionless face, sickened to the depths of her soul. It was in that moment that she realized one thing. Jay had to die.
Chapter 19 - Breytenbach
Breytenbach surveyed the room full of people he’d summoned for the meeting. Among them were Max, Martin, Ronnie, and his entire team, and a few others including Thys and Ada. They stared at him with question marks in their eyes, and he cleared his throat before saying, “You must be wondering why I called you all here today on such short notice.”
Nods and murmurs ran around the room.
“It’s Nadia. Ronnie and his team found her not far from here. She crashed into a tree after being chased by other people. They were intent on murdering her, but Ronnie saved her and captured two of them. The other two didn’t make it. I’ll let him tell you the whole story.”
“Thanks, Captain,” Ronnie said, taking a stand. He related the full tale in detail, ending with the discovery of Nadia passed out in the car.
Breytenbach took over again, expanding upon Nadia’s injuries and condition. “She’s very ill, but finally woke this morning and insists on telling her story herself. So here she is, ladies and gentlemen.”
The door opened, and Julianne wheeled a pale but determined-looking Nadia into the room in a wheelchair. A blanket covered her legs, and she fiddled with the tassels running along the edge. Stitches ran along the cut on her forehead like a centipede, and both eyes were black from the impact with the windshield.
Nadia stared at all the assembled people before managing a low, “Hi, guys.”
The room exploded into shocked cries and chatter as each tried to greet her until Breytenbach called for silence. “You can all talk to her later, but right now, I think you need to listen to her first. Ready, Nadia?”
“I’m ready,” Nadia said before telling the room the entire sorry tale, starting with her, Lisa, and Cat leaving St. Francis in the first place, rescuing other survivors and pointing them here where it was safe. She continued with the details of the Ravagers and their camp, the capture of Cat, Nadia and Lisa’s plan to rescue her, Jay who survived despite the odds and followed them all the way to Queenstown where he took over, once more taking Cat hostage before attempting to murder Nadia. “He tried his best, but as you can see, I’m still here. As for the crash, I’m not sure if those Ravagers were after me or not. According to them, I must be dead unless they somehow found my trail.”
“Actually,” Breytenbach said. “They were after us. It was a scouting party, and it was Neil, Queenstown’s former leader, who ratted us out in return for his former position, promised to him by Jay. We have both him and Jay’s right-hand man, Anthony, in custody. Anthony is tough, but Neil squealed like a pig the moment we threatened him.”
“How did he know about St. Francis in the first place?” Nadia asked. “We never told him about it.”
“Apparently, he made plans with Lisa and Cat to escape, but decided to turn on them and tell Jay for a reward instead.”
“Asshole,” Nadia muttered angrily. “Who knows what Jay did to Cat and Lisa as punishment?”
“Yes, Neil is quite a piece of work. He’ll do anything if it benefits him,” Breytenbach said.
“So, Jay still thinks I’m dead, and he doesn’t know you’ve captured his scouts,” Max.
“Exactly,” Breytenbach said. “That places us in the perfect position to retaliate with a surprise attack. We have to get rid of this Jay and rescue Cat and Lisa before it’s too late.”
“How do we do that?” Max asked.
“I think we should employ the Trojan horse method. We get inside using their own vehicles with Neil and Anthony in the front. Once inside, we secure the gate and walls, letting in more of our own people before moving on to the armory and the mansion, capturing Jay and holding him hostage,” Breytenbach explained.
“It’s risky,” Max said, “and we’d need a lot of hands on deck.”
“The townspeople will be on our side, especially if we have Neil. They don’t know he’s a traitor. They look up to him and will listen to him if he says we’re friendly.”
“But he’s Jay’s puppet now,” Nadia protested.
“Not if we promise him his old position if he helps us, just like Jay did,” Breytenbach said.
“You want to reward him for his treachery?” Nadia asked with a gasp.
