by Jake Bible
"We are in love," she says.
"Oh, for tit's sake, no you ain't," I say and laugh. "That's the washed brain talking. You don't know a fucking thing about love."
"I know everything about—" she starts, but stops as I jam my shoulder into hers. "Ow!"
"Yeah, shut the fuck up," I say and pat her on the leg. I point at Jack. "See this guy? This guy knows love. He's been watching and trying to figure out a way in for a long time now. He ain't never given up on you."
"He gave up," she says, but it's quiet.
"Nope," I say and shake my head. "Nope. He knows love. He's a daddy. Daddies know love. Real love. Love that aches and burns and makes you want to rip apart the world."
"Doyle loves me like that," Kimmy says.
"He does?" I laugh some more. "Where is Doyle? The real Doyle. The first Doyle. Where is this guy, huh? He hanging out around here? Or did he leave you to go be safe in town?"
"We share duties," Kimmy says. "The farm is mine to run. That's how much he trusts me. You don't trust someone with this responsibility unless there's love."
I slap her across the face.
"Hey," Jack protests. I point a finger at him and he backs off.
I slap Kimmy again.
"Stop that," she snaps.
"I'm gonna tell you a story," I say and shift my weight so my leg is more comfortable. "Gonna tell you a story about a man named Pa. He said he loved me. He weren't my real Pa, but he tried to act like it. He said he loved me like a daughter. That weren't true. But he washed my brain so I thought it was true. I thought all the things he did to me, all the nasty, nasty things he did to me, were because he loved me. I killed for him. I caught peoples for him. I cut them up and roasted them for him. Because he loved me."
Kimmy doesn't say anything, but her breathing changes. She's listening to my story. She's listening hard. So is Jack. He's watching me closely, his eyes narrowed. I give him a wink and keep talking.
I talk about how Pa found me and how he kept me as his prisoner until my brain were all washed. I talk about the people we tricked into trusting us just so we could ambush them and eat them up. I talk about all the stuffs Pa did that daddies don't do to daughters. I talk about all the things I did to people that normal humans don't do to other humans. I talk and talk and talk.
I don't know when, but at some point I stop. My face is all wet and I got snot dripping from my nose and down my chin. Jack is sitting on his ass, his hands on his head. Kimmy has her head turned and she's staring at me like she's just met me. Which she kinda has, but the stare is like she didn't try to shoot at me before.
I can see in her eyes that she believes me. I can see some of the washing in her brain get a little dirty.
"Jesus," Audrey says from the tent flap. "You've told us a lot, El, but never that much."
I look over at her and see Marcie with her. Plus a hell of a lot of ladies all standing around behind them. I guess they heard me talk too. I wipe my eyes because I gots tears and shit. I blow my nose on my tank top and try to smile, but I ain't got the smiles in me. Not right now.
"We need to find trucks," I say and get to my feet. I wobble a lot and grab the tent pole to keep from falling over.
"Vivian?" Kimmy barks. "Get the med kits and get your ass back here now."
"Yes, ma'am," a woman in the crowd says and takes off running.
I look down at Kimmy and raise an eyebrow.
"You fakin'? Or are you gonna stop being all washed in the brain and realize that Doyle, all the Doyles, is pieces of shit that need taking down?" I ask.
"I'm going to have Vivian sew up your leg and sew up my shoulder," Kimmy says. "After that, I don't know."
"Then I guess you stay right there," I say and limp away.
"Hey, hold on!" Jack says. "I'm not leaving my daughter tied up to a tent pole." He looks at Kimmy and his eyes are so sad. Just so sad. "Kimmy, please. You know that Doyle isn't in love with you, right? You know that this farm is all wrong and that you've been held against your will, right?"
"I know I have a job to do," Kimmy says and looks past him at the women milling about outside the tent. "And you have ruined that job. You've destroyed my life, before this farm and now after."
"Before this farm…?" he asks quietly. "Kimmy, I…"
He can't finish. Don't blame him. Heavy shit going down. Ain't easy to find words when shit gets so heavy.
