Runner

by Evie Mitchell

  Kate pulled to a stop and wound the window down, calling. "It's K-K-K-Kate R-R-R-Redwin. I'm here to see the Prez."

  "Kate!" One of the men exclaimed, moving to her window. He held up a flashlight, shining it in the vehicle. "Well, fuck me dead. Little Katie! Where you been girly? Your daddy's been frantic."

  "C-can we go in?" She asked, hand shielding her eyes from the light.

  "Who you got with you?"

  "F-friends."

  "Hot ones," came the reply from the other side of the car. "Women."

  "Fresh meat?" the original guy asked Kate. She shook her head.

  "Friends."

  "Don't mean they aren't interested in becoming fresh meat." The second guy said, dropping a hand to clasp at his junk. "You ladies want this? I can protect you real nice."

  In the dim light I could make out the patches on his kutte, one read prospect, the other Gears.

  "We're good," Jo drawled dryly. "But thank you for the magnificent offer."

  He grinned, unperturbed. "I call dibs on this one. She's gonna be fun."

  "She is right here and can hear you. And she said she wasn't interested."

  He shook his head, "let 'em through Fish. The Prez will wanna see this."

  The first man stepped back and waved us through. The gate opened and Kate navigated us down a dirt and gravel drive into the heart of the compound.

  "Was that guy’s name really Fish?" Audrey asked, twisting to look back at the two men.

  "Nickname," Kate answered, her hands white knuckling the steering wheel.

  "What kind of nickname is Fish?"

  Kate didn't answer and Audrey slowly turned back around, watching as we passed through the second gate.

  The compound was much larger than I anticipated. A giant building took up the space in front of us, behind it sat a cluster of buildings, their purpose unclear. The space was so big I couldn't see either end of the lot.

  "What is this place?" Jo muttered as Kate pulled to a stop before the main building.

  "Ex-army c-c-c-compound. The big b-b-building is the C-c-club house. The others are m-m-mess halls or sleeping q-q-quarters or storage." Kate replied, undoing her seat belt, and exiting the car. "B-b-be careful, stay c-c-close."

  We followed her, Cruise jumping down and immediately bounding for Kate's side.

  "Be careful, they're watching," Audrey breathed in my ear nodding at the lights. I observed them, noting that parts of the yard were lit, the lights directed purposefully at the entrance, as if to blind anyone seeking to enter. It made it difficult to see through to the shadows, the only thing I could get a sense of was movement.

  The door to the main compound opened and a man strode out, arms thrown open in welcome.

  "Katie-girl! Ye've returned to your Pa!"

  I saw Kate tense then forcibly relax; a tight smile pasted on her face. "Pa," she greeted walking into his arms, returning his hug. He pressed kisses to her head, shaking her from side to side.

  "Me wee darling has returned to the fold," he boomed, his voice carrying across the yard. "And she's brought friends." He turned Kate, pulling her into his side and walking her across to where we stood. Men, big, muscular, scary looking men with weapons, and suspicious, hungry eyes emerged from the darkness, weapons trained on us.

  One man caught my eye. Even in the dark he looked tan; his long, lean but muscular body reminded me of MMA fighters from the before. He met my gaze, awareness arching between us, his gaze hungry as he dropped his eyes, looking over me from top to toe.

  I shivered, tearing my eyes away to refocus on Jo and the President.

  "Great welcome party you got here," Jo said palming her own rifle and baring her teeth at the gathering men.

  "Ye want to pop that away, love?" The President ask her, his voice bland but his face hard. "Me men don't take kindly to strangers bringing guns in here."

  Jo raised an eyebrow, "and I don't take kindly to men I don't know pointing weapons at me."

  I watched, my heart hammering through my chest as the President considered her.

  "Alright boy-o's, let's show the ladies some hospitality."

  Weapons were holstered, but Jo hesitated for a moment then lifted the rifle, laying it on her shoulder.

  "Obliged," she said, giving him a nod.

  The President grinned, his salt and pepper beard baring teeth. "I like a feisty woman." He gave Kate a little shake. "Not like me little Katie here. Meek as a church mouse, aren't ye me darling?"