“No. We’ll let him think so, that’s all,” Breytenbach replied. “The only thing he’s getting is justice.”
Nadia smiled. “Good.”
Breytenbach turned back to the room. “Now, we need to plan this out properly. Who, what, where, and when.”
“I want to go, Captain,” Nadia said, her face as white as snow but determined.
He eyed her and shook his head. “I’m sorry, Nadia. Not this time. As it is, you should be in the hospital now on a drip, not sitting here. You’re too weak to withstand the journey.”
“But, I have to be there,” Nadia protested.
“Listen to Christo,” Julianne said. “You’ll see your friends soon enough, dear, but not if you die on the way there because you’re too stubborn to admit you’re sick.”
Nadia’s face fell. “Fine, but I made it all the way here, most of it on foot with a stab wound in my gut. I’m not weak.”
“And never have I seen such courage, dear,” Julianne said. “None of us have.”
“We’ll keep you in the loop, Nadia,” Breytenbach said. “I promise. Now let Julianne take you back before Jonathan kills us for undoing all his good work.”
Julianne wheeled Nadia away, and Breytenbach turned back to the gathering. “Right. Where do we start?”
“My team and I can go in the Ravager vehicles with Neil and Anthony. We’ll keep them in check and get inside. Once in, we’ll secure the gate and let the rest of you in. From there, we can take the wall before moving deeper into the community. I’ll get Neil to draw us a map and Nadia can give it a once-over to make sure he’s not screwing us,” Ronnie said, nodding toward Kirstin, Mike, and Lenka, who formed part of the original team, as well as Josh and Jed who were new additions.
Breytenbach nodded. “We’ll need at least four vehicles, fully-equipped, and thirty more people to pull this off.”
“I’ll put out a call for volunteers,” Ada said. “You’ll have your thirty.”
“I’ll arrange the vehicles and supplies. Leave that to me,” Thys said.
“I’ll go in with Ronnie and his team,” Max said.
Kirstin frowned. “I don’t need a babysitter, husband.”
“No, but I do.”
“I’
ll go with you too,” Martin said. “Max is lost without me.”
Ronnie shrugged. “Welcome to the team. When do we leave?”
“We dare not wait too long. Be ready to leave tomorrow at dawn,” Breytenbach said. “You’ll need to scout the place first, and that will take time.”
“You’re staying?” Ronnie asked.
Breytenbach nodded. “You know the deal. Doctor’s orders or my ticker might finally pack up and kill me.”
“Nah,” Ronnie said. “Julianne would get you first.”
Breytenbach shuddered. “No need to get nasty. You’ll give me nightmares,” Breytenbach said with a shudder. “Right. Does everyone know what to do?”
Nods followed.
“Then get to it. Time’s a wasting!”
Chapter 20 - Lisa
Lisa shifted from one foot to the other, unable to stand still. She fingered the blade on the small hatchet she carried in her right hand for the hundredth time. Her thumb slipped and the keen blade sliced through the skin like a hot knife through butter. She hissed and put the injured digit in her mouth, suckling on her own blood.
She looked around the tiny room she stood in, nothing more than wooden walls, thatch roof, and packed earth; the entrance behind her was barred, and the door in front of her led to two things: death or freedom. Today, she’d find out which.
This was what all her preparations over the past years had led to. This one moment in time when she would fight not only for her right to live, but also somebody she loved. All her training, all the suffering, all the hours spent honing her skills until she was a killing machine. It all led to this.
The crowd roared, and she knew the moment had come. The door opened, and she stepped into the ring, the hatchet ready to use on anything that moved. When she spotted her opponent, though, or rather, opponents, her heart sank. Zombies.
Rabid moans reached her ears, growing higher in pitch when the owners spotted her fresh, juicy flesh in the Ring with them. Lisa whirled, and everywhere she looked, there were more undead. Tons of them. The arena teemed with undead life. How many are there? Twenty? Thirty? This is insane!
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