"Where's Antoinette?" Marcie asks, moving from the tent opening so she can stand over Kimmy. "Where's our sister?"
"She has been taken," Kimmy says.
"No shit, Sheila," Marcie growls.
"Kimmy," I say. "Her name is Kimmy."
Everyone ignores me.
"Doyle took a liking to her," Kimmy says. "When Doyle takes a liking to a woman then that woman goes with him to town. She will be tested to see if she's strong. If she passes then she will have a special place amongst us. If she fails then she will be thrown to the dead."
"I'd like to see a Doyle try to throw her," I say. "Antoinette ain't petite."
Jack starts to say something, but closes his mouth. I have a guess at what it is.
"Where are your kids?" I ask Kimmy. I look out at the other women. "Where are all the kids? I ain't seen no kids here at all."
"Children live in town," Kimmy says. "The boys are trained to become men and the girls are trained to serve them. When the girls have learned properly then they are allowed to come here for a full, rich life."
There are quite a few snarls, but then there are some nodding heads. Ain't all the ladies happy with being trained; ain't all the ladies unhappy with it. This shit ain't gonna be easy.
"We need to get everyone loaded up with as much supplies as we can and get the fuck out of here," Audrey says. "We head to the prison and lock things down then figure out the next steps."
"I can't leave here without my family," Jack says. "I can't leave them behind."
That makes me think of something.
"Where's Froggy Girl?" I ask, looking at Marcie and Audrey. "You seen her?"
"Yes," Marcie says. "I'll show you."
Chapter Seventeen
I sigh. That's all I can do. It's just so damn shitty.
"She was an Inez," Marcie says as if that's an explanation for what they done to Froggy Girl. "Doyles don't deal with Inezes. That's what they said when they started pounding in the nails."
"That what they said?" I ask, my eyes studying every inch of the poor girl's body.
Two posts stand about four feet apart. Froggy Girl's hands are nailed to the bottom of the posts and her feet are nailed to the top. They done flipped her upside down to crucify her. But that ain't all. The fucking Doyles split her from her cooch to her neck. They let innards spill out to the ground. Looks like someone stuffed some of those innards in her mouth.
"They made us watch," Marcie says. "Audrey was already separated from us, so me and Antoinette were the only familiar faces she got to see at the end. All the Inezes are dead, so we was it. I wanted to look away, but they held me steady and made me look. They held us both steady. Threatened to cut off our eyelids."
I look at the women that followed us to the posts. They nod at me. Some of them is crying, some of them is frowning, some of them look lost and stare out past Froggy Girl's body to the fences.
"How many Doyles?" I ask.
Marcie gets my meaning.
"Almost all of them," she replies. "I couldn't have fought them. Just too many."
"They'd have killed her and then killed some of us," one of the women says.
"They always kill a couple of us at once so we know they mean business," another woman says.
"Stupid fucking Doyles," I growl. "I'm gonna show them business."
"You're gonna go with the trucks up to the prison," Audrey says as she comes up behind us. "Jesus Christ. Someone cut her down and put her body to rest. We don't have time to stare."
"What the fuck do you mean I'm going with the trucks?" I ask. "I'm going with you a
ll to town to get Antoinette back."
"And to get my grandkids," Jack says as he joins us. I raise my eyebrows. "She's still tied up, don't worry."
"She'll come around," I say. "It takes time, but she will. Trust me."
"I do," Jack says. "How the fuck can I not after that story you told?"
"That real?" a woman asks me. "You really go through that?"
"And worse," I say, looking at Marcie and Audrey. "That's just what happened after Kramer."
"Who's Kramer?" another woman asks.
"Long fucking story," Audrey interrupts. "A long fucking story we don't have time for. El, you are going with the trucks to the prison. Between your shoulder and your leg, you are not even close to 100%. You'll do more good keeping the women safe on the drive."
"That ain't true and you know it," I say. "Give me the Barrett and I'll take overwatch. I get set up and put down some Doyles from a distance. Shit, I can put down Doyles close up. Even wounded, they ain't good enough to take me."