  She dropped her head, curling in on herself.

  I gritted my teeth, uncomfortable with both Kate's reaction and the surrounding men.

  "Come, we'll break bread and talk." He looked from Audrey to Jo and then rested on me. "I don't imagine you're here to simply visit."

  We followed him into the compound, the men surrounding us. The hair on the back of my neck prickled, my gut churning.

  Something wasn't right.

  We were led through an entry into the main parlour. Stocked with a bar, pool table, and plenty of couches, tables and chairs, women in low cut tops, tight jeans, and heavy make-up watched us with narrowed eyes as we walked through, following Kate and the President to a backroom. The sign on the door read Church.

  Audrey drifted closer, her hands low but close enough to sign, I don't like this.

  Agreed, I signed back.

  Ava had taught us. She'd explained that sometimes we might need alternate ways to communicate and while she had taught us military signs for battle, she'd also insisted we learn sign language in case we were captured and needed to plan an escape.

  I silently thanked God for the day Ava had arrived in our little group.

  "Take a seat," the President ordered sweeping a hand to encompass the room. The room was windowless but held two doors. One at the front where we entered, and another at the rear. A table dominated the space, an ornate chandelier hanging above it. Large and rectangular, there were twenty seats at the table.

  Gus took up the head, the rest of the men moving to take up seats with engravings like Vice President or Warlord on the back. On the walls hung photos of various bikes, names inscribed below. Based on the number I assumed they were memorials to deceased club members.

  I glanced at Jo then settled at the table, then took a seat that wasn't marked. She paused for a moment then sat beside me, placing the rifle on the table in front of her. Audrey and Kate took two seats across from us. The rest of the men moved around, taking any spare seats, or leaning casually against the walls.

  The seat at the far end of the table remained empty, Old Timer was burnt into the wood. I assumed that was meaningful but didn't think this was the moment to ask.

  The man who'd watched me earlier had taken an assigned seat, though I couldn't see the title on his chair. He watched me with an intensity I found at once thrilling and terrifying.

  The knife in my boot and the pistol in the back of my jeans itched, almost insisting I pull them free. I stayed in place, waiting, attempting not to draw further attention to myself.

  The President cracked a gavel, calling the meeting to order. "I'm Gus, but you can call me President." He didn't introduce his men.

  I took a moment to study Kate's father. They shared piercing blue eyes, the colour of deep oceans, beautiful and startling. They also shared dark, long lashes and a dimple on their right cheek. But that's where the similarities ended.

  Gus was dark and weathered, his skin carved by years of sun. He was full chested and beer-bellied. He emitted an air that said, come at me. A confidence that promised those looking retribution.

  Kate was a curvy, stunning woman. Strawberry blonde hair, average height, the thick full body of pin-ups from a by-gone era. She had an economy of movement that said she loved the outdoors, loved to move, loved to dance. She moved like poetry, sensual and flowing, unconsciously beautiful and alluring.

  Today, with her hunched shoulders and averted eyes, she moved like a woman hoping to avoid notice.

  "I'm Jo, t
his is Audrey and Ellison," Jo introduced with a sweep of her arm. "We're here with a proposition."

  Kate sat meekly across the table, looking for all the world like a dutiful daughter. But her hands were clenched and I could see the whites of her knuckles.

  "So ye've not come to return my daughter to me?" Gus asked.

  "Kate's her own person. You don't return someone to another," Audrey replied. She tilted her head to one side, glasses sliding down her nose. Absently, she pushed them back up. "And it's not as if you came looking for her."

  Gus raised an eyebrow, looking down at his daughter.

  "What lies have ye been spreading, love? Are ye one to believe this feminist nonsense?"

  I watched as Kate struggled to lift her head, her eyes flashing even as the colour ebbed from her face. "Th-th-they're my friends, P-P-Pa. And we've survived this long without a m-m-man."

  "But ye're here, aren't ye?" he scoffed.

  "To trade," Jo said firmly, leaning forward. "We have something you want."

  "We've gash enough around this place," Gus dismissed with a wave of his hand.

  "Gash?" I asked.

  "W-women," Kate answered for her father.

  We were all silent for a moment while the men around the table chuckled.

  "We've got fuel," I finally said, deciding to take over the negotiation. All heads twisted; amusement wiped from their faces.

  "Fuel?" Gus asked, a hand lifting to stroke his beard. "And pray, how did ye come by such a bounty?"

  "I made it."

  There was a beat of silence before Gus leaned forward, pressing a hand to the table. "Ye did what now?"

  I swallowed, deeply aware of the way in which the men at the table watched me – as if I were a mouse and them the cat ready to pounce.

  "I'm a biochemist, or at least, I was. My specialty was biofuels. Renewables. Using different products to create viable alternatives. I'd nearly landed on a new formula before everything went… well, bad. Anyways, I've spent the last few months working to perfect some options and we've done tests. The bioethanol I've created works like petroleum. I haven't been able to make a diesel alternative yet that can scale, the composition is difficult and I just don't have many available resources but with time and—"

  Jo interrupted me, "what Ellie is trying to say, is that we've tested it. It works. And I know for a fact you're going to want it."

  "A fact?" Gus asked, his tone deceptively mild.

  "You got bikes and cars parked out front. The truck has cobwebs and long grass under it. The bikes are showing sign of sun wear. I'm gonna hazard a guess that you, like everyone else in this god forsaken country, are starting to find your stores running low."

  Silence dominated the room.

  "Ellie's fuel works. I'm a mechanic by trade. The SUV we drove here, it's been using her fuel for two months, no problems. You got a choice, you help us, we'll supply you with the fuel."

  "And if we don't?"

  "We'll walk out of here and you can go back to scavenging."

  Gus rubbed his chin, as if considering Jo's offer.

  "A man don't take too kindly to ultimatums being tossed his way in his own house."

  "I don't take too kindly to our lives being threatened, so sorry if I'm a little impatient."

  Gus's gaze sharpened, "threatened?"

  "The Purge found our sae house. You heard of them?"

  Behind me someone swore, one of the guys turned to the side and spat on the floor.

  "We're aware of that lot," Gus confirmed. He looked over at Kate. "Ye have a run-in with them lot?"

  "S-s-scouts. We know more are c-c-coming."

  "Ye get a number?"

  "Around forty." Jo answered. "We either need to move or we need more numbers to help protect us."

  Gus tapped a finger on the table. "Ye're asking a lot of me. The Purge is well armed. Why not just relocate ye four here?"

  We were silent a beat too long. Gus sucked in a breath. "There's more of ye."

  We didn't reply but our silence said everything.

  "Women?" he asked, leaning forward, gaze sharp.

  "Yes," Jo finally answered, making the decision.

  "Men?"

  "No."

  "Bairns?"

  "No, no children."

  "Just women?"

  "Yes."

  There were murmurings around the table, men looking at us with new interest.

  "How many?"

  "You don't need to know that."

  "How many!?" Gus slammed his fist on the table, causing us to jump.

  Jo hesitated then gave in. "We number eleven now."

  I sent up a silent prayer for Lilith and Jules, hoping they were simply lost rather than taken.

  "Eleven women," a man breathed behind me.

  There was an undercurrent here, something I wasn't aware of. My neck prickled and I glanced up the table, finding the man’s gaze directly on me again. He wore his vest – no, his kutte, Kate had called it – well. The leather cut off at the shoulders, revealing a black shirt and thick, muscular biceps. He needed a shave and a haircut but he was still easily the most beautiful man I'd ever seen.

  I looked away, a flush heating my cheeks.

  "How long have ye been hiding?"

  "Since before."

  There were murmurs, the men shifting at our pronouncement.

  Audrey looked around, frowning. "What are we missing?"

  "Have ye all been vaccinated?"

  "We were, in the before." Jo confirmed

  The men's murmurs grew, an undercurrent of excitement sparking across the room. I didn't like it. Not one bit.