"The ones in town are," one of the women says. "There's some idiots, but the smarter ones live in the sports complex. They stay there and send out the dumb ones to scavenge and patrol the area. It's like a little kingdom in there."
"I want to see this kingdom," I say. "I want to get a chance to put a bullet through King Doyle's fucking brainpan."
"We all want that," Audrey says. "I bet some of these women want that more than you do, El, but I ain't bringing them with. Too many variables. I need you and Jack to get the women up to—"
"Hey, what?" Jack snaps. "Are you kidding me? I'm going into town with you."
"You're too close to this," Audrey says. "I need you with El. I need you to handle your daughter on the drive up."
She steps in close to him and puts a hand on his shoulder.
"If you don't think your daughter isn't going to try to turn some of these ladies back against us then you aren't paying attention," she says. "All she needs is a couple and she can take it all back."
"She won't be with the trucks," Jack says. "I need her to come to town so she can point out my grandkids." He gets a little choked up, but swallows the hurt. "I don't even know what they fucking look like."
"We're gonna save all the kids," Audrey says. "So you won't have to worry about that. We'll get them sorted when we get to the prison."
"That won't work," Vivian says as she comes up behind us. She's an older woman. Or older than the sisters. Maybe in her late forties or something like that. She has a bright red plastic med kit in her hand and she points at me. "You're next, miss."
"What do you mean it won't work?" Audrey asks. "What won't work? Saving all the kids?"
"Yes," Vivian says as she kneels on the ground and motions for me to sit my ass down. I do. "These are kids. They've only known this life and they aren't going to see any of you as saviors. They're going to see you as enemies that have come to attack their fathers, their brothers, their cousins. You break into that sports complex and start killing Doyles then you're gonna have a riot on your hands."
"Shit," Audrey says.
I slip my pants off and grunt in pain as Vivian starts prodding my wound. Hurts like a motherfucker now that all my adrenaline is wearing off.
"You'll have to take some of us with you and you'll also have to take Kimmy with you," Vivian says. "The kids know her and they'll listen if she tells them to do something."
"How do we know she won't tell them to attack?" Audrey asks. "She isn't being very cooperative."
"She will be," Vivian says. "I reminded her that this is all happening whether she likes it or not. There's no going back." She looks around at us sisters and at Jack. It ain't exactly a nice look, but it ain't mean either. "What it all comes down to is Doyle does not tolerate failure. Kimmy failed in keeping the farm together. She failed spectacularly."
"Ow, fucking careful," I snarl as Vivian pours some alcohol into my wound and then presses the flesh together so she can stitch it all up.
She ignores me and keeps working while still talking. Lady knows how to talk and I can see the other ladies are paying attention. If Kimmy don't want to get on board then Vivian is gonna to be our next best thing to keeping the ladies under control and from giving in to their washed brains.
"Doyle is going to want to make an example out of Kimmy," Vivian continues. She nods at the body of Froggy Girl. "Will someone get her down, please?" A few ladies start working on getting Froggy Girl down, but it don't look like it's gonna be easy. "But if Doyle can't make an example of Kimmy then he'll make an example of her children. He will spit 'em and split 'em, as he likes to say. Kim's time with Doyle is over. Her only chance at survival, and her kids' only chance, is to team up with y'all and make sure this ends now."
"Who the hell are you?" Audrey asks.
"I used to be chief of surgery at the local hospital," Vivian says. "I've delivered the majority of the babies born in this place. I know each of these women, and I know each of the Doyles, better than anybody else."
"You related to Doyle?" I ask. "He like your son or something?"
"What? No. Why would you think that?" she asks.
"Because there's always that twist," I say. "That's how things are. Always a stupid twist."
"Yeah, uh, no twist," Vivian says. "This is life, not a movie of the week."
"Just asking," I say. She tugs the ends of the sutures tight and I know she's put a little extra force into it. "I can bandage it up. I'm good at that."