  "What is happening?" Audrey demanded. "What is this about?"

  Her outburst silenced the table.

  "The virus mutated, love. Women, they're afflicted. Bastards. Shallow examples of humanity. Ye a commodity now. There's so few of ye left that eleven is a boon the likes my men rarely see."

  Bile burned the back of my throat.

  A boon. A fucking commodity. These men aren't any better than The Purge.

  "Ye not safe wherever ye've been living, my loves. If they know about ye, they'll be back to take ye."

  Jo stood abruptly, pushing back from the table to pace. Men parted for her; their faces carved in stone.

  "Mutated how?"

  A man from the side of the room answered. "They're carriers of what we're calling the Bastard strain. Aggressive, deadly. It turns your blood to filth, either destroying you from the inside or mutating your own genes to become a carrier."

  "God," Audrey muttered, "this is sounding more and more like a zombie apocalypse every day."

  No one laughed.

  "I'll not bring my sisters here to be raped," Jo gritted out. "Or to be used as if we're nothing but baby makers. We're intelligent, educated. We've survived this long because we're awesome."

  Audrey's eyes were closed, her lips moving silently. I bit my lip, knowing she was playing the possible scenarios, running the numbers.

  "If I give ye my word, if I place me patch on each of ye, will ye come?"

  "But," I protested, "our farm. Our animals, what about our lab?"

  "The l-l-library," Kate whispered, her eyes wide. "We need k-k-knowledge to survive."

  Her father made a dismissive sound in his throat. "Ye and ye bloody books."

  "They're not bloody anything," Kate protested, suddenly bold. "They've s-s-saved us. Without the knowledge in them we wouldn't have k-k-known how to print the rifles or build bullets or green h-h-houses or—"

  Gus interrupted his daughter with a wave. "Fine, if ye move in I promise to transport ye things here." His gaze cut to Jo. "Does that satisfy ye?"

  Jo crossed her arms, tapping one foot. "That depends on Audrey."

  Everyone looked to the small, dark haired woman. She kept her eyes closed for another long few minutes before blinking them open and looking at Jo. "Accept the offer."

  The tension in the room eased.

  "Are you sure?"
Jo demanded.

  "If what they're saying is true, then we have bigger issues and the numbers are against us."

  "What's bigger than The Purge?"

  "The virus," Audrey whispered, sweeping her hands out to encompass the room. "We'll need to reproduce at some stage. And when that happens our children may be susceptible unless we can prove we've passed on the antibodies. But considering the mutation, we can't know that women who were vaccinated are also safe. We need to be somewhere that we can study this over time. Not have to pick up and run at some point." She nodded at the room at large. "These men gives us an eighty-three percent chance at finding, if not a cure, then at least a viable vaccine."

  "And if we stay?"

  "Between The Purge, the possible new infection, potential issues with interbreeding of our live stock in the next few years, not to mention increased militia groups, I give us a thirteen percent chance of survival."

  "Don't forget the cannibals," the man next to me muttered.

  Cannibals? What the fuck?

  Jo ran a hand through her short hair, leaving it standing on edge. Around her, the men watched as she made her decision.

  "I need a guarantee you won't harm us. That your men won't force my women to do something they don't want to."

  Gus rubbed his chin as he considered Jo. "What about we grant ye a boon?"

  Jo blinked, "excuse me?"

  "We'll consider ye property, old ladies We respect property. My men won't fuck with another man's toy – that right boys?"

  The gathered men affirmed his declaration.

  "You want us to choose a protector? Someone to fuck and suck without even knowing them?" Jo demanded.

  "We'll return the favour," one of the men shouted from the side, setting off scattered laughter.

  Jo shook her head. "Not gonna happen."

  "Ye don't have to choose a man," Gus rolled his eyes. "Ye dramatics are doing me fucking head in." He leaned forward. "I'm granting ye the same rights as an old lady would have. Without the need for a man."

  Audrey tipped her head to the side. But just say we want a man, exactly how many of you are there?"

  There were grins at her question. I sunk down in my chair, face heating. Audrey had no filter.