"I don't mind," she says.
"Nope. If you're a doctor lady then you need to check out all these other ladies," I say. I look at Audrey. "I'm coming with you to town. We're bringing Kimmy to make sure the kids fall in line. We save Antoinette and then we get the fuck out of this shit hole forever."
"I'll go with the trucks," Marcie says. "I can handle that. I'm not at full strength, but better than El and we'll need someone strong to go with all the women."
"I'll come with you," Vivian says. "If you're going to the prison then you'll want me there. I used to go there once a month with some of the doctors and do wellness checkups. I know the lay out of the buildings."
Audrey looks like she's gonna argue, but there ain't nothing she can say to that. It makes sense.
"I'm going into town too," Jack says before Audrey can get in his shit about that again. "End of conversation. El can be on overwatch since her leg is messed up."
"I can still kill the shit out of Doyles even with my leg," I say. "Audrey's got broken ribs. She's weak as shit."
"Kiss my ass, gimpy," she says. "I can at least still run."
"You'll be better at killing them if you are in one spot and behind the Barrett," Jack says to me. "That's just smart use of manpower." He clears his throat. "Womanpower."
"I know what you meant," I say.
"Then we better get moving," Vivian says. "It won't be long before Doyles come to check out what happened here. I am sure somebody called it in over the radio."
She ain't lying about that because in the next second we hear barking. Muffin is around somewhere and he sees something he don't like. A lot of the ladies freak out when they hear the bark. I don't blame them. Always thought all the dogs was dead and eaten. Kinda exciting to know they ain't.
"Shit," Jack says. "They didn't waste any time."
"They never do," Vivian says. All the other ladies agree. "Doyle is a doer. He likes to say that a lot too."
Muffin keeps barking and we move to find him. It doesn't take long since half the farm is pretty much shitfucked. I'd say that was our bad, but fuck that shitfucking shit. This farm needs to be burned to the ground.
We reach the main gate and see a cloud of dust heading our way down the dirt road. Audrey still has the Barrett strapped to her back and she brings it around so she can look through the scope. Muffin sees us and comes trotting over to Jack, his hackles up. He gives a sharp back and Jack kneels down to pet him.
"What do you see?" Jack asks Audrey.
"Three pickups," sh
e says. "Beds open and full of men. They are armed and ready to fight."
"Shit," Jack says. "We need to gather up all the weapons and get ready to make a stand."
"Nah," Audrey says. She hands Jack the Barrett. "You put a slug right in their engine blocks while I go get what we need to end this bullshit here today."
"Okay," Jack says.
He doesn't argue, just takes the Barrett and walks over to a beat-up old car. Some small thing that probably went all fast and furious pre-Z, but now looks like it couldn't backfire without dying. He sets the Barrett up on the trunk of the car and takes aim.
Audrey takes off jogging and I want to follow, but damn my leg hurts, so I just lean up against a post and reload my .45s. Marcie gives me a look and I smile at her.
"You'll see," I say.
"You know what she's doing?" Marcie asks.
"I got a pretty good idea," I say. "It's gonna be fun."
Jack breaks and the Barrett barks loud enough for some of the women that had followed us to the front gate cry out in surprise and slap their hands over their ears. It is loud, but I'm used to it. I'd worry about going deaf when I get old, but I got a feeling that Kramer worked his mad science on my ears so I can handle a lot of gunfire. Same with the sisters. We'll probably be able to hear a cricket fart even when we're ninety.
There's a loud grinding noise then we hear men shouting and cursing. Gunfire erupts from the cloud of dust and most everyone hits the ground. I just keep leaning against the post. Sure, maybe a stray bullet could get to me, but those trucks are still pretty far off.
Jack fires again then one more time and there's more far off grinding and shouting and shooting of rifles.
"That takes care of that," Jack says and stands straight. He ejects the magazine and looks inside. "Gonna need to reload. One cartridge left."
"Audrey is probably bringing more ammo," I say. "Along with the fun surprise for the Doyles in those trucks."
